#that for like a minute i lived in a world where major character death doesn't exist

[neosatsuma]

*manga-reader watching an anime voice* but maybe this time it won't happen like that

[judesmoonbeauty]

My Thoughts & Spoilers On Jude's Route

This will contain detailed major route spoilers. If you do not want to be spoiled, please move on because I will not be filtering my review. Also, not all spoilers and details are being shared. This is intentional. Bear in mind this is written prior to my thoroughly translating his route, so the translation may have some adjustments to this information.

So, I really LOVED it!! It's a very good storyline. Am I biased? Yes. However, whether you're romantically interested in Jude or not, I feel like you'll like in route in general. I do highly recommend reading his and Ellis' Past Records before his route if you can. His route does bring up clips from PR, but it's very minimal and there's a lot of context and extra details in PR that you don't get in this MS. I did my best with this, but my thoughts are still every where, so if it doesn't make sense. My bad.

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers....of sorts?, Slow-burn. Key Side Villain Characters: Ellis, Nica, Victor New Side Characters For His Route: Theodore Walker, Gilbert Murphy, Oswald Simmons Love Language: Physical Touch (I'd just like to say that I called this.) Who Falls in Love First: Kate First Kiss: Kate Kisses Jude First Full Snu-Snu: Chapter 24 Both Premium ends Jude's Fate Tragic End: He will die bearing a grudge against/hating the world. Route CW: Violence, Smoking, CA, Neglect, Mentions of a child's death. Jude's Age: 28-30. Jude's Heritage: Irish-British Jude's Curse: 13th Fairy (An endless cycle of hatred) Jude's Fated End: To die with a hatred/resentment against the world.

Plot: In a nutshell, Kate is trying to find one good thing to like about Jude prior to her term of FTK (fairytale keeper) ending, as per their first promise made together. If she finds one, Jude must fulfill any one request she has. Amidst working for both Crown and Raven, Kate tries to come into her own in terms of standing as Jude's equal, seeing the world as he does, and essentially saving him from not only own his death wish, but from being framed for treason against their country.

My thoughts: Jude's route is very lively, it's got a healthy amount of funny moments, action packed moments, and it's quite wholesome overall. However, it still retains some darkness in the sense of his past, and the fact that he's literally on this tightrope of life and death.

Kate: She is not afraid of voicing her thoughts and feelings, or speaking sarcastically to Jude. I almost died when I read that she stuck her tongue out at him LOL. There's this scene where Ellis tells her she's thinking out loud when she doesn't realize it, so she apologizes. A few minutes later after she greets Theodore, she sees Jude behind him:

Kate: ....And thanks for your hard work too, Jude. Jude: Can ya please stop greet me so sourly? Makes me wanna vomit my mornin' tea. Kate: I wonder if I'm under a curse that'll kill me if I don't say something sarcastically...

So, she is very courageous and gutsy, but she also thinks things through. There are times where she wants to act because she loves Jude and wants to be there for him, but she also knows not to act rashly because her movements can hurt him and Crown, so she opts to bide her time instead.

Out of all of her versions, I think she is the one who gets the most frustrated, the most angry, and laughs the most at certain situations such as getting locked in the office with Jude. She is very optimistic and kind, but not saintly kind.

She is a fighter. She learns self-defense and how to use a gun, a lot this takes place off screen, but she does develop this over time. Which is nice because it's more realistic.

Jude & Kate Relationship: Starts off very rough, and I say it's an enemies to lovers trope, but no one actually hates the other person, they simply don't get a long and it has that vibe. Jude is trying to kick her out of Crown, and Kate is trying to find something she likes about him.

Overall, they bicker and banter a lot. It's cute because in MLE Kate says, "If I say one thing, he has 10 things to say", and in BLE Jude says, "If I say one thing, she's got 10 things to say." They're adorable together.

One scene I loved was when Jude is being attacked by a group of thugs in his office after closing hours, and Kate barges in with her gun. She yells at the men to stop what they're doing, and then she tells Jude to step away from them. And so, Jude and Kate are having this full blown conversation as they're surrounded by these thugs as to why she is at his office, who's fault it is, etc, etc. And when the head thug starts to complain, both Jude and Kate say, "Shut up!" at the same time. This seems like it actually becomes a thing for them, they say it in MLE as well.

Were they childhood friends? No. That was an AU thing only, and a clever misdirection from Cybird. I think key take aways from Dark IF and Prison IF are that they made promises to each other, and that Kate tries to return to little Jude in Prison IF. Additionally, it does hint that two children were involved in Jude's past, just the other wasn't Kate, it's his sister. While some may be disappointed by this, I loved that it turned out this way, it surprised me.

Love Language: Physical. Touch. Lemme say it again. Physical Touch. While their relationship is a slow burn, it's not without it's tension along the way, and the pay off is hella worth in my opinion. I just knew that Jude was going to tear into her, and he does.

But more importantly, Jude touches Kate a lot especially before missions. For example, in BLE just before Kate goes undercover at a criminal organization that is using Raven products, she and Jude are in his office reviewing the plans, and while he does this, he touches her bare skin, kiss or bite her, and then after the mission he'll make love to her. Why? Because Kate made another promise to Jude earlier in the route that she would never die before him, so he doesn't have to suffering loss ever again. So, prior to any missions, he'll touch her up to a certain point like a promise she won't die, and then finish once she returns safely. I can't...he's so damn precious.

They love each other very very much, but Jude doesn't like saying the words. "I love you." Not because he's a tsun, but because they're easily said. So, he'll convey his love to Kate with words like, "I'm taking you to hell with me." If you read his side stories, he'll tell you just how much he loves her, and he admits that there is no other woman in the world that he could ever love like her.

Important Side Characters: Theodore Walker: 21 y/o and he works in the sales department at Raven. Every one calls him Theo, even Kate. It seems that he's worked for Jude for a long time as well. He's very personable, and chatty, and he gets nervous about things like when the president forgets his custom fountain pen as he's on his way to business meetings. He even says to Kate and Jude that Kate is his type, and everyone is like.....um what? I'm really happy that Theodore isn't a traitor. I like him. I thought Cybird would use him the way that contract worker in Jude's first story event would be used. But no, he's just a loyal young man who cares about his job. I hope to see him again.

Oswald Simmons: He is the doctor who treated Jude and his sister after Jude memorized an entire medical textbook in a week. After Jude's sister was sold off, Jude ran to Oswald and asked that if he put Jude through school, let him lodge with him and provide him food, then Jude would pay him back with interest. Oswald agrees and in time, Jude does pay him back with interest. Oswald treats everyone equally, and he finds Jude's intelligence and ability to memorize things amusing. While he does not offer to take Jude in of his own initiative, Oswald does have a soft spot for Jude, as he tries to gift Jude a new pocket watch upon graduation and the success of his new company. He even tries to dissuade Jude from seeking revenge that will only force Jude into be lonely. In the route, he tells Kate to relay a message to Jude, that if he ever gets into a pinch to comeback and he'll give Jude a run for his money. To this day, Oswald still has the watch that Jude refused to take.

I honestly, hope that they reunite one day. Jude doesn't wish Oswald any ill-will (though he calls him a weirdo), and he wished Oswald a long life when he said goodbye.

Gilbert Murphy: He is a high-ranking officer of the British military who colludes with the Privy Council and a criminal organization to frame Jude treason and building military weapons. However, Gilbert truly does think that Jude is going to the moon for monetary purposes. While he is being an asshole for framing my beloved, his motives are to protect the people from potential weapons that can be created with Jude's research. Still, it's sullying Jude's innocent and pure motives. Still, he testifies in Jude's favor and takes the blame of the dead privy council member, as his own form of justice for trying to frame Jude due to his becoming blinded by his obsession to protect his country.

The other villains: Ellis: Ellis is Jude's right hand so he is heavily involved with the plot, especially in MLE. We know about Ellis.

Nica: Darius asks him to investigate Jude, so he does. Twice, he offers information to Jude that he's gathered after he lets him know he's aware of what he's building.. The first time, he tells him that a part from the criminal organization Jude has already been dealing with, the British military want his plans too. And wouldn't it be something if they teamed up to get Jude's research. He asks if he can snatch the robin away from Jude, but Jude says she doesn't belong to him, and no matter whom she dated she belongs to herself.

Nica leaves the bar after getting scolded by Jude, but prior to that, he tells Jude that the robin is in the most danger because she's around him. A few chapters later, Nica appears again and tells Jude that his assumptions based on the previous information given have come true, and because he didn't let go (of Kate), he's letting her know the facts. After he explains the situation to her, he tries to whisk her away on a date, but Kate declines. While Nica is a "playboy", it seems that he does care for Kate's well-being.....I am letting my current knowledge of his past events, and bond stories influence me by saying this.

At any rate, at the end of BLE, Darius asks Nica why he follows his orders so complicitly, and Nica says it's because he's on the winning side, and to him, Darius will be or is the winner. Darius is satisfied with this, and when he leaves Nica looks at his palm and says that he will be the happiest someday. It's already been established that becoming the happiest person is important to him, but this has now been reinforced.

Victor: Lore crumbs are very little, but what we do know is that when Kate asks him if he is angry, he tells her that he's forgotten loneliness a long time ago.

Further, when he approaches Jude and asks if Jude is hiding something from him and Crown, he tells Jude he has the means to help him. Jude asks if Victor isn't the one hiding something, and remarks that's why Harrison hates him so much because he knows he is lying. Victor simply smiles and stays silent. Upon leaving his study, Victor does tell Jude no matter what, he doesn't want their freedom disturbed and those are his true feelings.

Further, Victor later tells Kate in the BLE that when Jude says he abuses his power, Jude wasn't lying about that. Later in chapter 24, all of Crown are gathered together in front of her Majesty the Queen for a very important meeting. Victor speaks saying that they wish to grant Kate the position of fairytale keeper permanently, and when Jude finds out, he leaves angrily. In the middle of all this, the Queen never utters a word.

I don't think we learn anything new that we weren't aware of before with Victor to be honest, unless I missed something while reading. But, it's nice to know that we should see something big for his route. We better for how under wraps his lore is kept.

Jude's age: He can't be any older than 30 because in his Past Records he definitively says that he is five years old. In the MS, Oswald states the events he recounted to Roger and Kate took place over 20 years ago. Kate reason's that if it was 20 years ago then Jude had to be under the age of 10. I think he's 28-30.

Jude's Curse: Jude's curse was born when his heart was completely broken, and he vowed to get revenge on those who made him and his sister suffer. It's manifestation was described as a black flame of hatred in his heart. Essentially, Jude has entered a vicious cycle of hatred that never really ceases. Jude fuels this cycle by acting in a way where people want to get revenge on him, and a part of that is because he want's to die.

Jude's Fated End: Jude is fated to die bearing a grudge/resentment/hatred against the world. Jude himself says that his death will not be an honest one. Some have made comments that his fated end is a bit underwhelming, but I am pleased that Cybird left Disney alone, and stuck with Grimm's ending for the 13th fairy. I love it because no one knows what the fairy was thinking or what happened to it, it just simply disappears. This is something that is mentioned quite a bit in Jude's route.

In the MS there is a beautiful chapter with all of Crown gathered for a fireworks beach day, and while Jude is looking at the fireworks, Kate is looking at him. She thinks he is like a firework, beautiful, dangerous if you get too close, and then simply gone.

In BLE, Kate watches a Sleeping Beauty play hosted by local town children where she is staying and even though she knows that the outcome of the fairy is unknown, she is hoping for a different outcome. When the kids stick to the fairytale, it's then she realizes that Jude too - while still stuck in his cycle of hatred - will die. He will never know happiness, and disappear like the burnt body of cigarette smoke, like a firework in the sky.

In chapter 18ish, while Jude is being held captive and being tortured by the British military for information on Crown, he laughs self-mockingly and says that this is the perfect fit for him to die bearing resentment/grudge against the world.

Is Kate Trying to find a way to break the curse? No. Unlike Alfons and Roger's route, Kate is willing to accept Jude's fate, stay by him, make him happy and be his reason to live. That is her sole purpose, to make sure he doesn't die. Kate is obsessed with keeping him anchored to the world no matter the cost, and she even mentions to Victor that even though no fated ends have ever been avoided, that doesn't necessarily mean they are tragic.

Is Jude happy by the end of the route: Yes. Though he won't admit it out loud being the tsun tsun that he is, Jude's first glimpse of happiness occured when he told Kate about his dream and she didn't laugh at him. By the time he puts her to sleep and leaves her behind, he tells her that being genuinely liked wasn't so bad. And of course, Ellis asks if he can kill Jude in his BLE epilogue because it's obvious that he's happy......Jude tells him he can go die, and Ellis is like okay okay. FR though E, I need you to calm TF down.

The depth of his love for her is so great that he tells her that if she ever tries to run from him, she should just kill him. The reason is because she is his only happiness - she is the moon that he's been trying to reach for so long. He'd have no reason to live if she left him.....

Hmmm, here are some of my favorite parts in his route:

He tries so hard to protect Kate, from throwing her out of a window when a house is on fire and telling her she died in that fire so she wouldn't have to return to Crown, to lying to her and accusing her of making a 10,000 £ mistake and firing her from Raven, and other things.

I love that he even assigned people to watch her secretly after he's left her behind in a seaside town, with the intention of doing so for a long time since she is known throughout London for said involvement with Jude. He says things like, if she can live a calm, normal life, then that's enough for me. So, he's resigned to love her from afar.

He does everything in his power to protect even Crown from getting involved with his research so they aren’t crushed and hated by the privy council or others, even undergoing brutal torture.

Jude promises to make Kate the happiest he can before they go to hell, and there are many, many more things he does to endear me even more to him. I nearly cried when he introduced Kate to his sister at her grave he had made for her, saying she (his unnamed sister), was the only family he had left.

Even though he knows his dream of going to the moon is going to be difficult, he is more determined than ever to achieve it, because he's got two promises to keep.

Ultimately, we have our teasing Jude and Kate kicking ass together, and loving each other until their ends come.

Ugh, I'm gonna make myself cry. Well, this is it in a nutshell. Sorry for rambling!

[evenmorefatallyobsessed]

Hey so to anyone whose ever wondered why I like Jaune I could probably give a good amount of reasons.

From his knight aesthetic, to him not being a Gary Stu, but a very flawed, believable character whose trying to improve himself. Hell I LOVE that he is a reference to Joan of Arc.

That he's not classically played masculine, but also isn't portrayed effeminate or flamboyant to oppose it either. I like that Jaune feels like someone who at a glance could be from a earth.

He feels like he was a Civilian, and you know what, I also have a weakness for blue eyed blondes... Maybe that's why I Love the idea of there being a whole family of them.

Heck conceptionally Jaune has a lot in common with the stereotypical Shonen protagonist... But then again so does Ruby and Yang. And Blake fit the more edgy manga Protags...

But if I had to name one thing I like about Jaune, even more then his determination/ Willpower (Stubbornness when it's misdirected like it was in Jaunedice)

I think what I like most is, well... That Jaune is arguably the bravest character in RWBY (Oscar could be argued to be that too though)

Let me explain, so... Everyone else in Beacon is different then Jaune mentally. And the reason is simple. a combination of their aura and training...

All the main cast besides Jaune were overpowered teenagers with strength like Captain America. And there in lies the reason.

They don't view things the same way Jaune does, in the Red Trailer, we literally see Ruby tear apart a horde of Beowulves in minutes on the way to visit her mother's grave. Which implies she does this regularly on said trek.

Now for those watching we gain the same mentality and understanding as the girls of RWBY. Beowulves aren't that strong, their mobs... Weak, easy to beat and need big numbers to be even a bit challenging.

But if you simply look at them, compare them to Ruby... Every Beowulve is a freaking WEREWOLF!!!

That is fucking terrifying, take away the aura and that is a brickshitting situation Ruby is in. But to her it's really not, because she has spent her whole life killing these things to the point where she can do so effortlessly.

Hell we see this again in Yang when she literally doesn't just enter a fight with a gang of known armed criminals but starts it! Literally grabbing the kingpin by the balls.

Which, why wouldn't she, she punches fucking armored Grizzly bears to death. And so everyone one of JNPR and RWBY outside of Jaune look at Grimm and Criminals in the sense of...

Oh neat, a bad guy, let's kill/ beat them up...

When their being fired at their not thinking they could get shot, NO! Their thinking it's okay to get shot a few times cuz they have aura that'll protect them.

And that's why Jaune is so brave, he went to Beacon as a civilian, unaware of aura. Now stop and think about how far behind Jaune was actually in his own mind.

Because remember, he didn't know about aura, the stuff that lets everyone else be so OP. Jaune fought a Ursa Major and killed it without prior training and wasn't using aura techniques, he had enough physical prowess and strength to cleave through it in a single shot...

A literal Marine couldn't do that... But Jaune did, if it were a world without aura, Jaune would've easily been one of the physically strongest people. But because aura existed, people who were trained their entire lives with it are worlds apart above him.

But my point is this, everyone else isn't so much brave as confident and in Yang and Weiss's cases moreso arrogant. Ruby looked at a Goliath while she was in Mt. Glenn and her first thought was to go and kill it... That thing was a fucking Kaiju. And she wasn't scared of it, oh no she was excited to kill it!

Initiation was literally fun for Yang, she had a blast during it, Nora too, Blake wasn't concerned and until she was forced to ride a Nevermore Weiss was so at ease that she was willing to strike out on her own instead of teaming up with someone else, not once but twice.

But Jaune is different, to him, a Beowulf is a monster that can kill him in a single strike...A Ursa is a beast that could kill the strongest men... A single attack could end you life...

And yet he was still willing to take initiation, there was no second chances, or magic barrier to protect him, hell he didn't even have a gun.

Dude was gonna fight bears and Werewolfs with a sword and shield. In his mind a single blow would kill him, this wasn't fun, this wasn't exciting or something to be taken lightly.

It was a life or death struggle, and just because Pyrrha gave him aura doesn't mean that mentality magically goes away. No to Jaune Grimm still are threat, it why he shows nervousness when fighting them unlike everyone else.

But he still does... everyone else fights Grimm like it's a game or chore. But to Jaune he is actually fighting for his life, these things scare him, fighting scares him, and mentally he is still very much leaning more towards civilian.

But it's because of that that when he fights he is being braver then all the others. Not to say their cowards though.

I think ultimately that's why I like Jaune most, because I never stop realizing that he is fighting in a darksouls game while everyone else feels like their in DMC.

But despite that he doesn't hesitate to fight beside them, to try and help and is willingly putting his life on the line when everyone else is just having a easy run of it.

And I'd argue this is why Ozpin made him leader.

[theother-victoria]

an eye for an eye

SYNOPSIS: what happens when you stick your nose where it doesn't belong?

CHARACTERS: dr ratio

TAGS: major character death, small town horror, murder mystery, 2.6k+ wc

TAGLIST: @tragedy-of-commons, @mitsvriii, @harque, @akutasoda, @hazyue, @gabile18, @khoncore

NOTES: I procrastinated real hard on this and managed to thug it out in the span of like.... four days

written for @/stellaronhvnters’ stellaween festival event! I chose the prompt skeletons

special thanks to my dearest pookie @tragedy-of-commons once again for proofreading this for me so last-minute!

It’s never a good sign when a small town ends up on the map, for one reason or another. Small towns are small for a reason. They keep to themselves, its residents living peaceful, crime-free lives and concern themselves with their own problems.

So when news of skeletons being discovered in people’s yards in a small town that isn’t even listed on the maps makes it onto national television, it takes the entire nation and even the world by storm. 

It’s all people can talk about as the case unfolds. Reporters are flooding into the town until they outnumber the residents living there. With the sudden spotlight, it was revealed that the town was so small it had a police force that consisted of a handful of members and a single car. And with a police force that small, a proper forensics department was out of the question. 

Hence, where you and your colleague, Veritas Ratio came in. The town council had called in for a detective and forensics team to assist with the investigation. When he saw the state the lab was in, he had sighed louder than you’d ever heard him.

“The absolute disarray of this place! Barely any equipment either! How in the world do they expect me to properly work with this lack of resources?”

You have to pointedly glare at him.

“Veritas, have you forgotten they’re painfully underfunded…? They probably had no need for police and forensics either.”

He merely clicked his tongue and glared back at you. 

There’s not much that points toward a bright future for this town. It’s so isolated up in the mountains that the nearest town is an hour drive away. There’s only one stoplight and one stop sign. (Not that there was much traffic to begin with…) The largest store around is the dollar store at the end of the only street running through town. Restaurant options are equally limited. There’s a 24/7 diner that’s staffed by one person, a twitchy-looking waitress, along with some fast-food options here and there. A second-run movie theater is the only option for entertainment around here. A single-track railway with a train that only stops once per day is the only way in or out of here besides car. Coniferous and evergreen trees surround the town like a cage and it’s always foggy. Sunlight rarely peeks through the thick cloud cover and there’s a persistent smell of smoke from something burning elsewhere on the mountain. The most important building is the church located on Main Street. Sometimes, its spire is the only thing visible amidst the heavy fog and smoke. 

There’s only one place for lodging- a run-down motel with a flickering neon sign and always vacant. A dingy room quickly becomes your home away from home. It always smells mildly of mold and mildew with a strong floral smell that seemed like an attempt to cover up the neglect, but failed miserably at doing so. The electricity frequently spikes or cuts out, meaning you’ve already fried the motel’s hot water kettle that you relied on for your morning coffee. The room itself looked like a relic from the past, with its yellowing pastel wallpaper, an uncomfortably lumpy mattress that the two of you are forced to share, floral sheets, and threadbare patchwork quilt. The cheap carpet looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since it was installed and the heater hacks and shudders to life like it’s on its last legs. There’s always the distant hum of fluorescent lights and it’s like a persistent itch at the back of your mind that you just can’t scratch and it’s driving you insane. 

This town is unwelcoming, and so are its residents. Silence follows you and Veritas wherever you go. Shopkeepers are as rude as they can be without getting a complaint filed. When passing through a neighborhood, mothers rush to get their children inside the house and openly glare at you from their rotting porches. Witnesses were downright uncooperative during questioning, even rude at times. 

This town is hiding something, and you don’t like it. 

But even with the increased police presence in town and nightly neighborhood watches that have been set up, the cases kept piling up. Every morning a call would come in from a panicked resident about a fresh mound of dirt in their yard that only meant one thing. Someone would head over to dig it up and sure enough, there’d be a skeleton there. Some were yellowed with age, but most of them were new from their glistening ivory hue,  Some of them were pristine while others still had bits of flesh and blood clinging to them. Forensic analysis revealed that the skeletons belonged to people of all ages too. No one was seemingly safe. 

Some of these victims had been alive the day prior too. Meaning that not only were you dealing with a potential case of illegal exhumation, but also first-degree murder. 

A small team of forensic scientists working with Veritas would accompany you, where they’d gather samples before heading back to the lab while you and your partner would spend the rest of the day questioning people. 

But while he was in the lab, you had discovered something very interesting during questionings.

“Madam, it would be in your best interests if you would cooperate.”

You fixate the trembling woman before you with a piercing, unblinking gaze. She pointedly avoids your eyes, but you’ve always had a way with extracting information from the most uncooperative of witnesses.

“...”

“...”

“F-Fine! I’ll speak! That man was a longtime business rival of ours! He died several years ago of a heart attack, but I have no idea how he ended up in my front yard, I swear!”

So the deceased all had some connection with where- or rather, who- they were found. A victim of a greedy loan shark drowning in interest, a bitter and jealous ex-husband, and so on. It keeps popping up so often that it’s not a coincidence anymore. 

Still, there’s one thing that sticks out to you.

“Were all these bodies exhumed? I noticed that cremation is almost unheard of in this town in the coroner’s reports that you sent me, despite the crematorium being conveniently located in the church and a cheaper alternative to a traditional burial,”  you say one night as you’re cross-examining testimonies with newspaper clippings. Veritas looks over at you from where he sits on the bed. “Do we have a potential gravedigger on our hands?”

He pauses. 

“Perhaps a visit to the town cemetery is in order.”

The next day, the both of you arrive at the cemetery soon after the gates open.

The first thing that stands out to you is how small it is. It’s smaller than the average cemetery, with very few tombstones. The only thing breaking it are the small farms here and there. 

“Well, this certainly doesn’t line up with the amount of skeletons that have been discovered as of late,” you grumble as you get out of the car. Ratio nods and shields his eyes from the early morning sun that’s already beating down onto your backs. 

The weathered faces of some of the tombstones as you walk by makes you pause. They’re ancient. 

You shudder. You try not to think about decomposing bodies inadvertently becoming fertilizer for the farms next door…

Clearly, this town has had a long history. Perhaps it was prospering long ago. But now, it’s on the verge of becoming a ghost town with only spiteful, suspicious people left. And in a place as small as this, history must be traceable for at least several generations back. 

As you walk amongst the tombstones, you notice that very few of the graves have had the earth in front of them disturbed.

“So maybe we don’t have a gravedigger after all,” you murmur as you pull out your phone. A quick phone call to the church later and you learn that yes, the church is aware of what’s been happening. No, they did not receive or approve any requests to exhume a body, much less several. 

You click your tongue irritatedly after hanging up. There goes that hypothesis. It’s clear that while some bodies have been exhumed, most of them were not. 

So now what?

Later that night at the 24/7 diner, you discuss your findings so far while sipping on reheated instant coffee and trying to stomach dry pancakes. The sun has already gone down and the street lights outside flicker weakly to life. 

“The biggest discovery my team and I have made is that this all seems to be the work of several different people, but that was at the start of the case. There has not been anything groundbreaking since then.”

You raise an eyebrow. He senses the question in your gaze. 

“Forensic testing has revealed that maceration has occurred through several different ways. Bleaching, boiling, and crude hacking are the three most common ones. There have been some attempts at more sophisticated methods, such as enzymatic and chemical maceration, but those have been crude at best. It got the job done, but the bones had severe surface damage and were shrunken. Meanwhile, some were in pristine condition and barely damaged.”

“So they know about the various techniques, but they don’t have the knowledge and experience to carry it out properly?”

He nods. “Precisely. And even within the three most common methods, there were varying degrees of success present.”

“That… certainly doesn’t seem like the work of one person.”

You sip your now-cold coffee and wince at the sour aftertaste before pulling out your findings. 

“Here’s what me and my partner have discovered. The biggest thing is that every skeleton seems to have a connection to where they were found.”

“Elaborate.”

“All of them have been found in people’s yards, and it turns out the deceased had some sort of connection with the homeowner while they were alive. A bitter ex-husband, a family feud that has stretched back generations, the sole surviving member of a family that was murdered several years ago…”

You sigh. “The connections are endless. I could go on forever.”

You cast your gaze around the diner. Your nails drum against the red formica tabletops and you tap your foot absentmindedly against the checkered floors that are slightly greasy and sticky. The only other people there are a family of four with shifty eyes and the waitress that’s been here since you arrived. She jolts and looks the other way.

“For a town this small, it sure is harboring a lotta desire for revenge,” you murmur, more to yourself than to him. Your gaze lazily drifts around before landing on the lighting fixture above the bar and settles there. 

…

Your eyes narrow as your tired mind begins putting the seemingly unrelated pieces together. Veritas’ sharp eyes don’t miss it.

The actions of several different people with varying degrees of success… a collective desire for revenge… 

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“This is just a thought but…you don’t think it’s the whole town that’s in on this, right…? I mean-”

He suddenly shushes you as he gets up. It’s only when you return to your room that he gestures for you to continue speaking.

“- I mean, the one thing unifying everything is the desire for revenge, which every resident seems to harbor a bit of,” you continue as you get ready for bed. “Cremation is an unusual option here. Most people are buried instead. But the cemetery is also surprisingly small. But why is that? The answer is that most people are not dying of natural causes. Most people are being murdered out of a desire for revenge with no hope for any sort of burial or funeral. So my earlier gravedigger hypothesis is incorrect now. Did your analysis reveal signs of skeletal trauma on some of them?”

“Many of them,” corrects Veritas. 

Despite the late hour, your mind is fully awake as all the pieces finally start falling into place together. 

“Relationships are messy and the residents of this town are no exception. The deceased often had multiple conflicts and grudges with other people. What I suspect happened is they were murdered and then dumped into someone’s yard that the deceased also had connections with to pin the blame on them. Which begs the question: where were the police in all of this?”

You pause to catch your breath.

“But the police mean nothing if everyone is in on it, even if unknowingly, correct? This also explains the absolute disrepair the police and forensics department are in as well.”

Veritas meets the knowing glint in your eyes.

“Let’s say that I’m the murderer. I killed you because of a grudge I bore, stripped you of your flesh until only skeletal remains are left, which I then buried in your neighbor’s yard that you also had some conflict with to pin the blame on them. The neighbor then calls the cops, but both they and the cop at the scene have done the same thing before, even though they don’t know of the other’s actions. Someone will be sentenced to jail, but they will inevitably end up getting killed by someone else for another grudge before they’re off to jail and out of reach for good. The body gets hacked away and planted into someone else’s yard and the cycle repeats. Everyone has gotten their hands dirty. There’s no way for this to be closed because everyone has played a part in it. It’s like trying to untangle a never-ending knot.”

The exhaustion of the day is beginning to catch up with you. You climb into bed next to him, shifting to avoid the lumps in the mattress that’ll give you a backache tomorrow morning. 

“Revenge is a scary thing. They’ll wipe themselves out at this point,” you sleepily murmur. 

Veritas doesn’t meet your gaze. You can see the gears rapidly spinning in his mind before arriving at the same conclusion. 

“... It’s best if we leave as soon as possible,” is all he says. 

The next morning, you authorize a search warrant on every household in town. There, they find incriminating evidence. A butcher knife and cutting board with dried human blood seeping into its cracks. A stock pot with bleach still in it. Scissors, knives, and scalpels with hardened chunks of human flesh still stuck to them. Guns, knives, and other weapons of murder. 

A mass arrest is carried out to the flashing cameras and interest of the nation. You and Veritas are congratulated on your work and rewarded with a shiny promotion. You’re finally able to head home, much to your joy. You’re eager to leave that unsettling place behind for good. The case is closed and it’s time to relax before moving onto your next assignment. 

At least, that’s what you had anticipated. 

The town’s residents wiped themselves off the map. It’s now a ghost town. Cars rust from the assault of the elements and ivy begins to overtake the brick buildings. Shops and houses are broken into and pilfered. In a matter of weeks, the town is forgotten by the few that still remember it. The only people its shattered windows see now are curious urban explorers. 

But nothing stays buried for long. Bodies, grudges, secrets. They stay buried for a reason though, until an unfortunate soul decides to wander along and unearth them to satiate their burning curiosity. 

And who said grudges were confined to one region only?

So is it really that surprising when your body ends up in his yard, neatly diced up and packaged into a box, miles away from that cursed town? 

An eye for an eye. That’s the town’s motto. Nothing stays buried for long. 

He stumbled upon something he shouldn’t have seen. Now, they took something equally valuable from him in return.

enjoyed my work? the taglist is open!

@ theother-victoria, do not copy, repost, modify, translate, or feed to ai

[menlove]

any introductory beatles (just mclennon tbh) fics? 🤲

LORD OKAYYYYY i'll try not to go too crazy and just stick to my alltime faves.....

first of all anything @forthlin (milaway on ao3) has written literally ever. i am going to eat them one day. they are the yin to my yang and also the best writer this fandom has ever seeeeen. um. anyway! like i said, all their fics. but i'd Particularly rec your lucky break which is an au where john is a 30 something rockstar and paul is an up and coming musician in the 70s. and well! what can i say about this fic except it's sooo in character, hot, and also the reason i started talking to the best person on this earth so whatever

also completelyyyyy selfish but hey i only wrote half so i'm counting it but we also have an ongoing series: i want you, i need you, i love you where they're writing john's povs and i'm writing paul's! it's just basically our take on their timeline & relationship, but the third installment's going to be a fix-it

now onto me not being gay or selfish here's some of my favorites that i think are Must Reads.

Boy, You've Been A Naughty Girl

explicit. 49k. John makes Paul a bet. Paul takes him up on it. Crossdressing shenanigans and angst ensue, and ~feelings come out in the wash. 1961. rec notes: okay look. this one is just a classic. it's great. esp love it bc it's right up my alley with its "paul isn't an oblivious moron" takes. also.... hot.

I Still Miss Someone/I Know That I Miss You but I Don't Know Where I Stand

explicit. 64k. It's 1976 and Paul keeps showing up on John's doorstep with a guitar. Eventually John turns him away and Paul goes off to sulk in his hotel room the night before his flight from New York. Based on real events. rec notes: aaaaugh this one haunts me there's one scene i think of literally every time "i still miss someone" by johnny cash comes on, which is one of my fave songs. it's not a fix-it, but it's so so so good for the Vibes of their 70s relationship :(

Like Love, The Archers Are Blind

explicit. 22k. He wants to push Stuart out of the way, not even with a violent yank of his collar like he sometimes imagines. Just to melt into his place like butter sliding in a pan. Have it be an effortless breath of fresh air when John looks up at him and sees it all reflected back in his eyes. It’s you. rec notes: this one is just... soft. and so good for a snapshot of the hamburg vibe.

i was a younger man then (now) (post hoc)

mature. 27k. John’s twelve when a bloke appears from a flaming pie and says, “From this day forward you are Beatles with an ‘a.’” The bloke is Paul. Or: paul and john meet at all ages and eras and john is the time-traveler’s wife the way only john lennon can be rec notes: literally my favorite mclennon fic everrrrrr ever ever. other than your lucky break. this is everything. this is it. like it nails their dynamic even though it's a magical au. it explores their relationship sooooo fucking well. i think about it like weekly.

John My Beloved

explicit. 33k. They've always loved each other, in their own way… rec notes: OTHER FAVORITE EVER it broke my heart it changed my fucking lifeeeee it changed my world. major character death warning but fuck man. i think about this literally constantly. this fic haunts me. i think it changed me. i had to stare at a wall for like 30 minutes after finishing it. i got choked up.

two of us (burning matches)

explicit. 6k. It won't stop raining. Paul doesn't know what his feelings are doing. John's practising his right swing. Somewhere along the way, they fuse together. rec notes: this one is just cuuuute and perfect for the Early Days Vibes.

Grow Old With Me

explicit. 8k. fix-it. Paul breaks his arm, and John panics. rec notes: SOOOO FUCKING SWEET. this is what they deserved and i like to live here in my mind when the reality of what actually happened gets to be too much.

1967

mature. 11k. canon-divergent au. In 1961, John Lennon and Paul McCartney left abruptly on a trip to Spain, via France. In 1967, they finally come home to face the consequences. rec notes: the style of this one is INSANE. it's so unique and i love it sososososo much. also the plot? is super unique???? basically it's an au where they never came home from paris and it's.... so fucking good. i love the way it looks at their dynamic like fuck. it's just perfect.

Way Up Top

explicit. 12k. Falling out of the sky, together. | Snapshots of the Beatles in Greece, July 1967 rec notes: LOVE this one for its portrayal of all non-mclennon parties. it fleshes everyone out, especially jane and cyn, in ways a lot of fics just skip. just sooo well written and melancholic in a great way i think.

When You Are Young They Assume You Know Nothing

mature. 26k. But Paul knows John. There’s something about Paris, though... rec notes: THE paris fic to me. this is soooo good and so fucking soft and it just. augh. it killed me.

a brief interruption, a slight malfunction

explicit. 12k. During the rooftop concert, John remembers why he used to find Paul so irresistible after a show. One more time won't hurt, right? rec notes: perfect breakup era fic. my rec notes on ao3 were "this was devastating :)" so. god. this fucked me up.

aaand honorary mentions to the two non-mclennon fics i've read but !

Knocking at Your Door

george/paul. explicit. 6k. It's easy enough, this time, to lean in and touch their lips together. A firm press of his mouth to Paul's; first at the corner, then right on the centre of his yielding, expressive lower lip. Paul and George: a few meetings over thirty-six years. rec notes: the opening sentence to this made me sick to my stomach and then the rest of the fic destroyed me permanently

Where The Sailors Go

ringo/paul. explicit. 5k. A drunken German mistakes Paul, alone in Hamburg's red light district, for a rentboy. Ringo, the Hurricanes' terrifyingly adult drummer, intervenes. Things happen, but Paul can't stop thinking about John. rec notes: PRINGOOOOO. with background mclennon. this was so real to me. also in the same universe as this fic is (It's Just) Another Day which is a transfem paul mclennon fic that rooocked my world. it's still a wip but holy fuck. made me rearrange the way i see paul tbh.

[oc-tournaments]

ROUND ONE - MATCH 3

B vs SUDO HIGASHIKATA

B: @kittyonakeyboard

SUDO HIGASHIKATA: @mitsubinyuri

VOTE BASED ON THE INFORMATION BELOW CUT!!

Propoganda Content Warnings: Childbirth complications, neglect, possession for B. Major JJBA JoJolion spoilers, parental death for SUDO.

B:

PROPAGANDA: so her mother and baby brother died in childbirth and her and her older brother were raised in an attic alone left to starve (for the most part) and when her and her brother finally try to escape her big brother gets his brains blown out with a shotgun. she runs to the barn and meets a girl there who becomes her best friend and crush (Clara) and later outside of the forest she was escaping from she found a little girl who would be her sister (Sicily). she gets adopted with Sicily and Clara gets adopted by her adopted moms friend. these girls at school gaslight (*actually* gaslight) and manipulate her best friend into believing B is a terrible person and so they convince Clara to put a curse on B where shes stuck with a god of death n shit in her head 24/7 and anytime she has a breakdown the god can take over her body and control her and she has to live with that for the rest of her life (this was written pre-the owl house i promise u). after high school clara p much ditches her out of guilt and only comes back years later after med school in paris to fully apologize and try to rekindle their friendship and they eventually (after a WHILE and a lot of character growth) get together and then go kill B's dad.

THEME SONG:

SUDO HIGASHIKATA:

PROPOGANDA: Sudo was born into the world with no dad because her dad died violently like a while before she was born, before her mom even let him know she was expecting. As a kid, her mom was trying her best, but couldn't really do shit sometimes because she'd have these melancholic days where she'd be stuck in the past and basically could not get out of bed to take care of her kid. This drove a bit of a wedge between them, especially when she forgot her birthday due to one of these days. Sudo is left completely in the dark about the situation surrounding her dad, she only knows he died violently. She doesn't know about the context of his death or how he killed three people and tried to kill another one and also severely injured his dad (her grandfather) because he genuinely believed what he was doing was best for the family. At age seven, Sudo discovers her Stand, which lets her speak to the dead as long as she's in the same spot they died. Although she knows she could use it for speaking to him, her older brother advises her not to, so she never does until age fifteen after a major argument with her mother. She starts talking to him as much as she can, but "as much as she can" is not often, because she can only talk to the same person for five minutes at a time once a week. She confides in him, and the two become close. However, after meeting someone with the power to appraise her stand, she learns the truth about her power. The father she's been talking to is not him- he doesn't have a soul at all. He is a construct made to imitate him using data of his personality and memories, essentially just a character ai. Her dad is gone forever. She'll never truly get to talk to him, and he'll never even know he has a daughter.

THEME SONG:

[marinerainbow]

I know that the fandom isn't big, but after rewatching the movie, I have something to share with the... 5 people who like this movie XD

Happily N'Ever After Headcannons

Actually, considering how little lore we have for this world, I guess this is more of a 'if I directed the movie' post? Or me just projecting my love for hidden lore onto this movie? XD

Alright, let's get the biggest plothole out of the way; how come some characters seem to know what's going on (Rick, possibly the prince), while others don't (Frieda, Cinderella, etc)? Well, I think that since the Wizard lives above the castle, I'm guessing that the royal family, and those connected to them like the servants, know that their fates are intertwined with Fairytales and scales, and that these stories have played out over and over again. Some know more than others, but still.

The royalty of Cinderella's story, in particular, knows most I think. The royal portrait we see the bad guys throwing swords at shows the prince flanked by who I'm guessing are his parents. And it looks like they are passing onto him the same instruction manual that he's practically glued to. When you connect this to how... Dead eyed the other royals are (Rapunzel in particular. Did anybody notice how she's just... Staring off into space all the time? Only showing emotion when her prince shows up?), my guess is that since these stories have played out so many times, some of the characters have basically become brain dead- or are on auto pilot at best- and the King and Queen saw this in their son, and tried to make it easier for him to stay on track. Even though they knew that the wizard would ensure he married his Cinderella.

We don't see much of the bad guys in this movie. However, since that one troll said "I've never seen that before!" When Frieda summoned her beacon, I'm guessing the majority of them are aware of the rules of Fairytale Land. Or at least that they keep finding themselves repeating history. Since these villains can get gruesome ends (especially since these seem to be Grimms Fairytales. If you know, you know 💀), my guess is that their endings make it really stick with them. And maybe since they aren't dead eyed, they're the ones constantly trying to change their endings (being more aggressive, trying new tactics, etc), but since they couldn't temper with the scales like Frieda, none of them were successful before.

So tldr; the royals know what's going on because they're neighbors with the wizard, the majority of Fairytale Land is suffering from numb braincells since their lives are being carried out for them, and the villains are trying to fight the scales that are literally tipped against them. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's move onto other aspects of the movie.

I know the wizard barely has 2 minutes if screen time, but I like to think he's one of the Grimm Brothers. I mean, it's right there! No Fairytale Flip Media is complete without utilizing the Brothers Grimm being the guys in charge. But if that's the case, where's the other brother? I think he might be on our side of the world. Maybe The Wizard was meeting his brother in Scotland? Maybe his brother is making sure that the Fairytales are still loved- and in turn, alive- by us? That's what I'm thinking.

That could explain how Fairytale Land has some modern influence/technology. The Dwarves' defenses and the witches' motorcycle-esque brooms, for instance. The second brother brought some technology from our world to Fairytale Land at some point, and The Wizard just had to make it roll with the stories... Which shouldn't be too far fetched considering he was completely cool with Ella staying with Rick in the end (assuming he didn't reset her story as usual).

It is hard to say for sure whether everyone is immortal, or the stories are passed down onto the next generation. However, I'm thinking that, as long as your story doesn't end with your death, you won't die (I mean, Jack survived being squashed into a pancake. I know this is a kids movie, but I need to make lore here-). And if you do die, you are ressurected for the sake of the story repeating itself.

The Wizard does have other assistants outside of Munk and Mambo. The Fairy Godmother is one of them. However, since she gets Cinderella confused with Pinocchio at first, I'm thinking maybe she's in charge of all the 'magic fairy' roles in the stories. As such, she's kind of... Got her mind wrapped around other stuff 😅 not to mention she's pretty old. Overworked, probably as old as Fairytale Land itself, is it any wonder she spends her downtime singing and dancing with mice?

There aren't much, but these are all I got so far about the world itself rather than the individual characters. I hope you guys like these! (And for those who love them just as much as I do, don't worry. I'm gonna make a HC set for the three big Bad wolves too. They were the highlight of the film next to Frieda)

[viilpstick]

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑?

How can a story never die? It is love we must hold onto, the origins brought to you by love. When a story like hers with such dedicated meaning and strong roots manacled into your DNA, it is a hard task to simply leave it all behind. Never easy, but we try. Minutes turn to hours, days to years and gone the moments that pass shall never be forgotten, especially for spiteful people, but may love live on inside our hearts keeping to those who you can be sure to never leave and always will stay.

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔: Adeline Rosique, Twisted Wonderland oc

𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: Major character death (background), a bit of oc x canon (relationships), the section "appearance" still not added, warn me if I forgot any

𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: Angst, hurt, hopeful ending (background), fluff and angsty (relationships)

𝒂/𝒏: She is kinda inspired by the Archer, from Taylor Swift and Belle's backstory on the live action movie

OFFICIAL INTRODUCTION: "I need to get... Excuse me. I need to pass. What? I don't care if it's a fight, I have important matters to solve. Isabelle and Leona are the one fighting? Sevens, and they try to make me believe they are not in love."

Adeline Rosique, the vice-housewander at Rosantée, the Royal Sword Academy's dorm, channels the spirit of the Fearless princess.

Despite her initial aloofness and strict demeanor, it doesn't take long to discover Adeline's kind and warm side, with an energy of big sister of everyone and all, intertwined with a playful and cunning sense of humor.

While rumors circulate about a dark past, Adeline appears unfazed, insisting it doesn't bother her – or so she tells herself.

BACKGROUND

Adeline, destined to be the future heir of the illustrious kingdom of Westerian Beau, faced a turbulent beginning marked by the disdain of her father, Grendel Enchanta. Born to a union between a human and a fae, Adeline's arrival into the world was met not with joy but with Grendel's palpable disgust. His dismay, however, went beyond the mere disappointment of having a daughter; it was rooted in the perception that she was, in his eyes, aesthetically displeasing.

Grendel, harboring a profound resentment toward his fae spouse, concocted a sinister plan in response to his daughter's perceived flaws. In a calculated move, he aimed to turn the entire kingdom against Adeline's mother, leveraging prejudice and deceit to manipulate public opinion. The ultimate goal was to isolate and abandon Adeline, leaving her to face the world alone and vulnerable. The twisted plot orchestrated by Grendel Enchanta wove an intricate web of familial betrayal and political intrigue within the kingdom. Shockingly, the malevolent plan proved successful as the sentiment in the kingdom gradually shifted, and animosity festered against their once-beloved queen.

Grendel seized the opportunity and, with his daughter Adeline in tow, clandestinely retreated to a secluded cottage nestled in the enigmatic Shaftlands. In this isolated haven, Adeline's formative years unfolded amidst the shadows of her father's manipulative schemes. The idyllic facade of the cottage belied the harsh reality that she grew up mostly alone, isolated from the warmth of familial bonds and the camaraderie of the outside world. The villagers' aversion to her, cast Adeline into a lonely existence, as even the village children shunned her. Ultimately for her appearance.

Left to her own devices, Adeline found solace in the companionship of a single friend, well, an animal, who proved steadfast in the face of her isolation.

With her father often absent from her life, the cottage in the Shaftlands became both a sanctuary and a prison for Adeline, a place where the echoes of betrayal and deceit lingered. As she navigated the challenges of her solitary existence, Adeline's resilience and the bond she forged with her lone confidant would come to define her journey in the shadowy aftermath of her father's malevolence.

Adeline grew to study in Sword Academy at the dorm of Rosantée. Despite the challenges imposed by her tumultuous upbringing, Adeline persevered and pursued her education at the esteemed Sword Academy. However, the corrosive environment of constant bullying during her initial years took a toll on her resilience. By the second year, the weight of relentless mistreatment became unbearable.

In a decisive act of self-empowerment, Adeline chose to take control of her narrative. She embarked on a journey of radical transformation, altering her appearance in a way that defied societal expectations and norms. This drastic change became a catalyst for a profound shift in the dynamics of her interactions. The very individuals who once subjected her to ridicule and cruelty now found themselves confronted with a version of Adeline that defied their preconceived notions. The newfound strength emanating from her transformed appearance not only shielded her from further mistreatment but also became a symbol of her resilience and defiance.

PERSONALITY

Possessing a personality like Adeline Rosique is having a personality like a mirror that has a duality of her heritage. Bold and resilient, she faces the world with a determination forged in the crucible of adversity. Despite the hardships she has endured, Adeline carries herself with an innate sense of grace and poise, a testament to the influence of both her human and faye lineage. We may say, Adeline is a bold and sassy girl, however, most of the time she acts serious, with a rare smile on her face. This is just a façade though to a girl who loves to talk and seems mostly happy to meet new people.

Adeline's disdain for those who judge her based solely on her appearance fuels her resolve to defy expectations. So, it is to be seen that through Shaftlands a poor old lady that wanders all night and day long is actually Adeline, hiding for those who seek her power for illness. To move through the city undisturbed, a seemingly unassuming old lady, free from the superficial attention that often accompanies her true form. But even so, during the night she no longer uses the disguise, and only walks with a big dark green hoodie. 

Her boldness is evident in the way, unafraid to voice her opinions and stand up for what she believes is right. Some people who know the truth about the “lady” say that Adeline fear is to be denied by people who surround her for only her appearance, that leads her to act most as somehow rudely towards people. Adeline's boldness, however, is not a mask for arrogance; rather, it is a reflection of her unwavering confidence in her abilities and her refusal to be defined by the narrow judgments of others. Despite that, Adeline is not without empathy. Her experiences have cultivated a deep understanding of the struggles faced by those who don't fit neatly into societal norms. She is quick to lend a helping hand to those in need, a trait that endears her to those who truly see beyond the surface. Another noticeable trait is the thought of never needing help from anyone, she can help everyone, never the opposite.

In the intricate tapestry of her personality, Adeline Rosique emerges as a symbol of resilience, grace, and defiance. Bold, polite, and unapologetically herself, Adeline stands as a beacon of inspiration for those who dare to embrace their uniqueness in a world that often seeks conformity. Adeline believes, that people can’t leave her, if she leaves first, so she tends to be somehow rude and stern to others who she doesn’t know.

RELATIONSHIPS (main ones)

Sebek Zigvolt: Sebek has low tolerance over her, mostly by the fact how ironic she is with Malleus, it takes a lot of patience for him to let her be around himself and Malleus, especially when Malleus says that he doesn’t mind her jokes and sarcasm, which is unbelievable! He is the heir to the throne and he shouldn't let her talk to him like that. Sebek wonders if the Young Master has a reason.

Epel Femier: This one is hard, she knows she comes off as annoying to him, so, when he acted more rude than he should with her, Adeline used her UM on him. He stayed inside all day long, only leaving when Poppy helped him to get the forgiveness of her. By the end of the second day he was back to normal. Adeline apologises by the way she acted, yet, she keeps an eye in both Poppy and Epel after it, with a sly hint of amusement.

Poppy Cosette (Oc made by @justm3di0cr3): At first, Adeline admits that she was a bit antipathetic, and she knows it. It was mostly her first side showing up, but once she had to spend time with Poppy alone, they both had a sisterly bound; and from that moment from time to time Poppy and her would spend evenings together, maybe making apple or lemon pies. That's when, Poppy doesn't bring baskets with flowers and bread to Adeline, the half faye melts on the spot.

Che’nya: Although she sees him as a weird guy, he does make her flash a bright smile accompanied with a loud laugh from time to time. Adeline thinks he is just the class clown. But when he catches the eye of one of her friends she comes off to be rather amused by him more easily than before.

Fauna De Lis (Oc made by @shinysparklesapphires): Fauna and Adeline are great friends, and in general Adeline has a bit of admiration for the kindness of the girl, with that she becomes somehow like a protective sister like she is with most of her friends.

Isabelle Desroisiers (Oc made by @midnightmah07): Adeline says that one of the purest hearts of all the people she has met was Isabelle’s, due to the lovely like and kind yet stubborn and curious was what drew Adeline close to Isabelle. The usual dates with the friends are in a cozy room with books, a chess game, snacks and some small gossip here and there. She was the only one to break the rule of “if I leave first, no one can leave me” because Adeline knows Isabelle would stay.

Leona Kingscholar: Although the truth about his and Isabelle’s weeding, Adeline always had a feeling of something that was within hidden between them too. In her head all the hatred was a uncovered love for each other (she turns out to be right, but at first she comes out as annoying). But, she can't lie when says she finds Leona mostly like an annoying bastard, yet, she had to pull up with his attitude.

Rook Hunt: Though Rook may stir a hint of unease in Adeline, their shared cunning and sly nature forms a common ground; That is the matchmaking couples, this is how they got to make "an apple tart" couple along, all part of their cupid-inspired scheming.

Adriano Mélombre: It sounds like a positive transformation in the relationship between the half-siblings, Adriano and the person you're referring to. Overcoming the past and developing a sweeter relationship can be a rewarding and healing experience for both individuals involved. The fact that Adriano has extended an invitation for them to live together, along with their mother, suggests a desire for closer family bonds and mutual support. Such developments often require open communication, understanding, and forgiveness. Living together can provide an opportunity for them to deepen their connection, create new memories, and foster a sense of belonging within the family unit. Family dynamics can be complex, and positive changes like this one demonstrate resilience and a commitment to building stronger relationships.

MALLEUS DRACONIA

Will wait for Book 7 to finish!

TRIVIA:

Adeline is twisted on the Enchantress from "Beauty and the Beast"

Adeline means “noble” or “nobility” from German

Rosique means both “Rose” and “magique” that is “magic” in french

18 years old, born in June 24th (Adeline’s birthday is national fairy’s day)

Adeline's dominant hand is right

Fav. drink + food: Cranberry juice, lemon pie.

Least fav. drink + food: Warm water, boiled eggs.

Hobbies: Dancing

Pet peeves: Overly judgemental people

Likes: Long walks in a breeze days, parties

Talent: Fast learner

Adeline is twisted on the Enchantress from "Beauty and the Beast"

Adeline means “noble” or “nobility” from German

Rosique means both “Rose” and “magique” that is “magic” in french

18 years old, born in June 24th (Adeline’s birthday is national fairy’s day)

Adeline's dominant hand is right

Fav. drink + food: Cranberry juice, lemon pie.

Least fav. drink + food: Warm water, boiled eggs.

Hobbies: Dancing

Pet peeves: Overly judgemental people

Likes: Long walks in a breeze days, parties

Talent: Fast learner

DO NOT COPY, TRANSLATE OR REPOST IN OTHER MEDIA MY WORK viilpstick © copyright 2023

[kiaroscuro]

Title: as the world caves in

Warnings: descriptions of violence, major character death

Rating: Mature

Main Pairing: Ren Amamiya / Arsene

Main Tags: post-canon, zombie au, angst, hurt / comfort, road trips

Warning:

· · ─────── =^.^= ─────── · ·

They wander into the city at the beginning of noon, scouring the shrine grounds first thing in the morning before setting off. The shallow groans of the mutated can be heard even before Ren and Arsene step past the stone arch designating the path towards the temple, and he's got his handgun out in a flash while they carefully slink past the infected humans. The snow crunches softly underfoot, and Ren wonders if there's any survivors in the city -- finds himself disinclined to inspect it. Their priorities right now are to scour a safe base for what might just be the remainder of the winter months: it is early December now, so they were looking at about two months, possibly three before they can continue towards Tokyo.  

Nagatsugawa seems to be a very traditional city, at least in the parts they traverse, and none of the homes that are somewhat intact (not broken apart or full of visible gore, that is) seem like they would survive long against any mutated that would try to seriously hurt their little party, especially if it is infected shadows. Arsene frowns as they pass yet another disturbed zen garden. Something more western would probably be better, he comments kind of delicately, as if Ren would chose to be offended now of all times about the disregard for traditional buildings and architecture.

I agree, he sends instead, shifting around. Their short stay in the shrine might've done him good, but he was still stiff from the cold and his shoulder. They have a close encounter with a horde of humans who noticed them, but mutated humans are much less horrifying than shadows, and together they quickly thin the rounds until they can escape -- into a much more modern district, the wooden houses giving way to concrete builds. Ren takes a moment to recuperate, eying the snow in front of them. ...do we want to look for apartments again? Or something like a shopping mall, or hospital? What's the most secure?

Arsene is silent next to Ren, the soft snowfall melting on his mask and skin but sticking to his clothes and wings, making him look like a vengeful snow angel before he answers, head tilted. It depends, really. Considering the length of our stay -- maybe a hotel? Elevated rooms for defense, amenities that might still function -- do thou know anything about this city?

...a horror manga artist lives here, Ren answers, because that's his only bit of trivia. So a hotel, then: with a personal generator in the hopes that we might get some electricity? Unless you suddenly got zio skills I don't know anything about, Ren jokes, and Arsene huffs before they continue. The upside of hotel rooms is also the fact that they have the possibility of finding previously-unoccupied rooms, so that they don't have to invade someone's private home again, which still makes Ren's skin crawl with guilt. They pass a public library, making note of it absentmindedly because it also seems like a good last-minute fortification with its distinctly heavy doors and small, barred windows, before they start their search in earnest.

They dismiss the Hanasarasa and the Windsor as soon as they step into the lobbies and are met with the stench of the decayed and dead, and three more afterwards because Arsene doesn't think they're high enough floorplan-wise. The next is a traditional-styled Onsen Inn hotel that's, again, not very secure but which has a natural hot spring amongst its three choices. Ren stares at it, kind of awed that there'd be one, and they test the water to find it warm against all odds. "...at least we know where to come to take a bath," he murmurs, transfixed. It's been so long since he's had warm running water...

Ren shakes his head before continuing onwards, pressed to find a hotel nearby so that they could use this golden opportunity often. They check out two, finding passable floor-plans and little in the way of dead or mutated people -- one had electronic sliding doors that were broken in, making the lobby a possible hazard, so in the end the hotel they settled on the Enakyo Grand Hotel with its ornate wooden entrance door and rather traditional style. The best of both, Ren joked, glancing around the lobby and noting the little kiosk and restaurant area. Arsene has already walked over to the reception area, leafing through a pamphlet before whistling (somehow. Ren stopped questioning how the persona made over half of his noises with his mask). I agree; there's family suites that are decked out with kitchens -- and gas stoves.

Ren stares. "Really?"

Arsene smiles, wings fluffing up. "Oui. Not all of the rooms, but there's a few in the west part of the building. Not as high as I would've liked, but gas is-- good." He finishes. His voice still was kind of croaky, but nowhere near as bad as in the past, so Ren let it slide that Arsene was talking out loud, sidling up next to him.

"No words on any sort of generators or anything like that, but we can check that out later -- between the gas stove and the hot spring nearby, I think this is a good choice." Ren comments, turning towards the wall of keys and ignoring the flecks of blood in the reception. They'll have to clean out the lobby, Ren thinks, because he can't in good conscience leave it like this if they planned on living here for a while. Arsene consults the pamphlets before choosing their room keys -- five, so that they could decide between living spaces -- and Ren blinks abruptly, hand smoothing over Mona's collar.

"Oh." He says, and Arsene turns around in confusion. "Sorry, it's just -- this is all strangely... domestic, considering we're in the middle of a- zombie apocalypse."

They're both silent for a moment. "...we're out of mortal danger -- sure, we've not made it to Tokyo, and I don't know when we'll make it there, but we're as safe as we can be for only being a team of two, and we've found a place to sleep, have access to warm water and to gas for cooking, and there's a kiosk here and a seven-eleven three streets past, and we can always go hunting because we're near the edge of the city. So we're also pretty good on that front... it's just strange, isn't it?"

"I think," Arsene starts, delicately, "I think we deserve some down-time. Ever since the cataclysm has happened, we've been relentless in our goals to reach Tokyo, and we've not really had time to really grieve... or do anything but compartmentalize. I know that thou're worried about the others, but I think thou also-- need this. We need this," he amends, and Ren stares at him, before lowering his lashes and breathing softly.

"You're probably right. Okay. Let's choose a room and then clean up the lobby, yeah?"

Mh.

--

They ended up choosing one of the traditional-style rooms on the second-highest floor, with a view of the city and the nearby river and forest from their balcony; the room was on the corner, so the balcony wound around in an L shape, a surprisingly big thing. If they secured wires around it, they might even use it. There was a rectangular living room with low seats and a kotatsu and some storage space, a small tv in the corner. A sliding screen door was separating it from the humble kitchenette. Another sliding door lead to the small bedroom, two futons on raised frames and a drawer, and the only western door connected to the bathroom, consisting of a shower, sink and toilet. Ren knew from past experiences that the shower would be unusable, but the toilet could be used as long as they kept refilling the water tank after each time. He stares at it. Note to self: we need buckets of water. A lot of buckets. I think that should be our first priority, right after we clean everything out.

Also more gas tanks -- but I can ransack the first few from the other rooms. Arsene adds, amused. We'll need water in the kitchen, too. Maybe use the balcony to store it? And we have to explore the hotel before starting any renovating, I don't trust it to not have surprises in store.

Yeah, that too.

(Two days later, Ren glances around their new home, taking in the citrus scent of the air fresheners Arsene had hung up everywhere. They'd cleaned their room of dust and the lobby of blood, methodically went through each of the rooms and locked the ones with the dead while marking the ones that were empty. They checked out the working spaces as well, locked any doors to dangerous-looking equipment. A stack of candles has been squirrelled away, as well as any spare batteries and flashlights they could find -- a few baby lamps, too, until their room had sufficient light even in the dark and with the curtains drawn tight to not attract any attention. Any pots and pans have been taken for water storage as well. A trip to the supermarket had them stock up on basic necessities like shampoo and toilet paper and medicine for the little cabinet, and Ren found a handwashing machine and water tank and took that with them as well. Arsene acquired chicken wire and a toolbox, and the second evening in the hotel was spent hammering down the wire onto their balcony to protect them at least somewhat from flying mutated. Their things were stored in the drawers and cupboards, and Ren had pushed the beds together the first night, was now standing in the living room in sweats and pink fuzzy slippers the hotel provided. He had put Morgana's yellow collar on top of the drawer with two candles.

It felt like the first time since Mona's death that Ren could take a deep breath and really hope for the future.)

First << >> Next

[shadesofnavy]

May I perhaps hear some trivia/lore about the monster Keith that you currently have set as your banner? =D

Of course! I know you mean monster Keith but I need to explain hella lot more than just him to get to know what the heck's happening lol. Sorry about posting him and not really saying much about him at first, I was initially going to have him as my AU for October but, well.. y'know, life happened. Anyways! Long post!

The Crooked Kind AU

So, Reaper Keith, as he is called, is from a universe where humans and non-humans more or less live side-by-side in a modern-day world post-conflicts over each other's diversities. This includes really, any kind of monster--demons, vampires, werewolves, hybrids, angles, skeletons, sirens, you name it. (..wait a second this feels familiar..) In this world, because I can't seem to stick to the norm (and because I was suggested by a friend), reapers, although they can ironically reproduce with strictly each other only, have the ability to reincarnate as mortals and live for an entire normal human life for as long as they can last. However in doing so their memories of ever being a reaper are sealed away until their human life ends, where they will automatically revive back into their reaper self, albeit with some of their human features now.

That's not the only thing reapers are capable though--they also have the ability to revive as well. Yes, more irony. It tastes super good, what can I say? Anyways, their power of being able to revive comes with one disadvantage when it comes to humans (or advantage, depends on how you look at it). Upon being revived by a reaper, the human will not only gain their life back, but also with some non-human features as well. They can be any kind of mythological creatures' features, whatever that person's character matches with. Universally, reapers only use this ability when it comes to someone they're fond with, and that's only a minority. The majority tend to keep their distance from mortals as they stick with their traditional reaper ways of guiding life to death. Some, like Keith, just do their own thing.

The world may never know what Keith's original reaper name was, but at some point during his reaper teenage years he decided to reincarnate to live a mortal life out of curiosity. In doing so, he reincarnates as our favorite Himbo, Keith Burlington (God I love that name so much).

His early human life starts similar to his life in the Burlington Bounty AU, as he is friends with Pico, Cherry, Darnell, Nene. They all go to the same high school together, and the shooting still happens. But, that's as close as it'll get with the Bounty AU, you'll see why in a minute.

Firstly, not everyone of those mentioned as humans--in fact, only Pico and Nene are humans (but not for long!). Cherry is a guardian angel, Darnell is an archangel and Cassandra is a succubus. (Although he doesn't come in until later, Otis here is a half-werewolf, his father being a werewolf and his mother being human.)

Now it all starts off well for Keith when he reincarnates as a human--his life goes on normally with his humans parents, Scott and Michaela Burlington. Like in the Bounty AU he'll have some trouble at school socially and personality-wise until he meets his to-be friends, and it all goes really well! Not only does he have super cool and interesting friends but he's also got a pretty angel girlfriend! (Side note: thanks to their angel nature, both of Cherry's parents, Jeffery and Martha, are far more friendlier and compassionate compared to their Regular and Bounty AU selves, so when Cherry eventually explains to them that the trippy loco alpha boy from high school she somehow fell over and bled her nose for is no longer so loco, they're more willing to give Keith a chance, and it works out great for everyone!

Until Cassandra does her thing and starts shooting everyone up. Yep, everyone. Pico, Nene and Keith get caught in the gunfire this time, and they all die, along with a bunch of other classmates.

However, Keith automatically revives back into his reaper self, with of course, a lot of his human features now permanently present (and some sick tentacles as bonus for no reason!), and his reaper-life (GOD THIS IRONY TASTES SO GOO-) memories are no longer sealed away.

This, of course, shocks everyone at the moment. One moment their silly dork is shot in the head and the next he's a friggin 7-foot skeleton-squid thing. Thanks to his invincibility now, he manages to put up more of a fair fight with Cassandra and beat her to an unconscious state at the very least, and afterwards, being the empathetic person he is, he revives all of his classmates, including Pico and Nene, who all now have non-human features and abilities. (As for what Pico and Nene's are, I'll think of them more later as it's late and I'm getting tired writing lmao)

The situation is more or less controlled now. Cassandra is taken away with her Goth Punks, and everyone is pretty much grateful for Keith having literally saved them all. Hell, you're gonna see him on the national headlines this evening.

Oh wait. He's a reaper now. Right. Hopefully his parents don't freak out...

(Spoiler: They do. But they still love him anyways. Cherry's parents? Well, that's another story for later)

[ultraericthered]

Anime Update V3 5

Vinland Saga S2 - A large chunk of this episode, I think the majority of it, was kept focused on Gardar's death as he was riding in the back of the wagon driven by his wife while slowly succumbing to a fatal wound Snake gave him, visions of his life and afterlife flashing before him the whole time. Watching it was one of the most surreal and discomforting experiences I've had in a while. I can't describe it all in words, it just left my heart feeling very heavy but at the same time I felt light, like I'd come out the other side of a spiritual ordeal. The man made some horrible mistakes and did not live his life in the best of ways, but watching his soul depart to the afterlife where he's reunited with his dead, still very young son was...it was something.

Hunter x Hunter - Meruem and Komugi playing their Gungi matches continues to steal the show, with Meruem this time attempting to intimidate Komugi with the prospect of betting her life against his body parts, only for what Komugi tells him that make the Ant King apologetic to the point where he just goes and maims himself anyway, so Neferpitou had to be called upon to use their powers to heal the king's wound. This allows for Knov to sneak inside the palace and make preparations for the hunters' attack. There's also this one guy who actually runs the nation who is a creepy, disgusting perv willingly working with the Ants in order to obtain women. Seems he's picked out Palm, who's all set for her own undercover mission.

SHUFFLE! - Kaede got more focus this time, and while she's still kind and sweet and wanting to make sure Rin and his friends are always well taken care of, the increasing presence of the other girls in Rin's life is clearly making her start to feel left out, and there are hints to some unpleasant childhood incident involving her and Rin that Rin probably still can't recall. Kaede catchess a cold but still tries to push herself to not be a burden, but thankfully Sia, Narine, and Asa come over to help her out...to some humorously mixed results.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works - The epilogue episode for the series focuses on Shirou and Rin about a year later attending this elite academy for mages in London and we just get to see how much closer they've grown and how they're carrying on in their lives. We got two notable last minute introductions of characters who should go on to have prominence elsewhere in this franchise - Shirou's new wealthy benefactor and Rin's archrival, Luviagelita Edelfelt (voiced with a laughably bad and exaggerated sounding British accent by Lauren Landa) who's only here to fawn over Shirou and kick Rin's ass in a wresting fight, and more surprisingly, Lord El Melloi II, known previously as Waver Velvet! One of the best protagonists of Fate Zero grew up to be quite an important, serious-minded and devilishly handsome man and I was so not ready to see him but love that I did!

The ending caps off Shirou and Rin's shared stories, which is what this series was all about from the get-go, and the post-credits just as perfectly caps off Archer's story, as we see him fade away from the Unlimited Blade Works and be replaced by a different Future Shirou, suggesting that Shirou does indeed avoid that particular Bad End.

KonoSuba - How does this show and the antics of its main cast just keep getting funnier? I was floored so many times by this one, with Aqua, due to sheer greed, taking up a mission to purify a lake and ward off gator monsters while inside a cage, which ends up freaking her the fuck out and leaving her with trauma that causes a mental shutdown where she refuses to get out of the cage because the world outside it scares her, and even forgets she's a goddess! (Don't worry, it doesn't take much to snap her out of it!) Then this other Isekai'd hero named Kyouya (voiced by the late, great Billy Kametz) comes in and recognizes Aqua as the goddess who sent him to this world on his own heroic quest, and is completely aghast to see her hanging around the party of a lowlife like Kazuma. Kazuma being Kazuma brings out the worst in this guy, who ordinarily seems more like your traditional Isekai light novel fantasy hero, so he challenges him to a duel where Kazuma steals his sword, threatens his female traveling companions, and then sells the sword off-screen. Kyouya will have damn good reason to feel vengeful if he ever crosses the party again....vengeful like the Headless Horseman demon lord from the previous episode, who comes calling again at the end of this one!

Symphogear XV - Noble Red's attempt to activate the Bracelet of Shem-Ha doesn't go so well, leaving them without a hideout, so the three vampire chicks now need to lay low in a trailer. Yes, really. In another skirmish with S.O.N.G, they reveal they hope to regain their human bodies so that they don't have the constant need for blood to sustain them. Vanessa gets a tracking device planted on her during the battle, but when it's found, she and her friends decide to use it to their advantage, luring the Symphogear wielders to an impressively well-laid out trap battleground where they use their special combo ability to trap the girls in a pyramid-shaped labyrinth that's closing in on them from all sides. But who should pop up to help Hibiki but the spirit of Saint-Germain, still inside her and lending her additional strength! After breaking out, Hibiki extends a hand to reach out to Vanessa...and then the whole thing is revealed to be a triple-cross as Japanese government agents raid the area, set on stopping the missions of both Noble Red and S.O.N.G! Goddamn you, Fudou!

Eureka Seven - Renton re-boards the Gekko but makes it clear to Holland and the others that he's only there to see Eureka again. He picked the worst timing since Eureka's gone off in search of him, putting herself in front of the approaching state army being led to the Gekko by Ray and Charles. While Holland is still a monster and has yet to really come to terms with the harm he's done to both Renton and Eureka, the rest of Gekko State accepts that the two kids need each other and encourage Renton to bail Eureka out of the battle. In the midst of some awesome and intense air battle action, Renton and Eureka are reunited at last, using the Nirvash to create something even stronger than a Seventh Swell, forcing the enemy to retreat. We seem back in business as Renton and Eureka have begun a new relationship, Holland's having some ephiphany about all the things he now has to re-think, and Charles swears he's not keen on giving up.

Gintama - Following half an episode of Shinsengumi antics is a full episode story where one of Otae's colleagues runs into trouble with this bizarre cult run by a con man, so Otae enlists Odd Jobs to retrieve the money that the cult took. And we meet a new mainstay character here, the shaggy-haired, goateed ninja Zenzo Hattori.

[maythearo]

I think Jamil doesn't need a real "Uncle Ben" figure to teach him "great powers, great responsibilities" since he's pretty responsible. Like, he takes care of Kalim his entire life and all. And Gwen didn't lose her uncle or aunt, she lost her best friend.

But at the same time, even he hates Kalim, if he lost him, that still counts a cannon event(?).

Before Uncle Ben's death in Tobey Maguire's movie, he said "I miss the part where that's my problem". Think about it: Jamil finally gets a chance to be himself, be free. Without worries, without responsibilities. While he's using a mask, no person would find out and co relation his behavior with the Asim family. With that said, he isn't a hero yet. He just a random guy using a suit like someone in comic-con. But he forgerts about time itself. And I didn't thought about it too much, but he saw someone sus and don't do a single thing. Hes not a hero, the only person he needs to protect is Kalim. Turns out that single "Idc" leads to Kalim's death. So he takes the path, like in the beginning of Tobey's and Andrew's movie where they search for the killer.

I had more things to say, but I totally forgot about it.

The BR Jamil Simp Anon

Jamil's the most responsible spider-man in the multiverse fr

Losing Kalim could count as a canon event now that I think about it 🤔 a canon event of this type, from my understanding could either be the loss of a mentor (not specifically uncle Ben, Tom Holland's spider-man lost aunt May) OR of a best friend (like Spider-Gwen when she lost Peter, or when in Andrew Garfield's role he lost Gwen. In Tom Holland's universe he was supposed to lose MJ too, but Andrew saved her last minute since he's an anomaly in that movie and interfered with the event just like Miles did with Pavitr's universe when he saved the police chief)! Jamil may not consider Kalim as the dearest friend or anything like that, HOWEVER Kalim does consider Jamil to be his best friend... so... in a weird way that could count as a canon event, I think? An unexpected one, but still! NOOO MY SUNSHINE BOY

I still have to rewatch the old movies to remember the major stuff that happened, but how could I forget about the "I missed the part where that's my problem"? THERE'S SO MUCH TRAGEDY!! Jamil took the opportunity to be free at least while he's spider-man... but turns out, responsabilities follow him around no matter where he goes, or who he tries to be.

As for the other movie sequels, all I recall from them is that at least in Tobey's story, there's a brief period of time he gives up being spider-man? Or maybe I'm remembering the order of facts wrong, and he only stopped the super hero duty because his powers weren't working anymore? (Correct me if I'm wrong though). But regardless, what came to mind here was the question of what if Jamil gave up on that too? Just as a second possibility, like, "if he can't even be free as that alter-ego then what's the point"? I'm screaming and crying, why do all paths of this au lead to pain end suffering??? To my favorite guy no less?????? 😫😫😫

And for the last point, I guess so! It's just that whenever I think about twst's universe I tend to imagine the majority of people there use/are used to seeing magic in their day to day lives, while in marvel's universe science and technology are more prominent than magic itself. Idk how to explain it, but I feel like magic usage has a bigger "weight" in stories than science does? (Depending on how the story plays with it of course) So in a world where magic is more prominent than science, it kinda feels a bit unbalanced in terms of how the characters' powers play out. Like why use science if magic can do these same things with much more ease? Even if it's just to cut some corners, at least to my view it feels a little out of place. But that's just me really!!

[symbioticship]

So if you know wittyy-name and zizzani fanfic shadow of the past and ghost of the future same time switch concept but different

It's not a time switch it's a dimension switch (it's a season 4 divergent?) the last thing that happens is meeting Lotor...or is it?

And the switch is from the world from the show to one where the gang is in a home of delinquents

That's right they are a bunch of hell raisers, well except for hunk he just followed Lance in.

Shiro is their live in counselor

And this delinquent home is funded by Allura in one of her many humanitarian projects.

Coran is the bus driver/delivery/if you need outside help he's the one to call. Why?

Because the house is in the middle of nowhere, and treated more like a camp than anything.

Keith is an Arsonist that burned down a building

Pidge is hacker who helped him get into that building

Lance nearly killed someone

Hunk helped drive the victim to the hospital

There's reasons why each of them did these things you can even change the reasons if you please

But the only thing that should start the same is pidge and Keith are friends and hunk and Lance are too

Keith and shiro are still brothers but because his family adopted Keith though he left Keith behind to pursue his career and left in a messy fight.

There is no aliens in this universe but there's still a kind of magic.

There are soulmate connections here.

They appear as glowing color when skin touches skin, though it's not just romantic there's also platonic/familial connections

So if Lance were to touch hunk the color will come out blue, if he were to touch a stranger nothing would happen. If he were to touch Keith it would turn purple.

Mixing colors is romantic, your color is platonic

Your color will pop up on your friend if you touch your own arm while thinking of them, but if you aren't thinking of anyone your automatically going to talk to your soulmate.

It doesn't last forever just as long as your in contact.

Also you can break the connection, however it's very painful and leaves actual scars

But if you were to truly reject your soulmate and you were to agree with it then you start to cry

But these aren't normal tears, they look like stars falling down your cheeks. And it burns like acid.

You can't melt your face off but you will be branded with a black mark where your tears fell the most

So the one who 'switch places' is Lance.

TW: major character death and mentions of sui

You can take this out if it makes you uncomfortable but the thing is the reason why they switched is because they both died at the same time.

There is another variable but I'll only tell the writer what it is!

Of course they were rescued in time to live but they did die in the medical sense for a few minutes.

Voltrons Lance, VLance, was killed by Shiro (or was he?) And woke up in a hospital bed on earth.

The Lance of this dimension was rescued after an attempt.

And everyone is shocked when he's awake.

Not because he survived, but he's nothing like their Lance. So happy and goofy and talks to everyone like they're friends.

Which is weird because they hate each other.

Even Hunk is considered barely an acquaintance.

So Lance who considers these people his family plans to fix that, while trying to find a way to get back home.

The thing is, is there really a home to go back to, or is this all in his head?

You have full range to change what you please but there's just a few things I ask to keep.

One is to keep the soulmates stuff, doesn't have to be the same thing just soul mates

The future pairings are Klance, Shiro matt, shay hunk are already a couple.

I had someone with pidge but it was just an oc that is only ever mentioned in the background (an android in the Voltron universe) so that can be scrapped if thou pleases

Lotor is there to cause a wedge between Lance and Keith. Like Lance Lotor is also bi. The two of them actually like each other, and bond over their shared interest in Allura.

It's not a ruse Lotor legit just likes Lance.

And last but definitely not least

The title, if you don't mind, can it be Astronutcase?

Love y'all!

[aqua-sapphire]

Dramione fics recs

For @miabrown007

The Right Thing To Do By : LovesBitca8 - E, 36 chapters - Hermione felt the pounding in her ears again. She would see him for the first time since the Great Hall, gaunt and stricken at the Slytherin table with his mother clutching his arm. She hadn't meant to look for him. Not in the corridors, not beneath the white sheets of the fallen, not on the way to the Chamber of Secrets with Ron, but she was a stupid girl.

Wait and Hope by mightbewriting - M, 12 chapters -

“Harry,” Hermione began, voice very controlled, but she could feel the blade of panic slicing at her vocal cords. “Why was Draco Malfoy just screaming bloody murder about his,” and the word almost strangled her as she said it, “wife?”

Harry's green eyes blew wide. Healer Lucas pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly displeased with the recent series of events.

“He was referring to you, my dear,” she said. “That was the other question you got wrong. Your name is Hermione Jean Granger-Malfoy.”

Hermione had to be sedated again.

[In which Hermione loses the last six year's worth of her memories, including the entirety of her relationship and marriage to Draco.]

Manacled by senlinyu - E, 77 chapters - Harry Potter is dead. In the aftermath of the war, in order to strengthen the might of the magical world, Voldemort enacts a repopulation effort. Hermione Granger has an Order secret, lost but hidden in her mind, so she is sent as an enslaved surrogate to the High Reeve until her mind can be cracked.

Until The Ink Runs Dry by AccioMjolnir - T, 10 chapters -

Granger,

Your mistake is assuming I have better angels at all.

-D.M.

Isolation by bexchan - M, 49 chapters - He can't leave the room. Her room. And it's all the Order's fault. Confined to a small space with only the Mudblood for company, something's going to give. Maybe his sanity. Maybe not. "There," she spat. "Now your Blood's filthy too!" DM/HG. PostHBP. Now complete with the epilogue.

Amateur Cartography by worksofstone - T, one-shot - That one-night stand with Draco Malfoy was a mistake. Hermione doesn't make mistakes, or at least she isn't supposed to. She's working hard at her Ministry career, however frustrating and pointless her job may be, and she's also got to live up to everyone's expectations as Hogwarts's most famous Muggle-born and a top-tier War Hero. So, why is she still sleeping with Draco Malfoy, ex-Death Eater and infamous pureblood? And why isn't she certain that she wants to stop?

The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier - M, 14 chapters - This story is set twenty-three years after the fall of Voldemort. Our main characters are Ministry employees, middle-aged, and the majority of them not very happy.

Don't Take This Sinner by hexmionegranger - E, 25 chapters -

Hermione Granger couldn’t help but think that no matter how difficult they had all figured rebuilding their society would be, no one was expecting anything quite like this. It was another stark reminder that just when things were finally starting to level out, they would never truly have peace and stability. Her entire life in the magical world had been full of shocks and stumbles, and this one seemed like the biggest of them all.

A post-war Dramione marriage law fic... with a twist!

The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy by speechwriter - M, 33 chapters -

The night that Harry and Dumbledore return from the cave, the Death Eaters are delayed from reaching the top of the Astronomy Tower for one more minute. Draco Malfoy lowers his wand.A Deathly Hallows rewrite in which Draco accepts Dumbledore's offer to fake his death and go into hiding with the Order of the Phoenix.

The Troublesome Thing About Time by LadyKenz347 - M, 9 chapters -

Hermione was sick of adventure. She'd had her fair share, and taking a seat at the desk in the back of the DLME was all she could have dreamed of -- until it wasn't.

One day Hermione is summoned to the bowels of the Ministry where she is met by the lead Unspeakable who has a rather odd situation that needs to be dealt with.

Draco Malfoy has just arrived from twenty years in the future and insists on speaking to his wife, Hermione Granger.

The only problem is that the Draco Malfoy she knows is still the snarky, button-pushing boy upstairs--and not the man in front of her now.

The Green Girl by Colubrina - T, 21 chapters - Hermione is sorted into Slytherin; how will things play out differently when the brains of the Golden Trio has different friends? AU.

Aurelian by BittyBlueEyes - T, 43 chapters - Two years after the war, a young stranger pays a visit to the burrow. His arrival alone is baffling, but the news he brings of an upcoming war turns the world upside down. Hermione's quiet, post-war life will never be the same.

The Eagle's Nest by HeartOfAspen - M, 71 chapters - Hermione's eighth year at Hogwarts is already going to be difficult in the aftermath of the war, but is further thrown into upheaval when Headmistress McGonagall orders a re-sorting of all students to promote inter-house unity. But when the Sorting Hat sends Hermione to Ravenclaw with Draco - and without Harry or Ron - how will she cope? [Epilogue? What epilogue?] Prevalent alchemy.

Daughter of Zeus by Peanutbuttertoast - M, 70 chapters - After the victory at the Battle of Hogwarts, Hermione's vow has been fulfilled and her true heritage revealed.

Hermione’s Diary by RideBoldlyRide - T, one-shot -

She filled every page for nearly ten years, word upon word. At the end, there was nothing left to do but say goodbye. But Hermione’s daughter watches the words disappear, leaving blank pages to make friends on the other side of the parchment…

Who’s on the other side, and why do they know so much about a father she knows so little about?

—

If you are who I think you are, Cassie, then yes, I do know of your father, and I think I do know why your mother doesn’t want my name used around you.

The words rise to the surface only to disappear again from the page.

Why?

His response is immediate.

To keep you safe.

Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love by isthisselfcare - E, 36 chapters -

Hermione straddles the Muggle and Magical worlds as a medical researcher and Healer about to make a big discovery. Draco is an Auror assigned to protect her from forces unknown – to both of their displeasure.Features hyper-competent, fiery Hermione and lazy, yet dangerous, Draco. Slow burn.

Clean by olivieblake - M, 31 chapters - Malfoy's handsome face was contoured into a condescending smirk. "No faith in that giant brain of yours, Granger?" She looked up at him defiantly. "Maybe I don't have faith in you!" she said, raising her voice. Malfoy only looked at her. "You'll find I'm very surprising." Dramione AU, Year 6 with a slow burn and a killer twist. Book I of "This World or Any Other" series. COMPLETE.

Love In A Time Of The Zombie Apocalypse by rizzlewrites - E, 84 chapters - After Voldemort, there was this. The clock is ticking to create a cure to the unimaginable horror that currently grips the world. Hermione finds herself unwillingly allied with the most hated man in Wizarding Britain. (Alternate ending: 'La Vie En Rose', Audiobook by ETL.Echo.Audiobooks).

Measure Of A Man by inadaze22 - E, 42 chapters - To truly know someone is to differentiate between who they once were, who they are now, and who they're capable of being. Hermione realises the duality of one man as she rectifies what she knows of the past and begins to understand the pieces of who Draco Malfoy is now: a father, a son, and a man.

The Auction by LovesBitca8 - E, 41 chapters - In the wake of the Dark Lord’s triumph over Harry Potter, the defeated must learn their new place. Hermione Granger, former Golden Girl, has been captured and reduced to human chattel. Sold to the highest bidder as the top prize at an auction of Order members and sympathisers, she is thrust into the rabid, waiting hands of the Death Eaters. But despite the horrors of Voldemort’s new world, help—and hope—seem to arise from the most unlikely of places.

[thevindicativevordan]

Superman in 2021: Year In Review

What a fucking year it's been for Superman. Might be his best year ever? Certainly his best year of the 21st century so far I would argue, we're at the point now where there's seemingly a Superman project for everyone either out now or in the works. Felt like doing a brief overview of my opinions concerning the major projects he's been featured in this year:

Future State - All the Superbooks were good to great for me at least. Standouts were PKJ's Worlds of War and House of El, Watters Superman/Wonder Woman, and Williamson's JL.

Superman & Lois S1 - The first major piece of Superman media outside of a comic since Smallville to not only be good but actually be well-received by the public at large? Man was that a nice experience. Hoechlin is on his way to becoming my favorite live action take on the character, and Tulloch really wowed with some great Lois scenes that show she has what it takes to be my favorite Lois as well. Plus of course our second live action Steel, with Parks already cementing himself as my favorite live action Steel (sorry Shaq).

The Suicide Squad - Bloodsport became the third Superman villain to show up in film, defying any conventional logic. Furthermore he became the second Superman villain in the DCEU to not be complete crap after Zod. Fun movie and Elba gave a great performance, I hope Bloodsport being introduced to a wider audience means he'll show up in MAWS. Gunn has teased more TSS spinoffs which knock on wood means we could get a Bloodsport HBO Max series. Hopefully Bloodsport will return for TSS2 if that gets made, or show up in other DCEU projects.

Injustice movie was ass - You better believe I gleefully drank in the tears of all the Injustice fanboys on Twitter crying about how DC "butchered" their favorite story. Sucksssss to be you guys! Petty cackles were had at everyone complaining that Flash's death was stupid, like the entire goddamn comic they love so much doesn't run on jobbing and people forgetting how their powers work. Hope that's the end of adapting the Injustice stories outside the games, the movie basically adapted the I1 and I2 comics as well as ending in a place where Superman and WW have realized they were fucking evil. I will allow that a loose adaption of the I2 game with a Superman who has realized he became a monster and wants redemption could be interesting, but otherwise I would love to see this Earth get nuked by the Anti-Monitor in the rumored CoIE trilogy.

PKJ Superman/Action - Despite starting off weak (the two-part Golden Age crossover between Superman and Action was apparently a last minute mandate and his brief Superman run was clearly just buying time for Taylor) from Action Comics #1030 onward PKJ has been the best Action Comics writer since Morrison. Even over Pak who I consider hugely underrated, PKJ has brought a level of worldbuilding, ambition, and stakes to the book that have been sorely lacking for years. His take on Mongul is the best since Alan Moore, he has a solid grasp of Superman's voice, the art has been fantastic, and Action is the book I'm most excited to read every week it comes out. Issue 1038 which came out this week was the first time in a long time where "hope" as a concept came up and felt meaningful. PKJ is putting Superman through hell yet it's being done not to tear him down but to build him back up better than before. I pray he gets a long run on the title, if he can maintain his current level of quality this is going to go down as an all-time great Superman run.

Taylor Superman: SoKE - Tough to give this an analysis. On one hand it's done some things I like: Made Jon bi, brought in Wildstorm concepts, seemingly helped establish Jon as Superman, and so forth. Despite Yara and Jace acquiring greater initial interest, it's Jon who seems the best positioned to succeed in the long run given Taylor's sales success. Until now however Taylor really hasn't lived up to the idea of Jon being the one to deal with "real issues" and the series feels meandering and lacking in direction at times. Normally I'd attribute this to Taylor's weakness with villains - he usually can't write any villain well bar the Joker in my opinion - but his recent SSOKE Annual where Lex and Jon met for the first time since Jon became Superman... was actually very good? Lex felt in character in a way I personally didn't feel he was in other Taylor works that used him. Continuing to pull it and see where Taylor plans to take Jon for now, but I need Taylor to actually give me a sense of what the long term vision for this book is, and build up the villains in addition to Jon. Others have wondered if Jay is going to become Jon's "Magneto" and that could be interesting.

Superman & the Authority - Morrison's swan song for their time with Superman was bittersweet. On one hand full of regrets that for all their hard work, they still aren't sure if they were able to elevate Superman back to the heights they dreamed of when they made their Superman 2000 pitch. Yet also a final goodbye to a character they've undeniably left a mark on, brimming with ideas, and with an optimistic faith that perhaps the next generation will be able to carry the character onward to greatness.

Yang Batman/Superman - Short but sweet, we already knew Yang was a good Superman writer, this showed he's a great Batman & Robin writer as well. I hope to see Yang back in the Superline given the new head of the Superbooks, Paul Kaminski, has edited pretty much every book Yang has done at DC, and Javins edited SSTK for him. Kaminski was also the editor for New Super-Man so I maintain a faint spark of faith that we will get Kenan in something soon.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow - Along with the Andrekyo run and Future State, this has convinced me that Kara works best out in space and away from Earth. Really enjoy Supergirl meets True Grit, with a grand tour of the DC Cosmos as the setting. It's my belief that Kara will take on the name Superwoman at the end of this and maybe we'll get a new Superwoman ongoing afterwards? PKJ has said on Twitter he has plans for Kara in the near future but no clue if those are going to take into account what King has done with her here. Be nice if Ruthye stuck around as part of Kara's supporting cast.

Calvin Ellis in Infinite Frontier and Justice League Incarnate - Williamson pairing Calvin and Thomas makes for a fun twist on the World's Finest, Brandon Thomas wrote a great oneshot issue that gave us a "day in the life" of President Superman, and I'm enjoying JLI so far. Calvin and Dr. Multiverse could make a cute couple, I hope they do get together, and am looking forward to Calvin hopefully having a big role to play in the 2022 event that's coming.

Superman vs. Lobo - Unfortunately this turned out to be a dud. Was really looking forward to Seeley on Supes, but neither the attempted humor nor the plot could hold my attention. Shame because I expected to love this given Seeley being a clear fan of Morrison and having done a good job with Superman previously elsewhere. Hope we get a good Superman story with Lobo in it one day, I'm fond of pitting the two against each other.

Superman Red & Blue - Another overall disappointment unfortunately. There were a handful of great stories spread across the six issues, but waaaay too many of what we got were rehashing the same basic story concept over and over. Less of a showcase of the breadth of Superman's world than it was a window into the limitations of the creativity displayed by multiple writers, I have to regretfully label this a dud. Great art let down by tepid storytelling. If I never have to see a "Ma and Pa teach Clark a lesson" or a "civilian saves Superman" or a "Superman comforts a child" story again I will be quite pleased. Maybe I've become jaded but those kind of stories have become too commonplace and have lost whatever impact they used to have for me.

Superman '78 - A very solid nuts-and-bolts Superman story set in the Donnerverse and with the classic status quo for those not enjoying what PKJ and Taylor are doing. Oddly enough reading this is where the brilliance of what Morrison was trying to do with Brainiac really clicked into place for me. Wonder if Venditti was inspired by Morrison's take at all for his own conception of Brainiac here?

World of Krypton - Solid so far and I really love Oeming's portrayal of Krypton. Dude can do trippy scifi like no other. Venditti has been enjoyable so far on these side minis, I wonder if the new head editor for the Superline will keep giving them to him? They don't sell great but they've been well received critically from what I can tell. I'd love to read a Zod mini from Venditti, he's probably the best Zod writer... ever honestly? Unquestionably ruthless but you get a sense of nobility in Venditti's handling of the character that again is present here. Intrigued to see how Venditti handles the Jor-El/Zod split and also hoping for more Kara from him given how well he handled her in his Annual.

Additionally there's stuff coming up in the future that was announced this year which I have thoughts on:

Battle of the Super-Sons - Kid Jon fans get a win! DC animation has had it's fair share of misses lately so this isn't guaranteed to be good, but it at least will provide some new content for people who want their boy back. Going CG animated over traditional animation should be interesting, wonder if it will go for a similar style as the GL show?

My Adventures With Superman - Sucks that it's been delayed until 2023, but on the upside that means it's debuting for Superman's 85th anniversary! Very excited for this, even if it ends up not appealing to me personally it's the first major Superman project in a while to focus solely on him, and will hopefully win over a new generation into thinking he's cool. What we've been shown so far looks great, I hope they do a good job with the villains, and it would be awesome if Steel and Kenan managed to show up in this.

Legion of Superheroes HBO Max animated series - And for us Teen Jon fans and Bendis defenders there's this! Early in preproduction still but Bendis has specifically said this will be using his run as a base, which almost assuredly means it will be using Jon as the POV character. If it does get made I'll definitely check it out.

Mark Waid/Dan Mora Batman/Superman - Another project that seems made to give those not feeling the IF status quo a chance. Excited to see what Waid will do with Mora, he mentioned that he had to reign himself in because he went really heavy on the Superman Rogues at first. Also talked about on Word Balloon how he doesn't want this to be a "retro" book, he's aiming for contemporary storytelling. Apparently Dick as Robin will be in every issue as a return to the true "World's Finest" trio, with Dick making jokes as comic relief. Want Waid to do well and hope he'll turn in something on the level of his Dr. Strange run if not his Daredevil run.

Mark Waid/Bryan Hitch Superman Black Label project - Besides mentioning that this will be set in the Birthrightverse on other podcasts, Waid talked a bit about this on a recent Word Balloon interview. He mentioned that this will explore why Superman doesn't kill. This is totally going to be a pointed "fuck you" to the Snyder fans who kept using Birthright to defend Snyder's take won't it? Heh well I'll check it out, same as his B/S series I'm hoping Waid can knock it out of the park given this is likely his last chance with Superman.

League of Super Pets - Trailer was funny and the relationship between Krypto and Superman looked great. If it does well I hope to get a sequel and maybe even a solo big budget Superman animated movie.

Superman & Lois S2 - From what they've shared so far there's going to be a "Superman" villain and a "Lois" villain, with the two not working together but both threatening the Kent family. Guessing Anderson is just the opening foe like how Irons was, most interesting part for me is seeing how the Superfamily and the Steel family interact given the tension that's sure to be there from living together.

Possibly an animated Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy - Apparently the rumor mill is saying that the 2023 DC DTV animated movies will be a three-part adaption of CoIE. Word is that it will involve every animated DC property ever created, from Super Friends, to the DCAU, to the DCAMU, to the standalone animated movies, and more. Sounds like it could be entertaining if they actually get the budget for it.

Supergirl movie - Curious but need to see Sasha in action before deciding whether to go or not. My guess is that if this actually gets made, it will be a loose adaption of Johns/Frank Brainiac arc in the comics. Maybe Cavill will show up as a co-star here if he's actually in The Flash and WB can come to terms with him.

Val-Zod HBO Max series - Don't care, don't like Val, don't plan on watching. Should be good for those who like the character however. My guess is it will be another Supergirl/Miles situation where they take stuff from Clark and give it to Val. Long as it's not adapting the evil Superman "Brutaal" bullshit and it doesn't screw over S&L from doing whatever they want by poaching villains, I'm fine with this show existing much as I would've preferred Kenan be the one getting a show.

Coates Superman reboot - This on the other hand I'm expecting to be garbage. Coates' time writing Black Panther and Captain America was terrible, he name dropped the DCAU incarnation as a source of inspiration, which I'm not a fan of, and nothing so far has given me any reason to believe WB knows how to make a good Superman movie. With what has been rumored so far - black Clark, Elseworld, set in the past, based on the "original" Superman - my guess is this will be a loose adaption of Superman Smashes the Klan. Fits in with what we've been told so far, lines up with Coates historical interest, and makes for an easy Oscar bait movie about racism which I assume is what this is going for. They should've tapped Yang for this.

Possibly a Superman game in the works at WB Montreal? - No real reason to believe this is coming but with the Monolith WW game announcement we suddenly have proof that WB might actually be willing to greenlight DC games that don't star Batman. They're gearing up pre-production on a second DC game so there's a chance, and given I've written off film Superman as a lost cause at this point, just give me a goddamn Superman game and I'll be happy.

While we're still far behind the highs experienced by the Spider-Man and Batman fanbases, Superman fans have a lot to be thankful for and to look forward to. Situation isn't perfect, there's still projects coming that I'm not looking forward to, such as the inevitable Injustice 3, but for now I can say I genuinely am happy with where Superman is at and I feel optimistic about the future. Seeing people clown him across social media platforms recently when someone suggested the idea of a Supermen multiverse team up in the vein of No Way Home was depressing, I have to admit that. But there's been plenty of great Superman stories that came out this year and most of the upcoming Superman projects appeal to me. The 20s seem poised to make up for the 10s being his worst decade ever. Perhaps at the end of this decade the idea of a multiversial Supermen team up will inspire excitement instead of scorn.

[cienie-isengardu]

The Lin Kuei? As far as social dynamics and structure. You probably have a lot of these questions answered already, so you might just have to consolidate them... but what do think the Lin Kuei social structure is like?

I know there's the Grandmaster whose above everyone, and the Master Assassins (game characters we know about) and Sifu above everyone else, and rank is probably determined by skill less than birth. Sektor doesn't seem to get any special protection or treatment despite his family tree.

But what exactly is the hierarchy among the members? Who out ranks who? Both in teams, and as a group? What are the inter Lin Kuei relationships like, who feels what about who? What exactly is the qualifications? (Cyrax who I admittedly don't pay much attention to, for example confuses me, since he doesn't seem very impressive as a fighter?) How is rank maintained? I know they probably fight for it, but fighting constantly or to the point of death / serious injury seems counterproductive, even in mk? How is peace maintained? How is punishment dolled out, what constitutes punishment in a aggressively combative society like that, and in such a brutal environment, what is punishment?

If there's other things you think of to answer that I didn't ask, answer those too please. I love how much thought you put into these. Your the best. 🥰

"RELEASE THE RAMBLES!!!"

First off, sorry it took me so long to answer. Secondly, thank you very much for such a wonderful ask! Hope you will not regret once the rambles are set free, because there is a lot to talk about :D

The safest way to analyze Lin Kuei social structures would be to start with some basic question: what is a Lin Kuei? And the answer will be of course a clan, more precisely, a clan using assassins and thieves as its main source of income. But there is also another thing about Lin Kuei that will play an important role in creating and sustaining social structures - the strong independence streak and the pragmatism born from it.

Because the vital part of Lin Kuei is their loyalty to themselves. They work for those who can afford their service, but they aren’t bound to any earthrealm government or outworld ruler. I mean, Shang Tsung/Shao Kahn probably had a long-lived deal with Lin Kuei that benefited clan and in MK9 Lin Kuei offered the emperor their loyalty and service, but we also known that cyber Sektor refused to serve Quan Chi/Shinnok [MKX] once he decided the sorcerer had failed to fulfill his part of contract. Which means at the end of the day, the Lin Kuei benefit was the major goal to achieve. Even Kuai Liang’s reformed Lin Kuei shows this tendency - Sub-Zero will work with other Earthrealm Defenders but he isn’t blindly following anyone and is willing to go against fellow combatants (seen especially in banters with Raiden [MK11] where Sub-Zero questions god’s competence to protect the realm).

Interestingly, Shirai Ryu in the past did offer their service to various Japanese leaders / shoguns and who knows, even in modern days the clan still could have served the government as some special forces in time of need (and in return, have some protection and/or supplies from government?). In contrast, there is little to none information of Lin Kuei being loyal to one country - I mean, the sources usually call Lin Kuei warriors the “chinese ninjas” but we have never seen them showing any sign of national pride, haven’t we? Their only pride comes from belonging to Lin Kuei and their own skills. Another point against connection to any government is the fact that Lin Kuei are operating world-wide and collect people with special powers from over all world (Cyrax comes from Botswana [Southern Africa], Smoke/Tomas Vrbada from Prague [Czech Republic] and even Ice Bros were born in USA in old timeline). So, the fact that Lin Kuei warriors are diverse in terms of their powers and appearance/ethnicity will also affect the social structures.

So, the social structures on one hand must create a society that blindly follows Grandmaster’s will, on another be enough A) elastic to adapt a vast number of different people and B) solid to maintain the clan independence from others, Earthrealm and Outworld alike.

The problem with independence is that Lin Kuei works for the best price which also means constant danger. For warriors sent on missions to the safety of the whole clan. Without a clearly defined loyalty to anyone but themselves, Lin Kuei would be left on its own in case of enemy attack or any other potentially dangerous crisis. So the members of the clan must stick to each other because no one else would do that.

Regardless of type or date of source, the clan headquarters - one or many existing at the same time? - is usually presented as located in a naturally hard-to-reach, isolated place and with a clear defensive character, as can be seen below :

Lin Kuei for ages used naturally hard to invade / attack places like mountain peaks separated from the rest of the world by abyss with a bridge that can be easily destroyed and solid, thick walls to protect the clan. But here is a thing to think about - as much as there were a lot of strong, cunning and skilled warriors, Lin Kuei operated world-wide, taking jobs in various parts of Earthrealm and Outworld and some missions could take months if not years to finish and there was no guarantee that everyone would return. Which means the warriors couldn’t always be available in case of an enemy's attack or other serious crisis.

So, to maintain the defensive advantages, especially in a naturally harsh environment, there should be someone to control and if necessary take care of the state of walls, the bridge(s), residential buildings and so on. Which means Lin Kuei would need access to natural resources (wood, stone, metal) for expansion or repair but also for experienced craftsmen. There is also a matter of access to drinkable water and food supply, the most basic requirement for a clan to survive and thrive.

On one hand, warriors could fulfill such roles too, especially if we take into account a paragraph from Mortal Kombat novel by Jeff Rovin (1995):

They [Lin Kuei] would kidnap children when they were five or six and raise them in secret caves or woods to become superb athletes, great scholars, and unparalleled fighters, able to use all weapons and to improvise arms from common objects such as paper rolled to a knife-point or sand packed into a sock. They would train the children, boys and girls both, to be masters of many trades: carpenters, fishermen, priests, and even beggars, so they could blend in and make themselves useful in different towns as they traveled on missions for their lords.

Many young people died during training: some could not hold their breath for five minutes and drowned, others weren’t fast enough to avoid the weapons of the masters, some starved or froze or dehydrated when they were stranded, naked, in deserts or on mountaintops and told to make their way home. But those who survived were the Lin Kuei.

On the other hand, to become masters of the traders mentioned above, those children needed proper teachers. And yes, the already trained warriors could pass the knowledge to the younger generation but warriors first and foremost were responsible for earning money for the clan which is why personally teaching kids anything other than martial arts seems like wasting a time they could utilize in a better (more profitable) way.

This is why I suspect the social structures of Lin Kuei included various groups responsible for different needs of the clan.

The leader

So, we have a Grandmaster, the ruler. In modern times, pretenders for this title needed only to defeat and kill the current leader to take over the clan. Like Cyber Sektor and Kuai Liang did. But such practice may be just an exception to the long tradition, because Cyber Initiative was an extreme project that divided and ultimately destroyed the old version of clan. Killing the previous owner of the title may have some value (as in, eliminating any potential conflict of interest) but at the same time choosing and teaching a successor sounds much more practical. Because leading such a big clan is no easy feat thus any preparation would be useful and beneficial for the clan’s future. Not to mention the possibility of some secret knowledge that should be passed alongside.

Sadly, we don’t have much information about the inner politics of Lin Kuei. From the crumbs here and there, we know about Sub-Zero and past-Grandmasters that:

→ they could have offspring (example: Sektor).

However the sources don’t define if that was required from them in the form of a marriage or just as a way to secure the continuing inheritance of power (a tradition that Kuai Liang could simply ignore) or from their own choice or if the procreation of a child was unplanned and just happened. Whatever the truth was, in the case of Sektor, “it was never in question that he would join the Lin Kuei.”

The line from MK9 Sektor bio suggests that being a child of a warrior does not give immediate status as a member of the Lin Kuei. This in turn could suggest that not every child begotten by Lin Kuei warriors would be forced to join the clan. Sektor, as the son of the Grandmaster simply didn’t have a choice in the matter and who knows, maybe there is some premature qualification should the child be taken or not.

Another interesting part of Sektor’s BIO is this line: “Though this mission will put his clan in good standing with Shao Kahn, Sektor's ultimate goal is to supplant his father as Grand Master of the Lin Kuei." which may suggests that Sektor wasn’t the designated heir after all so plotted to overthrow his father?. I mean, he was sent to the Mortal Kombat Tournament as a participant and then cyborgized while the Grandmaster himself stayed human with a handful of other members of the clan. Then again, Sektor’s ending suggests that Grandmaster wasn’t surprised much by Sektor’s attempt to take over Lin Kuei, so maybe the killing of the previous leader was in fact a necessary part of rite of passage between old and new ruler?

→ it was against tradition for them to personally train new recruits

Stated in Deadly Alliance, in Frost’s Bio:

The winner was a mysterious female named Frost who seemed to have freezing abilities similar to those of Sub-Zero. Breaking with Lin Kuei tradition, the new Grand Master, Sub-Zero, took it upon himself to train this new recruit.

Interestingly, the Grandmaster was supposed to be the absolute ruler yet there were some traditions that actually regulated his or her participation in daily life of the clan. Kuai Liang simply ignored those and chose Frost as his apprentice, who at least in theory, became his appointed heir. By that logic, Sektor shouldn’t be trained by father, at least not before he gained the official status of Lin Kuei and proved himself worthy of Grandfather’s attention.

→ but it was their duty (choice?) to teach advanced arts to a few selected warriors.

This is mainly seen in Mortal Kombat Conquest TV series. The third episode (“Cold Reality”) gave us Shang Tsung’s explanation about clan and its warriors:

“The Lin Kuei, an ancient sect. Their training is the deepest secret as is their code. They are silent, swift and always lethal [...]. For some, a select few… the Lin Kuei Grand Masters will continue their education into darker areas. Then death comes in more interesting ways.”

Then, through this and another episode, the TV series shows that Grandmaster in fact personally oversees the training of Sub-Zero. So, the training of the new recruits may be against the tradition, but passing the advanced knowledge and the final trials seem to be not. Or at least the trials of the warrior with special (ancient) abilities.

This suggests the social status of a warrior - or any clan member - is affected by Grandmaster’s favor or lack thereof. Those chosen will advance, become more powerful and thus sent on more dangerous yet profitable missions. With a successful streak of missions, their notoriety will grow between prestige clients and the Lin Kuei community for good strengthening their social position. And who knows, one day they could take the place of (grand)masters in the inner circle serving closely the leader? On the other hand, those whose loyalty or skills get doubted by the Grandmaster are punished in several ways.

Inner Circle / Ancient (?) Masters

The same as with Grandmasters, there is little confirmed information about Lin Kuei masters. Bi-Han/elder Sub-Zero seemed to be favored by Grandmaster who called him the “our most cunning assassin and thief” (Mythologies: Sub-Zero) but it doesn’t sound like he was one of the inner circle.

In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (episode 5, “Old Friends Never Die”), Kuai Liang mentioned “Ancient Masters” who decided to change warriors into cyborgs, while in the Mortal Kombat Conquest TV show we could see that Grandmaster keeps talking to some men about Sub-Zero’s training and powers. Interestingly, those men had uniforms looking more like his own than of any warrior.

(If Lin Kuei co-operated with Shang Tsung for ages, their life-span could be extended by sorcerer’s magic. Or, their own special abilities allow for such a long life. Thus the name of ancient masters?)

I think it is right to assume those masters formed an inner circle that advised the leader and helped in training the chosen warriors and most likely oversaw specific operations / aspects of the clan's life. Most likely with Grandmaster, they made the higher command and were the law.

Warriors

In the simplest way, this is the working class that earns money and builds the reputation of the clan. The warriors were the main source of incoming profit for the clan, but it wasn’t just material goods from assassinations and stealing but most likely also important intelligence data that Lin Kuei could use for its benefit or sell on. Thanks to them, Lin Kuei was also feared and respected in Earthrealm and Outworld alike.

So, on one hand, being a warrior in itself was a prestige rank that gave a chance to gain fame. The skilled and smart could advance into higher positions (the master assassins and thieves) and maybe even get Grandmaster’s attention. On another the life of a warrior was the most dangerous and hazardous occupation in the clan with little prospects for a long life. The victory was paid in warrior’s blood and pain while punishment for failure was severe and harsh.

The easiest way to classified them would be those two categories:

→ the common ones,

in games and comics looking alike, without distinctive features. It is hard to tell, if they possess any special abilities, if they were blood related to each other, what kind of missions they took.

→ the master assassins and thieves,

whose uniforms and weapons are modified to their personal taste and style of fighting and who have greater independence than warriors from the first category. I think it is right to assume that named warriors should be classified as such. So we have Sub-Zero/Bi-Han, Tundra/Kuai Liang, Smoke, Cyrax, Sektor, Frost, comics!Hydro.

Yet, this division may be in fact disastrous due to lack of enough sources. I mean, the lack of individuality does not necessarily imply a lack of appropriate abilities and for all we know, the “nameless” members just wear proper uniforms for their duties. Something that maybe even the named characters would wear if any source actually showed their downtime between missions. Frankly, the classic “ninja look” also makes everyone look alike, with only proper colors to distinguish between characters. Like the old comics version of Sub-Zero and Hydro - the main detail to tell them apart was the color of their eyes because both wore the typical Lin Kuei blue and dark uniform.

There is a lot to say about Lin Kuei warriors, so I will focus only on the aspects most vital to the subject and the role and effect it has on the Lin Kuei social structures.

→ armors, uniforms and their colors

Lin Kuei seems to have various uniforms, from those with plain (“classic”) look to very ornamented ones. Like I mentioned earlier, there may be an established type of clothes the warrior should wear on duty between missions while during the job the uniform was personalized due to the owner's skills and preferences. Some more advanced designs could be also a sign of personal achievements and were given / passed down (as family heirloom?) to said warriors.

The most noticeable thing however is the color. Since most clan members shared some kind of blood-ties (thus specific set of genes), the color may represent their connections to a specific branch of the clan. For example, blue was used by cryomancers and those warriors who had water-related powers. At the same time, blue seems like the most common color used by Lin Kuei. It makes sense for Kuai Liang’s warriors to use such tone, as to honor their leader and maybe even cut off from the dark past of the clan but frankly, Sub-Zero’s freezing power was called “ancient one” in Mortal Kombat Conquest TV series that alone was set ages before the last tenth Tournament happened, so maybe the ice/water always played a big role through the history and Lin Kuei simply adapted it for its common use? As to combine the reputation of the clan with the terrifying powers of cryomancers?

There is also grey color used by Smoke that fit well to his special power and yellow worn by Cyrax. Albeit if that has any connection to his unique genes or is just a color for a specific branch of clan or just esthetic, hard to tell.

Then we have a red color that most commonly is related to fire, something that Sektor frequently used at least in the new timeline. At the same time, various Grandmasters used red / reddish or burgundy colors (examples: [1] Mortal Kombat Conquest TV series, [2] Mythologies: Sub-Zero, [3] Sektor’s Ending in Mortal Kombat 9). So the red accents on Sektor’s uniform may in fact be a sign of his blood-ties to the leader (or leading family?).

Whatever true reasons lie behind the meaning of colors, Lin Kuei warriors seem to be segregated in certain smaller groups. Interestingly, even if Sektor’s red color in fact symbolised his connection to Grandmaster, this played little to none role in the MK9 game. Of course, the source did not show much inner dynamic between Bi-Han, Sektor and Cyrax but even with so limited space, Sub-Zero was the central figure in the group screen time which makes an impression he was in fact the leader. Then, the argument about the Cyber Initiative project happened only between Sektor and Cyrax, which could also imply Sub-Zero outranked them so they did not want to bring attention of their superior to their personal conflict. Especially since disobedience to Grandmaster was a serious crime.

→ codenames

Mortal Kombat X and 11 provided information that Shirai-Ruy does have some system of official ranks including the term Chujin that in general was a middle rank between ninjas (Takeda Takahashi is a known example). Lin Kuei has complex social structures but as far as we know, they do not use analogous to Japanese ninja system of ranks and yes, I know I categorized the named characters as the master assassins and thieves but frankly, I don’t remember other warriors to refer to them as such. The warriors just called each other by codename and various sources say the codename wasn’t something that permanently belonged to one individual. The name of “Sub-Zero” is the best example since it was used by many warriors through the course of a long period of time.

In both timelines, Bi-Han and Kuai Liang come from lineage of cryomancers serving Lin Kuei

and currently have ongoing conflict to whom the codename truly belongs. Because apparently, the name is passed to new generations once the younger cryomancer will prove their worth, most likely, by defeating the present champion. This does not mean that one must die because frankly, “retired” cryomancer still could teach adepts or serve the clan in a meaningful way. Also, which is very prominent with cryomancers, their mastery over ice grew stronger with passing years, so Bi-Han and Kuai Liang’s Grandfather in fact could be a pretty powerful warrior even as an old man.

The important thing however is that, the codenames may determine the position in clan hierarchy. We don’t have a way to analyze the subjection between codenames and social status of Sektor, Cyrax or Smoke but names used by cryomancers may define their level of mastery over ice. The title of Sub-Zero has existed for ages and I think it is right to assume this is a codename intended only for the best of the best. Sadly, we don’t know how high in the hierarchy was “Tundra” but we can’t cross the possibility that Bi-Han at some point in his career used that name too, before he managed to earn the mantle of Grandfather’s name.

So, Lin Kuei may not use typical ranks and instead stick to codenames passed from one generation to another. Thus no one is addressing Bi-Han as the master assassin and thief but everyone knows that the person using the codename “Sub-Zero” is one of top warriors in the service of the clan.

→ combat experiences, teachers and retirement

Combat experience is something that affects a warrior’s position in a clan because no amount of training (even as hellish as training of Lin Kuei adepts) will be the same as real life and death struggle. The more experienced a warrior is, the more valuable become to the clan. At the same time, old age will slow down even the best of the best fighters at some point. Surprisingly, the first game mentioned (hinted) the idea of retirement in Lin Kuei in Sub-Zero’s (Non-Canonical) Ending:

"After receiving the title of Grand Champion, Sub-Zero disappears back into the shadows from which he came. His only goal in the tournament was...the assassination of Shang Tsung. He was paid a large sum of money by one of Tsung's wealthy enemies. With his mission accomplished, Sub-Zero will collect his fortune and retire from his dangerous profession."

The original Sub-Zero was usually described as 32 years old. Which doesn’t sound old, but if we take into account the previously mentioned passage from the book, the teachings started at the age of 5 or 6 which could mean Bi-Han already survived two decades of harsh servitude to the clan (that abducted him and his younger brother). No one leaves Lin Kuei but there is a possibility that at some age the warrior may step down from the dangerous profession. Then, such a “retired” fighter could train adepts and young, less experienced members of the clan and maybe even start a family that will produce offspring - preferable with special powers - to supply the clan with new recruiters.

Because of that I assume that warriors in their prime were used mainly to do the dirty job and get as much money and valuable items as possible. Once they survived to a certain age, they shared the gained wisdom with less experienced fighters. We don’t know how students and teachers (“sifu”?) were assigned to each other; it may be related to their family ties or similars powers (cryomancers teaching cryomancers, like Kuai Liang and Frost) or the veterans picked youngsters for certain skills or traits that made them worth the time and effort. Anyway, veterans, as those who survived years of service, should be placed high in the hierarchy. Because their experiences and wisdom help to shape a new generation of warriors earning money and fame for the clan.

→ they work alone, in pairs or in bigger groups.

We rarely see the “nameless warriors” working alone - in case of danger or mission, they form a small army and do as they are commanded by Grandmaster (MKX) or one of master assassins, like Bi-Han (Mortal Kombat 2021). In contrast various sources show that named characters usually worked in pairs (Smoke & Tundra, Cyrax & Sektor, Sub-Zero/Bi-Han & Hydro) or alone (Bi-Han, Frost) and in some special cases, commanded larger groups of warriors.

This is an interesting detail, because all the named warriors seem to be to some degree familiar with each other even though it looks like they were permanently paired. Of course, training together will have this effect, but Lin Kuei operated world-wide and in different realms so it is not guaranteed that warriors had time to hang out between missions or to be at the same time in headquarters. If they possessed diverse, opposing elements, after passing the trials and earning the title of warrior, they could be trained separately. Thus again, a smaller chance to form (forbidden) friendship. Which is why I think there must be some exercises that force fighters to cooperate or test their skills in some sort of tournaments. Partially to see how well they fare in fight (thus judge their usefulness to clan), partially to establish hierarchy between them.

Who and how decides about pairing certain fighters is completely a mystery. On one hand, Hydro (water) and Sub-Zero (ice) were compatible and probably naturally increased their own powers. But we also have Kuai Liang (ice) and Tomas (smoke) whose elements seem like not the best combination since Smoke’s power should work better with fire (at least his battle cry, “Where there is Smoke, there is fire!” suggests that) and there is Cyrax and Sektor who powerwise may work well, but their mindsets are extremely different.

Are warriors forced into such partnerships by their superiors or were they allowed to find the right partner, sadly we do not know. On one hand, the dynamic between named characters makes an impression they are in fact an equal partners - Smoke joined Kuai Liang in his quest for revenge on his own (MK9), Sektor didn’t manage to force Cyrax into submission before the man left the clan. Comics!Sub-Zero and Hydro were so close that “Bi-Han” wasn’t afraid to admit his fears of undead Scorpion relentlessly haunting him and Hydro was supportive all the time (“Blood and Thunder”). On the other hand, partnership could provide additional safety and increase the chances of survival during missions and maybe even uphold an already earned social position, so the warriors may seek each other for solely pragmatic reasons, even more since friendship was seen as a weakness and forbidden. I also suspect that though partnership between two warriors was based on mutual benefits, there could be fierce competition between pairs.

Surprisingly, all known to us partnerships are between male characters. There is no gender-mixed duo as far as sources are concerned (unless comics!Hydro was female, trans- or agender person and frankly, for 4 comics issues only one narrator box used the pronunciation of “he” for Hydro, while Scorpion was constantly called by Lin Kuei, other characters or narratives as “he”, which always makes me wonder about Hydro’s gender. Or did comics!Lin Kuei warriors talk about themselves in third person to not betray their and their comrades true identity / gender?). Regardless of the nature of said partnership, those working together share a strong bond. Kuai Liang and Tomas outright considered themselves very close friends (family) despite clan rules that forbidden friendship. Bi-Han was willing to show his weakness / fear to Hydro who in return was very protective of him and even Sektor shows a pathological need to keep Cyrax at his side despite all the oblivious signs how unwise this decision is. Frost, sadly, didn’t have any named partner (what may be related to her role of chief between female Lin Kuei warriors) and if she was included in an important mission, she partnered Grandmaster (MK: Deadly Alliance). And their collaboration was based on a master-apprentice relationship, so it had none of the equality that characterizes the previously mentioned duos.

Of course, ultimately, the warrior who works alone does not need to share the fame (and earning?) with anyone. Bi-Han is the best example of that (Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Mortal Kombat novel (1995) or his bio from the original game). And yes, every warrior should be capable of completing the job, but though weak Lin Kuei fighters may look superhuman in Earthrealm they will not last long in Outworld.

And that brings us to another important matter:

→ the place of activity.

Because those who work frequently in Outworld by default should be considered better in the combat area. But at the same time, Lin Kuei must have a wide and well organized spy network, to keep track of all potential recruits (Smoke and Cyrax), access to science research and laboratories and so on. So, especially in modern times, combat skills may not be the most appreciated feature anymore and some Lin Kuei warriors, no matter how weak they are compared to others, will still have their special value to Grandmaster’s plans. Due to the nature of spying, they could also work alone or in small groups far from their homeland. Thus, operate outside the social hierarchy established between other warriors.

→ Punishments

A warrior could die on mission at any moment, but also could be killed for various offenses, such as:

Leaving the clan - punished by death and this seems to be a consistent punishment in all sources. Of course a determined warrior could manage to successfully run away (like Takeda, the founder of Shirai Ryu or Kuai Liang did) but Lin Kuei does not forget such crime and will hunt down the fugitive for years. The best example comes from the Mortal Kombat book, in which Sub-Zero spent two decades hunting down his own ex-partner in crime to kill him in a brutal way in front of the man's family.

So even if someone managed to run away and start a new life, there was no escape from the clan's wrath. In the modern time, Cyrax was captured and cyborgized - for him, it was fate worse than death. This actually brings the question, if there were warriors responsible for hunting down fugitives or was it the duty of those whose partners broke the sacred rule of “no one leaves Lin Kuei”?

Failure of mission - another known major crime punishable by death yet most likely not applies to Kuai LIang’s reformed clan.

In the Conquest TV series, by Grandmaster’s order two warriors that failed the mission were killed by then current Sub-Zero. This was as much public execution to show others what happens once you fail as presenting the ice powers of freshly promoted cryomancer:

“Before you stand two who have failed. For this there can be but one consequence and it must come from within, within us. Earth, wind, fire, water. To control one element of the four that make up life is power. A twist of nature, an aberration, one who brings forth true killing force. Before you stand one whose ancestors have passed on such power to us. Remember this well. Behold... Sub Zero. [Grandmaster’s speech, episode 3, “Cold Reality”]”

This is just one example from the distant past but it may also be a suggestion that warriors with special powers played the role of executors.

Another example, from Mythologies: Sub-Zero, thus relative modern times:

Scorpion: Yessss... I am Scorpion. You killed me in cold blood.

Sub-Zero: I had no choice. If I had not stolen that map I would be the dead one.

Frankly this attitude is both inhuman treatment of subordinates (failure in itself is just another source of experiences and sometimes failed mission wasn't the result of someone’s mistake or incompetence but of independent circumstances) and unpragmatic (losing manpower). We may only wonder if warriors were punished for failing all kinds of missions or just selected ones. At the same time, a fighter that survived to old age should be really respected - with such harsh laws, not many members live to old age and those who did through the decades failed little to no missions.

Lin Kuei punished also impostors:

which brings us back to the point about codenames and their relationship with social position (and hey, Noob’s complaints aren’t baseless). We don’t know though what kind of punishment was used for such an offense.

Disobeying Grandmaster was also a big deal. I suspect this could be punished by death too although rather not in Kuai Liang’s clan:

“When Sub-Zero made historic peace with his clan’s enemy, Scorpion, defiant Frost challenged her Grandmaster as unfit to lead. Sub-Zero defeated and banished Frost. [MK11]”

In general, Lin Kuei laws were harsh and cruel and it was really easy to lose such hard-earned privileges and positions.

Recruits

In ancient times, children were abducted at the age of 5 or 6 and forced into harh training. Some didn’t survive but those who did became fully pledged to Lin Kuei warriors. In modern times, it seems like most adepts have some blood-ties to other members of the clan and usually are “given” for training freely. There are exceptions to the rule, like Bi-Han and Kuai Liang, who were stolen from home at a young age. Finally, there are people who seem to join Lin Kuei on their own (or at least they think it was their choice), like Smoke, Cyrax and Frost.

(Tomas and Frost are confirmed users of special powers. Cyrax most likely possesses some unique genes too or at least is capable of well controlling his own energy (chi) during fight. Frankly, it looks like Sektor is the only one named Lin Kuei who does not utilize any special power. Ironically, considering how Grandmaster (Oniro) from Defenders of the Earthrealm was shapeshifter. Who knows, maybe Sektor didn’t inherited father’s unique skills?)

So even recruits are a diverse group to begin with and include people ethnically totally different from the majority(?) who needed to learn a new language(s) and culture from scratch. This alone gives a ground for potential conflicts though there is little to none examples of racism between Lin Kuei adult members? I mean, Lin Kuei used to look down on everyone who wasn’t one of them all the same, with special hatred for Shirai-Ryu - not for being Japanese (different ethinc group) but just for being Shirai-Ryu.

The adepts were trained by older warriors and looking at Sub-Zero’s origin (MK9), some adepts trained with family members (Kuai Liang and Bi-Han and maybe even under their Grandfather’s eye?) and teacher (Sifu?) could train more than one student at the same time.

In a way, those coming from the lineage of warriors could be from the start at better social standing than those who were “no ones” or came from far away lands and needed to earn respect of others. Those blood-related to clan members either developed specific powers during training or at least possesed special DNA that could be passed down to the next generation. So, even if those children weren’t the best of best fighters, they still have something valuable to the clan.

At the same time, again, Sektor doesn’t seem to have any special privileges, not once in game(s) called his father as anything other than Grandmaster and in general, he did not have much presence (respect?) between other warriors. I mean, he freely spoke only with Cyrax who in the end did not listen to him at all and almost always fell silent if there were more people around. So yeah, how big an impact on social dynamic between fighters had their blood-ties is not sure.

I’m not gonna talk much about the life of adepts (and there is a lot to say about potential pathologies and harm done to the kids), but they for sure were the lowest rank in (warrior) hierarchy, at least until they proved their worth.

So, the Lin Kuei warriors could be separated in three categories, from lower social rank to the highest:

adepts (in-training, maybe assisting in missions under the watchful eye of their superiors),

warriors (the one earning income),

veterans (teachers)

and the circle was completed.

(For some reason, the circle of Lin Kuei warrior life resembles the “Three-field system” but I have weird associations, I guess).

Household?

When we talk about the Lin Kuei clan, the first association that comes to mind is its warrior nature. But with such a large organisation, warriors are just one social class rather than the majority. Because someone needs to feed them, cloth, arm, heal, which seems logical to assume that there were other specializations that keep the clan running.

I mean, Lin Kuei is an independent faction that as far as we know, has no ties to any earthrealm government. This alone suggests to keep that independence the clan have to possess their own source of food, water, medical supplies and access to other necessary resources, so no enemy could besiege their strongholds and starve them and so on.

⇒ The medics will be for sure an appreciated branch of the clan. And yes, warriors to some degree must have medical knowledge (if not to save people then at least to know how to successfully kill them) but at the same, with so many specific genes and used in fight elements, some Lin Kuei members may have different medical needs than normal people.

⇒ Armorers (and smiths?) provide clan additional defensive equipment and weapons. And we know that even in modern times Lin Kuei barely used firearms and relied more on shurikens, knives and swords.

⇒ Scientists, computer experts and researchers, especially in modern times when C.I. Project became a thing, most likely playing a big role in the clan, fulfilling Grandmaster’s wish to change warriors into cyborgs. May not be liked by the traditionalist members of Lin Kuei, but favored by the leader (so be untouchable).

⇒ Farmers and craftsmen, providing the clan with the basic needs. I doubt they had much impact on social dynamics and may not even live on the grounds of the Lin Kuei Temple / Fortress. I imagine them living in the surrounding villages (or at the foot of the mountains?), giving the Lin Kuei food and handicrafts (and maybe even their own children?) as a tribute, and in return get protection.

My conclusion is that, Lin Kuei have pretty complex social structures in which Grandmaster and his closes circle administrate the whole system, warriors, depending on their age and expertises, are responsible for earning money and prepare the new generation to replace them, while household is there to keep previously mentioned groups alive and in the best condition. Everyone plays a role that helps to maintain Lin Kuei independence and reputation.

So, finally I get to the main part of the question about the dynamic between characters.

Who outrank who is a good question. The Grandmaster of course is above everyone else and so are the “ancient masters” / inner circle. Bi-Han seems to be one of the favored warriors by Grandmaster, the only(?) one confirmed to be the most cunning assassin and thief and the use of a codename associated with “ancient power” only adds to that impression. So, in regard to the named five characters (him, Kuai Liang, Smoke, Cyrax and Sektor) I would say Bi-Han outranked everyone. At the same time, he does not act arrogant against his fellow clansmen. Okay, to be honest, he seems to not interact much with anyone but that is rather the abrasive, asocial nature of cryomancer than anything else, really. And we have examples from various sources that Bi-Han wasn’t always rude to people around him. (Noob is another deal, but even then he has a more passive-aggressive attitude toward his brother than outright hate / arrogance).

Anyway, Bi-Han outranked the others. And yet, he does not seem to perform any special social functions - except maybe at Grandmaster’s command executing those who failed. In contrast, in MKX intro vs. Sonya, Frost was described by Kuai Liang as “chief among [female Lin Kuei]” which implies her high rank and responsible position in social structures.

One may wonder why Bi-Han most likely wasn’t given similar honor but to be an effective chief, the person must be available and close at hand. Going with Mythologies, the elder Sub-Zero barely came back from one mission (stealing map of elements) to be sent right away for another difficult task (stealing Shinnok amulet and side trip to Netherrealm) and then next one (Mortal Kombat Tournament). Of course, the game due to its limited time and space, won’t focus on realism such as making a proper preparation for the job but even if Bi-Han was allowed little rest between one and another mission, it really looks like he didn’t spend much time at Lin Kuei Temple. Thus there was no point in giving him any big group to oversee, if he wasn’t available to control what was going on between his subordinates. Also, he seems pretty familiar with Smoke and Kuai Liang’s close relationship but there are not many hints that he tried to do something about their breaking clan rules forbidding friendship.

Then again, there is a possibility that Kuai Liang, Smoke, Cyrax and Sektor did in fact belong to Bi-Han’s own “cohort” what could explain

A) why all the five characters are always so closely tied up to each other while the rest of clan members are just a background and

B) why with Sub-Zero’s death everything went to hell between them.

(And again, the amount of duties to female Lin Kuei could keep Frost from leaving headquarters too often, thus no need for partnership with anyone. Because of that, she grew angry at Kuai Liang for “holding her back” and at the same time not respecting enough to grant her the title of Sub-Zero).

Pragmatic resolution to solving inner conflict would be some kind of neutral judge (chief) and the fight for rank and position most likely happened under watch of superior(s). As in, official challenge, especially for top ranks like Sub-Zero. The official fight did not need to end with someone’s death but this could be one of rare situations when a warrior could kill the other fighter - or even the hated teacher / master? - without much consequence. Of course, Lin Kuei proved pragmatism is not always a priority but I strongly believe the clan structures were based on discipline and so arbitrary fights were also severely punished. What is the point of having warriors if they can’t be sent to earn money due to unnecessary injuries? Also, corporal punishment in itself shouldn’t be that big deal for society growing up in brutal ways since early childhood - which is why I suspect that the punishments were administered in public. As a form of humiliation, to force the guilty people to earn respect of fellow warriors again from scratch.

I suspect that warriors could be separated into smaller groups - basing on their special powers or family connection? - that competed with each other. Age could also regulate how one person should act around the others; for example, like youngling around veteran or fully trained fighter. Not sure how this rule could relate to those representing “household”. Were there laws protecting them or could they be bullied/killed on whim? Could warriors even be involved romantically with “servants” / lower class? The good thing from such affair could be the birth of children given to the clan once they were old enough and well, sex with “outsider” in itself can be a good way to relieve the warriors growing tension / stress resulting from living in a brutal environment without complicating things between companions. To be fair, some warriors could have romantic / intimate relationships with each other as well but most likely kept them secret to avoid punishment.

There is also a matter of who and how chose warriors to represent Lin Kuei at Mortal Kombat Tournament. I mean, Bi-Han was always the first choice, supported by the first game and Mythologies but did he choose Sektor and Cyrax as his companions or they naturally were chosen as part of his group or did Grandmaster assign them to Sub-Zero on his own? Dunno but keeping the five named Lin Kuei warriors together through the course of years really makes me think they came from the same, for a lack of better word, a cohort.

Cryomancers most likely stuck together (Bi-Han and Kuai Liang) and Smoke tagged along. Cyrax looks like an easy going type of person who isn't afraid to speak his mind so I wouldn’t be surprised if he were either on good terms with most clan members or pissing the rest while human Sektor, in contrast, is much more introverted, or even withdrawn from social interaction. This is of course only my subjective feeling, but he lacks a dominant presence to make a big impression. Not like the older Sub-Zero or Cyrax. Then we have Tundra!Kuai Liang whose loyalty belongs first and foremost to an older brother than the clan itself and to honor Bi-Han he will get into all sorts of dangerous problems and conflicts not caring for consequences at all. A behaviour that may not sit well with Sektor (even more, if he never had such a strong bond with own father/other people?). Sektor and Kuai Liang have a long history of ideological conflict and I suspect they truly could agree only about not giving up Cyrax’s remains to anyone and whatever was going on, protect the body at all cost.

Interestingly, as much as Kuai Liang and Tomas or Kuai Liang and Cyrax were close and on good terms (especially after the fiasco of C.I. project), Bi-Han and Sektor seem to be much closer to each other. If not in the stricte emotional sense, they at least share the pride in Lin Kuei and strive for perfection (manifesting itself in accepting their drastic changes for example). Even with limited sources, the storyline never(?) put Sektor and Bi-Han against each other, either as humans or cyborg and wraith and I strongly suspect there may be something much deeper about their relationship that lack of interaction on screen could suggest in the first place (x)(x).

Then we have tradition vs technology.

This most likely is a modern issue that could be the basis for serious inner conflicts between warriors. Those taking jobs in Outworld for sure must be powerful fighters, especially since technology is not something working well there. Bi-Han in most if not all sources was a traditionalist who didn’t use much or outright refused to use technology and I wouldn’t be surprised if he worked in Outworld frequently (especially Bi-Han in the newest movie was presented as a close associate of Shang Tsung). For the weaker warriors, advanced technology could be a life-saver. Then there is the whole Cyber Initiative that divided (and ultimately destroyed) Lin Kuei. For such a project, the clan either worked with independent / private researchers and cybernetic experts or actually had its own specialists (another possible social group?).

From MK9 we know Cyrax spoke in public against Grandmaster’s plan. In Defenders of the Realm, Smoke and Kuai Liang run from the clan at the first occasion to avoid such fate. Logically thinking, Sektor (supporter of the advanced technology) should not get along well with Bi-Han (stubborn traditionalist), the same as he fell out with Cyrax, Smoke and Kuai Liang. And yet there is not much evidence suggesting any big conflict between them. Of course, Sektor could simply not speak against his superior(?) the same as he argued with Cyrax but in all fairness, I doubt Bi-Han’s lack of use of technology was a secret not openly critiqued by others. I mean, even comics!Kuai Liang said about his brother that Bi-Han was “stubborn in many ways, refused to utilize modern technology on his missions. A shame, really. He was among the Lin Kuei’s finest --although fast becoming obsolete”. If Sektor and Bi-Han (and the rest of the group) worked together on joint missions, the issue of technology would come sooner than later. Though I suspect that no matter what Sektor would say, Bi-Han outstubborn him anyway. On other hand, it looks like only Sektor needed/chose to use advanced technology (flame thrower) while the rest relied on their special powers. In that case, being Sektor between gifted people for sure was a hard deal.

So, if I have to rank them I would say Bi-Han → Sektor & Cyrax who most likely were at least a bit higher than Kuai Liang (younger cryomancer) and Smoke. In case of conflict, I think as long as it was possible, they solved their problems among themselves. Bringing authority (Grandmaster, one of chiefs(?) or Bi-Han)’s attention was never a good idea because it could lead to public punishment / humiliation. Bi-Han may or may not knock some sense into others if the inner conflict gets out of hand or at least told them into face how idiotic they are (and he is pretty famous for insulting/mocking even those he shouldn’t. Like Quan Chi, a powerful client. Which is why I doubt he would tone down his natural abrasiveness. Especially not for an idiot that actually deserves it ).

And yet, whatever conflict was between those five characters, they still stayed loyal to each other. At least until someone outright broke one of the most punishable laws, like leaving the clan.

For example, Cyrax and Sektor argued about C.I. project - and most likely it was already an ongoing argument between them. Cyrax even was “among those speaking out against the Grand Master’s plan”. Not a good thing for their partnership yet Sektor still vouched for Cyrax when Shang Tsung had his doubts about the man. Or how Bi-Han changed sides during Tournament (MK9) - otherwise his fight against Scorpion would have zero sense - and maybe he did discuss the course of his action with his fellow clan members. But whatever he told or not what was going on, Cyrax was absolutely ready to kill Scorpion to avenge fallen cryomancer (“Scorpion will pay for this!”). Then we have Smoke not abandoning Kuai Liang even though he was already turned into Cyber Sub-Zero and attacked his friend and of course furious Tundra interrupting the Outworld Tournament and literally demanding from the Emperor to bring him Bi-Han’s murderer to kill. Hell, even Noob and Cyber Sektor stick to each other despite everything that happened.

Those five were a really loyal group, weren’t they?

So, in general:

the social structures of Lin Kuei were diverse and complex,

the punishment was harsh and deadly - in some cases, executed by a fellow warrior in public.

Bi-Han most likely had a high position in clan hierarchy but he wasn’t outright called a master

and there is possibility Sektor, Cyrax, Smoke and Kuai Liang worked under his command.

Most of the Lin Kuei members share blood ties to some degree but experiences and skills seem to outrank any family bond. In contrast to friendship, keeping touch with family (within the clan) is rather not forbidden. There may be a conflict between friendship (a choice) and family matters (a fate / tradition of serving Lin Kuei to uphold).

Kuai Liang and Smoke broke clan rules forbidding friendship (and Bi-Han did nothing about that?).

Cyrax most likely were familiar with Tundra and Smoke enough to like / respect each other. In the case of Tomas, the additional factor for keeping together could be the fact that both were born as outsiders (different ethnicity, lack of blood ties to clan).

Cyrax and Kuai Liang had ideological conflict with Sektor, who in turn seems to be on good terms with Bi-Han.

Bi-Han on the other hand seemed to not have any conflict with the four named warriors? Kuai Liang was his brother (and there is no example he was abused in any way by the older sibling, I think?), MK9!Smoke may not be on a first name basis with Bi-Han (didn’t call him in game as anything else than Sub-Zero or Kuai Liang’s brother) but he was accepted as Kuai Liang’s close friend. At the beggining of Tournament, Cyrax was seen on Sub-Zero’s right side and there is the scene-parallel (with Sektor cut off from the frame, the impression is that we were shown the honorable/”good” Lin Kuei) and he showed protectiveness toward Sub-Zero.Then there is Sektor who somehow get along with Bi-Han (and Noob) without any complaints or problems. Of course, Smoke, Cyrax and Sektor could be smart enough to not get in any open conflict with abrasive Bi-Han. Kuai Liang is a whole different matter, I guess.

The named characters in fact didn’t need to like each other but they were taught discipline and loyalty to the group from the start. Though it would be really hilarious if the most abrasive cryomancer with little to no social skills was in fact the one that keep them all together and was a bridge between strong-willed/hotheaded Kuai Liang & Smoke, independent Cyrax and blindly loyal, withdrawn Sektor.

I’m not sure if such a mix of strong personalities was the norm between warrior groups or was it just Bi-Han’s luck to get involved with duos of Tundra-Smoke and Sektor-Cyrax at some point. Anyway, this is my take on social structures and dynamics between Lin Kuei.

Hope it satisfies your curiosity!