#who also has long since stopped giving a crap about the powers that be

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

"She's too old and frail for anything serious," Dedra says about Maarva.

A few weeks later, Maarva gives a speech at her own funeral.

Result:

[flaetsbnortoriginals]

I've just had a dream that was so steeped in Magic: The Gathering lore that I need to post it to tumblr on the off-chance that people who know enough to understand it will be able to read it, because if I tell it to the people I usually tell my dreams to they won't understand a dang thing. Sorry @one-time-i-dreamt

So. The dream was in Ravnica, and was about this planeswalker lady. She was white, with long straight blonde hair, and a fancy blue dress. I have the feeling that I was dreaming I was her before my dream remembered I'm a boring cis man without any amazing powers so as far as I can recall I'm just following her, like the main character of a story. I'm not sure I should call her my OC since she was created without any prompting of my conscious mind but none of the characters in the dream have names so I'll call her that.

OC was walking down a boulevard in Ravnica with this dude. They were pretending to be a couple, but the dude was actually a Dimir spy she had bested and was kind of her prisoner. Dimir guy wasn't very happy about it but wasn't too angry either, he saw his "custodianship" as a work thing and kind of respected OC, so they were chill.

OC saw a woman who she realized wasn't from this plane, although she was pretending to be a local. She challenged Dimir guy to point out what made them realize this. Now I expected this to go like a Sherlock sequence, with each one pointing out a detail in the woman's outfit or some very precise behaviour. Instead, OC starts by pointing out that this woman is wearing

A FRIGGING BRIGHT BLUE SOCCER JERSEY

and not only are soccer jerseys not usual clothes in Ravnica, (at least not until Hooligans at Rakdos Stadium is released), but it also has a giant number on it (77 if you're curious), except that Ravnica uses a different writing system, so any planeswalker would immediately clock her as an outsider. (I think that it's only sort of implied that each plane uses a different writing system, but in the dream that was settled truth.)

OC is so apalled at how poorly this woman - who needs a name, so I'll call her BadKellan for reasons that will soon become apparent - is at hiding herself, she decides to have a word with her. BadKellan realizes she's being followed and hoofs it - but OC and Dimir guy immediately use their Dimir crap to become invisible. BadKellan thinks he's shaken them off, but she's quite rattled, so she goes to her safehouse, which happens to be just around the corner. OC and Dimir sneak in behind her, then make themselves visible.

Now I should tell you that Dimir Guy does nothing else in this story. I was going to say that he's just Ken, he's just there, but it's actually worse - his presence makes the story make no sense, since OC is about to reveal some secrets to some random lady. But the dream didn't forget him: I vividly recall that he was still around all throughout this part of the dream, even though he does nothing else.

So. OC reveals herself and tells BadKellan that what she's doing is very dangerous. She tells her about the Dimir (the guild, not the random guy) and says that if they see her poorly sneaking around and think she's going to be trouble, or even can't figure out what her deal is, they're just going to kill her. Which means it's incredibly dangerous for her to go around like that.

BadKellan reveals a few things about herself. She's from Earth - yes, our real world. She's not a planeswalker. She was brought to Ravnica against her will and told to blend in and pretend to be a local. She doesn't feel comfortable revealing who told her to do that.

OC decides to give BadKellan a few pointers on how to lay low on Ravnica. She explains that she would dress mostly in gray, since colours are strongly associated with the guilds and she should stay away from them to stop making waves. She asks her to change her outift and she'll say if it draws attention.

BadKellan changes clothes. She's now dressed entirely in gray, which is good, except that her shirt

HAS A LARGE, GLITTERING PRINT ACROSS THE FRONT READING

girl

IT'S THE EXACT SAME THING AS BEFORE. IT'S A LARGE PRINT USING OFF-PLANE SCRIPT. It's not as large as the jersey number, sure, but I'd like to remind you that it's glittering!

OC is apparently as taken aback by this as I am, because she turns her into a squirrel.

In fact, she specifically turns her into the squirrel from Bloomburrow key art.

OC's logic is that BadKellan is so bad at blending in that this is the only way she can be safe. OC intends to release "squirrel girl" in a park while she tries to look into exactly whose plans she just ruined and how bad of an idea it was.

There was more to this dream, but my memories are fuzzy and it's (even more) uninteresting. I think it involves the Boros having a special currency that they gain when they help people but the Dimir also use it in a kind of ironic way? I don't remember.

[berrypass-de-murdler]

2 - 20 Gathering the Suspects

To anyone who read my previous post, thank you dearly. I was scared to write the message because I didn't want to come off as cruel but I feel a lot better now that I've finally publicly got it off my chest. I genuinely hope to avoid any more drama within this fandom, and continue to post my work normally <3

Following the serious post comes an extremely dumb episode-

I didn't know how to lengthen it, and then I tried, and then it got really bad fast lmao

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE SQUISHY...

You will never get away from squishy grandmaster rose.

DON'T READ THE EPISODES WITHOUT READING THE BOOKS!!

VIOLET: Huh? What is it? Logico?

The only two others who showed up in the sitting room are Aubergine and Marble for some reason, even though they haven’t killed anyone (this series).

AUBERGINE: Logico! Buddy! Where are you??

Logico loosely creeps from the darkness with a glowing eye.

LOGICO: I know your secret. 

They all scream and throw things violently!! Once they stop, they look down - and Logico has been sliced to bits! They scream even louder.

VIOLET: LOGICO WHAT THE FUCK?!??

Aubergine tries to piece him back together.

VIOLET: THAT’S NOT GOING TO WORK OH MY GOD-

Logico chuckles as he steps out.

LOGICO: That wasn’t ME. I knew you’d freak out, so I made a decoy just in case. You could say… a Logi-Faux. AUBERGINE: WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! LOGICO: Would you rather me have actually died? SUSPECTS: … 

Logico giggles. Before he reveals the lore, he must solve this ‘murder’.

MARBLE: We… all threw things. AUBERGINE: Yeah, does it even matter? LOGICO: QUIET, I NEED MY MURDER TIME!

Everyone rolls their eyes. Violet flutters over to the couch and sprawls out. Aubergine kneels by the fire and stares at it. She’s hiding something for sure. Logico is very blissful as he pads around.

VIOLET: So… how long is this gonna take? MARBLE: Wouldn’t all THREE of us be the murderer here? LOGICO: Can I please have my thing.

Marble’s face goes cold as she bathes in the dim light of the candelabra. 

LOGICO: Oh… what happened to you?  MARBLE: Many things happened to me, my child. And the more you knew, the more you’d want to stay away.

Logico grimaces. He doesn’t care about this person at all, must less want to blackmail her. He’s much more focused on Lord Violet. A painting of the animal is on the floor, probably used as a weapon. Lord Violet’s existence of being a completely feral beast always gives him the chills.

Drawling on as long as he can, Logico smells the false body.

LOGICO: OH! Like a tiny rodent. 

Irratino is so proud back home. Logico really listened to his ‘Logi-Faux’ idea! But he still has a lot of concerns.

LOGICO: All right, all right. The ‘real’ killer was Lady Violet. VIOLET: You’re blaming me for- oh, forget it! ‘Killing’ a decoy is not a crime! LOGICO: Attempted murder is a crime! VIOLET: I wasn’t trying to kill you! You scared the crap out of me! LOGICO: All right! Everyone sit down. It’s time for me to explain my theory. AUBERGINE: Need your tinfoil hat? LOGICO: Fuck you.

The end!

Without Irratino, Logico seems to be fading back into his og asshole self...

WHO WILL RESCUE HIM??

Also sad fact is, since Lord Violet and Beryl are dead, they won't be getting standard official artworks, which sucks cuz I put a lot of effort into their designs

I'll still definitely draw them though

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[sharky857]

Gamer Bond

PREMISE: Long time no posting a fic in here. Yep, I wrote one, which can also be found on my AO3 (if you have an accounjt over there).

I may or may be not slightly Amir-starved since the mall has gone POOF until this coming winter, and I felt a mild mighty need to write a self-indulgent and cutesy ficcy.

Besides Ao3, you'll see it also by clicking/tapping "keep reading" in this very post. Enjoy~!

(Minor warning for explicit language -thanks, Damienne- and past bullying -thanks, Amir's brain-)

--

Lately there had been a lot of visitors in that mall.

Like… A lot lot.

Seemingly, he couldn’t really care less. None of them had seemed like a threat this whole time and his other squad mates had been overall chill as well. Besides, most of them would hang out nearby the stage, dancing and vibing to the only, forever-looped, On-Lyne’s song.

But he too had spotted them nonetheless with the corner of his eye, while sprinting non-stop from an arcade game to another. Despite the overall semi-darkness, it had been quite hard to miss them, especially the glowier ones.

Some kept on showing up with their own “warframes”, as if they’d wanted to keep their real identity a secret or something, while others were there in person; sometimes it was only an adult, some other times a lone kid. And a few had been bold enough to show up in pairs.

Like these two young ladies.

For some reason, apparently so far only Eleanor knew of the real nature of these “visitors”, given how she would reassure them that their “secret” was safe with her.

However, these two seemed not fussed by being seen together. One was a scrawny kid with her mahogany hair side shaved except for some long, straight locks to each side of her face and some kind of ponytail to match, dressed mostly in a dark olive green. The other had only a different-looking outfit, but the colours were identical, as well as the hairstyle.

They too were clearly two faces of the same coin, like any other of those “visitors”, but they also didn’t give a crap about being seen together like that. If anyone had ever tried to inquire them, the pair could’ve merely said that they were “big sis” and “lil sis”, as they would often refer to themselves also when they were on their own.

= = = =

“Psh, isn’t that guy too old for games?”

Amir had barely heard the scoffing remark an imposing redhead had just whispered to the unknown black Gyre next to them.

The technician couldn’t help but have a quick flashback of his own childhood and some bullies.

Mocked for the bouncy legs and restless hands. Teased for being a weakling with little to no stamina. Taunted for being a geeky nerdy loser. Scoffed and scolded for making “weirdass and annoying noises”. Shouted at for seemingly not paying attention in class.

Enough!

Dear brain, don’t you fuckin’ dare to go there again! Different times. Past times. Gone times.

‘Sides, both those guys and those teachers were probably one with the Techrot by now, while he was still Amir Beckett and getting the jackpot of those neat superhuman powers, which also improved his own stamina greatly.

Haha! Who’s the geeky nerdy loser now?

With his own confidence restored and without losing his focus on the ongoing games, Amir was about to scoff right back at the pair standing on the entrance, when…

“Aren’t you too young to be judgemental grumps?”

A young woman with a hairstyle to match that of a young girl next to her asked nonchalantly as she stepped into the arcade room from another entrance.

“Ugh, you two must be real unfun at parties.” The shorter kid next to her crossed her arms. “Just… kindly piss off.”

The other duo stood agape for a brief second.

“… Watch your mouth, scrub. Unless-”

“Unless what, fuckwad?” Both “Damiennes” took a single step forwards, which made the others two instinctively take a step back.

“You really wanna go?” The shorter Damienne cracked her knuckles with a feral grin. “I’ve heard that Uncle Teshin’s place is lovely to visit this time of the day.” She added, referring to the “Conclave”, where all Tenno could spar with their own peers.

The redhead was about to snap right back, when a small nudge from the black Gyre caught their attention.

The warframe brought a bent hand midway between her own collarbone and the throat, then moved it back and forth a couple times while slightly shaking her head.

Just forget about them.

The dickhead only cast one last glare at the other duo. And then, without saying another word, they stormed away with the warframe silently following suit.

“Yeah, go back to the nursing home, asshat.” Damienne scoffed, before getting a nudge from her own Drifter.

“Now don’t push it, lil sis.” The older counterpart hummed, albeit with an amused smirk.

“Ungh! This violent video game is… influencing my emotions! Societal norms… eroding! Morality… subsumed! I. MUST. KILL!”

Amir’s small ramble brought the attention of the two back inside the arcade room.

There was quite an amount of arcade machines in there, most of them functional, but two in particular seemed to be so very good to cause the technician to constantly dash back and forth between them.

Amir had figured a way to get his clues for when to go from a game to another.

Whenever he would hear his character taking damage in the fighting game, the technician would send the ball as high as possible inside the pinball and then instantly dart to deliver as many blows as he could to the AI-controlled opponent on the other arcade game, all while keeping an eye -or better: an ear- at the sounds coming from the pinball machine itself. And when he would hear the small ball hitting some specific bouncers on the pinball machine, Amir would perform a combo that could leave the opponent momentarily stunned, and then immediately dash back to the pinball.

And of course, usually all this would also require all of his focus.

“Ohh… He really needs to teach me how to multitask like this!” Damienne remarked, observing the other in action.

Not getting a response from her older counterpart, the Tenno looked around, only to find “big sis” standing in front of the free pinball machine, silently staring at it. Had she been a Kavat, her pupils would’ve been fully dilated too.

The whimsical music… The mechanical sounds… The way those smooth and big buttons felt under her gloved fingertips… The clicking noises of the flippers in motion… The light show…

Something had definitely clicked inside older Damienne’s head, something real good that had just tickled her inner gamer soul just right.

That was gonna be a blast and a half to try out!

There was only one, small catch: apparently, the machine wanted to feed off some “coin”. Which neither Damienne nor Damienne had any, for obvious reasons.

“Uhm…” The Drifter turned to Amir, trying to talk fast before he would zoom once again to the fighting game. “Is there any way to fire this baby up in an alternative way, besides coins?”

As expected, first Amir zoomed to the fighting game, dashing back to his pinball machine a moment later; without breaking eye contact with said machine, he swiftly released a tiny blue spark right into the crack that would usually accept coins.

That second pinball machine immediately stirred to life, and a small, metal ball was released on the launching ramp, ready to be, in fact, launched.

“There you go, sister.” He hummed. “A little zap, and... infinite credit! No more insert coin!” The other explained with a mischievous grin, before pondering something.

“Not that we could insert coin. We have no coin.” He added. “Once we had coin, but now Aoi has smooshed all the coin.”

“Coinnnn.” Amir muttered to himself as he dashed yet again to the other game.

Damienne nodded her acknowledgement, not fazed in the slightest by what others would’ve described as “a weird quirk”.

Both herself and her younger counterpart -who had silently taken a note to bring “Zappy” along as well, next time- were already quite used to all sort of “peculiar habits” from their friends and acquaintances.

“Thanks, Amir. I owe you one.” The older Damienne smiled warmly.

“No biggie.” The other answered the moment he sprinted back to his own pinball machine.

There was only a brief pause where he zoomed to the fighting game and back, then he added: “How d’you know my name, anyway?”

“A lil’ lady snitched on you.” Damienne jokingly referred to Aoi, as her own Drifter -after getting more accustomed to all buttons and levers of the pinball machine- started her own game, unable to wait any longer.

As if to confirm the words of the younger Tenno, the familiar voice of Aoi reminding Amir “to hydrate” echoed all the way from the long gone music store.

“Oh… Aight.” The technician nodded as he dashed from a game back to another for the who-was-even-counting time.

“Hmh, I noticed she says so a fuck-a-ton lot of times.” Damienne hummed. “You… did remember to hydrate, right?” She took a small step forwards as she leaned slightly towards the technician, while being careful not to stand in the way of his zoomies. “Riiiight?”

“I… can’t really recall right now.” Amir replied with a hint of awkwardness.

“Bruh, how long have you even been in here?” The older Damienne inquired, barely moving her gaze from the colourful lights.

“Uhhh…”

No, he wasn’t ashamed to admit that he’d been in there for literal hours. Amir honestly had not the slightest clue how long he had been (hyper)focusing on those games.

“Good question.”

“Well… No matter. Damienne to the rescue!” The Tenno mimicked a superhero pose, then trotted to a corner of the arcade room, where she had spotted a couple of vending machines.

“Ahh… I haven’t fixed those yet!” The technician warned the kiddo.

He didn’t need to divert his gaze from his games to know what the other was intended to do, as those vending machines were the closest source of “hydration”.

“Oh, no need to wait for a fix.” The other hummed back.

“Hold up! You… fixed everything in here?” The Drifter counterpart asked as she stared at the ball bouncing between a bouncer and another. “Must’ve taken you forever!”

“Eh, not really.” Now from the fighting game, Amir shrugged lightly. “It’s all basic wiring, nothing too fancy. Even a rookie electrician could’ve done the job, if we had any around. Maybe the biggest challenge have been those speakers near the stage. Wasn’t really as easy navigating through all that techrot over there.” He went on as he dashed back to the pinball, then grinned as he kept his gaze firmly on the ball. “But hey, I did it! Although now we’re kinda forever stuck with that literal brainrot of a song. But I don’t really mind it, Aoi seems to enjoy it, and the others seem to just ignore it.”

“It-it-it~…” The technician chanted under his breath for a brief moment.

“Dunno if I can say the same for Quincy, though.” He then resumed like nothing happened. “His little target practice corner is right next to that stage… Still low-key waiting for the day he’ll snap for good and use the speakers as alternative targets.”

Amir’s small rambling was momentarily covered by the noise of a couple of hard kicks against the side of one of the vending machines, followed suit by the unmistakable noise of soda cans hitting the floor.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” The younger Damienne hummed as she picked the cans up and trotted back to the pinball games.

Seizing the opportunity of her own ball bouncing close to the upper side of the pinball, for a brief second “big sis” Damienne simply stared at her in a quizzical manner: why didn’t “lil sis” just make use of “that Void fuckery beam”?

The answer came to the Drifter shortly after: Damienne had just wanted to grab a few cans, not to blow a vending machine sky high.

“Hmmm…” The Tenno hummed pensively, staring at the cans in her arms.

“What’s the matter?” Her Drifter inquired, resuming her game.

“Hmmmmm…” The other hummed again, until it hit her. “Ah, I knew something’s still missing!” Damienne eventually replied, then left the cans neatly on the edge of the Drifter’s pinball machine and darted outside the arcade room, while shouting “I’ll be right back!”

= = = =

Straws. That’s what was still missing. Straws to drink from the cans while keeping on gaming non-stop.

It wasn’t just any straw; “lil sis” had rushed to the Pizza Byte place and grabbed a handful of the silly-looking ones with intricate hoops.

No, the Tenno didn’t care about them looking silly.

…

Okay, she had picked them also because they were kinda cute.

But the main reason was practicality, as those were much longer than the regular straws she had first fished from behind that counter.

“Is there any flavour you may fancy, sir?” The younger Damienne held the cans of soda high enough for Amir to have a glance with the corner of his eye, while jokingly pretending to be some kind of waitress from a fancy restaurant.

“Grapes, please.” The other answered.

“I don’t like raspberry.” He then grumbled under his breath as he moved back to the fighting game. “Tried it once, and my whole body wanted to curl up in a miserable ball of pain and suffering.”

When the technician made his way back to the pinball, there was a grapes-flavoured soda can open and ready to be chugged. Silly yet practical straw included, of course, which “lil sis” had also made herself sure to match the colour to the scribbled grapes on the side.

“There you go, buddy. I now declare you out of the dehydration danger zone~”

Amir cracked a shy smile.

“Thank you.”

He then cast a very fleeting glance at the “big sis” right next to him, as her younger self opened a can of strawberry soda for her own Drifter -setting a “silly straw” in a pink colour in it-.

“And… thanks for earlier as well.” He murmured, referring to the way the two Damiennes had dealt with the other duo.

“No biggie.” The other hummed, returning his smile. “Some people just need to learn the concept of minding one’s own fuckin’ business.”

“Oh, definitely.” The other agreed.

A mild tugging recalled older Damienne’s attention, cutting the conversation short.

“Sooo… When is gonna be my turn?” The Tenno asked expectantly.

“When this big sis will lose this ball.” The Drifter answered after a brief pondering. Then smiled smugly “Which might take a while. I think I’m getting the hang of this baby.” She added teasingly.

With the corner of her eye, the Drifter caught a glimpse of a mischievous smirk on the other’s face.

“Don’t even think about it, or I’ll get back at you.”

“You know I won’t lose this easily~” The other hummed back.

“Hmmm? I don’t recall the Ludoplex has a pinball game installed.”

“The- what?” Amir asked.

“Ludoplex.” Both Drifter and Operator answered simultaneously.

“I got it a while ago from Simaris.” The latter then added. “It comes with a small handful of games. They aren’t much, but they’re good.”

“Though the Happy Zephyr one always makes me want to chunk the whole thingy straight into the Void…” The former grumbled.

“Yeahhh, that one is the bad shit.” The younger Damienne agreed. “But Wyrmius and Framefighters are the good shit. Especially Framefighters.”

Then she turned to Amir. “You know what? Next time we’ll visit, I will bring the Ludoplex!” The Tenno grinned. “If you like beating the shit outta a bunch of programmed bots,” Operator Damienne nodded briefly towards the fighting arcade game to underline her words, “you may definitely love beating the shit outta other players. Framefighters is fully PVP.”

“Is that an invitation to party?” The technician hummed with a small smirk as he dashed back from said fighting game to the pinball machine, mimicking the stereotypical manner of speech of some main character from a generic action movie.

“Yup!” Both Operator and Drifter answered simultaneously once again.

“Aight… Count me in, girls!”

[delicatemusickingdom]

Book 1 Part 1 Chapter 1.2

Chapter 1.2

When people focus, their sense of time becomes warped. Long periods of time can pass by in the blink of an eye, while at other times an instantaneous moment can pass excruciatingly slowly. 

Yuri felt like that, facing Flynn. He started to lose track of how much time had passed. 

After assuming his stance, Flynn was completely motionless. Yuri started to wonder if time had stopped, but of course that couldn’t be the case. 

Behind him, Jareth and the other boys from the lower quarter were probably watching their match with bated breath, but he didn’t have the leeway to pay attention to them. 

If he lost focus for even a single moment, he would be taken down in an instant by a single powerful blow. There was no doubt about that. No, it might not be a single blow, judging from Flynn’s behaviour in Jareth’s match earlier. It might be a relentless flurry of blows that wouldn’t give Yuri time to surrender even if he wanted to. 

Will I even be able to make it back home without any help, Yuri wondered. It was a passing thought from the back of his mind, but he found it funny that he still had room to make such witty remarks to himself. 

To a casual bystander they might look like nothing more than children playing at sword-fighting. While that might be true, at the same time it was also a serious competition — the complete opposite of the words ‘for fun’. Yuri made a conscious effort not to dwell on the irony. Anyway, regardless of what he thought, the reality of his situation wouldn’t change. 

On the other hand, Flynn had also sensed that this second challenger was somewhat different from the first. Yuri was obviously playing at it by ear, and his stance was full of openings, there was something about him that made Flynn uneasy. Like there was some kind of hidden power within the boy. If he struck carelessly, he could suffer an unexpected counterattack. Flynn decided to be cautious, and wait for his opponent to move first. 

Another long moment passed. 

Although they appeared to be at a stalemate, the situation was anything but. Beads of sweat started to gather on Yuri’s forehead. 

If I knew this was going to happen, I would have learned how to use a sword at the very least. Though at the same time he thought that, he realised there wasn’t really anyone who could teach him. He hardly saw anyone in the lower quarter carrying weapons, to begin with. 

Outside the Imperial Capital, he heard it was essential to be armed in order to defend against monsters. With things like swords and armour. Or blastia. While such convenient and powerful magical devices were regulated by the Imperial authorities, people capable of handling a sword in the lower quarter should be common enough… Or so Yuri thought, but he had never heard talk about it. 

Perhaps among the residents, some of them were people who once lived adventurous lives. Well, even if they existed, Yuri had no way of knowing who they were. In the first place, all of the adults of the lower quarter looked like they had zero fighting experience. When he pictured Hanks holding a sword, he could only think of it as a funny joke. Violent weapons such as swords only befitted someone like Jiri. 

— Jiri?

The moment he became aware of that name, Yuri felt his thoughts being drawn to it, and he thought, Oh, crap, but it was too late. 

“Make sure you’re back by dinner time.” That terrifying voice resurfaced in his mind. 

He started to grow worried. What time is it? How much time has passed since then? If we don’t make it back in time for dinner, she won’t stop at just a scolding—

Suddenly, Flynn grew bigger. No — he’d only thought so because Flynn had suddenly closed the distance between the two of them. Flynn thrust out his stick fiercely, as if he was wielding a real sword. Yuri immediately leaned back, barely managing to dodge the blow. 

Immediately, Flynn twisted his hand, swinging his sword horizontally. Yuri barely managed to dodge this as well, almost flattening his body against the ground in the process. 

He isn’t trying to kill me, is he?!

Without a moment’s hesitation, Flynn’s stick swung down from above. Yuri managed to roll on the ground to avoid it, using the momentum to get back up while putting some distance between them. 

But Flynn had no intention of giving Yuri time to recover. He immediately stepped forward and closed in on Yuri, swing his stick without any shred of hesitation.

The attacks came in a consecutive sequence. Yuri managed to evade them by exerting every part of his body to the utmost. He didn’t bother parrying. A clumsy parry would only end up like what happened to Jareth. Until he figured out how to counter that disarming technique of Flynn’s, such a risky move was out of the question. 

Yuri knew far too well that Flynn’s technique and skill far surpassed his. Amidst his dodging, he looked for an opportunity to counterattack, but that was out of the question — it was already taking all he had to hold on to his stick, let alone think about attacking.

For a newcomer, he sure knows a ton of skills… and this is despite him being a kid just like us. Yuri licked his dry lips. Did Hanks and the other adults know? Well, even if they knew and told me, I doubt I would have remembered. 

Flynn’s movements were flawless and merciless. There was no doubt about it, he had received professional lessons from someone. I don’t know much about the ‘other side of the wall’, but I don’t think they’d teach all of the residents inside how to wield a sword. Which means—

The unrelenting attacks suddenly stopped. Flynn took a step back, readying his stance. 

Is he going to unleash a new attack? Careful not to show any sign of doubt in his expression, Yuri observed Flynn warily. 

But Flynn was also wary of him.  

Flynn had let out a series of consecutive attacks, but unexpectedly Yuri had dodged all of them, even if it was by a hair’s breadth. It’s true he had looked down on them for being rough and uneducated kids, but he hadn’t gone easy on them either. Though black-haired boy’s foundation was lacking and he lacked any sort of refinement, his movements were surprisingly agile, like that of an animal. Flynn still looked down on Yuri with contempt, but that fact alone had to be acknowledged in his favour. 

Yuri had no idea Flynn was thinking all this, but thanks to that he had acquired some breathing room. 

Taking advantage of the lull in the fight, Yuri voiced the thought that had been running through his head earlier. 

“……Do you, by any chance, come from a family of knights?” 

He was just blurting out his thoughts, and he wasn’t expecting it to have any effect. But upon hearing Yuri’s words, Flynn’s demeanour changed completely. It was as if a living and breathing thing had suddenly turned into stone, or water had frozen into ice. Flynn’s body stiffened, and his stance relaxed. He lowered his face slightly such that his golden-coloured fringe hid his expression. 

Yuri also realised something was wrong. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a sound akin to low growl. 

“…………up.”

“What?” 

“I said, shut up!”

With a yell, Flynn furiously attacked Yuri. The swing came in so fast, it made Flynn’s previous moves look like a trial run in comparison. Even if it’s just a stick, it can still be life-threatening if it hits me in the right spot! 

“H-Hey, wait just a moment!”

But it didn’t look like Flynn had any intention of listening. His once complicated expression was now filled with fury. He looked like he was planning on giving Yuri a thorough beating. 

Yuri desperately parried, somehow surviving the onslaught of attacks. Wait, I can parry them? Unlike before, Yuri was able to block Flynn’s stick with his own. Despite the anger-fuelled attacks growing in intensity, they were more predictable than before, Yuri realised. 

Something about his words must have triggered Flynn. His golden hair had puffed up in anger, to the point it was detracting from the finesse of his movements. 

Swordsmanship — knights — mother and son. So it was like that.

He could provoke Flynn even further. If he did it right, it could even expose him to a counterattack — No, that won’t work. 

Yuri firmly dismissed the idea. He didn’t like the idea of relying on such dirty tricks. 

Then what should I do? The attacks were easier to handle than before, but only by a small degree. It wasn’t like Flynn was giving him an opening big enough to exploit. And if he dawdled for too long, Flynn would eventually cool his head. If that happened, there would be no chance of winning. 

But then, what?

Yuri quickly leapt back, putting distance between them. before surging forward. He swung his stick over his head with all his strength and leapt forward. He got in front of Flynn’s face and, with a battle cry, swung his stick down at his opponent’s head. 

“HAAAAA!”

But Flynn blocked the incoming attack diagonally with the side of his stick. Then he twisted his wrist, hooking his stick under Yuri’s, and flicked it upwards. It was the same disarming technique Flynn had used on Jareth — the moment Yuri recognised it, he released his grip on his stick. 

Yuri’s stick flew into the air, and Jareth and the others let out a gasp. 

Flynn’s eyes widened in surprise. 

Paying no heed to his lost stick, Yuri continued his momentum and rammed into Flynn, hitting him squarely in the shoulder. The two boys crashed onto the ground in a tangle of limbs. 

Cheers resounded. 

Amidst the dusty ground, Flynn lay on his back, while Yuri sat on top, straddling him. His knee pinned down Flynn’s right arm so he couldn’t lift up his stick, and his fist gripped Flynn tightly by the collar. 

He was breathing heavily. Sweat dripped down his temple. He had taken a gamble and won — as expected, Flynn wasn’t on guard against attacks outside of swordsmanship. Now he just had to hope that Flynn wasn’t just as skilled when it came to a fistfight. 

Will he calm down if I hit him two, no, maybe three times? If so —

Underneath Yuri, Flynn suddenly relaxed, and all of the strength in his body went away. 

“!?”

With a confused expression on his face, Yuri looked down at Flynn, who lay underneath and gazed up at him with unwavering eyes. His eyes are blue, Yuri thought. It matches his golden hair perfectly. 

“Are you satisfied?” 

Flynn’s voice was cold, as if all the passion he had shown just moments before was a lie. 

As Yuri searched for a response, Flynn furrowed his eyebrows with displeasure. 

“If you’re satisfied, can you move out of the way?” 

Surrounding them, Jareth and the others started to get noisy.

“Yuri won!”

“Serves him right for acting so high and mighty!” 

One of the boys picked up Yuri's fallen stick and brandished it at Flynn. 

“Stop it!”

The shout came from Yuri. The boy holding the stick flinched as if struck by a whip, and threw away the stick. 

“We’re done here. No more of this. Understand?”

After seeing Jareth and the others nod with confusion, Yuri slowly got up. After a pause, Flynn got up too — leaving his stick on the ground. 

Flynn brushed the dust from his clothes and turned his back on Yuri and the others. Without saying a word, he started to walk back to his house. 

Should I say something? Yuri wondered. But what do I even say? Jareth and the others were holding their breath, waiting to see how Yuri would react. Dammit, how can they act so carefreely?

“Flynn?” 

A voice that didn’t belong to any of the boys rang out. 

Yuri turned around and saw a woman standing on the streets. She wore simple clothes typical that of the lower quarter residents, yet there was a certain air of refinement about her that made her look out-of-place.

“Mother.”

Before Yuri could recall who she was, Flynn spoke — and then the memory came back to him. Several months ago, she was the woman who came to the lower quarter with Flynn — Flynn’s mother. 

She looked haggard, as if she had just recovered from an illness, and there was a worried expression on her face. She shifted her gaze from Flynn to Yuri and the other boys. 

“And these children are…? Were you all…”

“It’s nothing. They just came to… play. They’ll go home soon.” 

Flynn said in a cheerful voice. It was the first time Yuri and the others had heard such a bright tone coming from him. Flynn was even smiling, even if Yuri could tell it was a little stiff. 

Yuri noticed Flynn staring at him. 

Please shut up and go home. That was what his eyes were saying. It was less of a demand and more of a petition.

Jareth opened his mouth to say something, but Yuri lightly elbowed him in the side, and he fell silent. He gave a small nod to Flynn’s mother, hoping he didn’t look too unnatural. 

“……I see. Thank you for coming all the way here.” 

Whether or not she knew what Yuri was thinking, she smiled faintly. However, that smile soon disappeared like vanishing mist. 

“I’m really sorry, but I have to start preparing for dinner now. Flynn, could you come in and help out?” 

Speaking quickly, the mother walked past Flynn. She went through the doorway and disappeared into the house.

It was just the boys once again. 

Flynn looked like he wanted to say something to Yuri, but he only turned on his heel and followed his mother, disappearing into the house. 

The front door closed. Yuri and the others stood there for a while. No one moved or spoke, like actors that had suddenly lost their turn on a stage. 

“……Let’s go home. Grandma Jiri won’t leave any dinner for us.” 

Yuri finally spoke. As if the tension had dissolved, Jareth and the others silently nodded. 

On the way back, Jareth and the others were quick to forget their lesson, running their mouths about how Flynn narrowly escaped with his life, as expected of Yuri, and so on. At first Yuri only listened silently, but soon he started to grow angry at Jareth and the others, who were the ones to instigate the whole thing. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to settle down unless he told it to their faces.

“Listen here, you all. I’ll let it go this time, but next time, you’re on your own.”

Now that they know what Flynn is capable of, if they choose to mess with him they’ll get what’s coming to them. Jareth and the others probably wouldn’t be able to win even if they all ganged up on him.

But soon became clear that Jareth and the others didn’t take Yuri seriously.  

“Don’t be like that, come and help us again.” 

“Yeah, yeah, and give that guy a beating again.”

Even Jareth, who had been thoroughly beaten by Flynn, acted like he hadn’t learnt his lesson. To them, Yuri was a person that, no matter how harsh his words were, when it really came down to it, he would always come in and save them. And that Yuri’s current displeasure only stemmed from the lingering feelings of his match. Yuri let out a sigh. 

“Today’s win was a fluke. I just got lucky.”

Of course, Yuri knew that luck had nothing to do with it. 

That confrontation. When he was straddling Flynn, he noticed that Flynn wasn’t even breathing irregularly. Yuri, on the other hand, was breathing heavily and sweating like crazy. Even though there was a moment where Flynn lost himself in anger, it didn’t affect him as much as Yuri thought it would. 

If the fight had continued, and they started exchanging blows with their fists, who would have won?

Yuri felt torn between feeling relief at having been saved, and feeling like he would have preferred to let it play out and see who would have won. 

Did I want to beat him? I’m not sure. I didn’t really go into that fight with that intention in mind. But then, what’s this itchy feeling in my heart? 

Yuri walked silently and alone, with a frown on his face, all the way until he reached ‘My Home’. 

It was well past dinner time by the time they got back. 

Yuri was prepared to receive a fist the moment he stepped through the entrance, but Jiri only glanced at his face and the faces of the children following him, and must have read something from their expressions, because she only let out a snort and said nothing. She reheated the food and served it to the boys.

In exchange, Jiri remained there and watched with her arms crossed in silence as the boys ate. Even though she hadn’t ordered them not to speak or said anything of the sort, not a single line or conversation was spoken during the meal.

Overwhelmed by the pressure in the air, everyone tried to finish eating as quickly as possible, barely even conscious of what they were eating or how it tasted. 

The dinner was more bearable than to a badly thrown fist. 

Unaware of the plight of Yuri and the others, Hanks sat in a chair in the corner of the room, snoring away.

Prev | Index | Next

[treadmilltreats]

The power of words

Since October is ending, so is domestic violence month but unfortunately this type of behavior does not end. I, better than most people, know the power of words, as I was in a verbally abusive marriage for 24 years.

For a long time, I was still going through this, dealing with this very issue with my girls. I left but they were still dealing with abuse from their father. Words can and will hurt you...The childhood song "Sticks and stones will break your bones but words will never hurt me"

That song is crap because whoever wrote it, was never verbally abused.

It is written in the Bible;

"The tongue is the smallest member but holds the most power"

There has never been a truer statement. Words hold power.

All through the bible verses say this, "Remember what you speak and who you speak over"

Your words can change a person, change who they are, change who they could be, that is how much power they hold.

Ask yourself are you emotionally, physically, or mentally in captivity with the words you speak? Do you say, "I can't do that, I will never achieve that, or That is too big of a dream"

Do you listen to the outside voices? "You'll never be anything, you're useless, you're nothing"

Do you speak it over your children? "You are just like your father, you're stupid, you can't do anything right, and I can't stand you"

There is a heart-and-mouth connection in faith, if you read your word you will see it says:

"If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, you will be saved"

"Speak your faith, even when you can't see it, that is what faith is all about"

In the word of God, we find love, we find acceptance. See he is not a man that can lie. He gave you purpose before you were formed.

He spoke, what and who you were going to be. He spoke it all over your life. He spoke everything into existence. So remember he never makes mistakes, you are not a mistake. Stop speaking as if you were, stop trying to change the lives he has already spoken into.

We have to remember that words attract spirits...Good or bad.

It can bring us blessings or it can bring us curses.

In the book and movie

"The Secret" tells you all the same things as the bible.

What you put out there comes back to you. You speak about what you want your life to be, and what you want to attract into your life. These are God's words that they made modern, but trust and believe these all come from bible verses.

Never forget that God has a plan for your life, plans of prosperity and good.

The word of God is a seed and every seed has a purpose.

If you meditate on the word, if you speak the word of God, if you surround yourself with people who also speak the word, you will change your situation.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue"

Do you see how much power the tongue has? Death or life is that much power.

Ask yourself what have you been speaking over in your life. Over your relationship, your finances, your children? Think long and hard about that.

You are the mouthpiece of God. You can see what God sees, he made you in his image. Either you are seeing good, or you are seeing hope because it says that faith is the substance of things hoped for yet unseen.

Or are you speaking desperation, are you speaking failure, are you speaking hatred over yourself and others?

So today my friends, I am telling you all of this because this is what worked for me. I needed a higher power to give me the strength to leave. Maybe you need this too. So here are some tips, just remember you need to feed yourself with the word, exercise your faith, to speak over yourself and your family. You have the power, an amazing power of good, so good that you can change the world. With one kind word at a time. You, my friend, can change the world because you have the power over your words.

"Be the change you want to see"

@TreadmillTreatsCheck out my daily blogs @ https://treadmilltreats.blogspot.com/?m=1

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[randomnameless]

Since I'm neck-deep in this nonsensical mess of the half-lizard Lycaon AU :

In VW's infodumps, Rhea says this :

I was never able to forgive those who proudly wielded weapons crafted from the corpses of my brethren.

Which might explain her, uh, drive to hunt the Elites, even after Nemesis kicked the bucket.

From this we can have a sort of timeline : Nemesis dies, then Daphnel joins him and "zealots" aka, the Empire soldiers, are after the head of the Elite writing this (Maurice?). The author wonders why Seiros despises them so much.

And we know Rhea stopped hunting Maurice - when her drive for revenge was all that, supposedly, motivated her, when she will "never be able to forgive" those who wielded weapons crafted from dead nabateans who were in Zanado -

Not when Cethleann fell in a coma (that's heavily inferred to have happened post Tailtean), not when Cichol left, not when Macuil "died" during Tailtean, even without her relatives (brothers?) Rhea still pushed on to avenge her dead family members and kill the Elites -

The War of Heroes - thus Seiros's hunt for the Elites - stops when Lycaon dies.

We can suppose Rhea, who had no allies left anymore (the Saints left, the Empire is in turmoil) couldn't pursue the Elites... but they also had no one left with them, their clans already joined the Empire so they're just 10ish dudes running away from a very long lived, and furious, dragon : if revenge was the only thing on her mind, Rhea would have finished the job and killed Maurice.

And yet, even if the job was unfinished... Rhea stopped, and built Garreg Mach.

We went from a "revenge for dead family members" Seiros to a "only Sothis can guide and lead the world" Rhea.

Rhea could have switched and realised Adrestia would never be able to guide the people of Fodlan when Lycaon "was k-died" - if Adrestia becomes a viper's nest the second Wilhelm leaves the throne, then it cannot guide the people of Fodlan.

Yes, but what about Muriel, the Nabatean turned into Blutgang? Who gives a crap about what humans are doing or what will be the "state of the world" when one of Rhea's precious kin is still held by a bastard she will "never be able to forgive" ? Why should she bother about Fodlan now when one of her siblings is still missing?

If revenge was everything on her mind, why the frick did she stop and let Maurice run away?

But if Lycaon was her own kid - when he dies it's not only Adrestia's possibility to be something else than a viper's nest and to guide Fodlan who dies, but also the current possibility of having Nabateans live with humans -

There's no point in continuing to hunt Maurice, since whatever she does, there will still be a human out for Nabatean bones, willing to kill to gain power and that is something Seiros cannot prevent - Seiros + humans cannot build a world where Humans and Nabateans can coexist.

Who is the only person who can?

I also like this theory because it's a perfect parallel to FE16!Dimitri, with even more "crueler" result : being blinded with revenge doesn't kill her and all of her friends, but it has her survive everyone again - by wanting and focusing on the past, Seiros loses her present and her future (a future Adrestia where people would be able to live happily, a Fodlan where "might makes right" isn't the iron rule?). But instead of learning the "live for the present" lesson Dimitri ultimately does, Rhea... believes she is not the one able to protect the present+future, but Sothis is.

Sure, it'd feel kind of meh that Rhea doesn't turn to Sothis when Cethleann sleeps, Cichol leaves and, in general, 10k random humans die in the war, but when it's her kid who dies, she wants to bring back Sothis -

But in a way, Lycaon kicking the bucket after the War - after everyone fought and died to attain peace - is more impactful : they were in the "and they live happily ever after" part of the book, and he dies, meaning there is no "happily ever after" at all, rather, it never existed and will never exist !

Seiros the Warrior can warrior her way to get rid of Nemesis, but she cannot create a world where people - humans and nabateans alike - can live "happily ever after".

This realisation makes her break from "Seiros the Warrior" to become "The Archbishop" whose only goal is to bring back the Creator, so the Land can finally know peace.

----

Granted, this realisation could also happen if Lycaon wasn't a half-lizard but 100% human : if he was the golden heir picked by Willy, I suppose she supported his choice to inherit the Adrestia they both created, his "accidental death" could really have hit her like a truck, in the sense that she might have thought this human - just like Willy - was a human able to steer Fodlan in the right direction and it was alright to trust humanity again...

Only for him to be "accidently dead" 7 years after his investiture, and his successor pulling the "might makes right" rule to ensure the throne is still hers after a stupid "duel".

Humanity is fucked -> even if she recovers Muriel's bones Fodlan will still stuck because no one can guide it humans just proved it -> Sothis has to return.

[scaryspears]

Cole Young should've been Kai

I know, I know, this is just an excuse to project how much I wanna see more black characters as main characters.

I'm pretty sure the hate for Mortal Kombat 2021 has died down to some degree, as it's been a good 3 years since the movie came out, and no ones talking about it anymore. Nonetheless, I wanted to give my take on Cole Young. I heard that the reason they made Cole Young is because they wanted to pander to the audience, and how they didn't want a white main character to be the every man that introduces the audience to Mortal Kombat... So they came up with Cole Young.

If that was the case, then Kai was right there. I mean, they did bring out characters from the Midway era, so they could've brought Kai. Let me explain myself here. Kai has fire powers as well, but he doesn't even have to be a descendant of Hanzo. They could've pulled a Miles Morales, but he doesn't have to be painted as the next Scorpion or some other crap. Kai in canon is a student/mentee of Liu Kang's, and is a member of the White Lotus. What does Cole do? He trains with Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Just like Cole, Kai can be an orphan as well.

 Of course, you can't trust them to write the script. I can't be trusted either, but here's my take on what could've been:

Kai is a college kid doing underground fighting to make ends meet or a side hustle. The ring is run by the Black Dragon, who are keeping some tabs on him due to how much money he's been making, so they set up Kobra to be his next contender. The start of the film shows him defeating Kobra, before heading home to count his money to make sure he has enough for rent. His bedroom has a set design that clues the audience in on what his interests are. There are Martial Arts posters, he has a collection of weapons (hints to poor spending habits), and there's a picture of him and his baseball team from high school. There's a metal baseball bat laying somewhere, implying that he still occasionally likes to play.

He later goes on to China Town, and purchases a random spear from some guy, not knowing that it used to belong to Hanzo Hasashi aka Scorpion. To his credit, the seller tells Kai that the spear is cursed and is said to drive people who use it insane, with all of them claiming to see images of Hell fire, and nightmares of a sceptre, that's why it's selling for such a low price. Kai tells him that he doesn't need to worry about marketing, and that he just wants the spear. (He's also a big fan of watching youtubers explore "haunted" abandoned buildings and ouija board stuff, so it's a win for him)

Kai gets on to his daily life, not knowing that he's being stalked by Kobra. He accidentally sets a few things on fire, quickly figuring out that he has new powers. He doesn't know how to control them, and tries to stay away from flammable objects. (I think Kai's fire should be a certain colour to differentiate him from Liu Kang and Scorpion. Either pink, blue or green. Pink just because, blue to imply that it's super hot, and green to reference the Chaosrealm as a hint to Kai's ancestry, made up on my part)

Kobra breaks into Kai's home and demands a rematch, and Kai uses the baseball bat to help defend himself. He accidentally kills Kobra after shooting a fireball at him, and his home catches fire. He doesn't know how to stop the fire, and in his panic, he grabs as many valuables as he can before leaving the scene. The spear, a family photo, some money.

He tells the police that Kobra was some random home invader who knocked him out, but Kai woke up in time to find the place on fire, and Kobra was still present and unfortunately burned to death. Stryker investigates, and suspects there's more to the story, sensing something off about Kai. At the same time, he can't help but feel bad for Kai, and offers his spare bedroom so long as Kai pays rent. (Cue Stryker accidentally becoming a father to a college kid)

In natural reporter fashion, the incident is broadcast to the world, alerting his whereabouts to Sub Zero, and other Outworld champions. Raiden appears and warns Kai of danger, and asks Kai to come with him. Stryker intervenes (because some random lightning guy appeared in his house), telling Kai to run while he keeps Raiden at bay. Kai runs off to hide at a nearby store or something, and that's when Sub Zero appears to kill him. Kai does pretty well to hold him off, but his flames are flaring up when he doesn't want them to. Raiden saves him, and once he's able to shoo Sub Zero away he explains everything to Kai.

Kai's family used to compete in the tournament, and after they died under mysterious circumstances, he's been stuck living by himself. (He never told anyone in fear of social services, but he's been alone since 17. Maybe they went on holiday and never came back, idk) It's one of the reasons he's making ends meet in underground fighting. Those white markings on his skin? Family heirloom type stuff. Kai's parents were one of the many who were slain by Sub Zero over the years. Coming into contact with a supernatural object activated Kai's abilities.

Kai agrees to go with Raiden to China, and trains with the White Lotus, where he is introduced to Liu Kang. Kai wants to know how to use his spear, but Liu Kang hands him a club. (I personally hate clubs, because the weapon looks so unclean and tacky. But in the game, Kai uses a spiked club, so I can't retcon anything.) Here, he becomes Liu Kang's student. Although he's good at using the club, he is still determined to use the spear, and practises by himself. He accidentally summons some fire, but it's not his fire, it's hell fire.

Edit: Kai finds out some other things about himself, like how his family were shamans of some kind, leading him to investigate how to summon entities. He starts to experience the effects of the spear, and tries to communicate with Scorpion, and find hints through his visions. The next time Kai gets into a fight, he is not himself, and his eyes shine a golden blaze.

He does find a way to summon Scorpion and bring him to the mortal world.

[cozymochi]

🌻 <3

@oddberryshortcake and I like to watch random crap in hopes of finding a surprise banger, OR just because. I was usin’ my parents Disney+ so why not (btw Strange World is pretty cool). For a while, we watched Sofia the First because “ayo if i was little i know kid me would’ve been into that shit” and we were right. Banger songs, Cedric is a great scrunkly with a ton of Ls. Gr8.

But thAT’S NOT THE TOPIC. IM GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT ELENA OF AVALOR. THE PEAK FICTION SISTER SERIES that hasn’t left my fuckin mind since we watched it alongside our Sofia run. Elena is what you get after you graduate from Sofia. We finished it weeks ago yet we still go back and rewatch eps.

HELLO MY QUEeN. I have been actively holding back talking about it (THAT and i haven’t had the time in the first place). And the weird thing is, people are aware of Elena’s existence — but have also never actually watched her series? Or at least I never see anyone mention anything beyond surface level. WHICH IS NOT FAIR that shit bangs I gotta tell somebody!! So why not tell my platform of people who would not look at this!! 💀 but this is MY nasty blog on YOUR dash

So!! Here’s an informal 10 paragraph long (mostly spoiler-free) premise synopsis copy and pasted from when I bombarded someone on discord about it [I SAY MOSTLY BECAUSE ONE CHARACTER IS A WALKING SPOILER I cant avoid this, thank god it’s one of the first things learned]

… But I gotta begin with Sofia the First 🤡— I PROMISE IT’S RELEVANT. Gotta talk HER premise first-

Sofia is some regular villager whose mom marries the King of her country Enchancia. She was a girl in the village doin’ alright, but then became a princess overnight. Her new stepfather gives her the Amulet of Avalor, an artifact that was passed down for decades in his family. THE TWIST? It sEcRetly has magic!! (Note: Sofia is the only person who knows it’s magical.) The magic gives her the power to talk to animals, and basically whatever the plot dictates. But the amulet is also cursed.

After a series of unimportant events irrelevant to Elena, and one single important one— Sofia finds a magic book that has a wizard called Alacazar in it, and he tells her that a princess has been trapped inside her Amulet for 41 years, and essentially has been trying to escape. Sofia is apparently the only person who can help her. This leads her and her family to going to Avalor and figure this shit out.

And she does.

This is where Sofia’s relevance more or less ends until further notice.

….

[41 YEARS AGO]

Once upon a time there was a kingdom named Avalor, and there was a princess named Elena. She lived with her parents the king and queen, little sister Isabel, Abuela, Abuelo and her cousin Esteban.

On her 15th birthday, her mom the Queen gave her the Amulet of Avalor as a gift.

Then a nondescript amount of time later, an evil sorceress named Shuriki invaded Avalor and murders her parents in front of her, and starts taking over. Elena tried to personally stop her, only for Shuruki to try killing her too. Shuriki’s assassination attempt fails because Elena’s magic amulet protected her by pulling her inside of it. Elena is fully sentient in her stupor.

After witnessing that happen, the then Royal wizard Alacazar takes action and seals her grandparents and Isabel a magic painting to keep them alive.

The royal family is officially deposed and Shuriki is becomes dictator of Avalor for the next 41 years. Meanwhile the only surviving family member, Esteban, works in servitude for her. (IMPORTANT GUY. REMEMBER HIM)

Meanwhile, Alacazar travels the world with the Amulet of Avalar to find someone who can free Elena (because the amulets power to too strong and godlike). He eventually gets too old to go on, and seals himself away in a magic book to keep himself alive, while the Amulet itself somehow ends up exactly where it needs to. (The specifics of how it ended up with Sofia’s stepfather’s family are unclear, but it becomes an heirloom of sorts)

And we circle back to Sofia, who finds out the Amulet has Elena in it thanks to Alacazar’s spirit telling her in the first place after she finds his book.

[INHALE]

Sofia goes to Avalor, blah blah, she frees Elena, they depose of the dictator, free her family, and alls well that ends well.

Elena lets Sofia keep the amulet because she’s seen enough of that fucking thing.

The end

OR IS IT??? All of this (sans Sofia) is recapped in the first episode of Elena. The actual pilot episode that goes into all that junk is in Season 3 of Sofia the First as a 3-episode long special. YA DON’T REALLY NEED context on Sofia to see that, BUT!! It’s nice anyway. (Tho episode 0, imo, absolutely should be seen first for prime context. Also the beta-designs and mild jank will be less jarring)

One last teeny tiny thing. Too important but it’s part of the premise literally dropped in the pilot.

Esteban is the reason why Shuriki invaded Avalor in the first place. And he is indirectly responsible for the deaths of his aunt and uncle.

When he learns that Elena and the rest of the family are alive and Shuriki gets defeated, however, he does not bring this up. Claiming he had no choice but to serve her in order to survive. This is knowledge the audience is given while the family remains unaware.

As a result of being the only one not magically sealed away in that 41 year long reign, Esteban is the only person who aged at all. Everyone else is the exact same age they were when they were first put in stasis. This is relevant.

This is a show for 6 year olds.

Okay that’s unfair, it’s for anyone.

I left out a lot of smaller details (that are very relevant), like the spirit guide fox thing, Alacazar’s grandson Mateo being someone to help Sofia— junk like that. But for broad strokes THIS is the important stuff.

THERE’S A LOT IM OBSESSED WITH- the character animation is genuinely really good. Like, hello?? And it actually gets better as it goes on. They got all kinds of stuff to look at in the background. The designs? Peak. Gabe means the world to me. Songs? Bangers. THE OVERARCHING NARRATIVE?? They actually GOT 3 seasons to build and finish so I— 🤧🤧. There’s a body count in this show. Elena kills somebody, this is not a joke. I love Elena, I love her friends, I love her family, fuck. I love the worldbuilding I LOVE anything that utilizes mesoamerica in it’s lore, fuck.

I think about it more than I should.

And this bitch.

THIS BITCH—- I could go on about this bitch all day. Genuinely went from despising him at first to shooting up to my favorite by the end of the series, I’m going to combust, I should have liveblogged my first viewing. That’s my one regret. It probably would have been very funny

When you graduate from Cedric to Esteban.

AnYway this REALLY GOT OFF TRACK. The entire show is serialized from start to finish so barreling through it was both good idea and a bad one— bad, because I miss it. …So if you have 20 minutes to kill feel free to… peep the first episode. (Note this ain’t the Sofia special backdoor pilot, but it rams through what it needs to) ���.if u wanna … 👉👈

and If YOU HAVE MORE TIME TO kill on your parents subscription then both the actual pilot (via Sofia) and the whole series are on disney+ … or im sure one can find other ways 🏴‍☠️…

THAT THEME SONG BUSSIN BUSSIN ON GOD.

Anyway that’s not nearly all I have to say about it there’s so much but at this point i’m just being really weird!!!! 🤡🤡🤡

[corndoggod]

January 16

Our snowy getaway to North Adams, Massachusettes turned snotty as C’s flu surged back with a vengeance. 

Our vacations are no longer honeymoons, they are real stories now. So much happened on this brief weekend away, so many ups and downs, but it is a shapeless, untameable wave that swells, crashes and renews like breath. 

Breathing is hard when you have no nose. Hers was full of mucus. Mine was full of snuff. One of the many reasons I can’t smell for shit. 

I have become obsessed with shape, cohesion, leanness. But I need to start fat and full. It feels like crap coming out, which is something everyone says and I hate that. But I need to say that in order to say what I need to say. I need this flow to keep going. So I type away at nothing, filling it up with airless thoughts struggling to catch my breath. 

There is something ugly and small about winter that I like. Perhaps because I was born into it. And there’s a stillness too. I feel it most when I’m back home in Nebraska leaving the bar at 2 a.m., warmed by old friends and tiny drinks. I walk to the car, snow crunching underfoot and, as soon as I’m alone, I stop. I stop and listen. I love that moment of quiet, blue desolation. 

Winter birthdays are a challenge. What is there to do? This year I decided to lean in and seek snow since that’s become something of a novelty in New York. $500 and 120 miles later I had my squall. It came on quick. The sun shined bright, but soon the snow kneecapped the sky and made it hazy white, blotting out the roads and the lines that guide us to and fro. We were at a snug hotel called tourists owned by a Wilco band member. We didn’t stay there but we stopped in for lunch after two terrible meals out. The cozy, wood-forward lounge was populated with starter pack families: bearded men with budding paunches and Lulu Lemon women in boots outwardly proud and energetic.  

I do not handle the cold well. I am quick to shiver and my long johns don’t come off once they go on. So these moments of serenity are strange and precious. Something deep inside me quietly overpowers the elements and I feel some kind of inner peace. For this reason, I once made an igloo in our backyard and then laid inside for hours trying to fall asleep inside that feeling. 

I wondered at the man we passed by driving into town. He pulled his truck over on the highway, tugged a cigarette from his vest and stared at the empty town hall in Hancock, Massachusetts. What was caught up inside of him? There was so much in me I didn’t know how to say. Eventually, I would, but it took time and chemicals. We sped by but I stayed thinking about that man and I wonder who he thinks about in the flicker before sleep and if he ever thinks of violence. 

I didn’t have much to say on the drive up the Taconic Parkway. The silence had friction and neither of us could think for ourselves since we were too occupied with the other. We listened to Brene Brown’s “Power of Vulnerability” and disagreed over the definition of love. I didn’t want Brown to be right. If she was, then I would have to give words to my psychic sludge. My claustrophobia extended inwards and I’d been spelunking my psyche since my Dad’s second stroke last May but, no matter what I excavated, it never seemed like enough. 

We made some expensive mistakes. With Mass MOCA in town, we assumed there would be some nice restaurants. There were nice-looking restaurants that were priced as if nice, but the food was mediocre and the service was bad. I know how it looks coming from NYC, but a bad meal on vacation at a restaurant you researched is a noxious blow for two bubbas. 

We visited a starter pack family in Chatham who are also friends of ours. They’ve always seemed one step ahead of us, perhaps even paving the way. They have a newborn and own the home they’ve lived in for seven years. Z’s mom also has pancreatic cancer and N’s father is a mess unable to care for himself, though his diagnosis is obvious. I wouldn’t know how to diagnose my father. Is giving up a condition? 

I have not written so aimless in so long. In remaking myself, in imagining a mid-career pivot, I wonder if perhaps I should recover some part of myself instead. Maybe I’m not lost but I’ve lost myself. Perhaps I must unlearn certain things. Be kinder. Hungrier. More desperate and earnest and patient. I’ve run out of patience and I’ve come to view my strengths and weaknesses as facts. These views amount to inertia. 

I dusted off my typewriter to create a little memory book of me and C’s road trip through the Badlands, Wyoming and Glacier as a Christmas gift. The first story I ever wrote was about that typewriter. It was a Calvino-esque tale of a writer struggling to write. I had just read If on a winter’s night a traveler, which, if you haven’t read, is a supremely clever and playful book about love of reading. My story was about the desire and failure to write, which is also what I wrote my college thesis about. More than ten years later, these works feel prescient. 

January is a tough month for me. At the hour of renewal, I spiral and lose motivation. I finished the year strong, consistently biking/running and getting back into the rhythm of writing, but I let the holiday fog of schnapps, baileys and gummies linger too long. I was ready to be released from its daze but then missed its fuzzy embrace. 

I’ve been resisting a slump and have tried to self-correct in all the wrong ways. Nothing in great excess, but secretly and with an unkeeled frequency that comes earlier and earlier in the day. The biggest mistake was doing it alone in front of C on a mirrored coffee table. I saw her holding back tears and I saw me doing it anyway, but I didn’t need to see any of that to know it looked bad. 

I’ve done enough now to know I’ll still be sad no matter what I put inside. Any pleasure feels cheated, overshadowed by guilt and shame, and any high feels like I’m out of control freefalling deeper inside the very thing I wish to evacuate. I think I have to hurt first and rawdog life. The more I try to fool myself, the less self-respect I have.

[the-firebird69]

Has some things that are easy to say and you guys messed yourselves up so we don't want to help you you keep showing him 9/11 and threatening him was that in the many other things so were going to cut you loose and we have to.

-there are a whole bunch of cars trying to get in here with idiots in them and they're being pulled out rapidly all over Florida they're shutting down the borders again the blockade is getting bolstered and you're going to suffer more luck

-many of you don't seem to understand it and you get pulled off and incinerated

-we don't need you to help we don't want you to because you're just mean to our son but we have to tell you about it or you end up being a lot meaner without us knowing and it's important today is a big day the pseudo empire is gearing up for tonight or they're going to pull tons you out they're blocking off everything and going after miscreants terrorists and such and it's not going to stop all day long

-furthermore we know what we're doing here and why and we have a plan and we're running it and you don't think we have any because you're arrogant twits like Billy Hicks it doesn't know anything and you're ignorant of people like the empire who has a vast fleet and lots of power and they're going to jump on the earth if they can and you don't do much about it and your assholes with that said we have a program where initializing to get rid of you

-I'm going after you for your crimes not because you're a stupid or because you're useful or anything like that like you say I'm going to hit you and use the pseudo empire's cover and we're going to start doing it today and a lot of places

-several notices have going out and a few of them are from the controller who's firing some people who work for the local and state government in several positions their key positions here and they are important several of them work for the controller and he's tired of you bothering his nephew because you work there so it doesn't give you permission to harass the crap out of him and if you keep doing it you're fired and they kept doing it it was ridiculous and I kept doing it and doing it after it was already done it's just like this return he returned it and he said to you got it in writing the guy that online is fired and the two girls are fired if you idiots a few idiots are fired too that's one thing going on

-there's a whole bunch of other people who are going to be fired a lot of them are in the sheriff's office working ancillary positions. Three of them drove by already they're fighting about 10 out of 20 and for the police to find all five they don't do anything except my things up they muck things up and they're going to start firing sheriff again come Monday those are major announcements those people can be a real pain in the ass but they want to try and take the money as opposed to us

-further they are going to be arrested not just fired and it's for harassment and its for harassing the controller

-several people are going to go to jail today and they said it but for real you don't want to hear from these idiots and they're going to be charged with multiple crimes that they're committing in punta Gorda one of them is trespassing and Mac hasn't stuck in there the guy won't leave since you have to force me out and Max says I will he's doing it shortly and he saw him carrying the plastic and what he was saying to our son and to himself and said you have to leave you're a f****** complete moron in a dead man and also he's got really mad he said you will not let us align or do anything and then he said it was them and they're lying and they're crazy facts and they're going to end up with nothing fairly soon these changes are taking place today there's more happening too the suit of empire is confiscating government property and they're relocating it to outside the county and it's because they don't want them driving around in it and threatening it all day and night and they don't do any work and they're going to have to use their personal vehicles the confiscating a lot of hardware and they're thinking about fire engines cuz they don't really use them and this is a fire they do to try to put it out though so they're thinking about creating a new station and taking all the stuff from them and they said this they can create a new fire station and police station and sheriff and you don't need the police downtown and nobody goes there and those cops are all useless and he said this you know they don't do anything but harass people and it's disgustingly stupid so they're looking at his idea and they're thinking about moving it out of town and the good service that way and bring cops with them to each event and ambulances too and other equipment on top of that

-it's time to revoke social security from people who are wealthiest hell and these people let this stupid s*** go on for a long time and they're morons and mean and stupid and it's kind of something that other people need too and they're getting the hell out of town and taking their stuff it's happening everyday

-on top of all this they are pressing charges on the idiots in the neighborhood here we're doing all sorts of stuff and it's people who are here and there were the pseudo empire and they're going to sue them and press charges and use it to take over the sheriff's office in police one way or the other there's other things happening that are pretty big

-the mayor of Port Charlotte said he was going to step down and we think he will and bja will too all their people will be out of the government and they'll begin to be arrested quite rapidly to plan on doing it this week and they're getting ready to and they want to try and move our son to the West Coast by force so it's a joke and they're just going to die and we know it cuz we're going to make them die

-there's a couple other things these people are dumber than hell they need to pay for what they're doing and they will shortly there's an overage of them being stupid and kind of being stupid the other day he forced him to leave his soap and Tommy F has a plan he's going to use it on Trump

-several other things are happening they're constantly bothering their son now people are attacking them globally mostly trumpsters are getting attacked and they're bothering them all the time and the guys can't take what they dish out and start crying and they got beat up while they're crying quite often all over Earth and nobody has Mercy on there cuz it can't stand it this stuff is horrendous and their stuff

-the oppressed and be rated our son so many times even became aggressive and violent they were going to come in here and beat these idiots up every day every time they exhibit that stupid s*** we're going to beat them to death

-I have to tell you they're stupid and we have to there's other things happening but that's major news and they've been talking about stepping down for a long time now they're talking about which one of us will step down first but they think they'll get the other guy's stuff

And as for events we think that westboro with I am titanium will happen Monday believe it or not and it's because people are trying to build the motorcycle yeah a lot of people looked at it on satellite they have old images and they know it's there and they're trying to use that stuff which is really not and use it all who's going on pretty soon there's a large number of people who are going to try and do that they're also after the hidden money because they saw that Tommy F found that money and it's near the house the hesterberg house his money in the near the regular house the fire lane and at the well across the street and in the bank in a safety deposit box or two there's about 100,000 total in two bags and it's in cash and he put that in there and she has money there too and it's in the Bank of Boston and Bank of America and 350 Grand between the two and together it's almost half a million over there money in the box and they want to use it again and it's the max code money is more happening and we'll get to it later this morning

Thor Freya

Olympus

Good

Hera

Zues

[percontaion-points]

Packless chapters 11 & 12

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Click here for the rest of the series!

Chapter 11

“Faint, twist an ankle, or fall behind, and we’re leaving your ass in the woods. I’m not your damn scout leader.”

Once again: what the fuck is keeping Vail there? At this point, it’s already well-established that she’d be better off wandering through the woods. 

I’d sooner take my chances with a hungry grizzly bear than return to the school. 

I was more focused on Trey Barakat, the Devil of the Horn, appearing in the pack’s restroom and laying down his twisted version of the law. He hadn’t looked surprised to see me, so he’d come with a deliberate message. I was expected back before the snows locked me off the mountain. Driftwood had jumped the gun by sending me away. I was nearly eighteen, and that meant I was his. The Barakat prize, whatever that meant. 

For the second time this chapter, I am begging Vail to please leave. 

“Shits and showers,” he said after a long pause. “No gloves. No wipes. No help. Should suit a female who was crapped out the asshole of a mountain.”

Chapter 11 summary: Some of the senior seem to take some amount of pity on Vail, and give her some socks for the way home. Not like it helps much, since when she gets back, she says that her feet are bloody and the socks are ruined anyway. 

On the way back, she thinks about what Trey had told her. Basically, come home because you’re MINE. She was about to ask him for more info about what that meant when Jasper had walked in. 

When she gets back, she falls asleep for a bit until Linda wakes her up for dinner. In there, before she can go back to the table with her food, a lackey of Pearl’s comes over to demand her attention. Callum wants to know who the mystery boy in the bathroom was. Unlike with Jasper, Vail tells them that he’s some guy she knew back home, but claims not to know why he was there. 

When the alphas start mocking her for being almost 18 but still a junior, she tells them that living on the mountain was rough. Vail is all but mocking them, living in gilded luxury, eating literal fillet mignon, while she often went for months without power. As you can expect, they don’t take kindly to that, either. 

Chapter 12

“Every dud enters the pack house under a contract,” I replied [...] “It outlines their duties and details their benefits.”

I don’t remember Vail ever agreeing to literally any of this. Not verbally, and she sure as fuck didn’t sign anything. 

I’d like to see her take this to court and get them locked up for literally holding people prisoner. 

Next lesson in Wolf Relations 101, little wolf – the chase just sweetens the final release.

Chapter 12 summary: Jasper is obviously hella jealous over learning more about Trey, as he couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d overheard in the bathroom earlier. But he’s also kind of frustrated that Trey would have gone out of his way simply to see her. And angry at the rest of the alphas for deciding on a punishment without her being there. But also relieved that Vail wasn’t exactly singing her praises for Trey. 

He finds her scrubbing the toilets under the watchful eye of a gross football player (?). Jasper sends the other boy away, before telling Vail that she was put on “shit and shower” duty. That she has to clean the things in the shower, and right now, it’s him. 

Yes, the entire thing has this completely and utterly demented rape tone. It’s not so much of an undertone as it is the guy forcing the girl to touch him sexually, or face further punishment. 

He eventually puts a different brand on her wrist, which she gets angry about. As she runs off, Jasper only thinks of how the chase is part of the wolf game. 

[netherator-rp]

Sillies you can start shit with any time I'm awake, just be sure to specify or I'm calling the switchboard operator and she's been enjoying her retirement since she lost her job to the automatic telephone exchange. Anyways here they are!

John, my main guy, collects orphans like the batman istg, half demon, chill, son of the current king of hell, though he'd never mention it unless you brought it up first since he really doesn't care for publicity and values his privacy. Physical description:≈5'7"(he's still growing and doesn't know when it'll stop due to his dad being like 9ft. tall) usually wearing a red hoodie, has dragonlike wings that are a little more than 6ft. accross when fully outstretched, he also has a tail that fits the stereotypical image of a devil with the triangle end, both the tail and wings are a dark red with the membrane of the wings being more yellowish, he's got hair that's fairly well kept and is a bit shorter than shoulder length, also I forgot to mention he wears jeans mostly and a comfy pair of sneakers (bro is straight up inaudible when walking). He/him. He's 15. Also bisexual.

Noah, @/the-boat-man (to those of the in-universe internet) , energetic as he is a 13-year-old kid. Learning magic from John. significantly messier hair and typically wears a blue long-sleeved shirt with a poorly fitting pair of jeans because he doesn't give a crap. He's like 5'4" but will grow quite a bit before adulthood to like 5'10". Parents are MIA but he lives in John's place so it's fiiinee. (He actually doesn't know his parents are missing as he basically moved into living with John because it was just a chiller place to be)(his parents don't fight or anything he just likes hanging with John and the parents didn't disapprove because they trust John with their kid's life). As far as he's aware it cares he's straight.

Joseph. Fucking green. Went off to live on an unknown island in the tropics 30 years and hasn't been seen since. Typically wears a tank-top and shorts. His ears are pierced and it's not uncommon for him to be wearing his favorite mushroom earrings. Can photosynthesize. Is into botany. Like 6'2". Asexual, he/they. Looks 20, is likely in his 60's. Genetic modification is another hobby of his (it's why he's green and lookin' young). He's got some naturally curly hair that rarely goes beyond a finger's length.

Nevik, any pronouns, prefers they/them, likes xe/xem, chill with he/him, and while basically no-one ever calls them by it doesn't mind she/her, no fucks givin about gender, panromantic demisexual, 97 but for his species that's barely more than the equivalent of 17, alien that actually bothered to learn English. Telepathic, can breathe underwater. He looks almost like a humanoid axalotl with pinkish skin. Cold-blooded (biologically I mean. they're a pretty friendly dude). planet is called Xotalia. Their entire species is entirely genderless and doesn't even have biological sexes.

Capt. Pike Alford, he/him. Straight as can be. 6 foot guy. 43 100+ years in the future in a world of spaceships and asteroid mining.(same universe but most of these guys are already gone) Also occasionally researchers will join aboard his ship for a couple weeks to do do stuff to figure out the development of life or some shit he doesn't care he's just happy to get a small share of the grant money but stays courteous and helps when he can with the research.

Bill, @/a-solved-cipher to those on the internet (I use the handle for storage OOC), living drawing in appearance, he/him and gay. John's ex boyfriend. pretty powerful magic user, especially illusions. Demon. Rich by exploiting the labor of clones of himself, but not filthy rich. Does not age. He's 16 and has yet to confront the fact that he will outlive everyone he currently knows.

Hailey Anona, a genderfluid shapeshifter who would melodramatically fake her death if you asked anything along the lines of what her true form is. he uses any pronouns and encourages anyone and everyone to switch them up as frequently as possible. its around 16 or 17 and has had a very intense life up until the past year or so when they got out of a particularly bad situation and has been hanging around John's "estate" doing odd jobs to feel useful. qwe usually looks like and orange and white cat-like humanoid with wings like an angel's but this is liable to change frequently.

[cleromancy]

talia is such a deeply deeply sympathetic character in lost days. and in addition to like... the very obvious racist misogynistic stuff going on from fandom, with talia being a very convenient scapegoat* for anything unsavory Jason did fully on his own power, about the game of telephone, there are a couple specific things she does that get taken out of context/misinterpreted imo

(*along with the lazarus pit. pit madness fanon my fucking beloathed. like just to get my first petty grievance out of the way, the pit in lost days was FUCKING GOLD 😭. secondly she actively did it knowing how bad it would piss off her father, who is 100% portrayed as abusive and controlling to her in that same book! ARGH)

anyway OP none of this is directed at you i am just writing a long ramble in defense of talia vs the misconceptions/misinterpretations of her in lost days ive run into. so tldr I Agree With You OP And I Have Thoughts

the first thing imo is that people have a kneejerk response to any perceived manipulation... like, Jason, sympathetic and entirely without malice, tells talia he understands now that she had been stalling him before. but the thing she had been stalling him on? WAS *TO KEEP HIM FROM KILLING BRUCE.*

like... look me in the eyes and tell me Jason isn't grateful for that. because sure, he stopped himself from blowing up the batmobile on his own that one time, but that was an impulsive, last-minute choice he made after extensively, *meticulously* planning to blow it up in the first place. i don't think jason himself even knows what he would have done if she hadn't given him a series of convenient distractions, and told him what he needed to hear to focus on them, instead of focusing on *murdering Bruce.*

and i think people also want her to have been like... the reason jason fell into being so murder-happy. and like. No. like there's a degree to which its open to interpretation how much she approves of or agrees with his methods--personally i think just about up until hearing of her fathers death talia is actually trying to nudge him *away* from the "I don't really give a *crap* about the world" conclusion he lands at after walking away from the joker (as opposed to lighting him on fire lol). because when jason defends killing egon, what makes her start smiling is when he says "don't *tell me* the world isn't better off," and at another point she suggests that Jason's making a habit of doing it, i think the phrase she uses is "falling into old habits," meaning superhero shit, and imo at least shes tentatively approving. because she'd been genuinely so concerned and alarmed by jasons single-mindedness when he first regained more cognitive functioning and i do think she tried to encourage any sign that he cared about, god, about anything at all other than bruce.

and it just happens to be really damn bad luck that that talia getting the news about her father (note: i dont remember how that actually went in its own storyline LMAO i might be misrepresenting it bc im just going off whats on the page in lost days) and jasons encounter with the joker happened in such close proximity to each other, because i really think it was the specific combination that cemented jason on the utrh bound path. up till now, yeah, she was stalling him, and she was right to. but now she thinks bruce killed her father. and especially since jason no longer has any plans to kill bruce... that changed things. but mostly what changed was that talia was finally *on board* with a plan jason had already been heading toward.

and there's also. i mean "Why Didn't Talia Tell Bruce Jason Was Back🤔🤔" likr why do you fucking think. how well do you think that would have gone for goddamn anybody. bruce would have fucked it up so bad. anyway it was an entirely understandable and sympathetic and reasonable choice on her part and no matter her reasons i genuinely don't think that her having told bruce, at any point, would have lessened or averted the tragedy

and. y'know. on the topic of the Bad Idea Sex. firstly it was there in the narrative to drive home how unwell and lonely they both are at this point in time and it works fantastically to that end. secondly, the age difference/grooming allegations are like.

okay so in batman annual 25, im like 90% sure that it says Jason was out of the grave and catatonic but responsive for 3 years before she pushes him into the pit. then jason runs off and when they catch up again talia sends him on his training montage around the world where jason visibly ages i would say at minimum two years. time was clearly intended to be passing while they were more apart than together. AND LIKE, ITS COMICS TIMELINES, SO I KNOW THIS DOESN'T MATCH UP, BUT IT'S COMICS TIMELINES SO YOU CAN BE FLEXIBLE ABOUT IT... like we can know that jasons supposed to be at least 20 at the end of lost days and also still understand that for the timeline of A Death in the Family/A Lonely Place of Dying to function he can only be ~2 years older than tim. like i promise you can just hold these two things in your mind at the same time, just so each part of the story can be what it needs to be. the ONLY REASON to go with jasons younger age for the lost days sex scene is to make talia into a sexual predator that she was very obviously not intended to be in that story.

because there was *not* grooming like. that was the ONLY time she displayed any kind of sexual interest in him and like. it was not about attraction or chemistry it was about loneliness and it was about anger and it was about bruce. MOREOVER. he spent most of those like 2+ years AWAY from her like this was not a case of her waiting until he hit a certain age to prey on him.

and as for the like. power dynamic shit like. no she was not his fucking mom she wasnt motherly to him either jfc. she was his patron, sponsor/benefactor and maybe even his friend! jfc!! please let female characters especially female characters of color exist around other characters without having to be their FUCKING moms

and secondly wrt power dynamics. ik i just said shes his benefactor but honestly. i truly dare anyone look me in the eyes and tell me poor widdle jason was ever, at any point after fully regaining his facilities from the pit, under talias control. like. the very last time talia is truly able to tell jason what to do is when hes still disoriented from that and following her lead by default. after that hes doing exactly whatever the fuck he wants and theres not a hell of a lot talia can do to stop him. so like sure, the scenario HAD the potential to have fucked up power dynamics or whatever but honestly when it came down to it that was simply not on the page, that was not what was being portrayed.

so like yeah the sex was a horrible idea and every time i get there when im reading i kind of hope they don't actually do it this time. and therefore it did exactly what it was supposed to for the narrative and like. i think some people need to be more comfortable with the idea that sex can be bad, that people can choose to have it for unhealthy reasons, while still being consensual lol

was that everything... i think tjats basically everything. hashtag free talia 👍 send tweet.

i dont understand how jason fans can read lost days and come out of it hating talia? she cares about him so much that it hurts to watch, so much so that it puts her at odds with her father. some of the stuff i see about what they think talia did are just things that she /couldve/ done but didnt. she gave him autonomy, protected him from ra's, did what she could to help him.

is it just a repeated fanon thing? people say talia abused jason in lost days, others hear that and decide they dont have to read it and just take that as fact, then they tell other people their opinion of a story they didn't read... that can't be it. that's so dumb.

fanon really is just an annoying game of telephone isn't it

[jolliestlolli]

Jolly's Friday Blog Update - Dec 9th 2022

Nearly forgot about this shit lmao.

What a week. I could really go for some MJ right about now but it's looking like I probably won't be having a green Christmas if you know what I mean.

So let's get down to brass tacks: Writing. I haven't done a lot of it this week, there I admitted it. To say I didn't write at all would be inaccurate, but the most I did was some extremely self-indulgent crap that is not meant for virgin eyes to read. Other than that all I really did was make some minor edits to stuff I've written with a very close friend of mine, and even then I know I could have probably done more. Oh well, there's always the weekend.

I had my first ever CT scan this week. Lately my health has sort of been on the decline, and we're hoping to get some answers soon. The truth is I haven't really been well for a long time now, I've been dealing with varying degrees of stomach trouble since I was at least 10 or 11. You might remember in my Author's Notes on my latest Ao3 story The Greatest, I mentioned how I recently got very very sick and was still not 100% recovered at the time that story got uploaded. I'd say I'm doing a lot better but the reality is I'm still dealing with the same issues I've been dealing with for close to a decade now, I've just gotten to a point where I'm like "This is a normal level of pain for me, therefor I'm perfectly fine". IDK what they'll find on the CT Scan, if they'll find anything at all. I almost hope they do just so I can finally get some damn answers. Whatever happens, I'll say this: I'll be happy if I never have to chug an entire bottle of Barium Sulfate again for the rest of my life.

As far as self-care is concerned, I at least have a decent morning routine in place: Wake up, shower, cook myself breakfast, take a walk around the neighborhood to try to wake myself up. Sure, there's room for improvement; I need to start remembering to brush my teeth everyday before they rot right out of my mouth. Oh also! Last night my mom found this old journal I was using back in 2020 to keep track of everything I ate and drank that day, and what my stomach pain was like. I can't entirely remember why I stopped. I feel like it had something to do with the fact that on some days, I couldn't remember what I ate, or if I even ate anything at all. Or maybe I eventually just couldn't be bothered anymore. Who knows. Bottom line, I'm gonna try to get back into the habit of writing in that journal.

Anyways, on another topic: My best friend and I finally started watching the 3rd and final season of Dead To Me last night, which I have been waiting for for a stupidly long time. If you don't know what Dead To Me is, stop whatever you're currently doing, go on Netflix, and watch it right fucking now. You will not regret it. The fact that it hasn't gotten nearly the level of international recognition that certain other Netflix shows have gotten is a crime and an injustice and I will do everything in my power to rectify this mistake. The basic plot is: Jen Harding is a mother of two that was recently widowed after her husband died in a hit and run. At a grief support group, she ends up meeting Judy Hale, and the two of them form a close bond. But Judy has some skeletons in her closet, and she's not even the only one.

My shitty summary probably doesn't even do the show justice, it's just that good. I can't even go into any real detail without giving away a small fraction of the many twists and turns the story takes. You have to see it to know what I'm talking about. We're about 3 episodes in and I'm just super nervous to see how the whole thing concludes, and I have slight PTSD from the last time I got super hyped over a new season of a show I love to pieces only to be horrifically betrayed... (*cough* *cough* The Promised Neverland *cough* *cough* *cough*)

Anyway that's all I can really think to talk about for now, see y'all on Monday. I'll go ahead and leave you with this screenshot of a funny exchange I had with my best friend last night:

[amazingphilza]

twitchcon :: cc!multiple x reader

fluff , platonic , gender neutral ! some mcyt headcanons if you were to attend twitchcon w them

cc’s included in order: tommyinnit , tubbo , ranboo , wilbur soot , philza , technoblade

cw: kinda lengthy for the minors (i think), not as much for the hags LMAO /hj

tommyinnit

this man is so excited to be at his first twitchcon & being able to hang out with all his best friends makes it a hundred times better

when he isn’t at a panel or doing meet & greets, he’s dragging you everywhere to see the whole convention center (clingyinnit)

he is just so at awe despite this not being his first convention to attend

you’d be surprised he gets tired pretty quickly & stops over to the partner lounge

you both rest for a bit against a wall in a pretty packed hallway despite it being an exclusive area to twitch partners

every time a famous streamer walks by he will yell it out and record it then vlog your reaction, even if they’re surrounded with bodyguards & trying to get to another place quickly

he’d zoom in his camera to their face at a horrible angle and be like

“oh my god it is THE ninja. ninja famous fortnite player, HELLO.”

but he gets completely ignored

then the camera pans out to you, still really zoomed in that the capture is blurry

“ninjainnit?”

“EH?”

tommy is so confused, forgetting the bit ninja did on his twitter where he renamed himself ‘ninjainnit’ for a split second

okay tommy isn’t that athletic but he will chase you and the rest of your group down a hallway if he had to

he’d probably find a toy gun from the artist alley/seller booths and shoot you and wilbur with it

but if tommy stumbles across any of the dream team, it’s about to be minecraft manhunt but irl

and he will def play his stream music while walking or smth when he’s bored (or trying to jump dream & sapnap)

** DO DO DO DO MANHUNT MUSIC **

oh my god,, now thinking about it he’s probably the one to open like random doors of empty rooms and steal stuff while you film him

like he will take a random empty glass, a bunch of pens, a freebie t-shirt, everything he sees he takes with him and you’re just panic

“tommy we’re literally not supposed to be here, and i’m stuck here filming you. it’s surely a felony in action”

“well, it’s their fault for leaving the doors open! plus this is great content. who’s the dirty crime boy now, HM?”

you’d tell wilbur about this and he’d scold tommy and threaten him with the same pen tommy stole

tommy probably would also drag you some weird event happening outside twitchcon along with tubbo and ranboo

“pokimane is giving out free pizza to everyone if we go to this one restaurant down the street!”

“we are literally gonna get bombarded. have you forgot you’re like three of twitch’s top streamers? i’d rather pay for all of our meals than try getting free pizza from pokimane against all her other fans”

“DEAL! let’s go to five guys then!”

you unfortunately end up paying for all 3 of their meals and picking on their food instead of buying your own

even with all of them making way more money than you, they still happen to be cheapskates

OR tommy will end up getting a burrito from a taco truck, immediately making a mess of himself, then proceed to complain how messy the food is to eat despite knowing what he was getting himself into before even ordering

“shit my clothes are all ruined now!”

“well that’s your fault you got a burrito, as if it’s your first time having one”

“i mean the food is good, i’m not complaining about that but i don’t think it’s that good that it’s worth costing my red and white shirt, im just saying”

tubbo

same with tommy, he is so excited

i don’t know why but i imagine him overpacking his suitcase and you making fun of him for it

anyway tubbo has his irl backpack on and streaming EVERYTHING

probably spends a lot of time at a bunch of different booths, checking out all the pointless gadgets he could buy for his stream

you’re the one to stop him from doing so

“TUBBO IT’S LITERALLY OVER TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, STOP. DONT GET IT.”

“WHY NOT?? IT WILL BE COOL FOR MY STREAM AND I WILL USE IT EVERYDAY”

“okay theoretically speaking, how the hell are you going to even bring it home? which—let me remind you—is across the country for you and not to mention the giant ocean separating america and the uk”

“free ship-pang!!!”

“i hate to break it to you tubbo but there is no way you can get free shipping on a FIVE FOOT PC. it’s nearly as tall as you! what are you even gonna do on it, hack the government???”

the arguments are all lighthearted but eventually you give in and let him splurge over a thousand dollars in different devices he claimed he “needed”

i could honestly see him visiting the beaches in san diego and going for a swim or even renting out a boat to use for a bit :D

also he’d bring benson along with him and taking a bunch of scenic photos with it in them

i have a feeling he’s the type to schedule a spontaneous meet & greet because he was bored & gets in trouble for causing a mob in a certain part of the convention

he’s like “oh god, i did not expect this many of the bois to show up AHAHAH oops”

tubbo would def pull a lilypichu and bring his melodica or ukulele and play themes while following random people/cosplayers

at the end of the day, you’d find his bag just stuffed with crap he either got for free or bought in the convention

“how did you get all that stuff? i was with you all day??? and it’s only the first day of the convention, hello?? it looks like you’ve been collecting as if twitchcon has went on for a week already!”

“HA i have my ways, do not underestimate my powers”

lani would probably tag along for the vacation honestly

like whenever someone comes up to her giving her gifts/asking for pics, you and tubbo would tease her about how famous she is

and i dunno but something about tubbo just gives me this amusement park energy and going to legoland and spending the whole day there since it’s near by and because he can

ranboo

he is like a beacon in a sea of people, that’s it .

i honestly just see him causing as much chaos as the other two

ranboo would probably like take someone’s camera whether if they’re streaming or if it’s for the vlog, hold it up high, and point the camera directly above someone’s face

it did not matter how tall you were and if you had platform shoes on, ranboo was a skyscraper next to you

“HAHAH this is how i see you from this height, this is funny”

then he shows you the vid of the recording of him getting like an aerial view of your face

like you see your nose and all your pores and just overall a bad angle to be captured in

“OH GOD RANBOO DELETE THAT, ITS HORRIFIC”

i dunno why but i feel like he’d jump scare every person that was cosplaying as his minecraft character from behind for some reason

“BOO!”

“ranboo i’m not even remotely dressed as your skin—”

“don’t worry i’m practicing it’s fineee”

“you’re like the height of 2 people combined, i think you will be fine as is. you even intimidated the security at the front”

i feel like if he had his own panel he’d like pull up some undertale song in the middle of it and scare all the people in the crowd

“lore but in real life”

probably would get some matching keepsake with you from artist alley/the booths!

i could imagine like a cute keychain or smth :D

i feel like he’s the type to like randomly volunteer as a participant for those mini events in a booth thinking it would be funny but regrets it the moment he’s on stage

after introductions the presenter is like “okay ranboo, you will be given a random meme prompt above your head you won’t be able to see until after and you will have to make a random face to compliment it!”

and you can just tell by his facial expression he’s just thinking

oh god what have i gotten myself into

what is this game? who came up with this idea?

you’d laugh at him the whole time, even after he’s off the stage and finished with that small fiasco

“that was horrible. never again.”

“AHAHAH IT LOOKED SO AWKWARD YOU DID GREAT”

“I CROSSED MY EYES AND PUFFED MY CHEEKS BECAUSE I COULDNT THINK OF ANY OTHER FACIAL EXPRESSION. THE PROMPT ENDING UP BEING ‘WHEN TWITTER CANCELS YOU FOR USING PLASTIC STRAWS.’ AND WHEN I SAW WHAT IT WAS—LITERALLY WHAT KIND OF GAME–”

“I GOT PICTURES AND EVERYTHING ITS PERFECT AHAHAHAH”

wilbur soot

honestly with wilbur it’s slightly more chill

he already experienced twitchcon before so he’s just glad to see his friends again after so long

insists that you explore the convention yourself rather than sticking with him the whole time but you do anyway!

wilbur would probably have like a mini concert and gets you front row seats with the rest of the group

but that doesn’t mean before it that you’re not helping him set up

“y/n please– my amp is so heavy, i can carry it”

“don’t worry! i’m strong” :D

and musically talented or not, he will probably bring you and the rest of his friends up to stage to just vibe and sing a bunch of random acoustic songs

it’s not like some big concert hall stage,, i imagine more like a casual thing w a slightly higher platform from the ground yk?

after spending a long day at the convention he’d also bring everyone across the city to la jolla or smth !

you’d all probably have dinner there and chill, watching the pretty sunset

“this place is really pretty but oh my god im gonna lose my breath hiking up this stupid hill, please slow down”

and wilbur is like ??? because he’s completely fine with his long legs and everything

“just walk faster”

“no, you walk slower”

AHAHAH and for context traversing through la jolla by walking around the town is a bit hard since it’s basically on a bunch of hills (walking up from the beach to a restaurant actually is actually sm work, trust me ive been there)

wilbur honestly doesn’t spend that much time in the actual convention center, he’s probably sightseeing a bit of san diego with you instead

but i could imagine him staying at the tabletop games area playing dnd or smth

“c’mon y/n, come join!”

“uhh i’m not sure, i’m not the best at roleplay and...”

“it’s fine don’t worry!”

he’d pull you in with him and end up enjoying yourself even if it was your first time

and if you’re of age, you’d be wilbur’s +1 at the twitch partner party and make sure mans doesn’t too drunk

if it’s not too late in the night, you two would chill at the beach after the party

it’s just a nice, calming moment after all the loud music mixed with hundreds of conversations at the party

also something about like taking polaroids pictures with wilbur just seems to go hand in hand for me

i’m not sure why but you will be taking lots of pics with wilbur for sure (not necessarily you both in the photo, but of sceneries as well while you’re together!)

philza

literally a dad on vacation with his children, it doesn’t matter how old you are

need sunscreen? surprisingly has it

want a snack? probably has a small granola bar somewhere in his bag

but same with wilbur, he’s more chill like this isn’t his first time at twitchcon

omg he’d def bring you to the artist alley and just buy a bunch of fanart and stuff tho

“oh wow look phil, someone made a giant poster of the dream smp and shit!”

“holy shit that’s so good what the fuck!”

and he’s like rushing to that artist’s stall to buy a poster or print

idk why but phil seems like the person to know where he’s going all over the convention center

he probably had a copy of the directory map but yk

you just have trouble reading it bc all the signs seem to be misleading to you

nothing really crazy screams out to me of what phil would do at twitchcon besides like go to a few events, spend a bunch of time w his friends, etc

HOWEVER i could see him wasting a lot of his time at the gaming area and testing new games that are currently on the works of being developed

like “woah y/n, this vr game is sick, you should try it out!”

ngl i feel like phil would plan a visit to disneyland for everyone, like he gets the tickets and everything but once you’re at the park it’s free reign, y’all go everywhere with not much of a plan

the minors would try to cheap out phil and pay less than the others even though everyone else fully paid phil back and everything LMAO

ok but if he’s feeling nice, phil will buy everyone cotton candy/pretzels :D

and if you’re not hungry, he’d at least get you a mickey balloon

HE WILL HAVE MATCHING MICKEY EARS WITH MUMZA YES .

ALSO STAYING FOR THE FIREWORKS THOUGH OMG

just in general, best idea phil had for taking everyone to disneyland :D

technoblade

surprisingly techno is really calm despite this being like one of his first conventions

but when he finally settles in and gets comfortable, he’s showing the same energy

if you’re playfully yelling, he will yell back

however there’s still those awkward moments that are unavoidable

idk why but something about him makes me think that if you feel tired and want to go back to your hotel room, he’d go with you just to make sure you get there safe

he probably also needs a break from being around everyone else for a moment too LMAO

i could also see him searching far and wide in the artist alley for fanart of himself AHAHAH

walking around with him in the convention consists of someone yelling “BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD” every 5 minutes but you don’t really mind

something about him makes me think he’ll be forced into playing minecraft twitch rivals along with the rest of sbi or smth

and he’s like “oh god, i’m going to be on stage? and people will see my face while i play minecraft?”

“i’m sure it will be fun!”

“i mean i like being competitive and feeding my ego, but i’m not that desperate.. well”

do i imagine techno getting easily tired of being surrounded by a bunch of people and just going back to his hotel room with phil and watching some anime with him? yes

and will you watch even if you have no idea what’s going on? also yes

i feel like after a while of you guys hanging out in techno’s room, the rest of the gang will just slowly join you guys

like eventually everyone is there; you, techno, phil, wilbur, niki, tommy, tubbo, ranboo, etc

and techno is like “wha– where did you guys come from?” because his room is basically packed

and niki could be like “oh we can go if you want!”

then techno just insists that she’s fine “but who let the child get in?” clearly implying tommy’s presence

“OI!!”

eventually techno gives in with the company and someone gets a bunch of board games to play from the front desk

lots of yelling and laughing for sure

when it becomes late at night, techno is like half conscious, you’re on your phone, wilbur is staring out the window & enjoying the night view, tommy is passed out on the couch from tiredness, tubbo & ranboo is still wide awake quietly talking, and phil & niki are helping clean up the giant mess

eventually everyone brings themselves to go back to their own room except tommy who won’t budge

you give techno a look and he immediately understands what you were thinking

he rushes to the bathroom to fill up two cups with ice cold water and handed one to you

“on three?”

“okay.. one”

“two”

“three!”

then both of you pour the water on the poor child’s face

he jolts awake and saying a string of curses

“what the fuck techno? y/n too?”

“get out” is the only think techno says that before tommy rushes out with his stuff and you leave right after

a/n: i honestly can’t wait until conventions open up again though,, phil and ranboo were talking about vidcon earlier and omg.

also i kinda want to take in tommy requests but i’m not sure??? it would be both cc! and c! x gn!reader for sure tho. i love writing him to bits but who knows, maybe i’ll only stick to my ideas,, or not. send in a tommy x reader request, might do it, might not, but he’s my fav cc if you can’t tell so! :D (i dunno if i will keep it strictly platonic, but unrequited crushes and stuff are fun to write hehe,,)

edit: let’s hope i fixed all the grammar mistakes LMAO we love writing late at night :) /s /hj