#this includes child detective novels!

[monstrosibee]

everyones like haha blanc from glass onion and knives out is such a weird little man ive never met one quite like him and listen. if u read any detective story from before the weird edgy sherlock era, you will find most solo detectives are weird little guys! i can name a lot of weird little guy detectives!

[pepper-steam-milkshake]

Every Instance of Dazai's Ability Being Used, and the Few Times it Doesn't Work

Because I really wanted to look into the logistics of Dazai's ability, I decided that I wanted to look through every source of media (barring BEAST) I could for when his ability has been used. This includes:

Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen (Light Novel)

STORMBRINGER (Light Novel)

DEAD APPLE (Light Novel, pre-manga)

Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era (Light Novel)

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam (Light Novel)

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga

DEAD APPLE (Light Novel)

55 Minutes (Light Novel)

This list does not include:

The Day I Picked Up Dazai

The Untold Origins of the Detective Agency (no instances)

BEAST (Did not use)

Any instances in the anime

Any instances with general descriptions ('a guy who used his ability to nullify', 'he used his ability', etc. Was looking for instances with explicit explanation/visuals of what he does)

Spoilers ahead for all the above, and the manga through Chapter 101. Read at your own discretion.

The First Time we See it Used (Chronologically) - Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen

The first instance that Dazai's ability is ever used is on Nakahara Chuuya in Phase.01, as written below.

(Dazai) placed a hand on Chuuya's neck. "Sorry, but gravity is no longer yours to control." Dazai's skill also activated when he touched his target. He had the power to halt and nullify all skills. It was the ultimate anti-skill, no exceptions.

Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen, Phase.01, Page 23

This is a classic example of Dazai's ability working traditionally, where he has direct skin-to-skin contact with Chuuya. Since Chuuya's ability is internal, as long Dazai touches him, he cannot use it.

Then, near the end of the novel, he uses his ability to nullify Arthur Rimbaud's ability against Nakahara Chuuya.

In (Dazai's) left hand was a piece of fabric: a garland he'd used as decoration for Chuuya's fake party. The long garland dragged along the ground, cleverly hidden in the shadows of floating debris. One end of the cloth was stuffed inside Chuuya's clothes. "I told Chuuya to pick up this garland when you destroyed the nearby building," Dazai said with a child-like grin. "Then I tied it to myself using my skill," Chuuya added with the scythe still piercing his arm. "I wrapped it around my entire body and made sure it was hidden underneath my clothes." "After that, I simply touched the other end." Dazai held up the cloth. "Want to guess what happened then?" "The skill affecting the cloth you touched... was nullified."

Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen, Phase.04, Page 115

For that instance, instead of physical contact with the ability user, Dazai extended his ability across an object to Chuuya. This made the object nullified against Rimbaud's ability, forming a shield of sorts to block his skill from attacking further.

The First Time it's Used On a Singularity - STORMBRINGER

NOTE: I own a copy of STORMBRINGER, but at the time of making this post, I was loaning it out to a friend. With that said, I used a translation that I have read previously. If you wish to locate it, go to bsd-bibliophile's Tumblr and search from there. I don't want to directly link it for obvious reasons.

Dazai's ability is seen twice in STORMBRINGER. The first instance is near the beginning of it, as written in the translation below.

(Dazai) casually grabbed Chuuya's arm and lifted it up. At that moment, the abnormal gravitational field that surrounded them immediately disappeared, along with the insufferable pain Chuuya had felt.

STORMBRINGER, [CODE ; 01]

Like before, we have yet another example of Dazai using direct skin-to-skin contact to nullify. However, in this instance, it is used to nullify a partial singularity, as Corruption has not been fully unleashed here. (At least, that is how I am interpreting it.)

Then, near the end of STORMBRINGER:

Chuuya limply drifted in the air for several seconds before the black wings on his back slowly lowered him. Dazai caught his body. The minute he touched his body, Dazai's ability nullification activated. The self-contradictory singularity energy that sustained him retracted in on itself as the singularity's power outlet decreased. He eventually returned to normal and his gate closed. The red marks plaguing Chuuya's body pulled away. The field of gravity disappeared and the stillness of night was restored.

STORMBRINGER, [CODE ; 04]

Yet again, nullification through direct skin contact. This instance doesn't provide an exact idea of where they touched, but it's reasonable to assume he touched Chuuya on his back or something.

This is the first time Dazai's ability has been used related to a singularity.

Singularity Time - DEAD APPLE Prologue

Dazai continues to use his ability to nullify Chuuya's singularity as seen in the prologue of DEAD APPLE. Though this is not shown in the light novel or in the movie, it can be seen in the manga, as shown here:

DEAD APPLE Manga, Volume 3, Chapter 10

Dazai touches Chuuya's face to nullify corruption.

Other Instances Before Dazai Joins the ADA - The Heartless Cur and BSD Manga Chapter 12

The Heartless Cur is a short story provided in the sixth volume of the Bungou Stray Dogs Manga, which tells of how Akutagawa and Dazai first met. Akutagawa attempts to use his ability on Dazai as written below:

Akutagawa turned his own sleeve into a wide blade, and thrust it into the boy's neck without a shred of hesitation. "Not bad," Dazai said, quietly. Akutagawa was stunned. He was sure the boy should have died. However, Akutagawa's blade had vanished like mist right where it would have touched the boy's neck.

The Heartless Cur, Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #6

Then, a flashback is shown from when Dazai was mentoring Akutagawa. During that, Akutagawa attempts to use his ability against him.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #3, Chapter 12

As seen here, Dazai directly touches Rashoumon with his hand, nullifying the ability upon contact.

Dazai Gets Tested and Tests Others - Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam

Dazai gets to use his ability a whopping four times in this Light Novel, which can also be seen in the remarkably inaccurate two-episode Azure Apostle arc in the anime.

It's used twice on Kunikida in a short period of time, as shown below:

The bullet tears through the air until it hits (Dazai) right between the eyes.

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 127

I take the pistol I shot earlier and toss it at Dazai. He catches it, and almost instantly, it transforms back into a piece of notebook paper in his hands.

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 129

Since the bullets were also created using my skill, they were nullified and vaporized by Dazai's own skill on contact.

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 130

Again, direct contact with Dazai's skin gets rid of the bullets, vaporizing them, while turning Kunikida's pistol back to its original state. This is interesting to me in how Dazai's ability impacts them differently. Because the bullets were created with the pistol, the bullets vanished. However, when Dazai touched the pistol, it reverted back to notebook paper with whatever Kunikida wrote on it.

This is also the second instance where Dazai touches an object and uses his ability on it.

Then, his ability is used twice on the numbers terrorist.

"Why...?! Why won't any numbers appear?! I can't accelerate, either! Why, why, why is this happening?!" "You should've done your homework. Skills don't work on me."

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 150

What I find interesting about this is that he isn't touching an object or the ability user here. I'm assuming that since it would require to impact Dazai's skin, that is where the nullification occurred. If the ability didn't show up on his skin, would it still have been nullified? We shall never know.

However, him nullifying the ability against himself does not nullify it against anyone else. This is further encouraged by the below:

Dazai's right fist connects with the young man's face, spinning him a full 180 degrees.

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 150

(Kunikida's POV) Then I look at my body to find that the numbers have vanished. Dazai must have defeated that skill user.

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 151

It appears that if Dazai wants to end an ability user's ability on everyone at that moment, he has to touch that ability user physically. So, to be clear, Dazai's skin can nullify the effect of an ability on himself. Dazai touching skin-to-skin with an active ability user nullifies the effect of their ability on everyone.

Examples We See in the Present - Bungou Stray Dogs Manga

Dazai uses his ability quite a few times at the beginning of the series, but it begins to be many more chapters between once we finish with the Guild Arc. It goes from less than twenty to twenty, then, fifty. The last time (as of posting this) that Dazai has used his ability was in Chapter 101. Make of that what you will.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #1, Chapter 1

Direct skin-to-skin contact. Atsushi returns to his original human form.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #1, Chapter 4

ATSUSHI - Direct skin-to-skin contact. Atsushi returns to his original human form.

AKUTAGAWA - Skin-to-ability-infused-object contact. Rashoumon vanishes.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #3, Chapter 9

Skin-to-ability-infused-object contact. Rashoumon vanishes after cutting through Dazai's bandages to his neck.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #7, Chapter 25

Skin-to-ability-infused-object contact. Q's doll disintegrates, and the ability deactivates against Atsushi.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #7, Chapter 29

Skin-to-ability-infused-object contact. Q's doll disintegrates, and everyone affected by the ability is released from it.

Note: Touching those affected by the ability would not nullify its impact on them. He would actively have to touch the catalyst of the ability (the doll) or Q themself.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #8, Chapter 30

Skin-to-skin contact. Because Steinbeck's vines are in the middle of being created and used by him, Dazai touching him on the neck nullifies them and causes them to disintegrate.

I explain this because there is an instance in the future where Dazai touches Steinbeck's vines and they don't disintegrate, which I will attempt to explain.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #8, Chapter 31

Skin-to-skin contact. Dazai nullifies Chuuya's Corruption.

We Will Now Take a Break From Our Scheduled Programming - DEAD APPLE

Dazai uses his ability three times during DEAD APPLE.

The moment his fingers touched the crystals, their hard gem-like surfaces cracked, and they melted away. Drip. Trails of light suddenly transformed into a liquid-like blood, swirling around and mixing together in the air. The two lights melted into one and spun until they formed a single sphere.

DEAD APPLE, Interlude-3, Page 126

In this, he is touching Shibusawa's ability-infused objects. At least, that is how I'm interpreting it. It doesn't change the fact that the users behind them are dead, but it means they are no longer being contained.

Then, in a classic instance that I'm sure everyone will recognize:

The viscous liquid slid down Dazai's throat until eventually, long, slender fingers touched Chuuya's ghastly, corrupted face. When they made contact, it instantly nullified his skill.

DEAD APPLE, 5-4, Page 154

Skin-to-skin.

The next instance, however, is considerably interesting to me.

"Get off me," he demanded, but Dazai kept him still. "Don't move." "The hell?" Chuuya grimaced as Dazai held his head down. While glancing around, Dazai admitted, "Looks like the fog hasn't completely cleared yet, and I'd rather not have to protect you from your skill right now."

DEAD APPLE, 5-4, Page 155

By maintaining skin-to-skin contact with Chuuya, Dazai prevents Shibusawa's ability (the fog) from affecting Chuuya. Since Chuuya's ability is nullified, there is none to steal in that moment.

And Back to the Manga! - Bungou Stray Dogs Manga

This instance is not a very explicit one, but it is heavily implied that he is using his ability in this moment.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #12, Chapter 51

As per usual, skin-to-skin with Atsushi, and skin-to-ability-infused-object with Akutagawa (well, potential, as it's not active at that moment).

The next instance is in Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #22, Chapter 101. There's no specific panel or image of how exactly it works, because it's not tangible.

To be clear, Dazai nullifies the cat burglar's time control ability's effect on him. The reason for this is assuming that if it affects a certain amount of space (as stated, a few kilometers within her radius), it is technically tangible, and therefore can be viewed as touching everyone within that space. If it touches Dazai's skin, it won't impact him.

I had to think about this a lot more than I thought I would. Initially, I thought, 'it has no corporeal form or anything, it's not as if he's touching her... there's no rational explanation for why he can nullify it.' This thought was further encouraged by the fact that Fukuchi turned back time repeatedly, and Dazai couldn't have been not impacted by that.

Then, I realized that Asagiri specifically stated that there is a limited space in which her ability can take effect. By giving it a spatial limit, it is implied that it has to make some sort of barely visible contact to freeze everyone in time, as it doesn't do that for everyone else.

Asagiri, you clever son of a bitch. For fuck's sake.

These are all the instances where Dazai's ability has been successfully used. However, there are times where it fails to work. I want to explore those moments and explain why. Some are more self-explanatory than others.

He's Only Human - Dazai's Entrance Exam, BSD Manga, and 55 Minutes

There are six different points where Dazai's ability doesn't activate. I think it's important to look at them, because it shows exceptions to his ability.

The first instance is in Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam. You're going to laugh at me for putting this example in, but I feel it is necessary.

"Heh-heh. What surprised me the most was the fact that Ranpo's 'skill' isn't actually a skill at all." ...Huh? "Don't be ridiculous. As if someone without a skill could really do something like that." "That's what makes it so amazing! Listen to this. When Ranpo was thinking, I sneaked up behind him and pinched some of his hair."

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Pages 110-111

It goes without saying, but Dazai's ability can't impact an ability that doesn't exist. Ranpo's Super Deduction is imaginary, and thus, Dazai can't nullify it.

Next is a few instances in the manga.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #2, Chapter 7

Because Kyouka purposefully does not touch Dazai's skin, she could activate her ability, Demon Snow. Now, could it be said that theoretically, Dazai could've blocked this by extending his ability to his coat? Maybe. Considering previous examples, it's fair to say that if Dazai didn't want to get abducted here? He probably could've avoided it easily. Just some food for thought.

There's no visual of it in the manga, but I brought this up earlier. In Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #8, Chapter 31, Dazai and Chuuya go to rescue Q. They are entrapped by Steinbeck's roots, and Dazai has to cut them out of it. Please keep in mind that when I say this, this is based off theory alone and no direct proof, panel, animation-wise or otherwise. I believe that when Dazai is cutting Q out of the roots, odds are, he probably brushes against them with his knife-holding hand a little. Since these roots were all created together, wouldn't it be reasonable to think that they would disintegrate under Dazai's touch? Which brings up another point: why wouldn't Dazai just touch the roots if that was the case? That would be far easier than cutting them all away, unless he's intentionally trying to annoy Chuuya (which is incredibly possible but time-consuming). This makes me think that Dazai's ability can stop ability-created objects if they are still actively being made or used by the ability user, but if they are no longer attached to the user (activity-wise) and were not created from an object (like Doppo Poet or Dogra Magra for example), they remain existing.

Anyways. Sorry about the rant. Back to actual examples.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #8, Chapter 31

As Dazai will clearly state himself after recovering from this, Lovecraft's tentacles are not an ability. If it's not related to an ability, he can do nothing against it.

Then, we have 55 Minutes, which introduces this fascinating tidbit:

(Wells) "Skills that nullify other skills will not activate if the user is dead. In other words, Dazai--or rather, his body--won't be nullifying any skills since his heart has stopped."

55 Minutes, Page 186

First, when Dazai's heart came to a stop, the blood supply to the brain would cease, and Dazai would die. When this happened, his skill would cease to exist, and other skills would start working on him again. Therefore, his wounds needed to be swiftly treated, and he'd need immediate resuscitation afterward--even the kind of resuscitation they perform at any ordinary hospital through electric stimulation. And if that worked, Dazai would going from being "dead" to being "on the brink of death." After that, Yosano could use her skill to completely heal his wounds. In other words, it should be possible to heal Dazai as long as he was on the brink of death.

55 Minutes, Page 186-187

Yeah, so if he's dead-ish? Abilities will work on him. Albeit, it's a very, very short time-frame, but it does in fact exist.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #21, Chapter 95

In this panel, Nikolai uses his ability, The Overcoat, on Dazai. This shows that yet again, as long as the ability does not touch him directly skin-to-skin, it will work as intended.

SUMMARY

Dazai's ability can be used against anyone or anything that he can touch. Examples being:

Ability users he is touching skin-to-skin with

Objects he is actively touching and willing his ability into

Abilities that are infused into external objects (ex: Rashoumon in Akutagawa's jacket, a gun created from a sheet of paper in Kunikida's notebook)

Abilities that would have direct contact with his skin (ex: the numbers skill from Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam)

Dazai's ability cannot affect:

Skill users he is not touching skin-to-skin (ex: Kyouka grabbing his jacket when abducting him so she can continue using Demon Snow)

Objects that are no longer actively a part of an ability (ex: Steinbeck's vines on Q) [ASSUMPTION]

Not abilities (Ranpo, Lovecraft)

Abilities he is not touching with his skin (ex: Nikolai's ability)

Abilities when his heart isn't beating/he's dead

So. Do with this information what you will.

Also, for shits and giggles, here's a running tally of how many times his ability has been used on an individual, and who it has failed to impact.

SUCCESSFUL NULLIFICATION

Nakahara Chuuya: six

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke: five (one time implied)

Nakajima Atsushi: three (one time implied)

Kunikida Doppo: two

Numbers Guy from DOEE: two

Q: two

Shibusawa Tatsuhiko: two

John Steinbeck: one

Arthur Rimbaud: one

Cat Burglar: at least once

FAILED NULLIFICATION

Edogawa Ranpo

Izumi Kyouka

John Steinbeck [ASSUMPTION]

Lovecraft

Yosano Akiko

Nikolai Gogol

[mehkers]

Just another date on a calendar

Back with another hc~!

This time it’s the bro’s and a Mc who’s celebrating a deceased person’s birthday whom they were close with.

Except that Mc is literally me.

It’s mostly self indulgent, since today’s my grandpa’s birthday.

Warnings: talk of death, birthday celebration of a deceased person, trigger warning for anyone who’s having a really tough time healing from the death of someone close to you? Idk, gn!reader, not proofread

I originally wrote this in second person but switched to first person, so if you find some odd words that may be it.

It ain’t too heavy; angst with comfort

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

Beel was quite happy today. I took them all out on an impromptu trip to the human realm (after a lot of begging), and am treating them to dinner.

It was a nice restaurant. Not too fancy, but not fast food casual. I was sitting outside in the patio, enjoying the warm night with the brothers and the delicious food. The ambiance was quite calm, everyone settling into an idle chatter has they munched on the appetizers.

“…ey. Hey. Hey!” Mammon waved his hand in front of my face and pulled my attention back to him. I accidentally zoned out for the trillionth time this night, and now there is 7 very concerned demons looking at me.

“Sorry, don’t mind me. All is well!” I tried to reassure them, hoping it might quell their concerns. It did not.

“That’s the 10th time you’ve said something of the same variant, after zoning out .” Satan spoke up, his brows furrowed as if he’s trying to figure out the killer in a detective novel. I could feel those electric green eyes piercing through my mind and body, trying to decipher what’s actually going on.

Asmo let out an dramatically sad exhale, and wrapped his arms around my body. “Is my baby tired? Oh my! It is indeed quite past your bed time.”

The brothers, especially Lucifer, loved to treat you like a child at times. Asmo once pointed out your eye bags during breakfast, and now Lucifer has implemented a curfew for everyone. No one actually follows it, but they forced me to do so.

“Mmmm, zzz..” Belphie was out like a light as usual and Beel was eating out of his plate after finishing his portion.

“We can go back to the hotel to rest, if you wish. I don’t see the point in staying up later than you’re used to if you’re not feeling well because of it.” The eldest’s voice spreads over the table. Some of the brothers are pouty about leaving so soon, some are glad to leave, and the rest just couldn’t care less.

“N-No! It’s an important day, I can’t..” I trailed off. Now you have the attention of all the brothers, even Belphie bothered to open one eye. “A close one of mine died some time ago, and today is their birthday.”

I felt their eyes on me, widening at the new information. That was not what they were expecting, but it’s nothing new to them. They all knew how hard it was to lose a loved one, so they could all sympathize.

I was surprised when Levi reached out first, holding my hand in his sweaty palms as he looked away from across the table. “Please.. don’t cry.” He murmured.

I chuckled softly, pulling up a soft smile and shaking my head. “Don’t worry, it happens. Death reaches everyone. At least I get an excuse to party!” I pumped my fists in the air in a futile attempt at being enthusiastic. I couldn’t hide the tears welling up in my eyes, so I picked up my drink, lemonade with some masala mixed in it, and kept myself busy. I didn’t even like it, but I needed it to not cry.

I sighed softly when they started to chat again, glad they left it at that. I felt their concerned eyes travel over me time to time, and their attempts at including me into their conversation failed for the most part.

“Do you think… I could see them again?”

Lucifer looked up first, knowing what you meant. “Ah.. Well, the chances are higher that he became a spirit. Spirits tend to go wherever they like, so it’s hard to track one down. And if you do manage to do so, you’ll find them as a shiny orb.”

I nodded my head slowly.

“I would suggest a resurrection spell, but that’s highly dangerous. I’m sure Solomon would avoid such spells as well.” Satan included, placing his knife down.

“No, no that’s fine.” I muttered, then smiled. “Thanks either ways.”

“Look.. Ya can cry if you want.” Mammon’s voice rang softly from the right side of me, his eyes watching me carefully and with a certain gentleness that he’d deny if being called out on.

“You know, the day Lilith died was when we fell.” The gruff voice of the 6th born started, some chewing sounds followed behind. “No matter how much I ate, I couldn’t fill that empty hole. But when you came.. I feel a lot more full! You’re like.. worth more than a thousand Human World cheeseburgers.”

Belphie lifted his head, interrupting his twin. “What Beel is trying to say is that we’re always ready to help, like how you helped us.”

“Ya! Yer always taking so much on yourself, don’tcha get tired anytime?”

“It is a wise option to rest, considering the mental strain you might be going through.”

“Omg! A spa day always helps me! You should join me <3”

Their voices slowly drowned out, and all I could hear is the loud beating of my heart ramping it up in my eardrums. My grip around Levi’s hand tightened, and I lifted my other hand off my lap and around my face. Long withheld tears rolled down my voice silently. Mammon’s arms swaddled me quickly, pulling my face to his chest. Everyone else slowly huddled around me, leaving Lucifer in his spot watching the rest of them. He didn’t know what to do, so he left it to his brothers this time. He’ll get his chance once they decide to call it a night and head back to the grandiose hotel.

I took a couple deep breaths. “Alright, thanks guys. You can let go of me.” I smiled softly, wiping my eyes.

They reluctantly let go, only Mammon kept a comforting arm over my slightly slumped shoulders.

The night went by more smoothly. Well, as smoothly as it can go with seven over protective demons and one emotional human.

[gallifreyanhotfive]

Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 53

The TARDIS's blue box exterior slightly changes in appearance due to chameleonic fluctuation. (Novel: St. Anthony's Fire)

The Eleventh Doctor claimed to have a seventh sense - the Finding Evil Sense. (Novel: Magic of the Angels) This would make sense, considering that the Doctor often gets prickling sensations or other odd feelings when he senses something evil nearby.

The Fifth Doctor wore question mark patterned pyjamas. (Novel: Divided Loyalties)

According to the Twelfth Doctor, the three best coffees in the universe are: the ones Sergeant Benton made, the ones made by Elisabeth Pepys, and the ones made by Intergalactic Coffee Roasting Station. (Short story: Lights Out)

The Laika Protocol is the name for the TARDIS protocol that disposes the Doctor's body in case of their death. (Novel: Too Many Hands) This protocol was likely named after how the Relic was disposed in Novel: Alien Bodies.

The Fourth Doctor began writing a series of books called Doctor Who Discovers while he was still associated with UNIT. The Fifth Doctor would later be threatened by the publisher's robot after not completing the series. (Audio: The Kingmaker)

The Thirteenth Doctor absolutely does not like olives, and she'd need weeks to explain why. (Novel: The Good Doctor)

The Fifth Doctor hates celery as a food. He only wears it to detect praxis gases. (Audio: The Gathering)

Clive Flinch had many pictures of people he believed could be different incarnations of the Doctor. One of these was a tall, bald black woman wielding a flaming sword, and another was a young-looking child in a wheelchair with a sonic screwdriver and a K-9 unit. Also included are many photographs of numbered incarnations as well as some of Morbius Doctors. (Novel: Rose)

The Tenth Doctor once had a reaction to praxis gas after disarming a booby-trapped bomb, but he was saved by Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. (Comic: Nurse Who?)

The Entity was a being composed of two minds that had created their own space, termed grey space, and brought the Doctor in for their own amusement. The Doctor convinced them to play Monopoly, so the Entity tested the Doctor, using a bet to determine who plays first. He had seven chances to disable an android, open a door, and evade an imposter version of a companion trying to push him through the door. The Seventh, Sixth, Fifth, Fourth, Third, and Second Doctors all failed the test, being pushed through the door by their respective companion imposters, but the First Doctor passed. (Audio: Seven to One)

The Sixth Doctor traveled to the Dawn of Time and wrote "The Doctor was here" on an early planet shortly before regenerating into his Seventh. (Short story: Gone Too Soon)

The Fourteenth Doctor's kidneys are blue, which is apparently normal. (Comic: Liberation of the Daleks)

The Eleventh Doctor brooded in his TARDIS for several days after being accused of committing deadly crimes. During this time, he imagined all his previous incarnations interrogating him. When he tried to tell his past selves that he always left things better than he had found them, they all turned away and left him in disgust. (Comic: Pull to Open)

River Song's imprisonment in the Stormcage overlapped with the Delgado Master's. (Comic: The Master Plan)

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[idk-bruh-20]

Irondad fic ideas #127

NWH fix-it where Peter makes the same choice to be forgotten. But what Peter didn't realize, and what Dr. Strange didn't have time to explain, was that everyone would forget who Peter Parker is... including Peter Parker.

Cue amnesiac Peter, wandering, scared and trying to survive on his own.

In this fic, May and Tony are alive because we say so.

Tony Stark, perhaps with a touch of resistance to magic due to handling the infinity stones, wakes up one morning feeling like something is missing.

Maybe he goes about his day, drinks his coffee, ruffles his daughter's hair with his fancy prosthetic, and wanders up the stairs and into a certain guest room, except this guest room is messy with textbooks, and clothes on the floor that would fit a teenage boy and he freaks.

He is missing a whole ass child and has no idea who, or why. How do you find a missing person if you don’t even know who you’re missing?

There are no clear photos or digital data, except things related to Spider-Man.

So now Tony goes full detective in a mystery novel, on the case to find his son. And, once he does, he's going to figure out what happened and what the heck Spider-Man has to do with it.

Bonus:

Surprise Biodad AU! Tony gets desperate and asks Strange for a tracking spell that tracks DNA matches to a certain percentage. And it works.

No one knows any better, so they don't even realize anything is off until they find Peter and get the memories back.

This fic idea was submitted by @knittyninja !!!

Bonus from idkb:

Just thinking about how Peter's amnesia makes this fic idea even crazier!!! Because either Peter would only remember Spider-Man and have no memories of his life or the people who love him, or Spider-Man would be missing too because Peter doesn't remember anything from his own life, including being Spider-Man

[cocktailjjrs]

So......

Since I've been suffering with these angsty thoughts... i though i would invite you all suffer with me...

It's about Chuuya...

I was doing some research for my fic (mainly going through bsd novels, blogs, tags and all) and came across this one Insta post in passing (sorry, i don't remember the name).

It was about BSD's cycles.

First, cycle of abuse, going from Mori-Dazai-Aku-Kyouka

and Second of rescue, going from Natsume-Oda-Dazai-Atsushi-Kyouka.

And then they highlighted a third category, the one's who are not saved - including Chuuya, Aku and Q.

At that point i didn't think much about it, just another post while scrolling Insta.

But now it's keeps bothering me, a constant reminder, whenever i read something BSD.

And It's so heart wrenching.

It also hit me, Q and Aku can still be saved.

Q, while we don't exactly know where they are right now, there is a chance of them getting their own arc, backstory and then being saved.

Aku, while still in Mafia, his partnership with Atsushi is his saving grace already. He is making an effort to not kill, just for their deal/bet. By the end of it all, he will be in a better place than he is now.

But Chuuya. (Spoiler's for light novel's if you haven't read them)

I remember very clearly, when in Stormbringer (don't ask me why i remember this byheart), when Murase dies Chuuya says, "Hey Detective, Weren’t you gonna arrest me?! Weren’t you gonna bring me into the world of light"

Don't get me wrong, I still believe Chuuya belongs to Port Mafia, the darkness suits him better than light.

But that does not mean he never wanted to get out of that darkness. This one instance in SB was proof enough. Makes me wonder, if things had gone even slightly differently, would he be in a better place than he is now? Is there still a chance?

What's even more tragic is that after the whole SB thing, no one seemed stick around enough to help him fight his own demons.

And he definitely has MASSIVE DEMONS.

His whole life seems to be one catastrophe after another! Don't believe me?

His first group, whom he called friends, betrayed him. Classic stabbed by poisonous knife in the back.

Hardly a year later, his second friends group, Flags, was killed by an emotionally unstable man-child seeking validation, insisting on calling him brother.

He went through a horrid ordeal, having to learn he was a lab experiment, seeing your clone vaporise to nothing but bones in your own arms, having to fight those same bones. And as if this was not enough, then fighting the monstrosity of a singularity and in process loosing the only chance to determine your humanity. (Actually whole of SB is dreadful, i don't think it'll ever get worse than that - i really hope it doesn't)

Then, given by the timeline, another year later, his third group of friends was killed by Shibusawa.

And again a year later - his partner, who brought him in all this madness, just fucking leaves without a word. This is the least tragic thing that has happened to the boy, i swear.

And I'm sure it didn't end there.

There must have been so many things going on behind the scenes in those missing years, hell even after the series began, Chuuya has been out of scene because something or the other was going on.

Now you have Fyodor fucking shit up for no apparent reason. With this shitshow, many mafia men, some of whom Chuuya might have developed a relation, are definitely dead. Not to mention the mental gymnastics going to trying to at least be on the same fucking chapter as the two geniuses.

AND ALL OF THIS IS JUST IN THE CURRENT TIMELINE. Don't get me started on BEAST VERSE!!! (That's a can of worms I'm really not ready to open at this point)

The thing with Mentally strong individuals is, they have abnormally high emotional intelligence, they are unnaturally resilient, they can compartmentalize their grief, they empathise with great deal of people, think rationally at any given point and think of ways to make things better.

What many people fail to understand is that no one is born Mentally strong, it's the circumstances that make them as such.

It can happen even through small things.

No one being there for you to express your deepest fears. No one just listening to you, even if they have a solution to your problem. Or having seen other's nightmares come to reality and feeling your own are much smaller, or having made to fell that way.

It creates the mentality of never sharing your fears, your insecurities, your discomfort - because at the back of the mind you keep telling yourself - oh, this person has gone through so much more than i have, my fear is nothing compared to it. I can handle it on my own, they have their own problems to handle. Everyone is busy, i don't think they have time to listen to the same problem I've been facing for years now. I've manages so far, i think I can manager just fine.

You start to undervalue your own feelings and start to fell like you'll burden them. Start to feel like you NEED to handle it on your own.

Now, i don't want to go into a spiral of mental health, but when you look at Chuuya, you can't help but marvel at that kids Mental resolution.

His first action after being stabbed in back was to make a deal with a demon to make sure he doesn't harm them, because they are just kids.

His first reaction to being provoked into revenge was to say Fuck off to his manipulator, not falling for the temptation and doing what he felt right.

He even forgave the killer of his friends (And also the one who tried to kill him) for gods sake! Understanding what he was going through.

He even walked away after knowing his parents are alive (oh the irony) not wanting to put a target on them. (I'm actually on fence with this, the chances of it being a manipulation tactic from Mori is just as high as it being the truth)

He had tremendous mental fortitude.

But you still see the cracks in his emotional state,

He was desperate to know if he was human or not, inclining towards the later.

He didn't know, that your friends can do some nice things without expecting anything in return. They can go above and beyond your regular stuff just because they are your friends, there doesn't need to be of anything at stake in friendship.

Hell, there was a point he believed having a Heart was too sophisticated for him, that he can't be that human!

I can go hours and hours about this.

What i can say for sure is, he has demons in all sizes, shapes and forms, something that he has stuffed in his closet only to deal with them himself, not letting them see the light of the day.

i just don't see anyone actually being there for him long enough for him to trust them fully with his demons.

No, not even Dazai. Dazai himself was a walking cry for help, like hell Chuuya is adding to that pile. He may have found a constant in Dazai in three years, seeing as all other's met their end in one. I believe in those three years, somewhere Soukoku began to feel like his safe place, somewhere he didn't had to think about his demons only by the virtue of dealing with one made of flesh and bones. But then even Dazai left.

I don't think even Kouyou was there for most part. And considering her obsession with a flowers of dark with Kyouka, i think it pulled Chuuya more in her own tragedy. Afterall, she also was never saved.

Mori is there, but Mori is a Demon in his own rights. What we've seen is their interactions have been those of a boss and his close confidents, nothing personal or emotional. Which also makes sense when you think of Mori's theory of running an organization. Chuuya, all things considered, the most powerful member of PM and he is treated as such.

The other significant members of PM, the guerrilla squad, black lizards or Kajji - all of them may know him better than most, but he is still their executive. If a 15 and younger kid took the title of being a protector of his rag-tag group seriously, being a responsible and dependable executive comes with higher stakes. He will carry out his role as one, even if it's the last thing he does.

.

.

.

That was me rambling.

My point is, i wanna give Chuuya a big hug, tell him it's okay to fell tried sometimes. To let himself be vulnerable. That his fears are not invalid. That he is not invalid. That he isn't the problem, never was.

That he will still be valued and wanted, even if he one day looses his ability or he is no longer the strongest.

Can someone please save his boy?

[dreamkidddream]

Random Domestic Headcanons with Ranpo

Random headcanons bc I needed/wanted some fluff with Ranpo ☺️ reader is gender neutral!

Living with Ranpo may seem stressful looking from the outside in, but it wasn’t surprisingly

…don’t be fooled though, it wasn’t always easy

It wasn’t a secret that Ranpo could be a massive man child, but you both had a set system in the apartment- a peaceful routine that worked well for the both of you, despite his…setbacks

It always amazed you that despite him being the smartest detective alive, he couldn’t do the simplest of things- for example, laundry

If you love your clothes- please I beg you do not let him wash your clothes

He did it once and you were left with an…interesting wardrobe for the entire week- as comical as it was, you would prefer your usual clothes over the mess that Ranpo made (and tried to fix- as comfortable as it was wearing his coat, you couldn’t wear it forever)

So now you’re the one in charge of washing and Ranpo is in charge of folding! Sometimes he would try to wash on his own but you snatch the detergent out of his hands before he could even pour anything

It still baffles your mind at how he managed to survive this long

He complains about doing housework, and sometimes you would have to entice him to get it done (whether it be the promise of extra snacks or a kiss)

But that’s not to say that Ranpo’s useless- far from it actually

Grocery shopping is a breeze thanks to him- anything you think you’re forgetting, he already knows. His memory is scarily accurate to where he’s already putting it in the basket before you could even think about it. Just remembered that you forgot something at the register? Don’t worry, Ranpo already has it on the counter ready to be scanned

He also puts in a lot of snacks in the cart- and I mean a lot- but you let him get away with it since you love him (although you do have to limit him sometimes since he can go a bit overboard)

Your snacks is his snacks pretty much- but he does share (some) of it with you, even if it’s already missing a bite out of it

Ranpo likes to help you cook! And his way of helping is to taste test everything along the way- which you don’t mind since it is one of the ways that you bond and he does give good feedback when his mouth isn’t full anymore

Eating together is a must! Whether he’s bragging about how dumb the officers acted today or the new mystery that Poe wrote for him, it was always shared over meals together. It was one of the main ways you guys spent quality time together

He would help wash the dishes afterwards

Nights after work would include watching a low-budget crime show and solving it before the show is over (even if Ranpo already knew who the culprit was as soon as the show began, it was still fun- same with a movie), playing his game together, giving a hand at Poe’s new novel, etc.- anything to keep you both entertained and that helps de-stress from the day, he’s down to do (as long as it doesn’t require a lot of work)

Regardless, Ranpo is fine just being surrounded by you after work. Even if he didn’t have to put in much effort at the agency, it still felt good to unwind with you- just having you by his side or in his arms was more than enough

You guys have matching toothbrushes!! It’s childish enough to be his idea, but it’s actually yours

He also lets you take a shower first or even better- bathing together. Its not even in a sexual manner- it’s a moment that both of you are vulnerable together and could actually relax. Taking turns washing each others backs and hair was a form of tranquility that couldn’t be replaced, especially on a rough day

Ranpo is fine being either the little spoon or the big spoon, but he’s mostly the big spoon. You guys switch it up depending on what’s wanted, but most of the time you end up tangled with one another anyway by the time morning comes

Before he leaves for the day (or after you drop him at the agency), he will not let you leave until he gets his kiss. He’ll whine if you forget and won’t let you leave until you remember why- he says that it helps him get through the day, and he’s not lying

He can be selfish at times, but Ranpo really does care for you. He makes sure to put your badge with your train card by the door so that you don’t forget, he saves an extra stick of his pocky for you since it’s your favorite, and he waits for you outside of your office to walk home together (even if Kunikida or Atsushi had to lead him there)

Most of all, he makes sure that you know how much you mean to him. Whether it’s through quality time or his words that he would whisper in the late hours of the night after pressing his lips against yours, he makes sure that you know- and that you don’t forget

[wudlund]

GROWING UP LEGACY CHALLENGE

* ˚ ✦

| by wudlund

i wanted to create a legacy challenge that focusses on the parent-child relationship and how that impacts their adult life. (i know growing together would be the perfect pack for this challenge, but i can't afford it rip)

-> this has not been playtested so pls let me know if anything is too difficult or doesn't work :)

-> included packs: get to work, outdoor retreat/jungle adventure, city living, get together, seasons, cats & dogs, discover university, high school years, parenthood, strangerville, island living, paranormal stuff, snowy escape, cottage living, nifty knitting, eco lifestyle (if you don't have a pack, just exclude that part of the challenge)

-> for each generation, they should complete their aspiration, master any skill(s) i've outlined, complete a collection and master their career (if relevant) the recommended world is only my opinion, you do not have to live there :)

-> whenever 'parent' is mentioned, i mean the founder/heir before as some generations do not specify a spouse (they are secondary characters here, babes)

GEN 1: The Parental Scriptures

You grew up hopping between various foster parents and children’s homes. You vowed to adopt as many children as you could handle as an adult and make them feel as loved and welcome as possible. Incorporating your passion for writing, you write novels about each of them throughout their lives.

Traits; Family Oriented, Childish & Good

Aspiration; Big Happy Family

Career; Writer

Collection; Postcards (recieved from grown up children living in different locations/worlds)

Max Skills: Parenting & Writing

Recommended World; Henford-on-Bagley

Start as a Young Adult

Have an 8 sim household (can be a single parent for ‘hard mode’ or married), adopting 6/7 children

Write 6/7 books (corresponding with however many children you have)

Name each book after the child that it's about

Hire a nanny to help with the children

Celebrate every holiday fully (e.g. decorate to the max)

Help children with homework and interact with them as much as possible

Take lots of pictures of each child at each life stage (e.g. toddler, child) and decorate your house with them

Go on holiday to a vacation world every summer with all your children

Buy all grandchildren a toy for their first birthday (aging up into an infant)

Don’t die before becoming an elder (this will be important later !)

GEN 2: The Malevolent Amalgam

Growing up, you despised your parent. They were so overbearing and involved in your life, something burned inside you. You channelled your rage into criminal activity and found a love for experimental dishes. You hatched a nefarious plan to get revenge on the parent that you hated so much.

Traits; Evil, Mean, Hates Children

Aspiration; Public Enemy

Career; Criminal

Max Skill; Mischief

Collection; Experimental Food Photos (inspiration for murderous plan)

Recommended World; San Myshuno

Have 2 best friends in childhood who you pull pranks with

Skip school/play hooky regularly

Have a child by accident with someone who is similar to your parent (at least 2 of the same traits)

Have one child who you are very distant from

Have other parent of child die by cowplant or denizens pond ("accidental")

Never celebrate holidays (cancel them when they start or remove from the calendar -> however you may want to keep them for future generations)

Instead, go on vacation to any vacation lot without your child or partner

Learn Pufferfish Nigiri

Kill parent with dish

When your child moves out, give them 1200 simoleons

GEN 3: The Questioned Innocence

Throughout your childhood, you were very close to your grandparent, who died under very mysterious circumstances. Once you were old enough, you dedicated your life to investigating the death of your grandparent, finally finding out the truth. You begin to wish you’d never started investigating.

Traits; Genius, Loyal, Paranoid

Aspiration; Strangerville Mystery

Career; Detective

Collection; Fossils (clues about grandparent's death)

Max Skill ; Logic & Medium

Recommended World; Strangerville

Start with 1200 simoleons (after purchasing lot)

Keep the toy/soft toy from your grandparent for the rest of your life

Have 3 children

Buy them all a newer version of your favourite toy (different swatch)

Live on a remote lot (to avoiding your investigation being detected)

Complete the Strangerville Mystery

Confront and fight your parent in adulthood and have max negative relationship when they die

Contact your grandparent from beyond the grave and have them move into the household as a ghost

GEN 4: The Sidelined Affinity

Your parent loved you but never had much time for you, being so absorbed by their work. You maintained a positive relationship with them, but decided to take your life in a different direction. Beginning freelance work at the start of your adult life, you quickly realised animals had your heart.

Traits; Cat Lover, Dog Lover, Clumsy

Aspiration; Friend of the Animals

Max Skills; Veterinarian & Dog Training

Collection; Feathers (mementos of your pets)

Recommended World; Brindleton Bay

Meet someone as a child and date through your teen years until the start of young adulthood

Regularly get boba tea with your pets

Always have one cat and one dog in the household

Work in any freelance branch you choose through young adulthood

Have one child by accident in young adulthood

Buy a vet clinic on your birthday into adulthood (cheat for money - it's a gift from your parent)

Adopt another child later

Marry a spellcaster as an elder and become a spellcaster yourself

Take in your grandchildren after their parent dies

GEN 5: The Regimented Defense

You grew up seeing how unattached and careless your parent was. You hated it. Life is meant to be structured. There are rules. You always knew you were destined for bigger, better and more organised things.

Traits; Hot-Headed, Perfectionist and Proper

Aspiration; Bodybuilder

Max Skills; Fishing (only peaceful time in your life)

Career; Military

Collection; Fish

Recommended World; Oasis Springs

Join the Scouts as a child and get all trophies

Marry childhood sweetheart in early young adulthood

Have 2 children, use strict parenting methods

Sign both children up for after-school clubs

Both children must earn Good Manners trait from childhood

Set an early curfew for both children

Mount one of each fish you catch

Your spouse has an affair in adulthood and elopes with their partner

Have the workaholic lifestyle

Die in adulthood (you can cheat this to be any death - like dying on duty)

GEN 6: The Detached Secrecy

You learned early in life how unpredictable and fleeting life is and how futile attachments are. You decided to never allow yourself to get tied down and live life as meaningfully and freely as possible. Any commitment scared you, leading to you exploring all corners of life and finding out what it truly means to live.

Traits; Adventurous, Noncommittal, Loves Outdoors

Aspiration; Serial Romantic /Live Fast

Collection; Frogs (exception to the rule of 'no attachments')

Career; Secret Agent

Max Skill; Rock Climbing

Recommended World; Mt. Komorebi

Do not complete your aspiration as a child (can be any aspiration)

Complete the Live Fast aspiration as a teen

Drop out of High School early and move out of your grandparent's house

Never marry, date different people sporadically (never for longer than a week)

Have triplets - you will probably have to cheat this :)

Give them names beginning with the same letter or names that are very similar

When one child demonstrates an interest in fame, actively discourage them

Have a frog that you are a little bit too attached to

Retire and move worlds (must be a different climate to one you were living in - e.g. mt. komorebi to sulani)

GEN 7: The Unsatisfied Luxury

You actually might have had the most average, normal childhood ever. One of three children, you didn't even have individuality to your name. Nothing spectacularly out of the ordinary. Although, you never did find out what your parent’s career was… probably something normal, right? You set your sights on something a little less ordinary. You wanted to be rich.

Traits; Materialistic, Self-Absorbed, Ambitious

Aspiration; Fabulously Wealthy/Admired Icon

Max Skills; Charisma & Dancing

Career; Retail Store Owner

Collection; Crystals (imagine they are rare jewels etc.)

Recommended World; Del Sol Valley

Have lots of friends as a child/teen

Be Prom Queen

Work on the Admired Icon aspiration as a teen

Own a retail store, selling very expensive items

Become famous (at least Rank 4)

Have 4 children with a big celebrity

Own a fancy dog (e.g. poodle, bichon frise, pomeranian)

Have a messy divorce from the parent of your children, fighting regularly

Lose relationships with children

When you die, have no strong relationships (no more than acquaintances with anyone)

GEN 8: The Inspired Modesty

You got to see first hand what a life of money and fame does to a person. You knew you wanted something more modest, finding your purpose in life through painting. You had a turbulent family life growing up, so you channelled those feelings into paintings.

Traits; Art Lover, Gloomy, Lactose Intolerant

Aspiration; Master Painter

Max Skills; Painting & Cross Stitching

Career; Painter

Collection; Seashells (you find beauty in everything, no matter how small)

Recommended World; Sulani

Buy most of your clothes via thrifting

Join the cheer team but move to the football team later in high school

Live on a 20x15 lot

Dumpster dive for furniture etc.

Use the recycler for trash

Sell your work on Plopsy

Find your soulmate at work (also a painter)

Have 2 science babies

Have close relationship with only your first child

Paint portraits of your spouse and children

Make cross-stitched hoops as gifts for your children's birthdays

Have spouse die just after second baby is born

Never remarry

Heir must be the second child

GEN 9: The Broken Machinery

After your parent's death, you detached yourself completely from your family, swore off relationships and delved into your studies. Your remaining parent tried to connect with you but you felt incomplete, missing someone you never knew.

Traits; Genius, Geek, Socially Awkward

Aspiration; Computer Whiz/Whiz Kid

Collection; Voidcritters (as a child)

Max Skills; Rocket Science & Robotics

Career; Engineer

Recommended World; Britechester

Complete the Whiz Kid aspiration as a child

Join the Chess Club in High School

Have one best friend growing up (never speak again after school ends)

Attain Distinguished Physics Degree from Foxbury Institute

Meet another friend at university

Get a cat after leaving university

Be friends for at least 2 months before starting romantic relationship (fearful to lose them like you lost your parent)

Have a child together in late adulthood

Your partner must be revealed to be an alien after you become romantically involved

Build rocket ship

Travel to sixam with your partner

GEN 10: The Last Hurrah

You admired your parent for being so skilled and intelligent but you just weren’t up for that. To be honest, you didn’t have the energy for it. You never aspired to much but you were happy.

Traits; Lazy, Cheerful, Unflirty

Aspirations; Party Animal/Joke Star

Max Skills; Charisma & Comedy

Collection; Gardening (have a little herb garden)

Career; Odd Jobs

Recommended World; Henford-on-Bagley

Go to prom with your best friend

Have a games room in your house

Never marry but have multiple long term relationships

Have no children

Have a big dog

Have lots of close friends and party with them regularly

Create and maintain a club

Attend the Henford-on-Bagley village fairs (you do not have to compete, just engage with it)

Visit every bar and have a drink in every world at least once (like a pub crawl)

Have the people person lifestyle

Live on the same lot the founder lived on (the house may be different)

if you play this, pls use the #growing up legacy challenge tag so i can see your posts <3 - essie xo

[asherloki]

helloooo :)

i was wondering if u could write somthing about anderson disrespecting reader when they join cases with sherlock, but always behind their backs

but then sherlock hears and he starts (trying) to beat him up, and anderson puts up a good fight, however sherlock still wins

he goes home to 221B and reader is shocked asking who hurt him and what he did, but he doesn’t give away anything, and simply tell them not to worry about it. whilst reader is patching up his wounds, john comes back and starts saying how cool, dangerous and reckless beating up anderson for reader was and they’re just flustered and shocked, saying thank you to sherlock (maybe a first kiss scene?)

reader also gives anderson a piece of their mind - not because he disrespected them, because he beat up sherlock :)

tysm and ur work is amazing!!!!

Detective's doll

Bbc Sherlock x reader

Word count:- 840

A/n:- listen guys, just one or two fic will come this month, once October is here I'll be doing Halloween fics! I've shared some prompts do check! Fandoms you know, otherwise check my masterlist.

"you think I can help you with this case?" I enquired to Sherlock not believing he asked my help suddenly for a case. I've been fond of him since I moved in. He can seem cold, unfriendly, some people may describe him as arrogant as well. I was no exception, however living with him taught he's actually pretty lonely. Especially since john watson was married. Sometimes when he's working or sitting with his microscope he looks as pure as a child who just needs a hug. I do want to hug him tight sometimes but he's not very fond of touches innit? So I never dared.

"that's why I asked you, look this case includes information about victorian literature and by seeing your side of the bookshelf " he said pointing to our bookshelf, his side was filled with books about chemistry, science, anatomy and mine was filled with victorian classic novels, mostly, "I think you can help us with this".

"okay then" I must admit I was over the moon. A real life adventure was calling me, how could I not be thrilled.

In evening we went to Scotland yard, I felt excited about being able to help these men. Especially Sherlock, he introduced me to lestrade and informed him that I'll be joining their quest. His agreement confirmed my involvement before I went with him to his office to get some information about the case, I thought Sherlock was following me however I turned around to find out he was going to a different direction, he was walking towards Andersen. Perhaps he had business with him, but one question still lingered, he doesn't quite like Andersen that much.

When I came back with a folder in my hand which contained some information put inside, not in an organised way, I looked around for Sherlock, it seemed like he was gone, and for some reason people or I must say other officers there stared at me. I wondered why, maybe because I don't usually visit their office. Though their furrowed brows told some different story.

After I got to Baker Street I found the flat's door already open,

"Sherlock?" I called, to make sure it was him who opened the door, and not some break in, "is it you in there?" I walked in showing some bravery, trying to make least noise possible to find Sherlock struggling with the first aid box.

"gosh" I went closer to him and I gasped as I found out he had a cut along his cheek bone, and some more wounds accompanying "what the... what happened?"

"nothing" replied the detective, still trying to get the box open. I noticed his knuckles were hurt too as they were all red, it was the reason for his struggle with the first aid box. They were hurting him as he tried to open it.

"fine don't tell me" the only thing I couldn't bring myself to like about him was his habit of keeping things hidden, "do me a favour and sit" I wonder if my eyes reflected all the concern I felt for him. It may have, for he stared at me for a few seconds then obeyed without any objection. I took some medicine in cotton to apply over his cut.

"ow" he pulled away as the medicine on the wound felt like burn.

"I know it might hurt but please.." as I said and he nodded in agreement, it appeared to how much I fancied this moment, me taking care of him, even though he was hurt, and that was the part I disliked. I continued to do my job until John Watson came bursting in,

"oh gosh you're here, you did amazing" he seemed overjoyed and I bet I could see all his 32 teeth the way he smiled.

"let's not talk about it" said Sherlock softly. My confusion rose at this point, does john know what happened?

"no wait" I forbid him to interfere, "what happened john?"

"wait you don't know?" he asked in a way as if I'm the one who should be knowing this before others, although he was well aware how secretive his friend can be.

"how's mary? Is pregnancy bothering her?" Sherlock interrupted again, with his terrible skill of small talk.

"shhh" I hushed him "speak up John".

"Sherlock beat up Andersen" He spoke finally.

"he did what?"

"yes, because..."

"you said enough" Sherlock forbid him again.

"no he hasn't" I said, "because?" I turned to John.

"because Andersen said shit about you" John's words left his mouth and hit me, one because Andersen said something bad about me? but I never were mean to him even for once, why would he do that? and two, Sherlock beat him for that? For me?

"it wasn't just.." Sherlock started to say something, he was lacking excuses so he stuttered until I spoke,

"really?"

"yes, Andersen is beaten up terribly by him" replied john, "and you shouldn't bother about what he said".

That only meant it was very mean, "I'd still like to know"

"dumb doll of the detective" said Sherlock, "that's what he told you, you're dumb, a doll who's is controlled by me"

I gasped at this not knowing what to say.

"an opportunist" followed by a few seconds of quietness, "he said more but..."

It felt terrible, no wonder other words were far more worse that Sherlock couldn't bring himself to speak.

"anyway" John said breaking the silence. "I better go home, Mary might need me."

Waving us he went and left us wondering about the situation. I turned to Sherlock as I was yet to understand all those cuts and wounds he endured, were all to protect my image? To protect me from words? He knew then how sensitive I am under the cover of a strong person, "you fought him for me?"

He nodded in response, followed by the heavy exhale.

"and why?"

"because you don't deserve disrespect, and obviously not from someone like Andersen." he replied.

I don't know why but that moment I didn't care if he likes being touched or not instead I wrapped my arms around his neck and placed my chin on his head, sniffing his hair and realising his shampoo has a decent smell, no wonder his curls were like a soft pillow. It forced me to lean my cheek too with a smile that appeared on my lips, "you didn't have to, but thanks"

"no problem" he said taking my hand, and caressing it, as if it was an assurance, a promise that my palm was safe in his hand.

Next day Sherlock, john and I went to Scotland yard where I found the sight of beaten up Andersen, oh how... terrible honestly. I felt bad how wounded he was but atleast he'll think twice before disrespecting me, or anyone. Sherlock made sure of that.

"you guys go inside, I'll be with you in a minute" I said walking to Andersen, although Sherlock pulled me a little by my wrist to say,

"listen" Sherlock said, "don't put up a fight I did it already"

"I won't" we exchanged smiles and I went to catch Andersen,

"Andersen!" I called.

He looked horrified yet fuming at me he said, "you? what do you want?"

With some strength in my voice I stated, as politely as possible yet stern, "next time if want to say something, make sure it's on my face, but if you dare again, my detective will kill you, I'm his doll afterall, he won't let you play with me like that" then I went a little closer and replied in a hushed voice, "I'm his to love, his to keep, his to adore." This may haven't scared him but infuriated him even more, so I stepped backwards with a smile, now that my threat did it's job and walked away, just one more time I turned around to wave him, a mocking wave to be more clear, "see ya".

[sukieros]

VALENTINE KILLER

chapter two: happy birthday | NEXT

Jungwon × Reader × Jake × Heeseung — a boy born in February, a guy who was made in February and a man who likes February. Who's the real Valentine Killer?

a story inspired by Cynthia Eden's U.S.A Best Selling Book, Die for Me: A Novel of the Valentine Killer.

SYNOPSIS: In which Y/N, a good student, gets involved in a tragedy she never expected to happen only because of meeting the new student. Detectives from their town, were later on standing in front of her for an unknown reason.

DISCLAIMER: Please bare with my incorrect spelling and grammars. I'm still learning and growing up from my mistakes. This story will be mentioning triggering images that included blood. Content contain mature themes and violence.

“Hey!” Jungwon called you. “Hey, Jungwon!” You greeted back. He's smiling cutely again with his bunny teeth.

“Where are you going Y/N?” Jungwon asked.

“Uhm, I was about to buy my brother's girlfriend a present.” You said.

Jungwon nodded in amusement. “Are you close to her?”

“W-well. Practically, nope.” You told him the truth. “Why?” He asked curiously.

“I hate her.”

After telling him that, you continued walking while he stopped on his tracks.

“But you're going to buy her a present,” Jungwon said enough for you to hear and continued walking to keep up with your pace.

“Who said all presents are good?" You said mischievously and looked at his eyes.His eyes sparked something that you cannot understand. He was silent.

“I like you.” He said out of nowhere.

“Huh?”

Jungwon realized what he said. “I-I mean that side of you is. Yeah, amazing.” He said. You gave him a teasing grin that made him smile uncontrollably and blushed.

“Stop it.” Jungwon said and walked faster.

“Awwww... Jungwon likes me!” You teased him while hopping like a kid which made him laugh.

But you can't brush off the fact that he just confessed to you.

“Isn't it odd?” Heeseung curiously asked from Jay.

Jay was busy reviewing a report again. He looked up at his colleague and cocked an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“Yunjin's still not here,” and Jay glanced on Yunjin's desk. Heeseung was right. She's still not here.

Jay looked at Heeseung. “Wait. Why are you even paying attention on her presence?” Jay asked Heeseung with the presence of jealousy on his tone.

Heeseung was flabbergasted. “Chillax, bro. I'm just informing you. And I am only observant of things here in our office as a colleague. Nothing else,” Heeseung defended.

Jay didn't looked convinced enough.

"I promise. I'm not into your girl.”

Jay glared at him.

"You should call her. Never have I ever witnessed her being late. She's the early-bird in our department.”

“I'm the early bird.” Jay complained like a child.

"Why are you so worked up today? You're weird.” Heeseung chuckled and shook his head.

"Go on. Call her.” Heeseung asked Jay seriously.

Jay shot a glare on the poor boy again. He slid his office chair without his sharp eyes leaving Heeseung alone while grabbing the telephone on his desk. His attention left hie colleague and punched Yunjin's number.

The phone was ringing.

But no one was picking up. After multiple rings, “The subscriber cannot be reach. Please try again later. The subscriber cannot be reach. Please try again later,” was the only response that Jay received from the line.

“Did you two fight or did you two broke up?” Heeseung asked.

No. Yunjin and Jay never broke-up. Yes, they did fought but she never left him like this.

“I'll try to call my sister,” Jay spoke and called you.

He punched your number anxiously. His mind was clouded with scenarios he shouldn't be thinking of. His heart clenched in pain as he imagined what was happening. But he tried to erase it because he believed and still firmly believed that there's nothing bad happening.

You were at the school oval lying down on the carpet grass. You were taking a rest from all those stressful projects and plates, not until your phone rang. When you glanced on the phone Id caller, it was your brother.

“Oppa?” You answered the phone without any hesitation.

There was a second of silence on the line until Jay's sobs were heard.

“Oppa, are you okay?” You, who was worried, suddenly sat up from the where you were lying down on.

“Y/N-ah... D-did Y-y..y-yunjin c-called... or m-message y-y-you???” Jay said with a shaking voice.

Yunjin never messaged you and called you. In fact, you were never even okay with her until now. Hearing the shaking voice of your brother made your anger on Yunjin grew out.

“She never called me. She never did. Why would she?” You asked. You're so confused of what's happening. Why is your brother crying and why is he calling you about his girlfriend that you've never even liked since day one?

“Is that so? She did not?" Jay asked.

“Oppa, I never even conversed with her. You know my issue with that woman,” you responded.

“Why are you asking me about her anyway?” You asked back.

“Yunjin did not come to the office. She never take absences,” Jay answered.

“Maybe she's sick? Was her phone... ringjng or something?”

“She will answer my calls. But... the phone was just ringing. I tried my best to track her through asking someone I knew. He said that the phone number's location is not showing up. Although, I have gained a signal from it.”

“That's weird? Maybe she did not answer you because you both have a problem? Wait, do you?”

“W-we... didn't fight.” Jay explained.

"Did you call her last night?”

“....Yes.” He answered.

“Jay. What did she tell you while you were calling her?”

“She said that she was going back home to her flat after her duty. She even told me to eat dinner... a-and I told her I am busy and I want her to submit the report to the Captain.”

It was eerie. You've got a sudden goosebumps. It's all falling in to pieces. Slowly, your ears perked up and the strands of your skin hair stood up. You've got sudden shivers down to your spine.

“...Jay?”

“She said that I'm always working.”

“That's all?”

“Y-yeah. I've ended the call. She should be submitting the report by now.”

“About what report?”

“Well, Y/N, it's a confidential report-”

“I don't care. Tell me.”

“Valentine.”

Valentine.

It's Valentine.

“Jay. Why is she making this report?” You've asked. Jay's hand was shaking. He was trembling in fear.

“Because she saw...” Jay couldn't continue nor utter the words.

“...Valentine,” You muttered.

The woman that you've hated your entire life just saw Valentine.

Jay couldn't control it anymore. He suddenly ended the call and stood up from his desk. His brain cannot process the information. He ran out from the station while Heeseung screaming behind him.

“Jay! Jay!”

But Jay didn't stop either. He just hopped on his big bike and drove away to Yunjin's flat. When he arrived, he quickly went off. Before he can even step on the doorstep, he saw some keys on the ground.

Yunjin's keys.

He looked up and looked for any signs of camera that is directed on her doorstep. Luckily, there's one. He even looked on the doorknob for any webcam. There's also one attached.

He instantly grabbed the keys and inserted them one by one inside the keyhole. The door opened. He went inside to find Yunjin's room for any signs of CCTV monitors. There was none. And he remembered that Yunjin has her own office in her flat. He quickly went inside the office.

The CCTV Monitor was there.

He grabbed the mouse of the computer and started going back to yesterday's CCTV shot.

Yunjin just parked her car.

She was busy shuffling the keys.

Behind her was a white van and a guy in pure black went down from the vehicle which Yunjin didn't noticed.

Jay was terrified to watch while witnessing his girlfriend getting kidnapped.

When the guy was about to grab the poor woman, the screen went static. It was all black. The footage was deleted.

“GODDAMNIT!” Jay screames and punched the table in anger while hot tears were coming out from his eyes.

He went berserk. Jay could see nothing else but black and red at the same time. His knuckles was bleeding already.

“FUCK YOU VALENTINE! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!”

*Ding Dong*

Jay stopped when he heard the doorbell. He looked on the monitor and check the person who just rang the doorbell.

There was no one.

Jay immediately went to the living room where the front door was located. He aggressively grabbed the door knob and swung it open.

It was just a box.

A box.

The box.

The box that he knew. The familiar box that was perfectly wrapped with customized roses printed on the plastic seal.

He wore his latex gloves and grabbed the box with his hands trembling. It was heavy and not the typical weight that he can feel when carrying the box delivered by the killer.

Happy Birthday! was writted on top of it.

He sat on the doorstep crying.

“You're right, Valentine”

“It's Yunjin's Birthday today.” Jay cried so hard while grabbing his hair. He was in too much pain that he can't even identify on how to express it.

He slowly unpacked the box while crying and the familiar smell was existing again.

Jay quickly closed the box after seeing what's inside.

“...Fuck...” Jay only muttered.

It wasn't a heart anymore.

It wasn't the brain either.

He cried harder in sadness in fear.

It was Yunjin's head with her eyes and mouth opened that was drenched in her own fresh blood.

[jellybonesz]

Aurora Nocturne - Character Profile (W.I.P)

"There is more than what meets the eye, Miss Nocturne. But perhaps, it would be in your best interest to stay in your lane..."

Aurora Nocturne is the first and only child of Hizumi and the late Kage Nocturne and a direct descendant of Abraham Van Helsing. She is sent to the Sakamaki mansion under the impression that she is a sacrificial bridal, an event that would lead to her learning of the circumstances and secrets surrounding the death of her father. 

Also Known As: 

Shortcake (by Ayato)

Little Bitch/ Bitch-Chan (By Laito)

Doll (By Kanato)

Livestock/Lamb (by Ruki)

Maso-kitty/M Neko-Chan (by Kou)

Sow/Little Pig (by Yuma)

Rory (by Trâm) 

Personal Information

Birthday: October 5th

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Age: 17 

Status: Alive

Race: Human

Ethnicity: African American + Japanese

Gender: Demi-Girl

Height: 154 cm (5'1")

Weight: 52 kg (115 lbs)

Blood Type: B

Hair Color: Orange

Eye Color: Hazel Occupation: 

Second Year High School Student (Ryoutei Academy)

Novice Detective 

Affiliation: Nocturne Family

Relatives:

Hizumi Nocturne (Mother)

Kage Nocturne ✝ (Father)

Abraham Van Helsing ✝ (Distant Great Grandfather)

Hobbies: 

Self Defense

Writing

Studying

Appearance - Currently A W.I.P.

Aurora is a short, beautiful girl. She has curly, dark pinkish-orange hair that is usually in different hairstyles throughout the course of the games. She has light brown skin and deep dark hazel eyes. 

In HAUNTED DARK BRIDAL, her casual outfit consists of a light pink V-neck sweater over a buttoned up shirt. She wears this with a black tennis skirt and black thigh high boots. She completes the look with a black choker, a crucifix necklace around her neck, and pink heart earrings. In this game, she wears her hair in two pigtails tied with pink ribbons. 

In MORE BLOOD, her hair is now tied into a half-up and half-down ponytail tied with a pink ribbon. She wears a cropped jacket with light pink accents on the hood, zipper, and cuffs with a light pink bow on the right of the jacket. She wears the jacket over a black lace tank top. She wears this with a denim pleated skirt with pink hearts she sown in herself and black mary jane shoes with white leg warmers over them.  Aurora's School Uniform:

Personality

Aurora is a very kind and thoughtful person. She always puts other people before herself, even if it’d get her into trouble. This compassion ultimately leads to unhealthy habits on her part, as she does very little to take care of herself mentally and emotionally as long as it means that she was able to brighten up someone’s day. Despite not taking kindly to the mistreatment she receives from the vampires, she does very little to defend herself from it during the start of HDB. Despite this kind demeanor, she is willing to tell the boys off if they push her off the edge too far.

She has a sweet disposition and is always passionate about the things that they love, always ready to ramble about it to somebody. She’s essentially a nerd, liking many anime and reading several books prior to her stay at the Sakamaki mansion, including mystery and detective novels. Because of this, she has a general knowledge of how an investigation is supposed to work, tipping the scales in her favor when it comes to solving mysteries. Aurora does tend to get overwhelmed easily from fear or stress, and thus, tends to act irrationally as a result which leads to her getting into dangerous situations. 

History

Very little is known about Aurora’s backstory as a whole, but with hints given throughout the games, it is implied that she had a melancholy childhood. It’s mentioned throughout the games that she was mostly ignored by her peers and even by her own mother growing up. Aurora was constantly placed on the sidelines and made to feel as if she wasn't as important as those around her. This leads to her adopting the mindset that she has to put others before herself with the hope that it would make people like her. The main exception to this was Yui, her childhood best friend who never made Aurora feel like she was a nuisance to be around, leading to Aurora becoming very protective of her at times. 

Because of the fact that Aurora never had any attention on her when she was growing up, she finds it jarring when she enters the Sakamaki mansion, where it seems like all of the attention is on her. Aurora notes that the reason that her mother seemed to not care for her was simply because she grieved the loss of her father. It becomes abundantly clear from this point that, even when Hizumi was emotionally neglecting and abusing her daughter, Aurora still found it in her to forgive her. 

Prior to Aurora arriving at the Sakamaki, Yui was originally meant to go there as a sacrifice. But before that could happen, Hizumi stepped in and offered Aurora to go in her place. That way, Yui would be spared and Hizumi could kickstart her plan of getting revenge on the Sakamaki’s for the death of her husband. 

Relationships

Coming Soon…

Trivia

Her favorite food is apple pie

Despite generally being able to defend herself, she still tends to get scared very easily.

Aurora is a direct descendant of Abraham Van Helsing

Aurora stocks up on cranberry juice to help restore her iron levels

This eventually leads to her despising the taste of cranberry juice

In the first draft of Aurora’s story, she was simply meant to be a replacement for Yui. This eventually changed to the two of them being childhood friends before Aurora was sent to the Sakamaki mansion in her place.

Aurora is autistic and has ADHD

Aurora is pansexual

This is hinted at in Haunted Dark Bridal and More Blood before officially being confirmed in Dark Fate with the introduction of Trâm. 

It is also revealed throughout the first two games that Aurora used to have a crush on Yui. Whether or not Yui reciprocated these feelings is up to interpretation. 

At the moment, Aurora has no definite love interest. 

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

Special thanks to @fangsforiris for giving me the template I used to make this character profile!! You're the best :]!! This page is still currently a W.I.P. so many details are subject to change as time goes on <3.

[laufire]

september reading meme!

(better late than never etc.)

BOOKS

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. I only have one Sherlock novel left after this one. I think this is the most famous one? One of the cases I've seen actually adapted. I think Watson's POV is quite well done in this one, with his limitations ~forcing the reader to look further if we want to deduce... anything lol.

We Will Devour the Night by Camilla Andrews. I posted a longer review here, so I'll only say that I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Emma by Jane Austen. I first read this novel over a decade ago; story-wise (and, especially, romance-wise), I prefer "Pride and Prejudice" or "Persuasion", but Emma remains THEE Austen heroine for me. The template for many beloved characters of mine lol. And boy, I already paid Close Attention to Emma/Jane Fairfax as a baby gay, imagine now... is there good fic out there in the Austen fandom trenches...

COMICS

The Boy Wonder. This comic was a let down. That'll teach me to have even the tiniest expectatives on anything lmao. The art was cute, but it was like each issue got progressively... meh. Talia's characterisation in particular annoyed me. Yeah, yeah, we all hate Morrison's butchering. I don't think mommifying her is the solution.

JLA: The Queen of Fables (#47-49). I just suddenly felt like rereading this arc LOL. The Queen of Fables is one of my favourite dc villains, as minimally as she appears, because of how delightfully meta this arc is. I want to do something with her at some point...

Stephanie Brown (New Earth). I finished her appearances! (barring some blink-and-you-miss-it cameos, ig). Her Batgirl run was quite a fun romp; maybe not where I would've gone for her character if it'd been in my hands, but MUCH appreciated after fucking War Games, or way too much Dixon writing. I also liked how Lewis wrote her on his Robin run, which was quite good in general. Other highlights were Gotham Knights #22 (which inspired this excerpt!), her appearances in Cass's run (before and after death!) and her friendship with Kara. Unfortunately, I closed with "Convergence: Batgirl" and I have Issues where the places that comic took her journey lmao. That is NOT the future for my new earth!Steph.

Death and Return of Superman. I had read some issues here and there, but this time I sat down and read the whole thing over the course of a few months. Lois is definitely the MVP, the Kents break my fucking heart, and John Henry Irons an interesting character (who I lowkey ship her with after watching a few episodes of the mid CW show, but let's not get into that now xD). I still don't quite get the appeal of Kon as a character lmfao, but he was fun to read here. Also LMFAOOOO at whatever is going on with Lex here. He transplanted his BRAIN into another body?? And is pretending to be his own son??? Wtffffff.

Year One: Batman/Ra's al Ghul. A nice gem I stumbled upon during my Leslie-read. Beautifully written by Devin Grayson. This story is set after Ra's death, and shows his ~revenge from beyond the grave lmao.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight: Cold Case (#202-204). Another gem in Leslie's appearances list! I'm including it here because a) I guessed the mystery IMMEDIATELY and okay, it wasn't that hard, there were clues, but I AM A WAY BETTER DETECTIVE THAN U, BRUCE, and b) it includes a plot about Thomas Wayne being unmasked as a suspected serial killer and now I'm having Batman x Prodigal Son thoughts lmfaoooo. Now I want a story where Bruce finds out his late father was a murderer añlsdfjasd.

Villains United. This was in my list of Talia appearances and I'm literally only including it to say a big FUCK YOUUUUUU to Gail Simone for how she writes Jade in Villains United (and in general, from what I know). Literally having her being "well it's fine if this guy blackmailing me kills my daughter because I fucked this guy to get pregnant so I have a replacement child" FUCK YOU GAIL FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU.

Ram V's 'Tec (#1062-1089). Given the current state of comics (not to mention who's the author after this...) I doubt this run will have much impact, but I quite liked it. It added new players but it balanced them out with established characters I'm actually interested about, it had GORGEOUS art (I am fucking OBSESSED with the covers, how some of them mirrored each other to show Bruce's evolution... insane), and good writing. I'll be on the lookout for Ram V's New Gods run, as I want to read more about those characters anyway.

Devin Grayson's Catwoman (vol. 2 Annual #4, #54-62, #1000000, #63-71). This is THEE quintaessential Catwoman, for me. I love love love my Selina as a loner thief with serious commitment issues lmfao. It also got me thinking about doylist influences because I read somewhere that Devin wasn't sure yet about how you went about including cameos, so she didn't really include Batman*, and boy was that fucking great for Selina's character lmfao. She got to have really fun arcs where SHE is showed off. My favourite was the arc with Scarecrow, but in general it was all so great and SO fun.

(*Bruce does appears in one or two issues, in a specific arc which gets a bit meta about the ship lol. The Joker targets her because he considers her Batman's Girl. The story ends with Selina making the Joker believe she killed Batman, knowing how much that'd fuck him up xDD)

[befickleforever]

If you liked [inside no 9 episode] watch [film] : a guide. Part 1

(Some of these films go off vibes alone, whilst others are the films that directly inspired the episode. For example, we all know where the wicker man will be included)

If you liked ‘Simon Says’, consider:

- Misery (1990). After a serious car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes, who claims to be his biggest fan.

- Sunset Boulevard (1950). An aging silent film queen refuses to accept that her stardom has ended. She hires a young screenwriter to help set up her movie comeback.

- Perfect Blue (1997). A young Japanese singer is encouraged by her agent to quit singing and pursue an acting career, beginning with a role in a murder mystery TV show.

- The King of Comedy (1982). Rupert Pupkin is a failure in life but a celebrity in his own mind, hosting an imaginary talk show in his mother's basement.

- The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011). Martin, a mentally disturbed loner that obsesses over the film The Human Centipede (First Sequence), kidnaps a group of people to create his own 'human centipede' to act out his perverse sexual fantasies.

If you liked ‘The Understudy’ consider:

- Sleuth (1972). This mystery finds Andrew Wyke, a wealthy author of detective novels and game aficionado, facing off against his wife's lover, Milo Tindle, a middle-class hair salon-owner.

- Richard III (1995). A murderous lust for the British throne sees Richard III descend into madness.

- Throne of Blood (1957). Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures.

- Theatre of Blood (1973). After an unsuccessful attempt at suicide, Lionheart sets out to murder all of his critics, each with a different style of death taken from a Shakespeare play.

If you liked ‘The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge’ consider:

- Witchhammer (1970). When a beggar is caught hiding her communion wafer, the hunt for witches begins.

- The Witch (2015). In 1630 New England, panic and despair envelops a farmer, his wife and their children when youngest son Samuel suddenly vanishes.

- Witchfinder General (1968). When Matthew Hopkins is appointed Witchfinder General by the Puritans under Cromwell, he is empowered to travel the countryside with his henchmen and collect a fee for each witch from whom he extracts a confession - a policy which is exploited to the full.

If you liked ‘The Harrowing’ consider:

- Carry on Screaming! (1966). An investigation into the disappearance of several young women leads two bumbling Victorian detectives to the home of Dr Watt and his vampish sister Valeria.

- A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014). Residents of a worn-down Iranian city encounter a skateboarding vampire who preys on men who disrespect women.

If you liked ‘Mr King’ consider:

- The Wicker Man (1973). Sergeant Howie arrives on the small Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the report of a missing child.

- In The Earth (2021). A scientist and park scout conduct a routine experiment while the world looks for a cure to a lethal virus and as the night progresses, they experience unexplainable things.

- Midsommar (2019). Dani's psychological trauma affects her relationship with Christian, her lover. However, when they visit their friend's ancestral commune in an effort to mend things, it changes their lives forever.

- The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971). Ralph Gower and a local judge are on a quest to get a bunch of possessed kids with a strange fur on their skin under control after they end up killing the locals.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

A new Cleveland Clinic-led study published in The EMBO Journal shows that mild and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections can trigger immune responses in a pregnant individual that may cause serious inflammatory responses in the developing fetus. The study's findings also suggest that vertical transmission of the virus from a pregnant individual to the fetus is more common than previously estimated; and that even without this transmission, a pregnant individual's immunological response to infection may impact the fetus.

Typically, healthcare providers test for SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that causes COVID-19, in a newborn through a nasal swab after birth. For this study, Cleveland Clinic researchers collected samples from the placenta and the fetal compartment (tissues that surround a fetus while still in utero), and then analyzed them for the presence of inflammatory markers and virus. They found higher instances of the virus in those tissues than what could be found in a traditional nasal swab, and even in the absence of a full infection they found small proteins from the virus had passed through the placenta. The researchers hope their study will help ensure pregnant individuals can rapidly and reliably receive evidence-based medical care needed during novel outbreaks and public health crises.

When the COVID-19 pandemic first began, OB/GYN Ruth Farrell, MD, and colleagues at Cleveland Clinic and other major medical centers wanted to determine the best way to prevent and manage the infection in their pregnant patients. Pregnant individuals required different medical considerations during the pandemic compared to their nonpregnant counterparts; Dr. Farrell notes that many of the prevention and treatment approaches used in non-pregnant patients either did not have enough data to use in pregnant patients or were not feasible to perform.

"During the early stages of the pandemic, there were significant delays in determining how best to prevent and treat pregnant patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection," explains Dr. Farrell, who also serves as the Vice Chair of Research for Cleveland Clinic's Obstetrics & Gynecology Institute.

Dr. Farrell worked with clinical colleagues across the Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC) of Northern Ohio to develop methods for examining the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnant patients, including researchers from University Hospitals of Cleveland and MetroHealth Medical Center.

She then teamed up with Cleveland Clinic maternal-fetal virologists Jolin (Suan Sin) Foo, PhD and Javier (Weiqiang) Chen, PhD from the Infection Biology Program to determine how the virus impacted the immune systems of both mother and child.

When the standard-of-care COVID-19 test is used to detect the virus in newborns (nasal swabs upon birth) they only detect infections in about 2% of children whose mothers tested positive for the virus during pregnancy. However, when Drs. Chen and Foo looked at tissues that surrounded the newborns when they were still in utero-; including the amniotic fluid, chorion and umbilical cord plasma -; they detected high levels of the virus in over a quarter (26%) of study participants.

The team also found elevated immune and inflammatory responses affecting the pregnancies of about 66% of study participants. Dr. Foo had previously shown elevated levels of fetal inflammation in pregnant individuals who experience severe SARS-CoV-2 infections during pregnancy, but few had asked whether asymptomatic or mild infections had the same effect. Now that they have their answer, however, the team were faced with even more questions.

"Even though we only saw vertical transmission of the full virus infection a quarter of the time, we saw strong immune and inflammatory responses in over two thirds of the cases," Dr. Foo says. "It was clear that even when the fetuses were not technically infected, they were still being impacted by their mothers' viral infection. But we weren't quite sure how."

Elevated levels of inflammation during pregnancy, in COVID and other conditions, can have negative impacts on the offspring long after birth. Further research can define how inflammation affects children in the long term.

Dr. Chen noted that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has a protein called ORF8 that physically resembles a human immune protein called immunoglobulin G that passes through the placenta from mother-to-fetus during development. He wondered whether the viral protein could also pass through the placenta's defenses to cause inflammation in the fetal compartment.

Drs. Foo and Chen, alongside co-first authors Tamiris Azamor, PhD and Débora Familiar-Macedo, PhD (a former and current postdoctoral researcher, respectively, in Dr. Foo's lab), were able to prove that the virus-made ORF8 did indeed pass through the placenta into the fetus. ORF8 then bound to immune proteins and "turned on" a process called the complementary immune response.

At normal levels, the complement system is a good thing during pregnancy and helps the fetus develop properly, Dr. Familiar-Macedo explains. At higher levels, the complement system can cause dangerous inflammation in a developing fetus. Lab studies supported that this immune response directly led to the elevated levels of inflammation seen in the fetuses of pregnant patients infected with the SARS CoV-2 virus.

"Our findings challenge the currently accepted definition of vertical transmission, or what it means to transmit an infection from mother-to-fetus," Dr. Chen says. "We have shown that it is indeed possible for only a small part of a virus to slip through and affect a pregnancy."

Dr. Foo adds that she hopes her team's findings will serve as guidance for healthcare practitioners, researchers and policymakers alike on further research into vertical transmission and long-term care.

"We've shown that the misconception that uninfected babies born from infected mothers are fine, is sometimes just that: a misconception," she says. "Pregnancy is such a vulnerable nine-month period where any change from the norm can cause long-term impacts on the baby, so we need to work more closely with these individuals to understand their unique healthcare needs during public health crises. It's the only way to make sure they receive the care they need."

Source: Cleveland Clinic

Journal reference: Azamor, T., et al. (2024). Transplacental SARS-CoV-2 protein ORF8 binds to complement C1q to trigger fetal inflammation. The EMBO Journal. doi.org/10.1038/s44318-024-00260-9. www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.1038/s44318-024-00260-9

[sith-shenanigans]

Introduction and Masterpost

Hello! I’m Io (with an i, not an L), they/them, enthusiast of evil space wizards and other assorted terrible people everywhere. This is primarily a SWTOR blog, but I post about other fandoms occasionally, and have recently fallen down a terrible hyperfixation hole about Fallen London. I write longfic, on a somewhat inconsistent schedule; chronic illness makes it difficult to put out chapters consistently.

I don’t have a DNI, but I block bigots and anyone whose posts I’d prefer not to see. I don’t do shipping discourse, and I don’t necessarily care what you ship, but see the previous sentence; if it makes me uncomfortable, and there are definitely things that make me profoundly uncomfortable out there, I’ll probably block you. (This has much more to do with tone than content—I have triggers, I’m all for people experiencing unpleasant things in safe ways, but the moment it feels like they’re being written as good and sweet and normal I’m going to nope on out of there as fast as I can. For my own mental health, and because the alternative is me biting someone’s head off.)

For my own part, I often write about dark subjects (especially in regards to my SWTOR OCs), and this blog may contain untagged discussion of fictional slavery, speciesism, systemic child abuse, state violence, toxic and abusive relationships, and similar topics. Mentions of sexual assault are generally tagged as “sexual assault cw.” I try to tag discussion of parental or school-based child abuse as “child abuse cw,” as well as in-depth descriptions of it in general, but I can’t 100% guarantee it. I try to remember to tag what friends ask me to tag, but if we don’t know each other well, I may not be able to manage it.

For neurodivergence reasons, I find it extremely difficult to describe images most of the time, but I’m trying to include alt text on screenshots of tags more consistently, and I’m attempting to tag my own posts with undescribed images as “undescribed.” (This includes most of my Fallen London posting, because there’s just enough formatting to poke me in the “cannot easily transcribe visuals to text” issue.)

Liminality/Discontent (SWTOR):

Liminality Main Cast:

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Discontent Main Cast:

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Sunlight (SWTOR):

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Other/Miscellaneous (SWTOR):

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Fallen London:

Amias Arling, the Calescent Inquisitive. Heart’s Desire. A former freelance detective with a few unfortunate soft spots, who came to the Neath for a case and ended up framed for something their target did. Extremely clever and extremely driven, but embodies the maxim that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Practically allergic to the direct route, unless it seems like no one would ever expect it. And even then, they’d rather take a convoluted way around.

SWTOR:

Liminality/Discontent, a sometimes-AU SWTOR novelization in multiple parts. Has a heavy focus on the implications that the game didn’t go into, the politics of the galaxy, and the pressure the protagonists go through.

like a moth to you, sunlight, a collaboration with my sibling @azems-familiar. Not very much is written on it, because collaboration is hard even when both people involved aren’t chronically ill (and our hyperfixations are largely elsewhere right now), but we love our terrible children anyway.

Liminality/Discontent:

The Dead Star; The Ruin, a prologue of a sort. As yet unpublished. Also works as a standalone work.

Anamnesis, a KOTOR novelization with a certain amount of playing with the format. A tragedy, if a bittersweet one, and a case study in why villains with good motivations are still villains. On hiatus.

Liminality, my pride and joy and occasional mortal enemy. The first and primary of two SWTOR base game novelizations, covering the Sith Inquisitor, Smuggler, Sith Warrior, and Jedi Consular storylines. It deals heavily with loss and family—the latter both by blood and by choice, and sometimes unexpectedly uncovered. It’s also about history, about the boundaries between past and future and life and death—and the things that survive when someone is gone. The galaxy is full of dangerous secrets, and cycles that seem inexorable; in the end, though, what matters most are the choices you make and why.

Discontent, the fic I will someday definitely write. Covers the Jedi Knight, Imperial Agent, Bounty Hunter, and Republic Trooper. It’s about war, mostly, and cleaning up other people’s messes. Nobody gets to step off a battlefield as the same person who walked onto it, if they make it off at all, but there are reasons to keep trying—even if only some of them are good ones. And somebody has to be the one to chase down the conspiracies in the dark.

Sacrifice, as yet not even started, which will cover the portion of the game running from the end of the class stories to Ziost. There’s a fourth fic for the Alliance era, tentatively titled Conviction, but there’s less in my head about how that one’s going to go.

Sunlight:

still my heart is heavy (with the hate of some other man’s beliefs), about spies and loyalty and people making slightly better decisions than they could have. Written primarily by @azems-familiar, who Illami belongs to. (I helped write Ardun.)

Other/Miscellaneous (SWTOR):

your last serving daughter, a collaboration with @reconstructionlegacy. Our silly little AU about Empire and the people who wish they didn’t live in it. Also infrequently updated due to the trials of life and coauthorship.

Fallen London:

None, yet, but it will happen. I can feel it.

The organizational banners used can be found here.

[weclassybouquetfun]

Edward Holcroft offers up Taron Egerton proof of life.

Taron should be in the middle of filming his latest AppleTV+ series FIREBUG. The project reunites him with his BLACKBIRD showrunner Dennis Lehane and his BLACKBIRD costar Greg Kinnear.

“Firebug,” loosely based on true events and inspired by a podcast of the same name, stars Egerton as an “enigmatic arson investigator with Jurnee Smollett as his partner Michelle, a rising detective.

It will also star another AppleTV+ vet Rafe Spall whose AppleTV+ series TRYING just returned for its fourth season.

Rafe and his TRYING costar Esther Smith are awaiting the birth of their child.

In the pipeline for Taron is Netflix's CARRY ON which was expected to be released this year as it was teased in Netflix's "What's Next in 2024" sizzle reel. He also has SHE RIDES SHOTGUN expected out in 2025. The international distribution sales for the film is largely sold out, while there is no information on domestic distribution.

Holcroft has a limited series in the offing with the Lithuianian six-parter A WOLF'S PALATE created by Emilis Vėlyvis. What is it about?

“Young girl Silvija has been brutally murdered. Her desecrated body was found in the woods by Ulvis, the town’s deaf-mute tattoo artist. Everyone in the small town becomes suspects in this terrible crime, divided into several fierce camps accusing each other. Little by little, the viewer discovers the dark and frightening side of life in this seemingly sleepy, backwater town.”

What are the other KINGSMAN alums up to?

Colin Firth only has one project in the offing - the five part Sky Atlantic / Peacock limited series LOCKERBIE. In this true story, Firth plays Jim Swire who, along with his wife, are in a quest for justice for the victims - which included his daughter - of the bombing and subsquent crashing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Mark Strong: Never not working, Mark will be seen in Max's DUNE: PROPHECY as Emperor Javicco Corrino.

He returns to the stage opposite Lesley Manville in OEDIPUS.

On social media, his trainer confirmed what has been on IMDB for nearly a year - Strong will be in Max's Batman universe series THE PENGUIN. You can see him starting tomorrow in the Netflix Jennifer Lopez starrer ATLAS.

Also in the Netflix family is Sofia Boutella, who can currently be seen in the second part of REBEL MOON, REBEL MOON PART TWO: THE SCARGIVER. But also in the upcoming THE KILLER'S GAME.

June 3rd, you can see Sophie Cookson in the romantic comedy THIS TIME NEXT YEAR (written by Sophie Cousens, adapated from her novel of the same title), opposite Lucien Laviscount.