#tis my adaptation of her :3

[ripdiy]

helaena 🪲💚

[aphrodeiities]

ᴀꜱᴛᴇʀᴏɪᴅ ᴀᴘʜʀᴏᴅɪᴛᴇ [1388]

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get a chart reading before i officially close on next week monday, which is the 9th of december <3

feminine archetype + venus persona chart analysis included

join my astrology discord server :) 18+

❦  asteroid aphrodite [1388] is an asteroid that is about fertility, love beauty and passion. where and how you are blessed with beauty, where people find you the most beautiful, your sex appeal. the art of seduction and where you can hook many suitors.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 1H/ARIES ⟶ strong beauty indicator, known for having a beautiful face, could have many moles + beauty spots. indicator of being very fertile, and people could think you're a heart-breaker, very seducing and hard to catch so people likely chase after you. can have many people compliment you on sight, or stare at you. people would likely find your face and your body as the most beautiful think you have, or just one of them and it just stands out. you are likely crushed by many people around you, this is the bombshell archetype.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 2H/TAURUS ⟶ known for having a beautiful face, nice voice or curvy body/small waist. people might want to buy things for you and make you feel spoiled. could be someone who attracts very possessive people, potential sugar baby. someone in the family might have been in a cheating scandal, or even you. could have a roster of lovers, nice neck and eyebrows, could have freckles, this person values beauty a lot, this is the material girl archetype.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 3H/GEMINI ⟶ could have beautiful twins, heart-breaker for sure, cant be tied down for too long. very nice fashion style, or even online feed. could gain fame for your beauty, adaptable beauty, many things suit them. could be the relative or could have a relative that could be considered as a cheater. nice hand writing, could easily get dates, particularly from online dating matches. charming and flirts easily with almost everyone and everything around her, easily distracted. can charm the pants off of someone, this is the girl next door/school crush archetype.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 4H/CANCER ⟶ very fertile placement, other people might want to settle down with you and even trap you. could point to infidelity happening within the family, and could have a really nice smile and other people might like your breast/chest area. pinnacle of beauty, apple cheekbones and could have a wider/curvy body. voluptuous or just big in the front and back with wider hips. could have really nice hair, could embody people's wants in a significant other, this archetype is the old hollywood beauty.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 5H/LEO ⟶ could love to get into situationships, could have a breeding kink, beautiful back tattoos. star-girl kind of beauty. it reminds me of the six of wands type of charm and glamour. could have a lot of suitors in their dms, and even wanting to settle down or leave a child with them, this placement could point to being someone's arm candy, fur coats and diamonds, looking rich and expensive, sometimes people with this placement might feel like they're objectified very easily by others, this archetype is the golden girl beauty.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 6H/VIRGO ⟶ others would want to be fixed by them or would want to fix them. some would want to be serviced by this native, conquer and pin them down and even humble them. they challenge people and bring out people's desires. people who have aphrodite here might have others desperate to get their attention, this could be due to the fact that the individual could be frugal with their energy and who they hang around with, people would want to get to know them more, as they have so many layers to them, think of it as a cat finally allowing you to touch their fur, this archetype is the forbidden fruit beauty.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 7H/LIBRA ⟶ could have a nice ass, could be seen as the most beautiful within their social group, or their community, very smiley to other people, can be considered as someone who has a beautiful smile and could have nice clothes/style. is an indicator of being eye-candy, could be in relationships all the time, but attracts much chaos to their love life. could like the bad boy/girl lover archetype, you can look but not touch type of beauty, this is the popular girl archetype.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 8H/SCORPIO ⟶ attracts the taboo love, romeon and juliet kind of connection. infidelity and love triangles, the intimidating dominatrix who oozes sex appeal, a lot of people likely watch this person and can become very jealous of what you have. other people would want to destroy you, in both ways. this person could have an obsession with beauty and can easily get people to finance them, another sugar baby indicator, this is the obvious femme fatale archetype.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 9H/SAGITTARIUS ⟶ foreign beauty, Goddess type of beauty, think of cleopatra, nefertiti and it reminds me of elizabeth taylor as well. that type of beauty. could have a rich future spouse and even be very fertile, both you and the future spouse. future spouse could be someone who might want to settle down very quickly and even be someone who is very beautiful. natives humour and sense of self makes them attractive, people could worship them or admire the individual's beauty everything they do. their beauty can take up the entire room, and can have many suitors and suitresses, this is the goddess archetype.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 10H/CAPRICORN ⟶ work-place bombshell, loved by the media, if you were famous, you would have much controversy when it comes to your romantic love life. dating your boss or someone who is powerful within an industry, this placement reminds me of the Queen of Pentacles, gets lovers from work, and whenever you're in a relationship people could talk about it all the time and could be nosy about it. a beauty indicator, face, style and charm, everything is beautiful here. might've had a father who was a cheat, this placement has many archetypes, office-siren, archetypal wife/mother. it reminds me of gabrielle solis, but mainly i would say this is mainly the office-siren archetype.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 11H/AQUARIUS ⟶ other-worldly beauty, not from her type beat. the pretty friend, famous due to their looks, unique beauty. could have a nice aesthetic online, can rock and style anything. lots of dimples or moles, an indicator of having a romantic scandal with friends, or a friend of a friend. love affairs. gets more beautiful as you age, stands out in the crowd, extreme beauty, that it can be off-putting. it's like you will never see this type of person again type of beauty, i'd give this placement the fae archetype.

♇ ASTEROID APHRODITE IN 12H/PISCES ⟶ "i walked with you once upon a dream" type of beauty, mermaid, trickster, long roster; can be two-faced, doesnt know how to settle down. being someone who others can be confused about, might not want to have children or could think and dream about them all the time. attracts many envious people, can embody people's definition of beauty. ariel's song type of essence. the essence of a cloud and a dream, i'd give this placement the fantasy archetype.

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get a chart reading before i officially close on next week monday, which is the 9th of december <3

feminine archetype + venus persona chart analysis included

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[soleminisanction]

Once again got a bee in my bonnet to spend a night doing obscure fandom research to make a point, so. For all those people who keep making the annoying, "Tim keeps '''stealing'' other peoples' names" comments -- have a table.

EDIT: Updated version with some mistakes corrected.

Everyone with a check mark has used that codename at some point in DC's 80+ year continuity -- Elseworlds and alternate dimensions/timelines count, adaptations (movies, video games, cartoons, etc.) don't unless they've got comic book tie-ins, and neither do in-universe dream sequences/illusions/fantasies/other narrative elements that are objectively "not real" within the boundaries of the fiction.

A purple marker indicates an element that only applies in Elseworlds or alternate timelines. Yellow is for the originator of the legacy title. Star symbol is for borderline cases/extenuating circumstances/it's open to interpretation (with some further elaboration below).

The "other" column is just there to account for people who've held lesser or non-legacy titles, like Renegade, Wingman, Arkham Knight, Drake, Redbird, Talon, Deadman, Black Bat, Orphan and Catwoman.

Point being: the people who have actually gone through the most legacy titles in this family are Dick, Babs and Jason, tied with 5 each (again, not counting "other;" if we counted those separately Dick would've had by far the most). Tim is tied with Steph AND Helena Wayne, so unless you're whining about them "stealing other peoples' names" you're just wrong, and they're all only one higher than Damian, Carrie and Bruce.

This is a legacy family that passes their codenames up and down the inheritance line. It's what they do. It's not a legitimate criticism to level at one character and not the others. Please get over it.

---

Further elaboration on some of the lesser known/niche cases:

- Bruce uses the Robin ID in Superman & Batman: Generations, as well as the pre-Crisis Detective Comics #226 story.

- In the second half of Thrillkiller ‘62, Babs cuts her hair and dons the Robin costume worn by her deceased partner Dick to get revenge on his killer; however the only name ever used for her in the series is Batgirl

- Cassandra was a member of the Robins orphan gang from Dark Knights of Steel.

- Duke was a member of the We Are Robins gang, as well as the aforementioned DKS orphan gang, and has appeared as Robin in a couple of Elseworlds, including I believe a White Knight spin-off.

- Cass was Batwoman in one of the versions of the Titans Tomorrow, as was Bette Kane, depending on changes to the timeline.

- Babs is Batwoman in the Batman ‘66 comics and in the 1980 story “The Secret Origin of Bruce (Superman) Wayne”

- Earth-3 Steph is Batwoman in Young Justice 2019.

- Helena Wayne is Batwoman in the possible future story Last Rites

- Tim is a member of the Batgirls vigilante/little league baseball team in the DC Bombshells universe, as is Cullen Row. Some call them the “Batboys” instead. I call those people cowards.

- Helena Bertinelli wore the costume that would later become Cass’s signature Batgirl look during No Man’s Land. However, she was more often referred to as “The Bat” and her Batgirl status is up to individual interpretation.

- Dick didn’t originate the Nightwing name, it started with Clark in the Silver Age.

- Steph has never been Nightwing. The panel where she appears in the costume is a Black Mercy illusion that happens only in her own mind. It’s a dream sequence.

- Barbara was Nightwing in the Smallville Season 11 comics.

- Terry was briefly Nightwing in volume 4 of Batman Beyond.

- Damian briefly became Nightwing after accidentally killing Dick in the Injustice series.

- Dick is Oracle in the “Eight Wonders of the World” version of Earth 2 (aka the Black Superman dimension)

[thealogie]

picture this. you're michael sheen, beloved queer-friendly welsh actor and recent twilight saga vampire. you want your favorite book to become a tv show, and you want to be the lead. so what do you do? you befriend the author. he wines and dines you, you become a confidant in the scriptwriting phase. and in the process of the GO script you decide you don't want to be crowley, actually, you want to be aziraphale. you put in the work for months to influence the author to the same conclusion. so when neil gaiman comes to you one day saying, "i know you joined on to be crowley... but how would you feel about playing aziraphale?" you say, what a novel idea! i was feeling the same way, i just didn't want to say anything! let's do it.

you're michael sheen, the lead in the adaptation of your favorite book. you meet david tennant as your leading man, a rising star (and vocal fan of yours) you've had a few vague interactions with in the past. on set you immediately find the closest friend you have ever and will ever find in your life, and you know this. the romance you have in your (yes, your) show is ambiguous, but you're michael sheen. you think that romance needs to be explicit. so what do you do? you become a nightmare on set. you get really hands-on; you make costume choices, you make story decisions, you tell your author friend at the very end of filming: aziraphale is in love with crowley and realizes it in 1941. now go do it again.

so the author goes and does it again. you get a season 2. you get 1941 part 2. you're michael sheen, and you are the lead of the adaptation of your favorite book, and the romance you littered into the character you built from the ground up has become unambiguous. everything goes according to plan. but, you see, you have a problem: the author you have baby trapped is acting a FIEND on twitter and tumblr. he's saying everything he can to imply aziraphale and crowley aren't sexually attracted to each other. he's getting a bit too bold with his character assumptions, is all i'm saying. so here's what you're going to do: you play it up with your pal david tennant. you made a show with him during lockdown. you're going to depict your lives as even more intertwined and homoerotically codependent as previously possible. you grow even closer. your wives become best friends, too, because how could they not? this has been the plan since the beginning, too. your lockdown show ends. it wasn't enough.

so you, michael sheen, of course you put in the work. if david tennant's there, you're damn sure you're there physically, spiritually, biblically, in whatever capacity you can be. it's not hard. david tennant is a big fan of yours, after all, so he MAKES SURE you're always in the conversation. you have him wrapped around your little finger, this lovely little boy, and so you know what you do next? you become neighbors. you make your directorial debut casting your best friend's wife watching her husband and male neighbor initiate sex with each other. you play into the swinging rumors (that you, michael sheen, had started). you create a narrative that you and david tennant are two homoerotic besties, and is there more going on in the background there? any deeper conspiracy? who really knows, but what you do know is that the world is talking about it.

and you, michael sheen, your entire acting career has led to this moment, your gay quips, your oscar wilde sex scene (and the interviews following), all of your queer roles, EVERYTHING has brought us to this conclusion. you have created the lab perfect conditions where season 3 must have an explicit gay sex scene. i'm sorry neil, my hands are tied! the people are clamoring for me and david tennant to have sex-- i mean aziraphale and crowley to have sex, the public decided this all on their own! i really don't think you have much choice. but of course, i would never deign to tell an author how to practice his veritable craft. i concede to whatever version of series 3 you create, and i will happy to bring this beloved character to his deserved ending.

and why do you say this? because you're michael sheen. you're just an actor who incidentally stumbled his way into leading the queer romance adaptation of your favorite book that wasn't a romance, and you just read the script the way that it was given to you. and if series 3 means an explicit sex scene between you and your best friend david tennant, then what a lovely coincidence that you had absolutely no part in making happen. because what power do you really have?

This is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. A rare occasion where the author pulls off use of the second person pov. I really felt like I was a beloved welsh actor crossed with Machiavelli when I read this

[mistydeyes]

Hi,if you’re not busy can you write a fic of Cod characters with a cia agent gf ?

yes ofc! yk i love a good little government agent gf moment :)

a double life

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summary: From hidden occupations to a particular set of skill sets, the 141 learns to adapt to having a girlfriend who has all the right qualifications (and who could completely kick their ass).

pairing: Task Force 141 x fem!reader

warnings: swearing, mentions of weapons/violence

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price

"Sorry I can't be there to meet you, Price," Laswell spoke over the web camera feed, "got tied up in South America." Price nodded as he held the bridge of his nose, Laswell had promised her best field agent to act as a point person for their mission in New Zealand. However, just the thought of some middle-aged retired veteran or worse yet, hot-shot rookie, made his headache pound even further. "She's a good one, Price," Laswell reassured, "skilled in practically every major language and the best marks in her physical fitness examination." "Yes Kate, I read her file, but it seems like you failed to include a photo-" He was interrupted by a sturdy knock at the door. "Looks like she's here."

As you cracked the door open, you practically dropped the files that sat in your arms. "What are you doing here?" Price asked jovially and you could feel the breath release from your sternum, "didn't expect an on-base visit like this." As the pieces began to fit together, you realized he didn't know what you were actually there for. "John, Kate sent me here," you whispered as you shut the door gently, "heard you're going to New Zealand." As the realization hit him like an oncoming train, you braced for impact. "You-you work for the CIA?" he asked almost foolishly and you nodded in response. "I did say I worked in Virginia," you corrected, "and you had to know my surprise visit yesterday wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment thing." Price could feel his headache reach a fever pitch as he reviewed your file again. "Then what's with the name?" he asked, "you lie about that too." You let out a laugh as you explained, "People have nicknames and mother's maiden names, John." As you sat back in your chair and crossed your legs, Price wondered what he had done for the universe to gift him you.

soap

Despite your initial reservations, Johnny was quite good at keeping your occupation vague and nonchalant in conversation. You were honest about your work in central intelligence and he took that secret to the grave. Your long-distance relationship was written off as you working in some company in DC and no one batted an eye at your occasional inference at military strategy or surveillance techniques. When you returned home, you would always be sure to show him extra appreciation for his covertness. "Tryna make me patriotic?" he would joke before you would kiss him and stifle his laughs.

However, he loved testing your skill set and seeing if you were as trained of an operative as your file read. "Let's see what they teach you over there, Bonnie," he joked as he lined up his sights at the air gun range. You refrained from kicking him as you stood back to watch him. You almost let out a laugh when you saw his small pellet ricochet just slightly off target. "Hmm and that's why Ghost is your long-range weapons specialist," you teased as he got up and switched positions. You breathed in as you looked down your sights and positioned your rifle towards the farthest target on the range. "You Americans, always so fucking cocky," he muttered under his breath before you quickly shut him up with a quick shot directly into the center of the target. The metal hen spun around widely at your expert marksmanship and you exhaled your held breath. You stood up and tried to size up your tall boyfriend. "Best 2/3?" you offered and you smiled as he kissed your forehead before ushering you out of the way to try again. "Fucking CIA training," he whispered as he got into position again. "You say something, you glorified sergeant?"

gaz

It was 4 am when you arose from the bed and leaned into Kyle, taking in his warmth and seeking refuge from the cold London air. You could always rely on your boyfriend to be your human-sized space heater. As you laid your head across his chest, you could feel him stir lightly. "Time to go already, love?" he asked with his eyes still closed and you muttered in confirmation. You always knew what challenges came with living so far away from the States but you had someone who made it all worth it. He kissed your forehead lightly as you rolled off the bed. You tried to quietly make your way to the bathroom to let him get some more hours of precious sleep but upon your return, it was clear Kyle was more awake than before.

"You sure you don't need me to drive you to the airport?" he offered yet again as you dressed quickly in dress slacks and a blouse. "MI6 is sending a car," you explained as you collected your overnight bag, "just try to get some sleep, my love. I'll text you when I land in Langley." Despite your soft kiss on the cheek, Kyle still pouted as you pulled away. "Don't understand why you can't be a liaison officer for us," he mumbled but you ruffled his hair slightly. "When the position becomes available, I'll be the first application on there," you smiled, doing a final check of your things, "just tell Price to write me a hell of a recommendation letter." With that, you shared another long kiss as you slightly cringed at his morning breath. "I'll be sure to say hi to the cybercrime analysis team for you, hopefully, they'll actually take my advice this time," you laughed before exiting out of your apartment and embracing the cold English air you had grown to love.

ghost

When the question arose of your occupation, you would always smile and defer to being just an "American government worker." However, you always knew Simon had more than just an inkling as to your occupation. When you spoke about military strategy, and combat techniques, or even had various conversations in different languages over the phone, it was clear to him that you were more than just a civilian. The shock didn't even resonate with him when you uttered the words, "Paramilitary Operations Officer," it all seemed to fall into place. He wouldn't bat an eye when it came to long stretches of days that you were in minimal contact with him. "I'll be back," you would reassure as you pulled on a dark hoodie and headed out the door with a bag. Simon would always be there to clean your wounds and ice your bruises.

It was a shock when Simon hadn't heard from you in a month. You had left in the middle of the day in a black Mercedes that disappeared off the English skyline. It was the unfortunate timing that he had been on leave when you left and there had been no word from Price regarding a new mission. Every morning, he would turn over in your king-sized bed expecting to see you smiling back at him. However, the days dragged on without any information meeting his ears. You could practically still picture his terrified face when you turned the key into the door and slammed your bag down. Simon paused upon seeing your blackened eye and wrapped knuckles. The eye bags on your delicate face further added worry to the situation. "Don't ask," you whispered as you fell into his chest, "intel was shit." That was all Simon needed to lift you gently and place you back on the couch. As he held you in his arms with an ice pack to your eye, you slightly pulled away from his touch. "I promised I would come back, didn't I?"

[fraugwinska]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR WRITING!!!

May I pretty please request Alastor’s wifey as like a Cheshire Cat?

Perhaps in her living life she led people to their deaths, as it’s sometimes interpreted as a guide. Then later on teamed up with Al and led victims to him?

I just like the idea of an unsettling smiley couple. That and Mad Hatter by Melanie Martinez has been on loop in my brain LOL

Anonymous, you beautiful bastard. You waited so patiently, but I do think it's worth it... I couldn't stop writing this!!! I had so much fun, I cannot tell you. And I will revisit this pair soon, because I can't get over how AMAZING they are! <3 Edit 14-05-24: This will be a mini-series! :D Let's see how many parts we get out of this one!

TW: Graphic depitions of violence and murder, mention of war, gore Minors DNI - Mature content - Adults only!

"Mon amour, can we go out tonight?"

You pulled the last strand of hair from the curling iron, scanning your work for any messy imperfection. Alastor, engrossed in a book, looked up at you, matching your sinister smile with his curious one.

"Oh? Bored already, darling? We went to Mimzy's only yesterday."

"Not that, silly." You walked over to him, setting the hot curling iron on a cool section of his dresser. You sat down, straddling him. Your hands folded behind his back, leaning in.

"I was just thinking that our last game has been a while, hasn't it?"

His eyes widened a bit, smile curling a bit higher. He set the book down on the side table and wrapped his arms around you, long, sharp fingers pressing into your waist with excited anticipation. You tilted your head, looking up at him.

"Well, we have been awfully busy lately with the hotel. I suppose it's high time we should find something to reward us for all our hard work, my darling!"

You nodded, giggling, and rubbed your nose against your husband's. The two of you always got excited when your interests lined up and plans of your games became more elaborate. It was how you met, after all.

Not even two months after your fall, you were well established in the capitol of the pride ring. Quickly adapting to your feline form and with wit and a good heap of charisma you landed a job at the overlord Zestial's newspaper agency, working your way up quickly to editor. Hell wasn't a scary place for you, at all. The world you came from had been the real hell.

When the germans invaded France, you knew your little village in the Somme valley would be the first they would take, and then Paris would be next. Your brothers and father were already dead. You had heard of the horrors the german soldiers were bringing upon the women and children of the countries they captured, which made the will of protecting your sister and mother even stronger. But you had always been a fighter, and you possessed the most unusual but useful weapons a woman could possess: beauty, cleverness and ruthlessness.

They had been such easy victims - young soldiers, craving a good pussy after being away from home for so long - you seduced them with laughable ease and your signature smile and lured them into the woods, where you'd kill them, your smile never falling as your knife would hit the lifeless body again and again. Sometimes, you'd get so many killings in one night you had to burn the clothes you wore because the blood would've stained them through. They would all be thrown in the Somme, where they'd be swallowed by the waters, never to be seen again. You didn't even care what the punishment would be once the war was over. All you cared about was to avenge the lost and protect the remaining members of your family and if killing the enemy was the way, you'd do it gladly and with as much pleasure as you could. You had disposed of about 40 bodies in the river before they caught you, red handed, the knife still in your victims crotch. They had been too cowardly to shoot you then and there. Instead, they had dragged you back to the town, tied your hands behind your back and forced you to kneel in front of the town square, your mother and sister watching you along the horrified villagers, and you watched them, as they were made to witness them put a bullet straight through your heart.

"On se voit en enfer, putains de salauds."

And then, you woke up. In Hell, naked, confused, hungry, angry. But not scared. Never scared. You were still you. And your smile never faded.

A lot of people were too weirded out by the constant smile on your face, that's when you first heard of Alastor. The radio demon, rising star of hell's overlords. Everyone feared him, and his smile. You didn't, and that's what made him approach you when you saw him at a party you had been invited to by one of Zestial's acquaintances, Rosie.

He was drawn to your smile, just as much as you were drawn to his. When he spoke, your ears twitched in excitement, as if listening to the greatest song in the world. He was unbelievably interesting, charming up to a point where you couldn't help but feel drawn to him, and his voice - Oh, doux comme un ange et vif comme le diable. You didn't want to, didn't expect it at all, but your heart did a jump the moment his hand touched yours when he asked you to dance.

"Your smile never falters, darling. I can't help but wonder why?"

You giggled, a gloved hand covering your mouth as he turned you, crimson glowing eyes never leaving yours.

"I don't know, really. My papan used to tell me that it was the only thing I had going for me, and it's what made silly soliders so easy to kill."

You could feel the air around him tense and shift, his grin widening at your words as he turned you in again.

"Ah, a lady after my own heart. I can appreciate a woman who knows how to have fun."

You didn't say anything to his comment, just smiled, and he pulled you closer.

"Why don't we have a little fun of our own? I have the right mind for a little game, if you're up to it, darling?"

It took the both of you only a few more minutes to decide to leave the party. It was the night of your first game. Your first kill. And your first kiss. You loved to retell the story of how you two met to everyone who'd ask. You didn't mind, not even when they were uncomfortable. They weren't used to the idea of two people like you, the serial killers, finding love with each other that none of you sought out. It was a genuine love that was born in a way that could only happen in hell, and yet, you felt that it was the truest and best love you had ever felt. It was the first time in forever you could remember your cheeks actually hurt from smiling.

Alastor stood up, lifting you from his lap with an ease that was effortless to him, and twirled you around.

"Well, then, why don't we go paint the town red?"

You laughed, wrapping your arms around his neck as he lowered you, placing a kiss on your nose.

"Red looks beautiful on both of us."

Dressed in your favourite dress, you and Alastor made your way into the city. You always had to keep from giggling when you saw the face of the other residents as they realized you weren't going out for a casual stroll, but for a game night. Especially the pricesses girlfriend made you want to burst out in laughter, her face scrunched into a mask of disdain and disgust. The two of you were always a sight, though. Alastor, looking as handsome as ever, the red suit and black dress shirt underneath complimenting his dark complexion and making his red eyes glow even brighter. And yourself, always a sight for sore eyes, in a black lace dress that accentuated your figure perfectly. People always stared at you when the two of you were out, and that was only part of the fun.

Alastor's hand held yours, his long, sharp nails scratching your skin, the both of you excited for the prospects of the night.

"Why don't you set the challenge today, mon chou?", you asked, looking up at him with a curious gaze, "I'd love to see what you come up with."

Alastor chuckled, pulling you closer to his side.

"Mh... let me think."

His hand was placed on his chin, his eyes closing as he hummed a tune, deep in thought.

"How about this? I'll give you a five minute head-start. You win if you bring them to kill themselves, before I catch them. If I catch them before they're dead, it's my win. That sound fair?"

You grinned, the thought of the game already getting you excited. You weren't nearly as strong as Alastor was, but so much more agile than him and with a few tricks up your sleeve - you had a feeling that this would be your night.

"More than fair, amour. As for my reward: If you lose, I get to decide what music we are listening to until our next game."

"Well, well, greedy now, aren't we, my little minx?"

His grin widened as he chuckled, his arm tightening around your waist, pulling you closer, his lips brushing against yours.

"You know what my request is if you lose. It's a deal, then. And the stakes are high, I hope you know."

You smiled, your eyes closing as you brushed your lips against his, and purred.

"The higher the better."

***

Oh, how you loved the sound of panicked breathing. This cretin really had no stamina, only one minute in and he was panting, crawling in the alley you chased the scruffy doberman sinner after slashing his feet in the shattered glass and debris. You made yourself visible again in front of him, hidden in the shadows as just a grinning, magenta scheme.

"Aw, poor boy. What's the matter, baby?", you cooed, licking your claws as if nothing had happened. "You seem a little frightened. Don't you want to touch me anymore?"

The man didn't speak, just gasped, crawling backwards. You took a step forward, crouching down, your sharp, pearly teeth glistening in the neon light of the dim street lamp.

"No need to be scared, sweetheart, I'm a nice kitty. Come here, let me touch you."

You stretched out a claw, reaching for him as your limb elongated with bone-chilling cracks. He backed away, trying to get up. You giggled, the sound high pitched and eerie. You made yourself invisible again, shifting behind him and suppressing a giggle as he shuddered, looking frantically around him to search for your frame. Two minutes down.

"I thought you like pussy, baby?", you purred, making your voice come from his left ear. He screamed, and ran, his feet leaving blood stains on the concrete, limping, holding the wound on his leg. You laughed and let the lamps blow out one by one as he passed them, showering him with broken glass and hot metal wires. He didn't know it, but you were guiding him, right into a dead end. You heard the sounds of Alastor's microphone feedback somewhere further down the road, and grinned. You had three more minutes to play, and you knew you'd win.

You appeared before this pathetic excuse of a man, who had reached the dead end and was looking frantically around for a way out. Three minutes down, time to wrap it up.

"You're breaking my heart, sweetie. Don't you like to play with me anymore?"

"Fuck, I... p-please, don't... don't hurt m-me, I'm sorry... just let... let me go." The man was shaking, pressing his back against the wall. You licked your teeth, and took another step towards him, your hands on his shoulders, leaning in.

"Oh, I'm not gonna hurt you, baby. I'm just a drunken, helpless little kitty, remember?"

He whimpered, and you smiled, a sick, sinister smile that made him shiver even more. He slid down the wall that was blocking his way as you bent down, caressing his cheek. One minute to go.

"No, I'm not gonna kill you today. You'll do it yourself."

You reached inside your purse, taking out a small, golden pocket knife. His eyes widened as he watched you place the object next to his shaking form and you let yourself fade out of existence, except for your ever-lasting grin.

"See, if you're a good boy, you'll die fast and painless. If not..."

The man looked up at what remained of you, breathing heavily. His eyes were wide with fear, but his pupils dilated as he scanned the place, and a glimmer of hope rose inside him.

"Well, you'll find out what else in about fifteen seconds."

His trembling hand wrapped around the handle of the knife, his eyes still fixed on the spot where your figure had been. You leaned in again, whispering into his ear, the air of your breath hot on his skin.

“Tik, tok, little pup...”

With a desperate roar, the doberman whipped the knife forward, ready to stab where he supposed you were. And he would've been right. If not for...

"Too slow, darling."

The man's eyes widened, his breath stuck in his throat as his hand was stopped, the blade millimeters away from your flesh. The cold, bony grip of Alastor's claw around his wrist tightened, and the knife was slowly being pulled out of his shaking hand as you made yourself visible. He chuckled, the sound reverberating in his chest and the surrounding buildings, and stepped forward, looming over the trembling mess of a man.

"Well, well, well. Look at this sloppy attempt. What's the matter, boy? Cat got your tongue?"

Alastor's claw dug deeper into his flesh, a pool of blood forming under the hand Alastor still had in his iron grip. His other hand reached out, grabbing the man's throat and lifting him up the wall. You joined his side, watching the horrified expression on the sinners face with a tilted head as you nestled into him, a slight pout on your lips.

"Aww, you're no fun, amour. I was so close to winning, too. What a shame."

Alastor's arm snaked around your waist, pulling you closer as he chuckled, squeezing the sinners neck a bit tighter. The man was gasping for air, his face turning red and his eyes starting to roll back into his skull. "Rules are rules, darling. I believe we said five minutes. That means the game is mine."

You sighed, your head leaning against Alastor's shoulder.

"C'est dommage, I was longing to listen to a little Presley again."

"Maybe next time, my love."

He leaned over to steal a kiss from your lips and you closed your eyes, not seeing but hearing the scream and the sound of ripping skin and muscles, the gurgling splatter of blood and the buzzing of your husbands static.

Oh, comme j'aime cet homme...

Alastor dropped the shredded remains of the sinner and it slumped into the pile of meat that used to be his head. He licked his lips, his eyes glowing in the darkness, a grin plastered on his face as he took off his stained jacket and put it over your shoulders.

"I believe I have a debt to collect, darling, and I'd rather do it in the privacy of our bedroom than here, don't you agree?"

He reached his hand out, and you smiled, taking it.

"Alors dépêche-toi et ne sois pas gentil, mon cerf"

Translations: On se voit en enfer, putains de salauds - See you in hell, you fucking bastards Oh, doux comme un ange et vif comme le diable - Oh, sweet as an angel and quick as the devil Oh, comme j'aime cet homme - Oh, how I love this man Alors dépêche-toi et ne sois pas gentil, mon cerf - So hurry up and don't be gentle, my deer

[sailorblossoms-rankane]

--any of the girls. they mention that it shows how ranma has been single-minded and devoted to their engagement from the start (he acknowledges early on akane is his fiancee after all) and that's why he considers it 'cheating' if she goes on a date. but akane doesn't call ranma her fiance until ryugenzawa, so she doesn't quite have the confidence in ranma to call him her fiance until much later on, thus the difference in how she retorts back at him. wanted to know your take on this!

I was nodding and agreeing until we reached "but akane doesn't call ranma her fiance until ryugenzawa..." There are many ways in which the manga tests Ranma and Akane's insecurities and confidence, both in their relationship and in themselves. But this isn't about Akane's lack of confidence before that point.

When Ranma calls Akane his fiancee, it's a reflection of the way he expresses his love. The context is that another guy keeps trying to kiss her (harass her). Ranma is saying "no one will hurt or disrespect Akane. I will protect her because she's my fiancee (because I love her)" ... it's important that Ranma acknowledges this verbally at this stage, before the other girls come into their lives to declare themselves as fiancees too, because it tells you there is only one Ranma acknowledges and accepts: Akane. He never acknowledges the other girls like this, Ukyo and Shampoo introduce themselves to each other like that.

When Akane says "Ranma is my fiance," she's not "competing" or gaining confidence she lacked before, she's partly rejecting Shinnosuke. There is not a single serious rival in the manga as Akane and Ranma only have eyes for each other, but Shinnosuke is the only threat framed seriously from the get-go. Everyone after Ranma is complete clownery, including 2 of the 3 girls being hit in the head by a blunt object before suddenly deciding they're in love, with the remaining girl being kicked in the stomach so hard it might as well have turned off the lights. The motives are comical and have little to do with who Ranma is as a person. Shinnosuke and Akane have a more "romantic" set up: he saves her as a child, she feels compelled to find him again, he falls for her and she becomes the only person he can't forget. None of this sounds like clownery.

When Shinnosuke confesses to Akane, it's the one serious love confession Akane gets from someone who isn't a creep or a clown. The moment is serious, but she can't answer him at that moment. Later, when Akane says "Ranma is my fiance," she's giving him that answer... but more importantly, this is also about showing the way Akane loves.

Akane doesn't just say he's her fiance. She's also saying "I have to save Ranma." This is how Akane shows her love for him: doing everything she can to support, help or protect him. Ranma protects her, but Akane saves him too.

When Ranma and Akane are verbally saying "she's my fiancee" and "he's my fiance" it's not just about confidence, but about expressing the way they love (and responding to the seriousness of the threat accordingly)

Akane is not engaged to anyone else, she doesn't really need to say it like Ranma does that early on. With Shinnosuke, the threat has never felt more serious (Ranma practically loses his will to live and is willing to sacrifice himself because he thinks Akane has chosen someone else). Before Shinnosuke, there are no stakes tied to Akane verbally acknowledging Ranma as his fiance, it's taken as a given (especially because Ranma has said it). Why would she say "he's my fiancee" to either Shampoo or Ukyo, who are unwilling to give up or accept direct rejection from Ranma? They are not going to give a shit, and Akane doesn't have "wasting my time" as one of her hobbies.

I think her insecurities are misunderstood as well (I wonder if this is partly damage done by the old show and the fandom, because I have watched scenes in the movies and the OVA adapting Shinnosuke's arc that have Akane reacting in inexplicable ways that make her look less confident and more submissive). I have read stuff like "sadly Akane feels less feminine than the other girls :( it really gets to her" girl WHERE are you getting this from. It sure as hell isn't the manga! The conflict with Shampoo is centered on her actions, with Ukyo the only time she's truly affected is when she wonders whether Ukyo has a stronger bond with Ranma than her because she's a childhood friend.... which is quickly cleared up. The way her cooking is brought up is kept between her and Ranma. When she's compared to Kodachi's RANMA IS EATING PICTURES. It's UNSERIOUS. "Ukyo is the cute fiancee" is UNSERIOUS. Akane herself is a bit of a jester about it.

The moments where Akane is at her most destabilized for real is when she's comparing herself to her sisters, when she feels like she might lose love. Competitions that really get to her are between her AND RANMA and are also used to say he likes her as she is or to explore his attraction to her. The only one who gets into a beauty contest is RANMA.

I'm ranting right now, this is something I want to explore at some point with panels and pages to really explain my points... for now I'll leave this thread here about the ways they "compete" (I wrote it when people where misunderstanding what “Akane is at a disadvantage,” a line from an interview, meant) I mention some of what I'm saying now over there

[igotanidea]

Judgement: Benedict Bridgerton x actress!reader

Requested by @jaysgirlx <3

***

She wasn’t the most beautiful.

Or the most talented.

And definitely not born in the best family.

Nonetheless, neither of us, no matter how much willpower we are endowed with, has the possibility of choosing the environment we are born into. That is solely up to fate.

What we can choose, however, is how we adapt to the circumstances, how we behave, who we become and how we cope with the opinions that are – more often than not – negative and critical.

Especially when a woman, regardless of standards of an ossified, prejudiced society decides to make a living by being an actress. For Y/N Y/L/N no work was dishonorable. For the ladies of the ton, such profession was almost equal with being a lady of easy virtue. For the men – well- the behavior of some of them was below any norms of decency.

Funny how the point of view depends on the point of sitting.

***

She was late again.

For the third time this week and it was barely Wednesday. Not a good scorecard she kept and it definitely got under the skin of the theater owner. Y/N could not quite comprehend why the gentleman was so irritated since from the moment she stepped foot in that sanctuary of art she has been doing every single thing needed. Not only acting, but also cleaning the floor if required, repairing the costumes, helping with the dialogues. Very versatile all things considered.

Desperate for a job and survival? No, not entirely, maybe a little.

Enamored and passionate by the employ that gave her a bread and a questionable opinion. Yes, absolutely.

Rushing through the busy London streets, miraculously avoiding respectable matrons and their equally respectable lord consorts was not the best of the ideas of reducing, even to a small extent, the extent of her delay.

Y/N did not pay much attention while crossing the street either, obviously missing the speeding carriage and the moment she looked to the right, finding herself mere inches from the hooves of spooked horses, her entire life flashed in front of her eyes.

She let out a embarrassingly high cry of shock and freeze on the spot, mentally preparing herself of leaving the globe and letting her spirit fly away to some better world just like Julia Capulet did after her beloved Romeo—

“Watch out!” a man’s voice, a firm yet gentle grip of hand on her waist and a second later she was safely back on the pavement, sustaining no permanent injuries, save for rapid breathing and slightly flushed cheeks. “Are you all right, my lady?”

“I am not a lady.” She retorted automatically shaking her head and slowly raising her gaze to give thanks to her lifesaver “Mr. Bridgerton!” the second son of the late viscount was definitely not the person she expected to see and it made her take a step back immediately.

Almost ending up under another carriage if it wasn’t for Benedict Bridgerton’s reflexes and a bright, teasing smile.

“You don't learn from your mistakes, my lady” he teased “am I this repulsive to make you step away upon noticing my face? Is this how women behave this day?”

“Forgive me my Lord, I was blinded by all your glory” she almost rolled her eyes, saying the words before biting her own tongue. “oh…” the gasps that came out of her mouth a moment later only caused Benedict to laugh wholeheartedly.

“Not the usual reaction I get from a woman.”

“I can tell, my lord. I am sure ladies do swoon at the sight of you. And now that Viscount Bridgerton had tied the marriage knot you sure are looking for a wife so –” she sopped in the middle of the sentence realizing she was babbling again.

“Oh so you are a woman after all. Gossiping.” Benedict smirked.

“I beg your pardon!”

“Do I know you from somewhere?” he tilted his head examining her face trying to assess the possibility of them meeting before.

“No, my lord. I do not believe we have met.”

“May I have your name then, my lady?”

“Not a lady, my lord. And you should not preoccupy the place in your head with remembering my name.” she bowed, lacking skills a bit and – suddenly remembering that she was late – rushed to the theater.

Benedict Bridgerton.

Of course they have met before, but why would she remind him of the circumstances of the event happening so many weeks ago?

He was a student in the art academy, lately enhancing his skills in the portrait area, polishing the subject of anatomy. Both male and female, with the latter obviously much more involving in many hands-on way and that was not a secret. Those models were beautiful and fragile after all and being confronted with the harsh reality of XIX century London they had nothing more to offer than their bodies. Y/N almost ended up the same, but her talent for acting changed everything.

Regardless, her older brother was earning some additional funds by assisting the students, providing canvas, brushes, paints, wine, measures of various kinds. Whatever the domineering might wish for. And one day she was visiting him, entering the classroom without the knowledge that the lesson was still in progress.

And so she ended up in the middle of the room full of men with a naked model on the platform, under the barrage of astonished glances.

“Oh look, we got another one to help us study today!” one of the men cried out and the entire room started laughing. “You ought to wait for your turn, sweetheart. Do not fret though, we’ll take proper care of you.”

She blushed like a peony, her hands trembling a little.

“I was eagerly awaiting the moment when the Academy will provide us with a full shaped, average of beauty woman and here we are! My prayers have been answered, gentlemen!”

She blushed even more at the clear invective threw her way. Men could really behave like animals in their own company. Zero decency, respect for others or moderation. And the worst part was that all the ton knew about this open secret and gave their universal consent to that. Men were supposed to have their flings before marriage even if that meant a lot of improper things.

Her half-furious, half-hurt eyes scanned the room, taking in all the men gathered their and their attire, not paying much attention to either before landing on that one person who actually looked like having at least a little self-reflection.

Benedict Bridgerton.

Frozen with the brush in his hand and slightly unbuttoned shirt, torn between joining the common laugh on her expense and putting an end to this merciless, ongoing teasing. Before he could do a thing however she put an end to his misery and left the room with the solemn resolution to never interact with any of those debauched animals.

Judging Benedict as quickly and easily as all the society judged her.

***

“Quickly! We’re almost starting and you cannot seem to be on time even once!”

“I am—”

“do not interrupt me girl, put on the costume and get on the stage! I swear one of those days you will make me do the thing I will regret!”

***

That woman spurred some memories in Benedict’s mind even if couldn’t fully put all the pieces of the picture together. At least not until Eloise playfully smacked his side.

“What?”

“Do you know who you just saved?”

“That girl back there?” he massaged the sore place giving his sister a reproachful look “no idea. Should I know her?”

“That’s Y/N Y/L/N!”

“Uh… okay?”

“She’s an actress!”

“Um…”

“She’s a self-made, independent woman not looking for marriage and free of societal expectations!”

“You better not let out mother find out that a woman with no title is your role model.”

“Oh I’d be more than happy to let her know that. I believe that the amount of injustice put on women-“

“I do realize the amount of your thoughts in the subject.”

“Since when are you judgmental?” Eloise scoffed

“I am not!”

“Fine then Come see her performance with me.”

***

Y/N was almost pushed on the stage, without having any time to gather her thoughts or to revise her role, forced to improvise by putting on a bright fake smile and subjecting the audience to a minute or two of suspension, before realizing what she was supposed to play that day.

Clearing her throat and fixing her costume she stepped into the light, joining the rest of the cast on the stage and started giving her lines.

Any other time she would be focused solely on the scene and words coming out her mouth making sure each of them were perfectly accentuated and spoke just the right way.

So what was this inexplicable instinct that made her scan the audience?

Spotting him.

With his eyes fixed on her, showing something that could not be mistaken for anything else but sheer admiration.

And she did not like it at all.

to be continued? ;)

[spirantization]

I need to talk about NATLA Katara because this girl has been on my mind so much recently. In another post regarding Sokka's character arc, I mentioned briefly how the changes to his characterization impact Katara's character in turn. Her adaptation has been one of the most heavily criticized aspects of NATLA; even people who liked the show often bring this up as one of the weakest parts of the series.

I've been sick and rewatching the OG animation and NATLA to see the adaptation choices more clearly (and also think about what s2&3 might look like). I've said previously that changing Sokka's arc meant that Katara's arc had to change, and that wasn't satisfactorily done. Upon rewatch, I have to disagree with my previous statements and the popular opinion about Katara's characterization.

Katara's journey in season 1 is about her growing into her role as a warrior, when she has spent her life being thrust into a passive role -- not able save her mother, having to listen to Sokka (as both her big brother and protector of the village), and not able to fight against the Fire Nation. The first time we see her, she's unable to bend; we see her consistently develop her bending abilities and her strength throughout the season. She confronts her past inability to save her mother. She stands up to Sokka to do what's right. She fights against the Fire Nation and protects the Northern Water Tribe.

Sokka's arc, as I've said previously, is about him struggling with his identity. He was thrust into a leadership and warrior role at a young age, and he's tied up so much of himself into what this means. His arc is about accepting that he doesn't have to be a warrior and doesn't have to be a leader.

It's a yin & yang characterization. Katara's place as a warrior, leader, and protector grows as Sokka's ebbs. Their arcs make the most sense when considered together. They're meant to be in harmony with one another. I see the intention of the storytelling present in their respective characterizations, and how they develop in connection to each other.

Unfortunately, so many people appear to have watched the first episode and either reacted negatively to the changes or stopped watching altogether. I've seen adjectives like "passive" and "bland" thrown around in reference to Katara. And on reflection/rewatch, I think that was the point: to start her off as someone who is afraid & weak in her power, and to grow her over the season into someone who is brave & adept in her bending. By the end of the season, we see a very different Katara from the one in the first episode.

It's alright if these changes didn't resonate with you and you preferred OG Katara's characterization and arc in Book 1 of the animation. They made a choice in the adaptation that was clearly a stumble for the majority of fans. Perhaps, now that they've done the work to get her there in NATLA from a different beginning, her season 2 characterization will more closely match her OG counterpart.

[go-go-devil]

@miquellah Hopefully I can get to plat DS3 after I figure out why my ps4 controller is having input issues with ONLY my souls series games on steam rn...

But yeah! I find it really weird that I haven't been finding much Priscilla love from a headcanon perspective; mostly just "horny" art made by people who don't respect monster girls. Hell, some of the few headcanons I've found of her searching thru tumblr make her out to be demure and not-very-proactive in her own story which pisses me off personally (I won't name any names since I don't want to bully anyone)

I too was so obsessed with the fact that she was supposed to be our original "firekeeper," or whatever concept they had for the Maiden in Black role of DS1 at that point in development. Kinda ironic since everything about Priscilla ended up being the exact opposite of fire lol. Well at least she got the cool role of being the (very likely) surviving leader of the occult rebellion now serving as an eternal guardian to all the hollowed, exiled souls damned to wander her painting ^_^

Please talk to me about Dark Souls/Demon’s Souls characters I’m having a moment again

[psicheanima]

i got intrigued by the fact that you did a senior paper on the witches from madoka - can you please tell us some more about that? i love when academic work ties to personal interests.

I can do you one better. You can just read it. Screenshots as it’s from a website. This is the actual final. I can’t include my analysis portion in an image because there’s a ten image limit on mobile. So it’s under the cut. And please be gentle, because I wrote this when I was 18.

Icebox Cake

Icebox Cake is the alternate name for the pastry Charlotte. This is of course a reference to the witch Charlotte, who the poem is about. This story is a direct adaptation of Charlotte’s canon backstory as revealed in the Magia Record Game. Charlotte is the only witch in this collection with a concrete backstory, and the only one who we know the real name of — Nagisa Momoe.

Nivelles Charaxinae

Nivelles Charaxinae is a reference to both this witch’s namesake and her design. The witch this story is about is Gertrud, named after the saint of gardens, Gertrud of Nivelles. Charaxinae is a reference to the type of butterfly that is in Gertrud’s witch form. The names of her roses in her diary entries are names of saints. I wanted to give her roses human names to show they are the true ‘humans’ to her, but also maintain a degree of disconnect. I think like Gertrud’s namesake, saints are the least human human you can be.

In case your words are all that’s left of me…

In case your words are all that’s left of me… is the only poem with a completely made up title. Though I want the ending of what happened to HN Elly, the witch of this story, to be up to reader interpretation, her feelings of having no real presence besides her online one was something I wanted to make very clear, so that’s why I chose this title.

The usernames are all references to songs sung by Marguerite in Faust. Faust is a work with immense impact on Madoka, having numerous references both visually and story wise. Most notably, quotes from it are littered in every witch labyrinth. Keeping with the theme of this poem being the odd one out name wise, HN Elly actually has another name— Kirsten. This is after Dorothy Kirsten, who famously portrayed Marguerite, which is why I paid tribute to her role.

POESIE SCHMECKT GUT

I based most of my references off the real life women the witches are named after. It shows most in POESIE SCHMECKT GUT. The namesake of this story’s witch, Elsa Maria, is Elsa Asenijeff. POESIE SCHMECKT GUT was a publishing firm for one of Elsa’s books. The base storyline is based off of Elsa’s unhappy arranged marriage, and the religious and star theme was already there in Elsa Maria’s labyrinth.

Guernica

This poem is all about visual art from the point of view of a girl who doesn’t really understand it, so I was a perfect person to write this. All the references were surface level, sort of awkwardly shoved in ones to famous pieces and artists. The title is reference to one of Piccaso’s most famous pieces, an extremely meaningful and striking abstract about war. For this witch, who is named Izabel, who does nothing but copy others, I couldn’t think of anything better to name her story, because I knew she herself could never find value in Guernica.

It’s raining again today. How long will I continue to be unlucky for?

There’s not a lot to say about this one, but I think the witch that it’s about, Patricia, would like that. The story is pretty self explanatory, but it’s one of my favorites because of that. The title is reference to a line in her labyrinth.

2 parts Absinthe 1 part Brandy 1/2 part Gin 3 parts Vodka 1 part Crème de Mûres

This witch, Roberta, is pretty special. First off, she’s an adult witch, the only in the series. She’s said to be fond of alcohol, which I tried to portray in the lack of grammar and punctuation, like you’re listening to the incoherent thought stream of the intoxicated. The title is the ingredients to her namesake, the Aunt Roberta cocktail, which is the strongest drink in the world.

Source Title: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Source Creators: Atsuhiro Shinbo & Gen Urobuchi & Shaft Productions

Year Published/Produced: 2011

Setting: The series mainly takes place in the fictional city of Mikakihara Japan, 2011. The rest of the series takes places in the otherworldly “Labyrinths”, dark mental landscapes based on the inner feelings of the witch they belong to.

Plot Summary: The series follows a middle school girl named Madoka Kaname, who is approached by a creature named Kyuubey to grant her any wish in exchange for becoming a “magical girl” and fighting against witches— supernatural creatures that kill humans. Eventually, it is revealed witches are fallen magical girls who fall into despair and that Kyuubey purposefully creates this magical girl to witch cycle to feed off their sadness, as his species uses said emotion like energy to fight otherworldly creatures far away, to prevent the destruction of the universe.

In the end, Madoka becomes a magical girl to wish for all magical girls to get happy endings— which erases witches from existence, including herself, as all Magical Girls eventually become witches. This creates a paradox through which no one remembers her anymore, except one person, the girl who had wished for her not to live a normal life more than anyone.

Key Character Descriptions

Charlotte— The witch of sweets, it is her nature to be tenacious. Charlotte used to be a ten year old girl named Momoe, who became a witch after falling in despair at the death of her mother.

H.N. Elly— The box witch, it is her nature to be covetous. Her labrynth and cards all imply that she was an internet addicted shut-in turned internet-famous idol, who cracked under the pressure of constant performance.

Elsa Maria— The shadow witch, it is her nature to be self-righteous. Due to her religious imagery, many theorize she was driven to despair after finding out the witches she slayed as a magical girl used to be fellow humans. However, I based my story on her on the life of her namesake, Elsa Asenijeff.

Gertrud— The rose garden witch, it is her nature to be distrustful. Nothing is known about her backstory, so I constructed my adaptation for her based on the info we do know about her, such as the fact that “she holds roses dearer than anything else” and that, “she loathes the thought of humans trampling her labyrinth”.

Patricia— The class representative witch, it is her nature to be an onlooker. It has been said she used to be a normal, serious girl who was overlooked by her classmates. In the show, her wish is for her school life routine to go on forever, which is what I based my adaptation for her on.

Izabel— The artist witch, it is her nature to be vain. In her prior life, she was an artist suffering from a creative block who yearned for others to notice her. It is said that every art piece she produced was something “that you have probably seen somewhere before”.

Roberta— The birdcage witch, it is her nature to rage. Before she became a witch, she was a party girl living a life of surface level relationships, specifically with men, but secretly, she was disgusted by all of them. Her wish was for friends who wouldn’t dislike her.

Cultural Themes

The fear of being alone is a major theme in Madoka Magica, as depicted through the struggles of various characters. Sayaka Miki's desire to win the affections of her crush, Kyousuke, despite his lack of care for her efforts, highlights her fear of being unloved. She becomes obsessed with trying to gain his love, ultimately leading to her downfall.

In a more subtle way, Mami Tomoe's yearning for companionship also highlights the theme of fear of being alone. Despite her cheerful and big sister-like front, Mami is revealed to be deeply lonely and craves companionship. She reaches out to other magical girls in an attempt to alleviate her loneliness, but her efforts are paid in dust.

And of course, the biggest example of this is Homura Akemi's refusal to let Madoka die. Homura goes to great lengths to protect Madoka, trapping herself in a time loop to prevent Madoka from becoming a victim of the magical girl system. Her actions are driven by her fear of losing Madoka and being left alone in a world without her, to the point where she would even let the universe itself be destroyed to save her love.

Through these characters, the series explores the visceral human need for connection, and the disastrous consequences that arise from the lengths we will go to to obtain it.

The central message I want to explore in my adaptation is the prior lives of monsters. Through these stories of monsters before they "became" monsters, I want to delve into the idea of how the creatures of Madoka Magica, framed as so inhumane the literal art style changes for them, used to lead extremely human, flawed lives before the show portrayed them. Using a simple, fairytale-like style of writing and multiple types of writing, like receipts, reviews, and diary entries, I want to portray the mundaneness of their lives, and just how involved in the world they were. That they were real little girls, with real lives that impacted the things around them.

Motifs

The most common motif in Madoka Magica is fairytale motifs, specifically Eastern European fairytales. Witches, little girls tempted by strange creatures, candy houses. One character, Sayaka Miki, even has her entire story based on the little mermaid. She loves a boy, he doesn’t love her, she sacrifices everything for him anyways and then turns into a huge, mermaid monster. I aim to invoke this through my style of writing, taking a simple yet whimsical approach.

Why Madoka?

I like almost everything about this anime. The characters, the love they have for one another, the Czech fairytale-like art style, and that despite the dark themes, the story never supports falling into the darkness yourself. One thing I dislike is that the short 12 episode length, while making the series very “complete” also serves to stunt the potential of a majority of the characters. As the series relies on the connections these characters have, it would have benefited very extremely from a longer run-time to show us the chemistry between the girls and their loved ones, as the lack of screen time can make these deep bonds seem rushed and superficial. I want to try to convey the importance of those deep bonds in my work, but like I said, it’s a matter of time, not passion, so my adaptation can’t fix this issue.

Adding sequels and prequels has, in my opinion, sullied the impact of the original work. Madoka Magica is an intensely popular brand, and thus, is extremely profitable. Making spin-offs for the short series seems obvious from a business point of view. But a majority of these spin-offs are just made simply from this business point of view, and nothing else. One example of this is the most popular spin-off series for Madoka, "Magia Record," which takes place in the same universe with a new, expansive cast of characters. The show feels like a cheap imitation of the original series. Instead of trying to explore new interesting themes or go into depth on the topics brought up in Madoka, it’s just trying to recapture what made it so special without truly understanding why it was so special in the first place.

One of the primary cultural fears explored in Madoka Magica is the fear of death, specifically the death of the ones you love. At the end of the series, it is revealed that Madoka’s aloof best friend, Homura, is actually in love with her and has been stuck in a time loop trying to prevent Madoka’s death, which proves unavoidable. The finale deals with Homura stopping the time loop and accepting her crush’s death, and that the world will move on without her, and so should she. The series tells us death is natural, it happens to all of us, and we cannot stop it. But we can honor the ones we loved and lost and step into the future as they would want.

[pureastrologywisdom]

The Mixing of Signs in a Natal Chart

I am going to be using celebrity examples to show you how signs expression can mix together to give you a better idea on how to spot it. We often talk about signs alone, which is a great starting point but being able to understand the way that they come across in a melting pot that is a natal chart is another thing entirely. 

It’s also incredibly interesting when you look at celebrities who have a similar mix of signs or placement to you. You start to recognise yourself in them or similarities. These can be people you heavily resonate with but had no idea why exactly.

Jane Birkin

Before looking at her chart I knew there would be some virgo and sagittarius placements together. Perhaps I recognised this energy from my own chart.

She was a very influential figure in fashion 

She had a Virgo moon and a Sagittarius Sun and Mars. Along with this she had a Gemini Ascendant.

This was truly fascinating to me when I found it out because of what she is so known for.

She is the reason we have the infamous Birkin Bag from Hermès. 

The executive chairman of Hermès sat next to her on a flight. Supposedly her stuff fell out of her bag and the executive chairman told her she should have a bad with pockets. To which she replied ‘The day Hermès makes one with pockets I will have that’.

When the man revealed who he was Jane took it upon herself to tell him that they should make a bigger bad and she sketched an idea for him. 

From this the birkin bag was born. 

What is so interesting is that she has a gemini rising - gemini is known for ruling over the hands, so of course she influenced a bag that was hand held to the world.

Alongside this Virgo is know for being detailed oriented or ‘knit picky’ if you will. She saw a detail she wanted changed. Virgo is known for organisation, however people often understand what this truly means. Virgo likes to be organised but often this is more of an organised chaos., The Birkin bag is known for being a bag you carry everything in you need and that you throw around and get a little tatty. Throw in the influence of always on the go sagittarius here and you can see how this mixes well together. Sagittarius is about travelling long distances, this bag was made for its longevity and quality (virgo), its durability and adaptability (gemini) and you can take ti with you anywhere (sagittarius).

Thank you for reading, I am very excited to to more with this series <3

Pureastrowisdom <3

[bengiyo]

My Love Mix Up TH: The Adaptation Changes to the Class Play

I’m generally in favor of the cross-cultural adaptations of BL. I am on record saying plainly that I think the Thai version of Cherry Magic is the best version of the story we’ve seen brought to screen. However, I do not like what’s happening in My Love Mix Up and I need to talk about it. I’ve been thinking about the class play storyline since last Friday, and it bothers me because they fundamentally changed the messaging and themes around that sequence. 

I want to take the time to compare and contrast both versions of this because after two episodes, the Thai version is basically in the same place as the beginning of episode 3 of the Japanese live action.

Kieta Hatsukoi’s Take

We begin episode 2 with Aoki sorting the love triangle he’s suddenly found himself in, before committing to helping Hashimoto connect with Ida even if he confused Ida by claiming the eraser was his.

Seeing an opportunity, Aoki accidentally signs himself up alongside Ida to help on stage setup.

Before our complications ensue, there’s only 1 day left before they put on the show.

I’ll skip over the portion where they’re working on the stage stuff for brevity.

The next day, the leads reveal that they can’t perform because they got sick, and so the class has to scramble, and pragmatically decide that the stage design team doesn’t have any other responsibilities during the play and have the time to fill in the role. The class suggests Hashimoto but she’s clearly nervous.

Aoki, wanting to help her, volunteers to play Cinderella.

The class decides to let him play and agrees as a group.

Aida suggests Ida play the prince.

The class rallies to prep cue cards quickly so they can still do the play.

Aoki is not a great actor, but he commits to the bit and is willing to wear the drag required for the role.

Ida is also not that great of an actor, but he looks good!

After the play, Aoki has changed back into his uniform during the class party, but Ida is still taking pictures with people at the class’s request.

The class president starts a celebration of Aoki and Ida, but then the jokes take a turn and make Aoki uncomfortable.

The teacher, Aida, and Ida are uncomfortable about this.

Ida chides the class for teasing Aoki, reminds them that he did it for their sake, and leaves an uncomfortable silence. Aoki breaks the tension with a joke about himself, and the teacher shuffles the class out.

Finally, Ida checks on Aoki.

The My Love Mix Up TH Take

The Thai version opens directly with the class play organization before doing a simplified voiceover to check in with Atom, who says he wants to help them.

I’ll skip over the same stage prep stuff, and the leads calling in. The class suggests Mudmee play the role, but she is nervous about being on stage.

Atom tries to volunteer instead, and is immediately shot down for gendered reasons by the female director and then the rest of the class.

Half encourages them to select Kongthap as the Prince because he says Atom gets tongue-tied when he’s nervous.

We aren’t given a sense of the timeline, but it feels like they have a few days to work on this since Mudmee leaves rehearsal. 

Atom then stays behind to help Kongthap on his practice.

The day of the play, Mudmee’s stage fright gets the better of her, and so Atom takes the stage on his own.

The class rolls with it, and then two fill-in actors (one of which wasn’t recommended as an option because he gets too nervous and tongue tied) go on to nail three musical numbers that also include a dance.

Afterwards, Mudmee apologizes, and the female director says it was the class’s fault, so now is the time to celebrate.

Next, three boys begin to tease Atom in a most homophobic way.

Atom is uncomfortable, and Kongthap gets angry on Atom’s behalf. He chides them for teasing Atom who saved the class.

The female director then comes back, tells Kongthap he spoke well, and then kicks out the other three boys and their ‘toxic masculinity.’ 

After an awkward pause, the class is shuffled out for fireworks by another student, and Atom checks on Kongthap.

Why Point Out These Changes?

The reason why I’m so bothered about these changes is that it removes the collective responsibility from the story. 

In the Japanese version, Aoki volunteers and the class agrees to support his choice. It then requires them to work together to scramble and make sure the play is as much of a success as it can be with two unprepared actors in the lead roles. It also means that Aoki and Ida aren’t actually great at either role, but Ida is attractive in his prince outfit, while Aoki is funny in his drag. The play is a success! However, it is also the class that begins to collectively tease Aoki in a somewhat homophobic way. The teacher looks on, uncertain, and it’s Ida who chides the class for giving Aoki a hard time after doing something to help them. 

The fact that the whole class signed on to make Aoki Cinderella, and then teased him for playing an apparent queer role as a class matters! This works as a commentary about how we don’t mind enjoying queerness as entertainment, but then make fun of people for actually doing it. This lands especially hard because Aoki did this for Hashimoto’s sake, and he’s going through his own queer awakening. The role of collective homophobia, and how he is incapable of really hiding anything about himself, is a critical piece of the story to come. 

In the Thai version, the class explicitly rejects Atom and highlights his faults for why he isn’t a good choice. He then goes on to defy them, I guess, to help Mudmee anyway? It ends up not working for me because I don’t see what the point of Atom being secretly good at acting and singing contributes here when the play is just an activity they’re doing for their class. I don’t know what role exceptionalism is meant to play here because he ends up defying the class to help them instead. Moreover, the play has been the most well-funded and stylish part of the show so far, and felt out of place for a small class production.

Perhaps I’m overthinking it. Because these are the leads from My School President, and GMMTV has concerts to put on, they need to amplify these school play scenes to sell tickets later. Is the brand management around Fourth the reason they didn’t have the class sign on because then they would have to put him in drag? Director Au was an AD and performer on Bad Buddy where they decided to do an m/m version of a classic play. Why not do the same here?

I also find it disingenuous that the female director is the first person to shoot down Atom for not being a girl as Cinderella, and then is the one to kick out the three boys for their apparent toxic masculinity. I think by making it Atom’s choice to take the stage, the boys’ choice to troll Atom, and the director’s choice to get rid of them, it reduces the social politics of socialized homophobia down to an individual problem. By removing the collective role of the class in this situation, the show loses the potency of the role we all play in the consumption and production of queer media and the tension between wanting these shows for entertainment while holding homophobic viewpoints. 

I have other issues with this episode as an adaptation, but I wanted to focus on the big writing changes here. It’s frustrating because in a side by side comparison, the Thai show hits many of the same moments as the source material and the Japanese live action, but then it goes on to change and add things that generally confuse the story, and I wonder if that’s what contributed to some of the confusion in scenes I’m seeing from the actors in some of the new content (who I actually think are doing fine to good with the content). I also worry that removing some of the collectivist messaging and the supervisory role of a teacher is going to weaken a key storyline that should be coming in the future. 

[jjs-brainrot]

2024 is coming to an end, all my anime from the current season finished up and next season has yet to be begin. it's time for me to actually sit down and figure out what my top 10 anime were for this year!

God damn was this an amazing year of anime for me. Every season had multiple shows I was hardcore obsessing over with a surprising amount of them outright entering into my top 10 of all time. I'd say I'd be surprised if 2025 can match it, but a lot of the shows I was obsessing with are getting continuations next year so I might end up with back to back peak years.

10. Yuru Camp S3

The greatest propaganda camping has ever received is back again to try to convince you that you should totally buy some camping gear and drive out to the nearest camp ground. You will surely not regret both of these decisions!

Yuru Camp feels like it's the platonic ideal of the iyashikei genre. It has just the right mixture of beautiful scenery, slow and chill vibes, the right amount of goofy humor and some really delicious looking food to make you feeling rejuvenated (and a bit hungry) every episode.

Season 3 has been particularly notable as its the first season being handled by Eight Bit instead of C-Station. While I'd say it's still as strong as previous seasons, the environmental backgrounds definitely felt like a step back compared to the previous 2 seasons and movie. It wasn't bad enough that it put a damper on my enjoyment of the series but it was a noticeable downground. The rest of the animation was pretty solid though with some of the later episodes (7 and 8 in particular) being incredibly creative and fun.

It's Yuru Camp. You should watch Yuru Camp if you haven't already…. You will not regret any purchases you make after watching Yuru Camp…

9. Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf

The classic medieval fantasy/economic/romance/drama series has returned to once again lure unsuspecting otaku with the promise of a cute wolfgirl, only to lock the door behind them and reveal that they've been signed up for an econ 101 class.

It's an updated adaptation that's much more faithful to the light novels then the first anime was. Not too much to say until we get season 2 as it covered a lot of the arcs the first anime covered. The one exception being that it actually animated book 3 which the first anime skipped over in order to cover book 5 (or rather 90% of book 5… I'm still salty about that…)

Holo is still a complete charmer, Holo and Lawrence still have excellent chemistry together and the economic drama is still top tier.

8. Dungeon People

Dungeon Keeper Yuri or the other show from this year from a mangaka thinking long and hard about how a fantasy dungeon would actually work. Though Instead of looking at it as an ecosystem like Dungeon Meshi, it approaches the idea as a workplace with its own logistical and management issues that need to be addressed in order to function.

It's mostly a pretty chill series but it also doesn't shy away from exploring darker topics like how the dungeon management deals with sexual assault and murder amongst adventurers.

Both of the protags (Clay and Belle) are fairly morally grey characters with neither having any qualms about killing when the job calls for it. There's also some strong coworkers yuri going on between them as well.

Kinda got overshadowed by Dungeon Meshi, but it's another really interesting examination on the idea of fantasy dungeons with some light yuri elements on top.

7. 'Tis Time for "Torture", Princess

The princess will be pampered, cared for and provided more friendship then she's ever experienced in her life until she divulges state secrets of frivolous quality.

An extremely chill little comedy that manages to be both extremely funny and incredibly relaxing as the same time. The closest series I can think of to compare it to is Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle (and maybe The Helpful Fox Senko-san to an extent). Just a nice series of skits about a character getting pampered.

Each of the "torturers" having the own niches (i.e. the titular Torture Tortura (yes that's her name) being a foodie, Krall being an animal lover, Youki and Inki basically playing around as the princess' best friend, etc) does a good job of making skits varied enough to never get stale.

Very good series to chill to after long day at work. Also has a season 2 on the way.

6. Dungeon Meshi

It's Dungeon Meshi, one of the best fantasy and foodie series to come out in decades.

In truth, the fact that I've been keeping up with and recommending this series for like 8 or 9 years now kinda does lower it a bit on my list since most of the novelty has faded over the years and most of the stronger moments of the series will be in the second season.

That being said, this adaptation has been fantastic so far with it easily being a contender for one of Studio Trigger's best works.

5. Mayonaka Punch

Desperate simp vampire girl wants to suck a cancelled youtuber girl('s blood) dry, the cancelled youtuber wants to reach 1 million subscribers. Win-win!

An absolutely hilarious comedy that also manages to pull out some pretty strong emotional guy punches when it feels like it and has an absolutely exquisite cast of girls who suck (pun intended).

Easily up there with Shirobako and Ya Boy Kongming as one of PA Works' best anime.

4. Shangri-La Frontier

A trash game loving birdman plays an actually good game for the first time in his life. Alternatively: LetMeSoloHer the anime.

One of the very few VRMMO anime that's… actually about the joy of playing an MMO? Honestly it feels weird to say but it feels like almost ever other anime that takes place in an MMO is either an isekai or a romance where the MMO aspect is just a forgettable backdrop. The only other series I can think of that did something similar to Shangri-La Frontier is Bofuri. So it's weirdly an untapped aspect of the genre.

Shangri-La Frontier really does nails every aspect of enjoying an MMO excellently though. The fun of first loading into a game and trying to figure out the basics, gushing about the game to one of your old gaming buddies and getting them interested in it, finding another old gaming buddy you didn't realize was also playing the same game as you, learning and mastering a raid with your friends, getting real into the lore of the game and even taking a break from your main game to play other games to recharge your love for the main one.

The entire cast is a wonderful collection of gamer cryptids with the main 3 protags being up there as one of my all time favorite trios as they're just as easily likely to help each other out when it counts as they are to stab each other in the backs for the laughs. They absolutely nail the "gaming buddies who've known each other for years" vibes.

It easily has the most stellar fight scenes this year with The multi-episode Weathermon fight alone absolutely deserving to top everyone of those "top x anime fight scenes" lists people put out there.

It's painful how under talked about this series seems to be for how good it is.

3. VTuber Legend

Lesbian VTuber gets drunk and loudly talks about how much she loves to fap to women. Proceeds to awaken a new fetish in every one of her coworkers (never the same one).

Hilarious, unhinged, gay af, probably the second kinkiest yuri this year and is the gold standard all future VTuber anime must be compared to. It gets it. It fully understood the level of unhinged insanity it needed to be to represent what watching VTubers is actually like and does so with flying colors.

Awayuki Kokorone is my oshi of all time. May she forever suffer the consequences of being a human lightning rod of fetishes by becoming a chew toy for every woman in her life.

Easily the one of the funniest comedies to come out this year and is well worth watching even if you have 0 interest in VTubers.

2. Gushing Over Magical Girls

Girl who really, really, really, REALLY loves magical girls gets black mailed into joining the evil organization that fights them. This turns into an unexpected positive for her as she finds out that she really, really, really, REALLY loves domming magical girls.

As wild as "the extremely smutty, borderline pornographic bdsm yuri magical girl show was one of the most compelling and interestingly written shows this year while also being the most hilarious" is to say… The extremely smutty, borderline pornographic bdsm yuri magical girl show was in fact one of the most compelling and interestingly written shows this year while also being the most hilarious.

It's easily one of the most kink positive anime series I've seen, and I think out of every anime from this year, this one might well have had the biggest impact on me. The general themes of self-accepting ones own perversions and kinks genuinely got me accepting and being way more open with my own and others'.

The bdsm magical girl show made me a better person which is a hell of a thing to say.

1. Girls Band Cry

RAISE YOUR MIDDLE FINGERS WITH ME! (or at least you pinkies as we sadly can't have the actual members of TogeToge flipping their audience off every live show…)

Hands down the best band anime yet, easily a rival to Studio Orange's work as one of the best 3DCG anime out there and without a doubt the best completely original anime released this year. It's writing was consistently strong from beginning to end with a few episodes outright being some of the best 20 minutes of anime this year (episode 8 and 11 in particular). The entire cast was super fun with Nina in particular being an incredibly interesting protagonist. And god the music is some of the best out of any band anime with Togenashi Togeari easily being up there in my top 3 bands of all times and I've basically not gone a single week without listening to every one of their songs on repeat.

Girls Band Cry might be the most near perfect anime in years and is easily the series I'd most recommend everyone pick up from this year (now that you can actually do so legally cause god damn was it a crime that this one wasn't picked up by streamers when it aired).

[la2yn0va]

Friends — Part 3

Notes; this COUULD be taken as Romantic or Platonic kafka x male reader

“I’m tired” M/n said staring down at a hill of dead abundance monsters. His eyes foggy, his hand clenching his weapon. Ever since that one mission, his entire life seemed to have just changed. All because of a few revelations a woman who abandoned him told him…it was stupid.

It was childish, it was illogical, it was just stupid, all things HE certainly wasn’t. So why did it affect him this much!? He never had a mom or dad! He shouldn’t care what a good for nothing bitch of a mother thinks of him…!! So why was he still acting this way…

His mother abandoned him. So what!? He had years upon years to become desensitized from needing a ‘mother’ or ‘parental validation’…it disgusted him…had he become weak?

Before joining the cloud knights, when it was just him and Jiaoqiu, he was PERFECT. Strong, Extremely adaptable, skilled liar and thief, emotionally distant…that had to be it right? He started caring for a bunch of nobodies! That had to be the answer…

Or..could it be that deep down he seeked validation from a parental figure? Is that why he ignored his mission in favor of staying with his mother and sister? Was he…always this pathetic?

“Whistle, what a bloodbath~” A voice cut through his mental monologue. He turned to face the voice, seeing an undeniably beautiful young woman with red wine-colored hair that ties in a messy ponytail with two loose bangs hanging on either side of her face.

Her eyes are of a similar, lighter color, and she wore dark pince-nez sunglasses on top of her head along with a pearl earring in her right ear, yet her clothes revealed she wasn’t xianzhou. “Who the hell are you?”

Kafka: The names Kafka. And I’m here to relay a.. opportunity. If you will.

She said, her smile still on her face while m/n stared blankly. If he gets bored, he’ll just kill her.

Kafka: ‘If you get bored, you’ll just kill me’. That’s what you thought right~?

M/n: Ah—

Kafka: Hmm~ interested yet?

M/n:…sure…get to the point.

Kafka: As you wish. You’ve been chosen by destiny to become its slave. To carve the best path for everyone and yourself~

She chucked a phone towards him, which he easily caught and opened it, seeing a message from anonymous.

“Hello M/n. I am the leader of the stellaron hunters, Elio. I’ll keep things brief for you, our goal is to be destinies slaves. I write scripts and you along with kafka will follow them down to the periods. To prove my power of foresight, I’ll lead you some information. These coordinates (50°36′S 165°58′E) is the hideout of the mastermind making these tactics and strategies for the abominations of the abundance. A disciple of Sanctus Medicus. You’ll go with kafka to confirm this information and both of you will be attacked by a hoard of enemies that you two will defeat. Instead of bringing in the disciple you’ll kill him. I’ll see you very soon”

Kafka: You done reading?

M/n:…sure

He threw the phone back at kafka, who caught it and pocketed it “What a nice weapon you have there. Mind if I touch it~?” She said with a smile. M/n ignored her and flicked her hand away from his weapon and walked away. “What a brute”

———

Kafka: So? You convinced yet~?

She asked as m/n ripped the head off of the disciples body. He held the disciples head and stared at it blankly… could this whole thing be true? Could it have been set up by this ‘Elio’ and ‘Kafka’? He hadn’t even sensed any malicious intent from her this whole time.

M/n: No. you except me to believe you didn’t set this up?

Kafka: Of course not. You’re definitely not an idiot. Elio said you’d want more proof.

Kafka threw a phone to him again, he caught it and read a new message.

“By now you should’ve killed the disciple. I have a proposal for you. Join us and I’ll give you what you want. I’ll dull your emotions, I’ll eradicate that memory of your mother, I’ll return you back to your prime. Not only that, but you won’t die a boring life. Join me, and you’ll go far, a life full of fun, risks, and surprises. A life I know you want”

M/n:…fine. I’ll bite.

He walked over and handed the phone to kafka, who seemed pleased. As he handed her the phone back, he grabbed her collar and pulled her in.

M/n: Know this woman. I’ll kill you if this is some kind of trap.

Kafka: My oh my~ I’ll keep you to that handsome~

He let go of her and walked out the hideout, kafka fixed her shirt before walking after him. Not long after, the two left the xianzhou, leaving no trace of him or Kafka.

———

M/n:…is this…really necessary?

Kafka: Of course it is~ it’ll be a crime to let you go out wearing.. That.

M/n sweated as kafka forced him to wear different clothing. Jeans here, shoes there, COATS. EVERYWHERE.

M/n: Kafka..please… no more fucking jeans or tight clothes!

Kafka: Mmm~? Why not? They suit you well.

M/n: For elio’s sake—

He sighed in defeat before allowing the mad woman to continue using him as a 2$ dress up doll. Hours later he was freed from the mad woman, sitting across her as she drank wine and he comfortably wore his clothing of choice.

It’d been a while since he joined kafka and Elio. And..well, it’s definitely been fun. The xianzhou had bored him so much, endless battles and living the same day like he was in a time loop. Thank god kafka found him. Although he did miss his old friends, he was too caught up in the fun that was being a war criminal.

M/n: I’m just saying, a change in music might be—

Kafka: Absolutely not. You have your phone and headphones dear. Use them if my musical taste bore you.

M/n: Pshh.. yeah fine, whatever. So.. why’re we here?

Kafka: Hmm~? Do you really need to ask that? Why else would we be at a planet that was recently destroyed?

She asked as they looked out the window, seeing multiple rocks flying around and a large glow further away from them.

Kafka: Fireflies..dancing in the wind.

M/n:…bitch when the fuck did we get philosophical—!?

He was quickly silenced by kafka’s webs. Which lifted him up and covered his mouth, he looked comedically nervous while looking at an irritated kafka, still smiling which made him more nervous.

Kafka: First you complain when I try to make you presentable. Then you insult my taste in music, and now you refer to me as ‘bitch’? This won’t stand any longer.

She brought him closer and slowly caressed her hand on your cheek, her eyes glaring into your soul. “I’ll subjugate your punishment later. For now, be a good boy and go fetch me a firefly~”

———

[henrysglock]

Finally, More NINA Puzzle Pieces

DISTRESSED NOISES!! WE GOT NINA CRUMBS!! AND IT'S DRIVING ME INSANE!!

IT HAS THE CAMERA!!! AT LEAST ONE VERSION OF REALITY HAS THE CAMERA!!!!!

Okay so remember when I pointed this out about the NINA discrepancies in El's 4.05 entrance, and how there were at least 22 different iterations of events?

Specifically this glaring difference between reality (tapes) and the rest of the 4.05 entrance (labeled 3 and 8)?

The presence of a camera in a UD-ified version of HNL tells us that the bottom row of images straight up cannot physically exist in one cohesive reality.

Which is to say—Anything that does not have the camera is 100%, definitely, concretely not based in the UD's reality/those versions without the camera are either fake or set in a different reality.

If you've been following along this past year and a half, this is not news to you; it's just confirmation of what we already knew.

It does, however, means that none of this was based in reality:

We already kind of knew that, based on the props changing so much within the Rainbow Room each time/Henry's changing hair/etc, but the confirmation goes crazy insane. We love to see it.

After the first entrance to NINA/after we see the footage of the version with the camera, we don't see a non-camera version again. Any non-camera versions seem to disappear. This means whatever simulation El's stuck in, it's adaptive. It learns, with a propensity for making itself immersive by molding itself to to the subject's understanding of reality.

However, what fucks me up is that all of these are, then, set in the same "reality":

Which means the new ST5 UD-ified HNL, the physical camera footage of 1979, Henry's electrocution, Blood Hands El, El running to the Rainbow Room, and Brenner running to the Rainbow Room are all supposedly set in "reality".

That's not possible, though. The electrocution scene cannot have existed in reality/could not possibly be a memory, because 14 year old El is barely tall enough to see in. 1979 El would not have been tall enough to have seen interaction:

This means that none of NINA is reliable. Period. Even the things that appear to be set in reality are unreliable re: what actually happened in 1979.

Whatever NINA runs on, it's adaptive and manipulative. It's like c.ai, if c.ai was actually AI. Whatever it is, it takes El's experiences both in the lab and outside the lab and combines them to form entirely new scenarios that never really happened (see: Blade Runner 2049 and the manipulated/mash-up memories shenanigans). El has been told she's reliving memories. That is not the case. None of what she's seeing is reliable. It's like when a movie says it's based on a true story.

This fits with what I said about the monologue never having existed at all and NINA being an immersive empathogenic drug trip that pulls from El's outside memories. It also fits with my draft about the Mindflayer ties between Shadow-NINA in the VR, TFS, and NINA in ST4, and my speculation in that same draft about a) NINA specifically running on the Mindflayer, and b) the Mindflayer using familiar humanoid avatars to gain sympathy and coerce its target into joining it.

We see this kind of behavior in Patty in her garnering sympathy from Henry and then insisting that she and Henry run away together to find her mother in the Stardust Casino...regardless of the fact that Henry is still flayed. We see it again in our "Couldn't Possibly Exist" Henry as he garners sympathy from El and then tells El to join him. And then we see it again in Shadow Brenner using the NINA-like maze to learn about Henry as a means to try and coerce him into joining him. It's a continuing theme.

Both Patty and "Henry" want Henry and El, respectively, to accept their offer and leave with them. Both Henry and El reject that offer in exactly the same way:

In my speculative opinion, we see a resurgence of this particular dual-yeeting in Billy and Heather.

Henry in the VR, as we know, has a dubious ending re: escaping the simulation.

This exists in contrast to the other version of NINA Henry, who, much like TFS Henry with Patty, is insistent that El run away without him.

When I say that we have multiple guys, this is what I mean. Their motivations are entirely different. One of these men in NINA is not Henry. It's someone or something masquerading as him. If I had to speculate, I would say that it stems from the Mindflayer and its possible presence in NINA...Especially given the similarities between NINA and the Russian prison, wherein they have a trapped form of the Mindflayer:

In short—Every day it seems more likely that whatever El fought in the massacre was not Henry. It's like I said way way back last year: there's someone else in there with her. Multiple someone-elses, even.

It also seems, if I had to speculate, that rejecting the Mindflayer avatar is what gives El her powers back. This means it may also be what "changed" about One, as mentioned in the plinko scene.

This all also backs what I speculated way back in the day about the blood transfusions being related to immunity against the Mindflayer, either finding it, triggering it, or building it. It seems to function like getting a live vaccine: you're given dose of the live virus, and your body fights it off. In fighting off the Mindflayer, it's entirely possible that the process triggers latent powers in those who have them. Those who don't have the basis for latent powers eventually succumb (see: Will, Billy, the Flayed). Brenner, with NINA, may have been giving El the equivalent of a booster shot.