#they are in the void because I can’t do backgrounds

[nonbinaryriverclan]

So I saw a blue-haired boy Crossin the road the other day I didn't say much of anything

~

Hey, blue-haired boy Please come back my way I finally know what to say to you

-Blue Haired Boy by Madilyn Mei

[cuteniaarts]

Behold, my latest and most enamouring new obsession:

Malina, Lady of the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. As if Red Lotus child OCs weren’t niche enough

[successfulgoddess333]

IDK WHAT TO TITLE THIS??? Just read

I think by creating countless amounts of posts to help people reach the state of shifting or enter the void state is low key pointless

Because why do I have to continue to tell you

A bunch of people I’ll never actually talk to

Irl

How to do something we were all created and born TO DO??

You’re just read this and then proceed to not do it anyway

The reason you’re on here is actually why you “can’t do it”

It’s not that you can’t

You won’t

Because you’re procrastinating but not only are you procrastinating you’re also

Trying to figure out how to do something

You’ve always known what to do

I read somewhere some ppl can’t enter the void

Because it was scientifically proven that we all have different parts of brains that’ll allow it or something I don’t remember but google it

I think that’s weird

Because the void state is literally conscious

Every single human being has consciousness

And we can all access it through meditation hypnosis etc

Why some ppl enter it more easily

Is because they don’t overthink it most ppl look at it as a “oooh I wanna try it”

When you’re excited to try something you don’t over complicate it or assume it’s not gonna work

Even if you do you’re still too excited to try it to care

it’s important that if you’ve already discovered the loa void state and shifting

You should continue to believe in it

But the actions matter just as much as the intentions

Your actions shouldn’t be wavering like

Is it real?

But then saying you believe it is

Figure it out

Do you believe in it or not?

Stop confusing your subconscious mind

Now back to what I was saying earlier

You keep treating it like a chore or a job

When you finally lay down to meditate you think

“What’s takin so long?”

Babe

Your impatience is the reason you’re not getting it

The whole point is for relaxation but since you’ve all put it on a pedestal

With the manifesting

You act as if

It’s a wish granter

It’s not

You are the reason you get your desire

You could get in the void rn but you’d only get your desires if YOU say your affirmations

Stop

Waiting to enter the void

If you have this mindset it’s not gone happen

Think of it as a

You’re setting the intention and just vibing

That’s why my method with the music works so well

Because I don’t overthink with music on

Music keeps me awake mentally and certain songs keep me relaxed physically

Plus it’s a good energy then just depending on a subliminal or something

It’s not doing it for you

My method plus ppl on here literally getting in the void

With no background noise is proof that subliminals are just guiding you to a destination you were already going to reach on your own

So what to take from this post

1. Stop depending on subliminals it’s fine to use them but thinking it’s gonna get your results is putting power into something that isn’t as powerful as you

2. Procrastination is going to be the cost of a life you could be living The more you linger on this looking for the answers you already know the longer you’ll be living in a world you are desperately trying to escape from congrats you’ve got a Dr you can daydream and escape this reality mentally but what’s the fun in that? That life you keep fantasizing is real and the universe knows how bad you want it so why fantasize? Go there

3. Why are you wondering how ppl get in the void easily? Simply just stop thinking about it so much literally just meditate think affirm whatever don’t even think of the void but still have that intention in your mind you wanna move your body? Why? You hate this reality you wanna block out all the physicality it actually feels so good to just be in a moment of peace I’m telling y’all the key to entering the void shifting etc other OOB experiences is literally just stop paying attention

You know so many ppl with adhd

Or other neurodivergent disorders think it’s so difficult to focus

But I remember years ago I accidentally entered the void without knowing what it was

I was so sleepy I laid down

Got distracted by a thought

And literally it went black for like five seconds and I felt nothing

So literally just stop paying attention

Affirm

If you want

Set the intention count whatever

Or you could just set the intention and just think

Of literally anything

That doesn’t cause physical reactions like a funny thought you’d laugh at

But just pretend you’re dreaming like how you normally would

Which brings me to my method

THE DREAM METHOD:

You could pretend to be dreaming

Like if you can’t visualize it still use your sense

Image your dreaming

And in that dream you’re living your dream life or you could “dream” that you’re in the void

However you want your void to look

By not moving you’re tricking your body into thinking you’re asleep

And by pretending to be dreaming

You’re tricking your mind into thinking

You’re both sleeping and dreaming

This will make you either dream Forreal

Or you could use this to get in the void

When or if you feel symptoms

By the way

Those floaty etc symptoms are actually signs that you’re astral projecting because shifting your awareness is a mind thing

NOT an outer body experience

So if you feel floaty dizzy spinning etc

You are astral projecting

BUT

You can use astral projection to shift and to enter the void

You’re Welcome

Also P.S but have you ever zoned out and stared at something til your vision got all blurry and background noises get fuzzy and whatever you’re focused on is the only think you can subconsciously focus on?

Yeahhh it’s a trance

Try doing this while meditating with your eyes open then close them and keep doing it

What ever you were focus on

Close your eyes

Set the intention

Affirm for a bit

Breathe then

Imagine something

Anything you’d want

And pretend to dream

By just visualizing or thinking or using your senses

You could put on an instrumental and imagine your doing a music video

If you feel symptoms just remember

Nothings physically happening to you

So why focus on it?

If someone saw you you’d still be in bed

Not moving

Itchy feelings mean your body is feeling as if you’re awake

There’s no actual physical symptoms of entering the void

Because it’s not really an out of body experience it’s you shifting your awareness has nothing to do with your body

Since you’re shifting to the 4D

The 4D is not physical

I may have mentioned symptoms in my previous posts I don’t remember I’m not a hypocrite I just learn and get more educated

But no matter

Take this how you want

And even if I could help

I could never get you into the void state

It’s literally me trying to tell YOUR subconscious mind to do something you already know how to do

Like cmon

Also

You don’t need the void to shift

Trust me there’s a gagillion methods

Another also

You don’t even need a method just lay down don’t move

Trust me weird shit will happen

[cosmicdream222]

Wake up with your dream life: affirm & relax challenge

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・。.。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

This is a challenge suggestion created by @leilth that I expanded upon ❤️

This challenge is going to help: calm your anxiety & stress, remove negativity, help reprogram your mind for manifesting your dream life, shifting, or entering the void.

Most beneficial for people with: overthinking tendencies, overactive minds, stress & anxiety, difficult circumstances

Why affirm & relax?

Most people have heard about affirm & persist, which has a lot of baggage attached, and may be seen as “robotic” or a chore. We’re switching that mindset up now.

We’re affirming because thinking positive thoughts makes us feel good. We’re thinking all the time anyway, we might as well be thinking thoughts that make us happy.

We’re relaxing because we know our dream life is on the way and we don’t have to do anything to deserve/earn/achieve it.

We’re not forcing ourselves or doing techniques to “get anything”. Like doing a yoga class or getting a massage - we’re doing it because it’s relaxing & makes us feel good.

We already know our desires belong to us, the techniques are just calming the doubtful human mind to make the transition easier.

We are relaxing and not obsessing about a deadline or time crunch because we know time is an illusion and our success is inevitable.

Challenge steps!

1) Decide your focus/intention. Do you want to wake up with all your desires? Master the void? Shift to your DR? Decide now and make your script or desires list, if you haven’t already. Got it? Alright, it’s yours! All you have to do now is sit back and relax and wait for your reality to conform.

In the meantime, here’s what you can do to relax and embody your desired state until it materializes:

2) Pick a sub playlist or make your own. I have curated a couple playlists with trusted subs you might want to try:

If you have a lot of negativity and unfortunate circumstances in your life, this playlist is for releasing negativity, curses & toxic people and manifesting a better life.

I collected a bunch of subs for this challenge that include topics like waking up with your desires, manifesting overnight, shifting, self-concept, blockage removals, boosters and more. The first sub in the playlist is one that can be looped overnight to wake up with your desires.

Subs for the void state

Pick the ones most relevant to you and make your own playlist to use daily.

3) Listen to your playlist 30-60 minutes a day. Try listening once in the morning and once at night, but any time works. You can also loop your playlist in the background throughout the day or night and listen while doing other things.

For about 10 minutes of your listening time, try to relax and breathe deeply while sitting in the psych-k position.

4) Listen to an aff tape for 10 minutes while doing psych-k or another calming exercise. Instead of psych-k, you could also try SRT, tapping, breathwork, lying under a weighted blanket, or any other calming exercise. If you do it with psych-k then do it 5 minutes each sides.

My aff tapes:

comfort & relaxation

self-concept & void concept

master shifter & master manifestor

I’m living my dream life

5) EFT tapping for your desires twice a day. You can follow the basic script I provided here, but try to use your own words with whatever specific emotions you find coming up for you in the moment. Try to tap for around 10-15 minutes. In the morning just after you wake up & before you go to bed are the most powerful times.

You can also do quick mini tapping sessions throughout the day. It’s fine to just tap only on one point while repeating your affs for a positive tune-up.

6) Each hour say your affirmation 30 times. Set a repeating reminder on your phone with one blanket aff such as “I have all my desires” or “I woke up with my dream life” or “I’m in my desired reality” or “I have mastered the void” and repeat 30x when it goes off. It’s ok to repeat it in your head if you can’t say it out loud.

The specific number of 30 affs is based off Cleo’s 12hr movement challenge which was very successful for many people who tried it. Feel free to repeat more or less based on your preference.

7) As you are drifting off to sleep: imagine, affirm, or intend to wake up with your desires. You might picture a brief scene opening your eyes to your desires in the morning (if you’re good at visualization). You could repeat the same aff you have been repeating throughout the day, or pick a short phrase that would make you feel successful like “I did it!” to loop until you fall asleep.

8) Repeat daily until you wake up with your desires!

NOTE: You may or may not see 3D acting up but again it's a good sign that what you are doing is working. You can tend to the 3D but don’t react to it. That’s just the old story trying to pull you back. Treat those old thoughts and circumstances like unruly children, firmly tell them “no!” And don’t let them get away with anything!! You are the boss now!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・。.。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Daily Activities Summary:

1) Listen to your sub playlist for 30-60 minutes. It’s fine to listen while doing other things. Try to sit in the psych-k position while listening for at least 10 minutes.

2) Listen to an aff tape while doing psych-k (or other calming activity) for 10 minutes. Just breathe deep and relax while listening.

3) EFT tapping for 10-15 minutes, once in the morning & once in the evening, more if you want!

4) Affirm with your main aff 30 times each hour you’re awake.

5) Affirm or imagine waking up with your desires as you drift off to sleep.

6) No identifying with 3D circumstances, tell negative thoughts “No!” and counteract them with your affs.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・。.。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Why do we do each method?

Psych-k: we do psych-k sessions while listening to subliminals or aff tapes because it helps calm our nervous systems and connect both sides of our brains, releasing stuck stress and speeding up the process of learning the affirmations.

Tapping: we do tapping because it helps us to remove all blocked energy & emotions holding us back, replacing it with beliefs that say we already have our desires. It helps us shift our state to feel like we already have what we want and makes it easier to accept our new affs.

Repeating affirmations: we are repeating affirmations each hour so we saturate our mind as much as possible and remind ourselves of the new story. We’re doing this to calm the impatient overactive human brain that wants to keep telling the old story.

SATS/lullaby: Imagining your desires fulfilled or repeating affirmations as you go to sleep are some of the OG methods of loa manifesting. Whatever you think of right before you fall asleep is going to powerfully affect your subconscious mind.

How long is this gonna take??

Everything depends on how much resistance you have and your personal mindset and journey. We’re not making deadlines or limits because time is an illusion right?

But on average, both EFT and Psych-k have been proven to permanently change beliefs in about 7 sessions. So one week should be more than enough. Since we’re also doing tapping and affirming and listening to subs, it’s gonna work from all angles, speeding up the process even if you have doubts, fears, or limiting beliefs.

Now stop scrolling and go affirm and relax!! You’re gonna be living your dream life in no time at all! 💕

[lowkeyerror]

The Family Business Ch.14

WandaNat x Reader

Word Count: 2.3k

Ch. Notes: Angst, action, gun violence, character death

Summary: Things quickly escalate as Fisk tries to end the struggle for power once abd for all.

An: ... So it's been a minute. Sorry about that and frankly idk when the next update will be, hopefully sooner. However, whatever you thinks going to happen here, I don't think you'll see this coming.

Series Masterlist | Masterlist

Wilson Fisk didn’t often smile. He was a sad and angry man that did his best to keep a neutral scowl on his face. What was there to smile about when he had lost everything. His wife, his daughter, his freedom, all irreplaceable. Being in prison while his wife and daughter were being buried is an ache that will never truly get over.

The void inside of him can only be filled by power and control. He will have the city and he will claim it for all that he has lost. He knew that to be a irrefutable fact.

Now, his smile was something straight out of a nightmare. It sat lopsided on his round face. It was there and it was horrifying. His smile only widens as he heard hushed voice over his phone.

When the line goes dead, he claps his hands together. He leans back in his desk chair. The smile doesn’t leave his features.

“Sleeping beauty has opened his eyes.”

Plans change at a wits notice, and things pivot, but goals could still be accomplished. Fisk wants Dragos gone and like a shark surrounding an injured surfer he smells blood in the water. It is time for him to strike.

Bowling was the activity that you came up with. Something in a place full of people, something that you enjoyed much in your youth, something that Pietro was unequivocally skilled at.

“Another strike ladies are you even trying?” Pietro gloats after looking at the scoreboard.

You might’ve been putting in a decent amount of effort, Wanda as well, but the two of you could tell Natasha was handing the man the win.

“Natasha, maybe take him down a peg,” you whisper in her ear.

“I thought we were supposed to be cheering him up, lisichka,” she taunts you with a smile.

“He can be happy without his ego being stroked,” Wanda puffs out in annoyance.

Natasha laughs at their bitterness, but nonetheless when it was her turn she quickly bowled a strike.

“Let’s go Natty,” you clap for her and Wanda let’s out a whistle.

“Is this where I realize you've been letting me win all night,” Pietro pouts.

Nat plops her hand on his shoulder, “I’m afraid so."

You all share a laugh and for moment everything feels normal. You could almost forget your ties and affiliations and feel like normal people. The moments were becoming more present in your life to the domestic nature of your relationship with Wanda and Natasha.

By now you should’ve known that sitting in any of those feelings did you no good.

When your phone rings you answer it immediately.

“Hello?”

“Y/n you will get through this. Do not let this be the end of what we’ve worked for, you don’t- you don’t need me malysh.”

“Papa? You’re awake, what are you you-”

“Y/N! Listen please, just take care of our family. I called you because, I trust you.”

As he speaks on the phone you gather Wanda, Pietro, and Natasha urgently. You have to go, it’s urgent. They can tell you’re shaken and when you put the phone on speaker they understand.

“Papa I don’t understand,” your voice trembles as you speak.

“Tell Flora, that my love with her doesn’t end with my last breath. Tell my Pietro that he’s the heart of all of this. Tell Wanda that all I want from her is for her to be happy.”

Natasha is the one that ushers you all into the car as you begin to shut down slightly.

“You can’t do this to us again papa,” your voice cracks in the end.

“It’s out of my hands,” you can hear fear in his voice and it terrifies you.

You hear a dark chuckle in the background of the call, “He’s right you know, it’s not in his hands.”

The smile in Fisk’s voice is present and it scares you, but you bluff the man.

“Haven’t you already made this play before, and it didn't work out for you did it?”

“Only because you interfered, and I got you back pretty significantly for that didn't I, sweetheart?”

Your jaw clenches, “Fisk , take a moment to think, really think what you're about to do. We are already enemies, in competition for control of the city, but that’s just business. Every move you’ve made recently has been personal. Going to war over turf it’s respectable, but if we go to war over family, there’s only one way this ends.”

“This is why I enjoy you so much kid, you have such an intelligent mind. Even under pressure you string together the right words. However, you’ve got it all wrong. There’s always only been one way this is going to end,” you hear the sound of the gun clicking.

“We will leave the city, just don't shoot him,” Pietro finds his voice.

You, Wanda, and Natasha look at him like he’s lost his mind.

“I didn't know we had guests on the phone with us, what a surprise. Keep talking little Maximoff, I like what you're offering.”

Pietro begins spewing nonsense, “We will disappear from New York and never come back. We will cut all ties with city and anything in it. It will be yours for the taking. Please, just don’t shoot him.”

“Anyone else want to beg for his life?”

Wanda’s mouth opens and closes a few times as her eyes water. You take the initiative instead.

“Wilson, you lost your family. Your wife and daughter were taken from you. Good people caught in the crossfire of your criminal actions. Who helped you get back on your feet after you got out of jail ? Who kept a corner of New York for you? Who gave you a jump start on your way back to this lifestyle? Who was there for you? The history between the two of you isn’t as convoluted as you’re making it out to be.”

Kingpin takes a pause, “That’s in the past.”

“It’s only history because you are making it that way. We have made a good relationship between our businesses until recently,” you keep him on the phone.

Natasha’s only about 5 minutes from the hospital, you just need to stall a bit longer.

“I’m not a beggar or a dog, Y/Ln. I don’t take scraps,” he says in a menacing tone.

You pause when he says your last name. It’s not something you hear regularly, you don’t ever use it. How’d he know about it?

“Quiet now Y/Ln, surprised I know that name? That’s not the only thing I know about you sweetheart. I know something that the Maximoff’s have been hiding from you, something that might sway your loyalty."

You look at Wanda and Pietro who were already on edge, but worse than that, they avoid your gaze.

“This is my family, my loyalty won’t ever change,” you speak strongly.

He chuckles, “Not even when I tell you they killed your mother.”

“What?”

“They killed your mother. Ever wonder, why she didn’t come after you, why she didn’t bombard or harass you after you left? She was dead within a week. Your father was debriefed, and relocated shortly after your graduation. These people sweetheart, before your family, they’re the mob.”

You’re in front of the hospital now, but you don’t move to exit the car. It feels like something has pierced through your heart.

You want to say something to combat him, to say it doesn’t matter, but you couldn’t say that earnestly.

You push your feelings aside for a second, “We’ve both lost a lot, Fisk. Things that we can’t get back. Things that fuel us to want more than what the world has offered us.”

“We’re alike in that way sweetheart, robbed of a happy ending. Forced to create our own,” he’s trying to flip you but you aren't buying it.

“Losing another parental figure in my life isn't a happy ending for me,” you grit your teeth.

Natasha pulls you out of the car and starts giving hand signal directions.

“I sympathize with you, Y/n. You’re not one of them, you never were. I’ll tell you what, the Maximoff’s leave, but you stay and work for me. That’s my offer.”

“We aren't leaving without Y/n,” Wanda finds her words for the first time in the conversation.

“It’s either that or I put a bullet in his head. You’ve got 15 minutes to think it over, when I call back you better have an answer,” he hangs up.

“Y/n,” Pietro starts, but you don't look at him.

“We’ve got 15 minutes to save Dragos, that's what I'm focused on,” you dismiss his attempt at an explanation.

Natasha begins laying out a plan, “ We don’t know who in this building reports to Fisk, so we have to be careful if we go in. Dragos is supposed to have security at his door, I don't think the guards there would be ours if Fisk is in the room.”

“We need a deliberate distraction,” you open the car door and reach into your bag.

You bring out your laptop and hook your phone to it. You knew what room Dragos was in with Fisk’s call you should be able to ping how many devices were around him.

“3 guards, outside the rooms. These are the phone numbers, names, home addresses, close family,” you memorize the information.

You see a group walking into the hospital and figure its your best chance to blend in, “We’ve got to go now.”

Wanda and Natasha hold frustration about the way you’re moving, but they follow you nonetheless.

“We don’t have a plan for this,” Wanda argues.

“Blend in get to the floor they’re on and then I’ll handle the guards. Once they’re dealt with Natasha will go in and disarm Fisk,” you say straying from the group you walked in with to another group heading for the elevator.

Once you're in the elevator you speak to Natasha, “Send people to these addresses make sure they get pictures, the quickest means please.”

When you step off the elevator you spot the guards. You send them individual text messages, with their names addresses and a threat to their loved ones by name.

You see 2 of 3 panic while the other one believes it’s a bluff. Natasha sends the pictures of their homes to you, and you forward them to the guards.

You see them pale instantly, the look at each other and bicker lightly. Wanda wants to go forward and strike, but you shake your head. You wait as one of the guards takes off running from the room. The other follows not even a second after. The third looks at his phone and then in the direction the others had ran before doing the same as they did.

“Natasha, we’ll be on the other side of the door one steady knock when he’s disarmed so we can get in,” you instruct her.

She doesn’t hesitate to nod at your orders. Before she goes Wanda squeezes her hand in a pleading manner, but Natasha reassures her with a soft look.

You wait with baited breath when Natasha enters the room. For a moment it’s silent, no struggle can be heard, but then there’s a gunshot.

Wanda’s the first one rushing to the room door, with Pietro and yourself directly behind her. Her hand is on the handle as she attempts to yank the door open. You move her out of the way, and open it first.

Instead of a cool metal, you feel a searing hot metal burning your chest.

“Why don’t you all file in, so we can talk,” Kingpin rests the gun on your chest and you shuffle into the room, eyes shooting across to where Natasha grips her bloody arm.

Wanda and Pietro shuffle in, the red head immediately going to her wife’s side.

“Isn’t this a lovely little family affair?”

“Wilson, take the gun off of her. Your problem is with me, my family, they’ve done nothing wrong,” Dragos tries to reason with the man.

He digs the butt of the recently fired gun further into your chest and you grit your teeth, but refuse to break eye contact with the bald man.

“She is your strongest solider Dragos, she can take it. Y/n’s not even your blood, she’s your orphan project and you’ve raised her better than your incompetent children. She’s quick witted, brilliant, useful. I want her on my side,” Fisk eyes you with a shark like grin on his face.

“You’re out numbered,” Pietro reminds the man as he stands tall in room.

Fisk scoffs, “ Bed ridden patient, shot Russian, and girl with her gun to her chest. You and your sister aren’t enough to stop me, you could barely even run the business when I took your father out. None of the Maximoff’s have been running anything as of late. It’s all been Y/n, even before Wanda came back. She’s been the brains of this whole operation for a while now.”

“If you feel that way, then why would you go after Dragos first and not me?”

Fisk chuckles, “This information isn't something I've always known. I only had this epiphany a small time before I had an example made out of you.”

“I’ll never work for you,” you stand your ground.

“Then I’ll drop you where you stand and then I'll kill everyone in this room and own this cit-”

The gun was in your hand before he finished the sentence. You place it under his chin before cocking it back.

“Do it, kill me then sweetheart. This wouldn’t be your first time killing someone who just wanted to help you right? Poor little Lucas, didn’t even get the chance to grow up.”

You pull the trigger and instantly your face is covered in the mans blood. No one in the room saw it coming. You were usually better at not acting irrationally, but this time you had met your limit.

The gun drops from your hand and you rush out of the hospital without a single clue to where you were going.

“Go, someone go after her,” Dragos yells at his children and soon Wanda is on her feet.

“I will take care of it go,” Natasha reassures her.

Wanda’s eyes linger on her wife’s injured arm, “Wanda now.”

Taglist: @natashaswife4125 @autorasexy @alexawynters @blkmxrvel @toouncreativeforausername @likemick @sgm616 @bstvst @dorabledewdroop @sapphic-simp4015 @natty-taffy @justarandomreaderxoxo @mmmmokdok @tarathia @bgwlsmahf25 @lezzylover @og-kxsh-420 @vanessashands @untoldreader @sxlfishbrokenheart @marvelgirlx @elle161989

[floylia]

# MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾

10. Always worth your time 💌

If arrogance is a cloak, he wears it proudly

A golden smile with silver teeth approaches you. His ginger hair falls smoothly in elegant curls, draping near the white headphones over his neck. His red top contrasts the blue hues of his eyes, followed by an expensive car that pops out in the background.

He wasn’t lying when he said he was made with money.

“Heard you need a ride?” His teasing tone continues.

You grin, “I recall, saying no?”

He shrugs, before grabbing your bag from your shoulder, and walking to the passenger seat, holding the door open for you, “And I recall not responding, so where are we going?”

“Supposedly at my student’s house for a tutoring session, but her mother cancelled.”

He gasps sarcastically, “Then I get to have you all to myself today?”

“By whose words?”

“Mine.”

“It better be worth my time.”

He winks, “I’m always worth your time.”

—

If spontaneous is a person, you’ve met him.

“You broke the damn machine!” You whisper-yell to the ginger in front of you whose jaw almost reaches the floor as he looks from left to right, checking for prying eyes.

He sighs in disappointment while sliding the palm of his hand on the window of the claw machine, observing how the plush toy drops back to its friends, “I wanted the duck.”

“You can’t have everything in life.”

“Yes I can.”

You shake your head, “It won’t even scan your card. I think that’s a sign that we need to leave. Besides, these games are a scam.”

“99% of gamblers quit before they win,” He scans his arcade card once again. It’s like arguing with a brick wall. Miraculously, the once “broken” machine finally activates.

You raise a brow, “Embarrassing yourself again?”

He rolls up his sleeves, revealing his muscular arms before circling his right shoulder back and forth, “Watch.”

His gaze focuses on the yellow duck, carefully aligning the metal claw before squinting and pacing around the machine, looking through each window from every angle.

You pinch the bridge of your nose while trying to stifle a laughter.

Then, he presses the button.

Two pairs of eyes follow the claw machine descend, grabbing the toy. It feels like at any moment the metal grip will slip, but it doesn’t.

Because the duck drops in the prize hole.

Childe falls to his knees before thanking the gods above, whispering sweet nothings in the air repeatedly.

Strangers ranging from kids to teens pass by with knitted brows, deciphering the scene in front of them. It takes you courage not to walk away and pretend you never met the ginger.

Thankfully, he stands up and hands you the duck.

“Didn’t you want this?” You ask.

“I did. I wanted it for you.”

“Oh, I—“

“There’s a photo booth over there. We should take a picture,” He points to the silver booth across the arcade before slipping his fingers between your own and dragging you towards his desired destination.

He continues talking, but every word becomes a void. Your thoughts are frozen. Eyes trained on one thing: his soft hands holding yours as his thumb gently circle your skin while he remains unaware.

“Are you feeling well?” He tilts his head, scanning your face for signs of discomfort.

You don’t even notice you’re inside the booth, “Of course! Let’s start.”

He nods, “Alright, what pose should we do?

You scan the tiny space until you spot a box underneath the bench, “Wait! They have props.”

You snatch a Minnie Mouse headband, adjusting it on your head, while he leisurely grabs the Matching Mickey Mouse version.

“Does it have to be the mouse?”

You chuckle, “Scared to relive the past?”

“Shut up.”

The screen starts counting down as you adjust inside the camera’s frame. Childe follows suit before placing his right arm around your shoulder, featuring a genuine grin.

“We should do a couples pose.”

You elbow his stomach, “You wish.”

Four more pictures were taken until the booth starts printing each one in a row.

“Should we grab lunch?” You ask, realizing the time after opening your phone for the first time since arriving.

“Yeah…” He leads the both of you towards the exit. The photo strips on his hands as he scans them individually.

In the first picture you’re wearing the matching Mickey Mouse headpieces.

In the second frame, he makes a giant heart with his left arm, expecting you to finish it. Instead, you do a thumbs up, grinning at him while he smiles tenderly back.

In the third photo your backs are against one another while making gun poses like Mr. and Mrs. Smith. You’re wearing black glasses with a serious expression and he is laughing with messy hair covering one eye.

In the fourth picture, he’s on his knees once again—both hands up in the air as you strangle him on the neck.

In the last picture, he’s wearing a fox hat while you’re wearing a bunny head piece, referencing Jude Hopps and Nick Wilde. His right arm is resting on the top of your head, smirking as you pout, looking up at him.

“Is it that special?”

He hums, eyes still glued on the photos, admiring your beauty, “Very.”

If attraction is a season, now he knows why leaves fall in autumn.

NOTES:

i’m back lol i hope all of you are doing well 😍

i failed my calc test, my grade went from a 96 to an 88, i’m TWEAKING but it’s okay IM COOKED (the asian in me wasn’t working today bruh) i was born a writer not a mathematician. but i’ll bring it up trust

SYNOPSIS: There’s a line Childe knows he shouldn’t cross; A line built on years of friendship; A line that happens to cross you, his best friend’s younger sister, grieving her first love; A line where he plays savior, wears a halo, then feign ignorance, because love is a game for fools—and he happens to be the biggest idiot when it comes to love.

When a new stranger invades your life and an old poet writes back.

CHILDE x FEM!READER

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TAGLIST (OPEN!): @thegalaxyisunfolding @stratusworld @tiramizuloz @miy-svz @trulyylee @batatinhafriita @scaradooche @yuminako @m1njizzie @mtndewbajablasted @fadedpinkpen @vavrin @kioffy @kokoomie @ashveil @tired-jaz @nia333 @riabriyn @kyon-cherri @kitsunetori @morgyyyyyyy @kazumiku @ichorstainedskin @hanilessa @s4ikooo1 @matolka @appy-slicez @monocerosei @mostlymoth @heathnyfangirl @meigalaxy @x-hihihi-x @lunaavity @ladyofpandemonium @coffeeisbehindyou @mentallyunpresent @wrangleanangel @littlesliceofcheese @ell1e2010 @vi0let-writes @strawbyan @blupi02 @eccendentesiast-sapphic @aixaingela @fo-love @mickey-d-luffy @nanfufu @cryoarchoness @li-x1nyu

If your name is bolded, for some reason I can’t tag you :(

[sxtvrns]

Hihi! Could I request a OT6 p1harmony reaction where the reader is on her period and is cramping? 😭

If not it's COMPLETELY ok and ignore this please!!🙌🏼

Thank you bby🩷

end of discussion, period

🎶 now playing: emergency - p1harmony

P: OT6!P1Harmony + Fem!Reader (platonic)

S: Your best friends are unusually well versed in dealing with that time of the month.

G: fluff, hurt/comfort

N: hey yall if you havent seen my other post i would like to let yall know p1harmony is no longer my ult </3 I CAN STILL WRITE FOR THEM JUST PUT IT IN UR REQS but my profile will end up undergoing a transformation!! anyways ik i picked a silly song for this but this is a silly little fic so enjoy and KEEP THOSE REQUESTS COMING I LOVE GETTING UR LITTLE PROMPTS

please interact if you enjoy!

On the outside, you’re keeping a stone cold expression, hyperfocused on the show playing on your TV. The rest of your place is quiet, the only other audible sound being the running air conditioner in the background.

On the inside, you’re fighting demons as your cramps fight wars in your stomach, the pain constant and increasingly tedious. At this point, the pain had become a nuisance and was at the forefront of your mind.

You were desperately trying to get it to go away because you were supposed to meet with your friends later; so far, the pain doesn’t seem like it will subside.

Of course, every sense was heightened because of your period, including the sense that you’d die on your couch and succumb to the torture of your cramps.

Your friends would be pissed at you for cancelling and you know it. The more you try to move, the more the pain moves around in your stomach. You felt gross and unkept, despite having taken a shower a few minutes ago. This couch was your deathbed, and the ceiling would be last thing you saw before you died.

Slowly, you picked up your phone and texted the group chat.

👤: guys

👤: it’s hell rn

🐺: i mean yeah it’s boiling outside

👤: i can’t go

🐺: WHAT

🐿️: Y/N WE’VE BEEN PLANNING THIS FOR MONTHS

🐯: we planned this 2 weeks ago

👤: IK im sorry but im glued to my couch right now and i can’t get up

🐶: lazy ass

🍟: (*´-`)

👤: i am in physical pain and it very much hurts

🐺: did you get stabbed

🐿️: are you okay

🐺: why aren’t you at the hospital

👤: calm down it’s not that serious

🐯: then why can’t you come?

👤: …

👤: cramps

🐶: ohhhh

🐶: sorry

🐶: you’re not lazy

👤: you better be sorry

🍟: (・∀・)

🐿️: those cramps

👤: yes jiung period cramps

👤: they’re hurting really bad this time and it’s hard for me to move

🐺: stay calm don’t panic

👤: what

🐯: keeho is running around the dorm rn

👤: why

👤: you guys??

👤: hello??????

“Assholes…” You muttered, putting down your phone and accepting your fate.

You shut your eyes, trying to find some sort of relief in the void that is the back of your eyelids, and though it helped distract you, it didn’t exactly help get rid of the pain. On top of that, the guilt you felt for canceling last minute was starting to get to you.

Sure, you only planned this outing 2 weeks ago, but everyone was really looking forward to it. You hoped they’d go without you, but knowing them, they’d rather stub their toe on every surface than do something without you. But it would be such a waste if they didn’t–

“Y/N! Open up!”

You hear a voice yell from outside, along with aggressive pounding on your door, and the confusion overtook the pain as you walked to check who it was.

All 6 of your friends were outside your apartment with grocery bags and panicked expressions, except for Soul. He was staring into the camera. Keeho was knocking on your door rather unintentionally hostile; you knew he was just worried about you.

You slowly unlock the door and let out a soft groan, your voice matching the volume. “Hello?”

“Y/N, sit down.” Jiung gently guides you back to your couch, the rest of them flowing inside with the door closing behind them. You sit down, groaning in pain. “Where’s your heating pad? Why don’t you have it?”

“I was too tired to get up and get it–“

Jongseob suddenly drops it onto your lap, plugging it in and turning it on. You grab it and press it against your abdomen. “This is the setting you like, right?”

“How did you–“

“Made you some tea.” Theo put a mug down on the table, the steam telling of its freshness. Though the temperature doesn’t help with the weather, it would certainly help with your pain. It was even the right flavour too.

Soul put your favourite movie on the TV, and you could hear Keeho and Intak conversing in the kitchen.

“That’s too big, cut it smaller!”

“Not my fault the oranges are huge!”

Their bickering is soft, but you’re brought back to the people in front of you, sitting on the floor and watching the movie.

“Did you guys wanna sit?” You speak up. All of them shake their heads and assure you that they’re okay. Soul suddenly gets up and goes to your room.

“How about you lie down, Y/N? On your stomach?” Theo suggests, and you slowly get into said position, feeling comfier.

“Guys… seriously, what are you doing here?”

Jiung joins you in the living room. “Well, we weren’t just gonna go out without you. And besides, it’s super hot out.”

“Usually we’d be able to handle it, but it feels empty without you there. We can go out another time.”

The oranges Keeho and Intak were bickering over were finally placed on the coffee table in front of you, everyone lunging to grab a slice of their own.

“Most of all, we wanted to help you. At least you won’t have to deal with this on your own.” Keeho says. “Hey, save some for Y/N!” He scolds his group members.

You chuckle. “You guys are seeing me while I’m hot shit.”

“You don’t look any different, Y/N.” Intak adds, sitting down and taking an orange slice for himself.

“Do you guys even know what you’re doing?” They all freeze, staring blankly at you.

“You complain about your period sometimes, so we have a general idea of it…” Soul mutters loud enough for you to hear.

“Are you guys sure you’re okay with… chilling here?” You ask, unsure. They all nod and Theo speaks up. “Your air conditioning is saving us right now. You can kick us out at any time if we hoard it too much.” You chuckle. The next thing you know, you doze off.

For a moment, you’re pulled out of sleep and hear faint bickering.

“The congee is burning!”

“Calm down, it’s just the towel– oh my god, the towel is on fire!”

In this heat and with your pain that’s slowly but surely drifting away, you couldn’t care less.

it’s an emergency! 🎧

[starlight-bread-blog]

Three Books, Two Characters, One Story

An essay on Zuko and Katara's characters and character arcs

——————

Zuko and Katara, fire and water, red and blue, one rises with the sun, the other rises with the moon. And yet, they are similar, tied together and grew closer than they could have imagined. In this essay I will discuss Zuko and Katara's characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender. I intend to touch on their shared traits and backgrounds, on their development and on their points of convergence in their over overarching story. Now, without further ado, let's begin.

——————

The Common Ground

Zuko and Katara share their core traits and core events in their respective lives. Firstly, their loss of their mothers. Zuko lost his mother, Ursa; and Katara lost her mother, Kya. But if you ask me, it goes deeper than that. For Zuko, the loss was a loss of shelter from the cruelty of his father and the bliss of being a child. In Zuko Alone, we see how Ursa took care of Zuko, played with him, and gave him a proper childhood.

With that gone, he remained almost completely unprotected. But more importantly, he lost his childhood. (It is true that he still had Iroh, but Iroh can help to an extent. He can’t be at the dinner table when Ozai tells Zuko he was lucky to be born).

Similarly, when Katara’s mother died, something in her internalized it. As Sokka says in The Runaway:

We see Katara help fill the void many times in A:TLA. Namely in The Desert, where she takes care of the Gaang in ways ranging from giving her bending water to endangering herself to pull A\ang out of the Avatar State. Katara doesn’t like to be viewed as someone who lost her childhood, as her reaction to Sokka’s speech was to join Toph and go scamming. However, Kya’s death is an integral part of who she became. She wants to cling to her childhood, and she partly succeeds,but that speech was made for a reason. A part of it was gone with Kya.

Another parallel between their similar grief is sacrifice. Zuko’s mother left to save his life from Fire Lord Azulon’s ruthless order. Katara’s mother died when pretending to be the last waterbender of the South Pole when a Fire Nation raid came looking for her. Both of their mothers left because they protected them, saving their lives from the cruelty of the Fire Nation. In these parallel narratives, the themes of sacrifice against them are intertwined.

But beyond their grief, I believe that at their center, they are very similar. Zuko and Katara are filled with righteous anger and empathy even towards strangers. Although clearly everyone in the Gaang is a good person, doing their part in ending the war, it’s not a defining trait as it is for Zuko and Katara. In The Painted Lady, Katara insists on helping a Fire Nation village while Sokka pressures that they’ll leave to make it to the invasion, while Toph and A\ang remain natural. Her compassion clashes with the Gaang. When Sokka scolds her for being impulsive with her attempts to aid the village, Katara angrily responds with this:

Similarly, the thing that kicked off Zuko’s arc was this righteous anger. In The Storm, we learn that Zuko’s scar came from him standing up to a general who suggested sacrificing a division of rookies for an operation.

You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?

It is their shared compassion and anger at the injustices around them that makes them and the way they interact with the world so similar. Iroh described Zuko as “an idealist with a pure heart with unquestionable honor”. How well does this describe Katara?

Moreover, it is not only their anger. They are both incredibly strong willed with how they act on their anger. In The Waterbending Master, when Katara found out master Pakku won’t teach her because she’s a girl, she didn’t give up. She challenged him, a master, to a fight to prove that she can do everything a boy can do. And Zuko’s strong will is almost over talked about. When A\ang escaped his ship, he jumped on his airbender staff. In Zuko Alone, Ursa said to him “That’s who you are, Zuko. Someone who keeps fighting even though it’s hard”.

To sum up, Zuko and Katara’s foundational events and personality traits are parallels to one another. They both lost their mother when they sacrificed themselves for them, and it marked the end of an era for them. They are both driven by compassion and righteous anger and have a strong willed personality. They are guided by their morals first and foremost. They are parallels to one another.

The Development

Zuko and Katara’s character arcs serve as parallels to each other, and bring them closer together. Zuko’s redemption arc is, to put it simply, about unlearning Fire Nation propaganda and coming to realize the horror his country inflicted on the world. In book 2 Zuko sees the harm they caused first hand, and in The Day of Black Sun he fully rejects the Fire Nation.

Zuko: Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was.

He rejects the lie that the Fire Nation is somehow helping the world - that it’s inherently good. His arc was about unlearning Fire Nation supremacy.

Katara’s arc is not as easy to pin down, but it’s nevertheless there. Her arc is about idealism, hope and a change in perspective. Katara started her journey as an idealist, the literal voice of hope in the opening, and with a black and white view of the world - the Fire Nation is evil, and everyone else is good. Throughout the show, Katara encounters both good people from the Fire Nation, and bad people from around the world of Avatar, such as Long Feng, Jet and Hama. In The Puppetmaster in particular she learns that waterbending can be just as destructive as firebending, if not more so. Her arc is about unlearning naivety and Fire Nation inferiority.

The symmetry comes from them learning to lean on the other’s view across the seasons. In book 1, they are rigid in their view. Zuko is still working a full time job tracking the Avatar, while Katara still clings to her black and white view of the world, such as when she had a conversation with a Firebender who told her firebending is inherently destructive. In book 2, Zuko becomes a fugitive and sees the Fire Nation’s horrors for himself, while Katara sees that the one safe haven from the Fire Nation can be evil too. In book 3, Zuko goes back to the Fire Nation to see that it’s not what he’d imagined at all, while Katara goes to the Fire Nation to find people just like her.

Not only are their arcs symmetrical, but they are what allows their bond to flourish. Katara can only forgive Zuko after she’d let go of her ideals, and Zuko can only seek to redeem himself in her eyes after he’d let go of his idealization of the Fire Nation. Their bond is a true testament to their arcs.

The Encounters

Zuko and Katara’s relationship carries a lot of narrative weight. Their journeys are intertwined on many occasions. For Katara, it’s significant that after Katara masters waterbending, it is Zuko whom she has to defend herself to. It’s significant that she sees humanity in Zuko, despite him being the face of the Fire Nation. It’s meaningful that she goes to find her mother’s killer with Zuko, and even bloodbends before him. And finally, it’s meaningful that she spends the 4 part finale with him.

For Zuko, it’s significant that when he truly connects with someone other than his uncle, it’s with Katara. It’s significant that he learns through Katara that revenge doesn’t always help. It’s significant that Katara is the last member he has to earn forgiveness from. And it’s meaningful that jumping in front of a lightning bolt to save Katara is his last act of redemption.

While Sokka and Zuko for instance never interact in book 1 besides some one liners, Katara and Zuko had a subplot around Katara’s necklace. Although their stories do diverge, such as most of book 2, they always return to spend the season’s finales together. They don’t drive each other’s characters forward as much as they represent milestones in each other’s stories. You cannot remove their scenes together and have the rest of the show make sense.

——————

In conclusion, Zuko and Katara’s characters follow a story of mutual suffering, personal development, and deep friendship. They have a common experience of sacrifice, sorrow, and unflinching compassion. These experiences have narrative weight because they act as development, redemption, and forgiveness catalysts, creating a connection that ultimately serves as a reminder of how far they’ve come.

[imsorrythatimweird101-blog]

**Using gateway tapes for void state*

Many people (especially Tumblr, I see y'all) are really interested in the void state. Me too honestly but here's the information that I got about the void state through the gateway tapes.

**By One-lawfulness**

“Glad to see others here who also use the gateway tapes. I'm starting to believe we'll 1 you can shift with them but more so F15 is essentially the void state. It seems they are described the same way.”

“ body asleep/ mind awake is indeed F10. However the void state from what I read is when your pure awareness. You don't feel the body, you can't see, hear, touch, etc. There is no body at all your simply awareness. There's a post I believe in one of the shifting groups where someone linked and reposted a Twitter post where someone went into detail on what is and isn't the void state. All I know is the void state while it shouldn't be hard to reach isn't as simple as some think. But it makes sense since it seems shifting, manifesting, etc is all instant from it.

This should link to the post

https://www.reddit.com/r/shiftingrealities/comments/18swmdp/definitive_guide_to_the_void_state/?share_id=1dj52vByrbmI3Q7rNmULO&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=

Well they say the focus levels are different for everyone but there are some general guidelines to it. Some where someone linked a page with a brief description of each focus level and when you read F15 I think or maybe 12 it's described as a void.

But if your looking for manifesting it seems some say you can do that in F10, 12, and 15 but I assume it's easier the higher you go.

(It's F15)

If I find the page with the focus level description I'll link it also

Found it

https://www.monroeinstituteuk.org/focus-levels/

Personal experience

what's recommended is once you get there the first thing is to manifest being able to enter it easily. Then from there do as you wish. That could work. I assume using it along with LOA is a great combo to help get into the void state the first time. When I was first trying the void state before using the gateway tapes I was in F10 essentially and couldn't fully go into it.

I stayed with F10 for a while but realized I was holding myself back because F10 wasn't hard to enter and I was saying I needed to master it first.

**By Beautiful_V**

F10 is SATS. SATS is the mind awake body asleep, you repeat a scene to mnaifest but that isn’t SATS it’s the state you do that hence state akin to sleep. You can manifest all the time using it! Instead of affirmations (lullaby method) I visualize until I fall asleep in this state. The trick is you can’t be too tired or too awake. Or even better just do it during a nap never takes me more than 3 days.

**Beautiful_v manifesting method**

“My routine”

-Do Wim Hof breathing technique

-Have theta waves immediately playing afterwards

-Count to whatever gets me to floaty feeling at first it was 500, now it’s 200/300 when you lose count just go back to the nearest 100th so you don’t fall asleep

-when I get the floaty feeling it means I’m about to fall asleep so affirm or visualize desired results.

-fall asleep in the wish fulfilled there will be no time for you to doubt because you’ll be too tired

-do this for 3-5 days it works in less depends on your beliefs but I always say 3 days because that’s what I read from Neville so I adopted that mindset !

**Big_suggestion9**

“Yes F10 is considered the void state”

Background: he has his own YouTube channel and is currently on wave 3 tape 6! He's personally like a mentor to me because I ask him about stuff. This is what he personally told me.

He's experience

https://youtube.com/@TheGatewayExperience?feature=shared

**My opinion**

Everyone is right in this discussion. Gateway tapes are based on personal experience. **No matter what, you need enter F10 for anything. Shifting, astral projection, void state. F10 void state or not. To achieve anything you need to achieve F10!**

**What do you recommend?**

You want to go into a void state? Then finish gateway tapes for F10 (gateway 1). Then do F12, after MASTERING everything. Go to manifest tape and affirm that you can go to void state instantly or whatever affirmation you want. Simple as that

**PLEASE READ**

(All credit to them, I did remove some digits from the username. Please do not contact them! I don't want to have a bunch of people flooding their Dms. If you have questions about it. Ask me and I will message them personally if it's that's okay. THANK YOU!)

[stargirlfeyre]

The problem I have with the Valkyries friendship. PT 1

I wasn’t going to write this because I usually can’t be bothered to care about the friendship among these three but if their fans are so obsessed with over analyzing Feyre’s relationships…why can’t we?

One of the main reasons people love to say that the Valkyries are better than than IC is because they would never choose anyone over Nesta but the problems lies in the fact that…they have no one to choose over her.

Let’s break it down.

Gwyn has no one in her life right now. No family and no close friends outside of the Valkyries. I mean you can say that she’s friends with some of the priestesses but close friends? The same can be said for Emerie. She has a family but an abusive one. She is an outcast in her community, runs her shop alone, and like Gwyn has no friends outside of the Valkyries.

Their friendship with one another isn’t even treated as important as their friendship with Nesta. Because of this they look less like a trio and more like Nesta and Gwyn//Nesta and Emerie.If one of them is mad at Nesta who are they going to go to? The other person in their group who also is friends with Nesta and has loyalty towards her? Y’all say that Gwyn and Emerie would never put anyone over Nesta and does that include one another? Is their loyalty and friendship towards Nesta more important than the one they have with each other? In canon it sure is treated as such.

Praising the Valkyries because they would never put anyone above Nesta is not only a void point because they have no one to put above her, but it’s also reinforces the toxic view a lot of Nesta fans have when it comes to her relationships. They don’t want her to have friends, they want her to have followers. They want undying loyalty and turn a blind eye to the obvious shitty writing when it comes to Gwyn’s and Emerie’s relationships outside of Nesta because them lacking those relationships means that Nesta will always have that undying loyalty.

A problem that people have with the Valkyries is they aren’t their own characters when you really think about it. A lot of their characterization surrounds Nesta. And that’s why Nesta’s fans have zero problem with them. Whereas when it comes to the Inner Circle they are their own people before they are Feyre or Rhys’ friends. They have multiple people who are important to them instead of their lives just revolving around this one person. Their relationships with one another is equally as important as their relationships with Feysand.

Gwyn and Emerie are less characters and more like tools for Nesta’s healing journey. All confirmed when, after hearing about how Nesta abused her sister, Emerie of all people went on to say she’s absolved of any fault. Emerie, who is a victim of familial abuse herself, thought it was her place to forgive Nesta’s abuse towards other people. You genuinely want me to believe that some of the things these girls do weren’t written with the sole intention of healing Nesta?

They are not their own people. That’s why it’s easy for this fandom to self-insert onto Gwyn and blatantly ignore Emerie. They don’t have a big enough presence in these books to force you to pay attention to who they actually are. Without Nesta they kind of just fade into the background. You can hate or love members of the IC but at the end of the day you see them.

There’s also a lot to be said about their relationship from Nesta’s end and why she latched onto them…

[dingodad]

Ok, so this has driven me crazy for the longest time. What the fuck happened to post retcon Japsersprite? The one we know is from pre retcon, since he was on John’s planet when he brought it into the void. Nothing was ever mentioned to happen to post retcon Jaspers, so where is he. I can’t believe Hussie forgot about him, he didn’t forget about the two Nannasprites. Did post retcon Jaspersprite just not exist? Maybe he died on LOWAS when Typheus blew it up, but there is no mention of that at all. I guess only Jade or the Nanna’s would know then, but nothing is ever said about it. Also is there a way to know if the Arquius that becomes lord English is the pre or post retcon version?

i'm gunna play good cop bad cop here cus there's an answer you don't want to hear and then there's a sort of interesting consolation prize answer at the end.

the answer you don't want to hear: it doesn't matter! :P i don't think this really needs explaining but the whole point of davepeta/jasprose's ultimate self spiels is that tying yourself in knots trying to figure out who's "pre-retcon" and who's "post-retcon" is, as they say, for the birds. john is john is john. hussie didn't "forget" that there are supposed to be two jaspersprites: while a story can occasionally get away with having two Daves or two Roses because Dave and Rose have interesting things to say to themselves, the fact that homestuck has even ONE character called jaspersprite simply strains the reader's ability to give a shit. there is the room nor the need for TWO jaspersprites, of all the damnedest things.

(there can be two nannasprites because two nannasprites are funny - but if there's one thing worse than creating the same CHARACTER twice, it's telling the same JOKE twice.)

the other answer is about sprites in particular. do you know why video game graphics used to be called "sprites"? i only thought to look this up just recently: it's because, like the fairies or spirits of folklore from which they get their name, they float above the background of the game world without interacting with it directly. this should form the basis for our understanding of homestuck's kernelsprite, as well, which borrows both from folklore and from computer programming. they are of course ghosts on a literal level, with spritely undead tails and the ability to pass through walls and physical barriers like they weren't there - but the way they interact with the story itself is similarly ethereal-and-or-ephemeral.

sprites appear at the whim of the heroes to serve a very particular purpose - which, you will notice, is exactly what davepeta says they're doing when they show up in hell - but then the moment that purpose is complete they might as well stop existing. dave- and jadesprite show up inexplicably on the battlefield as the reckoning begins: are they killing themselves now that their purposes are complete? where are all the lususprites, anyway; did they do the same thing? erisolsprite initially seems to indicate that he's going to fuck off and possibly explode like all the other sprites who hate themselves, but then just shows up again 200 pages later later at the convenience of the trickster arc. the same is true of all the sprites presumed-dead following the events of GAME OVER, who show up as-needed in the new timeline to form the next generation of redundant ghost freaks. this is simply how sprites operate. whether they're "alive" or "dead" at any given moment is the wrong way of looking at it - they're ghosts for goodness' sake!!

the fact that the story never tells us what happened to "that other jaspersprite" is supposed to make us think less about it, not more, because knowing where one of them is - the "ultimate" one, in fact - should be enough to put our minds at ease. but it also deliberately leaves the door open for another jaspersprite to show up if the story ever somehow, against all odds, finds a place to squeeze one in. which is again exactly what the plot point is currently doing with sprites like erisol, who for all intents and purposes was dead up until the moment page 666 started

[nana-mania]

“IN THE WAKE OF STARS” he realized he's at wrong, but at what cost?

╰┈➤: ̗̀➛ oneshot

࿐*ೃ feat : michael kaiser

࿐*ೃ fandom : blue lock

࿐*ೃ extra : gn! reader, angst

࿐*ೃ trigger warning : toxic relationship, major angst

╰┈➤: ̗̀➛ YOU never imagined that love could feel like this — like standing at the edge of a cliff, heart in your throat, staring into a void of unspoken words and lost time. Yet, here you are, watching him — Michael — the man you’ve loved for two years, the man who made you feel like you weren’t even real anymore.

“You’re always so clingy,” he spits the words like they’re a chore to say. "It’s pathetic."

It wasn’t always like this. You remember the early days, when his smile lit up rooms and his laughter was like music you could dance to. Michael, with his blond hair tousled perfectly, his sharp eyes full of ambition, was intoxicating. He had a fire in him, a drive to be better, to be more than everyone else.

You admired him for that, at first. Maybe you even envied him a little. But the closer you got to him, the more you realized how fragile that confidence was, how much of it was a performance for the world. And as that fragile arrogance grew, so did his cruelty.

Michael would stand in front of the mirror, tracing the blue rose tattoo on his neck, a symbol he claimed was for achieving the impossible. You would stand in the doorway, trying to remind him that he didn’t need to be impossible for you. You just wanted him to be there. To be present.

But he wasn’t. Not for you.

“You should’ve known what you were getting into,” he said once, during one of those long nights where you barely spoke, and when you did, it was only to wound each other. “I’m not like anyone else. I’m going to be the best. And you? You’re just… here.”

Just here. That was all you’d become to him — an afterthought. An accessory to his rise, nothing more. Your heart twisted every time he looked at you like that, like you were nothing. But still, you stayed. You thought if you could just be patient, if you could love him enough, he’d eventually see you again. The way he did in the beginning.

But Michael’s world didn’t have space for anyone else. He was the star of his own life, and everyone else, including you, was just a background actor. And yet, you stayed.

Until the night it all fell apart.

“Are you cheating on me?” His voice was cold, devoid of any warmth or trust. The accusation hit you like a punch to the stomach.

“What?” Your voice cracked, disbelief flooding your chest. “Michael, I would never—”

“Don’t lie to me.” He leaned in, his blue eyes hard, piercing, a storm of jealousy and superiority brewing in their depths. “I’ve seen the way you’ve been talking to Alexis. Do you think I’m stupid?”

Tears stung your eyes. You had only talked to Alexis because he was one of the few people who actually saw you, who noticed how small and invisible you had become in Michael’s shadow.

“I’m not cheating on you, Michael,” you whispered, your voice trembling. “But maybe if you paid more attention to me, you wouldn’t feel so threatened by someone who actually listens.”

For a moment, his expression faltered. Just for a second, you saw something human flicker in his eyes — doubt, fear, something close to regret. But then it was gone, replaced by that same arrogance.

“If you can’t be loyal, then leave,” he said, stepping back, his tone dismissive. “I don’t need you.”

That was it. That was the moment you broke.

Something inside you shattered, something that had been holding you together all this time. You weren’t angry anymore; you were just empty. Hollow. His words no longer had the power to hurt you because you had nothing left to feel.

So you left.

You packed your things that night, your hands shaking but your heart numb. Michael didn’t try to stop you. He didn’t say a word. And you didn’t look back.

Days turned into weeks, and you found yourself drifting closer to Alexis. He was kind, gentle, and in the quiet moments you spent together, you remembered what it felt like to be seen. To be heard.

Michael noticed. Of course he did.

At first, he didn’t care. Why should he? He was Michael Kaiser, the man who couldn’t be touched by anyone. But then he saw you laughing with Alexis. He saw the way your eyes lit up, the way you smiled — a smile he hadn’t seen in months, if not longer.

And suddenly, it hit him. The loneliness. The emptiness. The realization that the person he had taken for granted, the one who had always been there, was now smiling for someone else.

One evening, he showed up at your door.

"Y/n." His voice was softer than you remembered, quieter. “We need to talk.”

You stared at him, the man who had once been your whole world, standing there like a ghost of the past. You didn’t want to let him in. But some part of you, that old part that still remembered the good times, hesitated.

So you let him in.

“I’ve been thinking,” he began, pacing the room like a caged animal. “About us. About… me.”

You stayed silent, arms crossed over your chest. You couldn’t trust your voice, couldn’t trust yourself not to break down if you spoke.

“I was wrong,” he said finally, stopping to look at you. There was something in his eyes now that you hadn’t seen before — vulnerability. “I pushed you away. I got so caught up in trying to be… something, I didn’t see what I was doing to you.”

“Kaiser,” you said, your voice barely above a whisper. “It’s too late.”

He flinched as though your words had physically hit him. “No. It’s not. We can fix this. I can fix this. I’ll do better, I swear.”

You shook your head, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. “You don’t understand. I loved you, Michael. I gave you everything I had, and it still wasn’t enough for you.”

His hands clenched into fists at his sides. “I know, and I’m sorry. I was— I was so focused on surpassing everyone, I didn’t realize I was leaving you behind.”

You took a shaky breath, trying to hold yourself together. “Do you even hear yourself? You still think this is about you. It’s always been about you.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out. He stood there, frozen, as the truth settled in.

“You can’t fix this,” you said, your voice breaking. “I’m broken, Kaiser. Because of you.”

He stepped forward, desperate now, his arrogance gone, replaced by something raw and desperate. “Please, Y/n. I’ll change. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

But it was too late. The cracks he had put in you had run too deep. The love you once had for him was gone, buried beneath the weight of his indifference, his cruelty. You had nothing left to give.

“I can’t,” you whispered, tears streaming down your face. “I can’t do this anymore.”

Michael stood there, watching you cry, watching the last remnants of your relationship crumble before his eyes. And for the first time in his life, he wasn’t the star. He was just another person who had lost the one thing that mattered.

You turned away from him, your heart shattered but resolute. This was the end.

And as he walked out of your life, you couldn’t help but wonder if he finally understood what it felt like to be left behind.

࿐*ೃ thanks for reading this short scenario! likes, interaction and reblogs are deeply appreciated ♡

[pinkies-senses]

Bittersweet apples 🍏

Sweet apple acres was quiet, an odd scene for that piece of land as it was filled to the brim with juicy red fruits. Perfect for the taking, and yet… left untouched.

Each tree stood strong, bearing apples in different sizes and slightly different shapes. At this point, Apple Jack and Big Mac would’ve been hard at work, bucking those ripe fruits out of their leafy beds and into hoof crafted baskets.

But that quiet noon, in that vibrant green orchard, held a great unease.

The clouds were shifting in panic despite their schedule, likely the Pegasus’ doing, but Apple Jack barely paid mind to the unusual weather.

Not with the poorly hidden sobs from her younger sister filling her sensitive ears.

…And that viscous sensation that was drying and crusting on the fur of her back legs…

Apple Jack trailed behind a covered wagon that was being pulled by her older brother, Big Mac, with little Apple Bloom inside.

Despite the big wagon, it was light with very little inside.

Apple Bloom, some packages of food and tanks of water were jostled around slightly due to the uneven, gravelly road the three ponies were taking. Other than that (minus the sobbing), it was quiet.

None of them wished to speak, not after the tragedy that was forcefully bestowed on the recently. The metaphorical wounds were still fresh, as fresh as the crimson that tainted Apple Jack.

Her deep emerald eyes were locked onto the back of the Wagon, empty and void. Her throat tightened so bitterly, she knew the moment she spoke, her words would come out strained and painful.

So she let her mind get lost in the numbness inside of her, leaving her with nothing to think of.

A blank slate.

The sniffles halted momentarily, but still present before a weak voice called out from the wagon.

“…Big Mac… where are we goin’?”

Big Mac didn’t seem to hear the small voice behind him over his own thoughts and hoof beats against the dirt, so Apple Jack sucked up her pain and desire to not speak.

“Evacuatin’.” Was all Apple Jack said.

She heard a little hoof scrap against the wagon’s floor, likely her sister moving to get up, before she saw the reddened misty eyes peek through the wagon covering.

“But… why? A-and where? … Because you killed Granny?” Her voice, although mournful and tired, held animosity and anger.

“APPLE BLOOM!” Apple Jack yelled in disbelief and fury.

“How DARE-“ but before she could finish her sentence, Big Mac’s booming voice quickly dashed out fire was starting between the two sisters.

“ENOUGH OUT OF BOTH OF YOU.”

A quiet hush fell over all of them, only the gravel beneath their wheels and hooves acting as background noise.

The silence from him afterward was as deafening as his sudden outburst. Apple Jack and Apple Bloom knew that their usual mute brother only spoke a complete sentence when he felt he needed to or if he was incredibly upset.

It wasn’t too long before the red pony grunted out another response to the two.

“Apple Jack did what she did to save you. Granny was sick-“

“She wasn’t hurtin’ nopony, Big Mac-“ Apple Bloom protested but was interrupted by her older brother.

“She. Was. Ill. Apple Bloom. Of course she wasn’t trying to hurt nopony, but her sickness would have killed you too.” He said gruffly.

“But…” Apple Bloom started before giving up silently.

“Apple Jack.”

The said pony stared into the wagon, trying to stare into the back of her brother’s head.

“She’s still a filly. She don’t understand what is happenin’. She just watched our granny die.”

“Big Mac…”

“Apple Bloom needs to know what’s goin’ on, you can’t just kill somepony and not elaborate.”

Big Mac paused a moment before finishing his lecture.

“Later when we find a place to settle, you and I will have a talk. Alone.”

For the first time in hours, a gentle gust of wind rustled the apple trees. The three of them were silent once more.

Apple Jack opened and closed her mouth… before repeating the process three more times.

What more would there be to discuss? What could Apple Jack say to any of this?

The tragedy of having to forcefully take her own mother figure’s life was a hard blow to her already, but the way her little sister spoke to her as though she was some rabid animal for doing so…

What was there to say to that?

To be continued….

[trashisstillhere]

Some Ninja Randy related art I just wanted to post right now. But it’s not just the og, but some different versions of him that I had made long time ago and decided to try drawing again today!

Oh boy, I haven’t thought of these guys in a very long time until now. Some of you who has seen some art from both my old account and the old ones in this account may know of them (expect for Bad Ending!Randy, I never really showed him, I think). And yes, I will kinda explain each one of them since the rest of you probably don’t know about them at all so here we go.

1. Evil! Randy

an evil version of Randy, with all the chaos pearls in his disposal now that the sorcerer is fully gone. And no, not in the way like in the season 2 finale but like…well.. let’s just say, he’s still trapped.

staying in the now abandoned norrisville high school (what happen to everyone in there? No body knows), Evil! Randy is mostly alone by himself, plotting and thinking about what to do next now that everything with him has changed.

If he ever does get a visitor in the school, he seems quite calm and wise towards them, showing them around and even asking them for favours to help him a little around the place, give him company as he haven’t had some in so long…..but don’t be fooled. Remember, those green orbs corrupts whoever has them and this Randy is no different.

Howard’s and the Nomicons whereabouts in this au? currently unknown.

The only new thing about him right now are those few green glowing cracks on his suit and all, I thought those would look cool on him.

——

2. Horror! Randy

Now you can easily find this guys story and first drawings of him on my account. Just click on the Rc9gn tag while staying on my account, scroll far down and you’ll find it. Easy peasy. But if you’re too lazy, I’ll give you a short(er) and quick version.

This Randy’s story takes place back in season 1, right after he just became the ninja and a few days passed. He meets some evil spirit who takes a form of a ninja and tricks him into thinking that it’s from the nomicon and that there’s people who are monsters in disguise’s that he has to ‘get rid of’. Because of this along with illusions from the spirit to make it more believable, he ends up killing lots of innocents, even Howard which he immediately feels tons of regret and guilt for.

At the end, Randy becomes a lonely mess, a lost cause, a paranoid psycho ninja who now can’t tell the difference between an actual monster and a human thanks to the manipulation of the fake ninja spirit who is now suddenly gone along with the illusions.

Basically, this is a fucked up Randy who suffers a lot and is very lonely. He does kill though.

—-

3. Disbelief! Randy

This Randy is kinda based on and inspired by the disbelief Papyrus Undertale Au. But instead of Papyrus with Sans jacket on, it’s the poor ninja boy with Howard’s. Most of this one is just Randy wearing the only thing he has left of his dead friend, trying to avenge him. Who or what got Howard killed? From what I remember (I never wrote any of these guys stories down) it was Mcfist and Viceroy, it was an accident with a robot of theirs. They never meant to have it kill the guy but it just…happen.

Damn, I have two au’s where Howard is dead. Good lord-

—-

4. Bad Ending! Randy

One I have never shown here before.

This was first a ‘what if’ thing. Like what if at the season 2 finale, in the battle between the sorcerer and Randy, it ended up terribly wrong? With Julian and Howard coming in too late, The sorcerer successfully stabs Randy deeply in the chest, making him be the one to lose and slowly die. The last things he got to see and hear at the end is a concerned Julian, a devastated crying Howard and the laughter of his enemy in the background.

After dying with one last breath, Randy ends up in a void. A blank, white, empty void with no one else but him, who is now mostly black and white, expect for the bleeding wound on his chest, a painful reminder of his defeat. Well, the nomicon is with him. However, he can’t communicate with it anymore.

Why? Because the book, that is also lost of color like the boy, seems to be corrupted. Not like evil corruption but just some kind of corruption that keeps it shut and quiet, no glowing, no beeps, nothing, having this sort of ink all over the cover that never stops dripping and keeps its pages sticky and shut tight.

Randy doesn’t understand this and the place he is stuck in but all he does know is he can’t get help anymore and he can’t even get to see what is going on in his home right now, though he assumes that it’s now slowly turning into a chaotic wasteland thanks to the sorcerer. All he can do now is cry and cry, mumbling to himself and getting mad at himself for losing so easily like that, probably even developing self hatred in the process.

There is actually some continuation i made for this with a good ending, where Randy somehow is able to fix the Nomicon, get out of the endless white void, get revived, reunite with Howard along with many others and finally defeat the sorcerer once and for all. Though that one never got finished and from what I remember, it’s not really canon and not a true ending to this au so….oops.

——————

But yeah, these are my Randy Au’s. There is kinda a few more but not really.

[ravcns]

Runaway

Batfam x batsis!reader

info: growing up in the spotlight does some damage especially when you can’t catch a break, reader was adopted by bruce and this takes place in the last year of highschool

F/F/P = favorite food place

part: 1 2 3 4

Four girls walked together being escorted by a few staff members, flashing lights from students holding up their phones went off. The tallest one shielded the shorter girl’s face from the cameras until they arrived at the principals office. “Thank you Marie.” The girl smiled, “No problem. Is your dad coming or is he in some fancy conference?” She asked you, causing a laugh to escape from you. “He cant even make it to dinner I doubt he would make it to this.” You told her as the four of you sat in different chairs. “I wish my parents were chill my mom is going to kill me.” Camilla said, hugging her legs to her chest. “You’re so lucky that your dad never bothers you Y/N.” You forced a smile, “Yeah.”

Time seemed to move slow in the office. Nobody spoke to the girls, making them more nervous. The secretary that everybody knew was hooking up with their principal even though he was a married man would give them dirty looks every few minutes. Her name was Cheryl and she was one of the people who always managed to get your friend group in trouble, trying to get into the principal’s good graces. Eventually one by one each girl was called in until it was you. Your heart broke at the sight of Loralei coming out crying and her mom dropping a smile, immediately yelling at her in french. The secretary came out “Y/N Wayne.” She called your name with distaste. “L/N.” You said standing up and following her to the office.

The principal, Mr. Anderson, sat at his desk with a grim expression. “Take a seat Miss Wayne, you can leave Cheryl.” The old door creaked as it closed. “Miss Wayne-” “L/N.” You corrected him. “Miss L/N, are you aware of the trouble that you are in?” Then he continued, “Here at Gotham Academy we have a reputation to uphold. It seems you continuously try to tarnish that even though you come from a good background.” “Just because some rich dude adopts a kid does not mean they had a good background.” You said those last two words sarcastically. “Your father hasn’t answered any of our calls. Do you have a second contact that we can inform of the situation to come down here?” Mr. Anderson asked. You didn’t want to call the golden child but your first option was legally dead. “Dick Grayson, I’ll write down his number.” You tuned everything out when he called your brother.

Three knocks rang out before Mr. Anderson spoke, “Come in.” “I have Mr. Grayson here.” Cheryl informed him. You wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear. The uniform you had on felt suffocating. “Mr. Anderson, Hi.” Dick greeted, taking the seat next to you. He looked at you weirdly which you couldn’t understand why until you inhaled the scent on your clothes.“Thank you for being here on such short notice.” Mr. Anderson shuffled some papers in front of him. “Y/N was among a group of girls who were caught by a staff member skipping classes in the girls lockeroom.” “Don’t you guys usually give detention for these things?” Dick asked, hoping you weren’t participating in the activity that caused the smell. “Mr. Grayson this isn’t her first offense. That’s not all they were also smoking the female staff member who walked in caught your sister with this.” He took your cart out to show him. Dick sighed, “What’s the punishment?” “We can kick her out of the school and this will be on her permanent record. It would make it quite difficult for Y/N to attend another school up to these standards.” He paused for a second as an idea crossed his mind, “$200 for this incident to be erased and for her to keep attending. This deal will be void if she manages to break the rules again during the last three months of school.” Dick took the deal and grabbed your arm, dragging you out of your seat.

The ride home was quiet until he parked in the driveway. “How old are you now?” He asked sarcastically, resting his hands on the steering wheel. “18.” “You need to act your age I don’t know what’s going on but what you pulled today was stupid. What would have happened if he wasn’t greedy? You wouldn’t be able to get into any colleges with that on your record.” You stared out the window at the suddenly intimidating house, “I’m getting suspended from patrol aren’t I?” You knew it was pointless asking, once Bruce heard about what had happened today you would be lucky if you were only suspended for awhile. “Just go inside.” Dick said, not meeting your eyes. So you did what he told you. As soon as you were out the front door you saw him through the windshield looking upset then he pulled out the driveway, quickly speeding off.

The house seemed empty you just locked the door and went up to your room, finally checking your phone. There was an active facetime call in your friends group chat so you joined. They all greeted you then Loralei asked, “So what happened?” You took a seat at your desk before speaking, “That greedy bitch wanted a bribe and my brother had to pay him.” “So that’s why he said it was taken care of and wouldn’t be on our record they had you pay.” Camila stated, clearly disgusted. “Way to take one for the team.” Marie joked. “I don’t even want to be here right now. When Bruce finds out what happened I am screwed.” You were afraid of what could happen then again how does somebody go from being an unwanted 17 year old in an orphanage to some famous potential heir to a company. Suddenly the group chat with all your siblings started going crazy. Then a phone call from crowbar chomper came in. “Hold on my brother is calling me.” You accepted it, “Hello.” “My dear sister it seems that you have gotten into some trouble.” Jason said. The sound of wind could be heard in the background so you assumed he was on his motorcycle. “Yes it appears that way.” He laughed, “If you want to lay low for the weekend come to my apartment. I already spoke to Roy he’s cool with it.” The offer was tempting so you took it. “Sounds good, I’ll pack a bag.” “Roy will be there in ten minutes. We planned to kidnap you if you didn’t say yes.” Jason informed you, causing a smile to grace your face for the first time that day. “Love you too.” You said. “I’ll see you later Cliff jumper.” He said then hung up. The name came from the amount of times you have been thrown off of a cliff or just even high places in general. You finished packing your bag then grabbed your backup cart.

Time passed quickly and soon Roy called you. “I’m out front.” He said. “I’ll be down in a sec.” You hung up then left your room. However on the couch downstairs was Damian. “L/N, making your escape?” He words held distaste, which was new. You and him got along pretty well since he was only a year younger than you. “Yes and I would appreciate it if you don’t tell Bruce until he realizes it.” You explained, hoping he would agree. “Okay.” Damian looked like he wanted to say something but just went back to looking at his phone, probably texting Rachel. You quickly walked out the front door, jumping in Roy’s car. “Wanna stop and get food? We have to go grocery shopping tomorrow morning.” He told you. “Sure, can we get something from F/F/P?” You asked. “Sounds good.”

At the apartment you two sat on the stools in front of the counter, talking about the most random things. The topic of father figures came up. “Does it ever get easier?” You asked him. Roy took a sip of his drink then answered, “Sometimes, other times shit can happen. You can still fix things you know? You haven’t even spoken to Bruce yet.” “He is always in some fucking meeting even when I finally see him he just suspends me for a week or two. It’s like I’m just something he quickly tries to deal with and then ignore it until there is a problem again.” You explained to him. “Kid you still got years to figure this stuff out, but you will.” He took a bite of his food then spoke after he finished chewing, “And hey maybe the family dynamic just isn’t working, it’s not your fault. The Batgirl mantle can become something else.” Suddenly you weren’t interested in your food anymore. “I can see it but that’s the problem, I don’t know who I am if i’m not her. Everyone else who had the title did so much but I keep making mistakes.” Roy had this knowing look on his face. “Your 18 now I say let Bruce suspend Batgirl, pick up a new mantle, and figure it out from there. Or you could start a regular life who knows, it may do wonders.”

The front door opened and Jason walked in, taking a seat across from you. “So what are we talking about?” He asked. “I think it’s time this bat flew the cave.” Roy said. “Now that sounds like a plan.” Jason stated, stealing some of your food. You picked up your phone to see the time, they would all be out on patrol right now. You took the time to update your friends, choosing the larger group chat first; arkham escapees. They thought you faced the wrath of Bruce. Once being informed of what happened Eunwoo complained, “Who’s going to set me up with her hot brother now.” When asked who he meant the junior replied with, “All of them.” But then also added how he hoped you were okay and didn’t get sent off to some reform school upstate New york or some rural midwest one. You sent a quick text, “guys i am ok i didn’t see bruce yet i’m staying w my brother at his place 🫡.” Then you checked the news. Jason and Roy talking to one another while you scrolled. Texts came in from your friends Kim, Callan, Thalia, Jake, Evan, and Naomi. “next thing you know they got her on the news as a runaway.” Naomi joked. “#FREE Y/N 2023.” Jake said. “retweet” Thalia replied. “Ok but what if the news actually does coverage on this?” Eunwoo asked. “Don’t speak that into existence smh.” Kim told him.

Suddenly your phone started ringing and you threw it down on the table. Jason took a look at who was calling and said, “Just answer it they can track your phone so they know your here.” You turned you phone off, Taking out your personal one that you have under an account with a fake id. You texted the other gc they had with this number. “ou she’s on her burner phone guys.” Camila said. “it’s an iphone 12 pro goodbye.” you told them. “Since when did you have that? Jason asked. “Around six months after I moved in.” You replied.

It was 11:00pm and you were growing tired. Jason noticed and said, “Take my room I will take the couch.” “No it’s fine I can sleep on the couch.” You said. “Y/N, I will put you in there and board up the door. There’s enough granola bars to last you a month and the bathroom is connected to there so you will be good.” He joked. “Okay Okay I’ll take the bed. Goodnight.” You got up and grabbed your bag and went to the room. It was very clean which surprised you but then again, they usually were sleeping at their safe houses or on missions somewhere. The group chat had a call going for an hour or two then you told them goodnight and left to try and sleep. Unlike other things today, sleep came easy for you.

Someone was banging on the front door. You texted the group chat to see who was awake. “bitch someone is at my brothers front door knocking like crazy.” Evan responded immediately, “prob eunwoo tryna get his man.” “I know I thirst over her brothers but keep in mind me and Drew are dating plus we both do so it’s okay.” His text was followed by a picture of him and his partner together on the couch, Drew holding up a picture of Tim and Dick. “tim is literally 20 and dick is even older also how does this help nobody seems to have woken up do i go check.” You texted. “everything aside i think your family probably sent the search party by now.” Drew said, they were being realistic so you decided to get up to go check. “wish me luck.” You sent your last text.

The apartment was dark, dimly lit by the street lights from outside and the moon. You kept your footsteps quiet and checked the peephole. Out of all people you did not expect him. You texted the group chat, “speak of the devil and he shall appear it was tim guys.” “Then who’s place are you at? I thought Dick lived in Bludhaven.” Drew asked. Time to play sibling roulette. You typed up a response, “at dukes place with his friend.” The knocking started up again. This time Jason woke up asking, “Who’s at the door?” “Tim.” You told him. “I’ll answer it go to the room.” He told you, instead you stood in the hallway by the two bedrooms out of site. Roy opened his door, rubbing his eyes, “Do you know what time-” You shushed him, “Tim is here keep it down I wanna eavesdrop.” Jason opened the door, “How much coffee did you drink that you had to come here at four in the morning?” “Y/N didn’t come home and never responded to our group chat. I know she’s here.” Tim said. Jason pretended to be annoyed, “She left yesterday a little bit before midnight, sorry.” He went to close the door. “So you wouldn’t mind if I took a look around?” The younger one asked. Roy came up with an idea, opening his bedroom door so you could go in then he normally walked up to them. “What’s going on I’m trying to sleep.” You could tell Roy stayed here more often based on the state of his room. “Jason I’m tired and don’t feel like playing games, where is she?” Tim asked again. Roy started talking and trying to sympathize with him by saying, “I understand how worried you all must be. I’ll shoot Y/N a text seeing if she wants to hang out to see if she responds.”

Two figures stepped out, one on each side of Tim. Dick and Damian. Dick pushed the door further open and walked inside, looking around. The other two followed. “Tim stay here with them, Damian check Roy’s bedroom I will check Jason’s. It sounded like people were getting closer and you looked around. There wasn’t much hiding space and you knew you were being irrational at this point. You just did not want to go back there right now so you hid in a stupid place, the closet. Footsteps could be heard in the bedroom you had accepted your fate by now. The closet door opened, “You know you could have left through the window.” He said. “Wanna do me a favor?” You asked. “No, father is actually extremely upset about the stunt you pulled in school.” Damian told you, grabbing your arm to get you out of the closet. “Sorry.” He said.

The three men in the entry way looked up when Damian and you came into view. “Thought she wasn’t here?” Dick sarcastically questioned. “Can we go now? I want to sleep.” Tim stated. Jason and Roy looked at you sympathetically as they your siblings escorted you out and to the car. After being on the road for awhile in silence Dick spoke up, “B said he will talk to you after the gala tomorrow.” You had forgotten all about that event. Once again when Dick dropped everyone he sped away very quickly. When you all walked in everyone parted ways. They didn’t even look at you. In your room you changed into fluffy pants and a hoodie then left to go to Cass’ room. Reaching the outside of her room the door opened sometimes you are still surprised by how easily she senses someone being there. She let you in and you cried in her arms. There were many nights like this where your sister comforted you even without saying much, “It will be okay sleep now.” You were almost sorry that you planned on leaving once school ended but decided to push that thought away, falling into a dreamless sleep.

[island-in-the-shadows]

The Finale, the Devil, His Minion & His Turning

Before I begin, let me state with clarity that I am not an expert in book lore. I’m, at best, semi-pro. I, however, do my due diligence when it comes to my passions and my hyperfixations and this has been one that has stuck around for most of my life. So, I wanted to weigh into the whole Devil’s Minion situation as pertains to how S2 ended as well as implications for the future of it combined with the bits and pieces of things we’ve heard RJ etc say regarding it. I know this is all a big kerfuffle one way or the other. I’m writing this mostly for myself, but I wanted to share with anyone who wants to read because fandom metas are fun even if we disagree with parts of them or even the whole of them. So, disclaimer aside, strap in for this very long post…

Let's talk about Devil's Minion and the implications of the Season 2 finale.

First things first, let’s discuss Daniel Molloy. He’s a difficult guy and I get why there’s a bunch of people who dislike him even though I can’t relate. I love him. I love that he’s a sassy loudmouth who has even louder opinions and can be horribly inappropriate. I love that, when he’s doing his thing, he’s like a dog with a bone and he won’t let go. I love that he has suffered for it because the consequence of being a dog with a bone, of having an addictive personality, of having sarcasm and sass as a defence mechanism, and of having a truly atrocious sense of self-preservation is that he got fucked up by vampires, blew up his life, “destroyed two marriages,” and “fucked up two daughters.” He’s not the character that people who want to black/white moralise this show can point to as a bastion of “goodness,” even if he was, until recently, the only human main character. In fact, it’s precisely because he was human that it made sense that he was a fucked up person. After all, all humans have their good and bad aspects. 

And then, he was turned (offscreen so that people like me can shout manically into the void). I LOVE that he was turned. I’ll get into the larger implications of it later but, for now, I want to explain why I enjoy Vampire Daniel.

For a bit of background, here’s what we know about his book counterpart in broad strokes: he smokes, he interviews Louis in San Francisco, he published Interview with the Vampire anonymously, he went to NOLA searching for Lestat but found Armand instead, cue here everything that has to do with the 12 years in which he and Armand were what they were together, he’s an ash blonde with violet eyes, he’s an addict, he’s a sarcastic loudmouth, he’s morbid, he went mad, he liked building miniature cityscapes, he spent most of the years of his madness (and some after he regained his sanity) with Marius, he and Armand reunite after +- 25-30 years of separation. That’s it. There’s a lot about him that you can certainly infer in the limited page amount where you can read about him, but that’s about it. We especially don’t get to know much about him after he is turned aside from when he got the vampire zoomies at Lestat’s concert and Maharet’s compound, his madness, Marius, his cityscapes, and his reunion with Armand.

Seeing Daniel Molloy be a vampirically amplified version of himself BY himself is, to me, extraordinary. Here, he’s, technically, unconnected to any of the other vampires and is standing on his own two feet. He chose to publish the book with his name on it (which is fucking insane when you think about it), he’s the one choosing to “call” Louis every week to check in on his bestie, he’s the one choosing to comment on some guys headphones before he eats him. In scant minutes we were presented with the vampire Daniel as an individual. This, in many ways, outdoes how he exists as a vampire in the books where he is never truly disconnected from one of two well-known vampires: Armand, and Marius. 

Secondly, we seldom, if ever, get a vampire in live-action film or TV who looks 60+ in mortal years who, by design, is a sexy swaggering sarcastic menace who wears a leather jacket, an AC/DC tee, and cunty sunglasses. I racked my brain trying to find other vampires who look “older” in human years and even asked friends to help me and, ultimately, came to the following list of best examples (but feel free to tell me more): Gary Oldman in Dracula who is made to look creepy before he gets de-aged in order to be “sexy,” Bill Nighy as Viktor in Underworld, who looks great and powerful, but he’s the villain and he’s not technically designed to inspire anything more than loathing, and Viago’s long-lost lover in What We Do in the Shadows, Katherine ( from which we get the fun Viago being a cradle snatcher meme). This is all my opinion, but it’s fantastic to have a man in his 70s with wrinkles and grey hair be turned into a vampire and be framed as desirable and powerful. Personally, I want to see more vampires who are adults and older adults vs consistently seeing teens and people in their early twenties.

That being said, as much as I love Daniel being a man/vampire in his seventies, this fact alone upends one of the major beats of the relationship between him and Armand as written in Queen of the Damned. The part that is irreparably changed has nothing to do with Daniel’s age because that is irrelevant to Armand who, in book canon, wanted Daniel to live a mortal life, much to Daniel’s chagrin. He even tells Daniel, “Don’t you realise that any one of us would give it up for one human lifetime?”

Daniel doesn't believe him but their arguments regarding mortality only have a level of resolution in 1985 when Armand turns a dying Daniel. What changes here is twofold: the first is that Akasha did not wake from her sleep (which tracks with the timeline of the show thus far, as she wakes up because of Lestat’s music and she ruins the world tour). The second is that, presuming that Daniel and Armand had a past in the 70s and 80s, which is very likely, Armand let Daniel go. Armand letting Daniel go is a HUGE change. Yes, part of him likely let Daniel go because he was still involved with Louis whereas in the book he didn’t have a partner at the time. However, presuming that Armand and Daniel’s relationship in the 70s and 80s was as codependent and obsessive as it was in the source material, letting this one mortal boy go was arguably one of the most emotionally difficult things Armand has ever had to do. It changes a whole host of things in their dynamic moving forward. 

This is why the fact that so many are turning on it now after 2x8 is a little baffling to me. I am a pessimist at heart, especially when it comes to things like this because I have been burned time and time again. It’s been a shock to me that so many who were rock solid on this after 2x5 are now panicking. And yet, I understand the concerns. 

For example, according to Louis and later repeated in interviews by Rolin and sort of by Assad, Daniel was turned out of “spite.” Assuming that this is true, it is devastating. In the source lore, Daniel was turned out of love. Armand tells Daniel he’ll turn him “[…]because I am a coward. And I love you too much to let you go.” Except, in the show’s universe, Armand has already let Daniel go once even if it wasn't because Daniel was dying. Then again do we know if the younger Daniel was dying? If he overdosed once or multiple times? No. But at some point, Armand let him go. At some point, Daniel’s memory of whatever time he spent with Armand was erased. Presuming that something like this happened, that act alone was not out of spite.

Further, it is Louis who said Daniel was “burdened out of spite.” Except Monsieur du Lac has a very particular perspective and is currently quite cross with his ex. Those words, if I may borrow from book Armand, “That’s Louis’ language.” Note that while Daniel retorts, “Make it up to me. We’ll do a follow-up book,” this comes after Louis says “I shouldn’t have left you alone with him.” Daniel neither confirms or denies that he was made out of spite. He’s, to some extent, assuaging Louis’ guilt while segueing to try to get something he wants from Louis. We didn’t see Daniel being turned so we can’t be certain where it happened or when it happened or why it happened. 

I know you’re probably reading this and going: but Rolin said they wouldn’t build the Dubai set again! Rolin said we won’t see the turning! Rolin said it was out of spite! Yes, fellow tumblrina, I know. But, like Claudia’s journals, like Louis’ or Armand’s narration of events across both seasons, anyone working on the show would have cause to obfuscate, omit, or lie. After all, was it not Rolin who also said we weren’t getting Rockstar Lestat when we are, in fact, getting Rockstar Lestat? Ah! That, my friends, is an unreliable witness.

Any creator can lie about their work for whatever reason they see fit including marketing or trying to keep spoilers away. To use a recent example, Andrew Garfield consistently and frequently lied that he was not in Spiderman: No Way Home. Oh, there was a set leak picture? No, that wasn’t him it was a double. He kept that party line until the movie came out, regardless if people knew or not. Same thing applies here and it creates doubt. The tricky part of this all is that, because Season 3 is The Vampire Lestat, it’s likely that anything we do see regarding Daniel and Armand will be quite limited. 

Another thing that truly frustrates longtime Devil’s Minion girlies, especially those who have religiously read the Devils Minion chapter (really, it’s the only thing we have to go off of because Anne Rice put Daniel on a shelf and never really took him off it except in vague mentions in other vampires’ stories and, I guess, she wanted us to go fuck ourselves because Daniel is basically a negative footnote in The Vampire Armand) is the implication that Daniel wants to know where the fuck his maker is because he has been abandoned. We keep thinking: Armand would never abandon a newly turned Daniel. I’ve seen plenty of posts and some fics fully assuming that Armand turned Daniel in the penthouse and then left him right then and there. Which tracks only if he were being made out of spite. Except, at this time, we simply do not know that that is the case. Likewise, we do not know that Armand immediately abandoned Daniel. 

Why are we assuming this? Because Louis says he left them alone? He did but, he also told Daniel to get his things because he’d “arrange a car and a plane to take you home”. With Louis’ money and power, he could’ve had Daniel on a plane to JFK in, tops, an hour. If we want to suppose that it was out of spite, then Louis just left Daniel alone with Armand right away? Louis didn’t change his clothes or pack a bag or grab a wallet to go to NOLA? He had his Amex with him at the hotel and he was wearing different clothes, so there is time unaccounted for in Dubai. Then we have to suppose that a newly turned and abandoned Daniel was alone or eating staff in the penthouse despite being expected on a flight that was probably private, because Louis wouldn’t have done it by half measure if he wanted Daniel out of there ASAP. Then we have to consider the amount of time that Louis was supposedly in NOLA. How long would it have taken him to go to NOLA, have his reunion with Lestat, wait out a hurricane, come back and find a fucked up Daniel in that penthouse? We’re still missing time.

I could present you a different scenario. I could say that Armand stalked Daniel back to NY (which would be on brand, but I digress) and turned him there out of spite or not out of spite. That Daniel remembers or doesn’t remember their past together. That Armand possibly stayed with Daniel some time until Daniel, rightfully pissed off for San Francisco or the gaslighting Armand did to Louis or directing the trial or erasing Daniel’s memories or any of the fucked up shit that Armand did in their shared past (there’s a LOT that this gremlin has done that would make Daniel angry), asked Armand to go away. I could even tell you that in Queen of the Damned Daniel and Armand fought, a lot. I could tell you that Daniel left Armand for months at a time when he was pissed off because Armand wouldn’t turn him. I could tell you that after Daniel was turned, things soured between him and Armand dramatically and, per Armand, Daniel left him.

  I can quote Queen of the Damned to state my case:

“Conversations, sparring matches, and downright fights became the rule.”

“Ugly fights, terrible fights, finally, Armand broken down, glassy-eyed with silent rage, then crying softly but uncontrollable as if some lost emotion had been rediscovered which threatened to tear him apart.”

“And the wandering started, the escaping, and Armand did not follow him. Armand would wait each time until Daniel begged to come back. Or until Daniel was beyond calling, until Daniel was on the verge of death itself. And then and only then, Armand would bring him back.”

I can quote The Vampire Armand for you in the parts relevant to Daniel to show you the contentious separation that also reeks of Armand’s self-loathing and his desire to complete his self-fulfilling prophecy even though it’s painful for me:

“…the boy, who had been my faithful mortal companion, and only sometimes an intolerable nuisance…”

“Daniel, though alive and wandering, though civil and gentle, can no more stand my company than I can stand his. Equipped with my powerful blood, he can contend with any who should be foolish enough to interrupt his plans for an evening, a month or a year, but he cannot contend with my continuous company and I cannot contend with his.”

“I pushed his face into the flesh of the first young innocent he had to slaughter for his inevitable thirst, and thereby fell off the pedestal on which he’d placed me in his demented, over imaginative, feverishly poetical and ever exuberant mortal mind.”

“[…]when gaining Daniel as a fledgling, I lost him as a mortal lover and gradually began to let him go.”

“[…] I rejoined the world in a way which I had not done since my fledgling, my one and only fledgling, Daniel Molloy, had left me. My love for Daniel had never been entirely honest, and always viciously possessive, and quite entangled with my own hatred of the world at large, and my confusion in the face of the baffling modern times which had begun to open up to me […] Daniel himself had no use for the world […] Heaping every luxury upon him, I only sickened him with mortal sweets so that finally he turned away from the riches I offered, becoming a vagabond. Mad, roaming the streets in rags, he shut out the world almost to the point of death, and I, weak, muddled, tormented by his beauty, and lusting for the living man and not the vampire he might become, only brought him over to us through the working of the Dark Trick because he would have died otherwise.”

“[…]he loathed me in his heart for having initiated him into Living Death, for having made him in one night an immortal and a regular Killer. As a mortal man, he had no real idea of the price we pay for what we are, and he did not want to learn the truth; he fled from it, in reckless dreams and spiteful wandering.”

The last sentence in the quote above fucking bullshit, by the way, because Daniel actively asked to see Armand kill and Armand told him no but, whatever.

“and so it was as I feared. Making him to be my mate, I made a minion who saw me all the more clearly as a monster. […] There was never any chance, no matter how beautiful the twilight gardens in which we wandered. Our souls were out of tune, our desires crossed and our resentments too common and well watered for the final flowering.”

But for all those quotes, for all the extrapolating, and for all the suppositions, we simply do not know. We weren’t given concrete answers to anything. Which, yes, is frustrating as all fuck. Because, if we read into it at face value, if we follow that this trend would destroy two characters and a core relationship and what it means to them both in the long run, then we have to accept defeat. We have to admit that the writers of this show don’t actually care about this pairing or these characters as individuals. We have to admit that something that we have wanted (and some of have wanted this since Queen of the Damned came out in 1988) is never going to happen. That we, like Louis, have been gaslit and taken advantage of. 

We’d have to reframe all the charged looks, the oddly sexual “yeah,” Armand knowing how to make drinks to Daniel’s exact tastes, Armand de-escalating Louis’ humiliation of Daniel (I know some of you think he was making it worse but, neither the tone of Armand’s voice or his facial expressions read that intention to me, sorry), the overly elaborate courses of food served to Daniel (which, to book readers, is a nod to when Armand ordered everything in a restaurant for Daniel), the brief announcement of a Night Island spinoff, Armand feeling the need to justify himself directly to Daniel in 2x6, putting Assad and Eric/Luke together for press stuff, etc. are all some sick trick. That they either want to make it into enemies to lovers (which it never really was) and forfeit its true meaning or, worse, that it’s all been shipbaiting to keep us on the hook when Devil’s Minion girlies already know that this is the Lestat and Louis show.

I get it. This is not what many of us wanted. We wanted to see the turning. We wanted to see it be about love. We wanted to see Daniel get even a hint of who he and Armand had been to each other in the past, because they definitely had one. We wanted confirmation that, once upon a time, Armand found some of his humanity through a mortal he loved and that, after 30+ years apart, he broke the rule he withheld for nearly 5 centuries because of his love for this boy. We got none of it. All we know is that Armand turned Daniel, that Daniel doesn’t know where his maker is, and that Daniel’s pissed at him. That’s it.

It leaves us, essentially, with nothing. Frankly, it’s more of a nothing than I thought we were going to get. Again, this is the Lestat and Louis show. They are the protagonists and it is their stories (apart and together) that are the A plot. So all that we can do, if we want to see a good version of Devil’s Minion, is wait and hope. Hope that the good writing that has been done in sections of the show holds true to this also. Hope that, given that the plot hole we ALL noticed in 1x2 was explained in 2x8, all of the subtle hints we have been given are actually going to pay off. Hope that this team, that has put a lot of love and care into this show, doesn’t massively fuck over two characters. Hope that someone gets Eric violet contacts in S3 (unless it’s like the theory @cbrownjc has regarding body swapping which would be very interesting---also if you haven't already, follow her, her blog is incredible and has fantastic insights) because if they can give Jacob green ones, there’s no fucking excuse. 

(Yes, this is a nitpick. As an aside, the established vamps do change shades of eye colour, because Louis and Lestat have had at least 2 shades of green and blue respectively in S2, and Armand had 3 shades of amber/brown/reddish orange in 2x8 ALONE. The weird bit with Daniel’s eyes specifically is how dramatic of a colour shade change it is, how quickly the change happens, and that, say it with me kids, NONE OF THE SHADES ARE VIOLET.)

Listen, this hasn’t really had a thesis statement but I’ve ranted enough that it could be an actual term paper. But I want to end this by saying that what gives me hope is that, thus far, the quality of this show, in every aspect, is fantastic. Heck, I get hope in the fact that the Loustat girlies have been DEEP in the trenches for two seasons and it’s getting a little better for them. Louis is where he needs to be at this point of the story and we know that Lestat, the real Lestat, is coming. Goodness knows, Sam’s gonna keep fighting to make sure it is the real Lestat, warts and all, even with the changes that most people didn’t like. So, let’s hope. Let’s hope that the showrunner/head writer is, yet again, being a massive troll. Let’s hope that the writing team actually understood what the point of Devil’s Minion was and where its beauty lay and that they don’t diminish it to be something entirely foreign. Let’s hope that the massive holes, the missing time, missing scenes, all equate to a net positive. Let’s not give up yet.

TL;DR Don’t be fatalistic about how S2 ended and what it means for Devil’s Minion, because there’s way too much that is missing to conclusively write it off at this time.