#taking lie theory this term

[heirtocragflame]

I’m channeling her power

[starry-eyer]

god tywin lannister deserved worse

just remembering elias death and i wanna puke and the way tywin talks about elia and what happened is so damn gross

but rip tommen and myrcella we all know what’s about to happen in the next book :/

the cycle of violence just keeps spinning and damn you tywin for beginning it

(i got a bit crazy in the tags 💀)

[lambilegs]

best friend's older sister!sevika headcanons pt. 2

contains: modern!au, nsfw content (so minors/ageless blogs dni!!), cursing, reader is mentioned to have family issues, hcs + blurbs set pre-confession and post-confession, mention of spanking, strap-on sex (reader receiving), breeding kink, dirty talk, degrading (the word "slut" is used), humiliation kink, sevika physically teasing reader at family dinner, mention of smoking, reader's body is referred to w the terms "pussy" and "clit"

pt. 1

best friend's older sister!sevika who pauses outside her door when she hears the muffled noises of your crying, followed by her sister's voice. her eyebrows immediately draw in concern, stomach turning as possibilities run through her mind. you mentioned having an exam earlier this week -- did you fail it? was someone bothering you? did you need her to do anything?

when her sister's in the shower, she knocks quietly on the door, your call of, "yeah?" pushing her to enter.

once she does, her eyes immediately scan your face, looking for signs of distress. when she finds your eyes pink and glossy, a bolt of nervousness shoots through her, taking her off guard for a second.

once she swallows down the feeling, she tilts her head at you, leaning on the frame. "all okay?" she asks, trying to keep her voice levelled, not wanting to reveal just how much worry is stirring within.

"yeah." your mouth is twisted in something resembling pain, and she eyes you carefully as you sit up in the bed. "it's just, you know, family stuff."

she nods. she understands that, alright. most people would think that being the older of the two, she'd fight with her father less than her little sister, but the truth is that out of everyone in her house, they butt heads more than anyone else. she usually shrugs it off when anyone asks, with her most popular coping mechanism being fuming in her bedroom with a cigar while heavy music blankets over all her thoughts. probably not the healthiest way to react, but it's worked for this long. besides, she doesn't have the patience to sit at a desk and do that journalling bullshit her sister always prattles on about.

"sorry." she contemplates for a few moments on what else she could say to help, rocking on the balls of her sock-clad feet. all she comes up with is, "families suck," silently berating herself for being so incompetent.

but, at least you laugh, the noise a bit breathless, so sevika takes pride in that. "yeah, that's the understatement of the century."

"do you wanna, I don't know, talk about it?" just to ease the weight of the question, she mutters, "you know, I'm pretty good at belting insults at anyone who deserves it."

"oh, yes, I'm sure of it." you nod at the wall where the shower can be heard from. "she's told me how vicious you were in middle school."

she bristles, feeling her stomach tighten in embarrassment. she was a little asshole, alright, and she can't lie, her younger sister bore the brunt of it. something she secretly regrets now -- not that she'd ever admit to it. she probably never would've revealed it you in the first place if not for her sister ratting her out.

"well, I-- that was middle school. I'm not like that now."

your eyebrow raises, lips tilting up. "you know, some people would argue that who you are as a kid shows what kind of person you are at the core of it."

she scoffs. "who, freud? considering the other stuff I've heard about that guy, I think I'll pass on believing that bullshit."

"oh, c'mon, I can tell you all the merits about his theories."

"and while that sounds riveting, I guess, I'd prefer knowing if you... you know, need anything?" she shrugs, her eyes trained on you.

you smile softly, the corners of your lips crinkling. "thank you. I don't feel like talking about it much now, but I appreciate it a lot."

she nods, rasping on the doorframe, unsure as to how to proceed now.

"huh, someone's not really used to this."

she rolls her eyes, sending you a half-hearted glare. "oh, shut up."

best friend's older sister!sevika whose attention towards you is beginning to become obvious, even for you. she's started seeking you out instead of any of your other friends when she's looking for her sister, and when she enters the room, her eyes always flicker to you immediately. it makes you feel like a spotlight is casted upon you, your entire body, your entire being, reserved for sevika.

one day, one of the girls in your group leans over to you, her tone lowered with conspiracy. "you know, I think sevika has a thing for you."

your best friend groans, smacking her arm. "god, please! that's my sister, for god's sake."

"and? she's hot?"

her face morphs into complete disgust, eyes squeezing shut. "please, that's so fucking gross."

while you laugh along with the conversation, you can't help but warily glance to your best friend, mind whirring with thoughts of whether or not she's being earnest. you and sevika aren't, well, anything really -- at least not anything officially declared or acted upon. for months, it's just been tosses and back-and-forths of teasing and flirting. but, there has been no step over the threshold that divides you two between nameless, vague chemistry and the agreement to work towards a real relationship.

but, still, there is something there, and you cradle a hope in your chest that it'll turn into more one day, an actual thing that can be named. but, it's hard to feel positive about that outcome when you're not even certain if your best friend would approve or feel comfortable.

she meets your pondering stare, and you immediately backtrack, turning away so she can't read what's on your face.

a moment later, her palm rests on your knee and she laughs, tone as casual as ever when she says, "honestly, if anyone could tame her, it's you."

your lips part in shock, but she simply squeezes down gently before carrying on with the conversation.

best friend's older sister!sevika who pretty much wants to wring her cousin's neck out when she spots her conversing with you. well, it's not the conversing that's the problem -- she's not that crazy. or at least, she pretends not to be.

it's the fact that she knows her cousin hits on every one of her and her sister's friends, and she's clearly doing that with you right now, eyes half-lidded and voice lowered to what sevika hopes sounds more like darth vader than sexy to you. god, she nearly wants to kill her sister for being stupid enough to leave you alone with her. but, judging from her sister's shit-eating grin from where she stands at the food table, sevika suspects that it was intentional.

she tries not to crush her plastic red cup in her hand and send her vodka-spiked punch spilling everywhere. when her sister had casually mentioned last night that you'd be showing up to this family barbecue, sevika, much to her own embarrassment, had felt an immediate buzz of anticipation at knowing you'd be there. it's stupid, she knows. she's a grown ass woman, not some teenager -- yet, there she was, biting back a smile as she walked up the flight of stairs back to her bedroom. and when she reached her destination, she could barely focus, her thoughts straying to how she'll get a rise out of you rather than remaining on the toy she was meant to be building for the kid she babysits, isha.

she couldn't lie to herself about it. she was goddamn excited.

if only she had known how the day would wind up. it's nearing to late afternoon, and still, she hasn't spoken to you once. as soon as you and her sister had reached, the two of you had met with your usual gaggle of girls. and sevika hadn't been in the mood to entertain their giggles and leering stares upon coming to get you from them. and so, she waited. and then, you were dragged off to talk to her sister's favourite cousins, and then, to the idiot you're currently speaking to. a few minutes into what sevika hopes is a cringe-inducing conversation, her sister had left you to go to the food table.

she knows she has no reason to be jealous of her cousin. after all, look at the dimwit, she barely has game. she's so flashy with it, no subtlety. if you weren't the object of her cousin's attention, she might've actually taken some amusement in watching from afar.

but, no, it just had to be you. she can't even blame her cousin -- after all, you do look damn good, that's for certain. if this wasn't a family event, she'd be dragging you to the nearest corner, pushing you against the wall, and teasing you until you're a squirming little mess. god, she's just throbbing at the idea of it.

but, the feeling gets washed over with ice when her dumb cousin starts stroking her knuckles against your arm. stupid kid. and why are you smiling at her? do you not realize she's flirting? do you like that she's flirting? oh, now that thought leaves a sour taste in her mouth.

her composure snaps when she sees you laugh, and with a firm toss of her cup in the nearest garbage bag, she calmly makes her way to you. she knows she ought to be better than this. she should be the one with sense, with rationality -- the one who keeps her shit together while you become a fumbling mess whose feelings might as well be written on your forehead. that should be you. not her.

but, it's like her mind is working on overdrive, all her instincts honed in on making sure she takes you away and has you all to herself.

when she slides next to you two, your jump in surprise, looking up at her. her eyes rove over your features, drinking you in, wondering momentarily if you even realize how crazy you drive her.

"hey, sev, are you looking for your sister? because she's--"

"no," she cuts in, her palm bracing against the small of your back. "give us a sec."

"wha-- but, I--"

sevika doesn't give her cousin a moment to protest, firmly guiding you away to the front of her house, which has been left secluded now that people are eating in the backyard.

when you stumble into her back from her sudden halt, you blow out a frustrated puff of air. "what the hell was that?"

she feels her thick, dark eyebrows furrow, her gaze casted down on you, unwavering and focused. "I should be asking you that. why were you talking to her?"

"your sister left me with her!" you protest, your voice raising a pitch she'd find cuter if it weren't for the sour taste in her mouth.

"and? that makes you incapable of leaving a conversation afterwards?"

your eye twitches. "and why should I have left the conversation?"

sevika swallows, feeling her throat bob with the movement. if she acts like some jealous girlfriend, it'll be all too clear what it is she feels. and that's a bit too exposing for her. sure, you two flirt and push-and-pull, but it's something she could easily pass as a game if ever needed be. but, jealousy, disliking you talking to someone other than her? that's way too obvious, and there's no way of covering that up.

so, she takes a different route. "you know, if you're gonna be hitting on someone at this thing, it should be--"

"you?"

she nearly splutters, blinking hard at your growing smirk before continuing. "no. it should be someone other than the fuckboy-wanna-be relative who hits on anything with a pair of nice legs and pretty eyes."

your smile only widens and sevika has the sudden urge to bend you over her lap until you're a sobbing mess.

"so, you think I have nice legs and pretty eyes?"

"are you dense? how is that what you focus on?" despite the harsh undertone of her words, she can feel her body stiffening up under your watchful gaze, desperately hoping you don't realize just how badly she wants your attention. it feels pathetic, really, to be putting up a fit like this because just you spoke to someone flirtatious other than her. shit, she needs to save some face.

"yeah, because I think it's weird how you're dictating who I can speak to as though you're my girlfriend or something!"

"that's not how I'm acting--"

"yes, it is!" you scoff, stalking up to her and pointing a finger against her chest, the contact making her jerk back from the spark it leaves. "you wouldn't be this pissed if it was just about concern."

she's silent for a few seconds, her mind running through possible comebacks. the only one she can think of is a hard, "you don't know that."

you tilt your head at her, as though she's some kid in need of a scolding. it only exacerbates her frustration, causing it to flare up low in her gut. "well, if it's just about you being concerned, then let me continue talking to her. you warned me, I took it in stride, and if things go wrong, you can always rub it in my face late, okay?"

she sighs, beginning to regret having ever acted out now that this is the turn the situation is taking. you were supposed to take her words in, and do as she says. instead, you're arguing back, just like you always do. but, she knows that at this point, she'd be a hypocrite to complain about it. she knows it's why she likes you.

"you really want that?"

you cross your arms over your chest, and sevika tries not to let her eyes stray downwards. "is there a reason why I shouldn't?"

stupid mind games. sometimes, she hated being gay because of this.

she likes you, sure, but she doesn't have the patience to beat around the bush. which she's aware is hypocritical and stupid, considering that's what she's been doing this entire conversation. but, still.

so, she shrugs. "beats me."

your eyes flash with something, jaw clenching. sevika can't tell if it's a look of determination or anger.

but, what does it matter if you're spinning around to stomp back into the backyard?

she releases an exasperated breath, fishing for her cigarettes.

best friend's older sister!sevika whose voice makes you jump when you're stirring instant noodles in a frothy pot of water later that night.

"jesus, sevika!" you gasp, your other hand flying to clutch your chest. "what the fuck are you doing here?"

"it's my house, remember?" she dryly remarks, padding over to the fridge and grabbing a carton of milk. pinching the flap open, she drinks straight from it. you'd find it gross if it weren't for the way her lips wrap around the soggy cardboard material, the muscles of her neck protruding as she gulps it down.

when she bends down to put it back, you turn away, your stomach churning from how any bit of laughter is totally drained from her voice, leaving it flat and achingly unfamiliar.

you've felt guilty since the barbecue. sure, it's annoying that she makes demands of you without actually admitting her feelings. but, it's clear that she was upset in that moment. so, maybe you should've been a tad nicer.

"uh, sevika?" you meekly call out right as she's about to exit the kitchen.

she freezes in the entryway, casting you a sidelong glance over her shoulder, which is pinched from the strap of her tight tank top. god, you wanna kiss the indent it leaves.

"I..." you trail off, shifting side to side on your feet, the low bubbling of the water the only noise filling the room. you don't know what's too much or too little, so you mull over your words before tentatively saying, "you know, I'm not interested in your cousin. like, at all. I had no intention of flirting back with her, or, like, pursuing something with her."

she's silent for a few seconds, her eyes flicking away as her jaw tenses, which sends her cheeks hollowing out. you stare at her for a few seconds before focusing your attention back to stirring the noodles, needing something to occupy your thoughts other than the thick, stifling tension seizing the air.

finally, she speaks, her voice low but firm with surety. "well, I didn't want you to flirt with her... for reasons other than what I said."

your stomach tightens up in anxious, gut-wrenching excitement, forcing your mouth to remain in a clenched line. you know this isn't exactly a confession, but it's unspoken between you two -- what she means, that is. there could only be one reason other than concern that would explain how protective she was earlier. a reason that, sure, you're not certain about regarding the details or her intentions, but that nonetheless has you feeling like you could jump with the amount of energy surging through you at the mention of it. no matter how vague.

you can sense she won't say anymore, though, her body rigid with tension. so, to try to lighten the mood, your own body sagging in relief now that you two have somewhat made amends, you drawl out, "yeah, that much was clear."

she snickers, turning fully to you and propping her arm on the door frame. you expect her to give her own retort, but instead, she just... watches you. smirk slowly curling on her face, eyes crinkling in amusement, she simply stares at you.

after a few moments of feeling like the side of your head is burning from her razor-sharp gaze, you say, "what?"

the corner of her mouth quirks up further. "for someone who says it was obvious, that was a pretty big grin you had on your face just now."

you huff indignantly, ducking you head down to the noodles in order to avoid getting caught in your flustered state. "well, I'm just grinning because my noodles are almost done."

she peers at the time flashing over the stove before shaking her head and grimacing at the pot. "why are you even eating this crap at 2:00AM? we have actual food in the fridge."

"I was craving this," you defend with a squeak, shooting her what you pray is a convincing glare despite your heart racing from her earlier words. "besides, I didn't know if your family would be having the leftovers."

"don't be stupid," she chides gruffly. after a pause, she adds, "you know you're family."

this time, you can't resist the beam that overtakes your face, eyes squeezing in delight as your cheeks throb pleasantly from the joy embracing you. you've, of course, heard this sentiment from your best friend plenty of times before, but never from sevika.

"thanks," you murmur feebly, sending her a small, bash smile.

she simply nods in return, her lips pressing together as she continues observing you.

part of you basks under it. the attention of her focused grey eyes, the heavy weight of her gaze -- it all sends a thrill to you that's hot and burning, making you feel you're being revived from a lifelong slumber. how did you ever manage without the life-altering feeling which is sevika's gaze directed to you?

"so, I guess I should head up," she says, sticking a thumb behind her.

your body immediately tenses in protest. she can't leave -- not like this, not after this tender moment you two just shared. not when her presence here holds the contrast of warm assurance and ice-cold surprise that you're always craving.

a loud "no!" bursts from your lip as she's just about to turn.

when she sends you an inquisitive stare, forehead wrinkled in confusion, you feel your face heat up in embarrassment over your over-eagerness. but, it's too late to scale back, so you force yourself to proceed with, "I just-- why don't we hang out a bit? maybe watch gilmore girls. and, I don't know, share the noodles and, well, left overs."

her eyes widen, lips parting in surprise, and it almost makes you want to cackle. how could she even be surprised you want to spend time with her? are you just that good at hiding your want for her, or is she that romantically dense?

"um, yeah, okay," she says, a hand curving up along the back of her neck. "but, don't think I'll eat that crap you're making."

your shoulders ease at the joke, laughing as you wag your wooden spoon at her. "it's good, okay? I don't know why you'd deprive yourself of it."

"if I didn't deprive myself, I wouldn't have these." she flexes her bicep, and you try not to let your gaze roam over the toned muscle bulging out. no need to satisfy her that much. "and wouldn't that be a pity for you?"

you bristle, but still find yourself unable to quell the laughter that bubbles up your throat. "fuck off. my life isn't so sad that your muscles are my sanctuary."

"fair point -- maybe 'religion' is a better term."

ugh, her grin is infuriatingly coy as she heads back to the fridge, pulling out a tupperware, her veins bulging out as she grips it.

you want to fuck her so bad. and then, yell at her. and then, fuck her again.

"just, shut up and heat up the leftovers," you grumble, turning your back to her as her laugh, hearty and scratchy in all the right ways, flows from her lips.

honestly, the lack of eye contact is for both of your guys' benefit. god knows how you'll react if you see that cute gap again.

best friend's older sister!sevika who, after you two start dating, places her long fingers on your thigh when you join her family for dinner. she knows it's a bit evil of her, but she can't help it. your body is just so reactive -- a fact that she was delighted to learn upon your first time sleeping together. it just makes it so much fun to toy with you like this.

your leg immediately flinches when her fingernails skim along your skin, and she'd probably smile if she wasn't so well-trained in public play to know exactly how to keep a straight face.

but, you? she knows you're struggling. she can feel it in the way you shift in your seat, shoulders rolling as her warm palm flattens against your skin, her fingers sinking into the plush of your thigh. or how your body suddenly lurches forward when she suddenly pinches her nails into the skin, causing everyone at the table to dart concerned glances your way.

you sheepishly laugh it off, shaking your head and saying, "sorry, I, um-- I just got a weird shiver."

sevika honestly feels impressed that you're able to keep your cool this well, glancing at you with a raised eyebrow. she knows it probably goes against the whole supportive girlfriend thing, but seeing you manage to remain calm only makes her want to test you even more.

and so, she inches her fingers up so that they smooth along the tender skin of your inner thigh. you immediately stiffen up, your back straightening to an almost comedic right angle. sevika's mouth twists, trying to hold in a chuckle at how you writhe when her blunt nails begin to trace shapes into the hot patch of skin. god, she wants to dip her fingers in further, feel the tight heat of your pussy wrap around her digit as she pumps it in and out of you.

she clears her own throat to cut off her breaths from getting too shallow. god, she needs a cold shower or some shit. plus, the entire point was to get you hot and bothered, not her.

trying to gather her bearings, she presses her fingers into the sensitive area, slightly digging in the curves of her nails, trying to replicate she sharp sting you feel when she sinks her teeth into that spot before eating you out.

it seems se's successful, based on the way your legs shift again, pressing together and trapping her hand there. and your cute face is noticeably distracted, expression glazed over, lips hanging open.

when your fingers curl around her wrist, keeping her hand there, she smirks behind the rim of her glass, taking a careful sip before wrenching her hand free from your grip, continuing with her meal.

through the animated conversation her sister and old man are having, she can hear you grunt in frustration.

but, she doesn't even turn to you. after all, what would be the fun if she just gave you what you wanted?

best friend's older sister!sevika who shakes you from your deep sleep when you're curled up on the mattress in her living room, your best friend fast asleep on the couch. before you can mumble incoherently, your eyes barely making out her broad frame through the sleep-tinged blur, she presses a finger to your mouth, quietly shushing you.

you nod, your heavy eyes blinking rapidly to register what's going on. but, you can barely get a whisper in before sevika scoops you up, her strong arms easily carrying you up the stairs to her bedroom. you have to bite back a gasp at the sudden manhandling, though a spike of arousal zips through you from how easily she takes you to her bedroom, dropping you unceremoniously onto her navy blankets.

you frown at her, eyes sharpened into a glare. "sevika, wha--"

she plants her lips on you, crawling on top of you and pinning your body to the bed with hers. she's sloppy and ungraceful with it, shoving her tongue into your mouth and swirling it around yours as a hand slides up to loosely grip your throat.

"you didn't think I'd leave you hanging, did you?" she mumbles against your lips, her hand drifting down your body to start fiddling with the waistband of your pajama shorts.

"well, you already did once, so I wouldn't be surprised if it happened again," you murmur against her prodding mouth, trying to keep your voice dignified in light of all the pants and whines beginning to crawl up your throat.

"awe, c'mon, baby," she snickers, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to your cheek while the rest of you practically combusts from the low, scolding tone she takes when calling you that. "even I have my limits."

and, oh, how fucking good it feels for sevika's limits to be broken, you think as she pounds into you with her dark purple strap-on, her hand over your mouth as she pumps her hips steadily, hissing whenever her bed frame bumps too loudly against the wall.

you wrap your legs around her, nails raking up her back as the toy plunges into you over and over again, stretching your walls taut. it feels good, so good, the dull ache of her nearly-too-big dildo making your entire pussy throb in a way that makes you feel impossibly full.

"listen to that," she whispers against your ear, the hot moist of her breath making you break out into shivers. "your pussy is soaking my new sheets. such a mess you're making."

god, you just leak even more from those words, the mix of your juices and the lube creating deliciously loud squelching noises in her room, only growing more pointed and firm when she begins to drill particularly hard, intentional thrusts into you. the movements have the bulb her of dick pushing against your g-spot with every rock of her body, and it sends a warm tingle through you, wrapping your nerves in pleasure and sparking them to life.

you whine against her hand, eyes rolling back when her cold, mechanical finger begins to flick along your clit. the cool, steel-hard texture of it against your swollen little nub has your body arching up, each brush and flick feeling so heightened through all the other sensations running through you.

"yeah," she chuckles darkly, grazing her teeth along your earlobe. "you like that, don't you? getting this pussy slutted out, having me fucking up your guts and making room for my babies?"

your hips jolt up at those words, a loud whine erupting from your mouth before you can stop it. sevika hisses at it, pressing her mouth to yours, her thighs smacking against yours as she continues drilling you into her mattress.

"be quiet," she rasps, her breaths shattering into uneven little pants. "you want everyone in this house to know what a slut you are? you want everyone to know you couldn't last a night in here without getting dicked down by your best friend's sister?"

you can barely respond, your entire body set aflame with the pleasure of her on top of you, surrounding you with nothing but warm skin, hard muscle and filthy, nasty little noises.

"ah," you moan quietly against her mouth, fingers tracing the indents your nails have left in her back. "feels s'good, I just-- I can't--"

"I know, baby, I know," she grunts, fingers wrapping around your jaw and shaking your face like you're her personal doll. "no need to worry your pretty head with talking, yeah? just be good and let me cream this pussy."

and so, you do. over and over and over again.

best friend's older sister!sevika who tries not to smirk too hard when her sister asks over breakfast why you're wearing a turtleneck in the middle of july.

[mychapel-004]

I think the most interesting and under-explored part of gf canon is the formation of the blind eye and I'm tired of pretending it isn't: a long post

Because hear me out here, if we really take a look at the timing of the only concrete source we have (mcgucket's video diaries), it doesn't... line up at all?

The clear implication here is that he started making the diaries after the first portal incident on January 18th 1983, so this would be our "day one"

"For the past year I have been working as an assistant for a visiting researcher... But something went wrong. I decided to quit the project, but I lie awake each night, haunted by the thoughts of what I've done... Test subject one: Fiddleford."

But this makes no sense. We know from J3 that the memory gun was actually invented after a series of traumatic events with Ford, months before he left the project. Further, the timeline the video diaries set up of the blind eye show that he began to deteriorate and founded the blind eye on day 22, which would be February 9th, but in J3 the blind eye is already a full blown cult by then.

In addition, where is he in this video? we know from TBOB that he isn't on good terms with his wife after Christmas of 1982 and he likely didn't leave GF after the portal incident, but he was living with Ford up until this so where is this room? If he had somewhere else to stay, why only stay there now?

Now, realistically the answer here is that the lore was changed and slightly retconned between the writing of this episode and the publishing of the book (which alex discusses in some of the commentary for this episode when discussing fidd's character), but I think a more interesting theory to solve this contradiction can be found in the source material.

If we play this all completely straight, there are two options here, both involving Fiddleford lying in his diaries. this isn't entirely new to the series, unreliable narration is a big theme, especially in Journal 3 and TBOB. the only real explanations are that:

A) Fiddleford was lying about this being the first time he used the gun, meaning this video diary takes place after the portal incident.

B) Fiddleford was lying about leaving the project, and was filming these diaries while still working with Ford.

Now, either of them is plausible, but ultimately Fiddleford is a scientist. He has dedicated his life to engineering, and it seems to be his lifelong passion considering it's one of the only character traits that he continues to practice after losing his mind. Would a man who is this talented, this dedicated, really lie about testing results in a video diary he chose to make?

If he had used the gun before, any kind of result he is trying to observe would be ruined. It would be a pointless venture, since we know for a fact that by the time he leaves the project he has used the gun on himself, Ford and other civillians multiple times. It's a complete failure of the scientific method, and I don't think it makes sense for the character we know, the man who quadruple checks his own calculations just to be sure they're right.

However, the other explanation feels like something he might do. We know he invents the gun after the Gremloblin incident likely sometime in August, and seems to use it immediately as evidenced by J3, on both himself and Ford. We know from the audio commentary that for Fidd, the memory gun is very much an addiction, it's something that he uses to curb his anxiety and appear like a better partner, to try and keep himself together until the project is over. But ultimately, he's known something is wrong with the project for a long time, and Ford mentions his tendency towards self destructive anxiety when Fidd rips out his own hair after Ford reveals the tip of the weirdness iceberg to him.

All this to say, I think it's far more realistic for Fiddleford to lie about leaving the project rather than his results. He knows that something is wrong, that he should leave and be with his family, and on the other side of that we know that Bill is using this anxiety to whisper into Ford's ear that Fidd is unreliable and will leave. He's been through a severely traumatic event with the Gremloblin, trapped for days in his worst nightmares, to the point where he is prepared to cause himself potential brain damage to un-see it.

But despite all of it, he doesn't leave. He is determined to stay, maybe out of loyalty, maybe out of fear for Ford's safety, maybe he needs the money from the project for his family. He has a wife and son who need him and we know that he feels guilt for his treatment towards them, he even cites them as his sole reason for backing out of using the gun immediately before he does it anyway, and uses it on Ford to cover his mistakes up. Fiddleford is a man who is wracked by anxiety and shame and is such a bad way by this point that he is absolutely willing to self-destruct and lie to just get through this project.

I think he absolutely would start documenting his use of the memory gun, even if that meant lying that he had followed his instincts and left the project when he should have done. After all, he says himself that he wants to use this gun on a wider scale as a therapy tool, assuming the gun doesn't turn his brain to mush, surely the tapes of his initial testing will need to be peer-reviewed? He's presenting the reality he wishes was true, the one where he is brave and stands on his principles and doesn't fall into step beside Ford on his path to destruction.

So, where does this leave the timeline?

Finding exact dates is difficult, mostly because the only concrete numbers in J3 are few and far between, but we do have the dates of the tapes to go off as follows. This isn't concrete but it's a fun way to recontextualise the events of J3:

Day 1:

First usage of the gun, followed by it being used on Ford

Sometime after the Gremloblin incident, Fidd's arm is either healed or on the mend from the incident as his cast is gone, so likely towards the end of August.

Note on the cast: It could also be gone as a result of him removing it too early, he doesn't seem to take a lot of time to recover from the incident before he gets back to work in fear of disappointing Ford.

The room he is in is likely his bedroom in the Shack, or whatever location he initially uses to form the blind eye, maybe a room in the museum? The "probability of failure" graph in the back is the same one that he shows Ford the night before the Portal test, albeit a bigger version, meaning he has likely been tracking the output results for a while.

Day 5:

Still exhibiting postive results, no deterioration yet.

Day 22:

First signs of mental deterioration

First mention of the blind eye, Fidd draws the symbol onto a notebook but it is already scribbled in the background over a diagram of the portal. The blind eye symbol is first mentioned in J3, when Fidd hands it to the carny who becomes the eventual leader of the cult, so this diary likely takes place after he has begun using it on other people.

Official formation of the blind eye as a group to help people forget traumatic memories.

His room in the shack is in a state of disarray, his plants are dead and there are handprints in oil or ink on the walls. Notably, he seems to be connecting the idea of a single eye and the portal despite not being aware of Bill at this point, which I'll touch upon later.

The carnival is likely in September according to the timeline by @fordtato

Day 74:

Slight physical deterioration, more physical anxiety

It seems that Fidd has been regularly using the memory gun at this point, to erase even minorly distressing images from his head, and his anxiety has taken a nosedive. Likely explanation is that this diary is after the bunker, where he had another severely traumatic experience (kidnapped by a shapeshifter and reduced to mute from anxiety) and seemed to become obsessed with doomsday planning. During the bunker arc he also used the gun on multiple workmen and Ford once again.

Likely takes place in October/November

His room is a complete mess by now, with the walls covered in papers and "Help Me" scrawled on the walls.

At this point in J3, Ford has made his deal with Bill and is allowing him to possess his body whenever he pleases. Bill has also sucessfully driven a divide between the other two by making Ford doubt that Fidd will be able to make it to the end of the project, and Ford describes his frustration with him.

According to Ford, Fidd is just as agitated and nervous before the portal test as he was during the Gremloblin attack, and obsessively checks and rechecks his calculations, causing Ford to worry for his resolve.

In between this diary and the next are the stolen pages from J3 that are in TBOB, which give us slight insight into Fiddleford during this time but not much. We see that he tries multiple times to reach out to him the only way that Fidd knows how, through invention and creation, with the snowglobe and the six-fingered gloves. Ford, however, treats them carelessly as a result of his increased attention to his muse. At the same time, he tries to visit home but is kicked out by Emma-May after he forgets to get her a Christmas gift. This is played as an example of his connection with Ford, him remembering two gifts for the man and none for his wife, but if he really is suffering from his use of the gun at this time, the forgetfulness makes even more sense and his argument with his family means he doesn't have a support system outside of Ford who is paying all of his attention to the project. After this, Fiddleford is more reclusive than ever as he spends early January compiling a thesis for Ford to publish

Day 189

Physical deterioration is in full effect and he can't hide the result of his addiction any more, even just to keep up appearances.

His arm is broken, likely due to the car accident he mentions accidentally causing, but its the same arm he broke during the Gremloblin attack and could be a result of him taking his cast off too early for it to have healed right in the first place which could explain why he wears it for so long.

Significant mental decline as he has started exhibiting signs of brain damage or swelling (decreased vocabulary, forgetfulness, loss of motor functions) however, he is seemingly lucid enough to question if the memory gun is causing negative side effects.

There are actually bottles visible in the back of the room, possbly referencing the addiction metaphor being used here

This would take place after the portal test, likely late January. Ford is at the height of his paranoia, Fiddleford has left the shack and taken every trace of his research with him except his college picture with Ford, and the blind eye is a fully established and seemingly self-governing cult.

Day 273

At this point, Fidd has relocated to a motel and is seemingly completely mentally gone, ripping out his hair and developing his hunched posture. This likely takes place after the blind eye takes his memories, or he continues erasing them himself. It's possible that the blind eye continues visiting him and taking his memories even after he is ejected as a member, or at least until they forget who he is after using the gun on themselves too many times.

It appears to be snowing outside? Which doesn't line up with either the canon timeline or this timeline, so potentially the days on the video diaries could be incorrect assuming he isn't filming them every day, or has lost so much of his mind by this point that he isn't labelling them right and has lost track of time

The final two entries are a similar story, serving only to show us the end of his decline and him eventually becoming fully homeless, retreating to the junkyard he lives in for the next 28 years (jesus, he really deserved that mansion).

Ultimately though, this timeline asks a lot of interesting character questions.

Why did Ford not realise how bad Fiddleford's decline was becoming? Maybe a mix of circumstances, he was falling deeper into his worship of Bill at the time, to the extent that he was regularly being possessed and judging by the lack of journal entries at the time, very pre-occupied. We also know that Fidd used the gun on him at least twice in canon, and possibly used it more than we know in order to convince Ford he was okay.

If Fiddleford was erasing parts of Ford's memory, did Bill know? Personally, I feel that Bill was aware but knew that ultimately it would serve him. Fiddleford, without ever encountering Bill at this point, created the blind eye symbol which is eerily close to Bill's symbolism, how would he know that when we know Ford is possessive of his muse and doesn't share anything with Fidd about it? How does Ford have visions of Fidd in a red cloak without ever knowing that the cult and Fidd are directly connected? My thoughts are that Bill, who we know has erased Ford's memory himself before when he stole the journal pages we see in TBOB, was using most of this as fodder to drive a divide between the two, mentally creating associations in both of their minds so they stop trusting the other. Chess but with troubled gay men.

All in all I think Fiddleford's decline is such an interesting way to approach a theme of addiction, particularly a high-functioning addiction. If this really is how things played out, we know that throughout his use of the gun and even 30 years later when he is considered a write-off, the one thing he maintains is his engineering prowess and his smarts. It makes sense that even when actively using the gun and hiding it from Ford he would be able to keep up in terms of building the portal, especially when we know he secretly hired workers. It's also a great example of someone drawing others into their addiction, even if it was unintentional and he didn't believe they would be hurt in the long run.

I feel like sometimes there's a lil bit of a push to see Fidd as a naive or morally good character even through his mistakes and to demonise Ford in response, but ultimately both of them are very morally grey and have their own vices that they develop and grow from.

[tiamathh]

DANCING ANGEL (37530)

Devotion

This asteroid was named after Ekaterina Pavlova, who was extremely talented in oriental dance and devoted her short life to the art. In my theory, wherever this asteroid is in your chart will show you where you're most devoted and talented.

Masterlist | Paid Readings | Tip Jar

Houses

↑ 1st: Devoted to themselves, these individuals are big on self care and are really confident in their ability to complete and start new cycles at their pace. Their talents lie in being able to find their identity early on in life and also being a bit of a shape shifter, they can be whoever they want to be whenever they want to be whilst staying true to themselves and being authentic.

↑ 2nd: They're devoted to their family and may pursue careers that will provide them stability both emotional and financial, they are usually lucky with getting money through unconventional means too. Their talents lie in being able to make a safe and secure environment for the people around them as well as being extremely resourceful and helpful individuals.

↑ 3rd: Devoted to their ideas and usually their siblings if they have any, may admire them a lot and are also very devoted to learning about new topics. Their talents lie when it comes down to competing especially in regards to the mind and their communication styles are flexible, they can change their way of speech depending on the person they are talking to and are also very convincing.

↑ 4th: Devoted to their homes, especially the ones they make in the future for themselves and are extremely connected to their roots, may be close to maternal figures in their life. Their talents lie in building foundations for later generations, and are usually great in occupations such as therapy as they can help others decipher and understand their emotions.

↑ 5th: Devoted to individuality and self-expression, they are the ones who try to be as different as possible and rebel because it makes them stand out from the crowd. Their talents lie with the performing arts, people with these placements tend to have a commanding presence which makes leads to them naturally being in the spotlight, they're also great at working with children.

↑ 6th: Devoted to what they can do for others, usually workaholics because they simply like doing as much as they can and have high self discipline. Their talents lie in being able to stay in control and rational at their place of work, as well as making great leaders; due to their competence people are willing to follow them, extremely organised and healthy, they don't get sick easily.

↑ 7th: Devoted towards and in their relationships both romantic and platonic, they are big on mutual give and take but are more often givers. Their talents lie in being a mediator, they're a pretty good judge of character and have a natural ability to diffuse tense situations, they're also great at socialising with others and are quick to form lasting and important partnerships.

↑ 8th: Devoted in general, these natives never do something without complete devotion, are the kind of people to immerse themselves into all kinds of experiences. Their talents lie in being able to balance their energies and chakras easily, some may also be good at communicating with individuals from the afterlife or talented at astrology and divination as well due to their ability to sense energies around them.

↑ 9th: Devoted to understanding the depths of the world, questions like 'why?' and 'how?' come to mind, they're also devoted to their ideals and morals. Their talent lies in pursuing careers that are related to higher education as well as being able to learn languages quickly, they're also quick at picking up information about different cultures and they often bring others luck.

↑ 10th: Devoted to their vision and long term goals, they always look at the bigger picture and are often close to paternal figures in their life. Their talents lie in being authoritive and guide people through life, usually in a professional setting. They're great at being able to maintain a high reputation and can easily mask their true selves to exhibit the sort of public image they want.

↑ 11th: Devoted to the community, are also very concerned about giving back to nature and the community, usually extremely involved with social services especially volunteering at animal shelters. Their talents lie with being original, they may also be highly intuitive and be able to predict near future events, and are also great at getting people to start community service.

↑ 12th: Devoted to their subconscious and their intuition, they always listen to their gut and and usually go with the flow, believing that there is a plan even when they can't see it. Their talents lie with having psychic abilities such as bring clairvoyant, clairaudient, etc and they're also really good with shadow work, they can help bring closure to the people around them as well.

All Rights Reserved tiamathh on tumblr. Do not steal, repost, plagiarise or reword and claim as your own!

[the-kr8tor]

If I may suggest another Ekko (and Hobie) req:

Ekko accidentally dimension hopping to the Spider Society, only to meet R (geeking out about seeing her favorite character on the show) and Hobie (who may or may not be jealous but holding it in for the fangirling R)

- 😅

I think writing this healed me lol crack fics are my favourite!! Thank you for requesting, bestie! ❤️

Pairing: Hobie Brown x fem! reader/ Spider-Punk x fem! Reader/ Ekko x Fem! Reader

Word count: 2.9k

Tags: no use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader (except for clothing), slight Ekko x Hobie (and throuple au) if you squint, established relationship, spider! Reader, arcane and spiderverse crossover, arcane s2 spoiler, CW food mentions, a rare jealous! Hobie, fluff!

Navigation

“Hey, Hobie, what's wrong with her?” Pavitr taps Hobie's shoulder, voice laced with genuine concern.

Hobie cranes his head to look at you crouched on the floor, just lounging on the hallway, back resting against the wall as Hobie and the rest wait for a new mission from Miguel. Your slouched form isn't cause for concern usually, but your eyes are glued on your phone, barely blinking as you watch the same thing over and over again. The screen's light shines on your engrossed expression, it's as if his lovie has been replaced by an alien who's trying to learn the language through your phone. But, no, it's your latest hyperfixation in the form of another punk like him, with platinum hair and a hoverboard that he thinks isn't as impressive as swinging around.

“It's Ekko.” Hobie sighs, keeping an eye on you, who hasn't moved a muscle ever since the two of you reported for duty. Pav raises a brow, “he's a character on a show she loves.”

Gwen snickers beside him. “Jealous much?”

“Yeah, Hobie.” Miles adds, looking over Gwen to raise both of his brows in a mocking way. “It sounds like you're jealous. Did she make you watch the show while she fangirled for him?”

“Sure, ‘m jealous of a 2d character. Come off it.” Hobie chuckles, smiling at them with nonchalance. Truthfully, he doesn't care at all, truly. Right? It's not as if the guy is real, or that all your attention is on Ekko for once and not on him. Nope, not jealous at all.

“Now I know.” Pavitr scrunches his nose. “Gaya had a phase like that, she was obsessed with Howl.”

“She has good taste.” Gwen gives Gayatri a sign of her approval.

“She's not obsessed—” Hobie takes a look at you, still wide-eyed as you watch Ekko's greatest hits. “Not obsessed.”

“Hey, if the guy was real, do you think she'll ask you if he can be her pass.” Gwen nudges him, while Pav and Miles snickers.

“What's a bloody pass?”

“You know, someone she can snog, to put it in your own terms, without wrecking the relationship since he's the pass. Just a one time thing.” Gwen explains and Hobie blinks at her.

“Gwen's pass is Legolas.” Miles blurts out, earning a guffaw from Pav.

“Yeah? And yours is Laura Croft! Like that's original!”

Their conversation falls on the back of his head as Hobie crouches down beside you, hand splayed over your nape, head ducking to meet with your eyes. “You alright there, love? Your neck's goin’ to hurt.”

“I'm fine, Hobie.” You say, almost robotically.

“Love, you're fryin’ your brain with that.” He jokes, whispering right in your ears.

You finally relent, closing the screen and meeting with his eyes. “No it won't.” You lie, eyes feeling heavier. “That's a conspiracy theory.” Nuzzling your nose with his, he cracks a smile and a sigh of relief that he didn't know he was holding back. “I heard everything by the way.”

Hobie pauses from absolute bliss. “Heard what?”

“That you're jealous of Ekko.” Pocketing your phone in your suit, you take the lapels of his vest and pull him close. “Well, are you?”

“No, ‘m chuffed. Bloody happy that you found your thing instead of just collectin’ doorknobs.” He backtracks, “which I love ‘bout you by the way.”

Kissing his cheek, you rub your thumb over the slight wrinkle in between his brows. “It's a genuine hobby.”

“I didn't say it wasn't. It's fuckin' a-door-able,” he winks and you giggle. “and I'll bring you all the doorknobs in the world, lovie.” Hobie takes your hand and kisses your knuckles, wishing that your suit doesn't have gloves to feel you fully.

“I know, my favourites are the ones you give me.” You stare lovingly at him, squeezing his hands thrice. “Besides, I know that Ekko isn't real—” your eyes widen, staring at something behind him. “Ekko?!”

Hobie and the trio turn towards your line of sight. Hobie's eyes mirror your own, wide and in surprise, while they stare at the anomaly banging on the holographic jail with confusion.

“You got the wrong fucking guy!” Ekko, in all his glory, platinum twists bouncing with every kick on the glass and brown eyes frantic and panicked. It's really him, from the overalls to the z-drive confiscated by a fellow spider, it's as if he jumped from the screen over to the society. “Fuck you and your spider shit!”

“Damn, spidersman got him good.” Gwen says, following the angry punk with a raised brow.

“What the fuck.” You say under your breath, standing up as you follow the rolling jail cell with wide eyes.

“Shit, I think he made the wrong device, eh, lovie—?�� Hobie turns towards you, finding that you're bolting towards Ekko with determination. “Love! Fuck!” Quickly following you, leaving the trio in the dust and scratching their heads, Hobie, with his larger strides, catches up and runs beside you. “What’s the plan?!”

“Mayhem!” You turn to him, grinning from ear to ear as you sprint away with all your spider speed.

“That's my girl!” Hobie guffaws, aiming overhead as his web shoots overhead, swinging over the bright orange jail and landing on top of it with a thud. “‘Ello there, bruv.” Ekko looks up at him with a pointed glare. He does not look 2d at all, oh he's real alright. “Now I see why she's so bloody smitten by you.” He flashes him a smirk.

“What?” Ekko shrugs, staring at the fellow punk. “Who are you?”

“Your saviour, boy saviour.” With a wink, he places his palms on the glowing jail, short circuiting it with a burst of electricity and effectively halting it to a stop and busting the walls into bits of light.

“Fuck yeah, Hobie!” Your amused tone echoes around the society after knocking out spidersman and a few fellow spiders along the way. Miguel is gonna be pissed, well he's always pissed at you and Hobie anyway. You might as well live up to his expectations.

Ekko barely has enough time to respond as he gets dragged into another orange glow by the scruff of his neck. Which you soon follow with a swing and a leap towards him, z-drive in hand and smiling so wide that Ekko thinks that you and the rest of whatever place he fell in are all insane.

He lands with a thud on hardwood floors, seemingly rocking in the waves as he looks at the two strangers smiling down at him.

“So, are you still not jealous at all?” You ask teasingly, head tilting at Hobie.

“As long as you don't ask him to be your pass, love. Or I might have to bring out my guitar on him.”

“What the fuck are you two on about?” Ekko sits up, backing away until he hits the front of a sofa.

“He's ‘bout to glitch out, I know it.” Hobie smiles mischievously, and you take out something blue from your pockets while you get closer to Ekko.

“No, back off!” Ekko grabs the nearest thing and swings it around, fending you off with a couch cushion with the printed face of you. A joke gift from you to Hobie to which he swears he doesn't cuddle at night. Ekko stares at the weird thing, and before he knows it, his whole body trembles, shifting his insides in a burst of static before going back to normal. “Fuck…”

“You're glitchin’ out, bruv. Let her put that on you.” Hobie sits on the coffee table, unlacing his boots while you wait with the blue bracelet in hand.

“It's just a bracelet to help stabilize you in this dimension.” You say with a softer tone, noticing his apprehension and panic at the unfamiliar place. “I always have it on me whenever I have to bring my cat to the society.”

“Dimension? It spat me out somewhere else?” Ekko eyes the z-drive laying on the armchair beside you.

“Your calculations were wrong, genius.” Hobie tugs off his boots and it falls on the floor with a heavy thud. “You might've needed to stay a few more hours in that good version of Zaun.”

“Don't tease him, Hobie, it's too soon.” You nudge him, and he cracks a smile at you.

“Wh–what? You know about that?” Ekko heaves on the floor, still protecting himself with the pillow of your face.

“Yeah,” crouching down, you extend your hand with the bracelet on your palm. “Put this on and we'll explain it to you.”

Ekko eyes it for a moment, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the bracelet.

Sighing, you take it and place it on your wrist to show him that it's safe. “See? I'm fine.”

“It's not goin’ to buzz you, mate.”

“Now that you said it—” another round of static ebbs out of him, this time it's so much worse as his stomach flips upside down. Grabbing the bracelet immediately, his body settles down as he puts it on.

You smile at him as you stand up and sit down beside Hobie. All the while with Ekko eyeing the both of you suspiciously. Introducing yourself, you gesture at Hobie. “...and this is Hobie. We're spider, uh, people? We're sort of like you actually!” Your excitement is hard to conceal now.

“You're not gonna eat me, right? Because I will fight back.” Ekko says through gritted teeth.

“Fight back with the pillow that has my girl's face in it?” Hobie eggs him on, earning a pinch to his sides from you. “Ow.”

“How about we start explaining everything?” With a nod from Ekko, you start telling him about spider people in general, the gist of spider society, and the hypothesis on how he must've gotten there. “And we sorta know you because of a show we watched.”

“What fucking show—?”

“Nothin'” Hobie gazes at you, wordlessly conversing and telling you that it might cause some trouble in Ekko's dimension if you tell him that he's just a character in most dimensions. And you immediately understand, agreeing with a curt nod. “She meant that she saw you on the screens of the society and thought that you…” Hobie sucks in his teeth, trying to make up a lie on the spot. “...looked like a bloke she used to date, yeah, date.” He nods, impressed at himself. Meanwhile you're looking at him like he stole your ice cream right from your hand.

“Yeah, that.” You grimace before fixing your expression. “It's definitely that.”

“That's bullshit.” Ekko calls the two of you out immediately. “But I don't care, just get me back home.”

“Sure!” You stand up, clapping your hands. “Before that though, can I get a picture, please?”

“Love, really?”

“Yes, ‘Mr. I'm not bloody jealous.’” Hands on your waist, Hobie stands up, hands immediately wrapping around your hips to pull you towards him. “It'll be so cool.”

“‘m not jealous.”

“Says the one who's holding onto me for dear life. Definitely not jealous behavior.” Riling him up, mischief shines in his eyes.

Ekko's attention turns towards the kitchen, finding all bits and bobs interesting while you and Hobie bicker in the living room lovingly. A bit too lovingly as he walks towards a small box with flashing buttons. He tilts his head, pressing the number one as it beeps. His interest is piqued, pressing another button and almost jumping out of his skin when the small door opens.

The beeping has yours and Hobie's attention away, lips pausing right on your jaw. “That’s the microwave.” You say, and Ekko turns towards you, dipped by Hobie with his lips on your skin. He scrunches his nose at the sickeningly sweet sight. “Try pressing the green button.” You say and Hobie rests his forehead on your shoulder before straightening you up on the floor. Ekko does what you told him, and his fascination is clear on his expression as the microwave starts up.

“They grow up so fast.” Hobie murmurs, kissing your cheek before letting you go. “C’mon, Ekko, let me show you the magic of a blender.”

—

“I can't believe that you guys don't have a dishwasher or a washing machine!” You exclaim as you carefully walk on the floor covered by a hundred metallic parts while Hobie and Ekko take apart the microwave to fix his z-drive. “You guys have magic but not a machine that washes your own shit for you. That's insane.” Plopping down in between them on the floor, you hand them a glass of orange juice each. The glow of the arcane has you mesmerized, all the more reason why you avoid staring at it for long periods, so instead you gaze at the concentration on both of their faces.

“What’s insane is this food.” Ekko says, chewing the last of the quesadillas you preheated before they took apart the microwave. Hobie did promise to get a new one for you. “I've never had anything like this before.” His eyes shine and a soft smile etches on his lips.

There's pride in your chest that you've made him smile when you've only seen him make that expression a couple of times in the show. All because of store bought cheesy quesadillas and a glass of orange juice to wash it down with.

“I'd pack you some but we're all out of it.” You say apologetically, and you miss the way Hobie glances between you and Ekko with a raised brow. “Maybe I can give you a recipe, I'll find one on my phone and write it down for you!”

“Do you lot even have cheese?” Hobie says, pointing at Ekko with a screwdriver, while you take out your phone.

“We have cheese, Hobie.” Ekko rolls his eyes, taking a generous gulp of the orange juice. He purses his lips together, eyeing your phone. “What's that?”

“It's called a phone, it basically has everything.” Showing him the screen, you scroll through your gallery of cat pictures and various selfies with friends, and Hobie. “See—” you notice the sudden flustered expression on him and once you turn the phone towards you, you immediately close it, cheeks aflame while Hobie flicks his eyes towards you and the tucked phone with obvious second hand embarrassment. And maybe with a tinge of jealousy. “That— that wasn't for your eyes. I should've just shown you pictures of puppies.” You wish that the ground would swallow you into the depths.

“That—” Ekko clears his throat, avoiding your eyes. “That suit looked good on you…”

“It was a prototype…” You say, muffled as you hide your face in your hands.

Hobie quickens the screwing of the bolt in the device, jaw tight and words said under his breath. “Right!” He says too loudly, placing down the screwdriver on the floor with a resounding thud. “It's done, we're good now, ain't we, bruv?” Shoving the z-drive in Ekko's arms, he flicks it open, filling the living room in blue light. “Up you go, Ekko!”

“Wait,” you interrupt while Hobie helps Ekko stand up or make him stand up more like. “I have to write the recipe down!” Quickly trying to find a notepad, you go towards the bedroom and leave the two men alone, staring at your retreating back.

“Ekko,” Hobie says, side eyeing him. “Kindly fuck off, yeah?” The thing is, he trusts you, but he does not trust the man beside him.

Ekko smirks, brown eyes twinkling. “I'll fuck off when she wants me to, Hobie.” Hobie doesn't know if he's being genuine or riling him up just for the sake of seeing him all jealous. Ekko's eyes roam around Hobie's face and then flicks down over to his bicep before looking back to the open bedroom door.

“You little shit—”

“Got it!” You skip from the bedroom, notepad in hand with your quick chicken scrawl on it. “I don't know if you'll be able to—” you notice the sudden tension between the two when just five minutes ago they were happily yapping about electricity and various nerdy things that have endeared you. “Are you guys, okay?” You clap your hands together with the notepad in hand. “Oh, I get it! You guys are now best friends and don't want to fully leave each other yet!”

“What—?” They simultaneously say.

“How about I give you my watch, Ekko?” Before Hobie could stop you, you're already taking it off your wrist and handing it to a very smug yet confused Ekko in exchange for the blue bracelet you gave him, together with the quesadilla recipe. “I'll just tell Miguel that I lost it during a fight, he'll understand because I know I'm secretly his favourite.” You innocently smile at them as Hobie sidles up to you, eyes telling Ekko to start hauling ass out of his houseboat. All the while you grab his waist and pull him closer to you, unbeknownst to the cold war between the two punks. “Go save Piltover and Zaun, Ekko! Good luck!”

Hobie cuddles closer to you. “Yeah, go be a hero, Ekko.”

Ekko turns on the portal, sending a flurry of blues and oranges in the houseboat. “Maybe I will see you again after this.” He smiles at you, and then flicks his brown eyes towards Hobie with a bit of teasing glint, clearly adding to the man's irk.

“That would be great actually! We can all hang out again!” As you wave goodbye, Ekko sends a mock salute before stepping backwards into the portal.

Once he's out, Hobie takes you in his arms and lifts you off the floor to then waddle towards the bedroom with you in tow.

“You said we'll clean up!” You giggle, arms around his neck as he peppers kisses all over your face.

“Maybe after this.” Yep, definitely not jealous at all.

[hrrtshape]

If u had to write a shifting essay with 500 word limit, how would u write? What would u write?

Can we see a little shifting essay from u.

my silly little shifting gospel. how i walked on water (and into another reality).

let's start with the premise that reality is less a fixed structure and more a negligent landlord. a shoddy little shoebox of perception held together with cognitive duct tape, flickering between objective and subjective like a dying lightbulb. that’s the thing about shifting!!!! once you realise the scaffolding of your own existence is essentially papier-mâché, all it takes is a particularly determined gust of wind to knock you into another version of the same tragicomedy.

now, the theory. ahem. where are my fancy glasses. quantum jumping, reality shifting, reality immersion. pick your poison, they all circle the same drain. the idea that you can, enough intention, enough delusional self-assurance, step sideways into a different narrative. maybe it’s a marauders-era england where the air permanently smells like ink and chocolate. maybe it’s versailles, a perpetual dusk of powdered wigs and carefully orchestrated infidelity. maybe it’s a twin peaks of your own design, all red curtains and whispered prophecies. because, you know, the owls are here or whatever. regardless, the mechanics remain the same: you assume the role, you construct the thoughts, and if you do it confidently enough, reality takes a bow and lets you through the stage door.

people will ask. for obvious reasons. (how) does it work? which is a question with the same absurdity as ‘is art real?’ does shifting work the way a microwave works? no. but does it work the way a poem does? the way a performance does? the way love, grief, nostalgia work, messy, unquantifiable, felt more than seen? yes. shifting is not the scientific method, it's not like it's peer-reviewed. it is the theatre of the mind, and the critics are you, yourself, and the occasional manifestation coach with a three-hour youtube video explaining how water holds memory.

the brain is an unreliable narrator at best, a full-blown method actor at worst. we already shift, constantly. slipping into reverie mid-conversation, feeling like a different person in a different city, mourning something that never happened but should have. so why not take the con further? why not dress the part, rehearse the lines, make the lie so elaborate it turns into truth? manifestation is nothing more than the stubborn refusal to acknowledge the existing terms and conditions of being alive.

it is, to be perfectly clear, deeply unserious. and yet. so is the universe. einstein called time an illusion, descartes doubted his own hands, and let’s not even start on plato’s cave allegory, which is basically just ‘the truman show’ for ancient greeks. if reality itself is built on a shaky premise, what crime is it to write yourself a better one?

shifting is the art of treating reality like an improv scene. yes, and. yes, and i will slip between timelines like a card shark palming an ace. yes, and i will recalibrate the coordinates of my own existence because what is the alternative? to sit in the audience while the play goes on without me? to let the director’s cut be final? no. absolutely not. i want to be the one with the flowers in my hands.

in the end, shifting is not about physics, nor is it about dreams. it is about authorship. about stealing the pen back from the hands of whatever lazy ghostwriter has been in charge of your script thus far. it is not escapism. well, if you wish it to be, then so it shall be. but. it is creative direction. you are not running away, you are rewriting.

and if you do it right, if you really commit, you just might wake up one day in a world that finally feels like yours.

take a bow. curtain call. lights out.

[yumecel]

But that is how the guilty speak 💙

yandere!neuvillette / f!reader | 6.1k words

summary: how does neuvillette go about getting your attention? by trapping you in a kafkaesque nightmare.

reader specifics: female, she/her woman terms whatever

tags: neuvillette SUFFERS, a little angsty, pining, ooc neuvillette for the purposes of yandere, oral, he’s a gentleman all the same

a/n: so this is basically a yandere version of “the trial” by franz kafka. happy birthday neuvillette!! happy neuvillette day!

tws: yandere, stalking, dubcon, manipulation

i promise i’m 18+, i promise i read the warnings, i promise i’m okay with seeing dark content, i know one thousand curses will karmically descend on me should i lie [yes⬇️] [no↩️]

——💙——

“Chief Justice Neuvillette would like to see you today.”

For the first time in days, you let out a sigh of relief. You barely feel like you’ve been given any room to breathe ever since you woke up to the Gardes outside your door, Gardemeks in tow, arresting you for a crime… that they had not yet revealed the nature of.

You’d been detained- first within your home, then at the Palais Mermonia, being taken care of to the highest standard both times. You didn’t have to cook- meals were delivered to you in a timely fashion. Come a certain point following lunch, a hot drink and small selection of cakes would be delivered. Afternoon tea. You were being given afternoon tea as a prisoner of the law.

Were all detainments this luxurious? you had wondered, opening your daily copy of The Steambird a few days in. When you had started your stay at the Palais Mermonia, it had felt like an all-inclusive resort. Which was a shame, since it really would have been more comforting had anyone actually explained to you what was going on. You’d tried to pry this answer from the Gardes many times, but were met with indifference. Did someone slander you? Did you sleepwalk your way into criminal activity? Day by day, the firm grasp you had on innocence started to waver. It never completely slipped- no, the deep confusion presided above all else- but there were moments of wondering what could have gone so, so wrong to warrant this. You had counted all your sins, listed all your inadequacies, and failed to come to any reasonable conclusion. Within the eyes of the Gardes, you were completely at the mercy of a higher authority.

Now, after three weeks of detainment, you’d finally meet that higher authority. The only authority that now mattered to you. Well aware that most meet Chief Justice Neuvillette within the context of court, you desperately hoped these circumstances meant that nothing serious had occurred. Your most recent theory involved being in witness protection, and perhaps he’d explain-

“Come on. He’s waiting.”

Shaking out of your racing thoughts, perhaps a little maddened by the persistent loneliness and alienation, you obediently followed the Gardes. When you finally entered the room, he stood up from his desk to greet you.

“(Y/N). Come, have a seat. I have prepared tea. I trust this beverage choice is acceptable?”

You nodded, sitting down on one of the sofas where a teacup sat on the table before it.

Neuvillette had sat down opposite you, a small chalice in front of him. Midday wine?

“You can have water instead, if desired.” He said, raising the chalice before taking a sip. So it was just water?

“No, no. This is lovely. Thank you, Chief Justice Neuvillette.”

“Neuvillette is fine.”

“I see. In that case, thank you Neuvillette.”

He nods. You nod. You can’t stand staring into his eyes anymore. You pick up your teacup with a soft clank against the saucer and look down into it after taking a small sip. You hope you didn’t accidentally slurp it too loud. The room is chillingly silent, so quiet that you can hear your blood pumping. He sets his chalice down on the table. You wonder if you should speak. You decide against it.

“How are you?” Neuvillette says suddenly, almost as if remembering he even intended to ask.

“Oh, I… well, I’m fine, but I am very confused.” You respond, a small laugh following. It does little to alleviate the tension.

“I see. That is understandable, given your circumstances.” The tone isn’t cold, but it isn’t warm. It is simply spoken gently, like a hesitant hand making its way onto your shoulder.

He pauses. You nod, still looking away from him. Desperate for him to explain without seeming too concerned with your state of affairs, you meet his eyes again and are thankful when he takes this as a cue to continue speaking.

“Speaking of which, your circumstances have been difficult to navigate indeed. It is a case I have been personally reviewing since the start of your detainment. My deepest apologies for the confusion.”

Sensing sincerity in his voice, you decide to tentatively prod a little. “May I please know more about the case itself?”

He takes in a breath before continuing, gaze dropping to the floor briefly. “It is so mountainous that I am unsure where to begin. I can, however, tell you that you must be protected in order to not disturb the crime scene or convene with any third parties.”

You try to still your hands as you reach for your teacup, hardly satiated by his answer. Ruling out neither being a suspect or being a witness, it was so vague and meaningless he may as well have not answered you at all.

“I see… I think. Are you unable to divulge any details about the case to me? I- I’m sorry to be rude, it’s just, these three weeks-“ You begin, trailing off at his palm steadily raising. You silence yourself before taking another sip of the tea, willing your eyes to meet his once again as you sit back.

“There is no need for apologies. It is I who should be apologising to you. Many things about the case are strictly confidential. Guilt or innocence do not matter at this stage. Only the necessity of the actions taken.”

Your body slumps in defeat as your mouth asks the question you’ve been dreading. “Will I need to be detained any longer?”

“Yes. Indefinitely, I’m afraid.”

Fists clenching and unclenching in your lap. A sharp intake of your breath. Eyes begin to water. A desperate attempt to hide the tears is made by slouching forward, staring intently at the ground.

“It’s just that I haven’t been permitted to see my family or friends all this time, they’re probably worried about me…”

Neuvillette rises from his seat and comes quickly to your side, placing a hand on your back. You jolt, but Neuvillette does not falter. As it rubs in small circles, strangely comforting, strangely- strangely warm- he says, “Please, do not fret. It may be slightly inconvenient, but there is an alternate arrangement that would give you more freedom, should you desire it.”

Of course you desire it, of course, whatever price, you’d be willing to pay it to make this extended stay in purgatory any less isolating.

“What is it?” You sniffle.

Neuvillette remains silent for almost too long. You swear his hand presses just a little firmer on your back, almost to prevent you from sitting back up.

“An arrest via supervision. My supervision, to be precise. So long as you are by my side, any danger- whether towards you or from you- is suitably negated. Unfortunately, this does mean that you must accompany me to various trials and affairs. Would you find this satisfactory?”

Actually, it almost sounded too good to be true. You found your body relaxing. The Iudex would be looking after you, offering you a privileged view of the inner workings of his life- a topic of much discussion in Fontaine. You’d continue to eat well, you could likely communicate with others freely-

“Yes,” you say, unable to stop yourself. “I just want to be able to see my loved ones again.”

His hand finally leaves your body, leaving a residual warmth. “Very well. You may make the necessary arrangements to see these people after completing the paperwork. And… it is best if you tell them you have taken on new work at the Palais Mermonia in the meantime.”

“Of course,” you say, finally drinking the rest of your tea. “Thank you, Neuvillette.”

When he sits down at his desk, there is an almost imperceptible smile on his face. Is this the unselfish joy of helping the common folk?

“The pleasure is all mine.”

——💙——

Being permanently by Neuvillette’s side could almost be considered pleasant. There is the confinement, the unwarranted surveillance, but there are plenty of amenities alongside those.

He is not much a conversationalist, but he will speak to make your experience more bearable. Your meals come at regular intervals, and there is no shortage of things to do around the Palais Mermonia. Most days. There is, unavoidably, occasional boredom, quelled by walks outside and the arrival of new books and trinkets. He takes you to all of Furina’s plays that you can possibly attend, which you rather appreciate. Backstage, she once brings up that she’s happy Neuvillette now has a personal assistant to lighten his workload. Neuvillette does not disagree, and you nod. Beyond the remnants of her previous facade, Furina is kind and thoughtful, but you often wonder if your presence provides a comfortable buffer between her and Neuvillette. Often she talks only to you as Neuvillette stands there, watching in silence. It does make you wonder though, how despite being the ex-archon of Fontaine, even she is not privy to your situation.

Well, Furina may not be an official anymore, so perhaps there is really no need to know that you are technically Neuvillette’s prisoner rather than his assistant. Still, an accumulation of small things surrounding your circumstances grows, serving to both frighten and puzzle you.

The first is something you can never quite grow desensitised to, and it’s that… come nighttime, Neuvillette seems intent on checking if you are in bed, as if you were a child.

“I must apologise for reminding you, but it is standard practice in many prisons to ensure inmates are actually going to sleep at night.” He had told you one evening, when you tried to present your dismay as jokingly as possible. You personally feel him coming into your room (his guest room) to ensure you are adequately “tucked in” is not comparable, but you refrain from saying this.

You are also not allowed an alarm clock, so he wakes you up as part of his morning routine. The first face you see upon waking, the last face you see before sleeping.

There is also the fact that having constant access to the man in charge of your detainment should be useful in terms of information, but he doesn’t let on to anything at all.

You’re very careful not to upset Neuvillette. You are aware that your situation is a privilege, that the ease of being able to see people outside of him- simply telling him when you will be gone, where you’re going, and when you’ll be back- is a pretty good deal when compared to everyone you know finding out you’re under arrest and having to fill out paperwork to approve any actions.

Still, with every day that passes, your situation grows more nonsensical. There are never any updates on your case, though Neuvillette promises he’ll tell you as soon as he’s able to provide you with information. You continue to be in the presence of the most important authority in the entirety of Fontaine. You feel like you’re freeloading every time you eat, and end up helping Neuvillette with the simplest of tasks in his office to ease this. Your attendance to every trial, witnessing the necessary coldness of Neuvillette’s impartiality, makes the subtle way his face softens upon seeing you all the more obvious. You find yourself imagining him doing everything alone, perhaps with the occasional appearance of Furina, before your detainment. Eating most of his meals alone. Walking out after a particularly challenging trial and talking to only a few Gardes on the way. There is no such person that he approaches and asks, “Shall we depart?”- a formal question that really means Let’s go home. Nobody asks him what he’s thinking about afterwards, and there are no excuses to unwind upon reaching his residence. At the start of your detainment with him, he would comb through files immediately after removing his robes. Now he joins you on the sofa, spring water in hand as he either converses with you or listens to you flick through pages of a novel. And it’s strange to admit, but you’re starting to be able to taste the difference between each nation’s water, a symbol of your proximity to him.

You learn more about him than you thought you’d ever know. The tabloids would pay good money for any of it, but you’ve strangely started to consider him a friend rather than a jailor, and it wouldn’t feel right. Besides, you highly doubt Neuvillette would permit you to exit his supervision just to talk to disreputable reporters. You try your best to make the most of this strange existence, settling into his routine, and becoming part of his life.

One day, a melusine detective skips into his office, files in hand. It’s not one you’re unfamiliar with, having spoken to many of the melusines that enter, leave, and work in the Palais Mermonia.

“Monsieur Neuvillette, we must discuss this case a little further before proceeding.” She explains, brows furrowing, but when she looks up from the case files, you catch her eye.

“Ah, hello Miss (Y/N)! It’s lovely to see you. Monsieur Neuvillette, is Miss (Y/N) allowed to be in the room for this discussion? Or perhaps we should depart? My deepest apologies, Miss (Y/N).”

“I understand if not,” you pipe up, shuffling papers around on a table. “If it’s related to my case, or-“

“You have an active case, Miss (Y/N)?”

You’ve seen melusines forget things many times before, but this one, looks… positively puzzled.

“I… do.” You say tentatively, glancing to Neuvillette.

He looks rather stunned, but it’s only a deduction you could’ve made after weeks of seeing his face and neutral expression.

“Yes, but it has moved past the need for the Marechaussee Phantoms. It is perfectly fine for Miss (Y/N) to stay in the room.”

“Ah, I see! I hope everything resolves quickly, Miss (Y/N).”

“Thank you.” You say quietly.

You start to feel, more overwhelmingly, that there is something deeply wrong.

That night, he approaches your room for his regular checking-in of you. You’re sitting upright in bed, staring into space, thinking of how little you’ve seen of your own home in the past few months, thinking of how much of the world you now consume through a Neuvillette-vetted filter, thinking of how much gratitude you should actually feel about everything- until a gentle knock on the door stirs you.

When you tell him to come in, he wears only his slacks and dress shirt, robe abandoned, and downcast eyes.

“I regret that this is taking so long, (Y/N).”

The rain patters against your window.

You sigh quietly. “… It’s alright. You can’t help it, can you?”

A howl of wind.

“I can’t. I do wish I could.”

Lashes of rain now batter against the glass in quick succession.

“Then there’s no need to apologise.”

He stands in silence, still looking down , and you turn away from him, looking out to the dismal weather. There is such a profound sadness emanating off him that you’d do anything to take his mind off it.

“Hey, is the “hydro dragon, don’t cry” stuff real?”

You expect him to laugh and tell you no.

“Only some of the time . It’s true that I have quite a powerful connection to the waters of Fontaine.”

“What about this time?”

You look back to him, finding that he’s staring blankly ahead and out of the window.

“This time… cannot be helped.”

——💙——

“Thank you. I may just have to take you on as my real assistant when we escape our current circumstances.”

You laugh, trying to hide any sense of unease. The files you had just handed him were merely sorted by date, a task that a child could do. “There’s no need to flatter me. I know you managed perfectly fine before I was around.”

“Did I..?” He mumbles. It’s so unlike him that you do a double take.

“I mean, you sorted everything on your own, right?”

“Most of the time. Perhaps it’s more accurate to assume that I appreciate your company.”

Fighting off the surprise from the sudden compliment, you manage to say, “I appreciate yours too, Neuvillette.”

You’re unable to tell if it’s a lie. He’s more than just company. He’s your entire life, at this point.

But you see the corners of his lips twitch, and the way the sunlight seeps into his office fills the room with warmth. It’s hard not to be touched by a moment like this. It’s harder to refrain from asking about the status of your case. Something inside you, a primal form of fear and unease, steels you in the face of both challenges.

——💙——

Even though Neuvillette may be the Iudex, overseeing all legal proceedings in Fontaine, he seems to hold the nature of your case above you like some metaphysical higher power. Whilst your own autonomy belongs to the court, the Iudex acts based on his principles, and the intangible whisperings of your own proceedings. You are trapped in a state that possesses neither the luxuries of innocence nor the condemnation of guilt. You don’t often dare to proclaim innocence in front of Neuvillette- should you require to, it will be within the Opera Epiclese. In the face of the entire law, defending yourself without any knowledge of what laws have even been broken has an awful pointlessness to it.

You also don’t like bringing your case up because you swear it always rains.

Both you and Neuvillette are aware that every passing day is a test on your patience. It intensified a few weeks ago when he had turned down your request for a trip to Liyue in order to visit a friend.

“There is too much on my schedule for that week. Perhaps the following month, I will have the time to escort you.”

“Why not have someone else escort me? Surely it’s well within your power-“

He drops his pen, standing up, as if to remind you of his authority. “You would be too far away from me. Our agreement clearly states-“

“Our agreement? To protect me? To protect people from me?” You laugh bitterly. “It’s been months of this. Nothing has happened, and from my perspective, nothing has changed behind the scenes. And you’re telling me I can’t have the weekend to visit a friend on her birthday?”

He remains impassive, yet a stress in his voice betrays it. “Anything could happen, (Y/N). I ask you to respect my decision on this, and trust it is within your best interests. I am more than willing to make all the necessary arrangements to send her a gift for the meantime.”

There is nothing else to do but accept defeat. The apologies, the ordering of your favourite foods, the, “I understand you’re upset with me”, and the, “Please know I wouldn’t be doing this without reason”- all serve to put salt in the wound.

With all your free time, it was only natural that you would eventually end up picking up a law book.

You’re allowed to take any book you want so long as you return it to where you found it, but the sudden interest in Fontainian law may be… suspicious. So you slip the heavy law books between novels and case retellings, bringing them to your room where you would be away from his watchful eyes. It takes a while to ascertain the correct volume, but you eventually manage to borrow the one on Fontainian laws of arrest and detainment.

You slot a bookmark about two thirds of the way through the book.

Part Seven: Wrongful Detention.

If he notices, he doesn’t say anything. And he knows you take books often, so one missing volume shouldn’t be a cause for concern. Within the volume, you hoped to find anything that could prove your detainment was unlawful, present this to him, and… hope he agrees?

You could kick up a storm in the Palais Mermonia. Wayward comments about how the Iudex violated the law, that not all citizens of Fontaine are treated impartially. The plan would come into fruition later- for the meantime, you needed to read.

Thumbing through the pages and observing the tiny size of the text, you grimace.

——💙——

“I’m going upstairs to read.”

His gaze follows you from where you hang up your coat to where you shuffle out of your shoes.

This time, there is no, “I see. Enjoy yourself” for you to hum at before leaving the room.

“Have you been particularly immersed in a series as of late? It seems this is now the only activity you do when the workday finishes.”

“Yes,” You respond. “I’m quite into it. I need to see how it ends.”

“I understand. The detective novels of Fontaine can be quite enthralling.” He tells you, with a sense of finality. You were expecting him to ask you what the series was. You were prepared to make something up, but it appears there is no need.

You continue reading the law book, switching it out for a light novel when Neuvillette normally knocks on your door and tells you he’s getting ready to retire for the evening, and if you’d like to join him downstairs for tea. You do, bringing the novel with you so suspicion isn’t aroused.

When you return upstairs, you switch it out once more with the law book, hiding it when Neuvillette arrives to ensure you’re in bed, wait until you hear his own bedroom door close, and then take it out again.

Reading under the dim light of your portable lamp, you must’ve been so engrossed that you hardly noticed him approaching.

“Oh? Pray tell, what has kept you up so late?”

Because suddenly he’s in your doorway, no knocking, and swiftly stepping over to you and your small desk.

“I-“

“Ah, the missing volume. You know, when studying law, it is generally recommended to start from volume one, which I don’t recall you taking.”

Your eyes are frozen to the book in front of you, despite feeling Neuvillette’s imposing presence behind you.

“Part Seven…” He murmurs, a finger tracing the header on the page. He’s completely leaning over you now, and you swear you can feel hot breath tickling the top of your head. “… as I suspected.”

He swiftly closes the book before stepping back from you, telling you to get out of the chair. You’re expecting him to guide you back into bed, tell you he’ll deal with you in the morning, but he doesn’t. With a hand placed on the small of your back, he guides you out of the room, down the hallway, and down the stairs. He motions for you to sit on the sofa before he busies himself in the kitchen with making tea.

When the tea is placed in front of you, you look up. There is no anger in his eyes like you thought there would be. There is only a forlorn expression that portrays deep loneliness.

“I know I owe you an explanation.” He says, sitting down beside you. You can hardly stand to look him, but see his face turned towards you in your peripheral vision.

His arms are wrapped around you before you can stop him, and you’re hauled into his lap in a swift motion, much to your dismay. “Please relax,” he murmurs. “I won’t hurt you.”

And you stop struggling, if only out of fear, the implication that he could hurt you if he desperately wanted to. You feel his face bury itself in the crook of your neck, an intimacy so foreign that your body jolts involuntarily.

“I have failed you greatly,” He mutters into your neck, “Centuries of impartiality, and…”

His arms tighten around you, squeezing you like he’s afraid you’ll slip out and seep through the floorboards.

“One person, one person to myself… all I ask… one person I would not turn my back on for the sake of my principles, I… I am deeply sorry you had to be the unlucky individual, (Y/N).”

There is nowhere for you to run, unable to move, locked in his arms. So instead, you speak.

“From the top, we can fix this,” You whisper, knowing he’s paying earnest attention to every word. “I wouldn’t tell anyone if you let me go.”

And what good would it do anyway?

He inhales sharply, giving you another squeeze. “I cannot do that. But what can I do? Countless nights have been spent lying awake, trying to orchestrate a true, unselfish reason for you to remain by my side,”

You continue listening, not daring to speak a word through his shaking breaths.

“When the desire first arose, I thought it better to hold you between judgement and ambivalence. It went on for too long. I see that now.”

The rain outside is more intense than you’ve ever seen it. A gust of wind seems to rush through his residence, and a door slams. Desperation. It is as if the storm wishes to claw at the doors, to be let in, to wreak havoc.

“Was there ever a case?” You breathe.

“Yes. You were being framed for a theft, but it was such a baseless lie that bringing you to court would have been unnecessary. It was over before you were detained at the Palais Mermonia.”

You clench your fists so tightly that you can feel nails digging into your palms. “Why me?”

He sighs like the whole world is collapsing onto his shoulders.

“There was a certain power in keeping you prisoner. I indulged this idea, of a person that wouldn’t need to be judged, constantly in the throes of the law. Neither innocent nor guilty. I was so lonely, (Y/N). I wanted to be able to share feelings with someone. I originally brought you to the Palais Mermonia to apologise formally but the more I observed… the more I yearned for something I could not otherwise have.”

You let yourself be cradled by him, let him slowly rock you as if you’re the one in emotional turmoil. In truth, you are betrayed- and painfully bitter about it- and perhaps angry at everything, perhaps scared, but Neuvillette is the least composed you have ever seen him. Time enters becomes a trickling sludge as his grip on you loosens just enough to allow movement, and you sip tea that’s already starting to go cold.

“I can’t ask for forgiveness. But please, please stay.”

“I can’t be a prisoner forever.” You admit, hanging your head.

Because in spite of everything, all the wrongs, there is a sense of pity. A hand of yours has been involuntarily plunged deep into his heart, and now that your fingers are wrapped around the glass core, you’re afraid it may shatter. Gently, you will let him down gently, and you will be free.

“You’ve always been more than a prisoner. Promise yourself to me. Marry me. Please, don’t let me rot like this forever. I beg you.”

“M-Marry you?” You sputter.

“I know those proceedings are of great significance to humans, so perhaps for the meantime you could accept engagement. The timing of our mating doesn’t matter.”

You attempt to shuffle off his lap, but he doesn’t loosen his grip. Time for a new strategy.

“Neuvillette… I’m flattered, but you know, I’m very much mortal-“

“An easily solved problem if you choose to become my mate.”

“- well, still-“

“Could you indulge me? Please, could you lend me the honour of experiencing union and understanding, even if merely once?”

His hand slides down to your thigh, not groping, not provocatively slipping upwards, but resting, slightly trembling.

As you manage to swivel around, and stare into his draconic eyes, you find yourself faced with centuries of near-imperceptible pain. His gaze doesn’t waver. You could drown in it.

Swimmers caught in rip currents shouldn’t waste their energy swimming against them. Rather, they should allow the current to take them so they can find a safe route back to shore.

You stop swimming against the current. An act of submission to the natural world. Finally, a whisper, barely recognisable as your own voice, speaks for you.

“Alright.”

And he pulls you beneath the surface, gently laying his lips on yours, slow, sweet, and soft.

——💙——

You follow him upstairs. He had offered to carry you, but you’d declined. You don’t think he takes offence, he only nods, coaxing you up every step like he fears one wrong move will send you fleeing.

He holds the door to his bedroom open for you. “Come in, now. Make yourself comfortable.”

You take a tentative seat on the side of his bed, watching as he unbuttons his shirt- most likely an old one, a few tears clumsily sewn up along a sleeve- and when he approaches you, undoubtedly catching how your eyes rake over his chest, his hands pause at the top of your silken pyjamas.

“May I?”

When you nod, it only takes a split second for his two hands to greedily yank the edges, sending every last button flying across the room. You gasp, nearly raising your arms to cover yourself but are beat by Neuvillette’s large but slender hands suddenly kneading at your breasts. Thumbs carefully circling around the buds, then pinching, squeezing, twisting. His hands find themselves under your arms, forcing you back onto the bed- you swear your body is practically lifted at some point, all of the strength he tends to keep subdued now on full display. Loose strands of his hair tickle your face as he leans down to kiss you, a far cry from the previous one. This is a kiss borne of starvation and avarice. He’s so warm against you, you can smell a light cologne, something resembling scented woods and the sea.

“We should get these off, too.” He says, not waiting for any input before two fingers hook the elastic of your pyjama bottoms and pull down. He guides them off your thighs, letting you wriggle out of them and discard them on the bedroom floor with a weak kick until you lie fully naked beneath him. He clambers off you for a moment, merely observing your form on his bedsheets as he kneels by your side. It’s hard not to admire his beautifully sculpted body, shining in the pale moonlight. His hands guide your legs open as he repositions himself and bows down ever closer to your core, where an embarrassing amount of heat has started to build. He’s between your legs, kissing all the way up your thigh as if it were you that was the deity, sucking and biting harder the closer he comes to your slit. His hand gropes your opposite thigh to balance himself, and his face pauses- so close you feel his breath fanning over your pussy, long enough for you to raise your head and see him staring right at you with draconic pupils blown wide.

“Now, please, allow me to prove my devotion.”

That’s when a finger prods at your entrance, slipping in all too easily, lips locking around your clit and sucking tenderly. Sensing the lack of resistance, another finger joins the first, curling slightly as you jolt upwards. The breath is knocked out of your lungs, something shameful and neglected coiling tighter at your core, growing stronger as his tongue flicks at you and fingers curl.

“Neuvillette!” You gasp. His intensity bears so much contrast to the usually composed man you see in front of you. Now, between your legs, he laps at you like a man possessed.

With two fingers continuing to pump against your clenching walls, his tongue continues to work at your clit, applying pressure in all right places. He’s exploring your body, fingers wavering, changing angles, figuring out what makes you jolt, what makes you whine, and best of all, what prompts you to whisper his name like a prayer. When his pace slows and his fingers are hardly moving inside of you, you beg so sweetly for him- little “Neuvillette”s and “Please, please”s- , and he delivers. You’d never have expected him to tease so much.

It’s really just that he’s doing anything to make you speak for him. Every whimper is an admission of guilt, you do want this, you want him, and it is beyond plausible deniability. That’s why he slows. That’s why he pauses. He needs to hear you say it for him. You deduce this fairly quickly, and embarrassingly, give in to every silent demand.

When his pressure loosens, when the fingers finally slip out, you twitch, crying out his name so he can finish you off.

“Patience, dear. You’ll be taken care of soon.”

He removes himself and you shuffle around on the bed, sitting up briefly, swinging your legs over the edge of the bed and resisting the temptation to finish the job yourself. He takes a handkerchief from his nightstand to wipe himself off, ever the meticulous one, refusing to look away. His gaze pins you in place, prevents a hand from slipping down to your neglected pussy. It’s only in full of view of you that he finally fully strips himself, hardly letting you get an eyeful of his shaft before he’s pushing your chest backwards, eyes full of adoration and slipping his warm hands under your thighs, moving your legs into the air, bent at the knee. His lips press down on yours so fondly as the head of his cock prods against you.

“Lift your head for me, beloved.”

And you obey as reaches over you, tip clumsily bumping against your slit. A pillow is placed beneath your head, feather stuffed, angling you perfectly to stare into his eyes.

He wants you to look at him.

“Perfect.” He breathes, positioning himself to slide into your cunt, a hand ghosting over your own and intertwining fingers.

Neuvillette moves so slowly, almost as if he’e being careful not to break you. You feel every inch of him sink into you, one by one. You close your eyes, fluttering them open every few seconds as he moves leisurely. His own gaze refuses to deviate from you, and a thumb strokes your cheek.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have this forever?” His voice rumbles. “Have each other… forever?”

You open your mouth to respond- that’s not what we agreed to, that’s not-

But he bottoms out, pushing against you, and all you can manage is a wanton moan as you throw your head back.

In the back of your mind, you know Neuvillette is far too scrupulous to allow you to part from him after this. This is all of him, in front of you, and every inch buried inside of you. This is more than a taste of union.

He starts rocking in and out of you at a steady pace, feeling your walls clench around him. You swear you hear a growl rise from his throat, and a hand slowly starts to palm at your clit. You can feel Neuvillette’s every breath shudder through his body, every human constriction forced on his form. You can feel how he tries to control himself and move with grace, but also how his fingers simultaneously start to rub more frantically at you. Every sensation across your body is all him, all Neuvillette, a presence so overwhelming you can barely think of anything else. As you come closer to the edge, you sink into this feeling. No longer caring and with all shame abandoned, you call for him desperately, the only person that can possibly give you what you need.

And he does.

With his cock hammering in and out of you, hitting that spot that makes your toes curl and fists tighten around bedsheets, alongside his fingers rubbing against your most sensitive area, you cum so hard you see stars. You moan out his name one final time, spasming around his length as your eyes roll to the ceiling. Neuvillette continues to indulge himself within you, letting you ride out your orgasm with his persistent thrusts. He quickens, almost bordering on overstimulating you, but eventually pulls out, streaking white across your chest as he leans down and steals one final kiss. Forceful and desperate, he kisses like it’s his last chance to prove his love for you.

Perhaps it is. You feel him mutter something against your lips.

I love you.

Your stomach turns as the reality of the situation comes crashing down.

Trembling slightly and stepping back, the first question from his lips is, “Are you alright?”

It takes a short delay before you force yourself to meet his eyes, now donning an expression of concern. “Mm, yeah, just let me-“

You start to rise but Neuvillette shakes his head. “Please, let me wipe you off first.”

You end up staring blankly at the ceiling as he runs a handkerchief over you, swiping gently at your skin.

“I shall prepare a bath for us. Wait here. Relax.”

That’s the last you remember before he leaves the room. Alone with your thoughts, nothing seems to make sense. You take in all four corners of the ceiling and don’t do much else. It’s as if you’re temporarily suspended in a dreamlike state until Neuvillette reenters the room. He scoops you up from the bed and cradles you against his chest as you make your way to the bathroom. You think he presses a kiss or two against your forehead. You’re not sure. Half your body is cold, half of it is pressed against him, and you shiver in his arms. The floor beneath you moves faster.

That’s how you end up beside him in the bathtub as his hands run across your body. He doesn’t say anything to you, but the tender kisses pressed along your jawline speak for themselves.

Tonight, you will sleep in his bed. Tomorrow, you will wake up entangled in his limbs. You are to be cherished. You are to be taken care of. Nothing will change in the eyes of the public, at least not for now. But he will now have every last part of you.

You wished you had proclaimed your innocence sooner. You wish you had fought him. You could have argued that you are no less guilty than any other citizen of Fontaine, and should be treated as such. At least, if nothing else, you should’ve made a demand for fairness.

But that is how the guilty speak.

——💙——

fin. with love from yumecel. happy birthday neuvillette!! i love you!

[mauromance]

A case for Kastle | A way forward (my fan theory)

In the comics, Karen Page’s brutal death at the hands of Bullseye shattered Matt Murdock. But the MCU has a rare opportunity to subvert that fate: what if Karen doesn’t die… but fakes her death?

Instead of a corpse, she leaves behind a carefully orchestrated lie. A final, irreversible act to protect herself and the people she loves. A way to take control of a life that has been defined, over and over again, by other people’s violence.

Karen has been teetering on the edge of darkness since Daredevil Season 1, when she shot James Wesley. As more of her past is revealed—marked by guilt, grief, and survival—we see a woman constantly forced into life-or-death decisions. That history, and her relentless pursuit of truth and justice also makes her a permanent target for Wilson Fisk. To remain Karen Page is to remain vulnerable. And after Born Again opened with the devastating loss of Foggy Nelson, to kill off Karen too would feel like another lazy gut-punch. Just more pain to fuel Matt’s torment. 

But a faked death? That’s not trauma for shock value. That’s character evolution. A conscious choice that preserves Karen’s autonomy, lets her reclaim the narrative and grants her a rare gift in genre storytelling: the chance to walk away from trauma on her own terms.

Karen’s reinvention

After losing Foggy and distancing herself from Matt, Karen relocates to San Francisco, trying to rebuild a life out of the wreckage. But we know, she can’t stay away.

We’ve watched her grow: from a small-town girl with a tragic past, to a murder suspect, to Nelson & Murdock’s moral anchor, to a fearless investigative journalist at the Bulletin. Karen has reinvented herself before. But this would be her boldest reinvention yet. A total reclamation. Killing “Karen Page” allows the woman underneath to finally live.

MCU continuity

The MCU has already built the scaffolding for a story like this. Faked deaths. S.H.I.E.L.D. coverups. Clean slates. If Frank Castle can be given a second life, why not Karen? This opens the door for powerful storytelling while honouring the existing gritty, grounded, and emotionally complex tone of Daredevil and The Punisher. 

It also offers other character threads to be woven: Dinah Madani, David Leiberman, and more. A storyline where Karen fakes her death could organically pull some of those characters back in for final, meaningful resolutions without stretching plausibility.

Matt’s path forward

Karen’s "death" would devastate Matt, but it would also liberate him. It carries the emotional weight of her comic death, but with a quieter, more tragic finality. She’s not taken from him. She chooses to go. And in many ways, that choice might be even harder to bear.

But narratively, Daredevil is designed to endure. In the comics, he has loved and lost many times, and within the current state of the MCU has several romantic avenues to explore (Elektra, Kirsten McDuffie, She-Hulk, the list goes on). His romantic arc can evolve without being forced to erase or overwrite what he had with Karen.

And let’s be honest—the MCU rarely lets its heroes keep their great loves. From Star-Lord to Doctor Strange to Peter Parker, romance is often sacrificed on the altar of serialized storytelling. If Daredevil is here to stay (which it appears he is), a respectful, mature close to Matt and Karen’s chapter, one where she gets to decide when it ends, feels like the right choice.

How this ties into the Kastle ship

Frank Castle is nearing the end of his war. His body is breaking down—Born Again hints at his dependence on painkillers. His mission is losing meaning—everyone involved in the murder of his family is already dead. His grief has calcified into something quieter, heavier, more remorseful. “Look what it got me,” he tells Matt. One thread remains unresolved: his feelings for Karen.

Bullseye’s return forces a reckoning. And this time, Frank isn’t choosing between revenge and survival. He’s choosing between vengeance… and love.

In Born Again, Frank only springs into action when Karen calls on him—an unmistakable sign of his feelings for her. After their subtextually loaded moment together, their connection is further confirmed in a quiet conversation between Matt and Karen. Later, Frank is shown listening to radio chatter, monitoring the Punisher copycats. But he’s not tracking them for sport or ego. He’s listening for mentions of her. And when he hears them mention “the blonde”, and “hunting”, he moves. Because this isn't about his legacy. He couldn’t care less about that. What he cares about is protecting Karen. 

If Karen were to fake her death, it would become a natural out for Frank as well. He could finally walk away from the Punisher—not in defeat, but in purpose. He becomes her shadow. Her shield. Because let’s be honest: Karen Page, even under a new name in a new place, will still be chasing truth. Still investigating. Still lighting fires. And when things get too close, she’ll need someone who can keep her safe. Frank can give her that. And she’ll give him what he needs, too. Connection. Stability. Family.

It’s the most fitting conclusion to the slowest burn in MCU history. Not explosive. Not dramatic. Just a quiet, earned escape.

Why Kastle works

The Kastle dynamic fits perfectly because it’s not about saving each other. It’s about understanding each other. Reflecting each other. Becoming something whole, together.

Frank facing mortality: Karen represents his last chance at something more than violence.

Karen choosing agency: Faking her death isn’t surrender, it’s a declaration of autonomy.

A poetic reversal: Frank lost his family to violence. Karen refuses to be lost in the same way.

And unlike Matt, whose romantic arc resets and reboots, Frank’s emotional world is singular. Monastic. If Karen is the only person who ever made him believe peace might be possible after the tragedy of his family’s murder, then her survival becomes the final thread anchoring him to life.

A fitting farewell

This twist respects the comics’ emotional beats but refuses to fridge Karen Page. Her “death” marks the end of a chapter, not a life. It allows Matt to grieve, Frank to grow, and Karen to finally, fully reclaim herself.

And most importantly, it understands a hard truth: in the MCU, happy endings are rarely loud. Sometimes, they’re quiet. Fragile. Earned. For Karen and Frank, that ending doesn’t lie in a grave. It’s somewhere else. Somewhere far, far away from Hell’s Kitchen. 

A sunrise. A new name. A chance to be born again. 

--

Want to dive deeper? 

Coffee in the MCU

Why Karen and Frank are end game

Kastle scene breakdowns: The subtext you missed [WIP]

--

Published: April 23, 2025

Last edited: April 23, 2025

[chipmunkfanno1love]

Sonic 4 - Amy Rose's Character (*Warning* Sonic 3 Spoilers Ahead)

One element I'm most looking forward to seeing in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is the character of Amy Rose.

I was very impressed with the character's introduction in the post-credit scene of Sonic 3.

Though what we saw of Amy was limited and she doesn't even speak, we already can tell she's a strong and capable warrior who can take down a whole army of Metal Sonic's via use of her Piko Piko Hammer. It's a big change from her original Sonic CD appearance who is portrayed as more of a damsel in distress for Sonic to rescue. Here, she's the one rescuing Sonic, and with a lot of style I might add.

Even her little raised eyebrow shows me that she's got a lot of spunk and self-confidence. I can definitely see her as someone who can keep up with Sonic in terms of quips and bantering.

I've heard a lot of Amy Rose theories including ones via fan art and fan videos (some of which I'll reference and share links with you here), but I thought I may as well share my own thoughts on the character and what role I believe she'll play in the upcoming Sonic movie.

I've only just gotten into the movie franchise and my interactions with other Sonic media are limited to clips I've seen on YouTube and other places online, so my knowledge of the Sonic characters is limited. If I get something wrong, please be kind to me.

Backstory Ideas:

Where Amy's from:

One popular theory for Sonic 4 is that it will take inspiration from Sonic CD. If this is true, I'm going to assume that Amy Rose is from Little Planet, which is located above Never Lake in a mysterious location on earth.

Considering the franchise doesn't say what part of Earth Never Lake is on, I'm going to assume that movie version of Never Lake will be located in New York State as that's where Sonic ended up in the post-credit's scene. Maybe Never Lake itself is not visible on human maps as its hidden with a cloaking spell or it is known and visible to humans in this universe, but Little Planet itself is hidden with a cloaking spell and can only be revealed with magic. Maybe it orbits to Earth once every few years, decades or even centuries.

Little Planet is said to be home to the Time Stones, which gives the inhabitants the ability to travel through time. In games the stones can't leave Little Planet, but I wonder if that may change for movie version of them. Maybe Amy is the Keeper of the Time Stone's or is currently keeping them safe for the Keeper (e.g. she's the guardians protegee and/or child/adoptive child).

Apparently Little Planet is said to be like earth only it has more mystical qualities to it, which sets up nicely for my head canons about Amy and her past. There has been debate that Amy Rose may be from a distance future or perhaps an alternate universe. While I'm certainly open to those theories, I prefer that she's from the present time but has the ability to time jump via the use of the Time Stones and perhaps the Travel Rings.

Amy's history:

As other fans have speculated, I do believe that Amy could come from a warrior race much like Knuckles the Echidna, though unlike Knuckles tribe who relied completely on brute strength and used more primitive weapons like bow and arrows, Amy's tribe has use to more magical properties as a gift from the planet they inhabit. They can either wield the magic from their internal selves and/or the magic is wielded via their weapon of choice. Nonetheless most and/or all the inhabitants of Little Planet have some access to magic in some shape or form.

There's also the possibility that Amy may just had a simple life as a child rather than being raised as a warrior (though I still believe she was raised with a magical ability and/or was around others who had magical abilities). There are many who speculate that she may have known Sonic as a child and perhaps was inspired by him to become a hero herself like in the games. I personally like this theory and plan to go more into it in another post.

Amy's family:

I believe that like Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, Amy could possibly be an orphan. If they write the Resistance storyline in the movie, I imagine that perhaps Amy's parents were part of a resistance against a tyrannical enemy, e.g. Metal Sonic, Nega Eggman, Mephiles the Dark, etc., but were sadly killed in battle when she was a child (her child self could definitely be inspired by Classic Amy's design).

As a result, Amy was raised instead by other living relatives and/or perhaps an unrelated guardian like Longclaw raised Sonic before he came to live with his human adoptive parents, Tom and Maddie. Considering that Longclaw is considered the last of the Owl race, it's not likely that Amy will be adopted by another owl (unless of course the information about Longclaw being the last of her race is proven to be false). It's more likely her guardian will be another alien hedgehog or perhaps some other alien animal species.

In the Pre-Super Genesis wave of the Archie comics, Amy actually had a cousin named Rob o' the Hedge (the Mobian hedgehog version of Robin Hood) and an uncle named King O' Hedge. While I'm not sure if they could adapt these characters for Sonic Cinematic Universe as they are now no longer considered canon after the Archie comics scandal, they could possibly be the inspiration for a whole new character/s who could possibly fill in as a parental/family role for Amy:

There's also the possibility that Amy Rose has no guardians or relatives and has been living on her own since her parent's death. Maybe she's roaming around on her own for a while now and basically taken care of herself. She may be similar to Sonic in that sense.

I read some theories from fanfiction writer @ficsinhistory on Amy's character and backstory. I'm certainly open to some of the writer's theories, including the similar backstory to the Terminator franchise. I also like @bunnystarhop's idea of her possibly already having an adoptive earth family already.

Amy's role in the story:

Amy's role in Sonic 4 could be quite similar to Tails in Sonic 2 and/or maybe she is a less intense and family-friendly version of Kyle Reese's character. I imagine she's either there to protect and warn Sonic and/or she's there to help him discover his destiny in becoming the Hero of the Universe. Knowing Amy, I believe she'd be a lot gutsier than Tails and would want to play an active role in helping Sonic in his journey rather than simply warning him. I believe she has her own motives and/or something to prove in this story as well.

I could see Amy's backstory going several different directions:

Amy starts out as an optimistic but naive young warrior in training for the Resistance, who eager to prove herself as a protector for others, whether it be fighting in battle or even helping an innocent baby bird find their family. Unfortunately, she is not taken seriously by her peers as they feel she's "too young", and "too innocent" to be considered helpful to the Resistance. Perhaps she has a vision of a dark future of Metal Sonic taking over the universe, including both Earth and Little Planet. Despite others doubting her gifts, her mentor sends her to Earth to guide Sonic on his mission and to protect him from Metal Sonic. Despite Sonic also having doubts about Amy's gift, he decides to trust her for the sake of protecting his home and helping her protect hers.

Amy's home is attacked by Metal Sonic's and at the last-minute Amy's guardian (who may also have the gift of visions) tells her that she has to find Sonic as he's the only one who can stop Metal Sonic from destroying the future. Maybe Amy has her own goals of rescuing her mentor and/or people who are being held hostage by Metal Sonic and/or she hopes to fulfil her guardians' dying wish and prevent others from suffering the same fate as her mentor. Also, she may harbour guilt if she feels she's responsible for her family being captured or killed. It would give her empathy for Sonic's plight with Longclaw.

While I prefer Amy to be from the present and be a time-jumper, there's a possibility she could be from the future and travels to the present to prevent the dystopian future she lives in from happening. This could be a reference to the Terminator films, though I hope if they do these references that a romance between Sonic and Amy will not have the same tragic consequences that Sarah Conner and Kyle Reese had in their relationship. I hope Sonamy can make a future together, whether she stays in the present or continually time jumps between present and future to visit Sonic.

I've read plenty of other theories from others which could also work. Either way, as much as I want to see Sonamy romantic hints and for them to eventually become a couple (if Sega is willing to let Jeff Fowler and the SCU crew to make it happen in their films), I want Amy to have more of purpose to her story rather than simply being a potential girlfriend for Sonic. I want her to be fully fleshed out and independent character who has her own goals, desires and plans. Finding love will simply be a lovely subplot for her and Sonic. The icing on the cake if you will.

Abilities, talents and skills:

For me personally, I could see Amy with the ability to talk to animals. It could be treated as a joke where she has a conversation with animals like a human or alien creature and others look at her like she's crazy. Over time though, Amy can prove her gift to talk to animals is real and uses her gift to help Team Sonic in their missions, as well as build stronger relationships with animals like Ozzy.

A cute idea I thought of for Amy could be that she can speak some Japanese. I thought this would be adorable if Kimiko Glenn gets the part (she's not fluent in Japanese but did she speak a little for her role as Peni Park in the Spiderman universe films). Considering Sonic's source material has anime roots, I think this would be another great way to reference Japan in the film. I thought the Tokyo Chao Garden scene in Sonic 3 was just adorable and I imagine Amy speaking Japanese would be another cute anime reference.

One trait of Amy's in different Sonic media is her use of making predictions via tarot cards. This personally isn't my favourite trait of Amy's. I do not condone the use of tarot cards in real life, nor do I believe they can tell the future.

From a fictional standpoint, I can acknowledge that this is just a quirky part of Amy's character and/or she may have the ability to tell what's going to happen in the future in the Sonic universe. I honestly feel that Amy's having the ability to tell the future could work very well in Sonic 4 (especially if time travel is used in the story). Still, here are some different ways of portraying Amy's use of fortune cards that I would feel more comfortable with:

Perhaps Amy has the gift of visions and the ability to see into the future. Unfortunately, her abilities are limited to flashes of which are hard to interpret herself. Maybe her cards are not regular tarot cards, but instead are fortune cards that work in a similar fashion to Bruno Madrigal's tablets where her literal visions come up on the cards and can then be interpreted visually afterwards.

I definitely could see Amy's eyes/pupils going fully pink like Bruno's go fully green when she has visions.

I reckon like Sonic and Knuckles; Amy's eyes go an electrified pink during intense emotional moments and moments of anger as well.

2. I could see Amy's use of tarot cards purely being used for the comedic effect where she depends on them for every decision she makes and is afraid to make her own choices. Maybe Sonic could teach her to learn to take chances and to not rely on tricks said to tell her what the future holds. As a result, she decides to throw her fortune cards away and chooses to take her own chances rather than worrying what the future holds.

This fan animatic made by @spegadysquitzy on YouTube is a wonderful example of what I'm talking about:

Amy's Piko Piko Hammer:

I'm very curious about the history and backstory of Amy's Piko Piko Hammer and how it works.

From what I've seen of it in the Sonic 3 post-credit scene, it appears to be made with metal and could possibly be wielded via the use of chaos energy. I'm thinking it could be considered a sacred object, or it was a weapon personally made for Amy, and she spent a bit of time training in order to get the strength to use it properly.

Some people believe that the reason Amy has no spikes is that she removed them and used them to power her hammer. I'm open to this theory, but I also believe it could simply be that the animators haven't added her spikes yet as it's still an early design for Amy. It could also be that Amy's spikes are simply thinner and softer for a more feminine appearance. I guess we'll need to wait until Sonic 4 to get confirmation about these theories.

I wonder if Amy chose the weapon herself or perhaps it magically chose her to be its wielder. I wonder if they'll throw in the "worthiness" trope like with Thor's hammer and we'll see others struggling to lift the hammer like Sonic (I've seen fan-art of this, but I can't remember which artist did it). Maybe she's telepathically linked to her weapon, which therefore enables it to levitate to her and/or it will appear out of thin air like in Sonic X.

Either way, I'd love to learn how Amy got her famous hammer.

Personality:

Amy's personality in the Sonic Cinematic Universe has been the topic of hot debate in Sonic fandom pretty early on. There are a number of people who want her to more like her early incarnations while others are hoping for her more modern personality (e.g. Sonic Boom, Sonic Prime, Sonic Frontiers, etc).

From what I've heard, both the characters of Tails and Knuckles have a mixture of elements from both their earlier and later adaptions, e.g. in early adaptions Tails was "the kid" of the group and a Sonic fanboy and Knuckles is the serious guardian of the Master Emerald and Sonic's enemy turned ally. In later adaptions, Tails becomes a more capable gadget genius and while he's more relaxed around Sonic, remains his best friend and little brother figure. Tails manages to be a good balance of both these versions of himself.

Knuckles has had various adaptions currently, but his Sonic Boom counterpart is known as a bit of a "dumb jock" stereotype. Movie Knuckles is more intelligent than his TV counterpart but can be a bit slow on some earth knowledge and is "literal-minded" much like Drax the Destroyer from the MCU films. Therefore, he also is a good combination of both his earlier and later adaptions.

As such I believe Amy being a combination of both her earlier personality and her more modern personality is a good win-win personality wise. Maybe we could see more of her Classic Amy personality in her younger self via flashbacks but slowly see her grow into her more modern self with time progression. Maybe we could literally see her maturity growing through the use of flashbacks and character growth. Nonetheless, she still maintains some of her earlier traits in regard to her energy, enthusiasm and bubbly personality.

I honestly like how @echidnapowers explained Amy's character development in the Sonic games and hope they show Amy's character growth and maturity throughout the movie like he explained it. Hopefully they'll portray it in a natural way and not forced. The artwork belongs to his partner @hollylu-ships-it by the way.

There have been theories that Sonic 4 might have a "perfection vs imperfection" theme to it in regards showing the importance of being yourself rather than being what everyone else expects of you to please them. As such this might be demonstrated in both Sonic and Amy's storylines. I'm thinking they'll take one of these two options:

Amy is repressing parts of herself that make her the special person she is, e.g. her passion for life, her optimism, her belief in the goodness of all creatures, etc. Maybe because she was criticised or even bullied by others in Resistance with them calling her a "naive child" and "too unfocused and emotionally driven" to possibly be a good Resistance fighter. Maybe she hopes in repressing these parts of herself that she'll be taken more seriously and/or the bullying causes her to repress her true self out of fear that others will treat her just as badly. Perhaps Sonic brings out her out of her shell and she realises that her passion, love for life and her desire to protect others is the reason she wanted to fight in the Resistance in the first place. She decides to embrace who she is to the fullest, realising that it's important to be herself and that the love she feels for others (especially for Sonic) is not a weakness but a strength. She's therefore not going hide that part of herself anymore.

The other option is that she is unapologetically herself in spite of others dismissing her as a naive child and believes with all her heart that love and seeing the best in others are the makings of a true hero. Perhaps she could eventually inspire Sonic to be himself rather than acting like the flawless hero she was expecting. It's Amy's support in showing she loves Sonic just as he is that helps him to truly embrace himself as he is and therefore helps him in defeating Metal Sonic.

The main attributes I hope Amy will show:

Her endless compassion for others.

Her passionate, never give up attitude. She'd never let Sonic, or the other boys take things easy on her as she wants to be seen as their equal and doesn't want to get special treatment just because she's a girl.

Her love for nature and animals.

Her protective maternal nature. She's a true mama bear and mother hen wrapped in one.

Her hot temper: Maybe not quite at Sonic X level. Plus, she isn't as bossy. Still, I do believe she'd give Rachel a run for her money if you tick her off. Let's just say the Beware the Nice One's trope would fit her to a T.

Her belief in the power of love and her romantic side.

Her feisty, bubbly and girly personality. Though I imagine she's a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak because as girly as she is (she loves shopping, accessorising, cooking, gardening, etc) she's still treated like one of the boys. She possibly enjoys watching wrestling and loves getting involved in different sports like baseball (with some practice she becomes pretty good at batting).

Her love for Sonic - Whether they go the traditional route of her crushing first or the Reverse Sonamy option, I definitely believe her crush on Sonic and commitment to him should still be there. I personally hope they go for the mutual falling in love option for the two of them in a slow burn fashion.

I could definitely see her personality being a good blend of Maddie's and Rachel's. Like Maddie she's kind-hearted, has strong maternal instincts and has a strong bond with animals. Like Rachel, she's temperamental, strong and sassy. Like both she's feisty and is very protective of the ones she loves. I believe these 3 ladies would make an excellent team battle wise.

Characters who match movie Amy in my mind:

Rapunzel (Tangled):

Whenever I think of what I believe movie Amy to be like, immediately Rapunzel pops into my mind. I imagine her to have the same energy, passion and innocent femineity that Rapunzel has. Like her she's rather naive about the world but proves herself to be nonetheless tough and capable of taking care of herself. She's strong believer in teamwork and proves herself unstoppable when she fights in-sync with Sonic and her new friends.

Like the long-haired princess, Amy is endlessly compassionate and always looks for the best in others. Nonetheless she's no doormat and won't hesitate to give you firm word if you step out of line, and if you threaten her or her friends, she'll knock you out swiftly with her precious Piko Piko Hammer like Raps does with her frying pan.

She also has special soft spot for animals of which I'll expand upon later on.

I also imagine that like Rapunzel she's determined to make her dreams, hopes and wishes a reality and doesn't let difficulties hold her back from attaining this.

Starfire (Teen Titans cartoon version)

Cartoon Network's version of the DC superheroine, Starfire is another excellent personality comparison. She's a wonderful blend of innocence, naivety and compassion blended with ferocity, passion and power. Like Starfire, Amy is endlessly kind and compassionate, but if you get on her bad side, she's a force to be reckoned with.

Just as Starfire is unfamiliar and naïve to earth customs but is also quick to embrace it as a potential home and is excited to experience all the opportunities it has to offer, so do I also imagine this to be Amy's attitude as well. I definitely imagine her becoming endlessly excited to all the things the world has to offer like shopping malls, fashion accessories, graphic novels (like anime and manga), plus the excitement of practical technology, music and movies which Sonic is only too happy to introduce her to.

I could definitely see Amy's strong belief in the power of friendship and love being akin to Starfire's. As I mentioned earlier, I could see her having powers (even powers connected to her hammer) which are powered by her emotions. Her passion for adventure and belief in the power of love are definitely the feelings and emotions she most strongly believes in.

Whether they go the traditional route of Amy crushing on Sonic first or they do a Reverse Sonamy where he crushes on her first and then she later falls for him after they get to know each other, I imagine both platonically and romantically, Amy is devoted to Sonic as Starfire is to Robin, and even in the worst of times will stand by him. Overall, I definitely see Amy as the one who is more open and less awkward with sharing her feelings.

Kira (The Dark Crystal)

While I don't think Amy is that much like Kira, she may be like her in her connection to animals and nature. I imagine Amy can possibly talk to animals like she can.

While Kira is more mild-mannered and gentler than Amy, both girls have a determined and feisty side. They'll put the greater good above themselves and will do anything to protect the ones they love.

Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender):

Katara is the wonderful blend of strength and compassion that I imagine for Amy. Katara is brave, compassionate, maternal in nature and will never hesitate to help those in need, just like Amy. They both are similar in their physical and emotional strengths yet also have similar flaws like their hot-temper and stubbornness.

Katara's strong belief in hope matches well to Amy's belief in love. I also believe that Amy will have the same amount of faith in Sonic as Katara has in Aang, especially if they go for the save the future trope in Sonic 4.

Astrid (How to Train Your Dragon):

Astrid is probably more like Amy when comes to fighting and battle. Both women are feisty, passionate, determined, have hot-tempers and are pretty fierce with their weapon of choice (Astrid with her axe and Amy with her Piko Piko hammer), but can also be quite kind and understanding and often show that softer side with the men they love. While Amy is a million times more open to showing her softer side than Astrid is, if she ever were to start a romantic relationship with Sonic (officially becoming boyfriend and girlfriend) I imagine that the level of romance and trust between them would definitely be like Hiccup and Astrid's relationship. Best friends as well as lovers.

I will give some credit to @nightfurylover31 for their idea of movie Amy having some personality traits to Starfire and Astrid. I'll mention and refer to their link in my Sonamy discussion post.

Relationships with other characters (her relationship with Sonic I'll talk about on a different discussion page):

Knuckles: I can see both Amy and Knuckles sharing a mutual respect for each other as warriors, especially if they both came from warrior clans. While Knuckles may doubt Amy's strength and fighting prowess at first, Amy is quick to prove him wrong in the challenges they face against each other or even with each other as a team.

I definitely see Knuckles acting as a big brother figure to Amy in the sense that while he respects her as an "honourable pink hedgehog warrior" and knows she can take care of herself in battle, he nonetheless has a protective instinct of her as he does for his newfound adoptive family. I'm sure he'd be very protective of her if anyone tried to harm her.

I could see the two bonding over rom coms together (along with Wendy Whipple) and perhaps wrestling matches. I could also see them matching each other well in terms of strength as they train together. While it may take Knuckles some time to trust Amy with the knowledge of the Master Emerald, I'm sure once she proves herself trustworthy, I'm sure he'd gladly welcome her to the Team if she decides to join.

I could see him as Shipper on Deck with Sonic and Amy and I imagine him being most vocal in teasing Sonic about his crush on her. He'd also be the most vocal in terms of encouraging Sonic to prove to Amy his love for her and show himself to be worthy of her love.

Tails: As I've heard from other Sonic fans, I definitely imagine Amy and Tails having a close "big sister and little brother" type of relationship. I imagine Amy would very doting and maternal to Tails, while Tails makes Amy feel welcome into the group. I could see them working well together as they've been portrayed in games and TV shows. I do see them being very affectionate towards each other, e.g. enjoying lots of hugs and pep talks. I also see them working together on Tail's gadgets during battle plans.

I could see Amy and Tails trying to share the role as peacemakers of the group when Sonic and Knuckles start to butt heads. While Tails is always trying his best to remain calm, Amy will certainly have her more outspoken moments as she's not afraid to put her foot down. Unfortunately, poor Tails may have to try his best to calm Amy down if she ever starts to lose her temper.

I reckon that Tails (along with Knuckles, Tom and Maddie) are Shippers on Deck for Sonic and Amy. As well as him and Knuckles teasing Sonic for having a crush on Amy, I could see Tails teasing Amy as well, maybe not so differently from how he did in a Sonic Boom interview podcast. I don't think Amy would deny having a crush on Sonic, but whether she's as open and excited about it as her earlier counterpart or simply acknowledges it but says the mission comes first, I'll leave that up to the writers to decide.

This might sound out of character for Tails, but I considered the idea of the young fox possibly becoming jealous of Amy if he sees how well Sonic and Amy work together and them sharing comments like "We make a great team." Being a young child maybe he'd be fearful of Sonic leaving the team to make a new one with Amy, which I'm sure would cause him a great deal of distress. Then again, jealous or not, I trust he has enough faith in Sonic not to break up their team and I'm sure Sonic would reassure his little brother figure that this will never happen. Overall, I'm sure he'd make Amy feel that she's welcome to the team and would also make her feel like she's part of the family.

Birdie:

Tumblr artist @d3lly1000 had this head canon that Amy would have a little bird friend.

Canonically, this makes a lot of sense as Amy has a Flicky bird friend that she helped find their siblings in Sonic Adventure. The flicky bird, Birdie has also appeared in other Sonic media, including numerous versions in Sonic Prime.

A Flicky is obviously a fictional bird species made up for the Sonic franchise, whether a Flicky could be written as an alien bird or perhaps a rare Earth bird species not yet discovered (or possibly just considered very rare) by humans could be left up to debate. It really depends on whether they want to use a cartoon style bird, a photorealistic one, and/or possibly even use a real bird.

Either way, I definitely love the idea of Amy having a special little bird friend (I don't mind adding that little Disney Princess trope to her character). Maybe she saved it from being killed and a developed a strong bond it, and/or maybe it's looking for its lost family like in Sonic Adventure and Amy is keeping her promise to help them find their family, much like she could possibly be looking for her own (if say they were kidnapped by Metal Sonic or another main villain). I believe that having Birdie by her side will best show off her loving, protective and maternal nature alongside the strong warrior side shown at the end of Sonic 3.

I imagine she and Birdie are very protective of each other and are loyal companions through thick and thin. Maybe Amy can appear to understand what Birdie says, which appears to be both comical and shows their deep connection to each other.

Birdie might be wary of Sonic at first but eventually warms up to him when he proves that he's trustworthy and the little bird sees how fond the two hedgehogs are of each other.

Maybe the two will have a bittersweet goodbye if Birdie is reunited with his family, or Birdie continues to journey with Amy across the universe and instead watches her have a bittersweet goodbye with Sonic. Either way, Amy's bond and connection to Birdie is definitely a strong and unbreakable bond.

Maddie: I believe that Amy will develop a special bond with Maddie, not too different to Sonic and Tom's relationship. These two lovely ladies have a lot in common as they're both compassionate yet feisty women who will do all that they can to protect their loved ones. I could definitely see them teaming up to save the boys if they needed to, especially the men they love, Sonic and Tom.

Maddie would especially love to have a girl to dote upon and give advice to. I can definitely see the two of bonding over girly things like shopping, getting facials and spa treatments, and I reckon they'd enjoy doing Pilates and Yoga together (I reckon that Amy could match well in terms of flexibility with Maddie to the point where Sonic nicknames her "Pretzel Lady Jr.")

Though early Sonic 3 concept art show Amy Rose in her iconic red dress and therefore suggest she could be wearing it underneath her cloak (if say they re-use deleted concepts in Sonic 4), I personally love the idea of Maddie taking Amy shopping for a new outfit. This fanart comic by @risenhoku is similar to what I have in mind, though I imagine that Maddie would have to take Amy shopping to get her clothes in her size (unless she wears some hand-me-downs from Jojo or Maddie's clothes from when she was little). Either way, I definitely imagine Sonic having an awestruck "Wow!" reaction to seeing how beautiful Amy looks in her new outfit and I'm sure Maddie would notice. 🤭😏🥰 I imagine she along with Tom will be Shippers on Deck for Sonic and Amy, saying things "They're so cute together!" and "That's our future daughter-in-law."

One thing that Amy and Maddie definitely have in common is their love of animals and their strong desire to protect them. I could see the two girls embarking on their own "wildlife warrior" adventures together, e.g. them going up against poachers to protect the local wildlife and/or starting a protest against hunting for sport.

Perhaps Maddie goes looking for a vet assistant and Amy applies for the job. I imagine Maddie being very reluctant at first due to Amy's young age and lack of experience and qualifications, but Amy is not one to give up so easily. It's Amy's passion, enthusiasm and her natural talent with animals (particularly with Ozzie and her little bird friend, Birdie) that eventually win Maddie over to the idea of making the young hedgehog her assistant. Though she does insist that Amy gets the right qualifications and helps her to apply for online vet assistant courses.

I definitely believe that Amy and Maddie would make a great team and share a beautiful bond with each other.

Tom: I'm not entirely sure what Tom and Amy's relationship would be like, but I imagine that it would be start off like @risenhoku's comic where at first, he's anxious about Sonic bringing a girl home as he's not sure about how to approach the idea of his adoptive son possibly having a girlfriend. Nonetheless, he tries to be welcoming to Amy with encouragement from Maddie and the rest of his family and makes her feel at home.

Over time, Tom comes to be very accepting and even fatherly towards Amy (like a future father-in-law). He believes that the pink hedgehog is a perfect match for Sonic and even calls Amy "Sonic's Maddie" because of how much she reminds him of his wife and his own relationship with her, especially when they were younger and had just started dating.

Ozzy:

Much as Ozzy has a fondness for Sonic and his team, I definitely believe that the Wachowski's dog will have a special soft spot in his heart for Amy Rose due her natural talent and bond with animals. I imagine her relationship with Ozzie is firm (see the Tangled video from 0:42 to 1:13 and the Toy Story 2 video from 0:42 to 0:48) but also incredibly affectionate as she showers him with lots of cuddles, pats and belly rubs. I imagine Ozzie is like putty in Amy's hands, which amuses Sonic and the group.

These videos are great examples of what I imagine Amy and Ozzie's relationship being like. I could imagine Amy saying to Ozzie "Who's a good doggy?! Who's a good doggy?! Who's a good doggggggy?!" (see Toy Story 2 video from 0:48 to 0:58) as she vigorously rubs Ozzie's belly, and he lays down and wags his tail with absolute ecstasy.

I imagine with Amy's encouragement that Ozzy would embrace his braver streak and as he would protect his family, I also imagine that Ozzy would get very protective of Amy if anyone threatened her harm. 

Rachel, Jojo and Randall:

Amy and Rachel may butt heads at first, but eventually I could see the two of them developing a mutual respect for each other. Both can relate to each other as headstrong and occasionally (the occasional part being for Amy, lol) temperamental women, but Amy also has a softer and more compassionate side that reminds Rachel of her sister, Maddie.

I believe Amy will be only the alien that Rachel actually warms up to and in time I could see her becoming very protective of the young hedgehog teen. Let's just say that Rachel's attitude towards Amy's possible relationship with Sonic could be very similar towards her attitude towards her sister and brother-in-law's relationship. She'll be like: "Stay away from, Amy! You're not good enough for her!" or maybe she could be more tolerant of a relationship between the two hedgehog teens but isn't shy about making threats to Sonic like "You break that girl's heart, and I'll break every bone in your little alien body." I could see Sonic turning to Tom nervously and asking, "Is she like this with you and Maddie?" and Tom responds with, "She's worse, buddy. Much, much worse."

Amy and Jojo would have a great relationship and would love and treat each other like sisters and best friends. I definitely imagine the two of bonding over girly things and Jojo would show Amy the latest earth trends. Unlike her mother, I reckon Jojo would be a huge Shipper on Deck for Sonic and Amy. She may even be the first (or perhaps the only person) within the movie franchise to use the shipping term Sonamy. Maybe she and Amy could even start a Sonic fan club together, which either gives Sonic a big ego boost (not that he needs it, lol) and/or it could make him feel a little uncomfortable, but he soon warms up to the idea. Tails could help them in setting up a website for the club. Perhaps the fan club could even be used as alien activism in promoting for the rights aliens on earth. Sonic becomes the face of the activism page along with his friends and allies. Jojo's mother and stepfather may not be so supportive of her outspoken views at first (she becomes more outspoken with Amy's encouragement) but eventually come to respect and even agree with them with time.

From a pragmatic standpoint, I imagine that Randall would have reason not trust to Amy being that as a G.U.N agent he's supposed to see aliens as threats and capture them. While Randall might adapt this untrusting attitude towards Amy at first, with time, he not only realises that Amy is harmless, but he also finds that the two of them have a lot in common with their loving and high-spirited personalities. I could see the two of them bonding over sports (I personally imagine wrestling, baseball and martial arts are Amy's personal favourites) and possibly play some sports together.

In time, Randall may come to question G.U.N's beliefs about aliens after getting to know Amy. He may even become a defender for aliens on earth as a result of his and his new family's love and protectiveness for Amy and to lesser extent her new friends.

The Whipple family:

I imagine Amy becoming friends with Wade through her friendship with Knuckles. I believe she'd have a soft spot for the slow-witted but sweet and sensitive deputy and would always try her best to lend him a hand. In time they may build a big brother and protective little sister dynamic. They may even become closer than Wade's relationship with his biological sister, Wanda.

"Amy, you're like the sister I never had." - Wade

"Ah, Wade, don't you have, Wanda?" - Amy

(Giving Amy a deadpanned look) "Where I am losing you?"

I could personally see her helping Wade get a date with a lady he has crush on. Knuckles and Sonic may offer to help as well. I could imagine Amy saying something like this:

"I love my Sonic, but when it comes to women, he's totally clueless."

I could see Amy standing up for Wade when Wanda starts bullying him. I definitely see her putting Wanda in her place, which either gets on the FBI agents' bad side or wins her respect. Either way, I imagine that Amy and Wanda would have a complicated relationship. Maybe Amy agrees with Wade that Wanda can be "the worst" but she may also respect Wanda's devotion to being seen as a capable FBI agent (even if she often makes an idiot of herself in the process).

Wendy, I'm sure would be very welcoming to Amy into her home. The both of them would bond over their love of rom-coms and martial arts. Amy shows interest and respect for Wendy's Jewish faith and customs. I could see the two of them cooking for Shabat dinner (which I know as Sabbath) together.

I'm sure Wendy would respect Amy for putting both her children in their place when they get out of line. Over time she may even come to love Amy as a daughter and perhaps eventually a member of the family (whether it be adoptive or honorary member is open in possibility).

Agent Stone: I imagine that Amy would be kind to Agent Stone despite disapproving of his criminal actions. I'm sure she'd comfort him over missing Dr. Robotnik and be willing to help him make better decisions for his life without the doctor in it.

Amy's fate at the end of Sonic 4:

Here's a poll of the options I considered for Amy's fate at the end of the 4th movie and the most popular options that my viewers voted on:

I'd like to further discuss these options in more detail and the pros and cons of them.

Amy lives with the Wachowski's:

Amy could go live with the Wachowski family. Considering that Tom and Maddie happily invited Sonic into their home and then later added Tails and Knuckles to their household, I don't think they'd be against the idea of adding another alien to their home and family. Maddie, I imagine would definitely love to have another girl around for support when her boys get a bit much for her and she needs some girl time. I definitely could see Amy sleeping on the Wachowski's couch at least short term.

Unfortunately, I also see a few issues with Amy living with the Wachowski's:

If Amy joins the Wachowski household that would make her an adoptive sister to Tails, Knuckles and, yes, even Sonic. Considering that Sonic and Amy are hinted to have feelings for each other in various Sonic media and the SCU writers have also hinted to Sonamy being written into Sonic 4, it would be rather inappropriate for Amy to become another adoptive member of the Wachowski family. Though it's unclear if Sonic and Amy will officially become a confirmed canon couple in the movie franchise or if they are kept to the level of other Sonic media (e.g. Sonic X, Sonic Boom, Sonic Prime and Sonic Frontiers) where they simply hint to them having feelings for each other, I certainly hope that they keep an opening for Sonamy to happen in some shape or form. From the Doylist (real life) perspective, I believe it would be wiser that Amy doesn't officially move in with the Wachowski family so she can remain open to being Sonic's potential girlfriend rather than his adoptive sister.

If I gave a Watsonian (in universe) excuse for why Amy staying at the Wachowski's long term is a bad idea, it would have to be that Tom and Maddie simply don't have the room for her. I know from recently watching the Knuckles series that Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are currently sharing the attic as their bedroom. Being a teenage girl, I don't believe Amy would feel comfortable sharing a room with three boys (two of them being teenagers) and I don't believe Maddie (who understands Amy's plight) or even Tom would feel comfortable with her bunking up with their boys either. It would be a better idea that Amy has her own room for space and privacy's sake, and I'm not sure that the Wachowski's household can provide that.

Amy goes to live with Rachel, Randall and Jojo:

Another option I considered is the possibility of Amy going to live with Rachel, Randall and Jojo. As I described Amy's possible relationships with the family, I imagine that they could come to love and care about her so much that they decide to make her a member of their family.

While I really like this idea for the sake that it could help both Rachel and Randall to overcome their prejudices towards aliens in them making one a part of their family and therefore giving Jojo an adoptive sister, I also see the same issues that Amy living with the Wachowski's could have. If say, Rachel and Randall adopted Amy, it would technically make her Sonic's adoptive cousin, which could once again cause problems for Sonic and Amy in terms of potentially starting a romantic relationship in this universe.

I remember in Alvin and the Chipmunks movies they tried to find ways overcome this loophole by having Dave legally adopted the Chipmunks as his sons in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip while the Chipettes eventually moved out of the Seville household to pursue their career as hosts for American Idol, hinting that they were merely housemates and "sort of" live-in girlfriends to the Chipmunks. I do believe they could do better than this storyline as the viewers still found the setup to be rather sus as the Chipettes didn't have any other known parental figures in their lives besides Dave in this universe (in the 80's to early 2000's cartoon universe they have an adoptive elderly mother in Miss Miller).

A smarter idea could be that we are given proof that Amy still has a parental figure in her life back on her home world, but seeing how attached she's grown to earth and a certain blue speedster hedgehog who lives there, her parental figure gives her permission to stay on earth, but only on the condition that she keeps in contact with them regularly. With the help of Tails' technology Amy is able to regularly video call her parental figure and let know she's okay. This set up would therefore look more like Amy's taking part in an exchange student program and therefore isn't an official adoptive sibling or cousin of Sonic's. It could leave more of an opening for a potential romance happening between them.

Still, if either of these options don't work for Amy, here's few more options that could work.

Amy lives with and is possibly adopted by a member of the Whipple family:

I believe Wendy could be a good mother figure to Amy as they are both strong but kind warrior women who both have strong maternal instincts and a love of rom coms. I personally like the idea of Wendy making Amy her adoptive daughter as I'm sure she would make wonderful company for her now that both her biological children are grown up and out of home.

I remember @kaijuworld1954 commenting on my poll that maybe Wade could adopt Amy, especially if he has Tom to look for advice from. While I suppose that Wade could be a potential adoptive or foster parent for Amy as he's close in age to Tom (in real life Adam Pally is nine years younger than James Marsden) and could possibly look to him and Maddie for advice in raising her (Maddie in particular could step in as Amy's female role model), I personally think Amy would more see Wade as a lovable but immature older brother rather than a father figure. Of course, those are just my thoughts.

Amy returns to her home world and/or goes exploring other universes:

A more bittersweet possibility for Amy at the end of Sonic 4 is that she doesn't stay on earth and maybe either goes back to where she came from or continues exploring other universes if they make Amy an explorer of worlds like some fans have guessed she may be.

I definitely believe that this will create an absence makes the heart grow fonder connection between Sonic and Amy. It will do nicely if the writers want to create a steady slow burn for the two hedgehogs which builds up over the course of several Sonic films, which I believe is a smarter idea than making the two a couple immediately. It will certainly build up the romantic tension between them as the two miss each other while they're going on their own separate journey's and the two can also reunite for adventures and visit each other regularly.

I imagine their parting words being inspired from the Sonic Frontiers quote:

Amy: "....I know what I saw: a love that transcended time. I believe in that power. When this is over, I want to share that love with the world. Even though... it may take us far apart.” Sonic: “I know you'll do great. I want to hear all about it when you come back.”

Maybe they could change it up a bit with Sonic asking Amy if she really has to go, to which Amy replies with:

"I don't want to go, but their other planets and dimensions out there that are in need of a hero: a hero that can teach them about the power of friendship, family...and love (looks fondly at Sonic who shares her look). I believe in that power, and I believe in my heart that I need to share that power with the world. "Still... (takes Sonic's hands in her's) I'm really going to miss you, Sonic."

Sonic: "I'll miss you too, Amy."

The two hug and Amy may plant a passing kiss on Sonic's cheek which surprises but also delights him. The two promise to keep in touch and Sonic says he looks forward to hearing about Amy's adventures when she comes back to visit.

Amy lives on Earth with a totally new guardian:

These are not so much my ideas but more of a shout-out to @bunnystarhop's theory of perhaps Amy already having a friend and/or guardian that she's staying with in New York. It certainly would make things less complicated for her in terms of where she's going to live, but they've also got to introduce a brand-new character, who I hope will fit in with the rest of the human cast. Either way, I'm open for this option happening.

Shout-outs:

I'd love to give some shout-outs to theories, head canons and fan art/fan videos from:

@lucidheart3, @bunnystarhop, @daisytheflower21, @d3lly1000, @ficsinhistory, @Kexyy, @nightfurylover31, @the-sinful-voice-witch, @iwasbored777, @actionlulu, @essycogany, @palepaintersweets, @swagbonkoperaweasel, @risenhoku, @echidnapower, @hollylu-ships-it and anyone else whose name I forgot to mention.

They've got some great head canons and theories themselves which I encourage you to check out. A few of them are pretty similar to mine.

Be on the lookout for more theories from me soon. Next up will be all about Movie Sonamy.

[mariacallous]

When Trump announces an aggressive policy, he attaches to it a grotesque justification. The nonsensical fiction is supposed remain in our minds, as a button to be pushed, so that we accept violence. We will have trouble questioning lies later if we accept them when offered, because that would challenge our own sense of ourselves as not being idiots.

This is the magic of the big lie, as Hitler explained in Mein Kampf. Tell a lie so big, advised Hitler, that people will not believe that you would deceive them on such a scale. His biggest lie was that of an international Jewish conspiracy: something that could always be blamed, something that would always relieve you of responsibility. In 1939, he and his propagandists piled up the fictions about Poland. They pretended that Poland did not really exist as a state, but also that Poland was the aggressor and had started the war.

Big lies today? That Canada attacked the United States first by sending masses of fentanyl across the border. And also that Canada also does not really exist.

To be sure, fentanyl is a serious and deadly problem. It is in the third wave of America’s opioid crisis, after OxyContin and heroin. It kills people, including young people, in alarming numbers.

For a quarter century, the opioid crisis has been an essential element of the American experience. In certain parts of the country, including some I know well, one cannot carelessly bring up the subject of opioids with strangers, because of the likelihood of a recent family death.

Opioids, including fentanyl, are a preeminently American problem. We have the highest rate of opioid deaths in the world. We Americans are not only the consumers of fentanyl; we are also the the vast majority of the smugglers. Our “health care” system is in the middle of it the consuming and the smuggling. The opioid crisis began because of a moneymaking scheme by an American company, Purdue Pharma. Our commercial health care guides people towards opioids, but lacks long-term care and attention needed to prevent addiction. The addiction wave that began with Purdue’s OxyContin and continued with heroin has now reached fentanyl.

The demand for fentanyl is American, including inside the Trump White House itself. The people who live at the epicenters of the addiction crisis tend to vote Republican; without them, Trump would never have become president in the first place. Trump and Vance are attuned to the opioid issue, in the sense that they see the suffering as a political resource, as a wellspring of misery that can be directed against an enemy of choice.

Vance’s message? We must understand our own addictions as an attack from outside. It is important to understand the psychology of this. An addict will tend to blame others rather than himself. In our domestic politics, we have elevated this irresponsibility to a national verity: someone besides Americans must be to blame for America’s additions. This has now become our foreign policy. We are blaming someone else for our problems, and flailing for ever more nonsensical stories: like that Canada is to blame.

In his book, Vance tells of us his mother, a nurse, who used to be an alcoholic and was addicted to pharmaceuticals. He has chosen to make her central to his political messaging. Vance has misled the public about the essentials of his mother’s problem, blaming other countries — ‘'poison coming across our border” — for her travails. His mother’s problems had nothing to do with drugs coming from other countries.

Unlike other politicians, including some Republicans, Vance has not become an advocate of drug prevention or addiction recovery. He has instead become a champion of lying and blaming others — behaviors that he himself associates with addiction.

In his book, he instructs us that we all need to take personal responsibility and not expect the government to help us. We need to reject the “cultural movement” that urges us to blame others for our own failings. As vice-president, however, he leads that “cultural movement.” He blames other countries for what we do, and then joins in as we direct our government’s power against them.

As the extreme case of addiction reminds us, lies work because they shift responsibility. For Vance to blame other countries for his mother’s problems is a lie without foundation but with psychological appeal. For Americans to blame other countries generally for fentanyl is also an attractive displacement of responsibility.

To be sure, other countries are involved. China manufactures the basics. Two drug cartels in Mexico play a huge rule. The drug is indeed smuggled in large quantities (though usually by Americans and almost entirely for Americans) from Mexico to the United States. Although it is unreasonable to create a false distinction between guilty Mexicans and innocent Americans, it is very important to stop the supply — as the Biden administration was already doing, with some success.

The Trump administration claims that Canada deserves tariffs because of fentanyl smuggling. Vance claims that Canada is “taking advantage” of him personally by allowing drugs to cross the border. This quite extraordinary capacity for personal grievance introduces a dangerous political fantasy.

Blaming Canada is bad faith. When Trump groups Canada and Mexico together and claims that fentanyl is “pouring in” through both countries he is not telling the truth. The amount of fentanyl that passes from Canada to the United States is about 0.2% of the total -- not two percent, zero point two percent. The total amount smuggled in fiscal year 2024 would fit in one suitcase. Canada was not even mentioned in the official 2024 National Drug Threat Assesment of the Drug Enforcement Administration. As the Canadians are often too polite to point out, the real problem at the border is the illegal smuggling of American guns into Canada.

Canada has been a reliable friend and ally to the United States. Casting Canada as the villain in an American story is weird. Portraying Canada as America’s fentanyl enemy is a conspiracy theory, with no basis in empirical reality, but with firm traction in the need to blame someone else for what we ourselves have done. It is fiction on a very grand scale, on that requires an entire alternative reality to be constructed around it. Once we accept that “Canadian fentanyl” is a conspiracy theory, then America’s trade war with Canada takes on a very different resonance.

Trump and his cabinet are training the press to associate the one thing with the other: that the tariffs have to do with the fentanyl. But this is bunk. The idea that Canada sends us fentanyl and that we respond with tariffs involves such a dripping overflow of mendacity that it demands that we seek elsewhere for the truth, and urgently.

It is much more plausible to think, as former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, that tariffs are a step in a policy designed to soften up Canada for annexation. This follows from what Trump himself has said, on a number of occasions in public, and also to Trudeau in private. Trump himself is ever more persistent and direct in his claim that Canada should become the fifty-first state. Once we see that the tariffs have nothing to do with fentanyl, we can ask: why, then, all the rhetoric?

The tariff policy and the fentanyl fantasy both come from another place: the desire to annex Canada.

The fentanyl propaganda is most likely designed to prepare Americans to see Canada as an enemy. The only way for the United States to achieve such a territorial aggrandizement would be threats intending to make Canadians surrender, or an actual invasion of Canada. In such a pursuit, associating Canada with our addiction crisis is useful propaganda.

Why not blame the Canadians for what we do to ourselves? And then punish them for it? And when they do not solve an essentially American problem, as of course they cannot, then let Canadians be targeted for further lies and hatred.

The “Blame Canada” song from South Park was always a satire of America, but at least a comforting one, as it showed American self-awareness. Its last two lines: “We must blame them and cause a fuss/Before somebody thinks of blaming us!” This is now happening, as reality, and it has to be faced.

Squarely faced. Democrats in the United States sometimes take comfort from the notion that a United States with Canada added would be more likely to elect Democratic than Republican presidents. This is daft.

We should not imagine a hypothetical America that somehow just peacefully involves Canadians in our elections. We have to consider the process by which the subjugation of Canada would take place. In a world where the United States uses violence or the threat of violence to annex Canada, the colonized Canadians are not going to have the right the vote. Their country would be treated as a hostile military zone, to be exploited for its resources. And in a world of imperialism within North America, Americans too will see their rights dismissed. When an empire arises, a republic falls.

And, by the way: it is not at all clear that the United States would win such a war. Americans tend to blot out our disastrous history of invading Canada. And again, it is important not to confuse politeness with weakness. I once visited a Canadian resort town where everything aboveground was perky commerce and skiing fun. And then underground was a place where you went to throw axes. Next to me was a dad with two girls, maybe twelve and eight, who were hitting the bull’s eye. (This was an all-ages axe-throwing facility.) The axe quivering in the wood is a suggestive reality.

War with Canada is what Trump seems to have in mind. Fentanyl is not the only the big lie. That Canada does not really exist is the other. The way that this fiction is formulated is strangely Putinist. Trump's rhetoric about Canada uncannily echoes that of Russian propagandists towards Ukraine. The claim that the country is not real; that its people really want to join us; that the border is an artificial line; that history must lead to annexation... This is all familiar from Putin, as is Trump’s curious ambiguity about a neighbor: they are our brothers, they are also our enemies; they are doing terrible things to us, they also don’t really exist.

The imperialist rhetoric has to be seen for what it is, which is preparation not just for trade war but for war itself. And, it goes without saying, a disastrous one, in every sense, for everyone. (Except Putin and Xi, perhaps: the American-Canadian conflict is one way that Trump is handing them the world on a platter.)

Just because someone treats you politely and speaks your language does not mean that they want to be invaded by you. This was an underlying Russian mistake about Ukrainians. Ukrainian public culture, before the Russian invasion, was bilingual and polite. In general people simply adjusted to whichever language was most comfortable for the other person. Visiting Russians therefore had the experience of Ukrainians speaking their language, and then could arrogantly assume that this was because Ukrainians were in fact Russians and wanted to be part of Russia. I fear that Americans, or at least some Americans in the White House, are making a similar mistake.

Canada also has a polite public culture, less bilingual in practice than Ukraine’s, but unlike Ukraine’s with an official second language. Canadians, whether their first language is French or English, will naturally speak English with monolingual Americans. This is simple courtesy, but it leads Americans away from considering Canada’s differences, one of which is that the official language of its largest province is French and that the entire country has two official languages. Canadian elected officials use both, at least at the beginning of their speeches. They have to debate each other in both. The Canadian foreign minister is from Quebec. When she is talking circles around us, we don’t necessarily pause to consider that she is doing so in her second language.

Canadians tend to be (or tended to be) patient with us. Canadians know Americans well, and tend (or have tended) to see us as our best selves. All of this is to their credit; none of this means that they want to become the fifty-first state (a phrase so dumb it hurts my fingertips to type it). Canada is a very interesting and a very different country, with a very different history. Canadians have quite different institutions, and live quite different (and longer) lives. Canadians have a profound sense of who they are; anyone who suggests the contrary simply has not taken the time to come to the country or to listen with any attention.

The notion that Canada is not real is an example of the complaisant lies that imperialists tell themselves before beginning doomed wars of aggression. The specific association of Canada with fentanyl is a big lie that allows Americans to shift responsibility away to a chosen enemy and enter a world of geopolitical fantasy. Anyone who plays with the idea that Canada is not a real place or repeats the fentanyl slander is warmongering and preparing the way for North American catastrophe.

Big lies are powerful; but they are also vulnerable, at least before war begins. Wars begin with words, and we have to take words seriously, at the time when they matter most, which is now. When we see the truth of where this is all meant to go, we can prevent it: by calling out the big liars and telling the small truths.

[loveririska]

Steb Vastaya is an amphibian, not a fish.

And so, I decided to write an article where I will try to explain my theory that the peacemaker Steb, as well as some Zaunites, are amphibian vastayas. I will refer to ent LoL and anatomy.

1. Confirmation of the theory that they are Vastaya.

And so, what do we know about Vastaya.

" The vast is a group of races with sexual dimorphism, differing in shape and size. Their animal appearance depends on the place in which they have adapted, and on their animal spirit. However, if you do not take into account the differences between land, sea and air tribes, there are three types of Vastaya:

·The "bestial" Vastaya resemble other animals, but are bipedal or slightly humanoid.

· "Human-like" Vastaya are very similar to humans, especially in terms of facial features, but still retain a modest level of animalistic elements: for example, cat or fox ears, tails or feathers.

· Werewolves retain the appearance of a human or animal of their choice, but they are able to take on any form and come out of it."

As we can see, Steb and Jericho (this is the cook in Zaun) and the rest, they fit the Humanoid type. The Vastaya are heavily dependent on magic. Where does magic come from? It's simple - there is an The Void under the Zaun.(Actually, the Arcane is the brainchild of the The Void.)

" The Void - is a boundless space beyond existence. Born together with the universe itself, the The Void is the embodiment of incomprehensible nothingness from the depths of the earth. It is believed that in the bottomless darkness, deep underground, lie the first great creatures of the The Void who set foot on the surface of Runterra, dormant and invisible. After the fall of Ikatia, the abyssalborn spread throughout Shurima."

What does another Runter region have to do with it? Everything is simple. Zaun - used to be a part of Shurima. Plus, there is an artifact from Shurima hidden in the caves of the Zauna River, which Ezreal is looking for.

From all this, we conclude that the The Void is in the territory of Zaun. Vastaya needs magic. The Void = Arcane = Magic. This means that the conditions for living in Zauna and Piltover of Vastaya are suitable. Here I will give an example of another sea vastaya.

+The presence of another species of Vastaya - bats.

2. Amphibian?

I've seen many places that Stab is considered a fish... But anatomically, he is an amphibian. I would say one of the relatives of Triton and Salamanders.

And so, why isn't he a fish.

· Lack of scales. The same vasthaya on top, the mermaid, has scales. · Lack of fins? The Peacemakers' uniform is pretty tight, and I think if it had fins (except the dorsal one) they would be visible, or there would be changes in the shape itself. · The NICTITATING MEMBRANE, also known as the third eyelid. Fish, except Sharks, have no membrane...They just don't need it. The membrane should moisturize the eye, the fish are always in the water, they do not need it. (Sharks come to the surface to breathe.)

· Fish cannot live without water. As funny as it may sound, fish don't have lungs. Even lung bags. Just the gills. And their skin will not be able to stay on land without hydration. They lack sebaceous glands.

And yes, we can say that the Vastai are half-humans and they could have it all, but ... Why do Nami and her tribe live in water?

Why do I think he's an amphibian

· The third eyelid. All amphibians have it because of their habitat conditions in water and on LAND.

·Skin. It has sebaceous glands for hydration. I don't think Piltover has a maritime climate.

·Triton have a dorsal fin, but lack webbing on their paws and fins.

· Lungs. Some amphibians have lungs and gills. Plus, they breathe through their skin.

The presence of a tail is questionable. I don't think they have it.It's hard to hide a tail under your pants, unless it's thin, but then it's useless underwater.

Ears... Underwater inhabitants do not need an auricle. It will even get in the way. I think this is the human thing.

Also, human, it's warm-blooded. Fish, amphibians are cold-blooded creatures, which means that in the absence of a heat source (the sun) or in the low temperature season, they cannot function normally and go into hibernation before the onset of heat.

That's just my theory.

[misskitxx]

Necromancer Jayce who brings Viktor back to life AU

Necromancer Jayce x Zombie Viktor, heavily inspired by this work

Viktor is dead.

Jayce does not know how to exist in a world where that is true.

The words are a blade lodged in his ribs, twisting deeper every time he breathed. Dead. A clinical term, sterile, a word for dissections and autopsy reports. It doesn’t belong here, in the oily lamplight of their shared lab, where Viktor’s shadow still lingers in the smudges of equations on chalkboards, in the half-drunk cup of tea gone moldy by the sink.

Jayce had refused to let them take the body.

He’d barred the door, roared at the councilors, the enforcers, even Heimerdinger’s mournful whimpers. “You don’t get to bury him,” he’d snarled, hammer sparking in his grip . “You didn’t know him. You didn’t love him.”

Dead. A lie. A mistake. A joke in wretched taste. The lab reeks of formaldehyde and copper, of lilies left to wilt beside the lab table—their petals browned, stems slumped like broken necks.

Now, Viktor lays on their workbench, bathed in the cold glow of alchemical lamps. Jayce had washed him himself—slowly, reverently—scrubbing the blood from his lips, the soot from his hands. But death was not kind.

Jayce spends days watching him rot.

By the first night, Viktor’s skin is still warm, his lashes casting delicate shadows as if he might wake any moment. He kisses Viktor’s knuckles, his throat, his eyelids—begging the universe for a flinch, a sigh, a miracle. Presses his ear to Viktor’s chest, listening for a heartbeat. Nothing comes. “You’d hate this,” Jayce mutters, voice raw. “The theatrics. The… the waste of time.”

Viktor at his desk, sleeves rolled up, scars silvered by lamplight—a lattice of old burns, surgical incisions, the jagged kiss of shrapnel. Jayce traces them with his thumb, teasing. “You’re a walking disaster.” Viktor doesn’t look up from his schematics. “And you’re a distraction. But here we are.”

The second night, tries shaking him awake. By the third one, rigor mortis turns Viktor’s limbs to stone. Jayce pries them open anyway, intertwining their fingers together. “You’re being sentimental,” Viktor’s ghost seems to chide. “Sentiment is inefficient.” Jayce laughs, sharp and broken. Presses his lips to Viktor’s, desperate, hoping that somehow, somehow— and vomits into the sink.

Midnight in the lab, Viktor’s mouth hot against Jayce’s collarbone, teeth nipping, breath hitching. “You’re insufferable,” Viktor murmurs, but his hands are already fumbling with Jayce’s belt. “Insufferably brilliant,” Jayce corrects, pinning him to the desk. Papers scatter. Viktor laughs—a rare, unguarded sound—before silencing him with a kiss.

By the fifth, rot arrives in blooms. A violet stain spreads beneath Viktor’s collarbone, the skin splitting like overripe fruit. His lips shrivel, browning at the edges, and Jayce catches himself leaning in—still, still—hoping to taste the iron-sharp wit on his tongue. Instead, his mouth fills with the cloying sweetness of decay. By the sixth, Jayce can’t bear it.

Viktor’s finger tapping a petri dish, alive with microbial swirls. “Decay is just another form of energy,” he says, grinning. “We could harness it. Redirect it.” Jayce leans against him, cheek to his temple. “You’re mad.” “And you’re staring at my mouth.”

By the seventh, he breaks.

Viktor’s hands rest on his chest, fingers curled inward like withered petals. His lips are cracked, his throat shadowed with the bruises of rot. He is still, so horribly still. He has never been still. Viktor, his lovely Viktor, could have seemed so to a stranger. Not to Jayce—never to Jayce. Because Jayce has been reveling in his every microexpression: the pout of his lips when he thought, the subtle lean on his cane in extortion, the hands—those hands that he would catch, mid-air, and pepper with kisses as Viktor was busy explaining his new theories. Animated. Expressive. Alive.

He reaches out, almost expecting warmth, but Viktor’s skin is cold. It should not be cold. Sure, Viktor has— had certain issues with his blood circulation, and Jayce would always curse at him when he’d press his ice-cold feet against his own warm thighs. Viktor would grin, a beautiful, mischievous sight.

He swallows back bile and presses his thumb against Viktor’s palm. He remembers this hand, remembers tracing the scars along his knuckles in the late hours of the night, murmuring half-formed apologies into the space between them.

"You work too much," Jayce whispers, pressing lazy kisses to the ridges of old burns, of past failures. "You’re going to wear yourself down to nothing."

Viktor huffs a laugh, curling his fingers around Jayce’s own, squeezing just once. "And yet, here I am.”

Here he is. But not really.

Jayce clenches his jaw and forces himself back to his feet.

The book is waiting.

He does not remember finding it, only that it was there when he needed it, slick leather beneath trembling fingers, pages thick with time. The words slither into his mind, curling around his desperation like a vice. Necromancy is not magic—it is defiance, an affront to the natural order. The price is steep.

He does not care.

This is heresy, the kind that got men burned in Piltover’s history books. But Viktor’s corpse stares at the ceiling with milky, clouded eyes, and Jayce thinks, What is heresy to a man who’s already damned?

It is a cruel thing, ancient and hungry. The words crawl beneath his skin, curling into the raw spaces between grief and madness. He should not listen. He does not care.

Sacrifice the living. Mend the dead.

The ritual calls for blood.

His own.

Jayce strips to the waist, the lab’s chill biting his skin. The dagger glins—Viktor’s dagger, the one he used to pry open Hextech casings. Its edge still bears flecks of his fingerprints, still nicked from the day Viktor sliced his thumb and swore in two languages.

Blood wells from Viktor’s thumb. Jayce grabs his hand, sucking the cut clean. “You’re ridiculous,” Viktor mutters, ears reddening. “And you’re bleeding on the blueprints.” Jayce grins. “Call it a collaboration.”

The first cut is a confession.

He drags the blade down his sternum, hissing as blood wells. ”Vertical incision… to bridge the veil,” he recites, voice steadier than his hands. The next cuts are symbols: jagged glyphs over his heart, spirals down his ribs. His blood drips onto Viktor’s body, sizzling where it strikes rot, knitting muscle where it meets bone.

The dagger bites deep. Flesh splits. Blood spills in thick, sluggish rivers down his arms, over his ribs, staining the floor beneath him in crimson offering. His hands shake, his breath comes in gasps, but he does not stop. The sigils must be carved deep, must be perfect.

The final cut is a vow.

Jayce slices his palm open, presses it to Viktor’s. Their blood mingles, black and crimson. The room thrums, pressure building until the windows shatter. Glass rains down. Viktor’s chest jerks, and Jayce stumbles forward, pressing his shaking hands to Viktor’s face. The cold is worse now. It leeches into his fingertips, seeps into his bones. His throat is raw. His skin burns.

“Come back to me,” he breathes, voice breaking.

Continue reading on AO3!

[cjrae]

Tragedy of the Jade Nightingale. Or: My thoughts on Vol. 11 of the Apothecary Diaries.

Given that this volume just came out in English a few days ago, spoilers under the cut!

I usually think of the Apothecary Diaries volumes as pairs - usually two volumes make up an arc. If so, Volume 11 will be the first half of the arc with 12, but it also functions beautifully as a tragedy in it's own right.

** I will be only discussing information appearing officially through Vol. 11. Yes, I have read the fan translations of the web novels, but given that details can change, until it appears in official English translation, I won't yet be including it here.

The Hero

Gyoku-ou. Talk about someone who thinks he's smarter than he actually is. We knew this guy was a threat all the way back in Vol. 8, with how Gyokuyou reacted to her brother's letter and his veiled insult of sending a younger version of herself to catch either her husband's attention or the Imperial Brother's. Now we get to see him in action and he's scary - right up until he's not.

This man is charismatic as anything - he understands what makes people tick on both an individual level as well as a social level. His ability to wield a mob effectively makes him extremely dangerous, but I'm oddly put in mind of Lakan's initial impression of Fengxian. "This woman is strong, but she only knows how to fight in her own, small world."

The world Gyoku-ou inhabits is a very small, petty one. You can see it in his conspiracy theory about Jinshi's birth.

Jinshi is one of two people Gyoku-ou fails to read. When he brings Lakan and Jinshi to his puppet council to gauge support for attacking Shaoh, he thinks he's got a young malcontent in his hands, someone who wants power and is prone to the flashes of temper and insult that often drive young men. Someone who is easily manipulated. Instead, Jinshi mops the floor with him in that meeting, cutting Lakan's support out from under Gyoku-ou and making it clear that his priority is peace above war.

This doesn't take away from Gyoku-ou's political genius - this meeting teaches him that Jinshi has to be maneuvered around, rather than maneuvered directly. If the Imperial Brother doesn't want to play his part, then too bad. Gyoku-ou will see to it that Jinshi is hedged in all directions except where he wants him to go - which is to war. And even then, he's got a fight on his hands as Jinshi fully takes advantage of Empress Gyokuyou's information to undercut Gyoku-ou's support within his own family.

It's a mark of Jinshi's political skill that Gyoku-ou's move in that family council is to flirt with treason. If he can't maneuver the Imperial family through Jinshi, then he shifts tactics to turn Jinshi (and the rest of the Imperial Family) into the villain of his piece - a prince born and raised into utter depravity.

Let's just sit with what Gyoku-ou suggests to the rest of his siblings (minus the Empress) in that meeting. He implies that the Emperor impregnated his own mother in order to produce an heir. A son that he loves so dearly (and unnaturally) that he would willingly look the other way while Jinshi murders his other children in order to make sure that his brother-son-lover succeeds the throne.

This is a brilliant examination of how the bare facts of the situation can be construed by people with very different motivations to fit whatever worldview is most convenient for them. I'm a fan of the palace politics in this series because they feel very real.

Gyoku-ou doesn't lie once. But boy does he create a narrative that suits his purposes and dares anyone (namely Rikuson) to tell Jinshi. He is escalating the situation and he's doing it fast, while also challenging the legitimacy of the Imperial Family. A fact which, if it does get back to Jinshi (or the Emperor), could get the entire new You Clan wiped out just as fast as the Yi Clan was. This scene functions as a microcosm of Gyoku-ou's two fundamental character flaws; his short term thinking and his utter self-absorption.

Becoming The Wind

Since Rikuson was introduced in Vol. 5, he's been a mirror for Jinshi. He's a "pretty boy," calm under pressure, fundamentally kind and decent to other people while also being extremely competent at his job. Unlike Jinshi, he's also a bit older and more mature. He also clearly admires Maomao and sees the qualities that make her exceptional, despite her various masks.

As it turns out, Rikuson mirrors Jinshi in another important sense too - he also has a secret identity. The Yi Clan were the de facto royalty of the Western Capital and Rikuson is one of the direct survivors of the clan. He was never in the line of succession given the Yi Clan's matrilineal structure. But they were quick enough to save some of the children, namely Rikuson and Empress Gyokuyou's three ladies in waiting, Haku'u, Koku'u and Seki'u.

Rikuson, who was Gyoku-ou's excuse to trick His Former Majesty into giving him the authorization to destroy the Yi Clan. Rather than truly being an bastard Imperial prince, he's a young pawn in Gyoku-ou's hands to whip up an armed mob to hunt Rikuson down - and his mother and sister give their lives to ensure his survival - not for vengeance, but so that the Yi Clan's mission of protecting the west will live on even if the named clan itself dies. So, like Jinshi, he is dedicated to the welfare of the people above all else.

The trouble with relying on an unruly mob is that it's sloppy. Gyoku-ou left multiple survivors and they have absolutely no love for him. He's left weapons at his back.

Rikuson is the other person Gyoku-ou utterly fails to read. He spends well over a year back in his homeland, working for Gyoku-ou as an aide ostensibly from the central region, patiently waiting for an opening - even as Gyoku-ou, who knows that Rikuson has to be assigned to the west with some kind of ulterior motive, is so blind that he thinks he must be a secret member of the La Clan, rather than the Yi boy he tried to kill seventeen years earlier.

Rikuson represents the culmination Gyoku-ou's short term thinking in that he doesn't bother to think about the threat of any surviving Yi clan might pose to him.

He will not insult his mother's memory, or his sister's. But if his mission of protecting the west coincides with vengeance for his family? Sure enough, Gyoku-ou's insistence on going to war (and dragging the Imperial family's legitimacy into his motivations) gives Rikuson his opening; especially because he isn't a vigilante.

He is acting under orders.

The New You

Rikuson's point about Gyoku-ou's life being a tragedy hits home when you consider Gyokuyou's thoughts of how she knows her father loves her - but would also abandon her in a heartbeat if she is no longer valuable to him. Unlike her older brother, she has a very clear-eyed view of how their father operates and focuses on making sure that her value never drops in his eyes.

Gyoku-ou's value to Gyoku'en plummeted the day he destroyed the Yi Clan - Gyoku'en's family. He was given a second chance to show that he could still perform the single function of the men of the Yi Clan - to protect the west. When he endangered it instead, Gyoku'en sent the weapon he'd spent seventeen years preparing (Rikuson) with an execution order.

By first destroying the Yi Clan and then following it up with a proposed invasion of Shaoh, Gyoku-ou proved to Gyoku'en that he was no son of his. Given how desperate he was to be his father's son, this whole book is a tragedy in the classic sense. The Jade Nightingale was so desperate to reinvent himself as a Jade Eagle that he destroyed himself in pursuit of the one thing he never lost - his father's love. But, to be his father's heir, what he needed was Gyoku'en's trust and respect, not his love.

And he killed that seventeen years ago along with the Yi Clan.

Ironically, the foreign born girl that he despised and attempted to undermine at every opportunity, emerges as their father's true heir and mother of the nation, with the rest of the surviving Yi clan as part of her loyal retinue.

In her triumph, the Yi Clan is reborn as the You Clan as Gyoku'en, a Yi man, is given a clan name on the strength of Gyokuyou's role as Empress. So much of their history has been lost, down to the matrilineal succession and family records, but their mission lives on through the Yi men who will continue to protect the west, no matter the personal cost to themselves. There is no room for self-absorption here, therefore Gyoku-ou has no place in their new clan.

Also, a parallel to pay attention to is how the destruction of the Yi Clan and the Shi Clan are mirroring each other with the children being saved. The Yi Clan is reborn with a new name, which leads one to wonder what the consequences of saving those Shi children will be long term.

A Dagger In The Dark

Gyoku-ou sucks up a lot of air in Vol. 11 because he is driving the action - Jinshi, Maomao and their party are all stuck reacting to him, except for one character; Chue.

We see Chue attach herself to Maomao starting with the ship and it's not difficult to guess that just as Lihaku is serving as a discreet bodyguard for Maomao on Jinshi's orders, Chue is also there as protection. Chue doesn't try to conceal that she is clearly trained in espionage either.

Rikuson's proposal to Maomao is not a serious bid for her hand, but nor is it a joke - it's a message to Chue that Jinshi needs to tighten security around Maomao. As he puts it, he knows the "hyper protective" elements around her will close ranks. Because he's foreseen a strategy that may not have yet occurred to Gyoku-ou (who tends not to pay attention to the bit parts of the play), but if it does would almost certainly push the country into war.

Maomao is the lever that could move both Lakan and Jinshi.

All he has to do is kill her and make it look like a foreign attack. Lakan's instinctive ability to read a situation and Jinshi's formidable investigative skills would likely be dulled in the face of their rage and grief. Especially since they are technically Gyoku-ou's guests and don't have freedom of movement to push the issue.

Rikuson seizes his opportunity before Gyoku-ou can continue to escalate, but he realizes quickly that Chue arranged the stage and was there as both spy and backup assassin. (I think it's safe to say that Gyoku-ou's conspiracy theory AND that Yi family ledger will be reported, given that we know there were ladies-in-waiting at the meeting and that's how Chue was disguised - and she didn't actually promise to dispose of it).

Gyoku-ou doesn't bother to think that while the Emperor may be far away and the Imperial Brother is a manageable threat, that the people surrounding Jinshi may not be bound by his strictures. Hence, Chue was on standby. No matter what, Gyoku-ou was never going to make it to that ritual. He was never smart enough to realize that his crossing the line would be never be forgiven.

While Jinshi would order an execution if necessary (and has in the past), he would never order an assassination. Therefore, it's evident that Chue reports to someone else. Who that someone is, we don't know, but there's only one person further up the Imperial tree than Jinshi, so it would be reasonable for Rikuson to assume that the Emperor has placed additional protection around not just Jinshi, but Maomao.

Exclusive: Baby Swap!

Jinshi's birth is not a secret to the audience and while Maomao doesn't have confirmation, she's pretty certain of her suspicion. This volume made it patently obvious that there are others out there who are perfectly capable of putting the pieces together, even if the details are twisted.

Let's return to Gyoku-ou's conspiracy theory.

He's put together all the correct pieces. The Emperor's attitude toward Jinshi makes no sense in a traditional palace setting - a much younger, handsome, charismatic and competent brother? That's a threat to the Emperor and his direct line. But Jinshi is never treated that way - instead he's indulged on many fronts.

He's allowed to duck most of his official duties as Ka Zuigetsu (except for a few he can't, where he appears masked).

He's allowed to pretend to be a eunuch for six years and run the Rear Palace.

When he finally reveals himself to the court to put down the Shi Rebellion, he's described as "hale" and "just as proficient in the military arts as the administrative." (More proof that Jinshi is NOT the best judge of his own abilities). He emerges fully formed into court politics - a perfectly trained Crown Prince - only to have a newborn given the title instead.

Gyoku-ou deliberately put the worst possible spin on these facts. I suspect the rest of the You siblings are going to keep their mouths shut about Gyoku-ou's ugly theory, but if he could think of it, if Maomao could think of it with just seeing Jinshi standing next to Lady Ah-Duo, then so can others.

Maomao can be mad about Jinshi branding himself all she wants, but it's currently looking like an absolutely BRILLIANT move on Jinshi's part. Whatever doubts Gyoku-ou managed to plant about Jinshi and the Emperor's motives with the rest of the You clan siblings, Empress Gyokuyou is not likely to entertain it.

Also, it got the Emperor to essentially "banish" Jinshi to the edges of the Empire shortly after his new Crown Prince was born, which makes it look to other members of the court like the Emperor is taking steps to rein in his younger brother and balances the factions that have to be forming back in the capital.

This is not a secret that can be kept forever. No matter how careful Ah-Duo and Anshi were, the information is starting to leak out around the edges, as we see that the Empress' ladies in waiting that were dismissed clearly had eyes and ears - and in at least one case, a loose tongue.

The next arc is being seeded and Jinshi is inching closer and closer to that throne. He ran the Rear Palace for years (essentially managing the nation in microcosm) and as of the end of Vol. 11, he's now stepping up to govern a province and gain actual ruling experience while also having suppressed a war.

I've said before that Jinshi ascending the throne is the bad ending - if there is a single person who is more trapped by the palace than the prince, it's the emperor. We'll see what happens!

[cryingpariah]

I would like to introduce to you a head canon or theory (really it’s a crackpot idea)

What if Koby is Rock’s Grandson?

That sounds incredibly stupid but hear me out. Koby has been rapidly growing in power since he started training with Garp, of course anyone who trains under Garp is going to be strong but Koby is different.

Koby is advancing in power fairly quickly, he knows some of the 6 powers, has great observation Haki, and he’s got enough Armament Haki control to pull of one of these

Koby is special, both for the fact that he trains harder than others and also seems to gain power better than others. Helmeppo had the same training from Garp (though Bogard probably taught him more of the sword skills) and he can pull off a small version of this move.

Helmeppo is strong yes and I’d say he’s most above most other marines, but he’s not near Koby’s level. Sure we can say this is because of Koby’s extra training and determination (and I fully support that too) but there’s something about Koby that feels important.

Now let’s take a look at Rocks

Rocks and Koby share a pretty similar facial shape don’t you think? Flat chin, and a similar nose, even their hair right now looks kinda similar.

If you think it’s just cause of the intense look on Koby’s face here’s another picture for comparison

Heck we could even call Koby the Rocks. D Xebec of the marines cause of how much he’s definitely going to stir things up for the organization. He (along with many others) will tear down the organization and remake it in a bold and powerful move. Just like how Rocks shook the world when he was alive.

Narratively this would also be an amazing parallel too, The Grandson of Rocks being taught by one of his greatest foes and Luffy becoming the Rocks (only in influence) of the new era.

As for Koby’s parents, well One Piece is full of orphans. Odds are he never met them or he was very young when he lost them.

(Thoughts? I like this Little Theory of mine but I have nothing to base it on)

Rocks D Koby has got quite the ring to it can’t lie. Plus Koby being a member of D clan would make sense, they are known for making history and shaking things up…

Also the idea of Koby and Luffy both embodying different aspects of the major players of the previous is just chefs kiss I love it very much!

I’m pretty sure it was recently revealed that Koby, just like a bunch of powerhouses in the world of One Piece, comes from the East Blue. The only downside to this theory is this could potentially mean Koby is related to Blackbeard which…ew. If we go by the Rocks D Crocodile theory and add the Crocodad on top of that would make Luffy and Koby half siblings !! (RIP to LuKoby nation if it’s real 🫡🫡) (also omg siblings on opposites sides of the war trope 😭😭😭)

In terms of actual canon potential this is (objectively) on the lower side of the spectrum but if we follow the rule of cool and kinda silly that One Piece often does…I say this could very well happen!

[6okuto-moved]

Hi, I really love your headcanons for Touchstarved, they’re so great!! If it hasn’t been requested yet, may I please request Leander falling in love headcanons?

LEANDER FALLING IN LOVE

gn!reader | thank u!!!! \o/ es leander time :-]

don't know how to describe this. for ais + vere + kuras, romantic feelings develop somewhere in the process (ais and vere generally love being little shits so they could've liked you from the start.) but for leander, it's clear he's kinda into you from the beginning. LOL

this doesn't necessarily mean the relationship will develop super fast! leander pays attention and keeps a pace you're comfortable with, though he doesn't shy away from your flirtations (might be surprised, but then he'll smile/laugh and flirt back) or physical touch if you go for it. he loves it even!

one moment is him wooing you with magic...again... another flower! multiple, even! little fireworks! stars! a trail of flickering lights where you find him waiting for you at the end! you can show you're genuinely touched or tease him about it (is a lot of your job doing little magic shows? / is a flower the best you can do?) and he says he'll do something even bigger next time

another moment might be you taking charge in some way. telling him to back down/up, defending him, asking to take the lead for one of your adventures. it isn't often that leander's offered the option to be anything but a leader, much less told not to be. he offers advice but generally follows your lead, and is it weird for him to say that it was really attractive when you told that guy to pay attention to you, not him?

it all just seems too good to be true, he's too good to be true. so you're wary, even if you do really really want to get close or kiss him etc etc. and leander can tell, of course, so he'll just keep trying to prove himself to you

there has to be a moment where you find out how and why he does things for free—why he's the renowned leader of the Bloodhounds. that's not for me to figure out though! i am not a theorist [heart emoji]

But :3 I will offer :3 leander protecting his people above ground isn't a rare sight. leander getting super ticked off or cold is. he's all but mastered his charm and negotiations, until you're involved, and the bloodhound leader might resemble his rumors more in that moment :3c

he doesn't really run from his feelings? he knows he likes you, and that you like him too, so he doesn't see a reason to beat around the bush there. the problems lie with his gang business and possible necromancy if the theories are true, so we'll have to see about. That because there could definitely be some kind of fight or confrontation between you two depending on what he's doing

but anyway. when the time finally comes, he tells you being with him will put a target on your back, but he promises to protect you, even more so than he has been.

plus! he hasn't taken you on a proper date yet! you didn't think hanging out at the bar or looking for books or sneaking into buildings was the best he could do, did you?

! having a hard time choosing how everyone finds out he has a partner now. he could make an announcement at the wet wick if you're comfortable with it, making your spot in the gang official. it could be that people were already gossiping/betting on when it happens, and when he kisses your temple at the bar someone sees and cheers. it's really up to you! i think he's happy with whatever you'd like :3

so! leander's into you. when does he realize he's In Love with you

because i don't think he really had a Serious Relationship in his plans LOL. and that's nothing against you!! he regrets nothing!! it's just... there's things to figure out, priorities to be made, long term plans that have to be accounted for

i'm kind of imagining like. an oh shit moment. he may not say that but the emotional impact is that level

yes he was always interested in you, but it's obviously getting more serious, because he's thinking of the mundane? if that makes sense. like it isn't just that he likes holding your hand or kissing you, it's that he imagines it when he's tired and uses the thought of seeing you again as comfort. it isn't just that he'd love to wow you and take you on a date, it's that he's wondering if you'd mind going on some errands with him. he's fitting you into every area of his life in his head rather than trying to keep you separate

and at some point it just clicks in leander's head.

he can be the one to say it first! might even be the same day he realizes. you're taking a nap and he says "i love you," just to try it out. it feels a little weird but not unwelcome, and now he has to figure out when to say it while you're conscious LOL

if you say it he [ ! ] [ :) ]. maybe sighs and makes a joke about you beating him to it, but says it back sincerely :3