#wiki is based on me roughly

[dameronspector]

Getaway Car (Part 2)

Pairing: Manny Alvarez x GN!Reader, Joel Miller x Platonic!reader, Ellie Williams x Platonic!Reader

Summary: After a tough escape to Jackson, you end up getting taken in by none other than Joel Miller. Still hurt by Manny's actions and the heartbreak, you discover for the first time what it means to be surrounded by family since you were 14 years old. And you'd do anything to save this family, but you were still holding out hope for your love to come back home.

Warnings: Cursing, Angst, Hurt/Comfort from Joel, Joel is a father to Reader, Reader misses Manny so much, Mentions of Depression and Panic Attacks, Death, Blood, Gore, Starvation, Joel Miller Is Saved, Reader hates Abby and the group, Manny begs for forgiveness, reunions, that’s all i think!

AN: this part includes: how did Reader build relationships with joel, Ellie and the others. And ofcourse the incident and how Reader saves joel. I’m deciding to split this into three parts now because this is just inspiring me sm. (Sorry if this isnt good I’m editing this at 4 am help)

PS: I don't know anything about the game, my characterisation is based off the wiki information, the show and my own imagination. Plus, I headcanoned the QZ where they first met as Miami because that's Danny's hometown.

Somewhere near Jackson, 2023

You don’t know where you are or what day it was- all you knew that you had to keep going—you had to keep moving and stay vigilant. Max, your beloved horse, was a strong and supportive companion in your lonely journey. You thought he might’ve sensed your heart ache somehow as he would nuzzle closer to you every time you touched foreheads. In return, you made sure to find food and shelter for him, if not for you, as you were too depressed and tired to think about your own health.

Travelling solo across the country was triggering, as you were reminded of the time that you were on the run with your parents. And since then, you were always accompanied by Manny or the others. When you camped down at night, you kept yourself awake by revisiting all the happy moments with your Manny or by crying over him. The way he caressed your head when you were sleeping, the way he held your hands, the way he would crack jokes to cheer you up, his stories from back home—everything. You missed his scent, you missed that he wasn’t here to warm you up in the biting cold at night. You knew he must be losing his mind right now, the inability to protect you and not being able to see you making him insane. But you also knew you had to do this. For you, and as a human being.

The journey wasn't easy. You had some encounters with clickers and managed to roughly escape some raiders with minimal injuries. You tried your best not to stay at one place for a long time and even if you did, you would either hide out in high rise buildings or abandoned homes. Somewhere that had four walls to protect you and Max. Camping out in the open sent your mind went into overdrive as even the smallest of sounds sent you over the edge. So you tried your best to avoid open spaces. All of this was taking a toll on you mentally as you grew more and more paranoid, Manny’s smiling face in the back of your mind was the only thing that kept you alive.

According to the map, you were closer to Jackson now, the thought keeping you motivated to keep pushing. You hadn’t had a proper meal in days. You felt dehydrated and hungry, the feeling of exhaustion taking you back to when you were 14. You tried focusing your eyes in front of you, lazily guiding Max, but you could feel that fuzzy feeling in your head, your eyes slipping shut and your hands constantly dropping the reins, the crisp and cold air making it harder to focus. Max nodded his head and tried to get your attention with a grunt, but you were too far gone and you eventually passed out against his mane, leaving him grunting and neighing, standing still on the spot until he heard someone approach.

Jackson, 2023

“Joel! I see a horse!”, Ellie yelled out to get Joel’s attention. Joel rushed over to Ellie’s side. “You see someone on it?” “I don’t think so, can’t see properly from here.”

Joel nodded and slowly made his way over to the horse, his gun raised and a hand asking Ellie to stay behind the bushes. As he approached the horse, he noticed how the horse kept nodding his head and tried to turn his head behind, as if asking Joel to look over there. Joel held out a hand to soothe the horse and that’s when he noticed someone passed out on the horse’s back.

“Hey, easy, easy. That’s it, that’s a good boy”, he cooed to the horse to calm him down and walked over to check on you. You looked…bad, to put it simply. Your skin was pale, clothes dirtied and you looked sickly because of the lack of food and water. Joel furrowed his eyebrows- he could tell you had come alone, all the way to Jackson, from somewhere far and he understood that the moment he took a look at you. You carried a single backpack, probably filled with essentials only, no visible weapons on you or anything suspicious. You looked young, Joel noted- must be in your late 20s.

Joel stuffed his gun back into the holster and shook you by the shoulders, “Hey- hey, kid? You okay?” You stirred a little at his voice but you were so weak that you slipped from the saddle. Joel immediately caught you in his arms and carefully got you down from the horse. “Fuck- hey-Ellie!”, Joel grunted out. Ellie rushed out from her hiding place and came over to support your legs and helped Joel lift you in his arms.

“Shit, are they okay?”, Ellie asked in concern, taking in your pale and fragile form. Your head lolled into Joel’s chest and he let out a sigh.

“No idea. Likely dehydrated and passed out from exhaustion. Don’t see any injuries or nothin’”, eyebrows furrowed in concern, Joel looked you over once again. You stirred lightly against him, your eyes blearily opened and tried to focus on the person holding you. “Manny…”, you slurred out, Joel strained his good ear to hear you clearly, but to no avail as you were delirious and your speech unclear.

“They’re out of it. We need to take ‘em to the clinic right away. You take the horse to the stables, have him checked, okay?”, Joel instructed Ellie and she nodded her head before carefully taking away Max with her. Joel hoisted you up in his arms and made his way over to the clinic.

-

You woke up to a persistent beeping. The first things you noticed were that your head was pounding, your body aching all over, mouth feeling like someone had stuffed cotton in it and you felt a soft surface under your body. Opening your heavy eyes took a lot of effort, your vision blurry and your mind confused about your whereabouts. When you finally managed to focus your eyes, you noticed the room you were in, it looked like a hospital room and you were lying on a bed. Your initial reaction was to panic, thinking the Fireflies or FEDRA managed to capture you somehow. Your heart rate shot up on the monitor and the nurse came over to soothe you, “it’s okay, relax. You’re safe, I promise.”

You opened your mouth and winced at how dry it was, licking your dry lips to get some moisture back. The nurse seemed to notice this and offered you a glass of water, which you drank gratefully. “Where….am I?”, you managed to croak out in a scratchy voice. The nurse gave you a sympathetic smile, “You’re in Jackson, sweetheart. You were out for a full day.”

You paused. You reached Jackson? You actually managed to reach Jackson? Your eyes immediately filled up with tears out of relief. And then you remembered Max. “M-my, my horse? Where is he? Is he okay-” “Yes, he’s alright! We got him checked, he’s healthy. Joel and Ellie saved you, honey. You looked very weak, they found you passed out on your horse. Thank god Joel decided to bring you here right away”, the nurse struck an idle conversation while she checked your vitals.

You froze. Joel saved you? The person whose arms you felt was him?

“W-where is he?”, you whispered. “Ah, must be home right now. He was here to check on you this morning. He’s said he will come back before dinner. And what’s your name, honey?”

You swallowed, your throat swelling up with emotion and gratitude. “Okay, thank you. I’m (Name)”, you replied to the nurse in a soft voice. She flashed you a smile and went back to writing something on her writing pad. You promptly fell asleep after that conversation, your body too exhausted to stay up.

-

The next time you opened your eyes, they fell on a shadow of a man next to you. For a moment, your foolish heart jumped, thinking it’s Manny but once you focused clearly on the man, you realised he wasn’t. Tall even when sitting, broad shoulders covered by a flannel, hair cropped yet messy, his face was handsome- aquiline nose looked like it was made especially for him, lines of age and gray hair marked his hair and stubble. He suddenly snapped his head up to look at you and your eyes were captivated by the brown pools of his eyes, their colour as rich as coffee and the way they shined with warmth and sadness at the same time.

“Oh, you’re up. How you feelin’ now?”, his low baritone echoed in the empty room. Your face must’ve expressed confusion and he cleared his throat to introduce himself, “Sorry, ‘m Joel. Found you by the perimeter fencing. And don’t worry, your horse is safe in the stable”, he reassured you in his smooth voice. Your eyes widened in realisation, “Joel?”, you breathed out, “T-thank you for saving my life. I’m sorry for coming into your town like that but I had no other option. I just- thank you, Joel.”

Joel’s face flashed with surprise. For someone who was probably traumatised from the journey, you were a very courteous person. Joel was kind of impressed and suspicious of your attitude. He’s had enough experience to know the cheap tactics of enemies, acting kind at first and striking later was a classic move. But he didn’t get that vibe from you. Here you were, exhausted and grateful with tears in your eyes, miles away from home and yet you looked like you wanted to be here.

Joel nodded his head, a look passing over his eyes, “Yeah. You rest now. The doctor said you’ll be discharged by today evening. You can ask the nurse if you wanna get somethin’ to eat, she’ll tell you the directions. And uh, you’ll have to debrief with Maria, the council head. Nothin’ serious, just normal stuff like where’d you come from n’ all that. Okay?”

Your face twisted in stress, the thought of going out in a community and facing people while knowing that you’re an Ex-Firefly was enough to send you into a panic attack. You weren’t sure how to proceed with this information and how would you talk to Joel about it. They’d shoot you then and there, you’re sure of that. Joel seemed to have sensed this, “Hey, kid, relax. Nobody’s gonna hurt ya. I’ll come with you, if you want. I’ll send Ellie to keep you company till then, okay?”, Joel tried to soothe you. You swallowed painfully, your throat still scratchy, and offered him a short nod.

-

Joel left your room and Ellie took over his place. You liked her right away, she was a really lovely and funny girl and so helpful, you thought you’d already made a friend in her. She helped you get discharged and kept you distracted with her idle chatter. “You wanna get something to eat? We can go to the canteen to have something, it’s dinner time anyway. Or you can come over to our-Joel’s house and eat there? He’s asked me to keep an eye on you, so”, she asked casually while helping you walk out of the room.

“Um-I don’t really want to…eat in front of everyone”, you replied hesitantly with a hoarse voice. You haven’t talked much since you got here. Ellie looked at you with sympathy, she understood that you felt uncomfortable to be around so many people after being alone for days. “Yeah, of course. I’ll drop you off at his house and get a plate for you, that okay?”. You nodded your head tersely.

The two of you made your way out of the clinic and a shadow appeared next to you. “How’re you feeling, kid?” Joel.

You looked up at him and gave him a weak smile. “I’m okay.”

“You goin’ somewhere?”, he asked Ellie and she explained that you weren't comfortable with eating in the canteen and wanted to be somewhere away from judging eyes. He seemed to contemplate for a moment before offering, “If ya want, you can come to my house. You'd give company to Ellie as well”, he mumbled that last part and looked at Ellie with hope in his eyes. Ellie side eyed him and shifted her gaze away, focusing on the street in front of her. Your eyebrows quirked in interest and you paused, is Ellie the same girl..?

You looked at him solemnly. “Is that okay with you? I can totally just eat in the canteen, I don’t mind”, you rushed to add, not wanting to impose in anyway. Ellie looked you and shot you a shocked smile, not expecting the formality, they didn’t see that often. Joel gave you a small nod. “Yeah, that’s okay. C’mon.”

Ellie left you with Joel and walked away to get you a plate of food. Joel watched her go in worry for a moment, and you two began walking towards his house. They had finally given you some layers to put on, the autumn breeze was crisp, making your face cold in a pleasant way. Joel didn’t talk much, only speaking when spoken to or when he had to lay out any information, and you were glad for it. Your mind was too noisy to make any conversation right now and your eyes were too busy taking in Jackson. This was an actual town. You still couldn’t believe it. The people, the laughter of children, smoke coming out of chimneys, wires overhead, a constant mumble of chatter around you- your ears were ringing. You haven’t heard or seen such a normal and mundane scene in years.

The wonder and overwhelm must’ve been clearly visible on your face because it got a chuckle out of Joel. You turned your head to look at him. “Swear Ellie had that exact same look on her face when we walked through the gates.” You froze at his words. If Ellie was with him when he came here, then- oh god. She was the girl who Jerry was operating on. You felt bile rise up your throat. She was so young. The gravity of the situation hit you harder and you felt your insides curl with anger at the Fireflies, at the WLF, at Abby and at...Manny.

You forced yourself to let out a chuckle, your cheeks warming up from embarrassment. “Haven’t seen so much…life around me before. I swear I might even hear the electricity buzzing through the wires”, you joked lightly. Joel gave you a half smile, “Yeah, I get that. We jus' got here as well, few weeks ago.” You swallowed in guilt at that but also grateful that him and Ellie could escape Salt Lake and settle down here. “Yeah? That’s-that’s great. I’m glad you found a place to settle down”, you replied in a quiet voice and Joel stared at you in question, sensing a slight change in your mood. He decided to let it go and chalked it up to you still recovering.

You two finally reached his house and you took a moment to just stand on the driveway to stare at it. This was a whole, functioning house. An actual house that wasn’t just a hideout or a shelter or some dilapidated building. A house that looked like someone lived in it and that sent a pang through your heart, wishing you had Manny next to you. This should’ve been you and Manny entering your own house, him cracking jokes and flirting with you while your giggles echoed through the garden. You don’t even know where he is right now or if he was even alive. That thought made your eyes well up with tears and your chest hurt.

Joel turned around to see that you had stood still on the driveway, seemingly in a trance. Eyes shining with tears, you couldn’t avert your gaze from the house. Joel furrowed his eyebrows. You were so out of it since you got here, not even speaking a word to anyone or complaining about anything, Joel thought that you must’ve experienced something so numbing that you had lost all your energy and spark—he could relate to that. The way you kept making them comfortable as if you weren’t the one who was new to their town and as if you didn’t need care, almost made him laugh, in a good way. You were a good kid, he thought, feeling his fatherly instincts take over. He made his way over to you to shake you out of your trance.

“(Name)?”, he lightly shook you by the shoulders and you jumped. He raised his hands up and stepped back from you. “It’s okay, we’re here. This is my house. You wanna come in?”. You blinked your eyes rapidly to get rid of the tears and curtly nodded your head, making your way towards his living room.

You got hit by a comforting warmth and a smell of coffee as soon as you stepped foot into his house. The dark interior making it look cosy, like a library. There were several paintings hung around the house and it was decorated in little knick knacks, the dining table and coffee table having two forgotten cups each and a blanket thrown over the couch. It was home. And you didn’t know him, but it somehow screamed Joel.

You took a deep breath in, inhaling the comforting scent of coffee and wood and closed your eyes in contentment. After living an unstable and rough life since you were 14, you finally had a place where you could be you. The apocalypse was still out there, but here? Here, you could pretend that everything was okay and here, you could wait for your love to come back home. Joel noticed your reaction and his eyes shined with sympathy, tossing a small smile towards your way.

"Uh-after you have your dinner, we'll have to drop you off at the courthouse right away. That okay?", Joel asked you, breaking you out of your trance. You nodded and he spoke up again. "I didn't ask before but, where'd you come from?"

You stiffened up. You weren't going to drop a bomb on him right away so you decided to lie, you knew you would regret this later because Joel was too sharp to miss it. "I-I’m from the Miami QZ. Before coming to Jackson, I was at the Denver QZ", you confessed shakily.

Joel furrowed his eyebrows in shock. "You came all the way from Miami and Denver alone? That's halfway across the country", he questioned you gruffly. You swallowed thickly, this was a mistake. Joel was way too wise and experienced to catch your lie, you knew that. "Uh-yeah. I mean- I was alone from Denver. Left behind the group I was travelling with…we had left Miami a few months ago for Denver."

Joel narrowed his eyes at you, "A group? Why would you leave your group behind?"

You cleared your throat before answering, "Well, I wanted something else. Didn't agree with their ways, so I decided to move on", you shrugged, your hands clenched in tight fists. Joel stared you down with that steely gaze of his and you almost faltered before he nodded his head. “Alright, well, Settle down.”

-

After Ellie came back, you had your food and you ate it in silence, minus the chatter and questions from Ellie. You noticed some tension between her and Joel but kept quiet because you had just met them. She asked you your name, where you were from, how did you find Jackson, and so on and you answered her questions sincerely, hiding some of the facts for now. She was such a curious kid, it made you sad to even think that if it wasn’t for Joel, she wouldn’t have been here. Her infectious energy even made someone as stoic as Joel let out some chuckles. You felt a clear bond between the two- Joel always looked at her with so much care and love that it made you jealous. You haven’t had a parental figure to look over you since you were 14. You missed them. You blinked away the tears and focused on your food before they walked you to the town courthouse.

There were 6-7 people sitting on the panel. And you assumed that the two people sitting in the middle were the heads of the council. “(Name)?”, the dark-skinned woman sitting in the middle addressed you. You squeezed your fingers together, shifted nervously in the chair. Clearing your throat, you finally spoke up, “Yes.”

“I’m Maria, Head Counselor of Jackson. This is Tommy and the rest of the council. We just want to ask you a few questions about you and how you came across Jackson, is that okay?” Your eyebrows raised in recognition, so this was Maria. You nodded and Maria begun, “Can you state your full name and age?”, you gave her your full name and age and observed as she wrote it down.

“Okay, do you mind telling us where are you from?”

“Yes, I-I was originally from the Miami QZ. But, had to move to Denver a few months ago due to overpopulation in the zone”, you confessed as if you had practiced this lie. Maria nodded her head but her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Wait, you traveled across the country alone?”

“No, I had a group with me from Miami to Denver. But I left them behind in Denver because I didn’t agree with their ways and I had learned about Jackson. Was tired of being on the run so…thought I might as well move on.”

The man next to her, Tommy, leaned forward and stared at you in question. You couldn’t help but notice that he looked a lot like Joel and Manny. “You sure you came here just to settle? No people following you or any other motives?”, his gruff voice echoed in the room.

You shook your head vehemently, “No! I came here alone and in peace. I just want a place to stay, lost my parents when I was 14 so I haven’t had a proper home or stable life since then. I totally understand if you don’t trust me but, I promise, I came here in peace”, you confessed truthfully. While yes, you had omitted certain parts of your life but you did want to escape to Jackson to live a peaceful life, hopefully with Manny, but you weren’t sure when would that wish come true. You didn’t tell them about the situation with Abby yet because you needed to talk to Joel, directly first. Involving the council meant you had to go through ‘legal’ processes and you didn’t need all that, nor did you have the energy for it.

Tommy looked at you for a moment before nodding his head in agreement and Maria let out a sigh. “Okay, we’ll have to check your pack before we hand it back to you. I’ll help you pick out a house after we’re done renovating. Till then, you can stay with Joel, if you want”, Maria offered. You simply nodded your head and they excused you. You couldn’t believe it- you were a member of this community now, you were torn between crying in happiness and sorrow. Ellie dropped you off at the house before promptly leaving to hang out with her friends.

There was a pit in your stomach because of the lies that you told in the court but you had decided that you would speak to Joel right away. You stepped into the living room and called out for him, “Joel?”, you walked over to the hallway and called out once more, “Joel? Are you home?”, you noticed a door that was ajar and peeped through it to see Joel sitting a desk, head lowered and hands working on something.

You knocked at the door twice, but didn’t get any response. You furrowed your brows and decided to approach him instead, “Joel?”, he flinched and reached for a tool before he noticed you and put the tool down before letting out a sigh. “Sorry! I’m so sorry, I-i called you out twice and knocked on the door but you didn’t hear me I-” “s’okay, kid. Sat with the bad ear facing the door, not your fault.”

You grimaced. “Bad ear?”

“Yeah, apparently using a gun too many times can do that to your ears”, Joel scoffed and reached for the sanding paper to sand the sculpture in his hands. Your eyes widened in realisation, he was deaf in an ear- no wonder why he didn’t hear you.

Your attention spanned to his work bench. It was littered with wood, tools for woodwork, and a few sketches splayed across the table. “You’re a sculptor?”, you asked in interest, leaning closer to watch his skilled hands work.

Joel let out a breathy chuckle. “Somethin’ like that. Was a contractor back in the day. Noticed some wood lyin' around here and thought I might as well make somethin' out of it. Works as a distraction too."

Your mouth took an 'o' shape as you watched him sand down the sculpture. You smiled to yourself, finding it endearing that someone as gruff as Joel made sculptures in his free time to keep himself busy.

"Why'd you ask for me?", his voice snapped you out of your thoughts. You straightened up and cleared your throat. "Joel, there's something you should know. I needed to tell it to you first", you confessed in a quiet voice, your face twisted in pain like you were dreading this conversation. You noticed how Joel's body visibly stiffened and he turned his attention back to you, his sharp gaze judging you. "What is it?"

You swallowed thickly and shut your eyes. "You can kick me out if you want to but I—I used to be a Firefly. I was stationed at St. Mary's", your voice slipping into a whisper by the end of the sentence, not needing to elaborate further as Joel's eyes widened and his heart pounded against his chest. He knew what you were referencing. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into a fist.

"What the fuck are you doin' here? You came here to take her away? To leak whatever information they want? Get out of my house before I-" "No! No, please. Joel, listen to me. I promise, I didn't come here to harm you or Ellie, I swear. Just- hear me out, please", you begged him, your hands stretched out in a placating gesture. Joel clenched his jaw and observed you closely. You weren't carrying any weapons or anything, might as well give you a chance to explain yourself. He nodded at you to continue, and you let out a sigh of relief, your eyes burning with tears.

"Joel, I admit I was a Firefly. But, I don't do that anymore. Not after I found out what they were gonna do to Ellie. It's why I left them and came here, alone. I swear, they abandoned me the moment I disagreed with their plan I-"

"What plan?", Joel asked sharply.

You took a deep breath in and told him the truth, "Joel, they want to kill you. They will come for you. That doctor you killed? He was the father of one of my group members. She's- Joel, she's gone insane. Blinded by rage and vengeance. She's manipulated the whole group into seeking you out and killing you. I couldn't sit and watch so I took out information from the nurses you spared and I left overnight", your voice wavering because of the lump in your throat.

Joel stared at you in disbelief, "Why would they not follow you? Why are you doing this for us? We ain't even know you", he questioned you, unable to understand your motive.

Your face scrunched up in pain, "Because, The Fireflies killed my parents!", you cried out and Joel froze. "Because they keep hurting innocent people and I've been trying to bring them down since I was 14, Joel. They manipulated me into joining them after they killed my parents in front of me. I-I've saved countless of their victims before but if i had stayed back anymore, I would've been killed or abandoned for disagreeing with them or disobeying protocol. When I heard what they did to Ellie...i felt sick and disgusted with myself", you confessed before running a hand across your face to calm yourself down, "And no, they wouldn't follow me because...because someone close to me will cover up for me. But, that doesn't mean they won't find you. The nurses already told them some information on you. Their only aim is to hurt you, to kill you", you let out in a breath.

Joel was standing so still, that you thought he'd stopped breathing. He knew his luck would run out someday, his demons coming back to hurt him but hearing it from you, a stranger, made it very real. He thought of that day in the hospital and he thought about your story. You were nothing less than a guardian angel for him, he was in awe of your perseverance and the humanity that you possessed, to try and bring an evil organisation to an end since you were Ellie's age. Then, he thought of all the nasty work he's done in the past and thought- he doesn't deserve your kindness. That maybe, he's had it coming for a long time and he should just accept it.

He swallowed thickly and responded in a hoarse voice, "Don't tell any of this to Ellie. I'll figure somethin' out. Thank you for telling me the truth, you didn't have to."

You stared at him dumbfounded, "What? Joel-" "She'll lose her damn mind and stop talking to me altogether, I know. But still, don't tell this to anybody, y'hear me? This'll stay between you and me. I won't tell about your past to anyone else either", Joel pleaded in a soft voice.

You stared at him in confusion, your eyes shining with unshed tears and you reluctantly agreed to his conditions. What Joel didn't know, was that you were going to save him from Abby, no matter how much he refused to be saved.

-

Jackson, 2025

It's been 2 years since you were officially a Jackson resident. There were days where you still couldn't believe that this was your life now. You slept on an actual bed, had proper meals, had good clothes to wear, you woke up every morning and met with people, with families, around you, attended community dinners and events- it was surreal. You had a family of your own now-Joel, Ellie, Tommy, Maria, Dina, Jesse and the newest addition to the family- little Benji Miller.

You spent your days either looking after Benji, helping around town or going on patrols with the others. Joel even taught you some wood carving and it helped to bring you and him closer. Soon enough, you looked up to him as a father figure, the way he would fuss over Ellie making you crave that parental affection. He was a natural at that, being a father, his caring and doting side slipping through that cold and gruff exterior naturally. He'd bring you coffee, you'd accompany him on patrols where you jeered with each other, he'd teach you the guitar, you'd go on walks with him- like a normal father and child would.

After that confession, you were sure that you Joel would stop talking to you. But instead, he asked you to move into his house and Ellie was over the moon. She'd spend most of her time with you or her other friends, chatting away or helping with tasks around the town. Very soon, you had found out that her and Joel weren't on good terms ever since Salt Lake and it made you feel guilty that you were somehow connected to that. Joel never brought up that fateful day, trying to bury it ten feet under and asking you to do the same.

As days passed, you found out that Tommy was actually Joel's younger brother and him and Maria were married with a baby on the way. It made you tear up, happy that Joel and Ellie had a family of their own and made your chest hurt in heart break. Joel also shared that he had a daughter that he lost on the day of the outbreak. It made your heart break for him even more and made you understand why he was so protective of Ellie.

It's been two years since you left Manny and you still broke down in his memory. You would never get over it, you were sure of that, for he was such a huge part of your life that it was impossible to forget him and he always left an impact on people with his charm. You often found yourself zoning out and refusing to leave your room, your body numb with the pain in your heart. Joel managed to coax you out most days, Ellie dragging you out the others, but you'd be functioning like a robot. They didn't know why you acted the way you did, assuming it was just because you missed home, but still, they tried to keep you alive. Today was another day like that—you were standing on the porch, holding a hot mug of coffee in hand, staring blankly at the trees lining Joel's fence.

"Good mornin', Kiddo", Joel's quiet yet gruff voice mumbled next to you. You jumped and snapped out of your trance turning to face Joel. "Morning, old man", you threw a smirk at his way, him rolling his eyes in return.

"Ellie..?", he trailed off and looked at the garage longingly. Oh yeah, Ellie recently moved all of her stuff in the garage and has been avoiding Joel like the plague now. You saw the way his heart broke at that, everyday he looked at the garage door with sadness and disappointment lining his features and it broke your heart to see him like that. You had asked him if he wanted you to talk to Ellie but he'd politely shut you down.

"No, Joel. She's gone with Jesse and the others already", you let out an apologetic sigh. He blinked rapidly to get rid of the tears and bit the inside of his cheek. Your heart twisted in empathy for him. "I see...well, how're you? Feelin' alright?"

You pressed your lips into a thin line and turned your attention back to the trees, "I guess." Joel stared at you for a moment before letting out a sigh and sipping his coffee. "Have you ever been in love, Joel?", you asked him quietly.

He froze before inhaling deeply. "Well, there was Sarah's mom. Then, there was Sarah. She was my everything, my whole world revolved around her", he chuckled softly. "I...there was someone but...lost her when we were on our way to Jackson", he admitted quietly. You looked at him with sadness coating your tone, "How did you get over the pain? How did you forget them and move on?"

Joel's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't forget them. They're always in your heart, even if you can't see them. It's their memory that keeps you going", he replied carefully.

"It hurts to remember, Joel", you whimpered. Joel straightened up, alarmed at your sudden display of emotions, and laid a strong hand on your shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong? You wanna talk about it?"

You looked up at him with your tears in your eyes and sniffled. "I- i loved- love someone. But he betrayed me and I left him behind to come to Jackson. We were supposed to spend the rest of our lives here. I don't even know if he's alive now", you broke down in a sob towards the end of that sentence.

Joel's eyes flashed with empathy and he brought you close in a hug, caging you in his safe arms, your head pressed to his chest and whispered a simple reassurance, "Don’t jump to conclusions, Kid. It's okay, let it out.” You hugged him tighter and let out all the bottled up emotions that were choking you for the last 2 years.

Jackson, 2029

Joel was your surrogate father, at this point. Comforting you every time you burst into tears after missing Manny or patching you up after a bad patrol. At first you thought he was just filling up the space that Ellie left in his heart by taking care of you. But one night, he confessed to you that if Sarah was around, she’d be exactly like you and that made you cry like a baby, your arms thrown around Joel and him comforting you like your father would. You had started to jokingly call him ‘Pops’, enjoying the annoyed grunt he would give in return.

You had gotten closer to Tommy and Maria as well, Benji taking a special liking to you since you basically babysat him ever since he was a year old. You were basically a Miller now, Ellie was too, just a little distant and you tried to reassure Joel about it everytime. He thought you didn’t see his sad little face around her, but you did and you subtly tried to distract him by poking fun at him.

It had been tense at the Miller house since last night. Joel and Ellie got into a little disagreement at the New Years Party to which, you had a little disagreement with Ellie because you didn’t like her reaction. Joel was just trying to help her, you’d never forget that look of embarrassment and hurt on his face after she yelled at him, which lead to you telling her to get it to together (do not put a teenager and a 30 year old in a room together). After that altercation, you left the party to follow Joel to the house and gave him company, him strumming the guitar while you read your book and chatted to him idly.

Come morning, you knew something was wrong the moment you woke up. You were supposed to patrol with Jesse but Ellie would be joining you because Joel let her sleep in and went on patrol with Dina instead. It would be awkward with Ellie joining you but you couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was going to happen today.

-

And something did happen today.

Actually, what didn’t happen today would be a better question. Jackson was hit with the worst blizzard it had ever experienced in the last 5 years. And you, Jesse and Ellie were stuck in the middle of it, your radio signals complete busted. Jesse managed to find a rundown 7/11 and you three took shelter in it. You holed your horses into a nearby stable and hid away in the 7/11 for god knows how long. It was then that your radios were suddenly firing away, Amy shouting into it.

“Joel—Dina—-seen them?”

You and Ellie exchanged a look and rushed to stand close to the radio. Jesse picked up the radio and yelled in it for someone to reply before Ellie snatched it from his hands. Ellie asked what happened and you caught Amy’s broken words- Joel and Dina were both missing. You and Ellie were panicking, rushing out of the store to grab your horses. Jesse tried to ask about the directions but Ellie simply told him to go Southwest while you and her would be going Northwest.

Ellie and you rode your horses like your life depended on it. The blizzard was getting worse, harsh winds whipping against your face, ice crystals freezing on your eyelashes and making your vision blurry. Your poor horses- Shimmer and Max- doing their best to run in the knee deep snow. Your breathing was laboured from the amount of effort you had to put in riding your horse, the cold air entering your lungs and making it harder to breathe.

Just as you were feeling like you were running in circles, you came across a lodge and two horses tied to the fence. Joel and Dina’s horses. You looked at Ellie and booked it for the lodge, getting off your horses as quickly as possible and entered into the lodge. The basement was full of wrapped and broken furniture, you and Ellie scanned the area with your guns raised. Just as you were about to take the stairs, you heard noises. Several of them. Some in pain and the two of you rushed up the stairs, you watching Ellie’s six.

Ellie broke open the door from where the noises came from and you saw your nightmare playing out in front of you. Joel was lying down on his stomach, his face bloody, a pool of blood surrounding his knee and he was barely conscious. There was a blonde girl repeatedly punching him when someone tackled Ellie to the ground and that’s when you noticed that it was Abby who stood over Joel.

Your eyes widened and you screamed, “Abby!” The entire room stilled. Every single person in the room turned to look at you and in your panic, you didn’t notice the one person you were dying to see for the past 5 years- “(Name)?”, Manny whispered in disbelief.

But you couldn’t hear him, your ears ringing with anger at the psychotic look on Abby’s face and Joel’s helpless face. Your entire body shook in tremors, you grabbed your gun and fired a shot directly into Abby’s kneecaps. Abby howled in pain, falling next to Joel and Owen rushed to stop you but Manny pushed him away, “Don’t fucking touch them”, pointing a finger at him and coming over to stand in front of you. “Hey, angel? You’re okay? Oh my god, I-”, Manny’s voice cracked and he tried to hold you but you pushed past him to get to Ellie.

“Get your fucking hands off her, Nora”, you threatened Nora with your gun to her head. She looked at Manny and he seemed to have nodded his head and released Ellie, who rushed into your arms. You held her by her shoulders and approached Joel, who was now shakily reaching for you and Ellie.

“Joel…oh my god. Joel. Get up, I’m here now. It’s okay, you got us, Pops”, you offered him a weak smile and he simply whimpered in response. Your lips quivered and Ellie let out a cry before holding Joel’s hand in hers, trying to comfort him. Your eyes then fell on Abby, writhing next to Joel in pain and you clenched your jaw shut before crouching in front of her. You stared at her in disgust. “A coward and a fraud, just like your father, aren’t you?”, you snarled and she stared you down with her bloodshot eyes.

You waved her off and stood up, facing the rest of them and that’s when you finally noticed him- standing next to Owen, his eyes shining with tears and his cheeks splotched with red, his curls were longer now, yet he still looked handsome as ever. He still looked like your Manny and then you remembered the way he had tackled Ellie.

You made your way over to him and harshly fisted the collar of his jacket, your eyes bloodshot with tears and hands shaking in anger. “You…asshole. How dare you touch my sister like that? How could you betray me like this? Why?”, you cried out and released his collar forcefully.

“(Name), please-” “I cried for you. Every single day for the last five years. And he”, you pointed at Joel, “he was the one who reassured me that you’d come back. He was the one who took me in like his own. He was the one who gave my a family. And you…you cowards were cornering an old man to kill him off in a secluded lodge? For whom? For Abby’s fraud of a father?”, you growled, your voice hoarse from the tears you were shedding. “Some fucking friendship you have that you can’t even hold your friend accountable”, you turned around to address them all. Manny averted his gaze in shame, Mel was crying her eyes out, Owen and Nora had the decency to lower their gaze.

“You’ve always been the odd one in the group-”

“Oh, shut the fuck up before I put another bullet in you”, you roared at Abby, shutting her up effectively. And then your eyes fell on another body lying on the ground- Dina. “What the hell did you do to her?!”, you cried out before making your way to Dina and placed her head in your lap. “She’s- she’s just unconscious, I promise. It’s just a sedative”, Mel explained to you in between sobs. You trusted Mel so you nodded your head and removed your jacket before folding it and placing it under Dina’s head, running a hand over her beanie covered head.

You made your way back to Joel, sitting next to his head, rubbing a soothing hand over his shoulder. You couldn’t look at his mangled face without bursting in tears so you chose to look at Abby and channelled your anger and pain towards her. “I’m giving you a choice. You’re either gonna leave with the rest of them peacefully or you’re gonna make it difficult and get a bullet in your heads, each”, you threatened her and looked straight into her eyes before diverting your gaze to look at Manny, who looked like he was fighting with himself.

Abby looked at you in agitation and spoke up, “I’m not leaving before I end this-”, you cut her off and fired another shot, this time on the same arm that was punching Joel. She screamed in pain once again. Owen rushed over to support her and you noticed Manny clenching his hands into fists to stop himself from joining Owen, knowing it’d make you more upset.

You smirked at that, “I warned you, didn’t I? Yet, you chose to do this. And yet, I was waiting for you to come to me, had a whole house picked out for us and everything. I was stupid and I still am, stupid”, you let out a maniacal chuckle which made Manny and Ellie look at you in worry.

“(Name), hey, that’s enough. We- we’ll leave. Please. Stop this”, Owen placated. You turned to look at him, a crazed look in your eyes. “You better leave, because god forbid she is in front of me any longer…I don’t think any of you will be walking out of this room, alive.” Owen swallowed thickly and ordered the others to start packing their stuff.

He picked up Abby in his arms and she struggled against him, hurling loose threats towards you, Joel and Ellie. “I’ll fucking find you, and end the three of you. All at once. Slowly, just like I did to him-”

“I’d like to see you try, Abby. I’ll be waiting for you”, you replied nonchalantly, her threats mere words for you and shifted your focus towards Joel and Ellie. Owen shook his head and carried Abby out of the room, Mel and Nora quickly following him.

Manny was frozen to his spot. “Manny?”, Nora asked him, breaking him out of his trance. His jaw was clenched so tightly that his cheeks were shaking, wet from tears that he didn’t know he shed. He swallowed thickly, all of your memories together rushing through his mind and your agonised face haunting him. He had barely survived these 5 years, believing you to be dead after the first. He decided to push forward like a robot, his face and body devoid of any emotions. Your scarf had lost your scent after the first month apart and he had a breakdown because of that. The more he thought of it, the more he knew that he wanted to stay back with you. He’d do what he had promised himself 5 years ago- beg on his knees for your forgiveness.

Part 3

-

AN: sooo originally it was supposed to end here, but I’ve got too many ideas for their patch up. So strap in! 👀

tag list: @taylorsroxy @parkersjoy @aomi-recs @serendipity-29 @lucycarlisleswife @laurenjbb @onmyknees4kai @groovycass @spideybrie @yvonne-dump @monselxo @this-girl-is-tired

(sorry if some of y’all didn’t get tagged!)

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The "Luffy's fruit is a Zoan" reveal/retcon was extremely controversial when 1044 was first released; do you think Oda did a good job foreshadowing it?

yes!! it addresses a lot of idle questions i had about luffy's powers for quite some time (while also raising a ton more, of course, but that's the nature of one piece).

(all of my thoughts here and on gear 5 in general owe some credit to @grainjew, who has been my main discussion partner on this topic)

luffy's fruit has always been, from what we've seen, kind of weird for a paramecia? obviously since the categorization of 'paramecia' is sort of a grab bag and a lot less well-defined than logias or zoans, that's kind of a hard claim to make, but generally speaking, most of the paramecia users we see throughout the series do not have their powers always on. (the strongest counter-example i could think of to this trend is brook, and even that is one i think you can argue.) luffy's power is way more passive, in the sense that he doesn't have to activate it- it's just there, always. even seastone and seawater do not make luffy not rubber, they just sap his energy and stop him from stretching himself, as we see as early as arlong park.

that is weird! what we see of most other paramecias is that they have to use their powers intentionally, even when those powers do involve transforming their body in some way, like with mr. 1 or alvida. there's a whole plot in dressrosa about knocking a specific paramecia user unconscious so she'll lose her grip on her power and it'll disappear. luffy will stretch when he is asleep, when he is underwater, and without knowing he's doing it. he's always rubber.

so luffy is weird for a paramecia, though not completely unprecedented. his power has always seemed to me to be... almost logia adjacent, in the sense that he's made from a specific material and all his powers are based on being that material, but that doesn't quite track either. aside from the fact that the thing he's composed of is tangible and, again, he can't turn it off, he clearly has access to a greater level of complexity in his transformations than logias do (whose devil fruit powers seem to be basically a binary system).

which actually leads me to compare him to chopper, who is the zoan we know the best, and who, conveniently, also ate a version of the hito hito no mi.

i think the way luffy and chopper interact with their powers is actually very similar. much like luffy, chopper was fundamentally altered by his consumption of a devil fruit in a way he cannot return from. he can still look like a normal reindeer, but he can never actually be one, because the most important trait his devil fruit gave him was human sentience. and he would still have that if you put him in seastone, he just wouldn't be able to transform. similarly, luffy had his body fundamentally altered by his fruit in a manner he does not seem to be capable of even temporarily reversing. he can't make himself not rubber any more than chopper can return himself to being a normal reindeer.

like chopper, luffy's power progression has been based around finding new ways to transform his body and force it into new and more powerful forms. his gears are roughly comparable to chopper's points. that is zoan stuff! chopper is the main other person we see interact with his fruit in that specific way. so, yeah, i actually do think it does make sense for luffy's power to have actually always been a zoan. at the very least, it makes more sense than him being a paramecia, to me.

however, having said that, i also don't think it's as straightforward as luffy just being a zoan instead of a paramecia. we see that the awakening of his fruit definitely has both paramecia and zoan qualities, since he's transforming both himself and the environment around him, as well as other people. (the wiki puts this down to him being a mythical zoan but i just don't think that's true. kaidou is also a mythical zoan and he is completely baffled by what he's seeing.)

i made a bunch of jokes in discord about luffy being devil fruit nonbinary while i was reading this chapter- there's three genders and you have to pick one, and you can't just go switching it up, etc- and i do think that what luffy's fruit indicates is that the sorting system of devil fruits itself is imperfect. outliers do exist that don't fit cleanly between the lines- which we already knew! just look at katakuri.

[intuitive-revelations]

Semi-live/retrospective analysis of The Robot Revolution!

As usual, a combination of my live thoughts watching the episode, vs those rewatching, but put roughly in order of the episode. This is REALLY long (taking me several hours to write!) so will have to go below a read more.

While I get a lot of plot analysis, I also go very character-focused in this one, because there's a lot to work with.

I'm curious how old Belinda is meant to be in the 17 years ago intro? That's a pretty long time gap. For what it's worth, Varada Sethu is 32, so if Belinda is the same age, then she would be 15, maybe turning 16? I won't judge two much on the actors' appearances, of course, but both her and Al do seem older than that (especially with the "Are you married?" question and the proposal. It almost makes me wonder if she is meant to be that young and, considering his character, Al is meant to be older. Of course, Belinda could still be a bit older than her actress, but it's interesting.

"I know girls aren't good at maths, but that's a long way." The immediate rancid vibes, holy shit. Very "girl math". The wrapping paper comment too. I'm surprised this all actually comes back later, as Alan could easily just been a disposable bit character.

I kinda picked it up straight away... Bel seems to have some self-esteem issues, right? Possibly from something in her past? "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me" is an interesting thing to say about a present that she didn't seem to think that much of. And yet, we can see she does keep it all this time, even displaying it framed on her wall, which is crazy considering how this relationship ends. Even at this point, she doesn't exactly seem in to him really - she kinda forces herself into that awkward as hell kiss. More on the self-esteem thing later.

The certificate dates this scene to at least 5th April 2008. The wiki's gone ahead and said this is Belinda's birthday, though I'm not certain - I assume Alan didn't manage to get the star registered and certificate framed on the day, unless it was a REALLY last minute present.

Would have been funny if Belinda's star immediately disappeared due to the reality bomb (though technically that was in 2009 due to Rose's year late return in Series 1 - not that RTD or other writers tend to remember that). Ironically, that seems to line up with the date of her and Alan's breakup.

For what it's worth, I had a go at looking at the astronomical details. If Alan is right, the star is around 4,000,000,000,000,000 miles away. This converts to about 680 ly. I tried looking up the coordinates though and found nothing. In fact, as far as I can tell it seems to be quite contradictory, as far as the visibility rise and set times relate to stars around those coordinates. I also don't believe it matches to the view of the Milky Way we see in the episode.

The significance of the star so early in the episode almost made me thought we were going to link to Joy to the World for a second! Especially being so weirdly bright, though I realise that's just a matter of on-screen physics.

One thing I will say - an episode plot based entirely around those bullshit "Name a Star" gifts is absolutely excellent.

Immediately jumping to a hospital at the beginning of the episode feels so Smith and Jones, but there's clearly a world of difference between Belinda and Martha. It's also not the Royal Hope again, after it's appearance last episode. It seems to be called "Able Free Hospital", maybe based on the Royal Free Hospital?

More Doctor kilts!

For a nurse character, I find it interesting that there's an emphasis more on Belinda's technical knowledge, rather than being particularly caring. In fact she seems a little cold and sarcastic, though she is friendlier with the older patient we see her treating. It's a nice twist on the archetype.

The Doctor knocking out power in a hospital is surprisingly dark (pun unintended). At least we see from background lights after the reception goes dark that backup generators seem to be working.

Interesting looking at Belinda's room. As mentioned, she kept the Star certificate framed over her bed, despite everything. Also next to some of the Sun and Moon. We also see what seems to be a qualification on her wall, plus what I think might be a COVID-era children's drawing of a rainbow, which is pretty cute? There's another we see later in the kitchen, right after the cat is killed. There's also a photo of someone in-between.

Also been trying to make out what's on her desk, but it's tricky. Is that a picture of Belinda in traditional dress, or maybe her mum? I've also tried to get a look at the book title, but can't make it out.

Another art piece looks like a field of sunflowers below the Moon? It's hard to tell in the dark. Belinda's also wearing a sunflower pyjama top. There's clearly a bit of a theme going on here. If the sunflower theme holds, her yellow dress in the next time teaser could link in too.

Actually, her jumper in the intro has a cut resembling flower petals too. Hmm...

Belinda mentions her mum and dad as she's taken away, so we know they're in the picture at least.

Mrs Flood appearing to say farewell to another companion beginning their journey is crazy! Very Missy coded, in seemingly leading both Belinda and Ruby right to him, which with the stalker-y vibes 15 accidentally gives off is pretty creepy. Breaking the fourth wall right here too?!

More on this later, but Belinda accidentally causing the events of the episode due to timeline weirdness is interesting. Along with the Amy's Pregnancy / Impossible Girl arc critque that we get later, it feels very Moffat for an RTD episode.

MBC-1 is weirdly Skaro coded? Between it's architecture, flying saucers, redness etc. The vapourisation effects feel quite extermination-like too, though the freezing is weird - almost making the vfx feel kinda lazy (which isn't to say they are, just a strange design choice). The robots even call out "Vapourise", "Destroy"! On the other hand, everything with the AI Generator weirdly evokes bits of other enemies like the Cybermen and the Master (conversion, "you will obey me"). There was actually a brief second I thought the welding was going to actually result in a Cyberised Belinda.

Actually, the whole setting feels SO Classic Who it's kinda insane. Not just with these elements, but the emphasis on the robots (being called directly such) and their interaction with the locals.

The numbered names is interesting. I wonder if it's pulled from our planet naming schemes mixed with Belinda's name (though that wouldn't link directly to the ceritificate), or just a computer disambiguation thing. A world run by computers also goes well with the plain clothes worn.

The cute polishing bot may be a bit of a cliche, but I love it all the same. Not to mention the Doctor and Belinda's kindness to it, the prior even kissing it as he shuts it down.

The twists of a) the robots ruling over the people, and b) Belinda being kidnapped for a wedding are both neat.

The AI Generator is such a stupid name and design - though I kinda like the Hitchhiker-y ness of the latter. The artificialness of it makes sense with the later reveal. The "AI Generator" thing feels like an undercooked attempt to throw some buzzwords into the episode, which is a shame. I wish we had a twist that actually involved it working similar to a large language model - like if instead of the 9th word thing, it was defeated by hiding image data in its feeds so it couldn't analyse them properly. Or if the images of it we saw were literally fake - made up because that's what an LLM thought an evil computer mastermind should look like. I do like the way the close-up shot here hides the "AL" though.

The Doctor giving the history exposition as a story is another tick for the "Doctor is accidentally warping reality via stories" theory - I'll give it credit.

The robots' relationship with the natives is interesting. Combined with their design, they almost feel like an evolution of the robots from Smile, complete with emoji-esque faces. This definitely isn't Gliese 581d though, so there's unlikely to be a connection there.

The ninth word thing is a little arbitrary, but I'll take it. It's not any odder than things like the emphasis on breathing as a lifesign in Deep Breath. It was probably a pretty fun writing exercise for RTD! Only thing I wish is that it was less a weakness in the robot design, and more just a careful way to secretly communicate, such that the dialogue made sense even with the extra words. I do wonder if there's some secrets there. I may be doing a lot of analysis here, but I'm not going to start looking at every ninth word.

A little surprised that everyone in the throne room was a rebel. Obviously they're mostly red-shirts, so it doesn't really matter, but would have been more realistic if there was at least one sycophant in there.

Sasha's death was really weak. I do like it whenever we get the implication that the Doctor's gone through something offscreen and we're left to infer what's happened in the meaning time, but saying she wants to come onboard the TARDIS (immediate red flag given we know she's not showing up later in the series) and getting vaporised right after is ridiculous.

Again, Belinda immediately stepping up as a nurse, despite species/differences making it difficult, is a hell of a character-establishing moment. I reckon it's not just a matter of compassion, but also her feeling she has to prove her worth, after what Manny said.

Also her criticising the Doctor for "happy watching", given what happens later.

Conversely, she immediately seems to soften a bit when he steps a way to start working. Him cooly saying that the Doctor and the Nurse make a "good team" also gets a smile. It's honestly quite brilliant to have a character who's a little repulsed by this Doctor's more confident and charming front, and seems to get on a little better with him when he's a bit quieter and more serious. Also says a lot about her.

Actually discussing the biological differences in this week's near-humans was great! Also appreciate 1) making sure to specify that the x-ray blankets are radiation free (I've just been tutoring someone on medical physics, so of course that immediately came to mind), 2) the line about not thinking about which bodies are better. Obviously an important thing to note in real life, but also a question I find interesting to think about in terms of interspecies interactions.

The exposition on the Doctor's two hearts was interesting. It's fits into the scene fine - it makes sense for the Doctor to bring it up after just discussing biological differences between species, and as it makes sense as another thing to bring up as we enter the second season of "New-New-Who". I'm pretty sure this is the first time we're actually gotten to hear the Doctor's heartbeat, right? But, after the Master teasing last year, I struggle to see the 4 beats as anything but a teaser for the future.

Also kinda interesting to hear, just given I've previously wondered if the 4 beat thing is constant, or if the hearts can have different phases. At the very least, Fifteen's hearts right now perfectly match up to the Master's drumbeat. Though I do think I heard a little drift in one of the beats on the last repeat, so who knows.

Patient Name: Unknown Sex: Unknown Age: Indeterminable Blood Type: N/A Diag: Two Hearts! Status: Excellent

Love the details on the Doctor's scan! For some reason, my eyes skipped from Name: Unknown to Diag: Two Hearts! and Status: Excellent, and I found the latter so funny I didn't even register the Sex reading. I wonder how much of the lack of detail comes from the blanket being used for an unregistered patient of a different species and how much it is just reflecting the Doctor's own nature? At the very least, the blood thing makes sense, since we know Time Lord blood is different enough that it can barely be considered such.

"I was told about you, by someone. It's kind of a long story, and I've got to be careful about timelines. But he told me your name, like you would be important." I'm so curious about this? Careful about timelines seems to imply it's someone from the future, or at least a time-traveller, who could intersect with Belinda's life. Plus it's a "he", so we're noting talking about Mrs Flood, for example. It kinda feels like the sort of thing where we'll get a pre-finale flashing back to a story set before this series.

Again on the self-esteem thing, while it is a reasonable response otherwise, Belinda insisting she's not important seems notable on a character level.

A time fracture? Obviously not the escape room one... but interesting. Seems we're got yet another bit of space-time weirdness to add to my list.

On the shot of the screen with the time fracture, I accidentally paused it in such a way the split looked just like the cracks in time and almost lost my mind. Pressing play again and seeing it flicker into other shapes put me back in my place though.

Ok, so Belinda's home time is 24th May 2025. Noted.

"Timey-wimey?" "Yup." "Am I six?" lol

"'Cause I have waited for you for a long time, Belinda. And yet..." The "and yet" makes it seem like he's not just referring to the six months here...

Again, Belinda immediately objecting to the Doctor having been following her. It doesn't help that he doesn't even try to explain it away - after all, he's just admitted that he was looking for her, not just tracking the robots or something.

The "schwup" flashback showing Belinda looping on saying "six-six-six-sixteen years" feels very deliberate. Remember how Sutekh hinted at a link with the Beast last series?

"You're as bad as the robots." Look, I'm as critical of monarchies as the next guy, but calm down! She literally just got here. I can sort of excuse this because because of Belinda's impact on the planet's history and culture, which I'm sure that Manny's partially referring to, but it's still a bit silly.

Actually, on the note of the people's interactions with Belinda - I do feel there was a little bit of a wasted opportunity to have a character who truly believed in her right to rule? Would have really emphasised the effects on the culture - after all, you'd think they'd worship her as a God-Queen! Without such a person, it feels more like the robots just randomly went nuts.

Again, Belinda rejecting the Doctor's defence of her is interesting. On one hand, it projects this sort of self-sufficiency. On the other, she's clearly already picked up on some (in fairness, well-deserved) bad vibes from the Doctor, and may be trying to block any "white knighting" from him. On yet a third hand, it does kinda show that Manny's blaming is already getting to her.

The Doctor immediately defending Manny's outburst too, probably isn't helping him get into her good graces. It's kind of fascinating that for all his confidence, Fifteen doesn't seem to be that great on picking up these things.

"At least someone's glad to see me." "Worth the wait." Again, that sad smile is really hinting at something here. Despite effectively referencing his stalking her again, this is enough to get a crack of sympathy out of Belinda.

On my earlier point of Belinda keeping the certificate on the wall, it's interesting that she emphasises it "didn't mean anything".

Her sort of excitement at suggesting an explosion resulting from a time travel paradox may be another rare peek at Belinda behind the mask? Part of me thinks she might have a bit of a space/time/sci-fi interest, but her overall reaction to everything suggests it may not be that significant and I'm reading a bit too much into this. We'll see I guess.

Blinovitch limitation effect mention (if not by name)! Watching live, I'm assuming this is setting up the conclusion, where the "boom" will serve as a weapon, right? (EDIT: this bit was written while watching - and boy was I right!).

Kinda want to nitpick the "same atoms" thing, given we know the effect applies to people too, who would logically "Ship of Theseus"-lose most of their atoms, but I get that we're not about to get a 7-hour lecture from the Doctor on the nature of biodata. Plus now I think about it, maybe the very small amount that do remain probabilistically are enough to trigger the effects we're seen (and explaining why we don't tend to see people explode as a result of such interactions).

"Are you some sort of 'time detective'?" "Ha, no." *Gasp* Honoré Lechasseur mention? Ok, he's the time "hunter", but still a detective.

Again on Belinda's personality. We immediately see her ready to quietly make the sacrifice play, the moment she sees that everyone's at risk. In quite a reckless way too, bringing the robots directly to the base.

Oh my god the polish robot has little brake lights.

Another softer look comes from Belinda after the Doctor tries to sacrifice himself instead of her.

"Because my name is Miss Belinda Chandra. It's about time I owned it." "You can drop the miss. I never liked it anyway." Family guilt, relationship issues, or trans vibes. Take your pick.

I was a bit led astray for a second by "Are you married?". For a second, I really thought the solution was going to come from Belinda lying that she was, and the Generator insisting on monogamy and annuling the betrothal.

Alan as the generator is crazy. While he's clearly somewhat distinct from it, trying to reachout via the 9 word count, it's notable that the AI Generator is still clearly grown from his own personality, with it's possessiveness etc. yet here he is bragging and grinning like a supervillain. I'm not sure if it entirely works. Alan is a sexist, incel, control freak who saw a world beyond his own as an opportunity to experience despotic power as if it was a "game", yet we still get this twist of sympathy for him that doesn't even hold. And then we still get his final fate - more in a sec.

Again depending on Belinda and Alan's ages, which are a little unclear, the proposal cutaway has the potential to be even worse than it already seems...

Alan's controlling nature again feels like something that have had a bit more significance in earlier drafts, but does feel a little weak now. It's a cool twist to explicitly show just how bad he really was, but might have meant a bit more if we got more of an exploration of the planet's culture, and his control over it.

This is never said in the episode, but I wonder if the AI Generator's name comes from it literally being built out of a power generator? It kinda seems like it, right? The bulkiness, the electricity bolts around it... Even the ticker seems less like a clock (note it doesn't complete it's ninth increment, leading to the jump) and more of a modified powermeter or something.

"You were born to travel" this is an interesting line that doesn't really fit with the rest of what Alan says. Again could be hinting at Belinda's backstory, or if there really is something special with her, maybe something to do with her "design"? Almost like Sam Jones vibes, though obviously that doesn't really mesh with the rest of her (instead fits much closer with Ruby, as we discussed last series).

"You will obey me" Mentioned this earlier, but worth emphasising. On one hand, this does mainly show Alan's controlling vibe, and how he expected Belinda to be subserviant if they married. But at the same time, RTD knew what he was doing, sticking this in as a distinct line. Let's keep count going forwards: Maestro playing four beats, Master Vainglorious, the Doctor's heartbeat, and now this.

Alan's fate is nuts. Physics-wise, it's like Margaret in Boom Town being reverted into an egg, but this time without the opportunity of a fresh start. Again a weird result, after giving Alan a tinge of sympathy, but can't say it's not an effective message given everything else.

BLINOVITCH! BLINOVITCH! BLINOVITCH!

I love the time disruption imagery. Kinda surprised it didn't lead to something a bit more drastic, like the AI Generator being wiped from history alltogether (with the diploma being destroyed) but what can you do? I also thought for a sec that Belinda was going actually be splintered Clara style, with that being what led to Mundy, but that doesn't seem to be the case. This could still be the event that leads to that spatial genetic multiplicity, as with Gwyneth, Gwen and the rift?

I assume this is an older Belinda here? I assume the old dour man we see is meant to be an older Alan too, now erased from history.

Also hey, remember what I literally just posted about today, regarding the blue-green-red colour coding of the past, known future, and unknown future in The Infinity Doctors and the RTD1 time vortex...?

Just kidding, it clearly doesn't have the same significance, since the colour coding doesn't really make sense. Still took me out for a second. I wrote that before watching the episode.

On the other hand, the Doctor did say something about timelines being out of sync didn't he...? /s

It's interesting the Doctor ends up absorbing much of the resulting artron energy, seemingly with no ill effects other than a pain in the back. Usually artron energy can be pretty dangerous in this regard, especially given its connection to the regenerative cycle. On the other hand, the way he describes going through Belinda's life, and this...

This feels significant, no? Why did they go to the effort of filming thise, for a single quick cutaway after all the timey-wimeyness? It kinda feels like the Doctor just got splintered through Belinda's life, rather than the other way round like with Clara?

Kinda makes me wonder if Belinda's going to start seeing him in memories / family photos etc. and it's going to further drive that "stalker paranoia" she's gotten from him. While she gives a little semi-happy chuckle at being called amazing, she still doesn't exactly react with mutual joy at hearing about their new temporal connection. There's even a little bit of a sinister beat in the music, though it might just be the robots' footsteps in the background? I'd be keen to see the surround sound channels and see if it's mixed in with the music or speech and fx.

I saw @spoonietimelordy point out Belinda also knew the TARDIS's name, despite not seemingly hearing on screen. It stuck out a little to me too, but I thought I must have just forgotten a line. I guess not? I wonder if this just a bit of excusable off-screen dialogue, as result of the Blinovitch interaction, or something even deeper?

"Yas Queen!" lol, again.

I love how hammy the robot is in declaring they'll make reperations and returning the TARDIS.

With Belinda's reaction in the TARDIS, I do think it's a little odd/interesting that she's so desperate to get home for her next shift, showing that even in this situation, she's ready to prioritise her pretty gloomy homelife. On the other hand, her reluctance to stay with the Doctor is, as mentioned above, an absolutely brilliant start to a character and the relationship between them, coming with a very Classic Who story arc.

As everyone and their mother has mentioned, Belinda's reaction is so, so very much playing with the typical mystery girl tropes we see not just in Doctor Who in general (after all, we did just have everything going on with Ruby), but especially in Moffat's era.

That's not a slam by the way - anyone who knows this blog knows I love Moffat's stories - his era actually being my favourite, not that I dislike any of the others either. But every now and then, we absolutely need the writers to be ready to critique and deconstruct eachother's storytelling. That's how the show grows after all.

Moffat took great umbrage with Donna's fate and how the Doctor went against her will in blocking her memories, and made that clear throughout 12's era. It's only fair RTD return the favour in deconstructing the Doctor's (especially 11's) willingness to violate his friends' privacy to solve a mystery. :)

(Not a knock on 11 either. He was literally the Doctor who got me to really turn into a full-fledged fan after being more distant as a watcher through RTD's era and I still love him dearly. Series 6 and 7, despite their well-debated flaws, actually remain some of my favourite Doctor Who.)

The Doctor's willing to scan anything with the sonic screwdriver, often too much for the storytelling, so actually seriously acknowledging that the Doctor just scanned Belinda's genetics without asking is perfect. And the Doctor, called out on it, does apologise, though Belinda doesn't really seem to accept. This is actually why it kinda feels like just as much a parallel with Amy's series 6 mystery as it does with Clara's, with Eleven being so desperate to ensure Amy's safety, he completely puts aside her own agency.

And Fifteen doesn't even have the same excuse in this case, gleefully telling Belinda about their link, seemingly with no worry of any sources of danger. IMHO, there's almost even a hint of Thirteen there, with the Doctor even now still projecting positivity outwards over more sensible and/or honest behavour, despite supposedly being "better" after Fourteen's retirement.

I also just love seeing one of Fifteen's most lovable traits, his flirtiness and joy compared to other incarnations, being closely examined. It gives subdued Midnight vibes honestly, being torn apart just as much as Ten's know-it-all confidence backfired with the other passengers.

Now: the big mystery. Right off the bat, let's acknowledge that the TARDIS's failed travel used some of the exact same sounds as the groaning we heard with Sutekh last season. It could just be a reused way to show the TARDIS's strain (we hear the Cloister Bell too), but maybe it does hint that there's a little more to it, like I theorised in that big post before the finale last the series.

The way the block comes at the worse possible time, after the Doctor just promised he will take Belinda straight home as she asked, is kinda hilarious, and it only deepens her potential mistrust of him. At the current rate, I am curious if we will see it damage even further over the series?

If we accept the theory that there's some level of reality warping going on in the series's storylines, possibly triggered by the Doctor, then part of me wonders if this could even be a level of accidental wish fulfillment on his part? He doesn't want to be alone, so invented another mystery to solve. When the subject of that mystery rejected him, he subconsciously introduces a barrier to their return, forcing them to stick together.

I say accidental, as the Doctor actually having some sort of deliberate impact would be pretty boldly dark and out of character. Admittedly, a part of me would kinda love to read an "AU Dark!Doctor" fic where he's actually lying about being unable to return Belinda home. (As I said, pretty out of character, but I suppose not unprecedented. After all, didn't the pre-character-development First Doctor effectively do just that in The Daleks?)

The TARDIS bouncing off of a specific time on Earth obviously evokes The Angels Take Manhatten. Is the reasoning similar? Obviously it could malicious, as with the TARDIS originally being deflected, but it could also be a direct effect of a massive paradox. I suspect a bit of both, with the latter looking particularly likely given the events of the episode, but we'll see.

It also, on the other hand, makes me thing of a few other things. For example, something similar also happened in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, with the Trickster blocking the TARDIS from materialising (and the Trickster, of course, is a significant temporal villain in his own right - more than capable of being behind whatever paradox or otherwise has caused the fissure and block). He's also explicitly linked to the Pantheon of Discord (literally introduced in the same SJA episode!), and was namedropped last series. RTD clearly likes him as a villain too, given his roles not just in SJA, including the planned series finale before Elisabeth Sladen's passing, but also of his brigade in Turn Left and Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Then we get his shot:

First off, no there's no way Earth's just been exploded or something. One: we're 340 light years away (based on that earlier calculation I did). Two: there's no way all these bits, containing world wonders and ephemera from Belinda's home just happened to all be scattered here, closely together (and if it does, I'll be genuinely kinda mad at the laziness of the direction / writing in communicating such a disaster, by filling our screen with all this).

This 100% implies temporal shenanigans - not just with Belinda, but with the landmarks too. After all, what has a greater effect on Earth's history than symbols known the world over?! (The London taxi is a bit of a stretch though - maybe it's just here for the ride with Belinda's stuff).

The single most notable bit here though? Definitely that certificate. Note it's still got its tear, yet is back in its frame. It's somehow been returned, despite the Doctor and Belinda still holding onto it's present version. It's also unlikely to be from much further in the timeline, given it's alongside a calendar from 24 May 2025.

(Speaking of which, guess when the first part of the finale is airing?)

The Doctor and Belinda looking out of the TARDIS does kinda evoke The Stolen Earth. Also, and I know it's old hat to link things back to Lawrence Miles's ideas, but it kinda could be "Book of the World"-y too.

As for everything suddenly appearing, it's almost like the TARDIS was trying to pull itself to Earth's place in the Web of Time by tugging on all these important historical nodes, but has somehow managed to pull them to it, rather than the other way round.

The final detail I'll comment on is that among the stars, you can see a very odd flickering sparkling in a few places, but especially in the top right of shot. I'm not sure if this just meant to be a weird star twinkle that wasn't balanced properly in the shot, or something else. There is some dust scattered in the background of the scene so maybe that's causing it as it blocks the light source in the shot? It's still pretty weird though.

Overall thoughts

This episode's kinda all over the place (/pos). There's a lot of really good bits, but also plenty that leaves me wondering what RTD was thinking.

On one hand, it feels like it tried to cram a lot of random buzzwords in reflecting modern topics ("Girl Math", AI Generator, "Incels") and not all of them really hit the mark. I think the misogyny and possessiveness of Al was actually pretty hard hitting, as it wasn't something I expected to come back up in the episode. On the other hand, we didn't really get much on the AI / robot revolution that was meaningful (a shame, as a "robot revolution" episode has long been a big story idea I've wanted to see written, partially as a fix-it for Kerblam, plus a sort of arc-welding finale to the various anti-capitalist far-future stories we're gotten in past series). The setting, background characters, and villain were all a little bit wasted IMHO, though far from bad. As mentioned, I particularly appreciated the Classic Who vibes of the setting and conflict, which felt quite unique for New Who, in it's own way.

Character writing is wonderful. There's already so much to say about Belinda. Provided the fandom doesn't start targetting her negatively, I think she has the potential to be a top companion, just from her current relationship with the Doctor alone, let alone some of the other hints at her life and personality. We also get this deconstruction not just of Fifteen's buoyant, flirty attitude, but of similar arcs in previous series, with some sharp but fair critique of the Doctor's actions in Series 6 and 7 in particular.

The arc going forward is also looking to be very interesting, not just on this character level, but also with regard to whoever the Doctor spoke to, Mrs. Flood, and whatever's going on with this barrier around Earth. Plus we've got some even more hints for the future, including anther couple of potential Master teases. With the ongoing mystery, my only worry is that RTD may fail to really answer our questions again, opting for another estoteric "nothing" twist like last series (even though Series 7's mystery box kind-of did something similar in the first place). The fact that Ruby's back in a later episode, and he says there's more to that story, gives me a bit more hope though.

[rainbow-magic-polls]

welcome to the rainbow magic poll tournament!

a poll tournament for voting on the all the fairies from the late-2000s era kids' chapter books written under the name of Daisy Meadows

the bracket for the tournament is here—notice that some fairies won't appear until round 2

all pictures come from the rainbow magic wiki, as does any information i may share (unless it comes from the foggy recesses of my own memory)

propaganda is welcome, tag me or put it in "#rainbow magic poll tournament" if you want me to reblog it. or you can send it as an ask

i'm only doing fairies that appear in a series, not one-offs and special editions; i may do a tournament for them after this one

polls are roughly seeded based on the fairies' name popularity in the us and uk in 2004 (my own birth year and, i assume, close enough to when most people who have nostalgia for this series were born)

i will definitely accidentally reblog things to this blog, it will happen, just roll with it, i'll delete it when i notice it

uhhh have fun and be niceys :)

@tournament-announcer thanks for announcing me!

[natileroxs]

I barely even know if the khr Fandom is even around anymore but I do want to raise an interesting point that I've been thinking over a hell of a lot.

So the wiki doesn't say anything about the actual ages of the Arcobaleno, only that they are physically about 2 years old (but Lambo and Ipin are both around 5/6 and the choice to have them look the same is a bizarre one at best but I digress). We can assume, based on looks and status, that the Arcobaleno were, at the time when they got the pacifiers, all roughly around the same age and at least older than 25 but probably edging closer toward 30-35. Reborn especially comes off as older than 30, with more life experience.

We do have a rough idea about how long they have been Arcobaleno's though. Luce was pregnant when she got her pacifier and then she had Aria, who then grew up to have Uni. In the future, Uni looks to be about the same age or maybe a little younger than the guardians at around 12 or 13, which would make her around 2 or 3 in current time. Aria was said to have died young, but after Uni was born. To give a decent guess, Aria might have been around 25 when she died. Since she had to have died less than 3 years prior, my current assumption now is that the Arcobaleno have had their pacifiers for nearly thirty years.

Now where am I going with this? Well, I'm going straight to Fon and Hibari. I am just as much of a perpetrator in the whole Uncle Fon thing despite the fact that, according to my calculations, Fon would actually be closer to 65 while Hibari is only around 16. And yes, Hibari's parent (usual hc I see is his mom but either works) could have a giant age gap or have had Hibari late, but most women cannot have children past the age of 50 due to menopause. 15 years or more is a large age gap for siblings.

But an age gap larger than that would actually make it fit better if Fon is actually Hibari's grandfather. Which is funny, I know. But hear me out. Fon has a daughter before he becomes an Arcobaleno, then he gets his pacifier when she is a child/teen. And then she grows up and has Kyoya. (Don't even get me started on how I would fit Ipin into this family tree because it's just so weird that Fon is helping out this random child)

Anyway, if any of you guys still exist, please give me your thoughts.

[syndrossi]

The talk of Jon’s possible Royce emblem got me thinking. And using a program I roughly made this. Shadow on a black background sutoundeld by runes

You inspired me to make my own super rough version! 😅 I grabbed the Royce coat of arms off the wiki as a base and then did unspeakably sloppy things in a photo editing program to combine it with a color-tweaked version of Brynden Rivers' dragon sigil (also from the wiki). It was too much work to change Shadow's dragonflame, and we don't know what color it actually is yet in Resonant!

That said, I did like the suggestion from the comments of the boys preferring a two-headed dragon to represent them being twins. (Alternately, I could see two flipped dragons back to back.)

[ravennanightcrown]

Parallax Error: behind the fic

Finally, I’m gonna talk about this fic ➡️ (Parallax Error) and what led to the writing of my admittedly most deranged fic ever. 

Basically, the fic’s foundation is: “What if Danchou was literally a “black hole”?”

And core to that thought is this particular description of a “singularity” being the center of a black hole:

From Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/science/black-hole)

I also spent an ungodly amount of time looking at this artist rendition of a black hole (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anatomy_of_a_Black_Hole.jpg). Among other things. Like browsing Wikipedia, Britannica, and even NASA gallery

Disclaimer: while I did base a lot of these upon science concepts, it was not my goal to be scientifically accurate to the nitty-gritty (after all, at its core, this fic is still rooted in fantasy). Moreover, a lot of these don’t completely or consistently elaborate on a soup concept—basically, I’m just throwing whatever meta bullshit I can think of into the cauldron. Be warned.

(the rest, including my thought process, under the cut!)

I. The Black Hole Theory of Danchou

So, what the fuck exactly am I talking about? 

Hear me out: Danchou is a black hole, and all that entails.

Let me go about the steps of the thought process, as incoherent my brainwaves may be:

I.1. Singularity is the center of a black hole. I.2. Danchou is a singularity.

That which pierces through all timelines, timespace textures thingy. Like an axis

I.3. [zero escape music starts playing] Danchou is the center of a black hole 🡺 [extends that further] Danchou is a black hole---- HEAR ME OUT

Danchou, like a black hole, drags everything in their vicinity into “orbit” (or rather, territory/domain of canonicity); Events™️ keep on happening around Danchou because they just…attract them. And it also happens with characters, who, once they have “interacted” with Danchou (or the Observer, or the “Journal”), are now permanently inscribed in the records of the observer

I.4. The event horizon of a black hole is “a boundary beyond which events cannot affect an outside observer”; ‘nothing that enters a black hole can get out or can be observed from outside the event horizon”; 

I.4.a. More or less, as it is also the namesake of that one tvtropes thing, the event horizon is the point of no return I.4.a.i. Fun tangent: Event Horizon is one of the chapter titles in GBVS (the final chapter of Vanilla actually) I.4.b [Refer to image again] The event horizon is the radius around the Singularity. It is roughly the area or domain from which, once something has entered, it can no longer escape.

[Refer to I.3] If such things keep on happening around Danchou, and characters inevitably get pulled into canon/records against their will, THEN [slams desk, Ace Attorney-style] Danchou’s Event Horizon must be their Field of Vision! [Objection!!!] What about recruitable characters, or fate episodes, in which Danchou was not present?? It does not make sense! [slams desk] It cannot be the Main Character’s—the Singularity’s—field of vision! [AAAAArgh!] But… it cannot be denied! These things happen by chain reaction from past-and-future because the Singularity exists! The Main Character—! (Case in point: The «Amplification Factor» passive skill of the Singularity! [Screeching] That is not relevant to the current argument!) [browsing papers] but the previous point still stands. It is not always the case that Danchou is present! Therefore— [Hold it!!!] Consider, what if it’s not the character “Danchou” themself? What if it was…someone else? Someone that still, by some definition, is the Main Character? [Argh!] You can’t possibly mean?? [Smug face] The Singularity = the Main Character = Danchou = The Player = God … And we know by now that multiple timelines exist, and some characters, notably, Danchou, can observe multiple timelines. You «You» must be seeing this, too. There is one person—nay, ONE AND MANY—who can see Everything regardless of said event’s or character’s non-existent interaction with Danchou at any given time: [POINTS FINGERS] THE PLAYER!

I.4.d. Yep. The Player is the Absolute Observer. And then apply the transitivity property to arrive at Danchou again. Further support that by proposing a Version of Danchou that has seen everything.

I.4.e. PROFIT: Danchou has an Event Horizon. It’s the…undefined yet existing field in which the Observer sees. Once seen, observed, there is no escape— Welcome to Danchou’s realm of canonicity, even if you are a failed timeline I.4.e.i. [Tangent of Seofon’t and nonexistent fantasies having been tainted by the essence of canonicity by the voyeuristic gaze of The Player/God/Absolute Observer]

I.5. Some black holes are born from the collapse of stars at the end of their stellar evolution. Inescapable gravity born out of star expending its fuel, provided there’s enough mass. What if…that mass is equivalent to «data records»? I.5.i. [Insert lore-related soup theory as tangent] Stars «Astrals» are meant to become singularities at the end of their life cycle. But since the stars have chosen stagnation, they have forsaken evolution. And therefore cannot become singularities… or gods.  I.5.a. So, that perhaps becomes circular as an argument if I claim that «We» amass data records by being the Singularity, because then, where would the mass needed to precipitate collapse «Ascension» come from?  I.5.a.i. I posit, time-space convergence.

I.5.a.i.1. Key assumption: Singularity 🡺= God I.5.a.i.2. The Boundary is where all of time converges. So… it’s a circle. Or a catbox [vomiting soup] HEAR ME OUT. The Egg Short Story.

Also, there was something a friend said about the jp of “Boundary” written in kanji I think, that could also be read as “horizon”. And then the implications, of the unreachable horizon (can be seen, but moves farther away the closer you get). Also…horizon as boundary between sea-and-sky. Much to think about.

I.6. Black holes are like, nothingness. Vibes-wise. And what gets born out of nothingness? Something. 

I.6.a. I don’t know exactly what I’m getting at here but “void 🡺 world” I.6.b. God creating Something.

Tangent:

It’s kinda interesting how the Eternals-related skins have Zenith and Azimuth there, yeah?

So yeah, that should be it for Part 1. Next, I would go on to very short overviews of 2 concepts I used for the fic, before going into dissecting the thought process of the Fic itself.

II. The Observer (condensed)

Now I talk about…  The Observer.

Yes, this part is very Very important.

The Observer is «You». And «You» are The Player, The Main Character, Danchou, God.

You…observe. LMAO. But seriously, yeah.

To observe is to be observed. To be observed is to be “real”. To observe is to make something “real”.

[insert The Catbox] The moment in which all possibilities can coexist, when the truth is unobserved.

[insert lore-related theory: Time-Space Dimensional Bubbles] I seriously theorize that the Sky and Astral realms overlap like “bubbles”. Imagine, 3D Venn Diagram 🤣

This is how I tried to reason out the inconsistency of Lucifer being described as in the Astral Realm in 10th anni, and Canaan being in the Sky Realm. What if both are true in that… in terms of “absolute” location coordinates(?) they are in the same place, but relatively speaking, it can be a place in the Sky Realm, or a place in the Astral Realm. 

This theory is not exactly related to the fic, but the idea of dimensional/reality coexistence does.

[choking on soup 🍲]

If you are God, and you are the Absolute Observer…then your dreams and fantasy are not that different from reality «canon». You Create The World.

III. Parallax Error (condensed)

The error caused by parallax—"a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight.”

Basically, an object’s apparent position shifts depending on from where it is observed. 

For the fic itself, I more or less used this concept to present the same Object as different things, simultaneously, by describing it as a different thing in separate instances. 

—But of course, with my own bullshit about The Absolute Observer being “the observed” in multiple instances. [Refer to The Egg about being multiple existences at once]

IV. The Fic (Parallax Error)

Here we goooo! Gonna divide this part into sections rather than through process chronology to be more coherent:

IV.A. Core Concept

IV.A.a. Inspiration (in the correct direction? I cannot say)

I was very much inspired by Hellstar Remina (Junji Ito).

Special mention to Soup (Umineko, Zero Escape, Sanhora, among others).

[…] the subject's gaze is always already inscribed into the perceived object itself, in the guise of its "blind spot", that which is "in the object more than the object itself", the point from which the object itself returns the gaze. "Sure the picture is in my eye, but I am also in the picture" […]

IV.A.b. The Plot

IV.A.b.i. Setting

Modern AU – Basically, I have been juggling many modern AUs in my head for a while now (with a substantially larger cast and a lighter tone). And then it just, clicked.

Astronomy – Part of the soup package. The concept was already astronomy, might as well incorporate that into the setting.

IV.A.b.ii. The ‘“Plot”’

IV.A.b.ii.1. Modern AU Danchou, but it’s not actually a Modern AU divorced from canon—this “Modern AU” Danchou is still very much the Singularity of Granblue. To cut to the chase, the protagonist Gran and/or Djeeta, is the same Entity, and is also God.

IV.A.b.ii.1.a. The characters Gran and Djeeta do Not Know they are God. That’s why the “timeline” of the fic begins with the «birth» of God aka, the discovery of a black hole or singularity, and ends with the «death» of Gran/Djeeta 🡺 «awakening» of God from their (humansona’s) dream IV.A.b.ii.1.a.i. To be specific, to align with the type of Singularity they are, their domain of authority as God is “acceleration of evolution”. This is also why the polar star could “speedrun” stellar evolution in the “dreamworlds” or Gran and Djeeta’s «Reality». And why the humansonas (God’s self-inserts) hunger for knowledge, progress 🡺 «Ascension» is inevitable.

IV.A.b.ii.1.b. Gran and Djeeta are fundamentally the same entity; think of them as separate “humansonas” of The Singularity, being in separate yet coexistent timelines—realities, or «dreams».

IV.A.b.ii.1.c. The Observer and Parallax Error

I will elaborate on this in IV.A.b.iii (The Layers), but basically what I’m going for is that the Entity (Danchou/Singularity/God/Observer/You) both acts as observer and observed object, sometimes, in a circular manner (like looking at a mirror), unknowingly.

[Refer to Illustrative Example in IV.A.b.iv.] What happens if a certain observer is aware that there is a singularity at certain coordinates (and as a corollary, that there is a black hole)? What if said observer is unaware that they already are within the black hole’s event horizon (therefore, already inside the black hole)? After all, no one knows what is actually inside of a black hole. What would be the view from the inside looking out? What if YOU were the cat inside the box?

IV.A.b.ii.2. If you realize XXX, it’s already too late. IV.A.b.ii.3. Singularities are like players in the meta-world.

IV.A.b.ii.4. SIDE: DJEETA

Djeeta’s story is a world with no one else, until she brought a certain star fallen from academic and artistic grace (Faasan) into the realm of existence, (and with it, of sentience and sapience). Because he is a star—an object that is not even a being—he is nonexistent in terms of being a creature; Djeeta’s fascination. It is his insistence of being someone who should not Exist and the unignorable incongruent state of affairs (truth of the world) that eventually shatters her worldview «Lie».

No one else exists in this world…but there sure is another character that is referred to that isn’t a star 😉

The redacted letters and choice to name Faa as Lucifaa 😉 (This is not the character I refer to in the previous statement tee-hee)

IV.A.b.ii.5. SIDE: GRAN

Gran’s story is that of a world filled with other people, all of which slowly disappear from existence as he himself forgets them in pursuit of the «Truth» through his astronomy research. All relationships lose value when weighed against The Self «God». And if something is forgotten, unobserved, by God…does it really exist?

Who better to warn of reaching The Truth «Divinity» than a certain blond man?

And yes, the incomplete names, or the letters that are lost were all 😉

IV.A.b.ii.6. Meet me halfway, me. IV.A.b.ii.7. The «Observer» desires to be observed, recognized, known, seen. By anyone, be it a lover, a companion, or ultimately—a father.

IV.A.b.iii. The Layers (Flavor text, Summaries, Notes)

The layers… These are the nested narratives—or rather, the frames used to nest them. All are true. But some are truer than others.

IV.A.b.iii.1. The Locations feat. Non-location Observers [Refer to Illustrative Example in IV.1.2.4 for actual placements]

Here we have the observers 🡺 the observed:

Event Horizon Observatory 🡺 God >The realm of the Narrative. That which proclaims God.

Lartcen Sixa Aronomiclast Strooverbay 🡺 The Sky Realm >I had a hard time combing through all moonspeak in canon to make up my own take for words without official en moonspeak. I’m quite proud of the moonspeak hehe.

Inter-Skydom Astronomical Union Observatory 🡺 The polar star GRDJ ▉0000+0000 >In-universe observatory.

International Space Station Roving Observatory (Ceres Outpost) 🡺 The planet Earth >Our world as we know it.

Djeeta 🡺LC▉ 00Ø𝜝

Gran 🡺 all named characters

God 🡺 Reality >[MSQ Chapter 129-4] A god is the definition of reality. To defy a god is to defy the world itself. 

YOU «the girl reading this» 🡺 The fic and all its layers

YOU 🡸 = 🡺 YOU

IV.A.b.iii.2. The Dates

February 29, 2017 🡺 a date that does not exist. But… it should precede March 1, 2017

The passage of time up to 2019 via nonexistent dates 🡺 all of time converges in the Boundary

February 29, 2019, 23:58 🡺 It’s also a fun coincidence that 000 first dropped on February 28, 2019

March 1, 2017 🡺 The Birth of the Singularity «What Makes the Sky Blue» This really is a lovely coincidence. I was taken aback when I saw it while researching. Earlier iterations picked February 29 of various years (2014 for Granblue going live, 2017 for “singularity” mention), ending at a proper leap year but you know how revision goes. I came across this more fun information.

IV.A.b.iii.3. High Concept: I wanted to simulate the idea of the story changing depending on how you look at it. In this case, the hovering will change the SIDE shown. Can also be toggled via clicking for accessibility. 

The texts hidden under “readmores”, and the hyperlinks/urls were to give off the vibe of “If you know where to look—"

Buttons were included to simulate the logs of the Event Horizon Observatory. Yes, that Layer. Also, yes. It could also be nth layer 😉

IV.A.b.iii.4. Illustrative Example of what the Fuck I was trying to do with this fic

I drew this a long while ago to explain my Insanity to my friends and I refuse to edit it to something more legible or comprehensible.

Observer A’s location: The Moon

Observer B’s location: Somewhere from beyond—outside the event horizon (In the fic’s case, Ceres)

Blue Circle: The Planet Earth/Sky Realm

IV.A.c. Musings about Canonicity

IV.A.c.i. Existential Pseudo-math | The (non-exhaustive) set of existential values

Canonicity Coefficient: the value describing “in how many timelines or realities do you exist”?

Canonicity Constant: the fixed value determining how similar “you” will be across iterations 

Canonicity Quotient: The canonicity coefficient divided by the total number of timelines or realities >Possibly correlated with physical proximity to the Absolute Observer

Validity Coefficient: has 2 determinants (a and b); formula still unknown >Does your existence affect the world state? Will it render a canon timeline (be it MSQ or sidestory) non/existent? >Will your existence influence the birth or existence of the Singularity? If you were/weren’t, will the Singularity not come to be? Will they cease to be?

IV.A.c.ii. Danchou and the Singularity have different existential values. IV.A.c.iii. Walder has a canonicity quotient of 1

IV.A.d. Free Will

– What is «God», the «Singularity», but one with a free will that trumps all others? To bend fate, distort probability—

⇊

IV.B. Pairings

IV.B.a. Faajita

Faasan hates Djeeta. Because she made him real. Because of her free will that overrides his own.

The very fact that he hates her, that he feels his free will, his very Selfhood, is violated, picked apart 🡺 more reason to hate her for making him be.

I WROTE FAASAN TO BE LIKE AN UNHAPPY SELKIE BRIDE

Djeeta, confessing her love to Faa: Lucifer was more beautiful than you. You are an imperfect successor, a disappointment. I think we’re soulmates. [Refer to IV.B.c. for more details]

The only attraction Faasan feels toward Djeeta is gravitational.

I just really wanted him to accuse Djeeta of eating stars.

IV.B.b. GranBabu

To be completely honest, the reason why the other pair became Faajita (when it could be any Danchou) is because at the time of conceptualizing this, I was seeing Granbabu fanworks, so I rolled with it.

[verbatim from a discord convo] Bubs: hell yeah if i gain enough muscle (mass) i will become a Singularity (black hole)

Babuchan desires to be an equal, to be of importance. And Gran cannot give him that because he is in pursuit of something Greater. 

IV.B.c. “Faaferu”

[“but Faaferu isn’t tagged?!”] Yes, exactly. Because it isn’t in here. But… it’s also, HERE.

An important aspect to the fic here is at least, for the Faajita SIDE, that Feru is the unseen 3rd “person.” He does not exist in the same plane (physical, existential, narrative) as the characters Lucilius and Djeeta—because he was not incarnated into a humansona. 

The entire time, Faasan is pining after him because they cannot be together. He has been torn away from the realm of non-sentience, and away from his twin/triplet star that is Lucifer.

He woke up one day, incomplete in almost every existential sense of the word.

He misses Feru so so much 🥺

Lucifer is the star mythologized, yet somehow the one who wasn’t incarnated and remained a literal star (because Djeeta was more fascinated with the mythos of Faasan, the Demoted One—being demoted from being The Cool™ Star)

This is because Faasan became an object of interest, like Pluto. [wordvomit] “What if he isn’t a star?” 🡺 What drew Djeeta’s attention.

Faa hated being, but he was at least comforted by the thought of Lucifer being designated as «True» by virtue of him being «False»; however, he still disliked the undisproved possibility of Lucio being the «True» One.

[Special Bonus Feature: FORK where Djeeta incarnates Lucifer against Faa’s wishes]

“We can hold hands now,” Lucifer smiles. “We didn’t have hands back then; also, the Roche Limit didn’t allow us.” Lucifaa is still as a statue, unable to process who is in front of him—in the flesh.

-RAMBLE: END-

[cat-shouty-13]

chat what do we think ?

(Yes the image is blurry, but walk with me. I shall put the roles written out under the image. For those unaware this refers to the cards of the major arcana in a tarot deck)

(I have watched Max Heart, Splash Star, Yes 5 Gogo (and power of hope) , Kirakira, Delicious Party, Hirogaru Sky, Wonderful, All Stars F, Dream Stars, roughly half of Fresh and a bit of Mahouskai so everything else is only based on vibes and what I've read in the wiki)

PLEASE DO ADD IN THE TAGS/REBLOGS IF YOU THINK SOME THINGS SHOULD BE DIFFERENT :)

Roles I am content with are Green

Roles I am not content with are Orange

Roles I assigned because there was no one that really worked are Red

The Fool: Cure Echo

The Magician: Cure Miracle

The High Priestess: Cure Grace

The Empress: Cure Heart

The Emperor: Cure Flora

The Hierophant: Cure Top

The Lovers: Cure Peach

The Chariot: Cure Lovely

Strength: Cure Sky

The Hermit: Cure Blossom

The Wheel of Fortune: Cure Yell

Justice: Cure Melody

The hanged man: Cure Happy

Death: Cure Wonderful

Temperance: Cure Whip

The Devil: Cure Black

The Tower: Cure Precious

The Star: Cure Star

The Moon: Cure Bloom (Cure Bright)

The Sun: Cure Summer

Judgement: Cure Dream

The World: Cure Supreme

Green names ! Magician, Strength, Star, Moon and Sun are just pure image/name association. The World is the end of cycles and brings everything together so Supreme fits. Echo is involved but separate to the rest of the cures, much like The Fool. Death represents transformation and Komugi undergoes the most transformation of all the leaders. Precious is the tower and her old values of parroting her grandmothers sayings are broken down by Godatz (Do not get me started on delipre I love this mess of a show so much and will tell you about how this should have been put together)

Orange names ! Empress = Heart bc Heart is reminiscent of the actual Cure Empress. Emperor = Flora bc royals. Lovers = Peach bc get your happiness and what not. Chariot = Lovely bc representing travel is kinda like what Happiness Charge was doing with the international cures. Wheel of Fortune = Yell bc time travel ????? Justice = Melody bc the wiki says she has a strong sense of justice. Devil = Black bc the Devil represents unbreakable bonds and Black and White got that unbreakable bond rizz (THIS ONE IS TRICKY BECAUSE OF THE OTHER THINGS THE DEVIL CAN REPRESENT ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS ARE MINORS DO NOT APPLY THOSE MEANINGS TO THEM)

Red names ! I ran out of things that really fit nicely so. Cure Grace and Blossom give me smart vibes so give them the cards that represent wisdom. Cure Top is a guy, The Hierophant can represent a man, bada bing bada boom. Cure Whip as Temperance, power of imagination = a flash of inspa~kira~tion ehhhhhh????? Cure Dream and Cure Happy got the short end of the stick as they were the only ones left so just got whatever was left.

[blossomzip]

deep dive: something in the orange

this is my unprovoked, 1.1k words long, unofficial official close reading/annotations post for something in the orange. i waffled about writing this out, mostly because i wanted reader interpretations to take more space than my intentions. but it has plagued me, even as i did annotations to kae’s annotations. in some way, this is a more organized version of the bits i dumped on poor kae that had nothing to do w their reading of the story lol

more importantly, treat this as what i encoded into the work—your own interpretation (decoding) is no less valid!

tidbits

let’s get the small trivia out of the way:

exchanging second buttons – lifted from a practice in high school graduations in japan, where boys can give the second button of their uniform (gakuran) to the person they like (some people say it’s bc this is the button closest to the heart)

my heart – lifted from cs lewis (“courage, dear heart”) but altered so it wouldn’t be too on the nose. also, i love the idea of my not as an expression of possession, but of devotion, and an acknowledgment that the other has full claim over their heart

boo-logs – i think i first heard it in a caratland vcr (the one where theyre old)? but it’s j extra cute cos it’s logs from mr and mx boo

d– and d+ - lifted from an ocean vuong interview i saved about how loss delineated his life into the "yesterday" before death, and the "constant today" where there is only grief

addendum: tears of mokpo - said it in the annotations of kae's annotations, but that song, on a lyrical level, discusses mourning a lost lover. situated historically, however, it was a song said to be an allegory for the homeland lost under the japan annexation. so youre free to interpret it as an extra-gutwrenching song to sing pre-seungkwan's loss, him doing a commentary on the ceded territory of jeju, or simply professor boo singing a trot song about mokpo while in mokpo

setting

not sure how surprising this will be, but i actually don’t call this an apocalypse fic in my head, even as that probably most fits in terms of “tags”. to me, it’s an interstellar au remix, as it’s pre-movie timeline, and set in a different part of the world. based on the wiki, the start of blight to the start of the resource wars is approx. 5 years, hence d–2183 being roughly that when you do the math.

on form

the use of screenplay for some scenes was not just a nod to sk being a filmmaker. for one, i like how the script format is concise enough to get one into the character’s headspace while immediately casting the reader as a viewer. you are there, but you are also a voyeur. the parts of the relationship that the reader-viewer is privy to is questionable right from the form itself, and this unfolds more fully in the content.

also, screenplay as a format is most used in film, right? whether it’s acknowledged or not, there is an assumed fictional/manufactured element in a script. this reinforces questions around narrativization and memorializing, which the work grapples with as a whole.

finally, it’s purposefully misleading—the screenplay does imply that these are from sk’s camera. but some scenes written in screenplay are purposefully “wrong”—there are notes on how things are cut (ie its not raw footage), or visual cues that don’t quite add up.

(edit: much of this screenplay format + blurred fiction/reality interplay is inspired by goodbye eri, which i highly recommend!!)

blurring memory, fiction, and reality

seungkwan’s own approach to his memory has been fractured by grief, and so there are things he is unable to confront without circumscribing it in some way. memory, fiction, and reality are ideas all in tension w each other in sito. all of them come to a head in the two scenes where seungkwan interacts with his footage:

memory vs reality: how much of what happened does he remember? think of how traumatic memories tend to be suppressed by the brain, or when sk realizes that he doesn’t remember some of the clips he had been replaying.

memory vs fiction: how much of what he remembers is actually what happened? think of how with each remembrance, some “memories” tend to change in minute ways. remember seungkwan thinking of how memory blurs with dreaming.

fiction vs reality: this is a little trickier, but there was a conversation (written as screenplay) on making the boo-logs into a short film. right after that scene was a conversation w vernon precisely on that topic. kae absolutely nailed this in their reading: how much of editing is fictionalizing? what are the implications of cutting and stitching scenes together? how much of memorializing a real person is fictionalizing them? sk has the burden of deciding how the love of his life will be remembered by the rest of the world, now and to come.

(trivia: in the scene right after the boo-logs convo, it moves to seungkwan “replaying the footage”. note that i didn’t say which clip he replayed, even if a reader may assume it to be the previous scene.)

the ones that are most likely “less real”—could be his memories, an edited version of compiled footage, his memories altered by repeated remembrance/trauma—would be the screenplay scenes without the d- on top! there’s the wedding w the cut to different settings (how are they suddenly in the beach? why are their garments wet even when the screenplay says they’re back in the wedding venue? etc.). and then there’s the two headed calf scene (why are the stars clear if we know from an earlier scene that sk’s camera doesn’t do well at night?).

the lost house

seungkwan never returns home—after d=0, he just ended up in the camp. it’s not as big of a theme in the story, but in the scene where he replays footage, there’s some stuff there on how the house he remembers blurs with the house of his dreams/daydreams (oneirism). i mentioned that bachelard’s the poetics of space was smth that held my hand while writing. while bachelard talks of it in terms of our childhood homes, i just thought there’s smth to be said about how a house we daydream about can also be the house we daydream in—and often it is a house we lost.

addendum: further, there’s a part somewhere on how inventories do not just catalog possession, but measure the potential for loss (?). that’s a line from baxter’s essay, in his wonderlands collection.

to end,

aside from the deeply personal catharsis of writing this, and the satisfaction of writing grief in a way that feels true to how i experienced it, my favorite thing about sito is that it places a lot of trust in the reader. i did my best to not make ambiguities as plot holes but rather as things unsaid, because it would be a disservice to spoonfeed them. it was essentially trying to write to a reader smarter than i (which is one of my favorite writing tips).

more importantly, sito trusts that the grief and love will be received with tenderness, and that it will reverberate. i had hoped that not being over-picturesque/descriptive made it a more intimate experience. my grief, drawn in purposefully-oblique strokes, became seungkwan’s grief. by not lending these to overly rich description, but honoring the pain nonetheless, i hoped for them to be more readily absorbed/felt/dreamt of as your grief too.

[markerofthemidnight]

The Smiling Snatcher (Clyde) - Dreams of an Insomniac x Dead by Daylight

My very first DBD killer concept! This one’s a DOAI crossover, as well as kind of an early Halloween special?

Few things I want to make clear though. Firstly, I have not only never played DBD, but I didn’t even know anything about it until like 2 months ago. All the info here is taken from my limited understanding of the game based off of YouTube videos and the official (I think?) DBD wiki. So give me some constructive criticism if anything to do with the below concept seems unfair, too weak, or unfitting for the character.

Secondly, some of the quotes I came up with for the Perks and Power Add-ons are just random bullshit made to sound vaguely in character, and not actual lines in DoaI. Most are official, but two in particular were made by me. The Power Add-ons are a similar story, with some being references to canon events and others being random stuff I thought would fit, but that’s not as important.

Anyways, go ahead and read!

The Smiling Snatcher resembles a 7-foot tall monster in an orange costume, with a long striped tail, slit pupils and a wide grin on its face.

Basic Information

Attack Type: Basic Attack

Weapon: Claws

Default Movement Speed: 4.8m/s

Terror Radius:

While its complete Terror Radius defaults to 40 meters, it has a Lullaby spanning 15 metres, wherein nearby Survivors hear children whispering while it is close. When a Survivor in the 15-meter radius is hooked, injured, or being chased by The Smiling Snatcher, the children can be heard laughing instead.

As well as this, The Smiling Snatcher’s Red Stain is replaced by a much larger Yellow Stain, a powerful glow that paints everything within roughly 6 meters of it a sickening yellow colour.

Power - Samhainophobia

“It soon found the perfect opportunity to hunt. Within several weeks, the humans were to hold a night of tricks and treats, and roam the streets while donning the skin of monsters. What better hiding spot than in plain sight?”

Special Ability: Remember The Curfew

The Smiling Snatcher uses its powers to create a hallucinatory Missing Poster on a wall. Only 3 Missing Posters can be on the map at any given time, and cannot be created within 50 meters of one another. This ability has a cooldown of 60 seconds.

Seconds after a missing poster is created, a Bedsheet Ghost is summoned next to it. These hallucinatory entities will walk around randomly within 30 metres of their associated Missing Poster, in turn creating faked versions of The Smiling Snatcher’s Terror Radius within 18 metres of them, and its Lullaby within 10 metres.

The Smiling Snatcher can see the aura of both the Missing Posters and their Bedsheet Ghosts in yellow within 50 metres, and can destroy both at will by approaching the Missing Poster and dispelling it.

Survivors can also dispel Missing Posters should they find one, however this takes time. Survivors scream upon successfully dispelling a Missing Poster, creating a Loud Noise Notification for the Killer and highlighting them with Killer Instinct for 5 seconds.

Special Ability: Guising

When at least one Missing Poster is present on the map, The Smiling Snatcher can activate Guising.

While Guising is active, The Smiling Snatcher takes the form of a Bedsheet Ghost to Survivors, and both its Terror Radius and Lullaby range shrink to 18 metres to accommodate this. Its Yellow Stain is also dispelled temporarily, so that the only way to tell the difference is a regular Bedsheet Ghost’s slightly slower walk speed.

If The Smiling Snatcher enters the 30-metre radius of a Missing Poster while Guising, its Bedsheet Ghost is temporarily dispelled either until it leaves, or until Guising ends.

Guising lasts 45 seconds and has a 75-second cooldown once deactivated. It is immediately deactivated when The Smiling Snatcher attacks a Survivor.

Special Ability: Warping Presence

When The Smiling Snatcher breaks a Generator or snuffs out a Boon Token, a copy of its Yellow Stain spreads out from 6 metres of it.

It is dispelled once a Survivor performs a successful Skill Check on it (or when The Smiling Snatcher breaks another generator or snuffs out another Boon Token).

Perks

The Smiling Snatcher comes with three unique Killer perks:

Scourge Hook: Veldigun’s Touch

Haunting a whole town since the start of your days has taught you precisely how to make your victims really afraid.

At the start of the Trial, four random hooks are transformed into Scourge Hooks. The Auras of Scourge Hooks are revealed to you in white.

Each time a Survivor is Unhooked from a Scourge Hook, the following effects apply:

• They suffer from the Oblivious and Exposed status effects for 30/45/60 seconds, after which they scream and reveal their Aura to the Killer for 10 seconds

• The two nearest upright Pallets and Windows are blocked by the Entity for 30 seconds

“I’ll never let you out of my sight.” - The Eastridge Demon

Trick or Treat

Lure in your prey with a savoury scent, and catch them stuck in a web of their own doing.

When you injure a Survivor by any means, and 10 seconds pass without them reaching the Dying State, their Aura is revealed in yellow to all other Survivors.

Survivors within 20 feet of them suffer the Oblivious status effect for 20/30/40 seconds and have their Auras revealed to the Killer for 10 seconds. You gain 5% Haste for the same duration.

“I’m behind you.” - The Eastridge Demon

Family Reunion

Anyone who escapes your grasp once won’t find themselves escaping again, wether that be literally or mentally.

The first Survivor to come within 5 feet of you without being injured becomes the Obsession.

As long as the Obsession is alive, the following effects apply:

• Their Repair Speed is reduced by 30/40/50%.

• The Rotation Speed of any Repairing Skill Checks they make is increased by 50%.

• Should they fail a Repair check, their Aura is revealed to you for 5 seconds.

When the Obsession is hooked, these effects no longer apply to them, and the next Survivor to fulfil the aforementioned criteria becomes the new Obsession.

You can only be Obsessed with one Survivor at a time.

“Come to me, and you will never be alone again.” - The Eastridge Demon

Add-Ons for Samhainophobia

Common

• Haunted Halloween Poster - A poster that reads “Beware the Smiling Snatcher!” Warping Presence’s radius is expanded to 10 metres.

• Half-Eaten Chocolate Bar - How is it still intact after so long, exactly? Survivors who successfully expel a Missing Poster are highlighted by Killer Instinct for 15 seconds.

• Rotten Egg - Before you came along, children treated Halloween like it was one big game. The Bedsheet Ghosts’ Terror Radius expands to 24 metres.

• Empty Bucket - A handy way to dispose of smaller body parts. There’s a reason why none of your victims’ bodies were ever found. Survivors become Exposed for 10 seconds after Dispelling a Missing Poster.

Uncommon

• Jack ‘o Lantern - It was snuffed out a long time ago. Warping Presence can affect two Generators/Boon Tokens, however its radius shrinks to 4 metres.

• Creepy Music Box - You used to know someone who liked music. Your Terror Radius expands by 10 feet, and your Lullaby expands by 15 feet.

• Witch Hat - Not quite your style, but good enough for a costume. All Bedsheet Ghosts, your Guise included, come with a smaller Yellow Stain of 3 metres.

• Yellow Mask - The old man’s caretakers used to wear ones just like it. You gain 5% Haste when you Attack a Survivor after Guising.

• Old Shoe - The only thing they could find of any of your victims. All Bedsheet Ghosts now match your movement speed and seem to chase after any Survivors 10 feet away from them, before stopping and patrolling elsewhere once they get too close.

Rare

• Sewing Kit - Good for repairing damaged Halloween costumes. Guising now has a 25-second cooldown once deactivated.

• Family Photo - Their faces look off. The Bedsheet Ghosts’ patrol range is increased to 50 metres.

• Broken Camcorder - You made sure its owner didn’t keep it for too long. Your Yellow Stain’s radius reduces to 2 metres.

• Hidden Camera - The Lankmann Foundation thought they could spy on you and not get caught. The cooldown of placing Missing Posters is reduced to 20 seconds, and their placement range shrinks to 40 metres.

• Glowing Flashlight - A glow-in-the-dark flashlight for ambience when telling ghost stories. All Survivors within 15 feet of you when you lift Guising become blinded for 1.5 seconds.

Very Rare

• Discarded Goggles - The initials “A.W.” are written on their strap. The Auras of Missing Posters and Bedsheet Ghosts can be seen from anywhere in the map, and anyone within 10 feet of a Bedsheet Ghost has their Aura revealed.

• Haunted Tape - The words “Haunted Halloween Collection” are written on it. Two Bedsheet Ghosts are made for the current oldest Missing Poster you create, and their patrol range is increased to 40 metres.

• Candy Bowl - You have no use for something like this. The Aura of Missing Posters are highlighted to Survivors within 8 metres. Once they Dispel one, they are Exposed for 15 seconds and you gain a 5% Haste.

• Home “Security” System - The Lankmann Foundation told all the lies they could to make the residents of Eastridge County believe they were safe. All Pallets within range of a Missing Poster are blocked by the Entity.

“Sorry. This is our town now.” - The Eastridge Demon

Ultra Rare

• Old Bedsheet - An old, dirty bedsheet with two holes for eyes. There’s a small bloodstain inside. Guising lasts indefinitely until you attack and has no cooldown before it can be activated again.

• Foundation Files - Old documents detailing all your victims, secured by you the day the Lankmann Foundation fell. Two extra Missing Posters can be created, and their placement range shrinks to 30 metres.

“Do not trust anyone you see wearing this costume.” - Lankmann Foundation spokesperson

Mori

The Smiling Snatcher walks up to its prey as they attempt to crawl away from it, grabbing their back and effortlessly turning them around to face it.

Its tail wraps around their torso and legs, and then its pupils roll back, and its mouth opens to reveal a bright glow coming from it. The Survivor’s eyes also roll back for a second, before being dropped to the ground, catatonic.

For just a second, The Smiling Snatcher can be seen standing there lifelessly, before its eyes roll forward and it continues its hunt.

Story

Eastridge County was an unremarkable town.

A quiet town, in the middle of nowhere, with its only noteworthy feature being an old asylum for treating the mentally unwell, and the Foundation that was still busy at work making sure sure all its residents were safe and happy.

Halloween was an interesting time of year, but about as interesting as the town could get. Urban legends of striped apes, living scarecrows and six-eyed monsters plauged the town for as long as anyone could remember.

The years would come and go, and aside from the occasional poorly-faked monster sighting or bizzare break-in, nothing would change, and Eastridge County was perfectly happy.

Until October 31st, 1986.

It happened suddenly. One Halloween night, six children vanished without a trace, nothing but a stolen costume and a few witness accounts giving any clues to the perpetrator.

And the disappearances kept coming, month after month, year after year, at their worst during the month of October. The more traces of evidence were left behind, the more apparent it became that the thing the town was hunting- despite some townsfolks’ suspicion- was not human.

They called it the Eastridge Demon, or the Smiling Snatcher as some younger residents knew it as.

As time passed, rumours started spreading that perhaps the Eastridge Demon was just the latest and most reckless of a long line of monsters that had been haunting Eastridge County its whole life. “Veldigun”, the creatures were eventually named.

Some lucky people who came into contact with one and survived began to change, physically and mentally. They would hallucinate monsters where there weren’t any, lose weight rapidly, and most frighteningly of all, their bones and flesh would shift and fuse with one another.

The Eastridge Demon itself showed remarkable intelligence and no remorse for the damage it had done. In fact, it had often claimed to its unlucky victims that their families, who were still on its mind even after so many hunts, had never been happier.

Eventually, the people of Eastridge got tired of these monsters. The Lankmann Foundation renovated its old Asylum, repurposing it so it was now fit to take care of those who had been affected by the Veldigun.

The news would stop reporting any Veldigun-related disappearances, and the police force would stop being sent out to investigate any supposed monsters.

Still, the disappearances weren’t stopped.

The Foundation set up a curfew on Halloween and rules for the season, while appointing special jobs to the friends and families of those who were victims of the Veldigun’s sickness.

Still, the disappearances weren’t stopped.

Wild rumours began to spread about the Foundation, discussing everything from mere unethical business practices to even hiding a Veldigun inside its walls, and yet they wouldn’t stop working to keep the Veldigun at bay. It was almost impressive.

Still, the disappearances weren’t stopped.

Lankmann’s Asylum fell, a beast with striped flesh, curved horns and a bloody jaw rumoured to have stepped out from it, and Doctor Lankmann himself was never heard from again.

Still, the disappearances weren’t stopped.

Six months after the Asylum’s fall, when the people of Eastridge County couldn’t take any more torture at the twisted hands of these demons, there was a long, foggy day.

Then, the disappearances stopped.

And the Eastridge Demon never felt bored again.

—

So, yeah! Did you like it?

In case any of you are wondering, I did consider incorperating the Madness status effect into this, but decided against it, since: 1. That’s The Doctor’s personal power, and incorporating it here would require changing how it works a fair bit, and 2. While I’m not awfully well-versed with how Doc’s power works, I do know that it’s a very important part of it, and to take that away from him would seem kind of… unfair? If that makes sense?

Anyways if you have anything to say, please, tell me! I’ve got a few more, significantly more unfinished concepts sitting in my notes right now!

[skyeslittlecorner]

Time passage on Earth and in Hell

Hello!

Today I come to you with a little thought experiment and I don't know yet what will come of it, but I wanted to share it with you anyway. These are not serious calculations, just a curiosity based on the information we have. (Also, one insignificant spoiler for ch5).

Let's see what the difference is between time in Hell and time on Earth!

Here are those bits of information:

1. The last time we know Solomon was seen was 311 hellish years ago.

2. Solomon lived in Hell for over a century (in hellish years, also). If he lived for two centuries or more, it would probably be reffered differently, so let's assume that he lived between 100 (the least) and 150 (the most, because 151 will be rounded to less than two centuries) years in hell itself.

3. The game was released in 2023, we don't know what the current year is in the game, so let's assume the release year is the year we, a Descendant of Solomon, are yeeted to hell.

4. It is assumed that King Solomon ruled Israel around 970-931 BCE.

Source: Wikipedia

Now that we have the numbers, it's time for math. Gusion, close your eyes, heresy will happen. For us, the best solution is the smallest time difference, so we are taking the most convenient numbers.

Let's assume that the last time Solomon was seen was just before his disappearance (this will extend the time of his stay in hell and reduce the difference between hellish and earthly years). Then these 311 years, when we add his 150 years of life, will give us a total of 461 years.

This means that Solomon appeared in Hell 461 years ago.

Now we count Earth years. Solomon had already been king for some time when he summoned Satan. He doesn't look old enough to be taken at the end of his reign, so (also very generously, we want to reduce this number as much as possible) let's assume it was midway through his reign. This gives us ~951 BCE. Add this to the current years, and voila!

2,974 years passed between Solomon's disappearance and our coming to Hell.

This roughly matches the information about Solomon on wikia.

Source: WHB Wiki

Now we just need to calculate the ratio.

2974 / 461 = 6,451, we can round it up to ~6,5 years.

One (1) year in Hell would be 6 years and 6 months on Earth.

Considering how often the symbolism of 6 appears, it wouldn't surprise me. Especially since some time difference is likely, because during all events the devils react like "ah, yes, humans should celebrate something now", as if these holiday dates were not so obvious to them.

Do I believe this difference is the real one? No. Although I would like to. That would add flavor.

It is possible that there will not even be any time difference, or it will be so slight that we will barely notice it. Reason? Minhyeok.

Even if MC returns to him after a year spent in Hell (which is not much, considering how much have to be done there), it will be a long time for him. If the MC's goal is to come back to him at the end, he can't be an old grandpa.

I wonder if I have missed any information, if so, please let me know! I tried to pick up what I could, but it's not easy to fly through the story when what you're looking for are so small bits and pieces of information. Again, just think of it as a little curiosity. Hope you had fun!

[leafmommi]

Hiiiii! I'm new to posting here and wanted to share my Tav Nesaria, she's an 62 year old Druidic Sorceress and newly trained Oakheart Sentinel.

In game I have her as a high elf but she's actually a Fey'ri ,a mix between Sun elves and Tanari demons. She reached maturity at 18-20 but has a life span of roughly 1,000 years. (according to forgotten realms wiki. She's based off my favorite DND character)☺️

The Infernal Katana (added in with a mod) is her weapon of choice instead of a staff. Since her bloodline partly comes from the hells, she infused a katana that her master gave her with her blood and has used it as her weapon of choice since.

Her love interest is.. of course you guessed it! The lovely bear man we all adore. Halsin!! Even tho she was hesitant about him at first due to the way the druids acted towards the teiflings especially the comments "foul blood" and "hell spawn" bothered her and she was no stranger to judgement from other druids. But as time went she admired him for not mainly his strength but that someone who had lived so long and lost so much was beyond kind and caring and quickly began to fall for him.

I'm working on some art to post on here! It's been a long time since I've drawn but BG3 has gotten me inspired lol. I'll also start posting fics here in a few days, I haven't wrote in a while and I have to grammar check!!🫠😂

Thank you!!! I look forward to seeing all everyone posts.❤️❤️❤️❤️

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Choglaem

First, it seems that Tumblr's search function is flawed in such a way that just searching the tag doesn't actually get all of the results. So if you drew something for this round and it's not in this post, let me know and I'll put it in a reblog. Same applies to previous (and future) rounds.

Anyway, it's now time to look at the results for the Choglaem! Anyone who doesn't know what that means is encouraged to look at previous posts in this series, collected at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting .

And here's the link to the entry people are working from:

Now, let's get into it. As before, these are presented roughly in the order that people posted them. (I'm going to go through the tag on Tumblr's regular search, then again on the alternate search method someone suggested, so any that only show up on the alternate source are going to be at the end.)

@embervoices (link to post here) decided to show that the Choglaem is bigger than all living things on the earth by... having it fight Godzilla. Perfect. Inspired. Love it. No notes.

@mobileleprechaun (link to post) has helpfully labelled their drawing for us, which I enjoy. Also the interpretation that the tongue through the blowhole is a lure used by an underwater predator is a good one -- honestly, putting something this large in the water just feels more plausible, you know? In their tags, mobileleprechaun describes this as "sort of a dinosaur snake tsuchinoko", and I had to Google that last one, so let me show you the best result from that ...

(If anyone else needed that word defined, it's a creature from Japanese folklore that does actually look a lot like a fat snake, but I'm pretty sure it's not just a fat snake. There's a (disappointingly brief) Wikipedia article about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuchinoko)

Anyway, the drawing is great! I have no idea why Saddam Hussein is there; you'll have to ask mobileleprechaun.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has given her Choglaem wings to aid in causing the air to become turbulent. The medieval stylization is pretty dead-on, I have to say; I swear I've seen those trees before. And I think this Choglaem may actually be the closest to the drawing in the Aberdeen Bestiary out of all the submissions we got, so coolest-capybara is clearly quite good at thinking like a medieval artist. The post linked above contains a brief explanation of her design choices and also a link to the medieval illustration that elephant is based on.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has once more done a very realistic-looking depiction of this week's beaſt. According to their post, part of their inspiration was an oarfish -- and I have to say this is pretty believable as a terrestrial version of an oarfish, so well done. I'm impressed by this one, which manages to look cool and dangerous but also kinda cute -- I think the tongue-through-the-blowhole part of the description makes all of them look a bit goofy in an endearing sort of way. The post linked above describes their design decisions, including a brief diversion over round pupils vs. slit pupils in snakes.

Silverhart also mentions that the nonsense-names I'm using sound like the names of mythical animals in a fantasy novel, so I feel I should confess what my process for randomly generating these names was. I've got a Goblin conlang that's been sitting in my pile of works-in-progress for years; I just fed the phonology from that into Zompist's gen program (link here), then picked out several dozen of my favorite results. So that's why they sound like kinda-plausible words.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) has drawn us a Choglaem who is having problems. Or, I don't know, maybe it meant to knot itself up like that; who am I to judge? Either way I think it's cute. Just look at that face. A brief overview of her design decisions is included in the linked post; I think the chicken crest is a pretty sensible call given the source material.

@pomrania (link to post here) has made some creative choices with their version. I like how they've decided that if the Choglaem kills with its tail, the tail should have something at the end rather than just... you know. A tail. That tracks. "The tail ends in a fist", specifically, however, was not something I saw coming. The crest looking like an emo hairstyle is funny, I think, and the angry elephant is great. The expression on the Choglaem's face is suspect to me; it looks like it's having too much fun with this. The linked post above includes an early draft, and itself links to a post with a detailed account of the artist's thought process and some additional sketches.

@miapcain (link to post here) has... wait, hold on, look at that border. That's gorgeous. Had to acknowledge that before moving to the inside of the frame. Anyway, Mia has given her Choglaem legs, which might seem odd for something described as a "snake", but actually isn't out of the ordinary for a medieval bestiary -- the authors tended to play a bit more fast and loose with their categorization of animals than we do today, and there are indeed examples of animals with legs being called "serpents" or "snakes". (I assume the artist knows this, I just want to share that with the rest of the audience.) Anyway, the drawing style is great; I like the stylized landscape and the muted colors. That elephant is definitely modeled after a medieval elephant -- I swear I've seen it before -- but I couldn't tell you which one offhand. Anyway. Love the vibes here. Not sure why the tongue is a vine, but it's a cool design feature.

@rautavaara (link to post here) has gone an entirely different direction with this one, and I can kind of see the steps. Snakelike creature, kills with its tail... what if the tail it kills with is a snake. As a result, we have this chimeric "bovid-lion-snake beast", as the artist describes. It definitely stands out from the crowd, and looks menacing as hell. Rautavaara continues with the cool frames and stylization, and I continue to appreciate them. Kind of an art-deco feel on this one.

@karthara (link to post here) gives us a big snake with a somewhat aquatic-looking fin-crest, grappling with an elephant in a very believable manner. That is a quality depiction of a snake fighting an elephant, no mistake. And like I said before, a kind of aquatic look feels right for something this big. The linked post contains a short description of the design decisions.

@gradling (link to post here) apparently also had the thought of "if it kills with its tail there should be something dangerous on the tail", and made the excellent decision to give the Choglaem a thagomizer. That's amazing and I love it. The crest also looks quite good. I don't have anything else to add here. Thagomizer. Brilliant.

@moustawott (link to post here) has done this very cool, kind of celestial-looking Choglaem. I like that its pose is evoking an infinity symbol. And, of course, it is in its natural habitat:

the skies

A brief explanation of design choices can be found in the post linked above.

@treesurface (link to post here) has managed to really evoke the size of this thing even though it's the only thing on the page, which I think is quite good. Also, the brief discussion of their design choices in the post linked is pretty interesting, and honestly that's what I want to highlight for this piece, so go check that out.

@scarlettbookworm (link to post here) has given us an elephant apparently in the moment when it realizes it's about to be attacked by a Choglaem. In order to allow their Choglaem to lurk despite its size, they've given it camo-pattern scales, which I think is clever. There's a pretty good explanation of their design choices in the linked post, which I think is worth reading.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) apparently did this with a fountain pen, which I think is very cool. I like the oarfish-inspired crest, and the very menacing face, and the elephant being ambushed. However -- and I realize I've said this like three times in a row now -- you should check out the linked post to read the artist's explanation of their design decisions. They describe it pretty thoroughly and I think it's more worthwhile to read their account of what they've drawn than it is to read mine.

@strixcattus (link to post here) posted this while I was typing this round-up, so this will be the last result from Normal Tumblr Search. They've given us another "there should be something dangerous on the end of its tail" interpretation and drawn their Choglaem with an ankylosaur-style club, which I think is excellent. As per usual, their post includes an amazingly detailed modern-naturalist-style description of the animal in question, which I always enjoy. It's exactly my jam. (That bit about where the largest Choglaem lives... is that a reference to something? It feels familiar.)

All right, I'm now looking through "#choglaem" on @findtags's search system, and it is a bit different, oddly. There are fewer results than in the regular Tumblr search -- only six of the above images show up -- but it also has one that doesn't show up on the normal search! Dammit tumblr.

@hairycarrot ... whom Tumblr will not let me tag? what the hell? [edit: the tag works now that i’ve posted this, but the editor seemed to think this blog wasn’t real] um... (link to post here). Anyway, they've done this neat stylized thing that kind of looks like pastels? I don't know art, that's just what it looks like to me and I like it. I also enjoy the Choglaem being coiled up like a spring -- I know it's because it's a constrictor and showing it in coils is a good way to communicate that, but I still like the look. Very pleasant-looking depiction of an elephant being ambushed by a giant snake.

All right, time for the reveal. Here's the Aberdeen Bestiary drawing:

Yep. That snake has legs and wings. So everyone who added limbs was in an appropriately medieval mindset. It doesn't seem to have a crest, though, and I don't see any blowholes. And it's attacking with its bite more than with its tail. Honestly, I think y'all read the entry much more closely than this artist did.

But maybe they were also working with more preconceptions.

Because you see.

This is the entry for the Dragon.

Yeah, that's not what I was expecting from a bestiary description of a dragon either.

The interesting thing about it to me is that it's absolutely not what you generally see in fictional depictions of dragons in medieval literature. The bestiary entry is very firm on the idea that it's not venomous, it's a constrictor, it kills with its tail -- and most medieval dragons I've read about are highly venomous. Some of them aren't even that large; they're dangerous for their venom rather than their size. So maybe this is a bit of medieval mythbusting -- "no, guys, real dragons actually don't have venom at all".

And yes, this means there's historical precedent for the green & black dragons in D&D; dragons being so venomous they spit, breathe, or blow out poison instead of having to inject it with a bite is a pretty common motif in medieval dragon stories. I think a lot of people think of those as just variants on the classic fire-breathing version depicted by the red dragon, but actually there aren't that many fire-breathing dragons in medieval stories as far as I remember. (I would do some research on this, but I wanted to have this posted like two hours ago, so you're just getting what I remember off the top of my head instead of proper sources, sorry.) To my understanding, the classic fantasy dragon breathes fire because Smaug breathed fire. And Smaug breathed fire because the dragon in Beowulf breathed fire. But the Beowulf dragon isn't actually representative in that regard; the venom-spitting dragon is more common as far as I've seen. (No word on lightning or cold, sorry blue and white dragons.)

Anyway, there's probably room to reintroduce the constrictor dragon that kills with its tail. What colors haven't already been used up in the various monster manuals, splatbooks, &c.?

I'm rambling. End of post.

[caffeinek9]

idk if this is too Woke of me, but the Red Bull race suits for Japan were reminding me wayyy too much of the rising sun flag, so i decided to redesign it myself 🙏

(little max for comparison. more info on my choice below!)

i based it off of a Daruma doll, which i roughly sketched on the left there. i wanted to make a design that strays away from the idea of using sakura imagery, as this idea has already been used plenty of times. the Daruma doll is something i don't often see depicted or spoken about when people bring up Japanese culture, so i thought it was perfect.

a Daruma doll is described on Wikipedia as "...a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement." i feel like this aligns pretty well with Red Bull's general presence and attitude in Formula 1. (but maybe not so much the "good luck" part anymore...)

i also chose the Daruma doll as inspiration because of the annual Daruma burning at the end of every year. during the ceremony, the dolls are brought to the temple they were purchased from, thanked by the "holder", and turned over to be burned. the "holder" will then buy a new one for the new year. it reminds me in some ways of the circle of life of being an ORBR driver.

there is also a common practice with Daruma dolls where the eyes will be left blank when sold, as "a means to keep track of goals or big tasks and motivate them to work to the finish." the idea is to fill in one eye when you set your goal, and fill in the other when you have completed it. this resonates with me in the sense that Red Bull wants to go back to winning constructor's championships. Max helped paint the first eye, pushing them only halfway there with the taunting idea of completing their ultimate goal in sight, but they have been cycling through different drivers to try to find the paint for the second eye.

there's probably more connections i could draw if i dove further into it, but those were my general sentiments going into it. 🤍🪽

• citation for my info :p •

"Daruma doll", 2025, Wikipedia

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daruma_doll]

[teecupangel]

I need to get this out of my system because I am one of the few people in that venn diagram of Assassin's Creed and Wuthering Waves which made me find connections that may or may not be there.

My theory: The Montelli is inspired by the Medici family and the Fisalia is inspired by the Borgias (and maybe the Pazzi)... as they're portrayed in Assassin's Creed 2

.

The Montelli Family

The Montelli is in charge of the bank in Ragunna which may be inspired by how the Medici family was known as a banking family that used their hold in certain industries to strengthen their power over Florence.

We can even make an argument that the Montelli's 'business endeavor' to make echoes much more accessible is in a similar vein to the many businesses the Medici controlled in Florence during the Renaissance.

The Medici family is also a patron of the arts which might be the influence behind Francesco Montelli's first appearance in Carlotta's companion quest being connected to an art piece and asking Rover what they think about it.

Another connection I noticed is part of Carlotta's companion quest. To be more specific, a past event we 'hear' about:

The one called 'stormy night' where the Montelli's headquarters was attacked by the Fisalis. This might be inspired by the Pazzi Conspiracy wherein the Pazzi family and their allies tried to kill Lorenzo and Guiliano de Medici. (And, in WuWa, the Lorenzo of the Montelli, Francesco, did get attacked during this night as well)

.

The Fisalis Family

The most noticeable connection is the Fisalis Family's deep connection with the Order of the Deep which can be seen as inspired by the Borgias' deep connection to the Church.

Also, while I can say that calling the religious order in Rinascita the 'Order' might have been a reference to the Templar Order which did control the Church in AC2, the Order's JP name is [隠海教団] which can be translated (roughly) as "the religious order of the deep sea".

Assassin's Creed uses the official JP translation of the Templar Order which is [テンプル騎士団], roughly meaning "Templar Knight Order" but usually just translated as "Templar Knights". Even in AC3 where they're no longer knights, they still use [テンプル騎士団]. Having the kanji [団] on both doesn't necessary mean anything. 'Order' being a reference to the Templar Order would only work in English (although the Order of the Deep do act a lot like Templars in-game). Had it been the 'Knight Order of the Deep', maybe there would be something to talk about but just 'Order' or [教団] is too generic and something you'd see in other stories who has a religious order but doesn't want to use the word 'church'.

Anyway...

My last note and the connection that prompted this post is actually Cantarella herself.

Because her name 'Cantarella' is:

Cantarella was a poison allegedly used by the Borgias during the papacy of Pope Alexander VI. (from wiki)

I think this is deliberate because 'poison' is one of Cantarella's big motifs.

.

Why am I including Assassin's Creed in this? Why can't it just be based on history?

Because, in history, the Borgias didn't have any hands with the Pazzi Conspiracy (as far as we know) nor were they allied with the Pazzi during that time. AC2 is one of the stories that 'popularized' the Medici and the Borgias being full blown enemies (historically, they were sorta enemies but not to the point that AC2 and the Montellis and Fisalis are in WuWa)

Also, there's a post before that says Rinascita was inspired by Assassin's Creed (this one is a bit sus because I can't find where I read that before) and with the leaks saying that the next country is inspired by Final Fantasy VII, it isn't really surprising if Rinascita is based on AC2.

.

In conclusion... it's not a beat-for-beat connection but AC2 and its portrayal of Renaissance Italy (especially Venice) inspired Rinascita with the Montelli family being inspired by the Medici family and the Fisalis family being inspired by the Borgia family.

[starryeyed-seer]

It is about the year anniversary roughly of me spending so many insomniac nights reading the fallen london lore wiki (as inspo for my dnd campaign) i fell fully back into fallen london after a decade.

And especially happy anniversary to me learning the suncrab lore I'd learned and repeated ("the sun is a cad who had a brief fling with a crab lol!") was based on Jack Shit, and got so annoyed that fandomLore lied to me I got way too into suncrab out of spite. And here we are today