#that's like actually wishing for harm to befall others

[crsinclair]

Just read with my own two eyes the HOT TAKE that because the random, fictional civilians didn't choose sides in a conflict unless they were promised something (y'know, like SAFETY) then what did it matter if they lived?

Uh... Just because it's fiction doesn't mean you shouldn't...care about human life?? I'm sorry, but would you really be okay in an irl situation if people were fighting, and several bystanders were in danger? What if your friends were in danger? Your family?

Yourself?

[notsunnyowo]

Loved your Gojo x Reader fic,m over the Hanahaki disease. Could you do Gojo x Reader with a nightmare? The nightmare relating to manga events (unless you��re not a manga reader then just a nightmare in general).

I already made a fic of my own based on the reader having a nightmare and Gojo comforting them over it, (which you should definitely check out *wink wink*) all based on the manga events because I needed comfort from the latest chapter, but it’s not fun reading the same fic over and over, especially if your reading your own. I need more and thankfully it seems other people aside from myself have made nightmare fics based on the manga (well actually pretending the manga isn’t existent to an extent for our comfort), but I still need more!!!!

sorry if I sound impatient I’m just petty a bit over the manga, I’m not mad with the recent chapter I just have been coping lol, but like I said if your not a manga reader just have the nightmare be something else, still angsty but fluff at the end!

Despite not beeing a manga reader myself I've got some basic knowledge on what happens to our beautiful blue-eyed boi Gojo 😭

So I hope this will turn out to be to your liking!

𝕵𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝖆 𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖊 - 𝕾𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖚 𝕲𝖔𝖏𝖔

Summary: After waking up from a gruesome nightmare, you bury yourself into your husband's loving arms.

Content: MANGA SPOILERS! Sensitive content, Mentions of death, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Angst with a happy ending, Husband! Gojo Satoru x Female! Reader (AFAB)

Word count: 763

The sounds of thunderous crashes and buildings collapsing echoed in the distance, slowly growing louder and louder, the closer you approached towards the source of the chaotic mayhem.

It was a full-on battle to the death between the two strongest beings in existence. A fight to see who'd come on top. Which one was truly the better sorcerer.

You ran as fast as your feet could carry you. Dodging falling debris and other enemies that came your way. You had to get to him as fast as you could. Had to find Satoru and help him.

Activating your cursed technique, your entire body was coated in a layer of cursed energy which served as a protective barrier which would keep you from any harm that might befall you the closer you got to the front lines of the battlefield.

It might not have been as strong as Satoru's infinity, however it would surely provide you with some much needed protection if the so-called 'King of Curses' decided on launching a surprise attack your way.

You were out of breath, running past your limits, all in a desperate attempt to reach your beloved and offer him your aid, before he got overwhelmed.

Yet once you arrived at his side, you wished you'd gotten killed by some curse along the way.

With utter horror in your eyes you watched Satoru's upper half fall to the ground. His lower body still standing upright for a moment after, before it too fell down on the ground.

The sight made your stomach drop to the floor.

You felt as if you were about to puke at the sight. Your knees felt weak, and you couldn't tell if it was due to your immense fatigue or as a result of the gruesome sight before you. Tears filled your eyes and you felt your heart breaking into a million pieces.

No. . .

No no no no no. . .

This isn't real. . It isn't. . It can't be. !

You let out a broken cry, the sound instantly alerting Satoru's murderer. As his cold deep eyes met yours you felt frozen in place. Unable to move as the man gave you a malevolent smile, before snapping his fingers.

Before suddenly.. It all went black.

.

.

.

"(Name). . ."

.

.

.

"(Name). . . Wake up!"

With a sudden gasp, your eyes shot open and you were met with a pair of ocean blue eyes, staring at you.

"Love, are you okay? . . . What happened?" Hunched over, before you, stood your husband - who you'd just watched get split in half just a second ago.

His brows furrowed at the sight of your disheveled appearance and your glossy eyes. From the looks of it, Satoru deduced that you'd had a nightmare. A rather unpleasant one at that..

The sight of your trembling body, made his heart ache. Despite not knowing what exactly your nightmare was, Satoru couldn't help but curse whatever your mind had conjured during your sleep to make you so distressed.

"Hey.. It's okay.." Your husband cooed, his tone soft and calming, as he gently cupped your cheek, whipping the tears off your face. "It's all going to be okay sweetness.. Shh... shh.. It's okay, don't cry.."

Wrapping his strong arms around you, the milky-haired man enveloped you in a warm and most importantly - secure embrace. His hand gently caressed your head. It was such a calm motion in comparison to your anxiously tremoring body.

"Satoru-" You cried out his name, as you sobbed into his chest. The sound of your broken cries was enough to make your husband tear up. How he wanted to make all of your pain go away. He couldn't bear to watch you fall apart like this.

"I-I had a dream, and you-" The feeling of a big lump forming in your throat forbade you from going on any further. You just couldn't bring yourself to openly voice your troubles to your worried husband.

"Shh.. It's okay. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to.." Gojo whispered softly against your ear, his gentle touch never ceasing to calm you down. Or at least try to. "Everything's going to be alright love.. Just breathe f'me, okay?"

Pressing gentle kisses to your head, Satoru continued whispering calming words to you while he stroked your hair. " 'M here for you love.."

His words made you look up at him, with teary eyes. "Promise?" Your voice was low and shaky, almost as if it belonged to a distraught child.

"Always." The man spoke, pressing a kiss to your lips. "I'll always stay by your side (Name)."

"I promise."

Author Note:

I hope I didn't disappoint with this ask and that everyone enjoyed reading! PS: For anyone that has already sent an ask, know that I will be getting to it in the following days and posting a reply asap! :D

[saintsenara]

❤, 💛, and 💜 please!

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

having seen the state of my inbox, this isn't the only time this one will come up...

so let's start strong by going for... albus dumbledore.

i find dumbledore bashing incredibly boring - not because dumbledore is a character i think of as morally spotless, but because the way he's criticised in certain areas of this fandom becomes dull by virtue of never actually engaging with interesting critiques of his character and decisions.

dumbledore is not some machiavellian evil genius - the entire point of deathly hallows is that the omniscient vibe that he projects in the first six books isn't actually omniscience at all, and it always irks me to see authors miss this, and ascribe to malice what is clearly human fallibility. nor is dumbledore intentionally or egregiously manipulative or cruel. and nor is there something "wrong" with him.

[the closest i've come recently to throwing my laptop at the wall was seeing a nonsensical post proposing that one of the reasons why it's fine to think of him as a villain is that he has anti-social personality disorder. not because i think it's inappropriate to assign diagnoses to fictional characters, but because i think if you do wish to do that you should attempt to know what you're talking about... and (evidently quite poorly) reading the wikipedia summary of an extremely complex disorder is not that.]

dumbledore is a wartime paramilitary leader - and wartime leaders have to make extraordinarily complex decisions, often ones which result in harm befalling their soldiers. the series is generally fairly weak on the realities of war - since its genre conventions require it to end with all being well - but what it shows of dumbledore's tactics is one area in which it shines.

and it also gives us plenty of meat if we want to emphasise the ways in which he's inadmirable.

dumbledore is a creature of stasis - he holds radical views, but he does nothing to actually advance them in society [this is a man who is at the heart of the establishment for half a century, who does nothing with that power to dismantle the oppressive social structures which drive wizarding politics and prop up blood-supremacy], and he also has a tendency to adopt a "wait and see" approach in situations where intervention would be obviously more appropriate. dumbledore is a hypocrite - he’s happy to be depended on by fudge, he is appalled that fudge might depend on lucius malfoy. dumbledore lives in an ivory tower, and clearly has little interest in the ways poverty, violence, and isolation affect people. dumbledore projects his shame and self-loathing onto others in a way which is detrimental to their own happiness. and so on.

all of these flaws have a tangible impact on the arc of the series - and dumbledore's failure to take meaningful action to prevent either voldemort or snape's radicalisation is something i think he can be genuinely criticised for - but they can't be taken in isolation. dumbledore fucks up because he's just one man - and the character flaws which cause him to fuck up also contribute to many of his most admirable traits: his mercy; his courage; his steadfastness; and his faith.

and it's so much more interesting than reducing him to a one-note caricature of evil!

what is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

dramione, because i have a very low tolerance for both fanon!hermione and fanon!draco.

i think it could be done interestingly... i've just never seen it.

which character is way hotter than everyone else seems to think?

which got two more shoutouts:

arthur and molly weasley.

they both clearly fuck - and the lack of respect they receive for this in the fandom is because of the tiresome association of sex with youth and [one, very narrow, view of] beauty [hence why characters like snape often become mysteriously hot when they're being written in romantic pairings...], meaning that both of them being middle-aged, arthur balding, and molly being fat means that the fact that they're clearly obsessed with each other never gets the attention it deserves.

[cosmicjoke]

As an eruri shipper I wanted to thank you for your callout post. For nearly a year now I have gotten so much hate on my fics that I thought about deleting them, I haven't tho, thankfully. I found out about the spiteful troll and so I did my best to ignore it. However, the hateful comments my work was getting was beyond me because I hardly ever care what people ship or do and was simply minding my business writing what I like only to be told that I'm a jealous loser and I should stop writing Levi together with the "ugly bitch" (referring to Erwin) and that I should touch grass or slit my throat ... which?? And they made it sound like shipping Levi with a man was illegal or that the ship was inappropriate in some way.

I don't know who is really behind those hateful comments but if it's really her I hope karma hits her way very hard. Don't tell people to kill themselves over fiction EVER. That's common decency.

And about some eruris seeing you as an anti shipper. I'll admit I thought you were one as well. It didn't bother me as everyone is free to do whatever they want, but it's a pleasant surprise to know you actually like the ship and write fics for it. If anything, I admire how you can put your shipping goggles aside to write your analyses. It's very impressive.

Don't know if this is relevant but self shippers scare me a bit. Some of them have mean girls energy and I don't want to be attacked so that's why I'm staying on anon🙏🏻

First of all, let me truly thank you from the bottom of my heart for reaching out. It means the world to me, and I admire you for sharing your experience too. I'm super glad to hear that you didn't let the person leaving hateful comments on your stories drive you to delete them. I understand completely where you're coming from, as I've deleted stories of mine in the past due to an overabundance of negative comments. But I've never had anyone actually leave me death threats, or wish for harm to befall me on any of my stories, and to do that is truly the lowest of the low. Not just because it's over something as harmless as a piece of fictional writing, but just in general, it's never okay to wish harm on someone who's never harmed anyone else, or over something as ridiculous as a disagreement.

And yes, given what I've seen from this person on twitter, claiming Erwin is some "old man", they seem to think shipping him and Levi is tantamount to pedophilia, which is so absurd it doesn't even warrant a response. Erwin is at most maybe 5 years older than Levi? If even? They're both in their 30s. Shipping them is totally normal and healthy, lol.

I just think this person has some sort of raging, disgusting prejudice against gay relationships, and they view all gay relationships as perverse in some way. It's truly their problem, not anyone else's. I don't know either if it's the same person I got into an argument with here on tumblr, but so much of the language is the same, and the things they say are so similar to what was being said on twitter and a03, that I'm more than inclined to believe it is the same person. I can only hope my post helps inform more people about them and what a toxic, horrible person they are. Hopefully it will lead to them being blocked so that it isn't so easy for them to harass others. Though I already know they have multiple accounts here on tumblr, since they saw my post and started ranting about it on their blog, even though I had them blocked.

It also means the world to me to know that I've been able to clear up with you my stance on eruri and shipping in general. That was big of you to not be bothered by me when you did think I was an anti, but I'm glad I was able to show you that I'm not. I'm really, really not, lol. I love eruri. It's my favorite ship, and all my favorite AoT fanfics are eruri fics, lol. You can find comments I've left on too many to count at this point. I just try to keep it out of discussions which focus on "Attack on Titan" itself and Levi's role within the story, because I just don't see his relationship with Erwin in canon as romantic. I just think you have to keep the ship separate from canon because if you're going into an analysis of the narrative and Levi's or Erwin's role in it with some preconceived idea that their relationship is romantic in nature, then that's going to color one's ability to objectively analyze the motivations and the reasoning behind both Levi's and Erwin's actions. But I was never, ever against the ship, or against the idea of them being shipped. I think I got the reputation of being an anti because for a long time, I was being inundated with anon asks basically accusing me of being homophobic for saying eruri isn't canon, or anon asks trying to "prove" to me that it is canon and then getting angry at me when I disagreed, or when I lost my patience with them for simply not accepting my stance on this issue. And I think this small group of people then went around to other eruri's and spread to them that I was some sort of aggressive eruri hater. But again, I never was and never will be. I talk more about Levi's relationship with Erwin than any other character, and I find their canon relationship to be incredibly moving and powerful, and further, I love Erwin as a character. One thing I hope all of this will also do is make it clear to other eruri shippers that I'm not against them or their ship at all. I really don't want to be anyone's enemy, least of all eruri shippers. That was never something I set out to do, haha.

But yes, I'm right there with you regarding some self-shippers. Obviously, most of them aren't like this person. Most of them are normal and understand what they write and do is just for fun. But after "Bad Boy" came out, it seemed like the most push back against analysis of that story and its implications came from the self-shipping community, particularly people that seem to actually labor under some sort of delusion of actually, truly being with Levi in a romantic, sexual relationship. I don't understand that at all, because Levi isn't real, lol.

But they seem to get so upset at any discussion of Levi's trauma, or of Levi being affected by his trauma, because acknowledging that trauma and the impact its had on him ruins whatever fantasy, dom-daddy version of Levi it is that they've concocted in their heads. They like to claim Levi is some hard-ass, stoic, unaffected, domineering sex god, because that's what turns them on, and any discussion about what the actual reality of Levi's sexuality would likely be, due to the sexual trauma he's been exposed to, needs to be shut down, because it ruins the fantasy they have. They can't claim that the way they characterize Levi is objective or accurate to canon if Levi's sensitivity or vulnerability as a person is acknowledged, so they like to claim he's not affected at all by his past trauma, that he's just too hardcore to ever succumb to or be profoundly impacted by the things he's lived through. They like to imagine he's just come out the other side totally a-okay and that his stoicism and rudeness is 100% just a product of him being kind of a mean person, again, because they like the idea of being treated meanly by him in a sexual setting.

But Levi isn't a mean person, at all. He's literally the opposite of mean. He's the most thoughtful and considerate character in the series, constantly going out of his way to express his gratitude and ease the suffering of others. He's just awkward, like Dimo Reeves says, and isn't good at filtering his words or expressing himself. That some of these people refuse to acknowledge that the way Levi grew up, the environment he grew up in and the way he was raised, didn't have an impact on his ability to navigate social situations is patently absurd and stupidly unrealistic. It also undermines the severity of abuse Levi suffered in his upbringing, to deny that it had any sort of negative or harmful impact on his ability to interact socially with others. He was raised by a serial killer, for Christ's sake, lol. He wasn't ever taught how to talk to people in a way that would make them more comfortable. He was only ever taught violence and how to kill by Kenny, and he was too young when his mother died to learn anything from her, and he was also abandoned and left on his own at the age of ten, in the most cutthroat, dangerous environment there is inside the walls, surrounded by criminals, rapist, murderers and human traffickers, as well as just desperate people who would resort to plenty of bad shit just to survive. He probably didn't have a single, normal social interaction in his life until he met Furlan and Isabel. I would like these people to explain to me, then, how it is they think that didn't have an impact on the way Levi interacts with others?

He's an exceptionally honest person, too, and he also isn't someone who's concerned with being well-liked, so he doesn't try to ingratiate himself to others by acting friendly. But Levi never sets out to hurt anyone's feelings. He isn't malicious or cruel. He just says what he's thinking and sometimes it comes out sounding unkind. And we see, when Levi realizes it, that he tries to explain himself, again, not because he wants to be liked, but because he doesn't actually ever intend to hurt anyone's feelings. This idea that Levi is a mean person is totally wrong.

Anyway, I went off on a bit of tangent there, lol. Sorry about that. But again I just want to reiterate how much I appreciate you reaching out like this! And don't let these freak shows get you down.

[charlescoded]

I'm neutral about mpreg charles until the video and you mentioning all the mpreg charles plots, arranged marriage and omegaverse vampire. Your vision is sooooooo good! But what I like the most is max kneeling and kissing charles pregnant belly. I'd sell my kidneys to read this scene.

im soooo not neutral about it, im incapable of being normal about it actually lmao, but glad you liked the ideas! i have many more, but most i'll keep contained in my head or the dms for safe keeping

so yeah, anyway, this took me 50 minutes to write, but here you go, it's based on the lestappen arranged marriage idea:

-

Charles lets out a loud groan as soon as the door slams closed behind him. He leans back against the dark wood and scrubs his hands over his face, frustration leaking out of him. When he drops his hands they slide past the now obvious bump of his stomach. He looks down and grimaces. Maybe it was a mistake after all, maybe he should—

He flinches when someone knocks on the door. Charles grits his teeth before replying, “Go away.” He shouts. They’d fought enough today, and Charles had no intention on continuing the conversation. All they ever did was call him reckless, or a fool, or a whore, or everything all at once. 

“I just wish to know whether you’re alright, my prince,” A soft voice says, and Charles rips the door open in sudden haste. Max stands on the other side of the door, armour moulded to his body in all the right places, a worried frown adorning his face, and Charles is distracted for a moment.

“I’m fine,” He says once Max closes the door behind him. “Just frustrated. They were complaining about how they’ll never be able to marry me off to some other old guy when I already have a kid.”

Max’s gaze is calculated. “It was not just that, was it?”

It’s a rhetorical question. Max must have heard something while he stood guard. Charles deflates. “Yes, well, they were calling me selfish and incapable of putting the people of my country first when I act like this, but what else is new…”

When Max extends his hand, in offer, in question, Charles takes it. Max guides him to the side of the bed. “Sit, my prince,” He murmurs. Charles gives him a dirty look but does as he’s told. Max kneels down in front of him and Charles allows him to take off his boots. Max presses a soft kiss on the inside of his knee. “They’re wrong about you,” He whispers. Blue eyes pierce through Charles and he shudders under the attention. “You’re far more capable of compassion than they ever will be.”

Charles swallows dryly. “Not that it matters. They’re the ones in power.”

He watches as Max slides the soft material of his hose down his thighs, unable to look away. He bites his lip. “They’re not, that’s why they’re angry you’re not listening to them.”

Max leans forward and trails his lips up his leg and towards his crotch. Heat pools in his stomach. “I must listen to them or it will harm my people, Max, you know this.”

When Max shakes his head, Charles sits up straight to protest, but his voice falters when Max places his hand over the swell of his stomach. “You’re not, Charlie,” The soft nickname sends a shiver down his spine. “Your baby—our baby—, that is your proof. You can go against them, you have, they cannot harm you.”

“But,” Charles places his hand over Max’s. “They could harm the baby.”

Max shakes his head. “That would be stupid of them, you could easily get pregnant again.”

It’s so blunt that Charles can’t help but smile. “Would you?”

“Would I what?”

His smile grows. “Get me pregnant again?”

“Of course,” Max’s hands slips under his shirt, sliding it up to expose his stomach. He leans forward and presses butterfly kisses along the expense of skin. “I’d give you as many children as you want.”

Charles licks his lips, arousal growing. “Yeah? Maybe we should start to practice then…”

The corners of Max’s eyes crinkle as he smiles up at him. Then, for a moment, he turns serious. “I would protect you, you know, you and the baby, always. No harm will befall any of you.”

“I know.” Charles whispers, and he means it. Whatever mistakes he might have made, choosing Max wasn’t one of them.

[ask-the-critters-survival-au]

The sounds of paper ruffling can be heard coming from the Monitor

"Hmm...? Ah a live feed from the fac... Huh, well these logs paint a bad picture. Are you alright Young One? Besides your leg- please see if you can stop the bleeding for now...

I feel like if we let your leg remain the way it is... something bad may happen... Now Young One, luck seems to favor you at the moment... well not exactly since you are missing your foot, and you may not like the deal I am about to make.

There is a way for the the harm done to you to be undone... but there is a price. That is the most reliable way I can provide aid at the moment. There is always a price for things like this... and if you don't believe me... I ask that you at least Humor me, and take it as merely hypothetical.

There are three ways you can pay for the returning of your leg: A price of equivalent exchange, where you will have to trade one of your hands for your missing foot. A price of regeneration, where your foot will be healed but your body will enter a extremely starved state to pay for the cost. And finally a price of a Curse... which I cannot determine. The curse may be light, or it may be heavy, it's a gamble, but you will avoid the other two outcomes.

I must warn you however that no matter what you pick, should you choose at all, is that it will be painful. There is no way to avoid that when healing a lost limb.

I leave the choice to you, and if you wish to use this gift, that is also your choice. I wish you luck in whatever you aim to do within those stained halls. May You One Day See The Sun."

The audio from the Device cuts out... but the stranger's offer still stands. Let us see what this child shall choose.

(Very neat blog you have here Mod! Hope you don't mind me throwing in some 'aid' for hopster here. If you do mind and don't want to throw in magic stuff, it's 100% okay for you to toss this ask into the void, I totally get it (maybe even asking for it just a bit). I'll be watching for what next befalls the Hopster next!)

Wait actually?! YES! I’LL DO ANYTHING TO HOP AGAIN! I…don’t want to lose a hand. And being really hungry could also be really dangerous. So I’ll choose the last one. Anything to get my foot back.

Mod note: Had a really big debate with myself whether or not to include this ask or not, so magic themed asks might not always be answered. Also to that one person who sent that image with Hoppy in a wheelchair, I’m never answering it. Treasuring that one in my inbox forever.

[offshore-brinicle]

Ishmael and Heath will probably have the shared theme of: revenge can and will warp you into something you're not, possibly making you just like those that have harmed you in the past

Can't think of anything for Heath and Don, unfortunately, but I do have something else

Don and Hong Lu: playing a character, an exaderation of the self for the sake of others.

This is mostly bc of Don's Shi identity wherein she acts more outgoing for the sake of her subordinates and Hong Lu's naivety [contrasted by his surprising emotional intelligence]. Of course they are probably also Like That usually, but have made a shallower version of themselves to show and fool others.

Yeah it was pretty obvious that Heathcliff and Ishmael were bound together by their obsession with revenge hence Heathcliff being the Sinner who understands Ishmael the best despite not getting along, but after the Christmas event and how he actually thinks about the whole ordeal it got me kind of...doubting? Despite him being driven by revenge in the book the way he's portrayed in Limbus is def much tamer and softer compared to his book counterpart.

Ishmael is much more blinded by revenge than Heathcliff is, of course this is partly because she thought Queequeg to be dead but even in the dungeon she can't let go of her wish to kill Ahab, and it's consuming her and destroying her, while Heathcliff can't stop thinking about Cathy and the type of abuse he suffered at Wuthering Heights is different from the cultlike struggle at The Pequod, with a repeating cycle of abuse and loss befalling the estate, so I feel like it can go a lot of ways.

Actually like Gregor, Rodion & Sinclair's chapters are grouped together, I feel like Yi Sang, Ishmael and Heathcliff are a similar case, all three of them are closely associated with rain, hell Heathcliff's chapter have us going back to T Corp when it was an important part of Yi Sang's dungeon so it makes me wonder how all of that is coming back since the two previous chapters also emphasize grief + Queequeg's speech about "burials" with how Heathcliff is associated with graves and even gets an ID as Queequeg.

As for Don and Heathcliff, maybe they are both blinded by ideals in some ways, Don is such a strong believer in her own fantasy justice while Heathcliff despite blantantly despising the rich also wishes to become one of them thinking that like that he and Cathy can be together and he won't have to be so deeply haunted anymore, but the reality is not quite as simple going by both the original book and how PM works tend to be.

Don and Hong Lu's connection was a VERY good catch though I actually hadn't thought of that. Specially since Don seems to have some kind of connection to obsessively "reaching a star" and Hong Lu's EGO of "land of illusion". They also share the theme of the difference between reality and illusion that is pretty clear for Don and the Don Quixote book and while I haven't read Dream of The Red Chamber because it's difficult access and length I heard also deals with the difference between the genuine and the disingenuous both in the more human, literal way and in a more philosophical and metaphisical way. They are both fake people whether they realize this or not.

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 138

Chapter 138: "Demon Search, Part 1"

Vincent once again being a human dictionary while sending endless praise towards Norman. I do like how we see Cislo having some temporary doubts about the extermination plan. Between him and the rest of the Lambda crew, he definitely seems the most easy going and wholesome. He's a good boy. I like him a little bit more now because of this.

Humans outside of the farms are rare enough as it is, so which poor soul was it that perished here?? Unless said human was just leftovers from one of the mass production farms? Regardless, love Ayshe giving the dog some well deserved pets.

This tiny family is so precious. I wish this search lasted longer so we could see them more. Same sentiment for after they found Sonju & Mujika so we can witness Ayshe relax and interact with others she understands more. If the anime actually stayed faithful to the manga, I still doubt it would've given us any spoken demon language between them though.

Ahh bunker dad, may he rest in peace! He probably would've gotten along well with Ayshe, if only because she's quiet and wouldn't bother him as much as the other kids did. Speaking of others, who do ya think is the best sniper between Yuugo, Ayshe & Paula? Now there's a trio I would've died to see. (funnily enough, all three are in my top ten, haa!)

Her sight, hearing, speed and accuracy are all on point. This girl is simply incredible.

Way to stay positive, Don! But he's totally correct. Ain't no way Sonju would ever let any kind of harm to befall on Mujika, especially not from some Lambda kids.

I like how Don says this while only holding a compass and not a map of any sort since we learned in ch99 that both he & Gilda already have all the maps that were available in the shelter memorized. I dunno if the map Norman showed them both a couple chapters ago was any different from those but I wouldn't doubt they could've memorized that one just as efficiently.

The way Hayato is walking so calmly into danger combined with Ayshe sorta allowing it for a moment despite the warning from her dogs and her own senses is absolutely sending me.

Emma's influence is so strong and the disadvantages Don gave about using their guns are completely valid too.

I love how Gilda is all chill with Hayato but turns completely serious towards Don not even a second later so they can discuss their findings. Give the boy a moment to enjoy his snack!

It took me a fairly long time to even notice that Ayshe was actually standing behind Gilda in this first panel. It's subtle with how the speech bubble covers her but it's great. More importantly, this moment between them gave me such whiplash the first time; to finding out that Ayshe does speak and understand their language, to the sheer amount of pressure she's exerting on the duo, forcing them to choose their next move carefully because who knows what she'll do if they answer incorrectly. Such a suspenseful reveal but it works so well! If you're gonna have a quite character, then you bet the first time they speaks has gotta be memorable, not only with what they say but also how and when!

Favorite panel/moment:

It's sweet that Don makes an attempt, but it's beyond hilarious how quickly it falls apart. You get an A for effort, honey.

IT IS SHE!! Just everything about her I love to death. Damn it, she's so amazing. One of my favorite panels of Ayshe for sure.

[vaugarde]

👻💥🌙🔪🔥 💖 for valerie!!

WAHHHH TY HON

👻 GHOST - do they believe in ghosts? what are their "ghostly experiences", if any?

Oh she totally does believe in them. She thinks ghosts roam the world after death or so and she doesn't think they're harmful because "they probably cant touch anything". She mostly just feels bad for them. She's never had any "ghostly experiences" though

(I know you know this but as a refresher, there are literal ghosts that are wandering spirits and then ghost pokemon like Haunter. Some ghost pokemon are spirits that persisted so strongly after death that they reincarnated into ghost pokemon, like Bates and Spectra and Hisuian Zorua. so arguably most people know that literal ghosts are real because of this? but its rare to actually see it happen and the majority of ghost pokemon hatch from eggs, so the line is kinda blurry.)

💥 COLLISON - what emotions do they have trouble dealing with?

Anger 100%. Also guilt. Valerie is someone who constantly blames herself when she's in a conflict, even when the other party is blatantly in the wrong. She holds herself responsible for other people's feelings and feels guilty when they aren't "feeling good" because of her. This is partly because of Marlow and partly because of relationships she had that fell apart. So she's got a horrible backbone and avoids conflict whenever she can, trying to resort to quieter, more sneaky means if she has to. She did this a lot with Marlow growing up- he never verbally abused her or anything, but he does have moments where he snaps at her when things get overwhelming for him. He always apologizes and these are infrequent and far in between, but they do leave a mark, so when Valerie wants to do something she thinks he may not approve of, she'll either not do it at all or make some attempt behind his back.

Because of all this, she swallows her anger and tries desperately to never show it. She thinks getting angry will make her a bad person and "just as bad or worse than the one who hurt her". She bites her tongue when others are rude to her and never asks for an apology or anything because she just doesn't want the argument. She discourages anyone from speaking up on her behalf because "she doesn't want to start anything". Everything will be fine as long as she just stays quiet and takes everything... right?

🌙 MOON - what is your oc's greatest wish? how far are they willing to go for it?

She wants to travel around the world and see all the great landmarks, and become a top performer at the same time to spread joy to the rest of the world with her performances. Buuuut she's not willing to go that far for it since Marlow prefers to keep her in Serenade Falls where everything is safe and familiar, and she doesn't like to speak up against him... Once she gets taken outside of her universe, though, and over the terror of it all, she's excited about getting to explore Ultra Space.

🔪 KNIFE - how do they react to injury / misfortune befalling their loved ones (significant other, family, friends)? do they put themselves at blame?

Oh you BET she blames herself. As I said before she tends to handle conflict really badly, so when she's around to witness a fight she'll try her hardest to avoid or stop it. She punishes herself for any injuries her friends get because of her "negligence". She has the fawn response all the way where she won't exactly leave them but she'll try to overcompensate in trying to heal them to ease her own guilt. If it wasn't a result of a fight and they just fell down some stairs or something, she still hovers over them trying to heal them and feels terrible, but she takes it the worst when its fight-related.

🔥 FIRE - do they have any self destructive tendencies? what habits do they have that hinder them from becoming their best self?

*Gestures to everything I've said so far* She gets some serious self loathing when any sort of conflict happens. In general she never prioritizes herself and will constantly try to help others even at her own detriment or when she needs rest.

💖 SPARKLING HEART - are they a subtle or a showy lover?

Definitely showy!! She's shy when she first gets a crush and all but when she's officially in a relationship, she likes to shower that person with physical affection and gifts and compliments. PDA all the way too. It's kind of funny because Asha is not showy at all until they get home and even then they're definitely more reserved LOL

[ask-sad-ghost-piett]

Posthumous Admiral's Log - Entry 36

I’m beginning to worry about Needa. He’s been gone ever since Max asked him to go scout the planet. I fear something may have happened to him. I don’t know what mishaps might befall ghosts trapped in the living world, and as irritating of a third wheel as Needa might be, I don’t wish ill on him.

I spoke with Max about the issue, and we both decided it was probably best to go looking for him. However, saying as we were both just about getting ready for bed at that time, we figured there was no harm in waiting until the morning to start our search. We found ourselves a little cave and were both very comfortable. Usually, I spend a good deal of time lying awake due to the haunting memories of Lord Vader, but ever since I started sleeping with Max, I’ve actually been able to rest quite peacefully.

It's a funny feeling being relaxed, not ruminating about what Lord Vader or Grand Moff Tarkin or my mother demands of me. I wonder whether this is how Jerjerrod felt during all that time he took off to put citrus fruits over his eyelids and go to sleep while I had to scramble to make excuses to Lord Vader as to why the DS-II wasn’t complete.

Hmm.

At any rate, I believe I dozed off on Max’s very muscular chest, murmuring something about how wonderful it would be to find a romantic cliffside venue and push Rebel Scum off of it. When I awoke, I learned that I was apparently asleep for 5 days by living folk’s reckoning and that Needa has yet to return. At first, I wondered whether he’d found a way to rot and return to the afterlife but, saying as neither Max nor I are showing any signs of decomposition, I fear poor Needa is still out there.

We searched the area around our cave but didn’t find him, so Max suggested that we ask Motti and Jerjerrod.

“If nothing else, we ought to check on those two,” Max said. “Make sure we haven’t lost three men.”

I disagree with this idea. Generally speaking, I consider the fact that Motti and Jerjerrod have wandered off on their own into the wilderness to be a fortuitous development. Furthermore, if it weren’t for Motti and Jerjerrod, we’d all be comfortably settled down in the afterlife at the moment. So, I don’t believe there’s any logical reason for me to seek their help or interact with them for the foreseeable future.

Besides, I doubt they’d know anything about Needa. They’re probably off doing something pretentious like writing each other sonnets on fancy doilies, not giving a care to the world around them. Needa could be behind them on fire, and they wouldn’t hear him over their excessive displays of affection.

But Max was insistent. I tried arguing with him about it, but he’s a very stubborn man. So, now, we have to go looking for Motti and Jerjerrod, so that we can look for Needa, because apparently all these grown men cannot keep themselves from getting lost on this mystery planet. If they’ve found a way to get themselves exorcised back to the afterlife and did not tell us, I will be very cross with them.

Speaking of the afterlife, I do hope the others are doing alright with the holiday haunting in our absence. I wonder who is serving as admiral during my leave. Technically, I believe the duty originally fell to Vice Admiral Gherant, but he recently went into “early afterlife retirement” after seeing what being Fleet Admiral did to me. Since then, the interviews for a replacement have been stalled by a lack of candidates, so I fear we may have to fall back to having Lord Vader call someone out. He’s been talking about nominating my nephew, of all people.

At first, I had hoped he was joking when he brought up Sarkli, but per usual my hopes were in vain. When asked why Lord Vader sought to nominate my nephew as Vice Admiral, he told me he “wanted another Admiral Piett”.

“I have gotten accustomed to having an Admiral Piett,” he said. “If anything happened to you, I’d like to make sure I will continue to have an Admiral Piett.”

I don’t like the sounds of that and certainly do not like being referred to as a common noun. I have a terrible feeling about my nephew serving as admiral, however fleetingly. I realize that sounds cruel, but the fact is that Sarkli fares poorly under emotional duress and saying as he did have a Rebel Scum phase, I worry about him. I don’t want to return to find him gallivanting with Rebel ghosts.

Sometimes I wonder whether I went amiss raising that poor boy. Ever since his mother left him with me for afternoon babysitting saying she had gone shopping for jogan fruit and never bothered to pick him up, I tried my best raise him to have a nurturing Imperial childhood. When he was a young boy, he told me he wanted to grow up to be a naval officer like me. So, I took him to “Bring Your Youngling to Work Day”, where he witnessed Darth Vader kill my former commanding officer. After that, he told me he wanted to be a poet.

So, one can see why I worry about him.

- Admiral Piett

[straynoahide]

feelings are always okay. but feelings are not actions.

celebratory protocols, political actions, rituals, habits, etc, have a deeper significance and impact than just 'feelings', dances in the spur of the moment, etc. ritualized actions teach something. you know in everyone of these "innocent celebrations" there will always appear a darker side of human nature -not coincidentally- with comments that involve, say, dehumanizing children or wishing for awful things on people caught in a cross-fire (like wishing people don't recover from disease or starve, which i just called out in the last week)

if one has to get political and cultural, then careful promoting because one can drown out the other, and politics of radical kindness are extremely different from politics of resentment.

also, bear in mind 'relief' and 'celebration' are very different things. relief means you are free from harm. celebration implies harming others, and not reducing their ability to harm you (or ending it) is what has actually uplifted you: it makes harm a zero-sum game, where the more others are harmed, the safer you become, no matter what other preventative or rehabilitative measures are taken.

it is easy to see why the extreme of this devolves into chauvinism and in the case of judaism, kahanism and theocratic excess (in the case of western culture, christofascism / white nationalism; in the case of islamic culture, radical islamism and jihadism).

ultimately this is about what kind of philosophy of justice we want to promote within civilizations and within a common human framework of international rights to prevent crimes against humanity: do we pursue the path of retribution or the path of restoration? do we let go or build a better humanity? despair or hope?

the premodern world had no ability for human beings to attempt to have a justice system because there was just no state with an independent judicial branch. therefore, the first step was stopping blood feuds with retributive justice and making that into law.

"an eye for an eye" - existent in plenty of ancient near eastern cultures and religions - was the lesser evil at the time. what was before an eye for an eye was, if someone wrongs me, i wrong them a thousandfold. an eye for an eye *and not more* was the first step to limit the unhinged destruction of retributive, righteous anger. it was also the end to classism, because a crime was not answered the same depending on social class or freedom status.

an eye for an eye however is not what most of us think as justice in the XXI century, no matter our country or culture. because 'an eye for an eye' included laws like, "you kill my daughter so i kill your daughter". it could be unfair and make innocent pay for the guilty (this extends to "your nation wronged mine so i will wrong it").

nowadays we can do better in the sense we can pre-establish the RULE OF LAW, one of the principles of liberal democracy won in blood through the violent waves of secularization that disestablished the national churches in europe and replaced divine and religious ideals of justice in traditional culture, from innovations and the same separation of powers that exists in the american constitution.

rule of law means also that justice is not retribution, it is restitution. when something is taken for the victim, something has to be given back. this is the idea behind reparations, for instance. the victim does not have to take it, it has to be given to them by the common framework of society -whether that is national or international-. the victim, actually, is freed from having to take responsibility for righting the wrongs that befall them, ideally, because that would place the burden on many people who do not have the capacity. it is about them, not about the guilty, a SURVIVOR-centric, humanist perspective, that doesn't allow victimhood to define existences.

i personally believe in restorative and not punitive justice. because punitive justice does not restore. restoration implies two very hard things though, one, acknowledging that just choosing to remove people from humanity is not an option because we all share something universal, that "all wars all civil wars": that very humanity, and that it can not be lost or erased no matter the justification. this can have religious significance (HaShem is King of the Universe, Creator of All), but ultimately is a humanist idea too and is the only possible way to frame universal human rights besides imposing religion or exalting one nation over another.

the second thing that is very hard is abandoning punitivism and the hallmark erasure of human dignity, of taking the divine place, in capital punishment. punitivism is not a feeling, it is actions and culture. when we promote celebrating death of another as our own victory, we have to de-program that common idea that we are all human and that all wars are civil wars. punitivism only thrives when we re-signify death and harm to the "other" as good. instead, we have to rise to the framework where we are in a place where we can restore, like a father that arbitrates between two children, and i believe that with our current ability and the future ability of humanity, this is indeed what G*d wants. everything will get better when everything is not made worse than it already is.

no matter how you do it, things like death penalty, torturing criminals, anti-criminal/anti-enemy sadism, etc, will at one point cultivate something that reduces your own humanity and will make you turn a blind eye when your "own" people, cuture or demographic starts exhibiting the signs of dehumanizing others.

There is no duality in rejecting cruelty. With the exception of life-and-death situations (which do happen when fighting terrorism), If we can keep someone alive and work towards their betterment, then that is the divine will and moral choice with no exception. There is nothing good in extrajudicial killings, lynchings, anti-criminal sadism or death penalty. That is the divine echo, our best nature still unachieved: to heal ourselves by healing others, hope for and aim for the restoration of all things, hallow life and health, no matter how painful or how against our instincts it is.

All killing is fratricide and worthy of mourning: something is lost that had value, the central value of creation, human life. No one has ever killed without halving their humanity.

I feel like there are two truths, that we rightly celebrated when Pharaoh’s army were drowned, and that at the same time G-d was heartbroken that their creation was drowning—and neither response is wrong.

Both are entirely valid and normal responses to have to the death of evil men (who nevertheless were still people), and you just kinda gotta live with that complexity. like, you can’t expect people not to grieve the death of any part of G-d’s creation, but you also can’t expect people not to sing when their persecutors are gone.

I think G-d made us to feel both, and they made some of us to feel one more than the other, and that’s okay.

[strywoven]

closed ( ft. tharhys + kadai ) . // @fatecrafted

Much of her time has been spent enduring the world ALONE ( though not entirely by choice , sometimes fate thinks herself funny with how she dictates her children ) .  Much of that time , too , Kadai took up the belief that it was likely s i m p l e r to be on her own ; less to worry about , less of a risk to herself , less of … Pretty much everything.  Funny to find that it might’ve been someone’s company she has been looking for the entire time— And Tharhys , for all the many times they bickered and bit back at each other , for all the ways they said they could not stand one another , was so much like her ; he felt FAMILIAR , and he almost felt … SAFE .  Not that you would hear her give him the satisfaction of admitting to such a thing !

For what could it hurt , then , to make a friend when there was indeed no-one else beside you ?  What harm was there in thinking – perhaps – there might be some unspoken kindness underneath what you both do ?

Those questions come forward often , but seem loudest in moments like these when an unfamiliarly t e n d e r silence befalls the two as Tharhys works wordlessly to mend her wounds from a recent scuffle.  Sometimes she wishes she could crack open his head and look at his thoughts , peer into his mind and see what was going on in there ( verily she must not be the only one thinking so foolishly of late )— As Tharhys dabs away the trickle of blood idly staining a path down her temple , Kadai finds herself SMILING at him.  ❝ Admit it , ❞ She says , breaking the peace of the scene with her half-smug / half-cheeky lilt , ❝ You actually l i k e me , Tharhys , don’t you ? ❞  After all , if he didn’t why would he be taking care of her like he is ?

[umichanya]

𝖂𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖜𝖔𝖑𝖋 𝕲𝖆𝖒𝖊: 𝕻𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖌𝖚𝖊...

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:

{Less proof-reading, many mistakes happen. Also perhaps not too detailed.}

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

As an honour student, you have been rewarded with a magical book of fantasy by your oh-so-kind principal: Dire Crowley. He told you that this book can be whatever you like, which means you can play a game as long as you write down the settings and rules or even just chill in there since you are the owner now.

Amused by this book itself, you decided to ask more questions so you can understand its functionality.

He did mention that while you are in this book, you won’t be able to harm each other so it’s a perfect place to practice. But the game in your mind just makes it more perfect to play with your friends.

You told him that you are very grateful for the gift before you left, which he wishes you to have fun. Dashing to your seat as you start writing the world setting and rules etc, your heart is beating in excitement for playing with your friends.

The game will start soon…

-

Brought to you now where you are just standing among your friends, inside the Book of Fantasy. Since you finally invited them after a countless night of setting up the rules yet modify the places, currently the place is empty where it's just a vast of greenery yet trees surrounding as there’s a hologram board where it is explaining the rules and your friends are reading and understanding the rules.

“Well, if we actually kill someone as a werewolf. Do they actually die or what?” Ace questioned.

“You idiot, you would just turn into a Ghost player. It was written down there!” Deuce answered with a ‘bruh really’ face.

 There are some chatters including threats on how they would end up as a Ghost player in the first round if they do get the werewolf role. You only just stood there and looked around where there’s a distrust including forming an alliance as a talk, you just grinned. This is what you liked; you just loved how chaotic it can get yet blaming other people or even accusations and assumptions. You might get killed for the first round but you don’t mind at all. You don’t even mind if you had to be the audience right off the bat, what it matters is that you have to witness the chaos befalling upon your friends.

“Tell me when you guys are ready, the game will randomise us to an area so just get ready and so on.” You said it loudly so it can get their attention as well to notify them.

 “We are ready [y/n], pretty sure there’ll be a quarrel in the first round.” Riddle just huffed as he crossed his arms where Deuce and Ace were having a squabble. 

“We are ready too, just start whenever you feel like it.” Leona just yawned while Ruggie and Jack just nodded.

“Whenever you are ready.” Azul nodded, Floyd and Jade were discussing quietly as if they were plotting something.

“Yeah!! We are ready as always, [y/n]!” Kalim chirped as Jamil was still looking at the rules.

“Mmhm,” Vill just nodded with a hum, while Rook was whispering something to his ears. Epel seems to be confused with what they are talking about.

Idia and Malleus along with his group just nodded, no words spoken among them but just glancing around. 

You grinned, everyone has a plan on their sleeve. Ahh this is very exciting, you don’t even know what’s their plan yet it seems there’s a distrust slowly growing. Nodding before you get dozed on assumptions who would be the werewolf, pressing the button where the system declared for everyone to listen. 

It said as it teleported everyone to a place, a large mansion. 

 [Game started.]

 Everyone, including you, were in awe of how big the mansion is. You didn't expect how big it was, it was a miscalculation on your part but the best part is that the game will get intense. You guys slowly enter, looking at every detail yet being lost for words.

The pretty statue in the garden, the big chandelier above the twin stairs yet it was adorned with gold. Then loads of beautiful paintings on the walls, lastly, a big dining table with a clean cloth on top of it. 

[Area: Mansion, players please head to the dining room to start the game]

Everyone was adjusting to their seat yet having a small talk as always, the game system has spoken once again.

 [Welcome players, we will now give you your own role, only you yourself can see.] 

 A hologram appeared in front of your face once again, looking at other people’s. It seems like you can actually see by yourself, smiling as you did the system correctly. Anticipating what role you are gonna get until—

Choosing a seat before the game actually starts, you choose to sit between Ace and Deuce just like in class. You keep talking about how excited you are as Ace teased that you might get killed in the first round where Deuce immediately shoots an insult to Ace. Therefore another bickering occurs where you just laughed.

{Your role is: Citizen!} 

You froze for a second, kinda disappointed but at least you can aid the Detectives!! You look around as you see their face was filled with numerous emotions. Now this is the question, who are you going to trust?

The Game System announced once again, 

[You may have 30 minutes of exploring before the First Night begins, choose your own room and try to survive. Good luck.] 

You overheard your friends discussing that they are going to look around and the others are going to find a room yet so on. You slowly stood up like everyone, stretching as you looked around. Now your first quest began, who do you want to trust? 

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰:

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

> Ace > Deuce > Riddle

> Trey > Cater > Leona

> Ruggie > Jack > Azul

> Floyd > Jade > Kalim

> Jamil > Vil > Rook

> Epel > Idia > Malleus

> Lilia > Silver > Sebek

> Solo.

𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧?

> Knife

> Bat

> Broom

> Hammer

> None.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦?

> Exquisite guest room, very comfortable to sleep in.

> Shabby room, very noisy due to the creaky sound from the old wood but the bed is still acceptable

> Attic, very bad environment and uncomfortable.

> Master bedroom, best choice of all. Best condition and too comfortable.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬. 𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚.

[glowingbadger]

Hi it’s me, crawling through the window. Would it be possible to get a crumb of arranged marriage w/ Hubert? His line w/ Dorothea about being willing to get married for politics sake has fueled my brain rot for him.

Good God I need to secure my windows-

I mean HELLO FRIEND ANON YES IT WOULD BE MY PLEASURE

Lol actually though, I have been thinking about this for Hubie since we all started chatting about that arranged marriage stuff! I think it's a perfect concept for him~

This like... got weird while I was writing it though?? Idk man hahaha it ended up on the less-spicy side of what I usually write, and with some very weird dialogue in places... Idk, I hope y'all like it. Maybe if there's interest, I'll follow this up eventually with a more smut-focused piece?

I've been traveling and working so much lately that I just don't even know what writing is anymore or how it works hahaha

TW: A brief mention of non-con

Hubert (FE3H) x Reader ("wife," neutral pronouns)

Arranged Marriage - semi spicy i guess?

"Frankly, he's a pain," Linhardt must be able to see your surprise and confusion written across your face. He goes on, "He's reliable and capable, of course, but also the most persistent nag you'll ever meet. Actually, no-" he glances upward as though to cross reference his own thoughts, "No, her Majesty is worse. But Hubert is a close second to be sure. Always on and on about sleep schedules and proper nutrition and etiquette..." He sighs and closes the massive tome on his lap, as though to close the conversation with it, "frankly, he's an insufferable mother hen. Does that help?"

"Well, it's... Not what I expected," you admit with a shrug, "but thank you all the same."

~

It's been several weeks since the papers binding you in marriage to Hubert Von Vestra had been signed- and this alone had sufficed. No ceremony, no grand ball, just paperwork and a handshake with your father. A handshake that ensured that, even under the Empire's unification, he would maintain nominal control over his considerable portion of land, and in return, would swear absolute loyalty to her Majesty. It was a beneficial arrangement for all parties, and you were not ignorant to the part you played. You were hardly even a bargaining chip- moreso, a hostage.

Your new husband had made no secret of what manner of harm may befall you if your family were to renege on their deal. Fortunately, you know your father to be a reliable coward, so you have no reason to believe he would be bold enough to step out of line.

Hubert Von Vestra is a terrifying man. A zealously loyal man of storied cruelty and a frigid disposition. His frame looms over you whenever he's near, and though he's hardly placed a finger on you since you'd been given over to him, his mere presence is... arresting. There's a sort of charisma to him that's equal parts frightening and fascinating. Perhaps it's madness brought on by your circumstances, but you can't help wanting to glimpse just the slightest bit into that brilliant, ever churning mind.

Unsurprisingly, he has been resistant to your attempts to understand him. He hardly indulges you in small talk, and if you were the paranoid sort, you'd think he intentionally makes himself busy when you're around. Eventually, perhaps out of sheer stubbornness, you'd settled on a routine of bringing coffee to his study adjoined to your bedroom in the evenings. He'd been visibly surprised the first time. It wasn't until the fourth night that he'd given a curt "thank you." About two weeks in, he'd actually sat back in his chair and laid down his quill pen to receive the cup from your hands. After a month, he'd leveled his narrow gaze at you and said,

"I cannot begin to fathom what satisfaction you glean from playing 'maid' to me."

"Well, I, uhm," you hadn't expected him to address you so directly, but you managed to say, "You... work so hard, I wanted to do something for you, I suppose."

His expression is inscrutable as he replies,

"You are aware that my work was much the same before you arrived."

"I am," you say softly, "But- all the same..." you trail off, and Hubert seems content to let the matter rest. And so you leave him be amidst his reports and correspondence, coffee at his side on the desk. Yet for as unproductive as your exchange might have seemed, it does leave you with an idea. The thought to learn about the man from those who knew him long before your arrival at the capitol.

~

Your investigation into the true character of your husband does not stop with Linhardt. In fact, his testimony only leaves you with further questions. But perhaps the others would say otherwise; perhaps the United Empire's most up and coming crest scholar simply inspires maternal behavior. This has to be the case- you simply can't imagine that the notoriously ruthless heir of the even more notorious Vestra lineage would be so... Doting.

And yet the more you learn of him, the more contradictory he seems.

Caspar's take is much like Linhardt's- a picture of a man far closer to a school marm than any assassin or master of torture. Ferdinand seems both smitten and incensed by him, oscillating wildly between the two. Then eventually, to your shock, Bernadetta takes the initiative to speak to you about Hubert of her own accord.

"I'm, uh, really so-sorry to bother you!" she approaches with arms drawn close to her chest and eyes resolutely avoiding yours, "I- I just heard that you were... asking about Hubert, so, I, uh..."

It takes some time to prompt her further. You assure her again and again- no, this isn't intrusive at all- yes, you'd very much like to hear her perspective- no, you're not mad at her. In truth, you're endlessly intrigued about what a gentle soul like Bernadetta would have to say about a man feared across the continent. Finally, she manages,

"He's... actually really kind!" she blurts out, as though the words would abandon her if she gave them the window of opportunity. Your eyebrows raise slightly.

"You think so..?"

"Yes, completely-!" she stammers, "I know he's super, super scary, and powerful and spooky and cold and, uh, all of that. But still," her voice falters as she continues, "He only scolds people when they do something dangerous. And he only hurts people to protect others. I... I know he's done some te-terrible things. But... he's always been nice to Bernie," finally, she meets your eyes with an imploring look in hers, "So, uh, I'm really grateful to him. And I think it would be really nice for someone to reach out to him. If... if that's not too weird or anything. For you."

You smile warmly and nod,

"Thank you, Bernadetta. I know it can't be easy for you to come to me with all of this, but... I'd like to try, if I can."

The opportunity doesn't come in the way you expect.

At first, it seems the night will proceed like many others before. You bring a cup of coffee to your husband's desk, setting it down quietly so as to not disturb him. He's silent, but this is common enough, so you head back to the bedroom to undress for the evening. All nights prior, he would lay beside you long after you'd settled in, then rise to resume work in the morning before you woke up- all the while never allowing your bodies to interact in any way.

Tonight, just as you're about to close the door to Hubert's study behind you, long fingers catch around your wrist, visibly startling you.

It's the most physical contact you've had to-date, but he only says,

"One moment."

You whip around to face him, a touch of anxiety evident in your eyes. It's clear in his own that he notices, but if anything, he only seems amused. He steps forward, his taller frame menacing you as he speaks,

"I understand that you have been busying yourself with some manner of investigation as of late."

It takes a moment for his meaning to reach you. When it does, your face burns and you can't bring yourself to meet his scrutinizing gaze,

"Oh, uhm..."

"I assure you, my dearest wife," he says with barely concealed venom, "anything that I do not wish for you to know will be kept from you. Aside from which, your efforts thus far have proven amateurish at best."

Something seems off about his tone. You could understand if he felt uncomfortable or hesitant about your efforts to learn about him, but this seems far more grave, more... business-like. He steps towards you once more, and you step back in turn. Yet before long, you feel your legs bump the edge of the bed. A gloved hand trails a fingertip down your jawline to your chin, then urges you to look up at him.

"Whatever you are planning, my dear, I promise it will be fruitless. You had best rethink how you spend your days before your actions bring you to harm."

"No, I-" your brow creases deeply, your face burns, your body burns hotter and you don't want to consider why, "I've just been trying to learn about you as a person, nothing else. We're- we're married, after all, so..."

He gives an abrupt, dry laugh.

"Ah, so I am to believe that you've been interrogating my allies out of some misguided affection, is that it?"

"Hubert, just listen to me!" for a moment, you feel bolstered, defiant, and you straighten your posture, "You won't tell me the first thing about you- the only way to learn so much as your favorite color is to ask someone who's known you for a decade!"

Briefly, he does seem to consider your words. But his eventual reply is as aloof as any prior,

"If you're no spy or politician, then you're worse- a fool." he says, and before you can respond, he's seized both of your wrists and pushed you back onto the bed. For a moment, the room spins and your voice leaves you. A shrewd eye watches you with cruel condescension as he pins you against the sheets.

"I should think that you'd be well aware what I'm capable of," he nearly whispers, "I personally ensured that the rumors spread through your father's territory and further still. Do you think that anyone would even dare lift a finger to help you if I chose to seek retribution for this recent behavior?" He draws nearer, his grip tighter at your wrists, "Perhaps as punishment, I'll simply take my pleasure from you by force."

Your lips tighten, you take a breath. Then, meeting his gaze directly, you reply,

"You won't."

His visible eye narrows.

"And what evidence do you have to prompt such unfounded confidence? Perhaps you have crafted a flattering falsehood of me in your mind," a mocking smirk curls his lips, "Am I a misunderstood sentimental sort to you, then? A sad, lonely man for you to save?"

You scowl, though you suspect it looks more like a pout to him.

"I don't know what I think of you yet- not completely. But I don't pity you like that, and I don't think you're sad or lonely. I know you're not."

For the first time, it seems that you've caught him off guard. That frigid mask falters for just a moment, and you go on before he can replace it,

"You're surrounded by people who care about you. I've seen it for myself. Whatever you've had to do in the service of your ideals- it hasn't kept the people around you from wanting to know and understand you, even if it's despite you."

Hubert is silent for a moment. His gaze bores into you like he thinks he'll discover some hidden layer if he can just keep digging. Then, he sighs,

"How did I ever become bound to such a troublesome spouse..."

When you wrest your arms from his grasp, his hands fall away with little resistance, and you think that perhaps he had never truly intended to keep you in place by force to begin with. He moves to leave the bed, but your fists find the front of his clothing and tug him back down to you.

You press your lips to his without hesitation, and you can feel him inhale sharply, his entire body rigid above you. His lips are surprisingly soft, his scent like coffee and old parchment, and though your heart threatens to burst from your chest, you hold firmly to him by his clothes. Near imperceptibly, he leans down against you, and your fear, along with any remaining doubts, begin to dissolve. Knowing he won't pull away, you let your hands relax against him, running up his chest where you can feel his own pulse pounding. It's so human, so entirely reasonable and normal. Now, at last, Hubert Von Vestra is merely a man of flesh and bone.

Your tongue meets his naturally, your lips parting in time with his as your kiss deepens to a fevered pace. One hand reaches that sharp, handsome jawline, reveling in the erotic sensation of his mouth moving against yours. And yet, all the while, his hands remain staunchly on the bed beside you. He doesn't touch you- doesn't even let his body meet yours.

It's impossible to tell whether passion or madness drives you to bring your teeth to his lower lip, a single insistent bite communicating desire mounting faster than you can contain. And for a moment, you sense something new; a sound catches in Hubert's throat, a reaction he fights to stifle. Then, he pulls away. His pale skin is tinted a rare shade of pink, and his hair is ruffled out of place enough to reveal both narrowed eyes. His cloak has spilled around his frame to surround you both, and somewhere in your frazzled mind, you imagine that you're caught in some beautiful, velvet-lined trap.

"I- must... return to my work." Hubert says stiffly. He pushes up from you and turns away, leaving you still flustered on the bed behind him. You sit upright, holding your arms tight around your body as you watch him straighten his hair and clothes.

"You, uhm..." your face reddens still as you search for the right words, "you could... join me in bed, if you liked."

Hubert turns to the door of his study, speaking without daring to even glance your way,

"Anything that you offer to me now will be born from the impulse to survive. I have been bargained with before." His shoulders slack just slightly, his voice low and sober, "The proudest nobleman will even sell off his own child to a monster if he feels it will spare him its teeth."

You open your mouth to protest, then shut it without a word. You feel that you know your mind and heart, even in this moment, but you lack the words to convince a man like this. In a feeble attempt, you murmur,

"You don't frighten me, Hubert. Not anymore."

He half turns toward you, though his hand remains on the handle of his study door.

"You yourself said that you do not know what you think of me," he says, "As such, I will not lay a hand on you until the day that you do."

You stare down at your hands in your lap, barely registering the sound of the door clicking shut as he leaves you in the bedroom. No matter how you try to sort out your tangled thoughts, the memory of his lips on yours won't leave them. If anything, it eclipses any sense of reason, standing resolutely in the way of your path to clarity. Letting out a groaning sigh, you fall onto your back on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as if it could offer you any advice.

What do I think about my own husband? You wonder, the thought nearly enough to make you laugh. Well for one, he's a pain.

[wolfjackle-creates]

Danny quite liked having wings. He'd have to make them more often. "So what did you want a fairy for?"

Nightwing stepped forward. "I'm Nightwing and this is my younger brother Robin. He's a new vigilante and needs to learn about magic so he can be a light in the dark of night to the people of Gotham as all the Robins before him were."

Danny's mouth fell open. They tried to summon a fairy to teach a kid magic? That would've ended terribly. He wasn't much better, honestly. Jazz would've been the best. She knew how to talk to people. "Um," he said eloquently. "By magic, I take it you mean the wonder of the world and an optimism that people are good?" Danny was thinking fast. What could he offer? He wasn't any good at this. He needed Jazz and Sam and Tuck. Actually... that might just work.

"Yes, exactly! A lesson in how there's so much more to this world than we can hope to ever understand and that it's a good thing."

Danny nodded. "Let him come with me for a month and a day"—he totally had these fairy tale tropes down—"and I'll see what I can do."

Before Nightwing could respond, Constantine cut in. "Now see here, you aren't gonna take this boy to wherever you came from. You'll bewitch him so he won't want to come back. Or time'll run different so he's fifty years older than when he left. Or any of a hundred different outcomes."

Danny waved him off. "I swear on my afterlife that no harm will befall Robin while he's in my care. His needs will be taken care of and he will have the opportunity to cut the visit short and return home at any point should he so choose. I will do nothing to try and convince him to stay with me. He will experience time at the exact same speed you do and will age at the same rate."

Constantine ground his teeth and it took another half hour of further negotiating before he was happy.

"Great!" said Danny. "Now that that's settled, let me talk to Robin alone for a few minutes to see if what I have to show him is something he'd even want to experience." Before Nightwing could argue as he clearly wanted to, Danny added, "I swear we won't come to any final agreement without all four of us present."

Robin nodded. "Let me speak with the fairy, Nightwing. Constantine has him well tied up in the contract. He cannot hurt me."

Constantine muttered under his breath, "Too easy if you ask me. Something's fishy."

Once they were alone, Damian asked, "You're not a fairy, are you?"

Danny laughed. "Ancients, no. I'm a ghost. And that's good for you, because you do not want to piss off fairies. They are vindictive and mean."

Damian nodded. "Then why do you wish for me to go with you?"

Danny shrugged. "Because, I can't give you the lessons your brother wants me to alone. My sister is great at some of it. But my best friends will be able to give you other perspectives. And I want to show you the Realms of the dead because those are pretty damn amazing, too."

Damian's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"Shit! No, it's not what you think. Strange as it is, it's totally safe for humans to enter the Ghost Zone for brief periods of time."

"That's seems illogical."

"It is. But my friends are still human and have gone in many times. And... If I tell you a secret, will you keep it for me?"

Damian seemed to consider before nodding. "I am annoyed Nightwing has forced me to compete this ridiculous lesson. He's been trying to teach me for over a year now. If it will not put anyone at risk, I will keep your secret."

Danny grinned. "Great." He let his transformation wash over him, leaving behind a living boy a few years older than Robin. "As you can see, I'm still partially human, partially alive. You'll stay with me in my parent's house in Illinois. They've built a portal to the Ghost Zone in our basement. Nothing I could do could prevent you from leaving should you want to while we're on Earth."

"Very well, I accept your terms. I will go with you. Mostly because this seems like the best way to force Nightwing to forfeit his ridiculous quest. And it will mean I do not have to attend school for a month. My classmates are a trial to be around."

"School is awful. I've one classmate who likes to shove me in lockers. I can't get back at him because I need to keep my powers a secret from my parents."

"Change back and I will call the others back in. We will seal this deal and I will go with you to your home."

A flash of white, and Danny was hovering in the air again. Another thought and the ice wings reformed. "This is going to be so much fun."

-----

I have no intention of continuing this. So please build on it! What shenanigans do Danny and Damian get up to in Amity and the Zone for a week? How does Damian react to his first reanimated hotdog or attack of the carrots? Will he look up to Sam and the way she fights for animal rights?

This is such a fun prompt!

Do you believe in fairies?

No one could deny that all the Robins had a unique and lively spirit, they began their career with stars in their eyes and feet in the air. Or at least most of them, Damian was still a work in progress.

Due to how the League of Assassins had raised him, it was a bit difficult to communicate with him. And most of the experiences or dreams that kids his age had were just not available. Dick had done everything to show him the "magic" but nothing was working. Not even his weekly Disney movie marathon.

That's why Dick decided to be a little more...literal about it. He asked Constantine and Zatanna for help in contacting a fairy (Zatanna looked at him as if he was crazy), this was because the last movie Damian had shown interest in was "Peter Pan". Or at least it was until Tinkerbell showed up and Damian declared that "he didn't believe in fairies."

Unfortunately for Constantine, he owed the former Robin a favor, so he tried to summon a Fairy. Of course, since the universe is engaged in making his life miserable, something went wrong. And instead of a Fairy, a ghost was looking around in confusion.

Danny didn't know where he got to, or why the boy in front of him asked him if he was "a fairy", but he decided to play along and quickly form crystal wings out of his ice. The halfa was quite amused by the situation, while Constantine looked doubtfully at the supposed "fairy" who didn't look like a fairy at all.

Danny smiled happily as he sat in the circle, he could leave at any time (and he hated being summoned) but the situation seemed extremely interesting.

[tanadrin]

Do you have any problems with the following reasoning: "There is nothing ethically wrong with torturing Nazis to death, Inglorious Bastards-style, because it's what Nazis actually want. Ask any true believer Nazi, and he would say that for him, it would be the dream of his life and the highest honor to became a matryr for the cause of Nazism and in the name of the white race"?

This thought experiment disingenuously smuggles several questionable assumptions into the scenario it presents, which are worth unpacking alongside the broader question of "whom is it ethical to torture and murder."

First, let us look at the choice of acceptable target. Nazis, like pedophiles and rapists, are a useful acceptable target in thought experiments involving capital punishment and vigilante justice because nobody wishes to be thought an apologist for monstrous ideologies or actions. There are plenty of groups that in the present cause more suffering than open, avowed Nazis. There are, in absolute terms, many fewer open, avowed Nazis now than there are, say, apologists for American overseas military interventions that have killed many tens of thousands of people and caused devastation throughout the Middle East. If we assume murdering our ideological enemies is an effective means of harm reduction (extremely doubtful), killing American political and military officials with mainstream foreign policy views would do more to reduce harm than killing Nazis. Nazi ideology would cause more harm if it had a hegemonic position in global politics, sure--but it doesn't.

This is neither a defense of Nazism, which I am not at all hesitate to declare a pathetic and vile ideology, nor an argument for political assassination, which I think is ineffective and immoral. I do, however, want to look closely at why the target in these thought experiments is ultimately always of a group that is already a major social pariah, and already automatically excluded from social or political influence. It makes othering the target quite easy; after all, you are not a Nazi, I am not a Nazi, neither of us have much sympathy for Nazis, nor do we, presumably, know any Nazis personally. There is no recognition of common humanity to overcome here: Nazis are alien to us. The threat they represent to anyone is pretty small; but they are reviled, and so the actual danger of open, avowed Nazism as a political force is not important.

Secondly, there are many reasons a Nazi might state that "it would be the dream of [their] life and the highest honor" of a Nazi to be tortured to death as a martyr for their ideology. One, they are a masochist with a persecution complex, and this is literally true. Two, they feel pressured to say it is true, to demonstrate commitment within their peer group. Three, they are a propagandist who knows this is not true for them or for most Nazis, but they have an interest in representing it as true, for political and social purposes, inside and outside their social group. It is also possible that this is not true, not at all; that it is in fact a distortion presented by a disingenuous interlocutor who simply wants to torture and murder Nazis. The only case in which torturing and murdering a living human being might even begin to approach not being a monstrous act is the first one, and even then only if you are absolutely certain, and correct in your certainty, of your ability to distinguish these four cases. Even then, torture and murder cause profound psychological harm to the torturer, and are likely to cause knock-on harm to the rule of law in a society which condones these acts; no amount of personal gratification on the part of the victim could make up for these harms if they resulted in a similar fate befalling someone who didn't suffer it with enthusiasm.

Thirdly: it is emotionally understandable why those who did suffer atrocities at the hands of the Nazis, or who look on with sympathy at the victims of Nazi atrocities, might harbor fantasies of vengeance a la Inglorious Basterds. It is emotionally understandable in the same way the Reign of Terror was understandable, or the murder of clergy during revolutions in Spain and Latin America was understandable: the powerless victims of great atrocities hunger for justice, or at least revenge; and when that justice is denied to them, for years or for generations, fury can spill over to great violence.

It's understandable, but that doesn't mean it's right. In the final calculation, I can truthfully admit no other answer than this: I think vengeance is never justified. I think one cruelty never permits or excuses another. I don't think there's any act any human being can commit that robs them of moral worth, the right to be treated with dignity, or makes them deserving of torture or death.

Outside the austere world of thought experiments, the justification presented in scenarios like this one is used by the bloodthirsty to kill with impunity, by the authoritarian to terrorize the weak and to silence dissent, and by the self-righteous to attempt to purify the world of those categories of human being which, they say, are the only thing standing between us and Paradise. In other words, by Nazis. And even if that were somehow not true--even if you could appoint or construct a perfect judge, who could sift the hearts of mankind for purity and worth, and truly condemn only the vicious, and never the innocent, it would still be wrong. Wrong in the imagined perfect case; wrong in the real world; indefensible on any sort of utilitarian or deontological grounds.

We have spend the last fifty thousand years as a species trying to claw our way up out of the hideous game-theoretic equilibria imposed on us by nature, toward something which we hopefully name "justice" and "peace" and "prosperity" and "rule of law," and no amount of rationalization in the world can obscure the true intent of those who really only hunger for the life of our cannibalistic and murderous australopithecene forebears.