#there are no bodies . but there is still a funeral.

[eviesqueezie]

steve randle died on a tuesday, his father’s fist red with his blood. he died in a house he never belonged in, with a man he wished he could hate.

sodapop curtis cried for the whole tuesday, wednesday. then on thursday he was silent, friday he punched darry in the chest over and over to stop the aching in his lungs. saturday he screamed and threw all the plates in the cupboard on the floor, sunday he hugged ponyboy so tight he couldn’t breathe.

it was like life pressed fast forward, until the day of the funeral. on the day of the funeral sodapop curtis drank half a bottle of vodka and chugged as many beers as he could before he threw up. on the day of the funeral he bought as much candy as he could with the pitiful amount he had in his wallet and ate until his sugar crash finally hit. anything to stop that pain in his bones that dragged throughout his body on repeat.

at the funeral he sobbed, fixing steve’s hair the way he would’ve wanted, slipping a dime into his pocket and placing his hand over his heart. he still had a black eye and a busted up lip from his dad, but that’s what made it all the more real.

steve randle died on a tuesday in june, his car sat out in the lot until a thursday in december. it was wrecked by then, mouldy and missing parts- stolen by thieves and starving children. the classic story of the east side.

he died on a tuesday morning and was found dead in the afternoon, bled out over the carpet. staining it for life, the thick smell of pennies filling the air for the rest of eternity.

[thesummerstorms]

You know that conversation you can have with Emmrich where he asks what your plans are for your body when you die?

I think Arsinoë accidentally horrified him. Not by clinging to non-Nevarran ideals about cremation, but by telling him she never thought anyone would care that much one way or the other.

She would be dead, so she wouldn't care. And honestly, a majority of compradi die as Fledglings without graduating; she thinks their bodies were probably burned (since you have to do something with bodies) but they certainly don't have funerals, so it certainly wasn't worth worrying about then.

Emmrich interjects, trying to wrangle his own shock long enough to point out that she's not a Fledgling now, so surely...?

Well if she dies now, Arsinoë all but shrugs, it would depend on the circumstances, wouldn't it? She isn't someone important like a Talon or the scion of an established Crow family. She certainly isn't Caterina Dellamorte, who warrants something verging on a State Funeral.

If she died, there is still a non-zero chance it would be at another Crow's hands, in which case it's anyone's guess what happens after.

If she dies honorably fulfilling a contract, then Viago might feel obligated to do something if he isn't pissed off at her failure and she's isn't still in Exile. He's her mentor, so probably he would manage at least a small pyre. Maybe even a flower or two for the flames if he's letting himself feel sentimental. Teia would probably be there because Viago was.

But just as often, when a contract goes wrong, there's no time to go back for the body. The mark get ahold of it, or whoever's left on the contract has to focus on survival rather than the dignity of a corpse that can't feel any of it.

But really, none of that would matter to Arsinoë, would it? She'd be off wherever dead souls end up going, or maybe in oblivion, who knows. She doesn't have any family to be horrified by her corpse unless you count Viago, who is Fifth Talon, has bigger things to worry about, and will get over it.

But anyway, why do you ask, Emmrich?

Emmrich is too aghast to answer clearly at that point because every single point of Arsinoë's answer goes so deeply against everything that is ingrained in him as part of the Mourn Watch, from the belief that a corpse just doesn't matter to her sincere belief that no one would care enough about her for any particular mourning rights.

And the thing is Emmrich does care. It's his professional duty to care, but he's also become fond of his young friend and he cannot handle imagining that she could die on this mission or the next and potentially receive no rites at all.

Cue Emmrich starting to plan how he's going to have Rook interred in the Grand Necropolis when the time comes. It may involve some string pulling, especially if (hopefully) she dies not on this mission but in the distant future, and even more so if he precedes her and has to leave the job in one of his colleague's hands. But Maker help him, there will be a plan and her death will be respected.

When it comes to light, Neve is uncertain and a little weirded out, but also a little offended by all this. She's fallen in love with Rook, but even before that, the respect between them would have warranted a pyre and Arsinoë's name on the Wall of Light if there was no one else to arrange things. Is this why she's never asked about what happened after Varric-

Lucanis is horrified by the idea of Arsinoë as one of the spirit-possessed skeletons in the Necropolis or one of the jewel-eyed skulls in its many niches; he snaps at Emmrich about Nevarran obsession and respecting Rook as Antivan.

Emmrich refuses to budge. She expected the Crows to do nothing for her. She deserves better, deserves to be remembered, even if she isn't Nevarran.

Lucanis seems fully stunned by the idea that Rook believed this in the first place, given Viago's attachment. Given Lucanis's own growing feelings. Emmrich does soften a little bit when he sees that Lucanis truly didn't realize, but he also doesn't fully divert his plans.

Gathering a grave-dowry is normally left to a lover or family member if the deceased was themselves unable, and Emmrich is neither. But needs must, and though his friend now seems attached to Neve and Lucanis, hearts can be fickle. A plan is better. So he puts away small things here or there, eyes which of Rook's enchanted rings and amulets she seems to favor just in case.

It almost helps him live with the knowledge that Arsinoë believed she would die unmourned. Almost.

[notebooks-and-laptops]

So I'm playing Mass Effect for the first time, and coming out of Veilguard Mass Effect is so jarring in such a wonderful way.

I am right at the beginning of this game and I've already had two side quests which I doubt will add anything to the overarching, but which actually make you THINK about what is the right decision:

A man contacted me about his dead wife. The military won't give back her body so he can't give her a funeral. He asks for your help to get her back. Pretty simple? Except when you get to the military officer he tells you the reason she hasn't been given back is that her body is one of the only bodies they have killed by this specific new and scary weapon. They think they could potentially find ways to defend/cure what happens to you when this weapon is used, but to do so they'll need to be able to work with actual bodies that suffered this damage; and there are so few of them. If they don't find ways of stopping this weapons effects on human bodies it could end up risking thousands of lives. So what do you do? Do you go with the husbands wishes, so he can have closure? She never signed up for this kind of medical research post death! But then, if you push for the body back, what if that really DOES affect their ability to find a cure and protect humanity in the future? Is the trade off worth it?

A woman is refusing to get her baby screened for a genetic disease that killed her husband and has a high chance of killing her baby if the baby inherits it. But there's a 1/3000 chance the procedure could hurt the baby more. Her brother in law is desperate for the baby to get scanned because the disease could be easily cured in-utro if it is found, but not once the baby is born (I don't 100% think this is realistic but hey it's the future whatever). They want your advice on what to do. This is pretty simple, basically, philosophy 101 questioning but it's STILL like. A morality decision the game is asking you to help with

These are both pretty simple; they're good for world building but you could skip them entirely and still have a good game experience. But I wanted to highlight them both because this is EXACTLY what Veilguard was missing. These 'no objectively 100% correct' tiny side quest questions that force the player to think about the world; or allow for deep characterisations of your player character.

Idk man. Like. Bioware was doing this stuff right 15 years ago. It's a real shame that energy isn't still valued because it makes for a MUCH better experience imo

[quadrantadvisor]

DP x DC, revenant!Jason Todd

Shortly after meeting, Danny and Jason have a late night conversation about what it means to come back. 1281 words

On AO3

-

Danny woke groggily, in a dark place that he didn't recognize, and took a moment to get his bearings.

He felt the warning ache in his neck that came from being propped up against an arm rest. There were two sources of dim light in the room—the glow of city street lights, muffled behind a curtain, and the green eyes of the man whose lap Danny's feet were propped on.

Right. Danny hadn’t meant to fall asleep on the revenant’s—on Jason’s—couch, but they’d been talking for so long, he must’ve dozed off.

Jason had had so many questions, about ectoplasm, about the zone, about Danny’s own experiences. Danny had done his best to clear up everything he could. A revenant may not be quite the same as he was, but still, it made Danny happy to be able to pass on his hard won knowledge and maybe save someone else a bit of the hurt and confusion that he’d gone through. It was what he’d always wished someone would do for him.

Jason was slumped into the couch, but he didn’t look relaxed. Danny examined his still profile, cast in strange shadows by its own green glow, and wondered how long it had been since he’d moved.

Danny shifted slightly, purposefully producing the fabric sounds of a body against upholstery, to make sure Jason knew he was awake. No reaction. Danny gave him one more moment, then asked, “You okay?”

Jason didn’t look at him when he answered, “You told me I’m basically possessing my own corpse, and I’m supposed to not be upset about that?”

Really, Danny should’ve predicted something like that. How long had he spent, trying to pretend that death hadn’t really touched him? It wasn’t an easy thing to accept.

“What’s the difference between a body and a corpse?” Danny asked.

Jason’s eyes snapped to Danny, their glow intensifying. “I am not dealing with riddle bullshit right now, I swear to-”

“No, I’m being serious,” Danny interrupted, pulling his feet from Jason’s lap and sitting himself up. “There’s one difference between a corpse and a living body, and that’s that someone is living in it. Jason—” he reached out, gripping one of Jason’s hands in his “—you’re alive. That’s what matters. The rest is details.”

Jason’s shoulders bent inwards, his other hand raising to rub at his chest. “You don’t get it,” he said, quiet. “People don’t just come back from what they did to me. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“However you died, it’s not-”

Jason huffed an ugly sound, a short and bitter laugh that Danny hurt to hear. “Is it crazy that that isn’t even what I was talking about? I meant after.” The motion on his chest was repetitive, like he was tracing something underneath his shirt, and Danny got the sinking feeling that he knew just what sort of scar it might be. “I was gone, okay? I was gone, and this body was still here. And they took it, and they cut it open and rummaged around inside to figure out what happened. Which is—” he cut off, sniffed, and Danny gripped his hand tighter “—which is stupid, right? It’s not like it wasn’t obvious.” His fingers twitched, and he continued, haltingly, “I mean, I’ve read the report. Pulled it off his stupid files. The smoke inhalation did me in. After everything that happened, it was the smoke.”

Jasons’ hand pulled out of Danny’s, and they both rose to cover his face, cutting off the glow while he curled in on himself even tighter. His voice was slightly muffled when he said, “And then they had to ship me home, right? So they bled me dry and pumped me full of formaldehyde, and they prettied me up so they could pretend I wasn’t just some empty thing, and Bruce held the tiniest most depressing little funeral known to man and put my ass in the ground, and I had to wake up down there.” His words and his breaths were coming too quick, and Danny didn’t know how to help. He didn’t want Jason to stop, not when it seemed like he needed to say all of this, but he could see just how badly the revenant was hurting.

“But you did wake up,” he whispered.

��Woke up in my own mutilated corpse!” Jason snarled. “Everything I’ve forgotten, and that memory is still crystal fucking clear! It stank in there, like death and vinegar and mud, and it was so small, and I couldn’t even try to scream for help because they sewed my fucking mouth shut—!” He broke off into a sob, and Danny couldn’t stand it anymore, had to lean into Jason’s side and wrap an arm around him as he shook with all the emotion he couldn’t reign in.

“Okay,” Danny said. Not you’re okay, just okay. “Okay, so that’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever heard, and I regularly hang out with a guy who wants to skin me.”

Jason sniffed. “What?”

“Nevermind. It’s just-”

“No, I think we should go back to the skinning thing-”

“I just don’t want you to let it define you,” Danny interrupted. “I did that. I got into my head about it, the whole ‘being dead’ thing, feeling like I was…” Danny gave himself a second, swallowed, “like some sort of freak. A thing that didn’t belong anywhere. But I’m still alive, and you’re alive, and even if we weren’t, it wouldn’t matter, because we’re still here, and as long as you’re here you can find something that’s worth staying for.” Danny rubbed what he hoped was a soothing pattern into Jason’s admittedly impressive bicep.

Jason let out a sigh. “I must really be pathetic if you’ve gotta pep talk me like that, huh?” he said, and Danny pretended not to see him wiping at his eyes. “Sorry,” he added, “about all this. I’ve got some shit I haven’t dealt with, and this ‘revenant’ stuff brought it up pretty bad.”

“I get it,” Danny said, and hoped Jason could tell how much he meant it.

Jason sighed again, heavy, like he was trying to release something else with his breath, and said, “It still doesn’t make any sense. Logically, I can’t be alive. Where did my blood come from?”

Danny shrugged. “Do you have blood?”

“I definitely have blood. I’ve seen a lot of it.”

That gave Danny pause. “Just like, around?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Jason said, deadpan. “I’ve got a surplus, so I like to leave some here and there, make sure everyone gets a chance to appreciate it.”

“I have no idea how much you’re joking and it frightens me,” Danny told him.

“Weak,” Jason replied.

“Anyways, you gotta not think about it too much. The interdimensional goop is already logic-defying, and you’re mixing magic with it with your special soul willpower or something. Your brain will explode if you try to make it make sense.”

Jason huffed a little laugh, bouncing Danny on his shoulder, and this time it made him feel lighter. “Can I just say that I hate that I’m full of interdimensional goop?”

“Valid,” Danny said.

Even without looking at Jason, Danny could tell that he just rolled his eyes by the way the soft green light moved.

Danny had his ear pressed to Jason’s shoulder, feeling his warmth, and if he focused, he could just make out the revenant’s pulse. Personally, Danny thought it was pretty cool to be full of magic and goop and blood. Much cooler than Danny, who was way more science goop than magic goop. They’d have to compare notes on that sometime.

Maybe Jason would come around to it.

[sirfrogsworth]

I'm having a pretty bad reaction to my second testosterone injection. I woke up feeling dizzy, hopelessly sad, and had this horrible uncomfortable feeling that felt like someone ripped my soul out of my body while I slept. I don't know how to explain it. It is just as distressing as severe pain, but the sensation isn't "ouchy". I have no idea what is going on. Concentrating is still extremely difficult and my body feels like it is at war with itself.

Thankfully it does seem to be fading as the day progresses, but it was pretty disconcerting feeling that the moment I woke up.

I don't know if I'm going to be able to attend my aunt's funeral on Sunday and that is breaking my heart.

In any case, if I am not around for a day or two or don't respond to messages promptly, that is why.

Hopefully it is just my body adjusting and a temporary speed bump.

[smallsinger5901]

i actually need to explain the biggest plot twist of the 2015 death note tv drama so uhhhh spoilers here?

so after some events that lead to Himura (the Naomi/Lidner/ide stand-in who worked on the task force until it was revealed she was a spy whose only loyalty was to L and getting the book) and her gang getting the death note in the task force’s possession, Light decides the best way to get it back is by using Mikami/Misa’s book to force Lidner to hand it over and then pull a Naomi. This works, Light is alone in this underground carpark laughing and monologuing to the death note, and then the camera pans. And you just see Soichiro standing there like 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️

Light turns around as Soichiro starts talking, then shouting at Light to explain himself, explain what he meant when he said he was gonna kill Near and all those kinds of things.

See, just before L died, he told Soichiro to keep an eye on Light at all times. The second Soichiro couldn’t do that, L died, so he hasn’t taken his eyes off Light since then. And he’s noticed. He noticed Light rolling his eyes when Near talked, he noticed Light not caring about Misa, he noticed how Light was willing to write a name in the notebook to prove to Himura it was real when she was stealing it, as if he forgot about the 13 day rule being real. So he followed Light when he left suspiciously, and saw everything.

(This is still not the plot twist btw)

so Light is trying to gaslight his father and tell him it’s just a fake, that Himura was threatening him, and Soichiro just looks utterly disgusted. He finally sees how Light lies through his teeth. He asks where his son went, and if he can have him back.

Light just keeps saying the book is fake.

so soichiro grabs it out of his hand, and tells Light that, if it’s a fake, he shouldn’t have any problem with what he’s about to do.

he starts writing his own name in the notebook. Light starts panicking, but refuses to admit he lied. He tries to convince him not to test it, but soon Soichiro only has one single stoke left of his name to write. He asks Light why.

Light never outright says that he is Kira- but he tries to convince Soichiro that Kira is justified, and that he became Kira to save his father (technically not a lie.)

Soichiro sighs, tells him to open his eyes: then finishes writing his own name.

and you know when Light starts going crazy? Not when his dad finished writing his name. No. he starts physically fighting his father for the book as soichiro starts pouring lighter fluid on it. He is more desperate to stop the death note from being destroyed than he is to stop his own father from killing himself.

and he’s successful. Soichiro dies before he can destroy the notebook.

cut to a hospital room- Sayu is sobbing next to her dad’s body, Light is sitting down trying his best to look grieved. And then the task force enter. They all have a physical reaction to seeing Soichiro Yagami dead. Somebody asks Light what happened. Light says Himura did it. They share a look.

then, in the finale, one episode later, Near has just cornered Light. The task force (and a whole bunch of other cops) are all there, and Light tells the task force that Near is lying, he isnt Kira. But they don’t believe him.

why?

because before he left to follow Light, Soichiro gathered the whole task force together and said one very important thing: If I die now, it’s because Light, as Kira, has killed me.

they then all shoot Light when he tries to write Near’s name.

so YEAH. THAT WAS A LOT. It took me so off guard but there were so many signs, like the task force calling someone as Light walked away at his dad’s funeral being revealed as Near/mello later on. I cannot stress how much i love that goddamn tv show. I love it so much.

[deathboinico]

Tw: mentions of death and suicide

In every other universe.. Jean Moreau died slowly.

It was something that was inevitable. He died slowly, without a whisper. He died, with only one person known his gentle word, his soft hands.

They would say it was suicide, that he killed himself. Starting a cycle. The Raven cycle.

Ravens dropping one by one as the ERC still conducts the investigation into why Jean Moreau, a backliner marked for perfect court, the best male backliner, killed himself the night of graduation.

Jean would have no funeral. There would be a small press conference for the ravens, explaining his death. Riko would speak, fake sorrow in his voice, then Tetsuji would.

They’d talk about how they lost a good player, that they may never recover from his death, that they are saddened that they didn’t see the warning signs.. that Jean’s body will be sent back to France, to his parents to be buried, but in reality, he’ll be buried, in a unnamed grave.

In this universe though..

He will died slow, but He won’t die quietly.

[wandasaura]

NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED

NO ONE CRIES “THEY WONT RETURN”

[the-finest-clockwork-soldier]

Hey uh after our hug was done and I wandered off…. I am now lost. This ship is incredibly large. And I am very small (to avoid detection). Help

Um. Can You By Chance Describe The Things Around You And Maybe I Can Find You? Any Distinctive Bullet Holes Or Noises?

[valewritessss]

All my memories of watching Sing for the first time is 2% of the plot and 98% of my nine year old soul ascending to heaven when Jennifer Hudson started singing

[therealterriblelizard]

Sora & Riku: *Finding a dead body on a mission* Sora: Sora: B- Riku: *Holding up a finger* Don’t you DARE say “been there done that.” Sora: You can’t tell me what to do, you didn’t even come to my funeral! Riku: I was looking for clues to find YOU! Sora: And I was in another REALITY!

[jumpscaregoose]

formaldehyde, via arterial injection

[sunforgrace]

he sat there on the ground and cried. for cas. cas told him he loved him was taken away and he buried his head in his hands and wept

[thewritingpossum]

obsessed with the idea of Roger Mortimer paying some extra cash to get particularly competent assassins so that Edward II's murder would be less suspicious only for the body to be too putrified to be recognizabe and therefore useful by the time it reached Gloucester

[autumnrory]

it does still make me insane that people think tony's death was so sad but think nothing of natasha's but also like both deaths were soooooooo unnecessary and i'm like how do you think it was poignant or whatever how tony died when it was so fucking stupid because SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE could have been the one wielding the gauntlet and not gotten killed about it skjdfkjs i just hate it all sm

[skunkes]

Any tipsss for drawing clothes and their form?

i dont even have a good grasp on dis, i just either look up ref pics or find the most similar clothing in my closet and put it on to get an estimate of that the folds wld look like, the rest is from pulling those events out of mental library