#why can we not bring back the red alts

[letkirillfight]

If this isn't just a dumb rumor...

[moralesmilesanhour]

Miles (1610 or 42 it doesn't matter to me really) x alt black!reader because i've been drawing it and i love it so far and i would for you do your own version of it

I've seen this prompt circulating for a while now and was never sure how I'd approach it sooo let's go!!

she plays bass

The pads of your fingers were red and sore as you plucked the tough strings of the borrowed bass guitar. The music room was empty now, but you were allowed an extra hour of practice. An amp had even been left out for you.

Your hand struck the front of the instrument repeatedly as you approached the part of the bass line that you always seem to miss, when the metal clang of someone pushing the door open interrupted you.

The lanky boy's expression was already sorry before he even opened his mouth to speak. A green puffer jacket was thrown over his royal blue uniform blazer and engulfed him (yours was currently tied around your waist).

When he finally did speak, he laughed nervously.

"Forgot my headphones. I'll be outta your hair in a minute,"

He took a glance at your afro, picked out carefully until it was nearly twice the size of your own head like a thunder cloud. Two beaded braids framed either side of your face.

"...Which you seem to have a lot of."

You stared at him blankly.

With a tight smile, he grabbed his headphones off of a stray music stand and nearly sprinted out of the room, making sure to stumble over an untied shoelace on his way out.

The next time you saw his face was in chemistry class, as your assigned partner for a lab. As the frumpy professor explained the procedure, the boy got your attention with a whispered "Hey".

You stared at him warily through tightly-lined eyes swept over roughly with black pigment.

"Yes?"

His eyes darted back and forth before settling back onto you.

"It's uh, nice to see you again. You play guitar, right?"

"Uh-huh. Why?"

"No reason," he shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "I just thought it was...cool. What kinda music do you play?"

You gave an equally non-committal answer:

"Rock, funk, whatever has a cool bass line."

Out of curiosity, you stole a glance at his red sneakers propped up on the stool he sat on.

"Your shoes are untied."

He grinned, like he'd just made a clever joke. "It's a fashion choice. I never fall, anyway."

You snorted, "Sure."

"Aye, you wear ripped tights in the winter and turn your uniform inside-out. Lemme have this one!"

This managed to pull a giggle from you, which unfortunately caught the professor's attention.

"Quiet in the back, please!" he admonished sharply.

Neither of you were paying attention.

You, because you were too busy trying to school your expression back to normal, and him because he liked the look of your crooked smile.

He saw it again after following the sound of your playing back to the music room during lunch time.

"Lost your headphones again, or are you following me?"

"Care to have an audience?" he smiled, grabbing a seat for himself.

You pursed your lips in consideration before answering, "Alright. You better not invite your friends in here, though. Music room's mine between classes."

He raised his hands. "You got it, relax. Not like I got friends to bring."

"Is that why you came over here to bother me even though we don't even know each other's names?"

"No, I came to figure out what that fire ass song was," the boy leaned back in his seat, and smiled. "And I'm Miles, by the way."

"Y/N," you said with a sheepish grin. "And thanks. Composed it myself."

Miles' eyes widened. "Damn. Can I hear it again?"

"Sure."

The piece was unfinished, but it was sharp, dynamic. Plenty of bass-slapping to go around. You even managed to nail that one part that your fingers usually slipped on.

"I still need to work out the ending, but...yeah. That's pretty much it," you remarked casually. "Thoughts?"

Miles let out a low whistle. "You need to finish that ASAP. Are you in a band?"

You set the guitar down, and cracked your knuckles. "Nope. I just play by my lonesome, for fun."

"So no one's heard you until now?"

"Nope."

There was silence for a beat, then you asked, "Do you play anything?"

He shook his head.

"Not all of us have that gift, I'm afraid. Wish I did, though."

You looked around the room, scanning the instruments until you landed on an acoustic guitar.

An idea.

"Say, Miles," a smirk spread across your lips, "How would you like to change that?"

Miles immediately caught your drift and perked up.

"When do we start?"

[saudariel]

a haladriel brainrot playlist for all your haladriel brainrot needs. i swear there is a narrative thread going on here if you squint. legend has it that if you listen to this playlist in order then you too will be plagued by the Visions that haunt me 👁

alt/metal. 2hrs 40mins right now (to be continued). starts out chill and then gets heavier. there's screaming but nothing too wild. propaganda (lyrics that make me go absolutely apeshit) below the cut. not for every song because the playlist is too long, but there is still a lot so brace yourself lmao

listen on Spotify here ♥️

chokehold // sleep token

When we were made, it was no accident We were tangled up like branches in a flood I come as a blade, a sacred guardian So you keep me sharp and test my worth in blood You've got me in a chokehold

alkaline // sleep token

Every once in a while something changes And she's changing me It's too late for me now, I am altered There is something beneath She's not acid nor alkaline Caught between black and white Not quite either day or night She's perfectly misaligned I'm caught up in her design And how it connects to mine I see in a different light The objects of my desire

sun killer // spiritbox

I was born to break, shallow paradise Consumed, I ignore meteoric rise If the blade is dull, there is consequence You displace the host, there is no defense Tell me the waves won't rise And monsters will fade with time To temper the blaze with the twist of a knife A sun killer lullaby

mine // sleep token

We balance fire in the earth we walk Will never stop me reaching forth To see you again With colors over all the wasted years Eternity will bring you near I know you can see I know you can see That you will be mine

abysm // unprocessed

You showed me the world, our planet You talked to me when I was fragile You gave me back my will to focus I don't know anything, but to be with you Until we're gone to waste, I'll be there Dive into the world that we share When I hear your voice, I still know Everything is well until you're gone

everything starts and ends with you // in this moment

Nothing, nowhere, no one ever measures up No sun, no moon, no sky blinds me like you do No place, no storm, no oceans in between us Could keep me away from you Everything starts and ends with you The earth stood still, we burst alive The universe and stars align, as we collide

and the snakes start to sing // bring me the horizon

Don't say I'm better off dead 'Cause heaven's full and hell won't have me Won't you make some room in your bed Well, you could lock me up in your heart And throw away the key Won't you take me out of my head?

abandon // andromida feat. daedric

I conjure the phantom of another hollow you Then drag it to the bottom Pretending in a cycle I find sacred But I mean nothing to you Just a piece of the pattern in your ruse I spiral into chaos riptides

sanctify me // in this moment

Feel the wrath, your doom, these flames I know why you feel so empty like me Feel the force, the chaos, engage Don't you forget we are the same Go ahead, set me free Wash away this dirt in me I wanna feel more holy Take away this hurt in me Show me who I am inside your light Give me just what I need Baptize and sanctify me

antimatter // silent planet

We are broken bodies bound for each other In the impact we become antimatter The dust hasn't settled but we feel the decay Torn limb from limb I am swearing your name Our hands collide, we brace together In the impact we become antimatter

parasite // red handed denial

I know your name, so show me your face And I won't give in to your malevolence When the parasite inside my mind remains alive Left paralyzed and victimized, frozen in time Because I'm not your puppet, not your prey You won't take control of me again The parasite I'll exorcise This body's mine Cast it out, watch it die

collider // silent planet

Does it kill you to see me Under the same unfolding sky? Believe me, I have tried to search the stars for compromise But none of us are innocent, my scars are witnesses So feast your eyes and spring the trap I can still feel the daggers staring into my back Break me down to entropy Till you find the lie inside belief

hurt you // spiritbox

We are failing in crisis mode Mutually assured destruction Love the proxy and burn the bones So I smile in the snare of devotion I hope you find what you're fighting for I am happier when I hurt you Your medicine is the coldest war I am happier when I hurt you

blood // in this moment

apparition // sleep token

I hate you for the sacrifices you made for me I hate you for every time you ever bled for me I hate you for the way you smile when you look at me I hate you for never taking control of me I hate you for always saving me from myself I hate you for always choosing me and not someone else I hate you for always pulling me back from the edge I hate you for every kind word you ever said

So let's make trouble in the dream world Hijack heaven with another memory now I make the most of the turning tide It just split what's left of the burning silence Don't wait, 'cause this could be the last time You turn up in the reveries of my mind I wake up to a suicide frenzy Loaded dreams still leave me empty

coldharbour // daedric

Keep my soul in your possession I'm afraid to lose my faith If I hold on till the morning Would you claim it for me? If you kill my flesh tomorrow Then I’ll take my final breath It'll turn into a last laugh And I'll lay in a silent death

vore // sleep token

You have become the voice in my head Only recourse we're left after death Your viscera welcome me in, welcome me in My life is torn, my bones, they bleed My metaphors fall short in the end Your flesh and bone welcome me in, welcome me in Are you in pain like I am? Will we remain stuck in the throat of gods? Will the pain stop if we go deeper?

[thewertsearch]

TG: i just want to know whats really going on here TG: before i decide to start choppin off the heads of outrageously good looking snoozing dudes [...] TG: something about this doesnt add up

Dave knows Terezi well enough to know he's being fucked with. What's her game?

TG: i dont remember sleeping on this bed TG: or reaching the god tier im pretty sure thats something id remember TG: so is he from the future [...] GC: NOP3!

I think I know what Terezi is trying to do.

This is an offshoot Dave. He's from a doomed timeline, and fate decrees he must die. Even if Dave Prime spares him here, it won't matter in the long run - the game simply can't abide his existence.

Now, when I first heard about this concept, I wondered if there was a way to rules-lawyer your way out of this predicament. Davesprite seems fine, and it's possible that his doom was suppressed or nullified by the Kernelsprite's resurrective properties. It can bring back the dead, so why can't it save a dead man walking?

The Quest Bed is an incredibly powerful device, and its capabilities aren't quite clear yet. This one is designed to resurrect Dave Strider - but can it only resurrect Dave Strider? Will it work for any Player, or any Knight of Time? Is it picky about which Dave Strider it resurrects? Can it undo an alt-Dave's death, or overrule it before it takes effect?

These things are worth looking into. Terezi seems to agree, and she's perfectly willing to sacrifice a few kids in the name of scientific enquiry - lest we forget the last doomed timeline she made.

GC: 1T 1SNT 34SY FOR 4NYON3 TO F4C3 TH31R OWN D34TH GC: 3V3N 1F TH3 CONS3QU3NC3 1S TO TH31R B3N3F1T GC: NOT 3V3N 4NY OF US M4N4G3D TO DO 1T GC: W3LL, 3XC3PT FOR ON3 TG: who GC: T4K3 4 WILD GU3SS!

Vriska, I assume. It's been strongly hinted that she tried to convince Tavros to kill her, and I've been wanting to talk about that for a while.

I think her motivation was pretty clear.

Vriska desperately wants her victims to hate her, but Tavros just wants her to fuck off. He's too passive to make any grand gesture of revenge - so Vriska decides to manufacture one. She needs him to kill her, because then they'll be even, and she can put it all behind her for good.

GC: YOU WOULDNT STOP BUGG1NG M3 [...] GC: 1 TOLD YOU YOU WOULDNT B3 4BL3 TO F4C3 YOUR D34TH GC: 4ND TH4T W4SNT GOOD 3NOUGH FOR YOU! SO H3R3 W3 4R3 TG: what exactly did you do

She cloned you, Dave. She cloned you, dropped the clone on a sacrificial slab, and told you to murder him.

Don't piss off a Scourge Sister.

GC: OK, R3M3MB3R WH3N YOU W3R3 4SK1NG M3 4BOUT TH1S GOD T13R STUFF GC: [...] SO 1 G4V3 YOU 4 CHO1C3 GC: TO F1ND OUT NOW, OR F1ND OUT L4T3R [...] TG: ok but you didnt actually give me a choice TG: you just flipped a coin GC: Y34H GC: 4ND 1 L3FT TH3 D3C1S1ON OV3R TH3 OUTCOM3 OF TH3 FL1P 1N YOUR H4NDS! >:]

Terezi's coin flip happened in the Veil, so it can't split Dave's timeline. Come to think of it, we've never heard about any offshoot timelines in Sgrub's postgame.

Plus, I'm not actually sure if flipping a coin would split the timeline. Each branch we've seen so far has been the result of a conscious decision, rather than an uncertain event.

The current Alpha Timeline was split off from Davesprite's when he made the decision to go back and save John.

The red-suited Dave's timeline was born from his decision to stop DD from stealing the Sburb Beta.

Quest Bed Dave, as we're seeing now, was born from a decision made by Dave during his conversation with Terezi.

[cookiekat-blogz]

Why is Akutagawa literally like the best Bungo Stray Dogs character ever?

this is half satire by the way, but I mayyy go into depth for SOME things if I feel like it. (big fat silly kinnie rant with spoilers)

#1

hes a cutie patootie. yeah he's brow-less but like, its 2024, who isn't? seriously. show me an alt person on tiktok with eyebrows /hj

#2

hes silly. Yeah he may be extremely violent especially twoards Atsushi (the foot in the face was definitely personal) and anyone else he is made to defeat, but that's quite literally how he was raised. Don't forget we're talking about PM Dazai here. He was raised by Mori, what can we say? (#justice4dazai2024) We can assume (using the BEAST manga) that up until the point where Dazai turned him down, the things that occurred were relatively close to canon.

(or not idk I didn't finish the mangas. why read some rando's essay that can't even spell's abt some sassy victorian man child on the internet, infact, why are you even reading this in the first place?)

So we can assume he's been through a hell-of-alot of trauma with everyone close to him. His siblings and friends dying, and even himself tasting death and Dazai was practically his savior-- his controversial, abusive, strict, hot, gay, problematic, silly, teenage savior. Even if that's not what went down in the main series, what he went through was enough for Akutagawa to idolize Dazai, the same man that has hurt him oh so much.

(hey its the cycle of abuse, and guess who was next in line?) that's right, Kyouka. (even if Kyouka was more impacted by Kouyou) But no, this won't be a rant about Akutagawa and Kyouka's relationship, it's simply "Why you should love Aku" and totally nothing else. wait, what was I saying??

#3

he's headless, be nice /j

#4

the fit is fire. I mean like, bring back ruffles frl. he ate down. he's even so silly he doesn't even know the name of the ruffle thing he's wearing (the collar ruffle thing is called a cravat.)

#5

hes a Picies. They do no wrong. Trust me, I know. (totally not biased or anything)

#6

His relationship with Atsushi. Their so cute like every scene together even when their fighting its just like 'make out alr'. He seems heartless and cruel and its like he hates Atsushi, but really as you can see when "Where's Your Head At?" by Basement Jaxx started playing, he cares for Atsushi deep down inside. Deep, deep, deep down. Must be really deep if it took literally dying to be nice. Seriously, even if he called him a 'damn fool' he's smiling, it's so sweet it makes me cry. As the blood traversing in his neck goes on its repetitive journey for its sole purpose of bringing oxygen to the rest of his body, it suddenly changes direction, hurriedly spraying out of the newfound opening made by a time traveling sword, and finally escaping through his pale, soon to be lifeless, dark red soaked neck. Yet, he is smiling through it all, telling his furry boyfriend "rival" to run. he cares. Just look at this beautifully colored pannel by Akutagoth on reddit:

def didn't want an excuse to show this beautiful art or anything.

#7

hes an introvert, fight me on this real.

#8

hes fruity. you don't even have to ship sskk to agree, just listen to how he talks. either this or he's a time traveler from the 19th century.

#9

the hair solos, like seriously, his hair is so cool I want it. bring back dark to light fade. /srs

#9 1/2 (I made a specific post just for this so you can just skip it.)

Also, speaking of hair, anyone else ever notice how yin-yang Akutagawa and Atsushi are? Yeah they are both orphans that were taken in by Dazai and "abused by their handler" ('handler' is wild ngl) but in the main series Atsushi is more Yang and Akutagwa is more Yin, character wise, and even design wise. Yet, in Beast (a spin-off where Akutagawa ends up in the ADA and Atsushi ends up in the PM) the roles are reversed and Aku is more Yang and Atsu is more Yi, further emphasizing that this difference between the two isn't accidental (not claiming simply speculating).

Akutagawa is relatively bad but he has shown how he could be good, in the main series, Wan, and beast. he's undeniably a good brother (just look at how much he cares for his sister in beast, he even joined the ADA and made it his purpose to find her after he learned that she was in the mafia.) He keeps promises, hates meaningless torture-- which believe it or not shows a bit about his character-- (haha he does have emotions even if it may be stemmed from a deep psychological trauma). He also has a mainly dark but light accent wardrobe, from the ends of his hair to the very same accessory that he can't even name. help I ran out of good character traits I think I'm failing

Atsushi is relatively good, and even seems to be blind to it at times, but he has shown his not the best traits. He's kinda like Gon, but less merciless, even when it comes to fights with Akutagawa (sometimes). His good:bad ratio is pretty skewed though, no matter how much he may envy or hate his kindness kinda just... drowns it out. Evil headmaster dies? cry. Evil goth boyfriend partner dies? scream. Evil American enemy still lives? team up with him. Evil 14 year old serial assassin in the port mafia exist? save her.

Although, he's pretty rash/blunt (that Dazai diss was wild aku didn't do anything to deserve that) and its also shown in wan and other scenes in the main series that he would probably participate in a 2017-19 roast battle(hj) and holds some strong grudges. (help I ran out of bad character traits he's too good, its like he's so good and he doesn't even try.) Butttt apperence wise, his singular black hair streak in a head of light whatever-colored-hair (in contrast to Akutagawa's) and accents of black (suspenders, tail-belt-thing that moves as if he was Cat Noir, tie, gloves, pants, shoes) do what Akutagwa's 19th century ruffles do best. Be utterly useless and ugly and feed into the theory that he is a time traveler Contrast.

Basically, Shin Soukoku canon because opposites attract.

#10

back to number 2, he's silly. he's super sassy and may be a bit slow sometimes have thought that shrimp grows from the dirt but just watch/read bsd wan! he's so cute <33 sure his back may be bigger(j) but still, just look:

hope that was enough to convince you cause I'm out of reasons sorry bro.

[i-walk-in-air]

My hand slipped~

“I like small things.” The warframe says, a crystal bud in the earliest stages of bloom pinched between his digits.

The bud would look small in any average bot's servo, but in the triple changer's hold, small is an understatement. The sight is ridiculous..... If impressive. A testament to the mech's control over his strength.

The diminutive thing glittered as it's stem was delicately rolled back and forth, reflecting rainbow hues into red optics.

The big mech continues to admire the colors, not bothering to flinch when a cluster of tangled cables and fluid lines are tugged free of their little nook within his chassis and left exposed to the cool evening air. His contemplative smile is steadfast and the crystal bud remains unshattered.

“You don’t say.” Gears grumbles as he begins to disentangle the cables and clamp damaged fluid lines shut. Primus knows the big mech lost more energon than the entirety of the mini’s own frame possessed. Now even the smallest of leaks risk lulling Astrotrain into an emergency stasis.

The purple mech gives an affirmative hum, his gaze then slides to the Autobot and his harried work.

“Why are you helping me?” Astrotrain asks.

“Of all the–!” Gears’s vents expel an irritated puff of air and he mutters, “In case it escaped your notice, I’m stranded on an uninhabited planet. My ship totaled. Absolutely wrecked! Fortunately, a person with a space shuttle alt mode is stranded here with me. Less fortunately, he’s a Con. But by some miracle he rather play with flowers than crush me. Too bad he ALSO rather play with flowers than stop himself from bleeding out. How are we supposed to get off this Primus forsaken rock if you're underfueled, huh?”  He shoves the bundle of lines and cables back into their rightful place. And maybe he does so with a bit more force than is necessary. “If you weren’t so big, you’d’ve gone grey by now!”

Astrotrain chuckles. Just like his voice, it’s an all encompassing sound with a slight echo type quality to it. Only, this sound rattles his internals along with the mini digging around inside them.

Gears curses, trying to steady himself. Coated in oil, coolant, and energon as he was, it took effort to avoid slipping.

“Once again, my size serves me well.” The triplechanger's chuckle peters off into a sigh, “Stature is a point of pride among Decepticons. A sign of strength and innate power one cannot achieve through any length of training.”

Of course it is.

Even to Autobots, bigger frames are better. For the time being. They’re at war after all. The only real draw to minibots and lithe frames are their lesser drain on resources.

Gears rolls his optics. “Telling me you’re a real catch, are you?”

“I suppose…..” Astrotrain smirks and looks back to the crystal bud. “Even among warframes, there are so few that can match, much less exceed, my size…… Makes it difficult to imagine myself with a bigger partner.”

“Oh boo-hoo.” The mini chides.

He’s begining to think he had a better chance escaping this planet with smoke signals than wasting his energy on the triplechanger.

He growls, “Big mech can’t find someone bigger to hold him.”

“Weren’t you listening?”

Gears feels something settle against one of the armored nodes protruding from his helm. He just knows it’s that crystal bud sitting there. Perfectly balanced.

He tilts his helm up and the bud slips. It shatters somewhere behind him against the other mech’s abdominal plating.

Astrotrain is staring at him. Expression soft.

Then he smiles.

“I like small things.”

The mini is suddenly aware of a massive servo coming in behind him. Four blunt digits curl around his left side while the fifth slips under his right arm. Gears is pulled up as the purple mech shifts damaged plating back around the inner workings of his chassis. The sizeable puncture is no longer weeping fluids and spitting sparks.

Astrotrain brings his other servo up under the red and blue mech. Gears finds he can sit quite comfortably in the triplechanger’s palm. He also finds himself at optic level with said triplechanger.

“And you-” Astrotrain pauses. He retracts the servo holding Gears’s sides, gently (ever so gently) caressing the minibot’s frame in the process. “-are quite small. Even for an Autobot."

[yannisrandomstuff]

February 14 valentines day special with Alternate Gabriel and Archangel Gabriel

TW: Susbriel be dum dum, fluff

Alternate Gabriel:

Man doesn't know what valentines day is so you gotta be the one telling him

Gabriel will be wondering why mandela County suddenly have heart and decorations in their houses and seems to be lively and stuff

Obviously he doesn't like that

He will be asking you questions why and what's happening to the world

When you finally explains what valentines day is he just stare at you arms crossed with a confused disgust look

"Hmmm... that's interesting I didn't know you humans celebrate love.."

(He doesn't really like love but if it's from you he'll be happy)

"I thought you know what WE love Gabriel"

And that he just rolled his eyes and flick your forehead and leave.

After 20 mins he opens your front door and seems to be hiding something behind his back

"Oh! Good you're back I made something for you.., eh? Are you hiding something?"

He then take out the bouquet of red and white roses and handed it to you

"Happy valentines day..?"

"Ohh myy thank you! Oh wait!"

You handed him a paper roses you made while he was gone

"Ah.. I'm flattered dear and thank you for the effort"

He held your hand and kiss it from the back

He feel like his non-existent heart begins to beat and flutter

"So this is what celebrating this valentines day is"

"Yeah"

"I'm looking forward on doing this again it's very romantic"

"me too"

"te quoque amo"

He smiled and plant a kiss on your forehead, you didn't know what he said, was that Latin?, you don't know but you gave him a heartwarming smile and hugged him.

You looked at him once more, gosh he look so handsome

Then the both of you enjoyed your day by him asking questions of what humans do in valentines day and you happily answer it <3.

Archangel Gabriel

TW: be prepared, just be prepared(haha)

He knows what valentines day is and want to celebrate it with you too but he knows he can't because of alt Gabriel being around

Sure he knows that you and Alt gabe are not officially a couple and he might still get a chance and he will try

So he would give you flowers and sweets like chocolate in secret or whenever alt Gabriel isn't around

After "Gabriel" left you thought it's the perfect time to make a paper roses for him. After 10 mins you were finally finished, but suddenly you heard a knock on your door

You were hesitant to open it but did anyway,

When you open the door you looked around there was no one there. You looked down and surprised when there's a bouquet of variety of flowers and chocolates In your door mat, there is also a valentines card, you picked it up of course and locked the door. You go upstairs to read the valentines card whole eating the chocolate

"My Dearest,

I hope this letter finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to express my love for you, and the deep longing I feel to be with you every day.

I know that circumstances beyond our control have kept us apart, but my love for you continues to grow stronger with each passing day. I think about you constantly and dream of the day when we can be together.

Though I may not be able to be with you physically, please know that you hold a special place in my heart. Your smile brings light to my days and your laughter is music to my ears.

I love you and I will always will

I will always protect you

If he do something horrible to you I will protect you

I promise.

I am willing to wait for as long as it takes for us to be together.

Please know that you are always in my thoughts and in my heart. I love you now and forever.

Yours always,

Your secret admirer"

You kept the letter and place it to your drawer, you didn't know if you need to tell "Gabriel" about this but your guts said don't tell him for some reason, you didn't know why.

You heard someone unlocking the door and then you hurried downstairs to see it was "Gabriel" hiding something from his back.

Archangel Gabriel POV:

" I hope you know that I will wait for you my dear, I will earn the courage to tell you that the one who you love was the devil disguised as me, but don't worry if he do something horrible towards you I will protect you from him. All that I could only hope is for you to be aware of him.

I love you even if you did not know that"

And that he flew away.

Tissue?

KSJSHSJAJAAJAH Happy valentines day Everyone! 💖

[miyamiwu]

Not so much a theory but just me trying to make sense of everything that's happened so far. This will be a stream-of-consciousness dump.

LINK CLICK S2E8 SPOILERS!!!

------------

So remember how, in season 1, when CXS changed something in the past, it would later reflect in their present? In the kidnapped child case, kid!CXS and adult!CXS had appeared at the same time. In the Xu Shanshan case, the gang received a mysterious call, which turned out to be because an alt!CXS had issued a challenged to red-eyes in the past.

So with that in mind, we can just focus on one timeline—the one being shown to us. Any changes made in alternate timelines would reflect in the present that the audience sees.

Our current present is LG saving CXS from being kidnapped, resulting in him taking his place.

Qiao Ling had hypothesized that maybe that wasn't Lu Guang but an alt-timeline!CXS because LG seemed more physically strong.

For this hypothesis to be true, CXS has to dive into the past as Lu Guang and rescue the past!CXS in one go. (A photo can only be used once.)

The chances of this going correctly is slim. Without Lu Guang, Cheng Xiaoshi has no idea what's gonna happen while in the dive. He didn't even know what object Lu Guang used to break the window (it was definitely not the kettle!). Also, does he even know where to find a speedboat? How about driving one? And if you had looked closely in the LG and LTC fight, you can see that LG was always trying to avoid being touched by LTC. That means he already knows how his ability is activated. On the off-chance CXS manages to reach past!CXS on time, it will all be for naught anyway coz he won't able to defend against LTC.

That's why I think Qiao Ling is wrong. It was never an alt!LG. It was the real Lu Guang all along.

As for how to explain his improved physical state... well, that's something I don't have an answer yet for. I do believe in the alt-timeline/future Lu Guang theories, though. If LG is from the future, maybe he's had some time to train.

Another theory of mine is that LG didn't actually suddenly got better at martial arts. He just knew how Li Tianchen would move, so he was able to defend against him. (Maybe LG can see the future).

Or maybe Lu Guang had relived this rescue many times and only now did he finally get it right. (Time loop maybe?)

As for him being able to resist the pain of his injury... idk man, adrenaline, I guess? Love can make you desperate lol.

Anyways, writing-wise, it's so easy to just dump everything on Lu Guang coz he's still shrouded in mystery. He's always seemed like he knows a lot about their abilities, and who knows what the true extent of his abilities is.

If Cheng Xiaoshi can't do the rescue right in one go, then how are they gonna explain him diving a second time?

Also, I find it hard to believe that CXS would want to endanger Lu Guang many times while he's acting as him. If he just doesn't dive, won't Lu Guang be saved?

What's sus here is the photo LG left. Did he know CXS can open his phone, or was that a save point he had actually left for himself in case he fails to save CXS?

But why would he not bring his phone? Was he afraid the enemy would get ahold of it?

But without his phone, and by extension, the photo, how can he go back in time?

Maybe his time-travel ability doesn't require a photo? (LTC definitely didn't have a photo when he was controlling WJ and CXS. His ability was just activated by touch)

Come to think of it, CXS's ability is also activated by touch (clapping). What about Lu Guang? Maybe he has a touch-based ability, too. After all, they can have more than one abilities.

LG can see what happens in a photo, and thru CXS diving, he can also record it. If it's a CCTV, he can hijack it and make it his eyes.

LTC can possess someone directly, but he can also just bewitch them through touch.

CXS can go back in time, and he can also possess people

I have no idea where I'm going here... Still confused as ever

[huffle-dork]

Glitch into the Hufflverse Chapter 19: The In-Between

Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs

Read SITCV | Read SATCV | GITHV Masterpost

As the guys starts walking, Schneep mutters, “I will assume that those things were not here the last time you all were.”

“Maybe this Sam scared away all the threats,” Jackie says.

How big are they, exactly? JJ asks.

“No we’ve never seen anything like that,” Alt says, “m-maybe it’s because we always came with Anti… “

“Oh dude, they’re huge! They took up the whole sky last time!” Bro replies.

"Anti does seem like the type to scare away things like that," Jackie mutters. Then his eyes widen. "Wait, what?! The whole sky?? The fucking sky???"

"That sounds terrifying, actually," Schneep says.

I can't even imagine my Jack's Sam being that big, JJ says, eyes wide.

“It was scary but also kinda dope-“ Bro laughs, “It did scare the bejesus out of me last time-“

“You weren’t even looking at the sky- I dunno what got your attention but you were all like ‘why is the sky turning green? OH!’” Alt giggles.

Bro’s cheeks turn red. “T-There was a lot going on last time!”

Jackie laughs. "I can imagine. You were dealing with, uh, weird timeline shit, right? That's what your Jackie said."

"They got caught in a world that was particularly unstable, yes."

Jackie's eye widens. He recognizes that voice. It's coming from—behind them! He spins around to see a familiar figure with a green scarf and eye-patch, suddenly right there.

“Yeah we-“ Alt starts to say then jumps and glitches to turn around. His face floods with relief at seeing the familiar figure. “Anti!”

Anti raises a hand in greeting. "Well. You all got yourself is a real fucking mess, didn't you?"

“Dude you have no fucking idea…!” Bro says with an exhausted laugh, “You have no idea how happy we are to see you!” 

Schneep and JJ spin around as well. JJ's eyes widen. This Anti—he kind of reminds him of the Anti from that other world, the one where they were all creations. But... less threatening. He's kind of reminded of his Anti as well. Schneep, meanwhile, gasps. "Your voice! It was you!"

Anti looks at him. "Huh?"

"I—that time I accidentally arrived here! That was you who helped me!" Schneep insists.

"Oh. You must've met that other version of me," Anti says. "He did mention finding a glitch and some teenager in the space in-between. You must be the glitch."

"I... suppose?" Schneep says, confused but accepting this.

Alt’s eyes widen as he looks in between Schneep and Anti. Then he laughs quietly, “I-It’s confusing but uh last time we met, there was another him from another timeline… one where he never met me, Chase and my friends. That must be who you met…! Teenager though hm…” Alt wonders outloud.

"Oh, another timeline!" Schneep nods, understanding perfectly.

Then Alt shakes his head and looks at Anti earnestly, “Anti- we need your help- the rifts took these guys from their worlds and w-we didn’t know how else to bring them back! We used a doorway but it just sent us here and-“

“They took them from their worlds?" Anti looks at the three others, surprised. "All of you?"

JJ nods. It was.... quite sudden.

"D'you know if..." Jackie hesitates. "Uh... what did it look like... from...?"

"Your boyfriend's fine, if that's what you're wondering," Anti says. "He and Chase got home and saw a remnant of the rift in the living room. They called me immediately. Luckily I was in the world at the time—Something's going on in Sam's homeworld so we had to pause the TRVLR search." He shakes his head. "I was expecting you to be jumping through worlds close by... not all the way over here."

“…what do you mean by that?” Alt says, eyebrows furrowing. “I guess all these universes… felt different than the others in… some way?”

"You two are from a different branch of universes than these guys," Anti says. "That's why Sam didn't think the rifts would reach you. It takes less energy to jump between worlds on the same branch than ones on different branches."

JJ nods slowly. Let me see if I can visualize this... He holds out his hands, conjuring up a blue hologram-like image of a tree with no leaves. It's like a tree. Chase and Alt are on this branch, here. He indicates one with a lot of twigs coming off it. And our worlds are on this branch. He indicates another, with more twigs. Each world is one of these smaller twigs. It's easier to hop from stick to stick than branch to branch.

“Oh… I-I guess that explains… a lot of things actually. Like… how you’re all from Mirygale- but the other well… humans we met were from Brighton… like us.” Alt says slowly.

“…I don’t get-“ Bro says with a confused expression. “How come we could hop so easily with the TRVLR then if it takes so much energy to jump from these branches?”

“…do you think that’s why the- the ripple thing broke? Because we kept visiting places outside our branch- so it took more power…?” Alt wonders.

"Heh." Anti grins. "Well—sometimes there are people who break the rules. It's a fact of the multiverse. IRIS couldn't figure out how to generate enough energy to get the TRVLR to work. It was a failure to them. But... to those of us who are a bit different... that power is enough."

"The glitches," Schneep mutters.

“R-Right my… my glitches… I-I guess that’s why the TRVLR only really worked for me. I… I always thought I just… powered it with my electricity.” Alt says as he holds his arm, “…I guess… b-being a glitch is.. a lot more power than I-i thought…” 

"Exactly." Anti nods. "As for why the ripple minimizer broke—I have no idea. I wasn't there. It's possible? Or maybe some surge of energy happened."

"Okay, so... how do we get home?" Jackie asks.

"I can get you home easily enough," Anti says. "Take you with me. And I'm guessing that this guy can get home on his own." He nods at Schneep.

"Did he point to me?" Schneep asks.

Yes, JJ says. But... what about us, then? Me and these two?

Anti shrugs. "Guess we'll have to wait for Sam. They should be here soon." He puts his hands on his hips. "So... how'd you all end up here, then? Something about rifts, and the doorways?"

“Dude Anti you won’t believe it-“ Bro explains, “first they all fell into our world- then we got captured by SCLERA but the rifts got us out of there! Then we were in a world in the far far far future!! On an alien planet like that game Subnautica! And we got to be mermen it was so sick- oh but then we ended up in a bad timeline of there… that wasn’t… as fun.” Bro shakes his head. “But then! We ended up in another version of Brighton but the guys there said they were creations of Jack which was insane! And a bad anti like- fucked with Schneep and possessed Alt but we kicked his ass!” He grins, but that falls as he remembers where they just were, “then… w-we landed back in Brighton… our Brighton but it… it was a bad future. Alt got c-corrupted and…” He can’t say any further, looking away.

Alt picks up for him, “Henny was there though and… he helped us find the doorway in SCLERA. The same one Mag used in our first adventure that got us the TRVLR… it was destroyed but we put it back together and… managed to convince the other me to let us leave. Then… we ended up here.”

“And these freaky eyeball things with mouths attacked us out of nowhere!” Bro adds, “I didn’t know this place was dangerous!!”

Anti nods slowly. "That's... a hell of a ride."

"You're fucking telling me," Jackie mutters. "Also what the hell were those eyeball things?!"

"I like to call them eyebites, but they don't have actual names." Anti frowns. "And... yeah. This place isn't the safest. Things tend to fall in here and... get warped." He shakes his head. "Some of us who are able to reach this space try to get people out. But it's a very big space. Bigger than any universe. So there's gonna be fuckups. No being is able to be everywhere. Well. Not at once." He grins a little.

Schneep shivers. "You are saying that... if that other you had not helped me...?"

"You'd have been stuck here for a while," Anti confirms.

“Wait… a-are you saying that… p-people that fall into here can…? Can become like those things?” Alt whispers in horror.

Anti pauses. "Something like that... will take a long time. And honestly, my guess is the eyebites were never human to begin with. It's more likely they were something similar to Sam—my Sam, I mean."

"That is not as reassuring as you think,” Jackie says.

JJ and Schneep look horrified.

Bro and Alt look equally as freaked out. “T-Thank god you found us then…” Bro mumbles.

"Well in any case," Anti hurriedly says. "These three really showed up in your world? Really? That's... That shouldn't be... Those rifts shouldn't have reached there..."

“Yeah that’s what I thought Sam told us!” Alt exclaims, “T-They said we’d be safe- that the rifts wouldn’t reach us! But they- they even sucked me and Chase out of our own world with these guys!” He pauses, “I mean… I-I’m glad we could help… s-since we kinda know about this but… still-“

Anti shakes his head slowly. "We'll have to ask Them when They arrive. Hopefully that won't be too long."

And we're safe from creatures like those horrors now? JJ asks, looking unsettled.

"Don't worry, they tend to avoid me." Anti flashes a grin that's a bit sharper than his usual ones. "I've made a name for myself."

Alt nods and hugs himself a bit more. Now that the danger has passed he can feel how bone tired and weary he is.

Bro chuckles a bit, “Oh yeah? …you know what I can see that you’re vicious when you wanna be-“

Jackie laughs. "Fucking understatement. Imagine fighting him for real. I don't remember how many stab wounds Schneep had to stitch up on me back then..." he sighs. "I hope Schneep's okay."

"I think he is," Anti says, softening slightly. "Or... as okay as he can be."

Jackie nods, staying quietly.

"It is so strange to hear myself discussed this way," Schneep mutters.

“Oh yeah it doesn’t get any less weird,” Bro laughs, “the amount of times I gotta remind myself that most of the time the Chases being discussed here aren’t me!” 

Alt chuckles lightly, “Kinda glad I call myself something different. Makes it easier.” 

We'd probably get used to it if we jumped through many worlds, JJ says. He sighs, looking up into the infinite darkness... and blinks. I think one of those lights is getting bigger...

Or maybe it's getting closer?

The Brodys blink and look where JJ is looking. Alt perks up, “I-Is that?”

It is. The green dot gets bigger and bigger, consuming the sky above quickly, much quicker than last time. Then the green expanse rolls, and that blue iris and black pupil appear.

"Holy fucking shit!" Jackie stumbles back in surprise.

JJ gapes up. THAT'S Sam?!

Schneep shivers. "I-I can feel--I can feel Them, I think." The amount of power is almost overwhelming.

{I AM SORRY FOR THE DELAY,} Sam says in their minds. {MY WORLD WAS HAVING AN EMERGENCY. I HAD TO KEEP IT TOGETHER.}

Jackie yelps, pressing his hands to his head. "Fucking—mind talker?!"

{I'M SORRY, THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO COMMUNICATE. I DON'T EXACTLY HAVE A MOUTH.}

JJ laughs, a bit hysterically.

Bro joins the laughter too, holding his stomach and waving at Jackie. “S-Sorry-!”

Alt looks relieved, even if the power he feels radiating off of Sam is just as overwhelming as last time. “N-No no it’s okay! Your world comes first- w-we managed to tough it out, you know?” He laughs a bit.

{EVEN SO, I AM SORRY.}

"Sam." Anti looks up at Them. "I thought their world was supposed to be safe. But these three all showed up there." He points at the others. Schneep gives a little wave.

Sam is quiet for a moment. {IT SEEMS... THEIR WORLDS ARE CLOSER THAN NORMAL. I DID NOT ANTICIPATE THAT...}

"They are... closer?" Schneep asks, confused.

JJ conjures up his tree example again. Like this? he asks, moving two of the branches on the tree close enough together that some of their twigs are intermingling.

{EXACTLY LIKE THAT. THIS IS... UNUSUAL. IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, BUT I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD HAPPEN TO OUR BRANCH.}

“I mean… I guess that explains how we ended up in Anti and Jackie’s world the first time… and how JJ ended up in ours. If our universes are so tangled together…” Bro says.

Alt slowly nods, “Okay then… I-if we’re closer then… the Anti that started this… c-could he actually come to our worlds? I-I know you said destroying them takes a lot of power but I just-“ He hugs his stomach, “I’m worried… I don’t want our world or their worlds getting fucked by all of this…”

Sam is silent for a while. {I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO MAKE SURE HE STAYS AWAY. BUT... I CAN NO LONGER PROMISE... THAT YOUR BRANCH WILL BE SAFE.}

Alt’s face falls and he digs his nails into his sides, looking terrified. 

Schneep gasps softly. "Is—is there anything we can do?"

JJ nods. I'd like to help them.

{YOU ALL HAVE YOUR OWN TROUBLES IN YOUR WORLDS.}

"But--you can't expect us to not do something!" Jackie protests.

"Jackie, seriously," Anti mutters. "What can you do?"

"Oh shut the fuck up! I'd—I'd try, at least!"

"Heh." Anti smiles a little. "Good to hear that. But seriously. I've been busy for so long with this stuff. I... haven't been able to pay much attention to... Jack, or Schneep. I-I need you there to do that."

Jackie stares at him. He nods slowly.

Bro looks at Jackie with sympathy and claps his hand on his shoulder, bringing him into a side hug. “…I’m sure Fredrick is worried about you too, mate.” He looks at the others, “And you all have people to go back to…. Us too.”

Alt is quiet for a bit before he looks up at Sam with determination. “I…I’m a glitch-! I… m-maybe I can learn how to w-work all this better! I-I don’t want to just sit there waiting for him to come I… I want to protect all our worlds! There has to be something I can do.. right?”

Anti starts to protest... then he stops, pausing. He looks up at Sam. "Maybe they can help...?"

Sam's pupil contracts slightly.  {...THEY WILL STILL NEED A RELIABLE WAY TO TRAVEL. MY RIFTS ARE NOT AS RELIABLE AS YOU THINK.}

Anti nods. "And they have no way to communicate with you to ask for one. So we still need the TRVLR." He looks over at Bro and Alt. "Maybe... you guys can help find the last pieces. I'll take care of the more dangerous universes on my own, then I can pick you up to help with the rest. It'd go faster with multiple people, I think."

Bro also wants to protest but when Anti looks at both of them he grins and throws an arm over Alt’s shoulder and pulls him into his side. “Fuck yeah! You all are crazy if you think I’d let Alt do this on his own! We’re a team- glitch or not!”

Alt opens his mouth to argue but then… his other self’s words echo in his head. He finds himself smiling as he shakes his head. “…g-guess I can’t argue with that.” He looks to Anti and nods, “Together, I think we could do it.”

What about us? JJ asks.

"Yes—if I am a glitch, perhaps I could help as well!" Schneep says.

{JAMESON, YOU STILL HAVE YOUR OWN WORLD TO WORRY ABOUT,} Sam says. {YOUR OWN GLITCH IS STILL RUNNING RAMPANT. HE MUST BE STOPPED. YOUR FRIENDS WILL NEED YOU.}

JJ's eyes widen. Distorter is... a glitch?

{NOT A USUAL EXAMPLE, BUT YES,}

Alt and Bro’s eyes widen at the realization. “I guess that makes sense…” Alt says, “t-the house… Aspen house… he’s tied to that right? That must be where… the world’s boundaries got broken… and made him what he is.”

JJ nods. Slowly at first, and then faster. Yes, that would explain the strangeness of that house. It certainly seems like a place where boundaries are broken. And it would explain why IRIS was so interested in it.

{THE RECURSIVE ECHO CHAMBER,} Sam comments. {YOUR SOLUTION SHALL BE FOUND IN THERE.}

That's what we thought, JJ says, nodding again grimly. I'm sure we'll find a way.

“…it’s gonna be hard to part with you all,” Bro says softly, “We all make one hell of a team, don’t we?”

Jackie laughs. "Yeah. We sure do."

"Are you sure there is nothing I can do to help?" Schneep asks, eyes darting around as he thinks.

{THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO, SCHNEEPLESTEIN,} Sam says.  {I BELIEVE A PART OF THE TRVLR LANDED IN YOUR WORLD. IF YOU CAN FIND IT, THAT WILL SAVE MUCH TIME.}

"Oh!" Schneep looks surprised. "Y-yes, of course, I would love to help. But how can I find it?"

{MAY I SHOW YOU THE SENSATIONS?}

Confused, Schneep nods. Then he staggers back, eyes wide. "O-oh! How unusual."

"Very strange, isn't it?" Anti comments.

"Well—it seems you and I will see each other again," Schneep says, facing the Brody brothers with a smile.

Alt and Bro look delighted at the thought of seeing Schneep again. “Fuck yeah man!” Bro grins. 

And you can stop by my world any time! Once you found your way to navigate again, JJ says, smiling.

"I'd love to see you all again." Jackie nods. "Maybe... once things calm down."

Alt nods with a smile, “of course…! As soon as we can…” He looks to Anti and Jackie with determination and smirks, “Once we can- we’re coming back to kick Marvin and Jameson’s asses for what they did to you and your friends. That’s a promise.”

"Thanks," Jackie says.

"Heh. Your help would be appreciated." Anti grins. "I'm sure they won't see you coming."

{NOW... ARE YOU ALL READY TO RETURN TO YOUR HOMES?} Sam asks. {I CAN PROVIDE RIFTS, IF NEEDED.}

"Well, I... perhaps I will be able to return home on my own," Schneep says slowly. "I would like to try, at least."

I definitely will need a way home, JJ says.

"And no offense Anti, but I'd rather walk through a rift than have you take me home," Jackie says.

Anti raises an eyebrow. "Minor offense taken."

Jackie rolls his eye.

Alt hides a laugh at this. But then he looks up at Sam, “um… Sam- what can me and Bro do? To help with all of this? O-Our friends already know we do this… and Mag is a threat but… not as much as this. I think they’d understand if we focused on helping with this. So… we’ll help anyway we can.”

Sam is quiet for a moment. {YOU ARE FROM A DIFFERENT BRANCH ENTIRELY. YOUR RULES WORK DIFFERENTLY—AND YOU BREAK THEM ENTIRELY. THAT ANTI WILL NOT KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.}

"Hell yeah, even just having backup will help with that rift bitch," Anti says.

{BUT AGAIN, YOU MUST HAVE A RELIABLE WAY TO TRAVEL, FIRST. WE MUST REPAIR THE TRVLR. SOMETHING TELLS ME THAT WILL BE THE KEY TO THIS ALL.}

Alt nods, “Alright… I-I’ll do as much research as I can and work on my magic! So maybe we won’t be so powerless without the TRVLR… but w-we can wait too.”

“Whatever you guys need, we gotcha!” Bro grins. “But also… I wanna sleep for like a week so… a rift home would be great.”

{OF COURSE. TO KEEP THINGS STABLE, I WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO OPEN ONE RIFT AT THE TIME. CHASE, ALT. YOU FIRST.}

There's a ripple of electricity and part of the world tears open. Beyond it... their apartment.

"Time is inconsistent between worlds," Anti says. "I might show up suddenly and tell you that it's time. I might show up in a month, or a year. Stay well-rested. And prepare."

I hope to see you all again, JJ says.

"I look forward to our next meeting," Schneep says.

"Until next time." Jackie gives a little salute.

Bro and Alt look at each other and seem to hesitate.

Then Bro, tears in his eyes, goes to grab all 3 of the other boys and pull them into a bone-crushing hug, “I-I…! I’m really gonna miss you guys!”

Alt wipes at his face, trying to hide the wetness in his eyes too.

"Whoa!" Schneep gasps in surprise. Then he laughs. "H-hey, it sounds like you will see me again, at least."

"And me, too!" Jackie says.

And once you get your TRVLR back, you can come visit! JJ says. He glances up at Sam. Right?

{INDEED. THOUGH YOU SHOULD BE CAREFUL. KEEP THE DEVICE AWAY FROM ENERGY SURGES, ESPECIALLY MAGICAL ONES.}

“So away from Mag, mostly.” Alt laughs.

"So it's only a matter of time, really," Anti chuckles.

“I-I know it’s just-! We just went through so much together! It feels weird to just… leave!” Bro bubblers. “And Anti just said I-it could be a while! W-We still gotta figure out if we can all play dnd together!”

Alt rolls his eyes and grabs Bro by the back of his suit. “Chase c’mon… don’t be a baby-“

“Alt! I know you’re sad too, don't act like you’re not!” Bro whines.

Alt’s face flushes. “…o-of course I am, I just… they’re right- it’s not forever…” 

JJ rubs his eyes, hiding the fact that there are some tears in his eyes as well. We did indeed go through a lot together, didn't we?

"You guys want to play Dungeons and Dragons together?" Anti raises an eyebrow. "Nerds."

"That's what I said, but they convinced me!" Jackie laughs a bit awkwardly. "So, uh... would you know a way to... do that?"

Anti sighs. "Not in our world, but we can look around."

"Perhaps you should join us," Schneep says jokingly. "What would you be? A rogue?"

Bro laughs, “I can see that!” 

"Jackie's a rogue, actually, I'm a monk," Anti says with a perfectly straight face. "But no, I'm not going to join you."

Killjoy, JJ says jokingly.

Anti raises his eyebrows—and actually gives a little laugh. "Maybe in the future. But not now. I have more to focus on."

Alt smiles at them weakly. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again before we even know it.”

Jackie smiles at Alt. "I'm sure of that, too."

If it's not going to happen, we'll make it happen, JJ promises.

{I HATE TO CUT THIS SHORT, BUT MY RIFTS WILL NOT LAST FOREVER,} Sam says.

Alt flinches a bit, “Right right-“ he looks meaningfully at the others. “get home safe… until next time, alright?”

"We will," Jackie promises.

Bro looks like he’s gonna cry again so Alt starts to drag him towards the rift. But- for a second he hesitates- then glitches back over to the others and hugs them too. “T-Thank you guys… for everything.” 

The others all stiffen suddenly as Alt hugs them. "It is not a problem, my friend," Schneep whispers.

Take care, JJ adds.

Alt then quickly glitches back with a very red face, hurrying to grab Bro’s arm again and pull him towards the rift. Bro laughs and waves the rest of them off, “Bye!! Take care of yourselves!”

The three of them wave goodbye as the other two walk through the rift. As soon as they pass through, it disappears. {WHO IS NEXT?} Sam asks.

"H-hold on, I would like to try and see if I can get back on my own," Schneep says. "The way I did before."

JJ nods. He hesitates, then gives Schneep a quick hug.

Jackie pauses before joining as well. Then they both pull back. "Um... thank you two," he says. "For... that world, where we were all weird merpeople. You two really saved me."

Schneep chuckles. "Well in that case, thank you two for helping me get back after that Anti controlled me. I... should have thanked Alt and Bro as well." He sighs. "Well, next time I see them, then."

Good luck, JJ says. And... goodbye.

"Hope I'll see you again," Jackie says.

"Yes. And... I hope your situation with your Schneep works out." Schneep takes a deep breath. He looks upward, pupils darting. He just has to concentrate on home. He just has to think. It should be natural to return home.

And it is. Soon, he fizzles out of sight and disappears.

{HE HAS MADE IT HOME,} Sam reports.

I'll go next, then, JJ says. If you please.

Sam's pupil contracts in reply, and another rift appears. Through it, the entrance hall of JJ's house. He sees Mr. Fluffington start in surprise and then run down the hall. He can't help but chuckle a little.

"Hey, this is gonna sound weird, but... thanks for... letting me know that... not all Jamesons are like mine," Jackie says awkwardly. "All those other Jamesons, too, but... you especially."

Anti nods slowly. JJ does remind him of his Jameson, in a way.

JJ smiles. I'm glad I could help. He turns towards the rift, then looks back and waves Goodbye, tears in his eyes. Then he steps through and the rift disappears.

Jackie takes a deep breath. He looks at Anti. "Just us, then."

"You sure you don't want me to get us home?" Anti asks.

"Yeah."

Anti rolls his eye, but nods. "Alright, Sam."

Another rift forms, a familiar living room appearing beyond. He sees someone rummaging around in the kitchen nearby. Jackie takes a deep breath and heads on through. Anti looks up at Sam and nods silently. Then he goes through as well.

[thevindicativevordan]

Jon hugged Injustice Superman, then got sent home and took the completely wrong (but wholly expected) lesson from the experience; stop trying to do more, lest you become an overachieving fascist.

Is Jon done? How on Earth do you walk that back? It's all so sad.

Anonymous asked: Any thoughts on the "resolution" and ending of Jon's mini, as well as his lukewarm future with more Tom Taylor writing?

Anonymous asked: Comics this week? Especially the ending to Adventures of Superman and the prospect of T*m Tayl*r continuing to write him?

Suppose with three asks I have to write up a post don't I? What a waste of time this all ended up being.

Haven't been reading this mini, was smart enough to learn my lesson after Son of Kal-El, but I did ask someone to DM me details just to see where Taylor left Jon. Someone was kind enough to share the details and even send me the final page. Not only is it exactly what I thought it would be, but I can't even console myself with Taylor "leaving" Jon. He's dragging the poor boy with him over to Titans, which sucks... but I've already emotionally severed my interest in Jon. After starting off by asking his dad to do more, Jon meets an evil version of his dad and gives up on trying to achieve anything beyond preserving the status quo. Only two choices for Superman are to be a hapless bystander or a fascist tyrant, and Jon's big emotional conclusion to his journey under Taylor is choosing to be feckless.

Making it all a complete farce is that Clark is doing more himself! He went to Warworld and led a slave rebellion to topple Mongul! Since returning to Earth he's teamed up with Steel to revolutionize Metropolis with Kryptonian tech. PKJ has had Clark outright say that his conversation with Jon pushed him to do more, including gathering the Superfamily together to work together as a team. Williamson has Clark trying to redeem Lex and use SuperCorp for good, and Williamson Superman is all about multiple characters "taking the next step and moving forward" per Williamson himself. Dichotomy Taylor presents here is utter bullshit, as seen with how the other Superbooks are being written. You can do more without falling into fascism, it's not a binary choice. And Jon's pacifism here is worthless because it doesn't actually change anything or benefit anyone. Murderman is still evil and won't stop, we know he has to be taken down with violence by an alternate Clark no less, Jon's hug failed to reach this guy. For fuck's sake he breaks alt Jay's arm just to make Jon mad, this guy is cartoonishly evil and beyond sympathy. Speaking of alt Jay, he's fucking dead right? No way does Murderman not kill him after Jon disappeared.

As for ol' Murderman himself, I guess Taylor might be seeding stuff for the inevitable Injustice 3. Val-Zod and Red Tornado Lois are left stranded in the Phantom Zone, which you'll recall is where Murderman ends up in what is likely to be the canonical ending. If that's why Taylor left them there then he'll probably just rehash this mini with Murderman meeting Red Tornado Lois there - she'll tell Murderman to stop and he'll flip out on her. What is left to even do with this character at this point? He's a one note dictator who reacts with murder and assaults to anyone who stands up to him. Any attempts at sympathy are wasted by how he is a mustache twirling bad guy. Only morons who worship these shitty game tie-ins as the only DC they've read think this is profound. Otherwise Clayton Henry was drawing a variant cover for Beast Planet that featured Val-Zod, maybe Taylor will bring those two back for that book. Either way I don't care. Done with Jon, Yang is coming back to write Kenan, that's the real news. Sweet dreams Jon, you had the potential to be great but now you are utterly unsalvageable.

[merge-conflict]

I Got You Babe

an alternate path for thread-safe, where instead of successfully retrieving valentine, goro gets caught up by her allies, none of which are happy to see him. (unfinished, but I kind of like it and it's my blog so whatever) 2.5k under the cut so don't say I didn't warn ya.

Goro can’t see or hear, but he knows he’s been propped up in a chair, most likely tied down although he’s been drugged so heavily it’s hard to tell. The steady cool stream of air over his skin means he’s inside somewhere, and while he’s lost a bit of time, it’s not enough for them to have taken him out of the city. There’s nothing else he can do now but wait, which leaves him with the uncomfortable prospect of being alone with his thoughts. He holds an image of V in his mind, of her sitting on the chair in front of the window, leaning on her elbows, her wrecked voice repeating It would be kinder just to kill me. The grief keeps him conscious, in a torturous haze which is far less than he deserves.

Yet the uncomfortable pop of his hearing returning snaps him out of a light doze, and he instinctively tries to pull his arms free and fails, all his still limbs heavy and clumsy. Whatever they’ve given him is starting to wear off, and his face aches terribly. His vision comes back all at once, albeit with his HUD disabled and his left eyelid stubbornly gummed shut, probably by blood.

“Can you hear me?” Rogue asks, appraising him as he raises his head to look up at her.

“Yes,” he answers. His tongue feels thick, the inside of his mouth furry. “I can hear you.”

“Good. I have a few questions for you.”

“I cannot promise answers.”

There’s a sharp exhale of breath to his left, and he turns his head to see V leaning against a dresser with her teeth bared. She’s not looking at him but her shoulders hunch under the weight of his gaze. There’s a section of the wood under her left hand where she’s worn away the finish with her fidgeting thumb, and he wonders how long the two of them have been here. They have him in some well-furnished bedroom, and the pile of clothes on the floor by V’s foot tells him it’s hers.

It’s sloppy work, but then there’s no reason for them to worry about him knowing where they are. He is simply easier to control when he is blind, and deaf. Having broken through his defenses, Alt may simply puppet him however she pleases. Arasaka already knows where they are.

“You came here alone?” Rogue asks, regaining his attention.

“Yes.”

���Why?”

“To bring back V.”

“Alone?” She repeats, dubious. Inviting him to reconsider. “No backup? No extraction team?”

“It would have worked,” V hisses, in a voiceless whisper it takes him some time to understand. She is speaking more carefully than usual, enunciating her consonants sharply to make up for her lack of volume. For the damage he's done to her, written in red angry prints around her neck. “If he hadn’t told me what happened.”

Rogue frowns at her, but her annoyance is muted. They both look as tired as he feels, although far more clear-headed. Perhaps more alert than clear-headed, given V’s state of agitation. “I’m not asking you.”

“Interrogating him is pointless,” V insists. “He’s not going to give you anything more than what we already know.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it,” Rogue replies, a sharp edge appearing in her voice that makes V flinch and huddle into herself. “You can be quiet or you can leave.”

Rogue resumes her interrogation, this time without interruption. He plays his part, answering her simple questions and avoiding her probes, settling into the familiar rhythm. She’s frustrated, if not surprised by his endurance, but it becomes clear there will be no escalation– no threats, no pain, no sweating and screaming, no sputtering gasping burning for air. Just V, silent and stone-faced, running her fingers over every inch of her chrome hand and forearm, like she’s testing the sensitivity. There’s a purpose to it, a repetitive, predictable soothing.

The exercise is pointless, because of her presence. Because he doubts that Rogue is sparing him out of her own principles, or any respect for his well being. In fact, it tells him about V’s level of influence here. Far more than he expected, which also explains much about her decision to come to him alone. It should be comforting, given the alternative, but instead it makes him feel ill. He stops answering Rogue’s questions, closing his eyes and letting his chin fall to his chest.

He doesn’t look up again until he hears another sharp exhale from V– frustration and anger. She moves to the side of the door and waits until Silverhand has burst through it to grab him, one arm wrapped around his neck as she drags him away from his intended path. Her technique is clumsy at best, but as soon as she manages to wrench one of his arms behind him there’s nothing he can do to break free, though he puts a hole through one of the walls in an attempt. Rogue stands warily out of their way. Silverhand continues to struggle and swear until V sinks her bared teeth into his shoulder and he falls abruptly quiet, both of them breathing heavily as they sway against each other.

“Are you done?” Rogue asks them both.

“Are you?” Silverhand snaps back. It’s uncanny, recognizing his snarl on Hellman’s features, and seeing the changes he’s made to his stolen body: the chin-length dyed hair, the tanktop revealing new muscle and the unfinished lines of a tattoo designed to cover his entire left arm. A transformation still in progress. “V’s right– he’s not going to tell us a damned thing. Might as well put this sorry sack of shit out of his fucking misery.”

“You do that,” V replies, voice fading sharply in and out in her anger, “and you’ll be next.”

“Would it not be kinder just to kill me?” Goro asks.

She looks him straight in the eye, unflinching. “I guess we’ll never find out.”

“You’re so desperate to suck his cock again, why don’t you do it now?” Silverhand tests her hold, which is starting to slip with her attention. “That’s all you’ll ever get out of him. Isn’t that how it works? Fuck him once and he’ll tell you how they stole your soul, fuck him again maybe he’ll tell you how sorry he is about it.”

V hisses something in answer that is too garbled and soft for him to catch, but which makes Silverhand laugh harshly. He pulls away sharply while she’s distracted, and breaks free, pinning her to the wall even as she wrestles with him. They’re the same height but he has the advantage of strength, and he pulls her into a possessive kiss. Even that seems to be a struggle for control, and despite himself Goro finds that he’s testing the strength of his bonds, picturing what it would be like to crush Silverhand’s throat in his hands.

Rogue watches almost impassively, as though this is a common occurrence– and perhaps it is, as it becomes clear despite their anger that there is some boundary of violence which they are skirting but will not step over. They play fight like dogs, snapping and growling but never drawing blood.

“Tell me,” Goro says, bitterly, “Am I the one who is desperate?”

Rogue laughs, though with very little actual amusement. “He’s right, Johnny,” she says. “This is more important than your dick measuring contest.”

“Sorry to interrupt you at your work,” he sneers. “If you really want to get something out of him, let Alt have a piece.”

“What is it you would like me to do?” Alt asks, her voice in Goro’s ear, addressing all of them the same way. “I am not a torturer, nor do I intend to become one.”

“Tell that to Smasher.”

“He is not Smasher,” V protests, hands balled in Silverhand’s shirt.

“Sure, Smasher still has his balls.”

Her only response is the swift chop of her chrome hand to this throat, which catches him by surprise. While he coughs and sputters she shoves him aside, brushing past Rogue and moving to stand by Goro’s blind side with her hip just touching his arm.

“Why don’t we pair off?” she says, still in hissing whisper. “Those who set off an atomic bomb in a populated city, and those who didn’t?”

This time Rogue is the one angry, though perhaps only because Silverhand has not yet caught his breath. “You really want to defend Arasaka, right now? Here? To us?”

“It’s not Arasaka I am defending,” V answers, in a heated rush. “But if you think so, then you don’t know me at all.”

“Better than you think,” Rogue replies, and looks at Silverhand. He’s recovered enough to stand upright, but his eyes are murderous.

“Get out,” V says, softly, at a level where she can still produce sound. She’s as deadly serious as he’s ever heard her. More confident then when she had defended herself to him. “Take him with you.”

Rogue looks at her for a long moment, studying her face before nodding curtly. Silverhand’s mouth curls into V’s contemptuous sneer– a dizzyingly perfect recreation, and then he stalks out of the room, brushing past Kerry Eurodyne, who is leaning against the doorway without quite being in the room. He lingers even after Rogue has left, looking first and V and then at Goro himself, frowning.

“Ker,” V says, her hand pressing down on Goro’s shoulder as she leans some of her weight onto him. “Can you get me the medkit?”

“What are you going to do with him?”

Her grip tightens slightly. “Clean his face.”

“Not what I meant.”

“I know.”

He is oddly melancholic for a man who is always either playing to the cameras or screaming at the paparazzi. It’s his money that brought them this bastion of safety in a city outside of Arasaka’s sphere of control and yet he does not seem to expect his opinion to matter. Nor, it seems, does anyone else.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“If things had worked out differently,” she says, with some difficulty. “If things had worked out differently and I was the one sent out here to get Johnny, what then?”

“He’s not going to see it that way.”

She makes some gesture that Goro can’t see, and Kerry smiles. He’s handsome, of course, but this smile makes him look every inch his age. Weary and bitter. The gold of his cyberware is not the veneer of youth, but a mark showing where he has been so carefully put back together. He disappears quietly, closing the door behind him.

V crouches down beside Goro’s chair, resting her arm just above the mangled remains of his knee. “If I untie you are you going to try to fight me?”

“Is that what you want?” he asks, thinking of how naturally she and Silverhand had fallen into it. How she had broken a chair over his arm and cut his face before calling for help. “To fight?”

V only smiles sadly. “No.”

He wants to stay bitter, but in the force of both her honesty and her protection he cannot. “I will not fight you.”

Even after she’s released him he is far from free– whether it is a drug or something Alt has done, he is clumsy and uncoordinated, his limbs responding sluggishly to every movement. He cannot stand on his own, but must lean on V, once again reliant on her good favor. She grants him some privacy to use the bathroom and when he is finished brings another chair in with her and sets it down next to the sink, depositing him into it before sitting in his lap.

He closes his eyes while she works to soak the bandages off his face, enduring the pain from the broken skin, patched together with uncomfortable butterfly stitches. A pile of pink stained washcloths grows on the counter, but she still has more to go before Kerry returns bearing the familiar bright green medkit.

“Really did a number on him,” he remarks, leaning back against the column of the shower, apparently here to stay.

“It is not so bad,” Goro replies, and V lets out a strangled laugh, leaning to rest her forehead against his.

“What’s another few scars?” she asks in whisper.

“You could have done much worse.”

She doesn’t reply to that, but her hands are as steady and gentle as ever. Eventually she finishes cleaning the wounds and applies some gel that numbs the pain. By the time she secures a few protective bandages he is beginning to drowse again, replete with the sensation of her fingertips running over his undamaged skin– a tenderness he does not deserve.

“I don’t get it,” Kerry says, voice pitched low. “What kept you apart? You’re obviously…“ He trails off, and Goro makes the effort to open his eyes to see V’s distant stare.

“It only makes sense,” V says, frowning down at his hands, which she has folded on her lap. “You need someone who doesn’t want anything besides keeping Arasaka safe. Everything else is a weakness that can be exploited.”

“If you say so.” Kerry sounds almost disgusted, a surprisingly sentimental position. “But I guess corps don’t get rich by taking care of their grunts.”

“You are a wealthy man.” Goro says, tone mild. “Who have you helped?”

“Me,” V says, sharply. “And Johnny and Rogue and Alt. He’s the only one of any of them who didn’t consider just killing you, Goro. Got the cleanest hands here.”

Goro turns his head, to see Kerry looking at V with something like regret. He manages to draw the other man’s attention. “Even so. I think you understand that it is not always so easy.”

“I don’t understand anything you corpos do,” he mutters, crossing his arms. “But if you had gotten your shit together before now you might not be here with half your face ripped to shreds.”

“Watch your glass penthouses,” V says. The warning means nothing to Goro but makes Kerry grimace before the expression flits away.

“You think I can’t give out good advice?” he asks, flashing a charming smile. “Can tell you a lot of what not to do.”

“Little late for that,” she says, and they all fall silent. Her hand goes to the undamaged side of Goro’s face, and she chews on the inside of her lip, avoiding his eyes as she looks at him. “What are we going to do with you, my dear?”

“Why not keep him?” Kerry suggests.

“Keep him?” V echoes, voice cutting out in her anger. “I’m not a fucking jailer.”

“Hey– it’s not what I meant,” he says, sounding genuinely sorry. “I just mean, Arasaka clearly has you both tied up in knots, playing you off each other. How much of that are you gonna sit back and take?”

“Why not just leave?” V says, still petulant. “Why stay? Why stay so long? How could you let it get so bad?”

“Fuck you,” Kerry says, with venom this time. “It’s not the same and you know it.”

“Who knows better than me just how similar they are?” She pauses, breathing irregularly, perilously close to weeping. “Trying to please someone who’ll never be happy? Trying to live on scraps while you’re starving? Terrified of losing what little you have?” Her voice breaks, retreating into the harsh whisper. “C’mon, Ker– tell me what’s different?”

[atimeofyourlife]

Hiding my past from my future

day 23 | rated: t | wc: 1372 | prompts: FORCED CHOICE | Public Display | Broken Pedestal | "I'm doing this for you." ALT prompt: Secrets Revealed | cw: past self harm | ao3 Buck only wears long-sleeved uniforms after joining the fire department, after getting splashed with an unknown substance the team find out why.

Buck knew it would get picked up on eventually. He'd managed to evade it through the academy without anyone noticing, only a handful of comments about his insistence of only wearing long sleeves. Long sleeved workout gear, long sleeved uniform shirts. Most people just assumed he had a bunch of tattoos on his forearms that he had to keep covered as per LAFD policy.

Once he'd received his assignment to the 118, he fought to keep it a secret. Ignoring the comments on his choice of uniform, and any mention of him being quick to shower and change without anyone seeing. He just did not want to deal with the awkward and uncomfortable questions that he knew would be sent his way.

It was a couple of months into his probationary year. A medical scene that was the aftermath of a dispute that the police had already cleared. Buck didn't have much to do as there was only one patient, so he was mostly grabbing anything that Hen and Chimney asked for.

As they were preparing to move the patient, Buck noticed a man approaching them.

"Sir, I need to give us space so we can do our job." He did his best to block the mans way to the patient.

"That bitch needs to get whats coming to her." The guy shouted and lunged forward.

"Cap." Buck yelled, jumping back in front of the guy. He felt something splash on him, hitting him on the neck and chest, quickly soaking through his shirt.

The remaining police on the scene were quick to react, tackling the guy to the ground. Bobby and Chimney were close behind, grabbing Buck and guiding him to the engine.

"We need to get this shirt off." Chimney said, but Buck wasn't quite registering what had happened until Chimney was ripping Buck's shirt open, then grabbing scissors for his undershirt.

"What are you doing, stop." Buck pushed Chimney away, panicking at the thought of anyone seeing him shirtless.

"Buck, we need to get your shirts off so we can flush the area. We don't know what you were splashed with. We need to follow protocol." Bobby replied, resting his hand on Buck's shoulder on the side that hadn't been hit with the unknown liquid.

"I. I can wait until we're back at the station. I'll shower it off and change there." Buck was close to begging at this point.

"No can do. It's to limit contact. If it's corrosive, or whatever, the longer it stays on the skin, the more damage it can do." Bobby explained.

Buck didn't respond and just hung his head as Chimney started to cut his undershirt.

"You know, pretty boy like you, I thought you'd always be wanting to show off your muscle. Never expected you to be so shy." Chimney said as he'd cut the shirt through and moved to push it off of Buck's arms.

Buck couldn't rise to the bait, fearing what would come next. He didn't react to the twin gasps of shock as his shirts were removed.

"Let-lets start to flush the area." Chimney said quietly, not coming up with a joke for once.

"Yeah. It's going to be okay, Buck." Bobby added, then both were dousing him with bottled water. It was cold against his skin, but Buck couldn't bring himself to care. Too worried about how they were looking at the fine silvery-white scars that covered both of his arms.

"There's no obvious skin reaction." Chimney murmured, shining his penlight over where it had hit. "No redness, no blistering, no swelling. Feels to be the same temperature as the surrounding skin. Does it feel sore, or does it itch at all, Buck?"

"No." Buck mumbled, unable to meet their eyes. "It's fine."

"Here." Bobby tucked a blanket around Buck's shoulders. "We've been cleared to head back to the station, just need to keep an eye on you to make sure there's nothing that comes of it. An officer will be by to grab your statement."

Buck just nodded, and pulled the blanket tighter around him. Not wanting anyone else to look at him. He moved to pull himself into his seat in the engine, still worried about what would come of it back at the station.

"It's okay, Buck." Chimney murmured, taking the seat next to him.

--

Back at the station, Buck hopped out of the engine and made his way straight to the showers, grabbing a clean uniform on the way. He stayed under the spray for way longer than he usually would, wanting to put off facing his team.

"Buck?" Chimney's voice came from the door to the men's showers. "Cap sent me in to check on you. And to tell you to hurry up, because an officer is here for your statement."

"Yeah. I'm fine." Buck replied, turning the shower off and grabbing his towel. "I'll be out in a minute. Just let me get dressed."

"Not so fast on that one, Buckaroo. He also wants me to take another look at you. Make sure you're not having a reaction." He could hear Chimney's footsteps coming closer to his stall.

Buck groaned and wrapped his towel around his waist and stepped out of the stall, fighting to resist the urge to hunch in on himself and hide.

"There's a little redness." Chimney commented, his fingers ghosting over Buck's skin. "But I'm guessing that's because you've scrubbed pretty hard to get rid of whatever that was."

"Uh-huh. Can I put my clothes on now?" Buck asked, a slight whine in his voice. He felt exposed and wanted to cover up as quickly as possible.

"Buck." Chimney grabbed his shoulder. "You- you know we're not going to judge you for this, right? It doesn't change how we think about you or anything."

Buck scoffed, he'd heard it before that people wouldn't judge for his history of self harming, but they always did.

"I mean it. We've all got our own shit. This job weighs on all of us. None of us are going to judge someone for how they coped with the shit they were dealing with."

Buck nodded and turned to go and get dressed.

--

After he'd given his statement to the police officer, Buck slowly made his way up to the loft, feeling like everyone was looking at him.

"They have any idea what it was that guy threw over you?" Hen called over the back of the couch.

"He said it was piss." Buck replied, thankful they weren't going for the difficult part of the conversation

"Gross." Hen wrinkled her nose. "But at least it was only disgusting and not dangerous."

Buck managed to crack a slight smile at her reaction, and took a seat in one of the chairs. He tried to ignore it, but he could feel Hen, Bobby and Chimney sneaking glances at him.

"I can feel you all looking at me. Just get it over with." Buck sighed.

"We're just concerned about you, Buck." Hen said softly.

"I'm fine." Buck insisted. "It's been ages. And this is why I hid it. Because people get weird about it."

"How long?" Bobby asked.

"Does it matter? It's not like I still do it." Buck was getting defensive, hating that he was being question about such a private part of himself.

"Either you answer our questions, or I'll have to remove you from active duty until you have had a psychiatric evaluation to determine your fitness for duty." Bobby's tone left no room for argument.

"I'm not fucking crazy." Buck burst out.

"No one thinks you're crazy, Buck. We want you to be at your best." Hen moved to his side and took his hand. "But we have seen how badly someone cutting themselves can turn out."

"It's been over two years. It was worst when I was kid." Buck admitted, hoping the little bit of information would satisfy them.

"Okay. If you ever get to that point again, can you just come to one of us? Talk it out and let us help you." Hen offered.

"I'll try."

"That's all we ask for, Buck." Bobby said. "And I'm sorry that this had to be revealed in such a brutal way."

[dio-the-thot-exterminator]

Old Art Archive

Phew we are getting into the big bosses, this is The Master and Pedro :)

AHAHA ok so Pedro literally has nothing on him (the blue one). Like he ever had a design before and this is a newer design. Let me tell you, my co author HATES it, they hate it so much. I was gagged because I thought it’s cute. Anyways my co author didn't give me an alternate design or any real feedback and or criticisms. So, it's going to stay until that happens., which i feel like is never because the bitch cant get their shit together. Ugh.

Honestly Pedro does nothing, he does not serve a purpose in the story other than to be cunty. I wanted Pedro to dress like a pimp because I thought it was funny, but like a real tacky one. Pedro is besties with The Madam and they like to kiki together after work. Everybody loves Pedro. I don't even remember how he got involved with The Company. I think The Madam brought him into it. I want to draw him again, maybe in different clothes. I feel like it’s weird because it’s human clothes, and he does not live in a human world. But I also feel like it would match because it is so weird looking on him.

Moving on. OKAY I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT THE FUCKING NAMES WE GAVE THESE CHARACTERS ARE HORRENDOUS. Like we just pulled up a random name generator and picked ones we thought sounded cool. Which is why The Master is named, “Belladonna Elvira”. I'm sorry I hate myself, i hate myself. How did I let this happen?

Sorry baby you got a doodoo ass name.

The design for The Master pretty much stayed the same because we wanted it to be simple. Black bodysuit, with maybe some cut outs to show skin, It has a mask and red eyes, some nice stompers on and we gotta incorporate chains somewhere. The Master can take any form (i usually have It fem cuz easy to draw). In the redesign I decided to make the bodysuit purple instead of black, and for It to have alt looks, like some with slick back hair and some with curly hair (closer to og). When The Master is working and It wants to wear “human” clothes It usually wears pants (or something easy to move around in). But whenever the lord is around and It wants to impress her, It wears a dress (impressed by Mortica and Angelica). The silver stuff is supposed to be chain accents. I don't think the design is bad...but i still this It looks to human UGGGHH. I’ll figure something out.

Anyways The Master is like... a shapeshifter. And shapeshifters are kind of...really desired. Like people kill over them, and in this world (shapeshifters only appear on land) all shapeshifters get...i guess drafted into the military and become weapons (nonhuman military). The Master did not want this life and basically was on the run until It met The Lord. The Lord basically took It in and The Master fell in love with her. LOL. So The Master is really, REALLY obsessed with the Lord and It just wants the Lord's love. The Master does not believe anyone but the Lord, and does whatever she says. The Masters job in the Company is to go to Earth (and around the other regions, sea, and sky). To spy and kidnap people to bring them back to “The Brothel” (not an actual brothel).

Bruh the Master is fucking UPS. That's all I feel like writing.

Ok BYE.

[bluenightcomedies]

Someone is... very persistently trying to convince me that we're misinterpreting all the toxic red flags I've been pointing out, so how about I list all the stuff they've said and done I consider toxic, and you tell me which are glaring red flags, and which we probably misinterpreted? Be fully honest if we're in the wrong on any or if it depends on context. You don't need to check, if this makes you uncomfortable. (Under readmore as there's triggering content.)

Heads up, they ARE depressed and have an abusive history themselves, which they monologue about every time I try to confront what they've been doing, which is why I'm not going to publicly say who they are unless they give me no choice, but I don't feel it's anywhere near a good reason for how they act and the stubborn refusal to fix anything, expecting other people to accommodate them instead. ~Starry 1. "I do so many things for my friends, but they're ungrateful and selfish because they don't talk or do as much as I do, and I know they're just making excuses when they say they're busy." 2. *makes constant comments about suicide and wanting to die despite telling them that it's mentally-draining* "...just kidding! Why are you upset? I said I was kidding! That makes it okay!" 3. -after we say something intended to be positive and a compliment- "You're just making fun of me, stop doing that. Apologize!" -when we say it was completely unironic- "No, you're making excuses and justifications. You need to apologize to me, I'm not budging until you do." 4. -when i take offense to something they said, such as all their friends being useless/boring to them, insert one of the following at random:- "Why are you taking that personally? I didn't mean you even though I said all of my friends." "You're just misinterpreting it!" (Refuses to explain what else that could possibly mean) "Well, it's the truth and I'm justified in saying it." 5. -says various fucked up things about how they "really feel" about me or their friends -when i distance myself from them and trust them less because of that- "…that was a lie/joke/made up because I wanted to get back at you for arguing with me, why are you taking it at face value? You should be able to tell them apart! 5.5. -during the rare few times they admit their actions might be interpreted as toxic- "Well, it feels like they're doing it to me first/expect them to treat me badly so I'll preemptively treat them this way until they stop and do things I'm comfortable with, even if they're not comfortable with it, since I deserve it more." 6. "Let me send you a gift/send you money! I just want to be nice! I know you're uncomfortable with it, but I want to so I can feel helpful!" -after the ONE time I let them gift me something- "....so when are you going to give me something back?" (and brings this up again for months straight or even use it to guilt trip how I'm not doing My Part) 7. -brings up that i've been hospitalized as an explanation why i'm going quiet- for the next few days: "...so when are you going to apologize to me for [latest argument about No.3]?" 8. -makes new alt after i block them out of exhaustion- "No, you're trying to escape your responsibility, you're the one causing problems, you should be trying to fix this!" 9. Threatening to double down on the toxicity and say things 'that will actually hurt you' to prove that they're not actually being toxic at the moment. 10. In the same vein, trying to be edgy and push it when I said they're part of why our mental health is plummeting to suicidal levels, even going as far as to threaten our mutual friend next. (with screenshots!)

11. Insist that I'm misinterpreting and twisting things out of context when I list the things they've done to us, refuse to explain how or what they actually mean, condescend that I'm being irrational and emotional with classics like "Do you need me to wait until you cool down?" or "If you want you can reflect on it and once your calmed down. Then we can talk." 12. Insist we don't involve anyone else when I decide I want to get a third party option on if we're the one in the wrong, insisting ourfriends would be biased but also refuse to let me talk to anyone they know, other than the one mutual friend who also believes they're being toxic.

[broodwolf221]

been talking theories with @arlathvhenan and i think i've firmed up my personal theory re: the titans/the forgotten ones. that said... i'm not suggesting this is Canon or will be, more like it's an interpretation, one i happen to be RLY into.

the forgotten ones are spirits

the forgotten ones ARE the titans

solas - fen'harel - alone could travel between the two

solas is a forgotten one - and thus, a titan. more on how the fuck this can POSSIBLY work coming up!

the "song" the dwarves hear is the titans' heartbeat, drawing them towards lyrium veins

lyrium is the titans' blood

judging from the mural in trespasser, something was removed from the center of a titan

titans have hearts

hearts full of blue lyrium 'blood'

say the evanuris removed a titans' heart, killing it in an attempt to gain its power

they brought it to the surface

where the blue lyrium turned red and corrupted

symbolism moment: when human blood meets air, it turns from blue to red (this is not actually accurate, but is a common misconception and could still easily figure into symbolism)

the corruption sank into the evanuris

red lyrium is the source of blight

a murdered titan - a murdered forgotten one - is the source of blight

even wrt the line about andruil bringing the blight back from the abyss, it still kinda tracks. if andruil brought the heart up herself, she might have been the first one to be affected by it

slight alt: if andruil attacked a titan but didn't kill it, its blood could've gotten on her first - maybe that's what drives her "mad," why mythal takes the knowledge of the abyss from her?

given lore, the forgotten ones can and do appear on the surface, looking something like ancient elves. maybe not their specific features, ears, etc., but not omg that's a titan wtf

if they were spirits, i'd argue they could create forms which allowed them to roam aboveground

OR: alt. version i prefer:

spirits are not JUST spirits but spirit/demons. two halves that are natural sides to one whole. what if the 'small' form forgotten ones took held one aspect, while the 'large' (titan) form held another? ie, a spirit walks while a demon is underground, or vice versa? nothing bad about it, just a natural facet of their being

pre-veil, switching facets was easily done

post-veil, perhaps they're locked in place. whatever was in whichever body remains, cut off from its other half

in which case... solas, the solas we know, is either pride or wisdom, with his other half sealed away in a titan deep underground

so: which is he? he's gentle, so my gut instinct is to say wisdom, but...

he calls himself solas. he calls himself pride. he has a plan that will restructure the entire world and the confidence to carry it through.

i suggest: solas is pride. he's a demon. but not in the sense that it's a bad thing, in the sense that it's a natural aspect of who he is in full. im NOT saying he's evil or secretly evil or anything. i AM saying he is pride.

his line to the inquisitor, about him not wanting them to see what he becomes? he's trying to become whole. and he probably doesn't know what that will mean, who - or what - he'll become.

he is the six-eyed wolf. he is the pride demon. he's not searching for that, that's him. he's searching for wisdom, for his other half, for the part of him that's been sleeping all this time

after he brings down the veil he gets to become whole again

[waitingforwinterwinds]

ASOS; Steel and Snow: 11 JAIME II (pages 146-160)

The BROad-trip continues as the team finds an inn along the river, where they pick up some local gossip and some horses to continue the journey overland.

-

"Did you kill them?" "Would i tell you if I did?" The man spat. "Likely it were wolves' work, or lions, what's the difference? The wife and i found them dead. The way we see it, this place is ours now."

And ain't that just a summary of it all: the smallfolk don't know or care who's responsible, all they know is someone in charge is killing them, and they're left to scrape up a life in the aftermath as best they can.

... omg, Brienne and Jaime getting the vibes, meanwhile Cleos is all 'la-lala-lala, what a lovely inn, time for a kip~"

idjit.

Cleos, you bring down the IQ of the entire party... he's going to get himself killed, isn't he? I can half imagine this as a tabletop, and the player just "it's what my character would do" attitude, while everyone else throws scrunched up note paper and "stop trying to get us killed in the first session!"

"He may have been lying about the river as well, to put us on these horses," the wench said, "but I could not take the risk. There will be soldiers at the ruby ford and the crossroads."

ruby = 🥛 I'm thirsty, so it counts.

Jaime! stahhhhp. Stop thinking mean things about Brienne!

"- Aerys had Ser Ilyn Payne's tongue torn out just for boasting that it was the hand who truly ruled the Seven Kingdoms. the captain of the Hand's guard, and yet father dared not try and stop it. -"

Ohhhhh, so that's what happened to his tongue and why.

"Tell me true, one kingslayer to another - did the Starks pay you to slit his throat, or was it Stannis? (...) Or perhaps your moon's blood was on you. Never give a wench a sword when she's bleeding."

*smacks Jaime with the steel chair* be thankful I'm not hitting you harder Mr. PMS jokes. And the only reason for that, by the way, is because I'm aware you're deflecting from your own trauma and guilt re: killing Aerys. You chose a shitty way to go about it though. Stop it.

I feel like I'm becoming more liberal with the application of chair as we go on. This series has changed me. (joking)

But when he closed his eyes, it was Aerys Targaryen he saw, pacing alone in his throne room, picking at his scabbed and bleeding hands. The fool was always cutting himself on the blades and barbs of the Iron Throne.

"Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the silly sword-chair, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."

Yeah, and the silly sword-chair doesn't like you, Aerys!

I do like that the people who do get cut all seem to be the kind of folks who you'd think "oh of course they're unworthy, they are selfish and cruel" when you hear they get cut, and it perpetuates the idea that the Throne cuts the unworthy.

But also, the only real time we've seen that thought from someone on the Throne was from Ned, and he was well aware how dangerous the chair was.

... Jaime needs therapy for what happened during the rebellion, and probably before that as well.

They broke their fast on oatcakes , alt fish, and some blackberries that Ser Cleos had found, and were back in the saddle before the sun came up.

I don't know that I'd trust berries from Ser Cleos, he doesn't seem that bright. (I'm being mean, I'm aware.)

Luckily (fun fact incoming) there's a good chance the berries are fine.

Fun Fact:

While roughly 50% of red berries are poisonous, 90% of blue/black/purple skinned berries are edible.