#this is a good book. although I do disagree with like. most of her takes on nonbinary genders so far

[takami-takami]

At the "passing" essay portion of Whipping Girl and I'm cheering and standing on my seat.

[empty-vessel-of-a-person]

Rough Relationship Timeline with Zayne based on his Memories

This is just my observation. Not All Memories are included. May Contain Spoilers for those who just started the game. I maybe wrong in some parts as nothing on this blog is confirmed by Infold PTE LTD.

Pre - Relationship Stage

Sweet Conspiracy

The awkwardness is a bit heavy here. They still do not know how to talk to each other and M/C learning about Zayne having a sweet tooth.

She doesn't know how to return his jacket but does not want to leave it at the hospital's reception. Probably a good choice. Who knows? Some nurse might just stole that jacket away. ;)

M/C knows he is in a medical conference but doesn't know when he'll be back. So they are not communicating well yet. Maybe just a few convo here and there when she's in for check up.

But my favorite part is when M/C indirectly say that she wants to see Zayne outside of the hospital by saying "You'll call me so I can get my candies back when I'm free.. And we'll see each other again"

This memory clearly shows who M/C is really interested to. She wants to see him again and even if it's awkward with him when they just saw each other again, she is clearly interested.

Glittering Lights

Zayne's paying attention to M/C's emotion and monitoring her in Social media. This thought alone clearly shows that Zayne is already particularly keeping an eye on her since they met again in the hospital.

They are also not fully acquitted yet which is why M/C is quite unsure to start conversations with him. But it shows how Zayne is trying to learn little things about her. He is not yet familiar with what she likes hence him asking her americano or latte.

They have a connection. When they are trying to find each other when they got separated during Zayne's sudden phone call, even M/C felt it. It's like they both felt that they are looking for each other and their eyes met.

And the most obvious clue that they are not yet an item, is that awkward goodbye wave. But it's cute because they are expecting more.

Gentle Twilight

This was the first time Zayne ask M/C to go with him as a mutual support agreement in doing things to make them relax. Why I think so? They never expect to see each other in the library and when he thinks M/C is going to refuse hiking with him, he grabs a book about medicine to ensure that she will come with him.

They still not keeping tabs on each other directly.

M/C calling Zayne as "Dr. Zayne" seems professional rather than teasing.

Please remember hiking and pottery lessons.

Neon Nights

She refers to Zayne as a friend and they just keep bumping to each other.

Zayne is clearly jealous that M/C buying a gift for someone. He's actually quite bitter.. hehehehe

Isn't it amazing that even they disagree and not in a relationship at this time, they are perfectly in sync and fight wonderfully together. Which is why they are great together.

Delicacy

Well M/C thinking Zayne needs to correct his classmates when they said she is his girlfriend.

They are already more acquitted in this as they already agreed on meeting up and they are learning new and more things about each other.

M/C is also picking up Zayne's habits and likes as she know he likes the food there.

Zayne is comfortable in introducing her already.

Zayne's also indirectly confess to her here. (I want to strangle Astra if you know what I mean!)

In a Relationship Stage

Tranquil Heart

This may not be a solid proof, but I think they started their relationship right after this memory.

Although it came out as a friendly banter between them, Zayne is clearly upset that he was not taking care of herself more. Not to mention being caught sneaking out at the hospital at the dead of the night.

But this is where the last line of the memory played out for the start of their relationship. Zayne again indirectly confess to her by saying "That he can't ignore you even if he wants to."

This line is so strong in so many levels. 1, it can imply on Foreseer seeing M/C again. He has a choice to either move on from her but he chose to stay and dedicate his life for her.

2 if he made a promise to her as a kid, it is forgivable if he forgot to help her with her sickness. But from then on he just simply existed for her. I still got chills thinking of what have Zayne must have felt when he first hug and kiss M/C.

Tranquil Moment

I think this is their early relationship stage because M/C is more familiar with Zayne's schedule now and she is seeing him to have dinner dates.

They are planning a dates and doing small things like making snow man and watching the snow. This simple things are one of the sweetest things as they mark the beginning of their relationship.

Drunken Intimacy/ Exclusive Tutorial

He is bringing her to events and showing her to classmates and colleagues. He is definitely showing her off and proud of her being a hunter.

He is being territorial. He warns M/C not to visit other doctors and keep close to her when someone wants to talk to her.

Spring Remnants

They are doing charity events together.

Notice how Zayne takes the box from M/C? This is not just him being gentleman because the next thing he say is "Allow me" referring to taking the box from her and the "Go register first" meaning M/C and Zayne are close enough for M/C knowing his details.

Zayne holding her hands.

At the end, Zayne says "Let's enjoy Spring together from now on" indicating they indeed start dating and Zayne wanting for them celebrate spring as a couple moving forward.

Starry Nocturne

I usually refrain from talking about this memory. Not only of it's heavy emotional content, but I can clearly feel the exhaustion and fear from Zayne.

If observe closely, you can see how they understand each other without a word. Zayne just looks at M/C and she already understood. The gesture is so intimate yet so wholesome.

They way they understood each other and the way she comforts him. M/C might have know that the exhaustion and fear comes with the thought of her in his mind.

Its given that they are already together but Zayne is still in a race against time. He might be busy with patients but all this effort as we know is to find a permanent cure for M/C. He works tirelessly for her. To not lose her again. And this brings me to one of the things that may be difficult to swallow for everyone.

While Xavier and Rafayel are still tied to their memory of M/C in their previous lifetime, Zayne is the only one leaving the past behind, embracing the present, and was fighting for a future with M/C. Words are not enough to express how deep and far his love could go and this is exactly why I love Zayne so much.

The Next Level Stage

Ramblings Come True

AGAIN, Although I cannot say this is a solid evidence, but when Zayne says "I was... referring to something you wouldn't regret" It was like he is asking for her if she is ready to take their relationship to the next stage and she agree by saying when she gets better. (M/C have a cold)

Fleeting Sweetness/Cozy Afternoon

M/C was able to enter Zayne's home while he was sleeping. Meaning she already have the keys to his home solidifying the fact that they are indeed in a relationship. I know mostly Japanese are more symbolic at this its like giving someone more

They are sleeping on the same bed on his house or at her place. M/C buying him him a pajama set.

They instinctively and freely touching each other. Be it holding hands or hugging.

Lingering Warmth/End of Depth/Heartstring Symphony/Business Trip/Snowy Serenity/Hidden Motive.

Do I actually need to explain this? hehehehe It's really obvious so I'll leave it there.

Final Thoughts

Zayne and M/C have a steady and strong bond when it comes to relationship. They might have tiptoed around it by not saying a direct "I Love You", but they live and breath for each other.

Isn't cute that they find a way to saying their true feelings by saying "The Moon is Beautiful"?

Thank you Infold for bring Zayne to us. If may just a game for other, but Zayne is my comfort zone. Having him is like having something that will be forever consistent in my life.

[madschiavelique]

Hi dear, how are you?, could you write an imagine onde reader mentioning offhand how much she would love a whole family. Four, maybe six children? Girls and boys split right down the middle, but the second Miguel hears this (maybe the reader is on the phone, or talking to lyla. or someone at HQ) and Miguel loses his mind

1) Miguel can't help himself and he would grab you and put you on the mattress for a very long time...... or

2) torture himself for two weeks before telling her why he was avoiding her please.

HIHIHI BREEDING BARK BARK (sorry this took so long to write anon zehfrfgh i pulled an all nighter to make this one so also forgive me if there are some mistakes in this gksffgjgbf)

summary : miguel learns you want kids, a lot of kids, so he breeds you

content warnings : SMUT (18+) minors dni, pnv sex - unprotected (be safe kids), breeding kink, soft!dom miguel, obsessive!miguel, no use of Y/N, fem!reader word count : 3,2k

tag list : @fandom-ash @haradasaya

Miguel was on his way to see you. He'd heard that you were back from your mission and that everything had gone well, so he'd come to get you to take you out for lunch.

He was taking advantage of the little free time he had to visit you, even though he would obviously pass this visit off as work-related in everyone's eyes. He had to always, always remain professional and keep everything under control so that everybody could do their bit.

"Six?!" asked Jess, the word choking in her throat.

Well, you were indeed back with Jess.

"Mhm, six," you affirmed as you both busied yourselves filing a report.

What were they talking about? He leaned against a wall. He knew it wasn't very polite to eavesdrop, but the word got around here. Most of society's building had cameras, and everything that was often said or done was recorded here.

He just wanted to listen to you, wondering if there were any topics of conversation that you weren't having with him and with the other spiders. Yes, he was manic, and probably a little too obsessive.

In any case, he wondered what you could have said to Jessica to make her exclaim like that.

"The more the merrier," you laughed softly.

"I hate this sentence so much," sighed Jess.

"Why so?" your voice was sincerely interrogative.

"In this context, it's really not my preferred idiom one might say," she replied as Miguel heard her tapping on a pad to enter more information.

What on earth could they be talking about? he wondered. What subject could suggest that six was far too high a number for Jess's judgement? He knew that Jess was an oragnised woman like himself, with a lot of tact and a fair amount of authority.

Was it perhaps a consecutive number of days doing an activity? Six days of marathon running might have been a bit much, but six days' holiday was never too much. He breathed in very softly, it had been years since he'd had time for such a thing. Did you want to take him on a holiday? If so, the number of days was inordinate. He would never be able to get away from his work for more than three days.

Maybe it was something else then. What was too much in Jess's mind with six?

Six empanadas perhaps? Miguel would obviously disagree. You can never have enough empanada for his taste. But Jess would probably disapprove.

Six... Six pets? It's true that having six pets might be a bit of an exaggeration, at least in Miguel's eyes of course.

Perhaps six books? No, that didn't make sense. Although Jess wasn't a huge reader, she did have a book in her hands from time to time.

So what was it? He was intrigued, that's for sure.

"You know, in my opinion, one kid is already way too much to handle," she sighed, "but six ? Nah, that's some good way of ending your life while still being alive."

But Miguel had barely heard the rest of the sentence, his mind having been caught by a single word: kid. He immediately froze, his heart skipping a beat.

Kid, like... children ? Like, actual human beings ? Small human beings ?

His eyes were wide, his mouth parted. No, he must not have heard correctly, although he dreamed that it was indeed that word that had been uttered.

"Why not? Surrounding ourselves with life is good," you said softly. "I'd love to see six little heads running around. I want three of each, three girls and three boys."

He wasn't mistaken: the discussion was really about the number of children you wanted. Six, he thought, six, six, the word echoing in his mind. He put both his hands on his hips, as if to hold on to something.

He pictured you, your rounded belly, stroking the hair of a child, your child, his child... both your children.

He swallowed, however, as another, immensely more tantalising vision took hold of his mind.

The vision of your cunt, glistening with your desire as from between its lips dripped little by little his own cum, his own seed leaking from you, your belly full of him...

It made his dick twitch for a hot second, and he couldn't remove that image, he didn't want to get rid of that image. The idea that your belly could be full of him, that he could breed you until he had no strength left was magnificent.

"What an egalitarian spirit," Jess noted wryly, "Well, it's all in order."

His thoughts were riveted on the image. He could almost hear in his own mind the sweet melody your moans would make as he came inside you again.

No, it was now impossible for him to think about anything else, he told himself that maybe he shouldn't be thinking about this. Except it's a well-known fact that if you tell someone not to think about something, they'll think about it.

He knew what breeding was, obviously, but what about you? Did you even have a clue what it was?

He tried to pull himself together, he had to either leave here or come towards you and pretend to come naturally. Would he be able to hold it together and act as if nothing had happened? Did he really have a choice in the matter after all? He breathed in, tightening his jaw as he decided to come towards you.

He walked purposefully, his usual grumpy face set surprisingly naturally as he advanced towards you.

"Ah, you're back," he sighed as if pleasantly surprised to see you both here, "how was the mission?"

"Excellent," Jess affirmed, "we've just finished the report, the anomaly has been taken care of as it should have been since we arrived."

He nodded, his serious face opening a control pad to check what she was saying and opening the file in question, pretending to read its contents. He had the impression that everywhere he looked the image came right back to him, on every tile, on every screen, everywhere in his mind.

"That's good work," he breathed.

"Damn right," nodded Jess. " Well, I'm off to join my own little demon, take care you two."

"See ya," you replied as she headed for the exit.

He wondered by what superhuman strength he managed to remain unwavering and stoic.

You moved closer to him, hugging his back and comforting yourself in the embrace.

"How was your day?" you asked, squeezing him in your arms.

Unwavering and stoic, Miguel, you have to remain unwavering and stoic.

You put your hands on his body, and with one touch his concentration was simply wiped out.

He turned to you, smiling a strange, uncertain smile as he stroked your hair, a little tense.

"You know how it is, just a lot of work," but his eyes were watching yours strangely, a flash of a vision where they were filled with desire looking back at him.

You studied him for a moment, noticing how distracted he seemed, his eyes looking at you in a strange way. You could feel a kind of desire there, a kind of longing, but you couldn't work out what it was.

"Is... everything alright?"

He shuddered, obviously his little show wasn't going to last much longer. He broke away from your embrace, he couldn't keep looking at you like that.

"Hey," you said softly, "you know you can tell me everything, right?"

Could I tell you this ? he wondered. He looked at you for a moment, another flash of you all moaning and covered in hickeys and marks on your body as you breathed his name. He looked away, closing his eyes in the hopes the flashes would stop.

"I'm afraid I cannot speak about this..."

But how he wanted to speak about this, to tell you how much he wanted to fuck you until you were full of him, until the only thing present in your mouth was his name and how much he wanted to see the sight of your round belly.

But you wouldn't listen to his silence. So you walked over to him and took his hand.

"Miguel, look at me. you asked, and he looked at you, his visions mingling with the reality where you were looking at him, worried. "Tell me."

He sighed. He couldn't run away from his ideas forever, run away from these images that he wanted to see in reality and not just in his mind. He wanted to raise his idea from the theoretical to the practical, and it was with an almost guilty breath that he admitted:

"I want to breed you."

There was a slight silence, his eyes plunged into yours, desperate to know what you were thinking. But above all he was met with confusion.

"What's breeding?" You had an idea of the term, usually used animalistically for the subject of... reproduction and maintenance of species. But just to be on the safe side with Miguel, you preferred to ask him anyway.

His lungs swelled like sails, did he really have to go through this?

"Why don't you ask Lyla what it is?" he suggested.

"Because I want to hear it from you, with your words" you assured him, your tone a mixture of strictness and curiosity.

He sighed, biting the inside of his cheek, slightly afraid of your reaction. You were practically hanging on his every word, waiting for him to explain.

"Breeding is... the act of a male and a female animal having sex, also known as mating, to reproduce..." he explained, pausing, "and procreate."

Your eyes widened slightly, and the possibility that he had overheard your previous conversation with Jess came to mind. All the same, you looked at him almost inscrutably, and he couldn't work out what you were thinking.

But now that the words had been said, he could no longer hide, no, he no longer had to hide. His thoughts were finally out, burning on his skin and lips.

He moved forward a little more, his gaze suddenly darkened by the desires he was no longer hiding.

"I want to fill you up with my cum and make sure you get pregnant."

Your lips were parted, your surprised eyes looking into his, black with desire and longing. A silence filled the air, both your hearts beating loudly in both your bodies. Miguel waited for an answer, unaware of the warm cloud that had settled in your lower belly.

He chuckled a little, an understanding smile gracing his lips as he said:

"See, your silence tells me enoug-"

"Breed me," you cut him off.

He stopped moving immediately, the statement immobilising him just like when he had understood what you and Jess were talking about.

Had his mind and his fantasies come together to play tricks on him? Or had you actually agreed with what he'd just said?

"What?" he said, his pronunciation almost slurred as he turned his attention to your next words.

"Breed me, Miguel" you repeated, determined as you swallowed in anticipation. "I want to carry you... in me."

The gleam in his eyes was almost predatory, but after all, wasn't that the very essence of breeding? The raw nature of it, the bestiality, the quenching of the oldest instinct that ever was.

You only had time to see his eyes turn red as he lunged for your lips, kissing you with his mouth wide open as your teeth almost clashed and he attacked your tongue.

The power with which he kissed you made you take a step backwards, but you weren't going anywhere, because Miguel immediately placed his hand in the small of your back to make sure he had you close to him.

He let out grunts between kisses, his hunger for your skin lengthening his canines as they brushed almost dangerously against your tongue.

Then he lifted you in one swift movement, placing you on his shoulder as he headed for the door leading to his quarters, his impatience growing faster than ever. You bit your lip, already swollen from his kisses, his hand gripping your thigh firmly as he led you to the bed.

He laid you down, following every movement of your body as he kissed you again. He stood back for a moment, watching your body.

"Do you have sentimental value for your suit?"

"What?" you asked, confused by the sudden question.

"Just answer," he asked through clenched teeth.

"I mean it's old but I can live withou-"

You hadn't even finished your sentence when he ripped off your suit with an ease that sent shivers down your spine, ripping the fabric covering your cunt, tearing your panties and throwing all the rags into the rest of the room.

"No questions about the sentimental value of my underwear?" you laugh lightly.

"I'll get you some new ones," he breathed, a carnivorous sneer inhabiting his lips, "I'll take great care in chosing them."

You swallowed as he kissed your neck, nestling in and marking your skin with thirst. He straightened to kiss your lips, and whispered against them:

"Turn over, get down on your elbows and knees".

You complied, his instructions increasing the size of the cloud of heat in your belly. You placed your folded arms flat on the sheets, your knees slightly apart.

"Lift your hips for me, nena," he commanded in a tone as soft as cotton.

You listened, arching your back as you lifted your hips, your ass gloriously up just for him to fuck. He swallowed, his hand coming to grip one of your buttocks and pulling it apart, pressing it between his fingers and gripping your skin full hand.

"Already so good and wet for me," he mused, one of his fingers passing between your folds.

Of course you were already wet, the way he had introduced the concept to you making you all fuzzy and warm in your belly. You'd never been against the idea of Miguel being a bit more violent, and to be honest you were excited by the idea of him being so from now on.

Once he'd coated himself sufficiently, he pushed one finger into you, soft moans falling from your lips filling the room. He added another one, and your lust was growing by the second. You were getting impatient too, but you couldn't help noticing that Miguel simply couldn't wait any longer.

Miguel was always very keen about taking his time, preparing you well apart from the few moments when one of you needed a quicky, but here eagerness was getting the better of him, and above all his most instinctive desires buried deep inside him had taken the reigns of all his actions.

The thought of him being in you through your core made him feel so drunk on you. These ideas had already been marinating in his mind for a while, it had only taken this conversation between you and Jess to flip the switch. And he observed in adoration, seeing you like this, underneath him with your much smaller frame, sitting up and ready to take him.

"Hands behind your back."

His orders became more and more urgent, his tone wavering with envy. It was impossible for him to formulate a whole sentence.

So you laid your face on the sheets, cheek pressed to your side as you brought your hands behind your back, joining your wrists together like you were imagining yourself handcuffed. You shivered as his hand, whose fingers had previously been inside you, reached out from between your folds and took both your wrists at the same time, locking them in this embrace. His hand was obviously big enough to hold both your wrists together and prevent you from breaking free from his grip.

He had locked you completely.

He had blocked out any possibility of you making a move other than squirming around him. Miguel would never tire of this control, this hold he had over you right now. You were his, nobody else's, and he would let eveybody know this by fucking his seed into you and get as many babies as you wanted.

That's when you felt the head of his dick coating itself with your juices, preparing to burry himself into you. You couldn't see Miguel like this, but you could hear him. Dark growls vibrated in his throat, deeper than you'd ever heard them before, and it felt intimidating.

He thrust, pushing his tip into you, and you let out a groan of relief that sank into the fabric of the sheets. You breathed softly, letting Miguel's thick, long cock sink into you. No matter how many times you had done it, taken him like that, you still couldn't get used to it.

His lower belly finally touched the skin of your ass, his dick deep inside you. And you felt him pressing against your stomach. You knew that if you brought one of your hands to your stomach, you'd feel the shape of his cock against your skin.

He was so deep in you, an almost bestial growl escaped him as he slowly began to pull back before thrusting in hard.

You let out a little cry of surprise and pleasure that echoed around the room, and he repeated the same gesture. He kept bearing down on you until he touched your slick on his lower belly and pulling away, pushing back in the next second until it'd touch his balls.

Your body was burning, unable to do anything but arch your back more and groan. Your hands were gripping the void, and the impossibility of finding a foothold in all this was making you feel out of control. But you were enjoying the sensations he was giving you, and so was he.

He listened to the symphony of your voice as he picked up the pace, the feeling of your gummy walls wrapping all tight and warm around him was absolute perfection to him.

He knew it wouldn't be long before his first cum would hit, but he needn't have worried. Miguel could go on for a long, long time, and he just hoped that you could keep up, although he had no doubt that his best girl would live up to his expectations.

He could no longer string a sentence together properly, the words he was trying to whisper as he sank deep inside you coming out as if chewed up by his long fangs.

He grunted, his rhythm and the tilt of your two bodies giving you both exceptional sensations. The knot in your stomach tightened, threatening to burst as Miguel came closer.

And the world stopped spinning for a second.

You came together, your walls closing spasmodically around him as you felt him spill into you. Because that's what you wanted, right ? That's the one thing you desired, and he was going to give it to you entirely.

He pulled out, just for the pleasure of seeing the work he had so long dreamed of seeing. And the satisfaction was superb, his white creamy cum slowly pouring out of your wet cunt, still pulsing with desire.

A dark laugh rose from his throat as he sank back into you and you let out a startled moan. He lowered himself, his lips pressing against your ear.

"I hope you thought of six names."

It would be a long, long night.

[phantobats]

Dark Batfamily AU

What about an alternate universe in which Gotham has been mostly cleaned up, yet the cause of it is a darker Batfamily operating sort of like the court of owls?

Bruce Wayne as a Dexter Morgan-style vigilante that calls himself "The Owl".

After taking out Tony Zucco for the deaths of the Graysons, he takes Dick in and tries to shield him from his vigilante life until he realizes that his ward is experiencing the same lust for violence. He trains him to become the first Talon.

When Dick becomes more independent and grows into his own vigilante identity called "Nighthawk", he starts targeting his victims through the investigative work he does as a forensic assistant in the GCPD. This is where he meets Barbara Gordon, a profiler also working in the GCPD.

Barbara, tired of her father's by-the-book mentality and fascinated by the work of the Birds, joins their team as the vigilante called "Nightingale". Nighthawk and Nightingale often work together on cases, although for their identities to remain a secret, they give up some targets to the police through their civilian identities.

Jason Todd has led a life filled with crimes and violence, most of it brought onto him by his father's actions. When he is close to killing him one night, the Owl stops him. Jason's time as a Talon is cut short and he resurrects as the "Vulture". The dip in the Lazarus Pit has granted him the ability to see the dead, which he takes advantage of to avenge the spirits of victims whose murderers run free.

Tim Drake has been following the Birds for a while now. He has managed to uncover their identities and has enough evidence to incriminate them for their crimes. Whilst he does agree that their targets deserved to be brought to justice, he does not agree with their methods of doing so. He comes to Bruce Wayne with a deal — send him off as a messenger/a warning and only act if the criminal continues down their path. This is how the vigilante "The Raven" is born.

Stephanie Brown is aware of her father's crimes and in an attempt to stop him before he garners the attention of the Birds, she creates the vigilante identity "The Dove" to help her father's next victims escape his gruesome plans. Tim figures her out quite quickly, yet he promises her to keep her mission a secret and help her.

Cassandra Cain joins the family in search of a new mentor. She has heard of the works of the Owl and desperately wishes to join in order to cleanse herself of her past crimes. Bruce takes her under his wing and introduces her to a life more peaceful than she's ever known. She later on becomes the "Black Swan" and teams up with Stephanie after her father's death and her rebirth as the "White Swan".

Damian Al Ghul-Wayne has been training under his mother and grandfather his entire life. Though Bruce disagrees with some of their beliefs, the league and the birds are allies and him and Talia remain on good terms. When Ra's is murdered and the league has to go into hiding to avoid being uncovered, Talia leaves Damian with Bruce and he becomes Bruce's Talon.

This is all still in the works but MAN. just imagine the possibilities I could cook up with this. I will definitely add more supernatural elements as to balance out Jason's arc, however.

[forestdeath1]

People say that Sirius never realised how offensive his words were until James or Remus said it to him.

I personally disagree with this take. I think, Sirius was very aware of how offensive his words and actions were. James didn't realise, but Sirius did.

Sirius finds people's sore spots and deliberately hits them. This is not James's "morally orientated" and rather impersonal bullying, this is a deliberate way of humiliating people Sirius doesn't particularly respect. People want to believe Sirius "didn't realise" what he was doing because it's easier to love Sirius and justify their Wolfstar that way, but Sirius always understood what he was doing, unlike James. Sirius probably rarely crossed the line beyond psychological bullying, but didn't stop James from physical bullying – he found it fun. But he himself hardly participated in physical aggression, although he obviously could have, being magically and physically gifted. It seems Sirius had drawn the line for himself.

Sirius wasn’t a little stupid boy, he matured very early, he had a very good understanding of boundaries and was always very aware of where he and James were crossing those boundaries.

“Bad luck, Prongs,” said Sirius briskly.

Sirius knew about James's crush on Lily and found it even funny that she rejected him. Because Sirius understood that James often crossed the line, and Lily’s reaction was quite fair.

‘What is it with her?’ said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him. 

‘Reading between the lines, I’d say she thinks you’re a bit conceited, mate,’ said Sirius.

While James played the splendid knight in shining armor, Sirius found it all amusing. Because it was fun for him. And no one told him he was doing anything wrong, he already knew it. Remus mostly stayed quiet, sometimes making them “feel ashamed", haha. He's just much more socially anxious than Sirius, he doesn't like being "unliked." Sirius has zero social anxiety, he didn't care whether people loved him or not (besides, James loved him, what else did he need? Right, nothing).

And I think Sirius truly only respected James. Someone who Sirius truly respects, he never hurt. The moment when Sirius "hurts" Harry in book five is a pretty harsh moment, because Sirius loses respect for Harry for a brief moment because Harry turns out to be different from James. But then Sirius shows a new and even stronger respect for Harry. It's a good moment. This moment allowed Sirius to grow in his relationship with Harry.

And it's obvious Sirius respected Lily by fifth year. And after Azkaban, he "learned" to respect others (he reacted pretty gently in his argument with Molly), but his arrogance still showed sometimes (ie, he rudely cut off Hermione, not letting her finish her thought).

Anyway, what had changed with age wasn't that Sirius had realised that his words and actions were offensive. He always knew that. And he had shown even after Azkaban how cruel he could be to those he didn't respect. The only thing that changed was that Sirius started respecting random people more, instead of sitting around like a shiny royal arse.

But there is a NUANCE here. Sirius most likely always treated girls with respect by default. Idk why I just feel it :D With Hermione, they just didn't see eye to eye.

[babygirlbites]

Wolves and their star signs

Hello my little cherubs - how are we doing ? I hope we are doing well

Are we pretending I haven’t been gone for years? Absolutely!

Anyway, let’s talk star signs real quick. None of this is based on canon birthdays, I’m simply beyond Stephanie and her knowledge of her own characters.

These are MY opinions, which are fact as I am factually never wrong. However you are welcome to discuss

Jacob is a Leo; bold, stubborn, natural born leader. this man has main characteritis for sure. I’ve never met a Leo man who didn’t think he was always correct and was so headstrong about it, even when being actively proven wrong. I feel like Jake could wake up one morning and decide the sky is red and anyone who disagreed or god forbid brought factual evidence to him that disproved this would be ignored AND judged. However, Leo’s are loyal (to a fault, often) so although he’s headstrong he’s a ride or die for sure. If he likes you he is going to defend you against anything (excluding himself though because remember, he’s always right) and if he LOVES YOU pfft, I wouldn’t be messing with a Leo’s lover that’s for sure.

Sam is a Pisces; emotional, calm, strong willed. ugh, where do i start. Pisces are so emotional, which may seem like a good thing but I promise you those Pisces men can and will use this to manipulate, gaslight and gatekeep. He’s artistic though, and generally a reliable gent, but sometimes he can be a real nasty little man. He’s sly about his anger, he isn’t a shouting/agressive man at all, he would never DREAM of hurting you (the Emily situation will not repeat) but he can make you feel like shit emotionally. Pisces are just too clever idk I don’t mean to slander you all but as an aqua woman yous are real difficult

Embry is an Aquarius; Creative, smart, thinks outside the box, independent . He’s sensitive, but only when he’s close enough to you to allow you too see that. Aqua knows aqua, I know this boy would be super hard to get into the inner circle of. Sure, he’s openly friendly to everyone, but only the small few that HE allows close will see the real him. Once you do though, he’s an open book, belly laughing at your shitty dad jokes and ugly crying at pet rehoming tiktoks on his fyp.

Paul is a Gemini; loud, fun, and maybe a bit toxic. now I did debate aries for Paul but I just think he’s an air sign through and through. Sure, he’s firey as hell, but he’s so charming and no Aries has that level of rizz (sorry guys but the truth hurts sometimes). He’s a player through and through, he’s got a contacts list full of girls under code names like “girl from Seattle” or “drives a Honda” - which the feminist in me has an issue with but I can’t lie I love a Gemini. They are feral, and as long as you can prepare for that, then they will be the most fun you ever have. Just don’t get attached, or do, I can’t tell you what to do!

Jared is a libra; fun, lighthearted and emotionally wrecked. I love libras but damn do you guys wear your hearts on your sleeves! You’re so easily hurt, and you’ve BEEN hurt, and guess what? You’ll get hurt again. I feel like Jared’s the kind of guy to get played by the same girl/guy multiple times but still tell everyone they are his “twin flame”. Please treat this boy right - I don’t know if he can take the heartbreak (he can, and it will NOT put him off)

Quil is a cancer; he’s soft, he’s loving and he’s emotionally enlightened! We love a cancer in this house, emotional like a Pisces but open like a libra, a cancer is the right mix of mature and fun. They are sweet and sensitive and if any star sign is going to be an empath, it’s cancer. I feel like quil is the guy you go too when you’ve just found out something awful - all the guys would be there for you but where Paul or Jake or Sam even would blow a gasket and leave you alone while then went out on a rampage to hurt whomever was unlucky enough to hurt the one they love, Quil would take you in, cook for you and listen to whatever you had to say. Of course, he’s angry someone has upset you, but he’s more bothered that you are okay then that they aren’t. He’s a good guy, that’s all.

Leah is a Taurus; strong willed, well routed and stubborn. She’s practical, she’s gonna tell you straight up what she thinks with no filter, and sometimes that can hurt. She’s not the biggest personality in the room or the loudest voice at the party but she’s straight to the point and not afraid to be heard when she sees fit. She’s fun too, when she wants to be and with whom she wants to be. Under all of this though she’s family centred; she will kill for her family (and found family).

Seth is a Virgo; bold, grounded but enchanting. Virgos have a way of capturing a whole room without even having to try, they aren’t brash or loud but they are just so vibrant man idk! There’s something about them. Anyway I think Seth is just a lovely sunshine character, he’s deffo got cancer in his big three too, maybe his moon, but the Virgo energy is there for me. He’s the fun earth sign and he’s not gonna let you forget it

[applecidersstuff]

Have you ever thought that Wylan may be able to learn any other language and be able to read?

It is slow, yes, it's hard and after some time the words start to shiver, but he's able to make out at least some amount of information from the text.

I couldn't find any examples of letters in Zemeni, Suli, Fierdan, or Kaelish but the Kerch alphabet that I found sent me into a literal coma. I mean, have you seen it?! No wonder Wylans dyslexic ass saw spiders and bugs when looking in those books! those letters look like spiders and bugs!!!

Knowing that Fierdan was based on one of the Scandinavian languages I may guess it has the alphabet that we are used to. So it might be possible for Wylan to read it at least a bit. I am not saying that he SHOULD be able to read, no, but I don't think that he's unable to read entirely, and it's quite possible he can read Fierdan.

It said in Crooked Kingdom that Wylan tried to write and read but dropped that idea after seeing the disappointment on his father's face when he stuttered.

Imagine Wylan listens to Inej talk in suli to her parent and wonders if he could try to learn it. Imagine Inej catches him using his poor knowledge of ravkan to talk to her parents and realize what he'd been doing.

Imagine Inej teaches Wy suli when she comes back from her voyages and when he couldn't do something she'd tell him how Kaz was teaching her Kerch, and how annoyed he was every time she demanded he teach her more and more.

One day when Kaz visits, Inej agitates Wylan to try to read something, as she believes Kaz is a good influence on him(Jesper and Nina strongly disagree).

Wylan starts to quietly read some book he stole from Inej the day before and not the one she offered. This one was harder than the one Inej found, mostly because of the font but also because he didn't know some words.

He sits on the couch next to Kaz who watches Jesper and Inej argue over something unimportant regarding Nina's wedding, Hanne stands next to them having no idea what is going on because in a few long years of their friendship Jesper and Inej somehow taught each other suli and Zemeni(or at least some parts of them) and now were having an argument in a wild mixture of Suli, Zemeni and Kerch. Seating next to Wylan and Kaz on the couch is Nina, she looks as confused as Hanne, although shouldn't be as she knows all three of those languages.

When he starts to read out loud Wylan feels his heart beating so fast he thinks it might jump out of his chest, but he doesn't stop. It takes some time for Nina and Kaz to notice him. First, it is Kaz, he turns his head slightly, watching Wylan through his prereferral vision, but as he slowly realizes what Wylan is doing he fully turns his head. Wylan doesn't look up, he doesn't want to see that look of disappointment he had seen on his father's face so long ago.

Next, it's Nina, she turns to see what Kaz is looking at and sees Wylan clutching a book with a name written in suli. when she listens, She hears Wylan talk in suli and realizes that Wyan is reading. Very slow as if he was struggling to push every word out of his mouth.

When he, how it sounded, finishes a page he looks up. Inej has the widest, proudest, smile he had ever seen on her. Jesper seemed to still be putting the pieces in place but when he did his face had the weirdest spawn of emotions. Nina looked shoked and happy at the same time. But what surprised Wylan the most was Kaz. His jaw what you'd call " dropped" he was looking at Wylan with round eyes and for a moment Wylan thought Kaz had wanted to hug him. Then he smiled. It was the widest smile Wylan had seen from him.

None of them seemed disappointed at him.

None of them were.

[robo-milky]

[More Info]

Nicknames:

Henchman (Grim) | Claws (Ace) | Clochey Wochey (Cater) | House Cat (Leona)

Shrimpy (Floyd) | Trickster -> La Petite Clochette (Rook) | City Kitty (Epel) | Kit -> Honorary Human (Sebek)

Kit of Beasts -> Heart of Man (Malleus)

In Return:

Master _____ (Everyone except for faculty)

Uncle (Ramshackle Ghosts)

Bio:

An emotionally distant girl who thinks with her brains more than her heart. Her words may come off as insensitive, but it’s always said in a neutral tone. Prefers to state the facts and look for the most efficient way out, than tackling more abstract concepts like emotions. Despite this outlook on life, she is a skeptical, worst-case scenario planner. Cloche will go the extra mile if it means security and success is guaranteed. When it comes anything, be it a task/person/subject, Cloche is the type of person who would want to know anything and everything about it to be prepared. When push comes to shove, Cloche will take on the role of leadership and make all the hard decision no one else wants to make. Cloche is a very “the ends justify the means” kind of person.

Core Values -> Competency + Freedom

Background:

A cosplayer from Earth who, after exiting from a con, took a wrong turn to get home and was swept away by the NRC horse carriage.

“I did not put so much effort into studying and making the right friends just for it all to go into smoke! …What’s the point anymore?”

Ghost Camera: “I’m pretty sure Headmaster Crowley gave this to me as binding to keep me here.”

Snow Hand Cream: “Master Rook could tell this cream is from Neige’s line just by the smell! Isn’t that impressive?”

Bandaids: “I originally bought these for myself, but I end up giving them to others…”

Advils: “Would you like one? Binding Bells told me you were getting headaches, so…”

Handkerchief: “Here, let me wipe that up for you, Master.”

Hair ties: “Master Epel gave them to me during a joint P.E. class. The day after, I overheard Master Vil complaining about his missing hair ties.”

Pencil Case: “If you wish to borrow a pencil, I expect you to give me something back as collateral— so I know you’ll return it back to me.”

Lollipops: “The lollipops in Twisted Wonderland are great and all, but they can’t beat the taste of Chupachups.”

Thread and Needle: “Oh, you’re missing a button.”

Lactaid: “You don’t need one… do you?”

Scrapbook: “Do NOT touch.”

Textbook: “I’m so close annotating the whole book. Just a couple pages left…”

Spiral bound notebook: “Master Rook complimented the calligraphy title in my notes! …Maybe I should do the same thing for futures ones.”

Phone: “Master Grim, please stop playing games…”

Sketchbook: “Master Epel complained about me drawing him too ‘girly’, but I only drew what I saw.”

Notable Thoughts: Cloche’s

“Headmaster Crowley must be busy running such a prestigious school like this… So busy, I wonder if he’d have time looking for a way I can go back to my world.”

“Master Grim’s orders aren’t as bad you think. All he really does is make me do his share of the chores. The simplicity of his orders are a blessing compared to other students’…”

“Master Riddle is accomplished, but he throws tantrums too easily at the drop of a pin.”

“Master Ace may be annoying, but he can be a surprisingly reliable when needed.”

“Although Master Deuce has a good attitude, I don’t think I’m patient enough to wait for him to catch up.”

“I do like Master Jack’s work ethic, but his moral compass is suffocating.”

“I can relate to Master Ruggie’s pragmatism to some degree, though I personally disagree with his disregard of fine arts.”

“If Master Azul ever asks about my whereabouts, no he did not.”

“Is it bad I felt no sympathy for Master Kalim when Master Jamil overblotted?”

“I feel like I’ve been seeing Epel more and more since he stayed over at Ramshackle for the VDC. I get that it’s probably convenient for him to go with me, if we’re going to head back to the same destination anyways, but he doesn’t have to accompany during short breaks.”

“I think Master Rook is very admirable! He’s intelligent, athletic, and creative! …I wish more people could give him a chance and see him for who he really is— but… he probably wouldn’t like that… After all, half the things I know about him, he’s never told me in person.”

“I have deep respect for Master Vil, I really do. Although I have some qualms with the lyrics he wrote for ‘Absolutely Beautiful’.”

“Before asking Master Idia for homework help, Master Grim and I always play a game of rock-paper-scissors. …Why? Because neither of us want to be the bargaining chip.”

“I don’t see why I should fawn over the prince of a foreign land— let alone, from another world. Master Malleus will not be my king, nor will I be his subject. Sage Island is out of his jurisdiction, anyways.”

“…Some of my acting was genuine. A part of me was so desperate to rid myself of the curse, that I was fine with fooling myself. I’ll admit, if Master Rook didn’t come first, then I’m sure he would have... ahem— Capable, composed… it’s almost scary.”

Notable Thoughts: Others’

“Cloche could’a been the perfect henchman if he didn’t have to call other people ‘Master’!” - Grim

“With Cloche around, Heartslabyul doesn’t have to resort to using a cat beastman to play the violin, but an actual cat. That way, we can follow rule 529 without any loopholes.” - Riddle

“Me, friends with that stick in the mud? Pfft—! As if!” - Ace

“Even in a sticky situation, I’ve never seen Cloche lose his cool before. I wonder how he does it…” - Deuce

“For a beastman, Cloche really doesn’t like noise. I get that too, since our ears are more sensitive than humans… but shouldn’t he have already gotten used to it, by now?” - Jack

“I can’t have Leona ordering Cloche around, cause he’ll steal my job!” - Ruggie

“It’s such a shame Cloche refused my offer for him to work at the Monstro Lounge. …We could have made good money and attracted more customers if we used his cat form to promote on our Magicam…” - Azul

“Cloche is really nice! He’s kind of like Jamil, helpful and a bit stern. …But I also feel like there’s a darkness… Ah— Nahaha! N-Nevermind! I want to know more about him too.” - Kalim

“Cloche is surprisingly weak. He could barely lift up a crate of apples when I called him over for help the other day. I ought to be annoyed he couldn’t help, but I’m also kind of glad?” - Epel

“I thought I could feel the claws of a wild beast, but there’s a beauty to reservation too. Perhaps I’ll need to lure it out.” - Rook

“Honestly… All the work I put into reviving Cloche’ natural curls has gone to waste, since he left Pomefiore.” - Vil

“‘Master Hornton’, an amusing nickname, indeed. I was under the impression Cloche had known my identity, but it seems my expectations had been subverted.” - Malleus

“Tch. Cloche can play the victim when needed, I’ll give him that. Manipulating his curse to his advantage makes him no better than those Night Raven College miscreants he claimed to have disassociated with.” - ???

Extras/Trivia:

- Birthday: May 12

- ISTJ-T/6w5

- “She/Her” is only used in a meta/narration sense, otherwise— she uses “he/him”

- Prefers voice > looks

- When Cloche is in her cat form, she has no conscious thoughts and move as if she’s on autopilot, like a normal cat.

- Cloche has no distinct handwriting. It varies depending on what she’s writing and who it’s for— yet even then, no two letters look the same. (Unless forging)

- Cloche has no inner fur in her ears. It’s to signify that the cat ears are unnatural— fake.

- Has a habit of either covering her mouth with her hand/sleeve or turning away whenever she breaks into a genuine smile. Can smile on command for a camera (cosplayer intuition).

- Goes to the school forest to calm down whenever she feels emotional or if she has an inkling that her feral side will come out

- Cloche has germaphobic tendencies.

- Has a habit of biting her index finger or thumb to suppress pain/excessive laughter.

- School ghosts and paintings are fond of Cloche for always being respectful and fixing their frames, the Ramshackle ghosts, especially.

- Feral! Cloche represents Id

Gallery:

Cards:

Groovy!! [SR Tsumsitter]

Groovy!! [SSR Union/Birthday Jacket]

[SR Luxe Couture]

[SR New Years Attire]

[SSR Birthday Bloom]

Groovy!! [SSR Glorious Masquerade]

[writing-neverheardofher]

The corner of a gala is the best place to make a friend. pt1

Gala’s were typically tedious and terrible. But you promised your million dollar friend James Anderson to go with him because and you quote, “If I bring someone then I have to leave with you so others will no to back off ya know?” Which, no, no you don’t. Bruce Wayne dose that all the time, you could just respectfully tell the girl no, you don’t want to take her home cause you have no interest in sex. But that would be way to hard for you computer nerd friend so here you are, standing near the corner waiting for 2am to it so you can go over and drag your friend out. It was almost clock work at this point. 

Almost to the point that the press started calling you his Cinderlla, always forcing him to leave. You didn’t care, as long as you got your Jet’s Pizza or some fancy tuna afterwards you’d attend these stupid events. Which brings you back to today. One of Gotham’s elites was hosting some kind of fancy party, for what you didn’t remember or care about, and anyone who was worth anything was here. Which meant you got your three glasses of champaign and went to the corner. 

You noticed Bruce Wayne come through the huge double doors, (three kids trailing behind him) because who wouldn’t, most of the crowd drifted closer to him imminently. Swarming the man with charming fake smiles and way to happy to be here conversations. An hour passed, James came to check up on you once and refill one of you glasses before he was sucked back into anther fake conversation. 

“What a great way to spend a Friday night.” You mumble to yourself. 

“I’ll have to disagree with you,” a young voice sounded beside you, startling you to almost drop one of your glasses. You turned to look down at Damion Wayne, staring back up at you, frowning, “I’d much rather be reading a book with my pets.” 

You initial shock set aside you smile slightly and the weirdness, “Really? I think I’d rather be eating Jet’s and watching a Disney movie. Good way to destress without giving myself a headache. But books are nice too.” 

Damion nodded courtly, I’m Damion Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s only blood son.” He stuck out his hand for yours. 

“F/N L/N?” You responded slowly, suddenly wondering why he was giving you a formal interdiction, firm handshake and all. Or as firm as a 12 year old hand shake could be. 

“Father says it’s rude if I don’t interduce myself to new people, hence.” He took his hand back and made a back and forth gesture. 

“Ah, that.. makes sense?” You smiled and chuckled to yourself. This kids was a good kinda weird. James would like him. 

“Are we friends now? I’m going to be in school soon, so I figured I should learn how to make friends with other humans.” He went back to staring out at the crowd of people mingling about. 

“Umm, sure.” You responded, not quite sure of yourself, “although, word of advice, it might help if you didn’t call other humans. Makes them feel weird.” 

“Did it make you feel weird.” 

You blinked for a moment before thinking about it, “No, not really. But I’m weird, don’t use me as an example.” 

Damion turned back to you, looking very serious, “I shall take that information and carry it to farther conversation.” 

You made a questioning hum in the back of your throat. 

“Well,” Damion spoke, a little sheepishly now, “we are friends now. And friends have conversation regularly right?” He turned to look down at his shoes. 

You smiled teeth and all, “Of course they do, friend.” 

His head whipped up to you, you turned to look back at him. Now both smiling in the corner of a gala neither of you wanted to attend. 

-----

pt2

https://www.tumblr.com/writing-neverheardofher/709535511925194752/the-corner-of-a-gala-is-the-best-place-to-make?source=share

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLtNgUGe/

thoughts on this video?

For those of you who don't want to open the link, the first part argues that it's in character for HoTD Daemon, and after that the creator says that although it's in character, he doesn't like the way HotD has made Alicent and Rhaenyra victims of horrible men. And anon, for the most part I do agree, but with a few caveats.

It is not at all out of character from what they've shown us of Daemon in S1. It's not character assassination, it's not "he would never," in fact it's a perfectly reasonable and even natural progression from the choking scene in S1. While we can argue about book!Daemon, show!Daemon is a violent man who often takes his frustrations out on those less powerful than him. We've seen this from him-- he "cleans up" King's Landing by personally administering violent justice without trial, he bashes the messenger when he gets an unwelcome message from Viserys, he kills his first wife, he makes a plan to take Rhaenyra's virginity so she will be forced to marry him, and later, as her husband, he chokes her. I think that if Rhaenyra isn't doing war the way Daemon wants to do war, he's not going to be particularly patient about it, instead he's going to lash out. Remember what was driving Daemon in S1-- the desire to be needed by his brother. He sought that out in Rhaenyra instead, and probably assumed that as a woman, Rhaenyra would need him the way Viserys never had. I mean, she told him as much, "I need you uncle, I can't face the greens without you." But when she turns out not to be as easily led or willing to let him take the lead as he might have expected, he gets pissed off. This was not what he signed up for! And a pissed off Daemon is a violent Daemon. So this is entirely in character for the Daemon HotD is portraying.

Was it a good idea to go in this direction? I'm of two minds. I admit I'm not a fan of "the women want peace but the men ruin everything," as a trope, but whether or not they're actually going in that direction is hard to say from previews and a few clips. What I will say is that having introduced the domestic violence element in season one, I think the show almost had to follow up on it. To treat it as a one-off that didn't count, or to ignore it completely, would be wildly irresponsible, inconsistent, and just plain poor storytelling. One thing that almost everyone who has criticized HotD has pointed out is inconsistent characterization, and while some fans might disagree with HotD introducing that element, and I think that's fair, introduce it they did and I think at this point fans have to make their peace with it because Daemon is clearly never going to be presented as a good or healthy partner for Rhaenyra.

[gildedworld]

Good Night

Rosaria hated the night. To be fair, the day wasn’t too much better either. But the night especially she hated.

When other kids told people that there were monsters under their bed, or voices in their heads, the adults around them would take them somewhat seriously. But every single adult around Rosaria would just nod and ask her to be patient. She is dead, she has all the time in the world, Rosaria thought to herself silently as she stared up at the ceiling of her room blankly.

It was because she was a mutant - voices were expected. The adults would say, it was just the voices of other people around her - the inner thoughts and workings of their minds that lay exposed when they slept. But she knew that wasn’t the case. This voice was different. It was constant - it had been with Rosaria her entire life, constantly lurking at the back of her mind. 

It was hard for her to explain it in words. It was as if she had two people inside her - one being herself, and the second was her. She had a name - Rhiannon. She too had been alive at one point from what Rosaria had gathered - some sort of warrior queen in ancient Europe. And that in itself was never the problem. It was Rhiannon itself - her words, her mannerisms, and most of all, her looks. She was tall, slender and bore a striking resemblance to Rosaria herself. It wasn’t just the hair and eyes, it was everything about her.

“You won’t find me in the books your less than adequate tutor preaches from,” Rhiannon spoke calmly.

For others, at least their thoughts were private. But that was not the case for Rosaria - she shared a mind with Rhiannon. Rhiannon heard every single thing she thought of. Even the things she hadn’t told anyone about. Rhiannon knew it all. And then some.

“Maybe because you never existed,” Rosaria whispered calmly.

It wasn’t always that she saw Rhiannon. But she certainly heard her often.

“Then how do you hear me?” Rhiannon asked dryly. Rosaria could feel her rolling her eyes. 

“How can I hear you?” Rosaria asked, with an equally dry tone. “Maybe I am crazy,” she added.

“Are you?” Rhiannon questioned. 

“You tell me,” Rosaria answered with a sigh, as she closed her eyes. “It’s not like I have a large circle of friends to consult anyway,” Rosaria added. 

“What you need are allies, not friends to engage in idle chatter with,” Rhiannon responded, scoffing slightly.

“I’m 16. I’m not going to battle anytime soon,” Rosaria responded dryly as she turned on her left side, preparing to sleep.

“That is unfortunate,” Rhiannon replied.  

“Although, I’d probably choose battle over going to class tomorrow,” Rosaria replied with another sigh.

“I can not disagree with that. Your tutors and peers are most unimpressive,” Rhiannon replied, scoffing slightly again.

“Not all of them,” Rosaria replied softly. Of course, she had a specific peer in mind - he was the most impressive to her.

Rosaria could feel Rhiannon roll her eyes again and that just made her smile. She knew Rhiannon could never understand. Alexander had been the only person to take her seriously when she told him about the voices. Of course, she had still yet to tell him that she had seen Rhiannon. After all, Rhiannon was not a figment of her imagination - she was annoyingly very real.

“You should get rest - it is important for recovery,” Rhiannon marked, and this time, Rosaria couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“I would - except someone keeps talking to me,” Rosaria replied dryly.

“Who?” Rhiannon asked, and Rosaria refused to engage with that. She knew where Rhiannon was going with this. 

Rhiannon had brought it up a couple of times now - that Rhiannon was Rosaria. Or something like that. Rosaria didn’t fully understand it, nor did she have any interest in doing so. All she wanted to do was get at least a few hours of sleep and for once, wake up on time.

[noforkingclue]

The Body in the Library Chapter 3 (Sherlock Holmes x reader)

“Hmm,” you muttered as you pushed the door open, “very interesting.”

“Everything alright, dear?

You glanced up at Mrs Hudson and gave her a bright smile. She handed you a cup of tea which you took gratefully. You sat back against the wall and stretched your legs out in front of you.

“Just doing research,” you said, “and realising that I might need to change a plot point.”

“And what might that be?”

You gave Mrs Hudson an unimpressed look.

“Now then, you don’t expect me to reveal all my secrets before the book is published?” you asked

“Maybe just a small hint,” she said, “I am letting you practise-”

“Y/n? What are you doing here?”

You glanced over and smiled at John. Sherlock ignored you, as usual, and you tried to trip him up as he walked past.

“Oh I do wish the two of you would get along.” sighed Mrs Hudson

“Not going to happen.” you said and held your hand out to John who pulled you to your feet

“What are you doing here?” asked John as you followed him up the stairs to his and Sherlock’s flat

“Mrs Hudson is a fan,” you said, “ended up meeting her after my first run in with Holmes. If there’s something I need practising, like in case lock picking, she lets me do that here! All she asks is a few tidbits of my next book in return. And maybe a mention or two.”

“And why exactly are you here?” asked Sherlock

“I wanted to find out if you’re making progress on my case.” you replied, collapsing into one of the armchairs and throwing your legs over the side of it.

“Boring,” said Sherlock, “dull. Wasn’t even worth my time going.”

“Then why did you?” you asked

“Because John kept pestering me.”

“I did no-”

“You’re kidding me.” you said, exasperated

“No.” Sherlock said, his back facing you as he looked out of the window.

“Ugh,” you threw your head back, “I dragged you all the way over to my flat for what? Fucking waste of time.”

“Like most of the things you do.” replied Sherlock curtly

“Lots of people would disagree with you,” you snapped back, “then again this is clearly too complicated for you.”

You gave John a bright smile and swung your legs off of the armchair.

“I’ll leave it to Scotland Yard then,” you called over your shoulder as you headed towards the door, “they’ll probably have more luck with it.  If you can’t even solve a simple murder, which I even wrote and solved, what hope is there?”

In a flash Sherlock was in front of you. You raised your eyebrows and smirked up at him.

“I know what you’re doing,” he said, “and it isn’t going to work.”

“Then let me pass,” you said, putting your hands on your hips, “I have more research to complete.”

“You mean more locks to pick.”

“Practical experience is always the best.”

“Then find somewhere else to do it.”

“Why can’t I be here? It’s a free country.”

“You distract me.”

“Sorry Holmes, I don’t feel the same way.”

“Then leave.”

“No. Mrs Hudson allows me to research here and she makes a good cuppa.”

“Fucking hell,” John practically slammed down his newspaper, “do you two want me to leave?”

Both you and Sherlock looked over at John in confusion.

“No.” said Sherlock

“It’s your flat,” you said with a shrug, “well, yours and his.”

“Well I thought you two might want to be alone.” said John

“And why the fuck would I want to be alone with him?” you asked

“My feelings exactly.” said Sherlock

“Oh no,” you said horrified, “you’ve got us agreeing on something John. Lets just,” you waved a hand and walked away from Sherlock, “get back to the matter at hand.”

You collapsed back into his chair and rested your chin on your hand. Sherlock glared at you but didn’t make you move from the chair. He probably knew that you wouldn’t listen to him anyway.

“So Mr Genius,” you said, “what can you tell us about my dead body?”

“Late thirties, professional, married but is having an affair. No children although he wants them. He feels trapped in his marriage and feels like this is how he can take control,” said Sherlock, rolling his eyes, “obvious stuff.”

“Well, yes,” you said, exasperated, “I knew that already.”

“How-” said John

“My book,” you said, “fits the description of the first murder victim exactly.”

“Wait? First?” asked John, “Are there going to be more?”

“Obviously.” said Sherlock

“Three people died in this book,” you said, “so there’ll be two more victims.”

“No.”

Both you and John looked over at Sherlock. He was facing the fireplace and ran a finger along the mantlepiece.

“So you do know my books.” you said

“Mrs Hudson took my skull,” Sherlock commented, “and John’s going off to work soon-”

“Fuck, I’m going to be late.”

You winced as the door slammed shut.

“So you want to bounce ideas off of me?”

“No but I’m stuck with you.”

Sherlock looked down at you and you crossed your legs and smirked at him. He just rolled his eyes and sat down in John’s now empty seat.

“So,” you said, “where do we begin?”

“Your editor.”

“Matthew? Why.”

“Because he knows your books.”

“As do I.”

“Yes but there’s a difference.”

“Which is?”

“He’s not you.”

“Ah. Different perspective?”

“No. He just might have some semi intelligent opinions.”

[arecomicsevengood]

My Favorite Thing Is Drawings

Got book two of Emil Ferris' My Favorite Thing Is Monsters out from the library yesterday. I read book one courtesy of the library too, and so did not necessarily remember all the finer details of the story, but was able to follow along pretty well. The reader is reminded of the basics up front. Ferris is an incredible artist, especially in color, able to capture painting-like effects of depth and texture through the crosshatching of colored pens, and it's always impressive. The thing that is weird about the book is that the most impressive images have basically nothing to do with the overall narrative: Images are copied from paintings in a museum, or from monster magazine covers. (It is possible the monster magazine covers might actually be Ferris' own designs, but within the context of the story they are copied images.) The main character is an artist, named Karen Reyes, narrating her life and telling her story, as well as the story of her family and other people that live in her apartment building, but there is almost a negative correlation between how important something is to the story and how much gusto she attacks it with. One important piece of backstory, once Karen learns it, is specifically described as being so upsetting that she has to draw it in a cartoon style rather than be overwhelmed by it. The book keeps going, chugging along, remaining compelling in its narrative. But then, the book's climax is not depicted at all, elided in a blackout of in-story head injury, as if setting up the story to be resolved in a third volume.

This last part is particularly bizarre or galling because the book is labeled as the conclusion of the story. Ferris and Fantagraphics were engaged in a legal battle after Book One became such a huge success - She made a shocking amount of money in royalties, but it seems like she was offered large advances for future books, and now has a contract with Pantheon for upcoming work, one of which is apparently a prequel to My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. But all of this is on some level besides the point when discussing the work itself. (Although I do think it's weird that reviews say the book ends on a cliffhanger rather than doesn't end. You get to a certain point in the reading when you realize the amount of pages left before the end is not enough to wrap everything up at the pacing the story has been told so far, and then you end up being basically correct.)

But what I think is interesting is, this book is blurbed by Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, and Alison Bechdel. I'm not tryinand g to offer a hot take where I say the book isn't good - it's quite clear why people would like it. I think one could make a case that this book is more like illustrated prose than comics, but on a certain level, who cares, why make rules when the work is effective. Still, there is a take, which I guess I associate with Sammy Harkham, although I don't know who would disagree, that the way a comic works is, you draw all the parts equally. You make everything as visually interesting as you can, even the boring parts. I haven't seen anyone make the case that Ferris' book is effective because the drawing is sometimes really impressive and other times perfunctory. People instead note that she can really draw, wow, you immediately realize when looking at the book that she can really draw, and then there's this story that's really compelling that pulls you through.

What I have seen though is plenty of people that like comics just not really care, not really engage with the work, given its level of success and price point, and the sort of maybe-resentment that animates a dismissal of "that doesn't seem like it's for me" when a comic hits with the NPR crowd. These people are perhaps not wrong: The book is based around a very specific set of formal specifications that make it unclear what Ferris could do if she didn't have Reyes as her narrating main character to excuse her indulgences and the things she gives short shift to. There is this sort of disjunct of values that emerges between the comics that are like by people who read maybe one comic a decade and one comic a day where maybe the latter would never peruse the comic the former had so enthusiastically recommended to them. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters doesn't need to be good comics in order to be a good book. But you can see in how it doesn't conclude that it still benefits from the expectations people come to comics with, that for all the novelistic structure employed in its nesting stories it is still deferring its conclusion like the soap opera of a classic comic strip or a superhero serial. Part of me loves that, that comics are so much about you living with them and the jokes and energy a drawing conveys that add up to a worldview that they don't need to cohere into a form that carries a conclusive third act. But I'm not seeing anyone make that case for Ferris specifically, the same way I'm not seeing argue that her approach to having the best drawings be narratively extraneous is what engages the reader. I'm just seeing enthusiastic critical hosannas, which the book itself can't quite deliver on, at least in terms of eliciting from me.

[yurisorcerer]

What are your top five dragons?

I've thought long and hard about this, and I've come up with a list that I think is pretty good.

Spoilers for, honestly, like, a couple things below the cut. I've tagged the post accordingly.

5. Raijin, my Dragonite from Pokemon Violet

(Obviously this isn't specifically a picture of Raijin, my Switch is sadly batterydead at the moment, but this is about what she looks like in my head. Anyway!)

Somehow or another, Dragonite ended up being the very last Gen I Pokemon I'd never caught or trained in any way. I'd caught all of the others in SOME playthrough of SOME pokemon game over the years, even the ones people generally don't love or tend to forget about. (I will be a Lickitung apologist until the day I die.) I'm not sure why I avoided the Dratini line for so long. Some general subconscious backlash? I can't really say for sure. Anyway, I caught Raijin off the coast of Paldea in Violet and she quickly became essentially the ace of my team. As it turns out, Rain Dance + Thunder with an Electric terra type is a pretty good combination.

4. Black Hole Dragons, from a Dungeons & Dragons homebrew sourcebook

I looked and looked and to my IMMENSE frustration, could not find a copy of the old-school D&D homebrew sourcebook that these things are from, but please trust me and hear me out here.

Black hole dragons as depicted in this book, a truly ridiculous bestiary of appropriate foes for Epic-level adventurers, were bizarre snaking collages of geometry that could grow to be larger than the size of the visible universe and erase people from existence by breathing on them. After encountering these when reading these sourcebooks at the impressionable age of uh....like, 23, vanilla D&D's usual array of chromatics and metallics don't do a ton for me anymore.

3. Nicol Bolas, from Magic: The Gathering

This guy.

This fucking guy. This is how you do an impossibly powerful doomsday villain right.

Nicol Bolas is a dragon who's also a dimension-hopping wizard. As part of what is by my estimation one of Magic's last good sets, he also kills a bunch of faux-Egyptian deities and takes their place as the divine ruler of an entire dimension. This guy fucking rules and every single card that's ever had his name on it is awesome and if you disagree, well, that's good for you, because WoTC killed him right around the time they decided to make Magic boring forever.

2. Falin Touden, from Dungeon Meshi

No, she counts. Get back here.

If I stopped to count all of the ways I thought Falin was an amazing character we'd be here all day, but very briefly I find her arc and her interesting liminal role in Dungeon Meshi's narrative super compelling, and I find her characterization very, very relatable, and not entirely in a way that reflects well on me.

But as a *dragon.*

As a DRAGON

Falin is still one of the best to ever do it. The original Red Dragon is a very cool and pivotal part of Dungeon Meshi, and I love that too, but when Falin is fused with it by Thistle we get what is just honestly one of the most memorably bitchin character designs of all time, a ludicrously hot capital MG Monster Girl, and a huge driving force for the rest of the story. Not to mention Ryoko Kui clearly put a ton of thought into how she would work, since a key flaw in her design (so to speak) is what eventually leads to her being saved. I love her to pieces, and the form Falin finally gets at the very end of the story is honestly super cool-looking too! Although it's less dragonny than this one.

The Dragon, from "Dragon"

headspace-hotel's "Dragon" is one of my favorite poems of all time. It's easily the best tumblr post, and while I don't read a ton anymore, it's definitely one of my favorite overall pieces of literature.

I realize that being so brief in the top entry makes this a little anticlimactic, but I can't bring myself to rob the poem of its impact. I linked it there, so please go read it. More than anything else on this list, it's made me think. Beyond simply thinking it's an absolutely great piece of work (which it is), it's very meaningful to me. A reminder that the danger is still present in our time.

Some honorable mentions: the rest of the Dungeon Meshi dragons, every dragon from the Souls series and from Elden Ring, Paarthurnax from Skyrim, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Godzilla, Beast Machines Megatron, and Odious, the Green Dragon who turns into a giant d20 that I bought from Hasbro Pulse a year or so ago.

[thewertsearch]

Asks Comp - 16/4

I literally did not know The Baby Is You was a thing. To be welcomed back into the comic like this after four months is very on brand for Homestuck.

... and wow, its outro really does match the end of this song, doesn't it? That's even funnier than if he'd snuck some of Megalovania in there.

Ooh, that's another liveblog I'll want to check out when I'm done! I've never actually seen a Worm liveblog before. Adding it to the list myself!

Nothing's really changed since I've been gone! I make a conscious effort not to do much Homestuck analysis off-blog, since I want my journey to be fully documented here.

It's good to be back! I'm looking forward to a full reread when I'm done.

Would you believe I didn't even know there was a book?

I also didn't know the movie had two (allegedly) terrible sequels, which is very funny. Neverending story indeed.

Thank you! I can't take too much credit, though - most of my tagging system has been crowdsourced from askers!

At some point, before we reach the end of the comic, I'm going to have to formalize my approach to liveblogging Homestuck's side content.

What I'll probably do is give each of them the 'lite' treatment initially, but if they turn out to be more canonical than I thought, or particularly interesting to liveblog, I'll 'zoom in', and analyze them properly. We'll see how we go!

Could you imagine the relationship dynamics in your average troll soap opera? The shipping web for a single season would make our heads explode.

It's a fun question. What sort of object symbolizes everything?

The first thing I'd try would be a star chart, Dave's magnifier and a literal planetful of Grist.

Added to the list! Not until later later on, though - I'd worry that the opinions and theories of another liveblogger could interfere with my own, especially if they're talking about it with someone who's already read it!

I would find it hard to disagree.

Do people think Act 1 is pointless?

I mean, it is the slowest Act in terms of pacing, but slow pacing isn't always a bad thing. You sort of have to take it slow when your readers have this much to get to grips with.

...okay, maybe we didn't need quite as many Sylladex mishaps as we got. But we still needed some. Homestuck has a lot to introduce you to.

I always pictured an English accent for Hass - although, interestingly, I didn't picture one for Jade. As a headcanon, I like the NZ one better.

Where did Grandpa grow up again, actually? He was raised by Fake Mark Twain, who was from Missouri - but I don't have a clue what a Missouri accent sounds like, let alone one from a century ago. I have a funny feeling that it's not the accent I'm imagining coming from Jade.

Now that's a ship I'd never have seen coming. Props to Hussie for coming up with something more controversial than my Feferi<>Equius.

All four kids, with four endgame weapons, might be able to challenge Jack's current incarnation - but they're not going to get the chance. You've hit the nail on the head - he's semi-perfect Jack for a reason.

I have several theories for Jade's prototyping, and every single one of them would make Jack even more dangerous than before. It's just barely possible to challenge him now, but things will only get worse.

Read the room, Serket!

Would Vriska have tried to negotiate? She feels like the type of person who'd rather take a beating than admit they're outclassed. Plus, I'm not sure how much she'd have to offer Aradia, who seemed entirely motivated by revenge (and, possibly, secretly motivated by timeline stuff).

All that said, I would have loved to hear Vriska trying to worm her way out of this.

I love it! Please send in the completed house, if you get the chance. That's going to look so cool with a moving meteor.

And they're both easily distractible! This feels like two people who might actually get on surprisingly well, if they were in, say, the same high school class.

It's hard to say what's a rarepair, since I don't know what ships are rare in the fandom - although I'd have a few guesses about the most common ones.

If we're going for a ship with very tenuous connections, I will submit Rose x Feferi for your appraisal. They're both fans of the Noble Circle, and their signature colors are pretty close.

You know what, I'll just review all of your ships. Tavros/Gamzee - PB&J - is pretty cute. [] I'd recommend Miracle Child for a number of reasons, but it does include a well-written Gamtav. Jack/Droog is more <> to me than it is <3. Like One Sundered Star might be influencing that? I'm not really sure. Somewhere I think I saw a Jack<>Droog. Your pre-shipping chart post isn't in the chrono; also, I'm pretty sure the A6A6I5 ask is one of mine. Gamzee/Eridan is a rarepair; I've seen it, but not often, and it's a <> in the fic I'm referencing. Kanaya<>Terezi and Feferi<>Vriska are strange enough that I've never seen them anywhere, really. [] And finally, Vriska and Tavros. These two are the textbook example of why the ashen quadrant needs to exist, and they're a perfect pair for it. [] ~LOSS (8/1/23)

I don't even know if Carapacians have moirallegiance - but those two would definitely work if they did.

Out of all my ships you flagged as rare, I think my favorite is Feferi<>Vriska. I just think they'd gel weirdly well together!

[kyouka-supremacy]

Good day/evening!

Sorry for the long post, but I was wondering what your opinion is on whether BSD is critical about law enforcement? I saw people on twt saying that BSD is a story that is critical abt the government, and that the Hunting Dogs (especially Jouno) proves Asagiri has criticisms of police.

But personally I disagree since BSD also has positive depictions of police, like Ranpo's friend. And a major plot point was relying on 'good officers' to turn against the 'bad ones' when it comes to believing the ADA. There's also the way the ADA is also a law enforcement agency (albeit a privately owned one). And the way Fukuchi is an antagonist not because he is a member of the military but instead secretly a terrorist. Jouno explicitly bringing up police brutality is probably the best evidence that bsd is critical of police, but it's also the same chapter where he fought against the real antagonist Fukuchi, sort of giving him a redemption (and also Tetcho saying Jouno is actually good)

I guess I'm cynical about whether BSD is really as critical as people believe. But I liked your previous posts on BSD's treatment of female characters and nationalism, so I wanted to hear your thoughts on this too

Have a great day!

Hello, thank you for your question! I need to preface this by saying that I'm not an expert on the subject, so please forgive me - and feel free to correct me - if anything I say is misguided by possible misconceptions I may have internalized.

For the most part, Anon, I must agree with you. The first time I read the take about bsd beingcritical of police brutality - if I remember correctly, it was from a screenshot from Twitter that made some rounds here when chapter 100.5 was released -, I thought it was a huge case of erroneous recontextualization. Very likely, it was coming from an usamerican person projecting a very usamerican issue to a book that is not american, nor destined to an american audience, nor intended to make of american issues its focus. Not saying police brutality is a phenomenon exclusive to the usa, but, as far as my limited knowledge goes, it definitely isn't in Japan to an extent that goes close to what it's like in the usa (it's also a phenomenon deeply rooted in a kind of racism Japan simply wouldn't have the chance to know, because Japanese society doesn't know the kind of multiethnicism that is present in the usa).

I don't think bsd is, at least intentionally, critical of any police or military structure. You already pointed all the most relevant arguments on why it isn't: most police officers are usually framed sympathetically (hell, even when they are criminals they're framed sympathetically, see chapter 6 (although there the criminal being an officer was more of a coincidence than anything) ), a good chunk of police is supporting the main cast by now, and even the part that isn't isn't doing so because they're police specifically, but rather because the whole world think they're terrorists due to reality-rewriting powers of this magic book™. About the Hunting Dogs, at first they were introduced in a mostly villainous light; but, now that we got to know them, they hardly use as critic of military police. Tetchou is undoubtedly honourable and just. Teruko has been established to always be putting civilians safety before anything (chapter 75), and it's also stated that despite her methods she helped drastically decrease criminality (can't remember where for the love of me but it's there somewhere). Tachihara has always been a character that is vastly sympathetic to the audience, and by now his loyalty doesn't even lie with the government anymore so I don't think I need to get to him. About Jouno, I think a point was made even before his redemption: Jouno is not military. I mean, he may wear the uniform, but as stated in chapter 93 he was recluted by Fukuchi appositely because he was a criminal, and he was never supposed to become a rightful paladin; the fact that he ended up being one is but a mere unintentional coincidence, and even then he isn't there to be representative of military police, nor is his sadism. I'm not counting Fukuchi as military because his loyalty clearly belongs to the cause / the doa, but let's take a moment to acknowledge how ironic it is that he's also the only character who openly crticicizes the military system, and he's the big villain.

I don't think bsd is critical of law enforcement or government (Special Division for Unusual Powers is framed positively and, as you mentioned, the ada itself is an organization affiliate to the government); if anything, I think the military and police systems in bsd are once again expressions of bsd's main core, that there's nothing completely good or completely bad, and just like people constantly oscillate between the two, law enforcement structures also have both valorous and corrupt members in their ranks.

Also like, peoples, bsd is kinda right wing, and right wing is historically very close and supportive of military circles (see, for example, how fascism goes hand in hand with military imaginary). The biggest enemy of the biggest arc in bsd so far is literally an anarchist who among other things vastly criticizes the military system, so take that as you will. I feel like the overall implicit take away of this arc will be “it's true that law enforcement agencies do horrible things, but we must accept it because it's necessary to mantain peace and stability”, but feel free to disagree with me on this.