#the aces are giant children

[hauntingblue]

Why do they say dragon is luffy's father but doesn't look much like him... I mean it is true but why point it out... in that way he doesn't look like garp either

[ezra-loomis]

*shreds my hands until it bleeds.*

Klavier Gavin ass product

[torpublishinggroup]

Celebrate Pride with Tor Publishing Group!

Rakesfall by @adamantine

They met as children in the middle of the Sri Lankan civil war. Later, in a demon-haunted wood, an act of violence linked them and propelled their souls on a journey through the ages. As they reincarnate ever deeper into the future, a truth emerges: Some stories take more than one lifetime to tell.

Running Close to the Wind by @ariaste

In this queer pirate fantasy, Avra Helvaçi has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world. To avoid capture, he flees to the open sea, where only his on-again, off-again ex aka pirate Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār can help him survive, profit, and become a legend.

Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin

Something evil is buried deep in the desert. It wants your body and wears your skin. Welcome to Camp Resolution, a queer conversion center where everyone leaves a different person. In 1995, seven queer teens were abandoned here by their parents, but survived. Sixteen years later, they’re scarred and broken, but back to face an evil that threatens the world. 

Kinning by Nisi Shawl

In this alternate history where barkcloth airships soar and former colonies claim freedom from imperialist tyrants, the identity of the island of Everfair still wavers. Victorious in the wake of the Great War, a new threat looms. Can Everfair continue to serve as a symbol of hope for anticolonial movements around the world, or will it fall to forces within and without? 

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by @rebeccathornewrites

Can one of the Queen’s private guard and the most powerful mage in existence leave their lives behind to settle down in their new bookshop that serves tea? This cozy fantasy is steeped in sapphic romance and nestled on the edge of dragon country. 

The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab

Once there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power and connected by a single city: London. After a desperate attempt to prevent corruption and ruin in the four Londons, there are only three. Now the worlds are going to collide anew—brought to a dangerous precipice by the discoveries of three remarkable magicians.

Now available in paperback!

The Archive Undying by @emcandon

This is a story about misplaced faith, complicated love, so much self-loathing, and yeah—giant robots. Plugged into his AI god when its apocalyptic corruption renders him unfortunately immortal, sad gay disaster Sunai takes a die-again-or-die-trying approach to things. Unending life’s tough when intimacy is somehow scarier even than either of the warring police states set on turning you into a weapon or the rogue undead mecha-fragment of your old god that wants to eat you. 

Now available in paperback!

The Bell in the Fog by Lev AC Rosen

A dazzling historical mystery that dives into the shadowy, closeted world of the Navy, emerging in the gay bars of the city. It’s a whirlpool of missing people, violent strangers, and scandalous photos in 1952 San Francisco. 

Now available in paperback!

Celebrate Pride with more titles from Tor Publishing Group here!

[depressedstressedlemonzest]

Now I'm just trying to think of the most unhinged ships to see if there are fics for them

[accala]

I love how simplistic the clothing is in Advent Children compared to those in Rebirth. I know it's not what they intended (Rebirth is a fairly new game and AC Movie was back in the 2000's). But I like to think that characters had to improvise with their clothes because Shinra, who was the major supplier for everything, was gone after Meteorfall. Plus with Midgar down and in the middle of a wasteland, they had to scramble for resources, so any fabric had to be salvaged.

Here's some side-to-side references of Remake/Rebirth (RR) Clothing vs. Advent Children (AC) Clothing:

[Rufus Shinra]

The buttons. The details. The extra fabric. The belts. And then look how more simple AC is. Sure he has a coat on top of three shirts, but his RR suit looks so extra and customized to fit him whilst his AC suit looks like something he scrounged up in his remaining closet. He lost all of his extra belts. His undershirts look like they’re made out of cheap cotton too. His coat in particular looks short on the sleeves and too loose on his form.

[Turks: Rude, Reno, Tseng, & Elena]

(Top right photo from Advent Children)

Classic expensive suits for RR. Simple suits for AC. Look at those clean looks and small suit details for RR (ex. Rude has a patterned tie and Elena’s collar has a small button/pin on her collar). The difference is apparent with Reno, who has a fancy undershirt in Remake vs his simple cotton undershirt in AC. And if you zoom in on the AC photo, the coats have zippers!!! The AC coats also look loose compared to their form fitting coats in RR.

[Cloud Strife]

AC!Cloud has more fabric than in RR. But AC lacks the details that RR has. For example, RR has leather gloves with metal encased on the wrist and fingers. His shoulder pad looks forged with giant metal screws as well. But AC mostly has leather and little to no metal except for its strap buckles and wolf insignia (And it's likely that Cloud made those wolf symbols himself). Although, he does have major upgrades (read: his sword and motorcycle; both things he probably made himself/with help from scrap materials).

(Extra note: This is a common theme on other characters where they replace their utility pockets and metal armor with leather/denim. It makes sense for their equipment to be replaced due to wear and tear. Lack of metal armor could be due to lack of weapon/armor production. Plus Leather pauldrons/gauntlets are faster to make.)

[Tifa Lockhart]

Her outfit in AC looks more casual than in RR (ex. She got rid of her compression armbands; She switched out her red combat boots for look-alike converse sneaker boots; and put her utility pockets in front of her skirt/shorts combo). Notice how she doesn’t have gloves nor Materia slots in the movie (Although it’s weird that she DOES have gloves in other games/promos).

[Barret Wallace]

In AC, he has a sleeveless puffer jacket and a fishnet shirt. He also lost his leather utility pockets (for ammo possibly) from RR. And it’s probably because he doesn’t need it, now that he has a new advanced weapon (it can transform from a metal arm into a high tech machine gun and vice versa). As an oil baron, he probably has more access to materials and utilities compared to other characters, that’s why Barret’s clothes don’t look so simple/improvised.

[Marlene Wallace]

Obviously Marlene would have a different look when she got older. But look at her cute frilly pink dress vs. her white sleeveless collared shirt and floral patterned skirt (notice how her outfit looks like a mix of Cloud and Aerith’s outfits). The stitching for her AC outfit is way more simple. Also I’d like to think Barret gave her that floral patterned fabric for her skirt since it would have been difficult to get ahold of.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Zippers galore. Her outfit is changed to black with a floral patterned shirt with a denim ensemble (I think her outfit is a little extra because she's a WRO member). Her shuriken’s the same but her metal and leather armor are gone and replaced with a wristband and a black cloth that covers her forearm. She still has her utility pockets though but it’s in denim (I wonder, did she break her old armor?).

(Edit: She also has these green converse knee high boots?? Again, as a WRO member, she probs got them outside of Midgar)

[Vincent Valentine]

Nothing changed that much. He kept his coat. His AC leather straps and gauntlet are less detailed than the Rebirth one. The metal buckles look different in shape too. I think he changed those in AC. Makes sense if there were wear and tear during the years (I wonder how he does his laundry though lmao).

[Cid Highwind]

Cid changed to a cotton blue shirt. He doesn’t have his pilot scarf anymore nor his flight jacket. Instead, he has a brown bomber jacket tied around his waist with a dog tag around his neck. As much as I think his clothes are due to scarce resources, I also don’t think he cares that much regarding fashion.

[Reeve Tuesti]

The shoulder pads. The silver and yellow accents. The foot length blue coat. It's a major improvement on Reeve's outfit compared to his old businessman suit. As the WRO leader, he gets access to making his outfit a little fancy (more chances to trade with other towns/cities outside of Midgar). Although I do think someone made that coat for him, and he wanted to reject it because he considered it too much. But accepted either way 'cause it would be a waste.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

How would the suitors reaction be when their wife ( Crewle daughter) is pregnant with triplets? And meeting the kids after birth?

With Ruggie, Jack, Lions, Malleus, Silver, Trey, Vil and Ace

Triplets Are Here | Yandere Twisted Wonderland Crewel Daughter

Ruggie Bucci

“What can I say I’m a beast in bed!” 

He’s not going to act like it even could have been inherited to you

He’s got a whole new air of confidence

Not only does he have the woman of his dreams 

But he knocked her up times three

Hopefully that will squash anyone else’s delusions about being with you

Either way he doesn’t mind getting rid of them the old fashioned way

“Awww they look like we had babies! Oh wait-”

“Just focus on feeding that one.”

“Yes Mama!” 

Jack Howl

“...!”

“Jack?”

“!!!!”

“Jack?!”

“!!!!”

“If you faint now, I won’t catch you!”

This is the best news 

A strong litter, a perfect mate

He’s protecting his already larger than average pack

“Back away or I will not hesitate to end your life. I’ve got four lives to protect now.”

Leona Kingscholar

“Geez…three?”

“Don’t make that face.”

“What face? I’m just surprised you took me so well.”

He has mixed feelings about it

Especially when he’s catering to you as your belly swells to an almost unbelievable size

And you groan in pain

“Why don’t the brats just get here. I hate seeing you in pain.”

He’s heard of other lions so jealous they kill their kin

But as he holds the little bundles he can’t begin to fathom it

He might just cry

Malleus Draconia

“If you and I were not made for each other, theres noway this could be.”

He’s ecstatic 

But the entirety of Briar Valley and the world around you must be made to cater to you

Devoted to your comfort and health above all else 

he even struggles to let Crewel see you

“Nothing will ever hurt my loves. My babes. My wive. I’d curse the world for you.”

Genocide Murder spree ensues should there be any pain or assassination attempts

No one’s so much as flicking you 

He’d sooner rend them to ash

Silver

“Three…at the same time…?”

“Yes so we’ll have to get three times the baby equipment and–Silver?”

“Three…in…you?”

He’s barely processing any of it 

Even when he’s practically carrying the four of you as you waddle places

“Our babies…”

“Aren’t they precious they have your eyes!”

“M-m-my eyes-? Agh-!”

“Its okay babe this is a good time to cry.”

“H-how did Dad do it!? I-I’m never letting any of you leave me!”

Any protective traits are amplified even higher

And if there was ever a time he refused to kill anyone in his pursuit for love

That has long since past

Trey Clover 

“Well I did always say I wanted a big family!”

He’s thrilled to see your tummy rounding with his children

All while you incessantly demand for his sweets and cooking

And he’s jumping to his tooth brush after a rough morning 

But its all made even better when they arrive

Little mixes of his love and himself 

“They’ll have the cutest little teeth!”

He definitely saves them when they get older

But he’s the perfect papa

Poisoned sweets and all

Vil Schoenheit

“We’ll be parents…is that registering?”

“Barely. When we agreed to marry I doubted ever moving further than that.”

“Does it make you unhappy?”

“Not in the slightest.”

He’s brimming with anxiety 

Worry eating away as he contemplates his own jealousy and the excitement of having a  child

It doesn’t become much easier when the triplets arrive

He despises the paparazzi 

So much so he’s willing to set his rabid fans on them

Purge them of every photo of his adorable babes

He’s the only one who gets the honor

A dazzling photo of your delivery is only for his eyes

Doxx the peeping toms

“They’re all mine. I’m willing to lose everything for them.”

Ace Trappola

“Dang! I really am amazing–Ow! Joking, joking.”

He couldn’t be happier

What better way to prove his love ownership of the sexiest woman alive if it weren’t for the giant round belly you had

And soon to be three little rascals that are further testaments of his status

He’ll whine about things 

Probably more than you 

But in the end he’s glowing with pride as you look down at your freshly born babies

“Ehehe they can’t deny that I may have children for days but I’ve got game.”

[starzshopoflove]

Who's your daddy? (Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader)

Notes: fem reader! sfw mostly ,literally just me projecting onto the reader, reader is kind of a pervert drabble! This will be multi part if you guys want!! (WC:550)

Simon does his best to be as involved in his son's life while off deployment, with the little guy living with his uncle Soaps mom and sisters while his dads gone. It's always the little things he wishes his dad did when he was younger. His worst fear is being anything like his own father 

This man is literally superdad, present at every PTA meeting he can be, makes cupcakes for the class on his son's birthday, every little league game, pick up and drop off, anything and everything he can do he will 

His son will babble mindlessly about anything because well,, he's 4 that's what children do. So Simon doesn't process much of it as actual information, more like vague “hms” “that's nice' ' and “ah oh really?”. Now when his son started to repeatedly bring up this “Miss” Simon assumed that he’s made a friend at school which made him pretty happy since he never had many when he was younger. It sounded dumb but he just assumed Miss was short for Missy or whatever kid name  

Casual asks of “How was school” being met with his boy saying “Miss gave me a sticker today” or “Miss made cookies today”. So you can imagine his surprise when he saw a random woman in the most lung collapsing sundress and cardigan holding his son looked at him and smiled while his son just waved and cheered. 

Simon is guilty of occasionally being late for pick ups but usually his boy is inside safe in the lobby so seeing you holding him would be more stressful if he wasn't a tank of a man that could maim an entire army single handedly, especially when you were literally basking in sunlight holding his child in a flowy pink floral sundress with a crochet cardigan, I mean seriously don't you know its a crime to stop traffic 

“Hi! Hi daddy! Miss waited with me for you, see!” Handing off the little guy to his dad you were also choking up, you became a teacher to help children learn not to ogle at their dads, but my god did it make up for your criminally low salary. The sight of a giant man in those loose worn out jeans, that tight white shirt stretched over his muscles bulging out of the fabric, and those eyes that look like they could melt you.

You could already feel the blush creeping off your neck and honestly you prayed to god with all your might that you could run back into your car, turn the AC on blast and fan whatever blush was on your face off. “You must be Mister Riley right? Hunter is a pleasure to have in class” You know what else would be a pleasure? Your di-

“Im sure he is” Oh fuck that accent you could practically feel your knees buckling just imagine how much better it would sound saying “You’re alright girl” all deep and gravelly while hes nibbling on your ear 

Needless to say Simon started showing up to pickups more often and you slowly started wearing shorter sundresses.

[reader-wandering18]

Yuu Leviathan

Yuu from the world of LEVIATHAN being a 4-star harpooner.

The boys (the one with diasomnia and the Heartslabyul duo) in Yuu's dream. Ortho, along with his brother and Grim, had accidentally gotten separated from them.

Scene from Malleus Overblot

— Where...

Ace was suddenly thrown to the ground, his head had been protected by one hand and he could feel the weight of another on top of him.

She opened her eyes in surprise to focus on Silver.

Beside him was Deuce in the same position as him, only with Sebeck.

I wanted to ask What the hell?! But then he saw him… He remembered that sleepover where Yuu told them about his world. A world under water and monsters. He thought he was making it up so together with Grim they made fun of him, Yuu complained about them but never got angry.

He told them about the Seven Sea Demons, each one worse than the last.

— The most dangerous one is gray and dark blue with yellow bioluminescent spots and, compared to other sea monsters, it is a giant in size. Its name is…

— Kentrassi

In front of him was one of the 7 sea demons. And it was the most dangerous of all.

— Up!

Silver along with Sebeck quickly stood up along with the two first-year boys and ran for their lives. When Ace looked back, he had the chance to see that in the previous place where he was standing, there was a large hole.

A chill ran through his entire body. The monster was crawling around the place.

During their escape, the boys noticed that there was nothing like buildings or the sky, only metal, hallways and many people screaming, children crying and some dying crushed or devoured.

While running through a window they manage to see the sea.

A ship, they were a large ship.

Union Busan

WHAT KIND OF WORLD WAS THAT?

LOST

DESPAIR

How can that be Yuu's world?

The Diamnsonia duo stopped followed by Heartslabyul, they raised their wands to attack that monster with magic, but their magic… It just wasn't there.

— Why isn't it working?!

Sebeck didn't understand what was happening, but Deuce remembered what Yuu had told him.

— He said that in his world there was no magic, also Yuu didn't seem to understand the concept of it or have heard of something like that.

— You can't dream, of something you've never known.

— Damn, Malleus-sama's unique magic helps maintain this dream so he's blocking our magic for the sake of this human's sweet dream! BUT THIS DREAM HAS NOTHING SWEET AT ALL!

— If Ortho was here, would he be able to go against that thing?

Silver was also in a bind, he had nothing at hand that could cut the tentacles. His wand was useless in that dream, so frustrated he could only hear all the people around him scream and cry.

He was a knight without a sword.

A knight unable to protect those people as he did with Malleus and his father.

"I have failed again"

Kentrassi raised his large right arm, his intention was more than obvious, so without thinking Silver along with Sebeck stood in front of the first duo and the other people who had been left with no way out.

Even if none of them had magic or weapons, they couldn't just run away, they were warriors trained by Lilia. Silver wasn't going to disappoint his father.

No more

"We're not going to die here!"

A shadow appeared from the sky, Silver and Sebeck were the first to notice it, it was raising both arms holding what they saw as a sword, it came down like lightning cutting Kentrassi's hand along with much of his face as if they were just butter in a matter of seconds, it moved like a snake all over his body and wherever it passed it seemed to leave its bite.

With a jolt the blood came out of his weapon, he stood up in front of the monster, without showing a hint of fear, his back seemed firm, big… like a protector

— It was very brave of him to stand in front of the civilians, and use their own bodies as a shield.

He turned around and the boys immediately recognized him

— Yuu

Until that moment, both realized that they were no longer seeing a lost human from another world.

They were seeing a HARPOONER.

Seeing that there wasn't much action from my request in the first blog, I finally decided to do it. Believe me when I say that you've been awake for several nights until 1 or 2 in the morning is when the most inspiration comes.

Anyway, my main problem with this is that I couldn't visualize how the boys would react to something like this, so if you see something that makes you say, he wouldn't do this, I'm sorry. I had to watch his letters, the story videos again, and read his personality on wiki to get an idea of ​​how they would react.

The first outline was in the Octavinelle arc in the Overlord of Azul but as much as I thought and wrote this one just didn't end up convincing me. I wanted them to EXPERIENCE how Yuu (from this blog) was forged that way, so I remembered that we are in the Diasomnia arc and I said THAT'S IT.

Once I had the scenario it was time to choose the actors.

At first I thought about all the dorm leaders (among them Jamil) but there were too many characters, too much study and not enough sense so I said no. Obviously Sebeck and Silver should be there since this is their arc, and that's how the duo of a neuron came to mind. After all, they met Yuu from the prologue and they are his friends. I removed Grim, Ortho and Idia because I didn't want to make this as long as people's reaction to a tablet, a robot as advanced as Ortho and also magic so I came up with something like Malleus' thing about blocking them to make YUU's dream more REALISTIC and so he wouldn't suspect.

Anyway, I hope you like it and I'll be thinking about more Yuu x other worlds.

[fluffywing-e-tarot]

Garp and his three Godly Grandsons

It had been months since Kolby and Helmepo became his students. They both were exceptional. Koby was ignorant of that mark of Tsuisu left on him.

"Koby, do you know of the ancient gods of the world?" Garp questioned across the Wei Chi boared

"Not all of them, sir." Koby siad "I know there are multiple. But the one I'm fermilar with is Nika."

It was understandable. The kid was trapped for 2 years on a pirateship. Nika was an obvious choice for a situation like his.

Garp thought of his own mark that all three of the little rascals admitted to doing, but some instinct said there could only be one. His bet was that Astrus did it.

"Well, they are more than Myth Koby." Garp fished in his drawer for the gift Sabo left in his quarters. Without saying hello again.

"This is a collection of their mythos it helps to be at least familiar of their stories."

"Thank you, Sir." Acepted the book.

"Don't let anyone else read it." Garp warned

When he finally encountered the runaway Luffy, he saw the moment Koby entered Luffy's sight.

Luffy shouted in the ancient tongue. Garp wouldn't be surprised if it translated to (Tsuitsu you theif )or (bastard ). Luffy wrapped his stretchy limbs around Koby wailing.

Garp sighed. " Luffy yes I know your brother marked him. Now will you just let go." He grabbed Luffy by the scruff.

"But Koby was going to be Mine" Luffy wailed.

"Not another god scuffle," Garp groaned " don't attack your brother for this Luffy. we can't have another Storm like the one you and that other kid had over Shanks."

"Koby!"

Fist of Love!

Luffy stopped crying. Clutching his head but had released his student.

"Old Man what was that for?" Luffy accused.

"Scram before I have to arrest you Brat!"

.~°~.

It was close to a month latter when Astrus appeared on his ship. Feet kicked up on his table. Shackled.

"what's this I hear about Sabo swippeing a mark from Luffy?" Ace said. Unbothered by the chains around him.

"Ace please go back to the Cell. I can't deal with you slipping out."

"Come on Gramps tell me The details "

"How did you come to this information?" Garp said. Knowing that there was no messenger god running around. As far as he knew.

"Jimbe mentioned that the Revolutionary's God was smug about something."

Garp growled hiding his face in his hands. "Promised me you won't get into a fight over this with your brothers."

"Shit, it's That bad."

"Yes, I would rather not experience what two of you can do, with your gathered powers." The event he was talking about was long before he reunited Nika with his elder brothers. It was when Nika and Kanato fought over Shanks and his crew. A giant storm picked up where they were. That was with them confined to the bodies of children and Minor miracles. Garp really didn't want to find out what fully functional Gods could do.

" Fine I promise I won't fight my younger brothers over this." Ace swore holding his followers sign of promise.

"It's my new student. He arrived at his conscription post with Luffy. But at some point before I arrived. Sabo marked him. " Garp said.

"Once someone is marked there's not much to fight over. Unless their multi attuned. Then it's a matter of persuasion to shift the mark from one to their preference." Ace shrugged "Has there been any Gifts delivered?"

"Yes a book on Mythology of you all, and A sun pendant from Nika." Garp said.

Ace grinned wickedly. Producing a small book on star navigation. From nowhere.

" Give that to your student." Then the God of the Stars vanished. Laughter remaining behind.

"Roger you're a Bastard that left me to deal with your consequences" Garp groaned.

Yet he loved his Grandsons. That also happened to be millennia older than him. They were all Gods after all.

First

[universaln0b0dy]

Splinter (Twisted wonderland + reader)

Riddle Rosehearts, Leona Kingscholar, Ace Trapola, Jade leech, Kalim Al-Asim, Sebek Zigvolt

《Summary》: The boys have a nasty splinter and you get rid of it. 

《Note》: So this will lean towards the fact you have younger siblings in this scenario, or that you at least took care of younger kids back in your world. Also, you carry a medikit around for plot purposes.

Riddle Rosehearts: Honestly it was ridiculous. He had no idea what to do about that giant splinter stuck in his hand. It might be because he wasn't allowed to play outside that often and climbing on trees had been a no go.

He eyes the small wooden piece in his hand, as you suddenly came around the corner. You greet him and immediately notice that something is wrong, as you ask him about it, he shows you the splinter in embarrassment.

You nod, pulling out a small box with plaster on it, before asking him if you could take it out. He nods and you open the box, pulling a tweezers out, using it to pull the splinter out. After that you disinfect it. After Riddle asked you how it came to be that you knew what to do. You just tell him you used to take care of the kids in your hometown and splinters and small scratches were a daily occurrence.

Leona Kingscholar:He had awoken with an incredible pain in his hand and he swore to the great seven, this will be the last time he would lean against a tree. Lucky for him your 6th sense, that was littarly a injury detector, makes you show up with a little bag. 

He shows you the nasty splinter in his hand and you sigh, taking a tweezer out of your bag. You ask him if you could get rid of the splinter and he allows it. Surprisingly it turns out he can't handle the pain as well as he wanted to. Given away by the fact his tail agressivly swished around after you had pulled out the splinter.

If you tell that anyone that you are dead though.

Ace Trapola:He is probably the worst at handling the pain from all the people on the list, given by the fact he has been complaining about it loudly  ever since he got the splinter.

Being fed up with all his whining you ask him if you could get rid of it and he agrees. Sadly every time you even try to pull the splinter out he flinched pulling his hand away. This goes on for at least two minutes until you use one of your hands to hold his hand in place. Than you pull it out, causing Ace to screech. You still don't know if he is actually bad at handling the pain or if he wanted to make life harder for you.

Jade Leech:It was such a trival thing that Jade could have handled on his own. He had been hiking a bunch of times and yes, occasionally splinters would occur when he held onto a tree, or moved a branch aside to take a look at the mushrooms. Something that was different from all the other hiking trips on the other hand, was the fact you had accompanied him. 

You had immediately started to go through your bag when Jade flinched, after moving a small branch, in order to get out that small medicine bag you had. You politely asked for his hand and he complies, despite telling you that he could handle it on his own.

You didn't really care about the fact he could remove the splinter from his hand on his own. It was more like a sense of nostalgia that hit you, seeing the familiar small splinter, that you had so often needed to pull out of someone's hand.

You were kinda glad you didn't have to babysit little children anymore.

Kalim Al-Asim:His cheerful attitude wouldn't give away that the boy had been kidnapped and poisoned multiple times, but his pain tolerance did. The nasty splinter, that was very thick and tall even managed to catch you of guard, and you had seen some nasty shit before.

Out of sheer bad luck, Jamil also wasn't present to help remove the splinter, but hey! You were. To Kalims surprise you take of the bag you always carry and pull out a pair of tweezers asking if you can remove the splinter. Kalim nods and you pull the splinter out.

He doesn't even flinch, not even when you disinfect the wound. It kinda bothers you that he continued to smile ahead, but oh well! You let him decide the band-aid (he chooses the parrot) and than run off to find Grim, cause your 6th sense told you that he was trying to get himself in danger.

Sebek Zigvolt:Sebek, the green haired crocodile that was louder than a airplane start with his praise for waka-sama, was able to handle the splinter like a pro. It didn't really matter that the splinter was super duper nasty and probably hurt like hell.

Well before he can pull it out on his own like he always did, you arrive.He honestly is confused on why you are so persistent on removing the splinter. (The reason might or might not be that you have seen one of these bad boy splinters get infected and that kinda traumatized you.) Well after you tell him that it was a reward for his great work as a guard and a guarantee that he would be able to continue doing such a good job he is putty in your your hands and you can remove the splinter.

Well, this is probably on of the weirdest scenarios known to man! But it was fun. I hope you liked reading it, or had at least a good cringe or laugh! Uni~♡

[blackspies12]

Christmas Event Prediction???

So, with the ending of TWST's Nightmare Before Christmas event, it kind of implied that there will be a Christmas event; whether this event will happen next year or in two months is unknown. If it is in two months, that might explain why the Halloween event ended/started sooner than usual. I assumed it was for Book 7 Chapter 11 that might happen in November, but we'll see when the JP schedule drops in a couple of days.

Anyway, I'm assuming the Christmas event will have the remaining cast that didn't appear in the recent Halloween event, which is:

Deuce, Ace, Rook, Jack, Ortho, Floyd, Lilia, Silver, Kalim, Cater, Ruggie

And not gonna lie; it makes sense that these are the characters that would be in the Christmas event.

Christmas, other than the religious connotations, is also associated with family, gift giving, giving thanks, feasts, celebration and joy.

Silver and Lilia are the obvious ones. They are family so I wouldn't be surprised if Lilia is the SSR. This could be the chance for the father-son duo to express how much they mean to each other. I think these two would be very excited to embrace Christmas traditions. They fit the theming of family perfectly.

Kalim embodies the Christmas spirit the best. He is kind and isn't shy to express thanks or give gifts. He calls all the NRC students his friends and he is the definition of a good person. Kalim also has a very large family so I am sure he is quite acquainted with giant family reunions that Christmas is associated with.

Rook is in a similar boat. Admittedly, I am no Rook expert, but like Kalim, he gives compliments freely, and giving gifts would be no problem either. He would definitely embrace the Christmas spirit proudly.

The others are a bit more complicated or can be a bit of a stretch so bear with me.

From what little we know of Cater's family, we know that he has a strenuous relationship with his sisters and has never really been able to bond with schoolmates due to constantly moving. This event could be a chance to experience a holiday where people gather together and give gifts to express how much they mean to each other. He seriously needs to know that other people care for him and wonderfully all of the Light Music Club is here! A group of people he has wonderfully built a bond with.

Ortho and Floyd are kind of the odd ones out. I feel like they would both enjoy Christmas and the idea of it, but their family isn't in the event (Idia, Azul, and Jade). Still, I think they fit in with the mood and ambience perfectly. Floyd may be a bit chaotic but they both exude the childishness and playful aspect of Christmas.

Ruggie is here for the feast of course! But he's also connected to the theme of family. Ruggie has expressed multiple times how much he cares for his grandmother and all the children in his neighborhood. He gave thanks to his grandmother for raising and gives gifts to the children such as food. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if he was the SSR too.

Savanaclaw is also very close; you can call them a pack, so Jack and Ruggie can be included as a family to one another. Jack also has younger siblings so if any children are involved in the event I am sure he will handle them well. Jack is also very loyal but is also very headstrong in his beliefs as shown by Book 2. If you read his vignettes and stories you would know how much he values what Leona and Ruggie think. (Family theming again).

Finally, we have Adeuce. This is the first event that will have them be in the same event banner. I would also bet money that Yuu and Grim like always will be involved in the event. Basically, I think this event will show how close the four are. It's no secret that NRC students struggle to express gratitude or "kindness," and Ace especially falls victim to this. Instead, he shows it by actions. I can see Adeuyuu and Grim giving each other gifts. Maybe they won't say that they are family but I'm sure the event will show how much they care for each other and also how happy it is they are finally all in an event together XD. How these four has built a sense of belonging since the beginning and how much they appreciate that bond. Grim will be especially happy about the Christmas feasts! Deuce isn't as reserved with showing his emotions and he will most likely be very onboard with the idea of Christmas.

Also I'm pretty sure that all of the combinations of Adeuyuu are all pretty popular ships so if you see their relationship in a romantic light, imagine a mistletoe showing up

This is a chance for them to show gratitude to each other when they rarely do. I can already imagine the shenanigans too.

TLDR; Found Family go brrr and Christmas is the perfect event to express that.

[buff-muffin]

Random little One piece modern AU thoughts and I guess scenes I had about mainly Luffy

1. Luffy is the best guy to take to karaoke. While he isn’t the best singer he’s also not the worst. However he sings with his whole chest and heart and will sing duets with anyone no matter how lovey or metal. His energy always brought everyone out of their shells he just has a bad habit of singing when it’s not his turn

2. I feel like in a modern AU Luffy would still be friends with a lot of the people he met in series just under different conditions. Like water 7 instead of the mayor almost being assassinated he just. Met him. Like on good terms. idk, maybe Luffy saved tyrannosaurus and now they just exchange animals pics and the occasional “hey I’m heading to insert place where should I go to eat” and Luffy just introduces the Baratie with no heads up to Zeff and Sanji and when Sanji spams the group chat freaking out he just says you’re welcome :D

3. Luffy keeps the contacts of everyone he’s met and keep them under their nicknames. Monster granny, hammock, split head ect. It’s the only way he can remember them after all. When nami had gotten nosy and decided to go through his contacts she obviously asked who tf ice pops was. Imagine her surprise when Luffy confidently answers that it’s the mayor from a few towns over.

4. In a modern AU the ASL brothers were totally still bush kids. Like. Dadan’s (probably community house) was right by the woods and they would have a similar childhood to canon with less killing wild animals. But they also a thousand fucking percent had a Nintendo Wii. Like Ace and Sabo fought tooth and NAIL for player one and Luffy was banished to player three with the dingiest controller known to man (not even the safety strap could protect that thing from getting tossed at the tv) And speaking from my own experience as a younger sibling Ace totally spent a whole summer trying to unlock every character in Mario kart.

5. Law met the straw hats in collage at 2 am when they got kicked out of a bar and he was trying to mind his own business. While they saw him in their intoxicated state and said “you’re my friend now :)” Law was genuinely worried half of them had alcohol poisoning. An hour later he found himself in one of their apartments two of them passed out. One of them throwing up. All while he makes a grilled cheese for Luffy, the so called infamous man on campus who is crying sitting on the floor cause he’s starving. Law stayed the night to make sure none of them drowned in their own vomit and like imprinted baby ducks they have not left him alone since.

6. Luffy has been going to riots and movements for years. He started going with Sabo and Ace growing up when they were teenagers and hasn’t stopped. He also never thought to mention it to any of his friends until they saw him on the news at a protest absolutely fucking SENDING a tear gas canister back at the cops

7. I kinda wanna believe while devil fruits don’t exist in modern AU the character still has quirks semi related to their fruit. Like Robin is just, double jointed everywhere and could bend her arms and fingers in all the worst ways. Luffy can either contort his body to hide in tiny places OR he has stretchy skin. It’s nothing more then party tricks but it is cool

8. Luffy was definitely a gymnastics kid. Not in like. The competing sense. But in like the, one of the adults in his life would drop him off there twice a week for an hour. Did he participate with the other children and learn how to roll? NO! He was flinging himself full speed into giant foam mats and climbing rock walls without a harness. He was a menace to society and he was only taken to blow off some energy and it WORKED. Until he was kicked out.

[arcade-chaos]

Tongue Tied Valentine

Sun/Moon x reader (a bit sun centric, sorry sorry), they/them reader no use of Y/N.

Warnings: light self bondage, nothing overtly suggestive beyond a joke or two

Notes: late but still (technically) on time! Recycled drabble from a different idea, thank the aces for voting for fluff lmao. Enjoy!

Really they should’ve expected this hectic outcome. Valentine's day for children was nothing more than an excuse to eat as much candy as physically possible, maybe one or two trying to slip extra special spider man themed cards to their crushes only to run away screaming when that same crush came close. A time for chaos and lots of red confetti, but the attendants seemed to have gone a bit more… overboard than they had initially anticipated.

Sure, the kids had their little mailboxes set up made from tissue boxes and googly eyes, most of them had ended up dinosaur themed after one kid had an idea everyone wanted to copy. They littered the tables in little rows, surrounded by paper flowers, ribbons, confetti- it looked like they had both ignored charging in favor of stringing every inch of the place in reds and pinks.

“So so do you like it??” Sun bounced out from the chaos, spinning them around until the colors meshed together.

“It's very you Sunny-” They snorted, swaying as he held their shoulders upright.

“Good good good- Charline I said no slime in the ballpit!- I wish you had gotten to see it before they were ruined but-”

“Sunny it's okay, they look great!” His eyes darted over to one or two torn streamers about the room, before snagging on yet another rowdy child climbing into a slide.

“Timmy that’s not how we play on the slide!” He patted their arm in a soft apology before running over, not before the kid was flushed out by two more kids sliding down into him. The only one to seem particularly bothered by it was Sun, who was careful to check them all for bruises before letting them run off. They watched for a moment before wandering towards the tables, eyeing the piles of candy in each box as they passed by, more out of curiosity than anything.

They paused near one of the tables, where their box sat with the one Sun made, painted half blue and half yellow with a little divider section for each of them. There were one or two in their box, mostly from the kids whose parents seemed to enjoy chatting with them, but the attendants' boxes were nearly empty, save for a clearly recycled doll themed valentine someone had taken the candy from. It made sense, they supposed, most of the adults only counted the kids in the daycare for their purchasing, why buy candy or stickers for a robot. It still made them feel sad, they had worked so hard to decorate and make little cards for each of the children, it was clear they really loved this holiday. With a firmer step now they marched to the desk, settling down with a few sticky notes to sketch out some plans.

If I run to the drug store on my break I can probably get some stickers… Maybe one of those giant plushies or something- it would take the whole break but maybe if I get someone to cover put down for me- They shuffled the papers as Sun came back into view, carting one of the younger kids away from a particularly rowdy game of tag. He sat her down gently at the table and offered some crayons, sitting on the floor nearby to color with her as he watched the game progress. He paused while shifting, glancing down at the boxes in the center of the table with a strangely still expression. He was pulled out of that thought by the little girl waving a crayon at him, demanding his addition to her drawing. They sighed as he cooed over it, clearly he was disappointed. They both deserved something special, if only they had remembered in time.

As if sensing the momentary distraction from their caretakers the kids began to shout, two in need of help with a shelf, one climbing up the netting, and another yelling at them for doing so. Sun took off to pull the kid down while they distributed plastic food to the children, who immediately launched into playing El Chips, whining when the assistant tried to walk away to help another kid tie their shoes. There wasn’t a moment to sit let alone think, by the time the lights dimmed they had only managed to grab a small handful of glitter vials and a single pair of craft scissors, not even the pair they wanted.

“Alright little comets, gather up now.” Moon hummed, pulling them away from their games and the shadowy corners of the playground. It didn’t stop them from bouncing about, even trying to enforce the no candy until after lunch time rule had its breakers. “Settle, or you won't hear the very special story we have prepared! And to think I worked so hard on it…” The kids shouted in protest before being hushed, settling into a lump in the story area. Just when they thought they could slip away Moon’s arm was around their waist, pulling them over to a stack of puppets. “Just follow my lead.” He murmured, ignoring the oohs and awws of the children at the display. Moon was a natural at leading the show, leaving them to improv with their own puppets as his screamed in terror at the fierce dragon on display. As the moondrops kicked in and the kids got sleepy it drifted into a calmer romance, the kids clapping as the handsome knight kissed the dragon and they bowed into their happily ever after back on the pile.

“Nighty night.” He called, his fingers curling as the ones still awake echoed his words. They glanced at the clock and winced, at this rate they’d never be able to make it to any store, let alone one carrying last minute valentines. “You should eat something starlight.” Moon chided, pushing them towards the door gently. “I’ve got them.”

“Thanks Moonie. I’ll be back before lights on, okay?” They knew how lonesome he got, only allowed a few precious hours together. His grin widened, his head spinning around before swaying upside down.

“I look forward to it.”

The rest of the plex was faring no better. The area just outside the daycare pickup was flocked with parents and couples, flooding around specially themed displays of the glamrocks. The music pouring over the speakers was cute, if not a little goofy, of Freddy covering some song old enough to be cheap but not too old as to be irrelevant. After pushing past a couple hundred people they managed to get into one of the breakrooms, seldom staffed by people.

“Happy day before half off chocolate day.” Quinn joked, his jazz hands making their grin no wider.

“Why are there so many peopleeeeeeee??” They groaned, feeding a few quarters into the machine for a drink.

“Special concert, with bonus chocolates from your fav if they're willing to shill. And boy howdy are they shilling.”

“I don’t suppose they have any kind of plushie option huh?” Quinn eyed them, the corner of their mouth twitching into a smirk before being covered.

“I don’t think so but I can bother em. They’d probably be glam themed anyhow, none of your precious boys I’m afraid.” He snorted as they choked, both of them ending up coughing.

“Oh shush, it’s for them not about them!”

“Ohh? Finally making a move then-”

“NOT LIKE THAT!”

“No no, I’m sure it’s totally above board, no need to worry about little ol me.” They groaned, rifling through the snack supplies Coral usually restocked. Cheez-its are basically lunch right?... I just wont tell them. They glanced over as Quinns watch beeped, one of the Monty themed ones he always had, they were pretty sure those weren’t standard for mechanics but hey, what did they care.

“They said no generic plushies, most of them are over fivty bucks anyhow- what the FUCK”

“Christ-” They groaned, fighting the urge to recalculate their budgeting on a napkin. A hundred bucks would put them way under their needs anyways.

“You could always make em something, don’t your boys have crafts n shit there?”

“I’ve been trying but the kids are being well- kids- and I doubt they’ll get better after naptime.”

“Mm. Maybe try online? There’s probably a million broke or forgetful valentines going down the same rabbit hole.” They nodded, waving as Quinn quickly stood to walk out.

“What do you MEAN he got two??” Chica’s snickering through the watch was loud enough to hear even as he left them wallowing, scrolling through stolen pins for a glimpse of an idea. Most of the listicles had more time than they did, lots of paper crafts and yarn. Those that weren’t offering crafts had less Faz-bear approved recommendations, most of which sounded like a sensory hell and a sticky nightmare. Although…

---

“Moonie psst.”

“You don’t have to whisper.” Moon mumbled, trying his best to keep his folds straight and careful.

“Sorry sorry, but maybe there's more paper in our stash upstairs-”

“I checked upstairs sunshine, this is the last of it.” They really should’ve watched the stock before letting the kids go ham on their mailboxes, there was hardly any glitter left and most of the glue sticks had been dried out by neglect.

“Under the mattress too?”

“You used those for snowflakes, remember?” Sun whined inside their skull, Moon was sure if he was up front he’d be pulling at their face. “It’ll be alright, we just have to be careful with this paper.”

“But its already crinkled!! It needs to be perfect- did you see how upset they looked?? There was hardly anything in their box- and they worked so hard on it!!” Moon sighed, placing the paper down so he could pull his knees tighter.

“I thought I’d have more time. Maybe that play was a mistake.” Half of the kids had tried to wake up, most of them after one kid had a particularly sour nightmare about being hunted down by a hungry dragon.

“Hush, you did great!! It’s not your fault I should’ve watched the clock more- we can always take down some of the ribbons if we need more paper-”

“No no, you said it yourself, we have to make this one perfect.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They really wished their luck would’ve held out, as though stuck by Apollo himself the rest of their day was spent chasing the kids as they switched between hide and seek and trying to tag each other with ‘cooties’- in this case just some kids making kissy noises. Better than a licked palm they supposed. The attendants seemed just as tired, racing around trying to distract them with calmer activities that were pushed away in favor of more games, even a movie couldn’t settle them down. By the time it had simmered down most of the kids were gone, the last usual wave of parents sneaking closer as they both tried to get a head start on cleaning. Luckily the last few were enraptured by a game of house vs house, with a storyline too convoluted to even try to follow. Sun seemed even more anxious by the moment, glancing up at the clock as though he didn’t have an internal time sensor, waiting for the parents to pick up their kids and their pounds of candy.

“Moooom!” One of them shouted, waving through the window as a few parents made their way past the departing crowd.

“Can you get them for me Sunny? I’ll clean up the crafts area for you.”

“Okie dokie!” They both perked up, Sun skipping off to greet them as they shifted and brushed crayons into the box. A roll of white ribbon sat partially unspooled, allowing them to roll it before slipping it into the apron pocket. They could’ve sworn there was a pink one, but white would be good enough.

“I’ll be over here cleaning the house! Feel free to relax, starlight!” They swallowed their nerves, watching as he disappeared around a corner.

“Can do!” Bingo. They were careful to duck behind the desk, carefully cutting strips of ribbon with the safety scissors as their face heated up. It would be fine, the two had been begging for a sleepover for a while now, surely the metaphorical “I’m your valentines gift” gesture could be translated to a friendly sleepover right? “Hey Sunny?”

“Y- Yes star??” They swallowed down their nerves, tiptoeing towards the hidden door leading up to their room.

“I have a surprise for you- if you want! Both of you? I mean-” They struggled, palming at the knob as they crept around the corner of the frame.

“Oh!! Us too- I mean we for you- I mean-”

“Oh! Cool! Um, is it okay if we meet in your room?”

“Yeah! Just give us a second, okay?”

“Mhm!” They practically leaped up the stairs, trailing their hands along the rail as they tried to keep the wonky bow intact. A lot of the sites for looking up knots weren’t allowed by the plex’s wifi, but as long as they weren’t strained it would be just fine.

“Starlight?” Sun called from beyond the tube, shifting around the opening.

“In here!”

“Oh good good. Could you close your eyes for me reaaal quick? I want this to be perfect.”

“Sure! Sure… Actually, we could both close our eyes and do it at the same time maybe?”

“Yes! Yes, perfect.” They tried not to shiver as he snuck inside, jingling as he nearly tripped over their mess. “Okay okay… On three?”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three-”

“Happy valentines-” They both froze up. They were practically mirror images, Sun’s own ribbon in yellow making him hold his hands out in front of him. They swayed for a moment before breaking into a grin, both of them laughing as they struggled to stay standing.

“Looks like we both had the same idea, huh?” Sun giggled, settling on the cushion on the floor.

“I suppose so! I meant to make you a really good one, honest, but the day went so fast and… Well…”

“It’s alright Sunny, I blanked too.” They settled close, their cheeks burning as they shifted. “I um. I was going to offer to sleepover tonight- if you wanted-”

“Really?!” he jumped, his arms looping over them to trap them both in the ribbon. “Oh we would love that!! We can watch movies and play games- I just got a new one, a really really good one I promise!”

“Sounds good! Uh, Sunny?”

“Mhm?”

“I uh. I’m kinda stuck.” They glanced up as he straightened, his rays twitching for a moment as he thought.

“Starlight?”

“Ya?”

“I have no clue how to untie this.” They snorted, their forehead smacking into his chestplate. “Don’t laugh! Moonie tied them all weird!”

“Lemme see, maybe I can get you untied without the scissors.” They shifted, managing to wiggle out of their bonds before trailing their fingers along his arm. The repeated transition of silk to metal was soft against their touch, Sun’s chest whirring as he watched them slowly mull over the knots. If their eyes lingered for a bit too long, or took a bit more time than needed, he wasn’t complaining. Not while he had his valentine.

[seb-boo]

Sebastian Vettel Interview with GE.globo [2024-11-01] English Translation ↴

Can you imagine a four-time Formula 1 champion collecting recyclable materials on the streets of São Paulo? That's what happened this Thursday in Jurubatuba, a neighborhood in the South Zone of the São Paulo capital. Engaged in the fight for sustainability and the preservation of the environment, Sebastian Vettel took part in a challenge with garbage collectors in collaboration with the non-governmental organization Pimp my Carroça.

In the presence of Vettel fans, journalists and Ayrton Senna's family, represented by his nieces Bianca and Lalalli Senna, the participants were divided into four teams. The aim of the action was to give visibility to the work done by waste pickers, who number around 1 million workers throughout Brazil and more than 20 million worldwide. They are responsible for handling 90% of everything that is recycled in the country. For two hours, they lived the routine of the waste pickers on the streets of São Paulo. Vettel's team even had to deal with drivers who were impatient with the carts in the traffic of São Paulo. A shock of reality.

"We also tackled social problems. People pick up recyclable materials on the streets to try to earn an income. So the environment and social issues have a strong connection. I wanted to shine a light on this issue and try to raise people's awareness. You've seen what we've done. You're going to talk about it. It's a way of inspiring people. We're all inspired every day by different things. And once you know something, you start asking questions. Maybe one day it will be on the desk of someone important to change situations and improve the situation for the people who are picking up garbage and cleaning the streets every day."

One of the results of this action was the construction of a giant replica of Ayrton Senna's helmet out of recyclable materials with artists Matthias Garff and Thiago Mundano. The piece was taken to the José Carlos Pace race track in Interlagos, where it will be on display throughout the weekend of the São Paulo GP. Vettel and several drivers even took part in the presentation of the artwork on Thursday, at Senna's S.

"We had the idea of building a helmet in Ayrton's colors. The helmet is the driver's identity and his is very iconic, with the colors of Brazil. So, together with some artists, we created a sculpture out of recyclable materials in which you can enter and feel like you're inside his helmet. You can walk around it and take a little trip back in time. Look from inside it to the streets, to the track. Ayrton Senna represented excellence on the track, but also the courage to speak out, to have compassion, to care for other people who aren't privileged. And the messages he passed on were very powerful. I was able to drive his car at the event in Imola, which was very moving. We thought about doing something in his home country too, to keep his legacy alive. For positive change, positive transition."

In May, Vettel took part in an emotional tribute to Ayrton Senna at the Emilia-Romagna GP in Imola. He drove the McLaren-Ford MP4/8 that the three-time champion used in the 1993 season on Sunday morning, a few hours before the race.

"As a driver, Ayrton Senna was very successful and had a unique style. He was also very charismatic, very strong-minded. He is still very much alive in everyone who is racing. Especially for Brazil, he means even more. His early death was a great loss, but 30 years later, he's still very much alive. It's important to maintain that. He was an example to many people, a national hero and you know, someone who really had an influence. And it's great if that can be used for positive change. In the end, we want to make sure that the lives of our children and the next generation are better than ours."

This week, before arriving in São Paulo for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel visited Cuiabá and the Amazon. In the forest, in a Greenpeace action, he met Cacique Raoni Metuktire, leader of the Caiapó people or Mebêngôkre, as they call themselves.

"I was curious to get to know the Amazon and Greenpeace was very nice to make it possible. They gave us access to talk to the leaders. I absorbed and learned a lot. It was very inspiring in terms of the environment and seeing the size of that ecosystem. And also to see how vulnerable it is. People setting fire to these lands, claiming the land for soy farms one day. And that production is sent to other parts of the world. It's an important thing to address. It's also important to give these people a voice. I wanted to learn more. It was certainly very inspiring. And I think it can only help if we talk about it more."

[navree]

The Velaryons siding with Team Black gets even more ridiculous when you consider that Daemon threw a tantrum (shocker) around the time of the Great Council of 101 AC when Rhaenys was even considered as a candidate opposing Viserys. This fool allegedly gathered together enough resources in preparation to rebel against the crown if it looked like Rhaenys would be selected as heir apparent instead of heir presumptive. Why she would ever forget something like that and allow Laena anywhere near Daemon is beyond my understanding.

None of the Velaryons should be on Team Black at all.

Corlys doesn't particularly like Viserys at all and has been routinely disrespected by him, not just in the matter of being purposefully led on with regards to the Laena marriage but even in how he's treated in Council. He's also absolutely got a grudge about Rhaenys not being on the throne and feeling shafted as a result, not to mention Daemon summarily executed a member of his family without trial, and the disrespect shown to his House should be enough to at least want him to remain neutral.

Rhaenys absolutely doesn't like Rhaenyra, she was deeply antagonistic towards her the second she was proclaimed heir (out of jealousy I guess????) and was also convinced that it wouldn't work out. Not to mention, even beyond how she was treated with the Great Council, look at her kids. Daemon kept Laena away from her family for a good number of years and then she died, only to behave like an ass at her funeral and get married well before was considered appropriate. Rhaenyra "disrespected" Laenor with the Harwin Strong affair and their children, which we know Rhaenys was aware of because she brings it up to Corlys. And she thinks Rhaenyra killed Laenor to marry Daemon, because Rhaenyra has deliberately made it look like she had Laenor murdered, which alone gives her every right to hate Rhaenyra until the end of time. There's no way she would agree to betrothing her granddaughters to the Strongs, there's no way she'd go to Rhaenyra's side in the civil war she predicted just because Rhaenyra hadn't burned Dragonstone down in twelve hours, honestly the character they've written likely should have agreed to Alicent's proposals because that whole "we don't rule ourselves but heavily influence those that do and wield power that way" is literally what she already does with Corlys.

Baela, again, shouldn't be on board with Team Black either. Like I said, she was shunted off to Driftmark because Daemon the Targaryen supremacist wanted to devote all his time and energy to his pureblood Targaryen marriage and subsequent pureblood Targaryen children at the expense of his daughters. And while on Driftmark, she watches Rhaenys rule it alone, act as Lord of the Tides herself. And I'm meant to think she never once thought about how Driftmark should have been Laena's by rights, as Corlys's eldest, and thus her's by rights, as Laena's eldest? She's fine being a consort, a position with considerably less power, to Jace, who she does not know at all because she's spent all her time in either Pentos or Driftmark, while her inheritance, her rights, get passed not even to her little sister, but to some kid who isn't even Laenor's? No, why should she be on board with that after her treatment and how she's been raised? Even if she doesn't have any issues with Rhaenyra herself, the disrespect shown to her and her family by Rhaenyra's faction isn't something she should look past.

Rhaena meanwhile has been treated apparently like shit by Daemon her entire life, all because she didn't have a dragon (and because Daemon is a giant flaming asshole). And like her sister, she has to settle for being a consort, but even worse, to someone who, according to the laws of their country, has absolutely no right to the inheritance he's getting, which should be either her sister's or her's. Again, even if there's no issue with Rhaenyra on Rhaena's end, the treatment from Rhaenyra's allies like Viserys and Daemon is bad enough that it should give her pause. Plus, both Rhaena and Baela were dragged to watch their father get immediately remarried to someone else after their mother just died, that doesn't engender much love towards him or his new wife, who they had only met like two days ago.

None of the Velaryons should support Team Black at all, because the treatment they've received from people who were firmly on board with Rhaenyra's succession (or at least came on board eventually) has been atrocious since Rhaenys was first denied the Iron Throne all those years ago. And you might say "but that's petty why can't they just supported Rhaenyra because of feminism", but 1) feminism does not exist in Westeros, the concept of a movement towards female empowerement and equal treatment does not exist in this country or in the minds of its people, everything is on a case by case basis which is why Rhaenyra herself keeps to male dominated primogeniture when dealing with issues of succession 2) yeah it's petty and selfish, but this is a dynastic struggle between one (1) family. None of them are in this for altruistic reasons, everyone's looking out for themselves and are motivated by their emotions and their desires, not any lofty goals or ambitions. Everyone is selfish here, the Velaryons have the right to be selfish too especially to advance their own self interests.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e89

Rashina gives the Bells Hells a task so they can prove themselves valuable to the Volition. They are in the midst of plotting to topple the Weave-mind and free the people of Ruidus from the Emperium; they are willing to give anything and everything for the future of Ruidus.

Rashina is slow to trust -- her father was a very trusting man, "and all it took was to trust the wrong person once." But the Volition is running out of time. She brings them to a war room-like area with a central table, and one of the people in here -- Gaztomo -- has some small, fungus-like creatures (mycits) as pets.

There are hundreds of thousands of mycits that work throughout the city -- they have no political leanings, but they're useful, like giant fungal isopods.

The reiloran variants were once a singular people, but over time, the Weave-mind genetically engineered or selectively bred the telepathic abilities out of many reilorans -- they have fundamentally altered the evolution of the entire species to their ends. Their forms are withered, taxed beyond even their stretched lifespans, and the same five have been in power for over five centuries. They can psychically project their minds all over the moon, and can inhabit the minds of reilorans who have been marked with a device at the back of their necks. Every civilian of Kreviris is marked, and a potential extension of the Weave-mind. They have extremely powerful wills, but although they can look at anyone and everyone, there are still only five of them -- and the Volition, which was apparently established by Rashina's father, ensures that their members have their marks carved out.

Reiloran children are brought to the Arks Crionum (the citadel) shortly after birth to be marked. The marks are biologically-engineered, organic implants.

Ruidian society has been "reset" by the Weave-mind at least four times, Kreviris has been rebuilt at least twice and the central pillar has been the only constant thing.

Exandrian gods have no reach on Ruidus. There are no miracles here. All that they have is each other, the promises of the Weave-mind, and the occasional whisper, the promise of belonging, from below. The Weave-mind is the interpreter of Predathos' whisperings; but Predathos does not speak directly to Ruidians because Exandrians are ultimately more useful to its plan of escape.

Before the Weave-mind, there was a collective of societies across Ruidus; the Emperium rose among them, and there was an event called the Crush nearly three centuries ago that destroyed them and allowed the Emperium to rise to ultimate power. This corresponds directly to the fall of Molaesmyr.

Within the citadel, the Weave-mind has a massive collection of bio-engineered tools and weapons, and those are what allowed them to come to power.

In addition to the flares, Ruidus also experiences quakes; they're rare, happening once every few years, but like the flares they have also been increasing in frequency. The Crush was a series of quakes so strong that it destroyed the majority of Ruidian society, reducing nearly everything to ruins.

The Dominion of Kruth -- Kreviris' military branch -- is headed by Oko Kruth, whose bloodline has a particular psychic connection to the beasts of the land. "If you see them, run -- or end things real quick."

The Tectis are Kreviris' upper echelons, politicians, police chiefs, enforcers. nobles -- they're an eclectic bunch, paranoid, and while most are in the pocket of the Weave-mind, some of them are aligned with the Volition. (I'm really trying to ignore Matt's Bioshock reference with the "ace in the hole" thing here.)

Ludinus has been running a deep excavation underneath the "prime pillar" of Kreviris, and shuttling strange artifacts there from the bridge. (I'm also trying very hard to ignore the way that Rashina's inflections mirror Essek's.)

To many Ruidians, Predathos is the closest thing they have to religious faith. What Rashina knows is that since the Vanguard has arrived, the Emperium has been ushering in an air of excitement among the populace with the promise of relocation to Exandria. There have been celebrations across the city, demonstrations in the streets. She doesn't know what it means for Ruidus; but she believes the intent is for those who are loyal to the Weave-mind to go to Exandria. "The only reason we know our life is so hard here is because we compare it to what we see in your dreams... we see feasts, holidays, miracles and... here, there is dust and survival. There is joy to be found here; but it's one thing to not know otherwise, but most nights, the basis of comparison is put in our faces." The Weave-mind is responsible for those dreams.

The Weave-mind also, when they came to power, destroyed every historical text and record they could get their hands on, and the Volition has nothing left of it.

They begin talking about their plans for the morning.

First, a detonation at Ludinus' excavation beneath the pillar that would let the Volition recover some prisoners. Sorrowlord Zathuda is overseeing the excavation at the moment. One among their number is already helming this move: as she gestures to him, Ira Wendigoth emerges from the shadows.

Secondly, an infiltration mission: one of their spies, Everoa -- a bormodo scientist tangential to Ludinus' experiments with Aeorian technology -- has gone missing, and needs to be recovered. She was working in the Coloquium of Candescence at the base of the citadel. Last the Volition heard, she was working on a device or weapon for Ludinus.

Thirdly, there is a rescue option: numerous Volition members and Exandrians who opposed the Emperium were taken hostage about a week ago. Rashina gestures to a green dragonborn in the shadows, who's leading the expedition: Bizoden Amari, who is a champion of Bane, the Strife Emperor (another one of the lawful-evil Betrayer Gods) and came here on behalf of him. She looks at FCG: "you smell of a broken road... Freedom brings all to ruin in time."

And lastly, the secret fourth option, led by Gaz himself: a mission to assassinate Liliana Temult.

They are given the night to sleep on the decision.

Imogen expresses similar feelings toward the prospect of killing her mother as before: it would take a lot to redeem her, with nearly 30 years of working for the Emperium under her belt. She's worried that she'll try to stop it. At the same time, she recognizes that she never really knew her mother, and her situation is very similar to Fearne's, whose estranged father is running the excavation.

Laudna also points out that they're going on one of these missions to gain the trust of the Volition, so to go on one of them for their own personal gain instead could jeopardize that if it fails; while Orym points out that if they succeed in killing Liliana, this mission is her last chance to talk to her.

I'm already partial to going to find the scientist because they might encounter more Aeorian technology, but it's also interesting that no one has mentioned that doing that one could also yield more info about FCG.

FCG uses the coin to ask the Changebringer whether or not Imogen's mother is redeemable. When the coin flips, it usually has this ring to it, but here it's silent, and it lands squarely on its side -- "unsure."

Gaz comes back, and Imogen convinces him to tell them about the assassination. They recently discovered that she's been held up in the Woven Music Grand Hall, gathering a lot of Exandrian ruidusborn there. Imogen learns that there are certain devices that can interrupt thought-eaters and some psychic abilities. I need someone to insight check her, please

"You're working on a lot of assumptions that your mother is redeemable... an estranged parent is just a stranger who can make you believe any bullshit." Ashton is completely right -- every time they've encountered Liliana it's been "this one last chance," over and over again. If Imogen tries to reach out to her, there is the incredible risk that she will expose them and the Volition -- and on only Imogen's word, they sacrifice the trust the Volition has given them, they take the risk that Imogen will be pulled in to Predathos, they take the risk that Liliana will pinpoint her location, and they ensure that Ashton has disadvantage on basically everything during whatever excursion they go on. (Imogen constantly gets her way with this party, and someone really needs to call her on the bullshit she's pulling before it gets them all killed.)

Imogen decides to reach out to Liliana. In the dream, it's just color and warmth; then, a light, and Liliana appears curled up in a ball, hovering in the air.

Liliana explains that she thinks she's opposing Ludinus, she's pulled him back from the edge -- and she is saving people, there are Ruidisborn children here who she's protecting. But she's still convinced in his mission, that setting Predathos free will free them all, that killing the gods is an overall good thing. She wants Imogen to believe that she loves her, but she's never shown it; doesn't deny that she would kill Imogen if she had to. She thinks that she can guide Ludinus' plan down the right path, but still believes in the end goal -- she thinks she can do it safely.

"If we do this right, maybe we can all go home. [No, mama. You're lying to yourself. They're lying to you. Ludinus is an evil, evil man, and he's gotten into your head.] History is full of evil men. Few have the courage to stand up and try to stop them. I don't think we're on the opposing side like you think we are, we just have opposing methods, that's all. Please see it in yourself to understand why I've given up all of this. [Maybe it's your turn to run.]"

They decide that it's not a good idea for any of them to go on the assassination mission -- Imogen because she couldn't handle it (which is perfectly understandable, my god), and everyone else because she wouldn't forgive them if they had a hand in it.

There are a lot of good things coming out of this -- FCG acknowledging that the gods are gray, Imogen recognizing that her mother isn't going to flip sides, Laudna not instinctively taking Liliana's side against the gods.

Chetney gets at something they really don't have an answer to: sure, you might think the gods are tyrants, but why? What's the underlying motive there? There needs to be one. I personally think that Ludinus wants to make a massive power vacuum so he himself can fill it, but it could be something else.

"Sure, I can see the tyrant in the gods, but I can see the tyrant in the man too." "We're not all that different, gods and mortals."

Luckily, the Bells Hells do know some basics about the Divine Gate and its purpose to keep divinity separate from Exandria, and Orym knows that it wasn't that long ago that Vecna got banished behind it. They are of the general consensus that releasing Predathos would be bad if its true intent is to destroy the gods; but where they're unsure is what will happen to Predathos, and more importantly Ruidus itself, if Predathos is not released.

Also, I was wrong, Ashton only gets disadvantage on ability checks, not attacks. Which is better, sure, but that means disadvantage on stealth, and all of the available missions are at least partially stealth-based.

As they wake up, the Volition base is buzzing with energy.

Fearne goes to find Ira as he's making some bombs. His plan is to cloak his team in illusions, sneak into one of the more recently-constructed tunnels, plant the bombs on the drilling devices there, and explode them. Also, Ira did previously know that Zathuda was Fearne's father, which really complicates Ira's relationship with the Calloways -- but his ire with Zathuda is because he's had bad dealings with the Unseelie. Ludinus stole his designs and is trying to change the course of history without giving him credit.

Ira also has a theory regarding Fearne's birth: "In my mind, it seems that Ludinus and the Vanguard's interest involved creating as many Ruidisborn as possible, in the hopes that the few odd children might be born special (read: exaltant). You were halfway there."

Fearne does want to see Zathuda, but it's not the same as the situation with Liliana because Zathuda isn't very likely to actually die during that mission -- he might not even be there.

Imogen and Laudna talk about Liliana. "As someone who loves you, I can't imagine abandoning you." "But you have another power pulling at you, don't you? I thought we got rid of Delilah, we beat her, but as soon as we split up, you fanned that ember back into a flame and now it's bigger than ever... but I can hate Delilah, and love you." Imogen doesn't know if she'll ever be free of Ruidus, and Laudna doesn't know if she'll ever be free of Delilah, but "if getting rid of Delilah means getting rid of you, I don't think that's worth it... I just wish I knew why you gave her power again." "I didn't mean to -- it wasn't a choice. She never fully left." "Are you telling me the truth? You wouldn't lie to me again, right Laudna?" OUGH--

They kiss. "I will never let you go. And if you need her, then that's my answer." "But what if by holding on to you, I'm holding you down? You are destined for greatness. We can all pretend that we're special, unique maybe -- but not the kind of special that you are. Everything is being set up, is being staged, for you to be the savior of Exandria." (oh I hate this narrative but I love how illustrative it is of the dysfunction they need to address--) "Laudna, if you weren't holding me down, I wouldn't be saving anyone but Predathos. I would be gone."

It's so interesting how Laudna is interpreting the narrative surrounding Imogen as opposed to Imogen herself, and how she's superimposing that narrative over Imogen's own agency. It's an extension of her codependence, sure, but it's also a projection of the issues Laudna has with her own agency in relation to Delilah, and it's just so complicated and I want to SCREAM (/pos)

(The sasquatch-like creatures are Quinakkas.)

Ira has built a series of screech plumes, which disrupt and scramble both magic and psychic abilities. The Volition will use them in the assassination attempt. It is implied that the design of these were based on the Aeorian disruption devices the Bells Hells found earlier.

They enter the war room. Today is a day of action. They decide to split up: FCG, Ashton, and Fearne will go with Ira to the detonation site, while Chetney, Imogen, Orym, and Laudna will go to the citadel to retrieve the bormodo scientist. All told, these are pretty good group makeups -- and the addition of a reiloran caster to the infiltration group and Ira to the demolition group rounds out the party makeup. The only thing Team Infiltration is missing is a healer, but with Laudna's wither and bloom plus the fact that most of their stuff refreshes on a short rest, I think they'll be alright.

Just before they head out, FCG pops a greater restoration on Ashton to clear their last point of exhaustion. Also, the reiloran mystic casts both invisibility and see invisibility on the entire team. Meanwhile, Ira casts seeming on the demolition team, and they take on the guise of quanikkas, bormodos, and -- for FCG and Mister -- mycits. (Ira himself is a thought-eater reiloran.)

Thankfully, at the last minute, Team Infiltration -- which has no full healers -- takes a bunch of the health potions.

I'm very curious as to whether Matt is going to split the teams up and introduce guests, or if he's gonna switch off every half hour or so. I'm leaning toward splitting them up, but we'll see.

As they descend, they see a society -- children, little flying creatures, a weird faccimile of Exandrian architecture. Music -- there are musicians here. Towers that are filed-down or half-remembered elvish, nearly-dwarven buildings -- this is a society based in a mixture of disparate interpretation, and in being so, is wholly unique and uniquely beautiful. Only then do they notice the Dominion of Kruth, thick in the streets -- the sound of drills being run, the sight of war machines and armored juggernauts, training in what feels like preparation for a move to Exandria at some undesignated future time.