#yeah yeah it doesn't rhyme deal with it

[your-local-tired-communist]

The Confusion of the Middle Ground

The confusion of the middle ground. A place of peace, or a place of hate. The confusion of the middle ground. A bright future for both sides, or a war for prejudice to prevail. The confusion of the middle ground. A handshake, a treaty, or chaos, mistreating. The confusion of the middle ground.

[purplelea]

Twewy native Pre week 2 neku and kh1 Riku would be the most toxic friend group ever

I had to specify neku as twewy native because in dream drop josh straight up said they all died and that's why they got sent to traverse town. But given his lines it's clear he's at least past peak asshole neku.

Thoughts?

OH YEAH VERY TRUE. but actually I don't even think they'd be friends, if that makes sense. Riku needs someone kind who looks up to him (like Sora and Kairi), and Neku pre-twewy... isn't that. Neku on the other hands needs people he can relate to and who share his worldviews (ex: how he got along with Joshua in week 2 and was able to have many interesting discussions with him despite, yknow, thinking Joshua murdered him). So it wouldn't actually work if there was only the two of them: Riku doesn't share Neku's values of shutting himself from people because he's scared of getting hurt & hurting them. And Neku only looks up to CAT.

[tritoch]

i have seen people be like "if you think what the dawntrail protagonists do in zone six is valid you have to conceded emet's approach/perspective was valid, what you do is basically what he does" and it's like...nah. it's obviously intentionally very similar ("it's like poetry, it rhymes") but there's some key differences:

emet is disgusted by sundered life, which he sees as inhuman, and longs to return to the unrecoverable past. so he does seven(ish) planet-wide genocides. the endless aren't new life, their ability to grow and learn is specifically in question (at the very least they are fundamentally incapable of taking in new sensory experience of certain forms), they're shades from the unrecoverable past, and you are destroying them in favor of those still alive.

also, we aren't disgusted by them nor do we think anything is fundamentally justified if done to them (everyone pretty much no-sells cahciua "we aren't alive so it doesn't matter if you kill us :)," in fact). we don't have like 12,000 years and the most advanced magic known to anyone alive. we are forced by serious exigency to destroy them due to a political impasse with their leadership's policy re: resource extraction. this tonal difference is in fact extremely important.

the endless themselves seem pretty ambivalent about the whole deal. they're bored or they're wary of the way their world keeps shrinking, and it's very explicitly neither a functioning society by any recognizable human terms nor a paradise.

related to the above, basically every named endless turns to the person most relevant to them (cahciua to erenville, krile's parents to her, namikka to wuk lamat, otis to you) and is like, huh, i really appreciate having this moment of grace at the end of my journey to see that it was all worthwhile and to resolve my lasting regrets, but i understand what you're here to do and yeah, it's probably time for us to go. (does the writing put a finger on the scale by doing this? sure, but the writers also designed and built the scales and everything they're weighing on them, so i find it hard to discredit any one aspect for being the writers' invention.)

finally uh no one in the party has kids with the endless or lives a full human lifetime as one of them lol.

it's important to remember that emet was definitely at least somewhat lying about not seeing the sundered as real people. the fact that he has "lived a thousand thousand of your lives . . . broken bread with you, fought with you, grown ill, grown old, sired children and yes, welcomed death’s sweet embrace" makes everything he did soooooo much crazier than what you do. if i managed to convince an endless to fall in love with me and i had a kid with them and i loved that kid so much that their death threw me into a permanent grief spiral then like. yeah i guess i would have to be like "well hats off to emet, folks." but luckily the game doesn't make you do that.

even if you insist everyone in living memory was a full living person that we killed, you're still weighing like a city of people versus 7+ planet-wide mass murders. you do not under any circumstances got to hand it to him.

living memory absolutely is evocative of everything that happens in shadowbringers. but rather than placing us in emet's shoes, it forces us to relive what we already did, to really fully face up to what we have done by promising to remember emet's culture after destroying any chance of its return. after two games going hard on the hope part of the game's central theme of hope arising from grief, now we're doing grief. we are forced to see the past of our memories not as a cold, ghostly art deco cubus-plagued socratic method hellscape but as the most beautiful technicolor theme park where everyone's happy and no one's sad and there's parades every day and your parents are alive and they love you so much. and then the game's conclusion is, yeah, you were still right to let go. in fact, you were and are morally obliged to let go. the living were and are worth more than the dead. our grief in letting go of them may be immense and turns our world to bleak nothingness for a time, and that is important to recognize, but at the end of the day our most pressing duty is to those we can yet save, not those we have lost.

[lynaferns]

I think that people complaining about Moon not getting many voice lines aren't seeing that that's actually part of his personality.

(I would have liked to hear more voice lines from him too but look at it this way)

He isn't very chatty in the first place, half his voice lines are laughters and when he does talk is in a very simple and rhyme-y way. I see this as: he just wants to have his message across and have fun in everything he does (why talk lot when few words do job) and honestly, if he feels he doesn't need to talk he perfectly can say nothing. We give Sun the trophy to the more expressive movements and motion but I think Moon deserves that too, he's very expressive through movement too, and dramatic! With all the jumps and little dances, the contortion and the fact that he never needed to do that swimming movement to control the wire, we literally see Sun and Eclipse use it just fine without doing weird movements to get to where they want to in Ruin, which means, once again, that Moon just does it for fun.

(it's funny because in fanfic typically you see Moon having perfect control of the wire and Sun struggling to use it. While the dlc could indicate that Sun is the one who has perfect control of the wire and Moon doesn't so he learned to do that swimming motion to make it work, idk, I would like to see this take used on a fic)

Sun on the other hand got MANY voice lines, not because they are giving him more attention than Moon but because he's the chatter box of the two, he cannot stay quiet and you see him, even if he has to deal with toddlers, using as much vocabulary as he can (the dude even goes French for a moment)

So yeah, those are my thoughts on it.

[marys2ndson]

hunting fucking sucks: a fic rec list

I just love when their lives suck not because they’re vessels for archangels or whatever, but just because their job is the worst. thankless, dangerous, morally ambiguous, leaving them injured and dirty and bone-tired. i <3 whump

Due East by sowell (4,700 words)

Just hunts and angst and them, together. Love the characterization. 

“I think I like you injured. Less bitchy,” Dean says with a smile, and Sam blinks at him. / “What?” / “You think I haven’t noticed you sulking for two days straight?”

Hard to Come By by sevenfists (1,700 words)

Hunting, driving around, sleeping in shitty motels. Making difficult choices, dealing with hard realities. 

"You don't smoke," Sam says, and Dean says, "What's it look like I'm doing?" The cigarette tastes like ass. He smokes it anyway, tapping the ash out the open window. It's August. Sam turns up the air conditioning. Dean turns it back down.

Below Breath by kalliel (3,100 words)

Season 2, case fic. Love the complete lack of exposition. You’re just thrown into it on Dean’s terms, and everything is complicated and difficult and unknown. 

Dude, he says, and shoves you in the back with his shotgun. You resist the urge to turn around and smack him with it. Or kiss him, all teeth. See how much he’s paying attention then. 

Every Rhyme Without Reason by kalliel (44,800 words) 

Season 1, case fic, Sam POV. Fascinating and atmospheric and a tough read bc Sam’s life is very uphill at this point, but he’s so present, wrestling and grappling with it. Love him. <3

Maybe they killed that rawhead, released that reaper, slashed that bax'aan's throat. Maybe they'll kill this thing in Rime. But this is what's gonna get them: They have $127.34, four more nights, half a tank of gas, and some cold leftovers to their name. Out here, there's nowhere to go but down; and even then, they're going to have to limp.

With Gravy by kalliel (3,700 words)

Vague season 2. A hunt gone wrong. Slim chances of survival, complete darkness, pain, and heroism. 

The tunnel stretches on and on, and all Dean hears is their footsteps getting heavier, sloppier. One kid cries. The woman cries. The man's leg doesn't quite clear some jutting rocks, and he weeps.

The Real Thing by ameliacareful (14,200 words)

Jensen wakes up in a motel room in Dean’s place. So outsider POV. That thing about the third trial, about Tom and Shep… Kill me. 

“Are you doing that on purpose?” / “What?” / “Sounding like him?” / “A little. Does it work?” Jensen asked. / Sam did that funny little flicker of a smile/grimace that Jared only did as Sam. “Yeah, it does.” His gaze hardened. “Don’t do it again.” / Sam was suddenly very big. Armed. / “Gotcha,” Jensen said.

Catch Your Death by road_rhythm (22,300 words)

They work a ghost hunt while Sam’s sick. This fucks severely! All their petty fights and their biases and bickering really get the spotlight they deserve, as well as the fact that they just really love and care about each other. Feels exactly like a really good ep of s2. And takes up some of the interesting Sam issues as well.

It was this, every time. Sam lashed out and Dean came back with impenetrable patience and washcloths and medicine and touch and one day it would be his life. And there was no answering back to that.

my habit of breaking hearts as soon as i have them by acccording2thelore (6,600 words)

WARNING: major character death. 

A hunt gone wrong. Staggering grief and horror mixed with intimacy and connection. <3 

If he can just get to Garth, he can send up some of his people and help carry Sam to the base of the mountain. Dean won’t make it that far.

the blurriness of being alive by hathfrozen (3,500 words)

WARNING: major character death. 

Sam dies of an infection.

“They don’t get to grieve for him,” Dean tells Miracle when he decides he isn’t calling anybody to tell them. “They ain’t allowed. They don’t get it.” Dean’s had the worst things in the known universe leeching off of him, trying to turn him into evil, but this is the most rotten, meanest he’s ever felt. He doesn’t fucking care.

A Lifetime or Two by nigeltde (18,400 words)

They work a case with their mom; Sam gets banged up; they try something new. This fic feels so real and lived in. The familiarity between Sam and Dean, the way Sam feels left out, Sam’s quiet loneliness and enduring hope, Dean’s desperate affection. <3

Sam would say lucky it was just broken bones. Lucky nothing else cut too deep. Lucky his ear was intact. Dean gets lost, strung out, trying to calculate: if Sam had been concussed, would that still be good luck? If he’d lost the finger, should Dean be thankful? Where does it end, the tallying? Sam thrown through glass, dragged across pavement, tossed into a car, stitched up in this cramped doll’s house of a room, having to bluntly endure; this is what he’s supposed to be grateful for?

Settle Down My Shivered Bones by abitingsmile (4,800 words)

WARNING: disordered eating, food insecurity, and child neglect. 

Pre-series. John, unreliable and off hunting somewhere, and Sam and Dean, making it work with too little cash and too little food. Love this exact flavor of codependency, not sweet, but hard-earned and for survival. 

Sam still bickered with him about school and television and laundry, but not about food. Hell, he practically waited for Dean to give him permission to eat, because that way they knew there’d be enough. John or no, this was something incredibly important they could control, they could handle. John simply wasn’t in the loop anymore.

[huginsmemory]

Even with TBOB and thisisnotawebsite.com there's... Still so much we don't know about Bill. Like ok yeah he's given a tragic background, we know a bit more about his henchmaniacs, but we really don't know a lot. Like, what happened directly after he accidentally destroyed his dimension? It isn't said. Sure time baby KNOWS about Bill's destruction of his dimension, but it seems like he didn't show up after Bill's dimension was destroyed to apprehend him because he only knows about Bill after Bill tries to make a deal with him, causing Bill's wanted poster. And how did Bill become basically the overlord of the nightmare realm, and gather all his henchmaniacs? Like there's a good period where we just don't know. And it's implied he's shocked and horrified (likely even dissociates, since he does that) after he destroys his dimension. But his characterization doesn't seem by that point to be one that immediately goes into a self-destructive, violent god-becoming maniacal spiral of self hatred; it's more one to be overwhelmed with grief and spend a good long time in the midst of his grief, then necessarily he's about to DO anything. And generally speaking trope wise, there's steps missing; typically in this sort of scenario, the usual progression is this:

characterized as monster due to being different in some way

tries to prove their not

ends up hurting someone anyways

gets further villainized, and antagonized by others

Acceptance of being a monster, and goes okay? You wanted a monster? I'll be a monster.

Now this fits Bill's early life, up to number 4, but we don't know what happens immediately after. It's possible he just went into his spiral immediately after, but it feels wrong, because it is missing the part of someone further villainizing him beyond himself which causes him to lash out due to the expectation (and internalized) idea that he would cause harm. I'd assume maybe some kind of interdimensional authority showed up and accused him of purposely trying to kill his dimension, which triggered his "okay, then I'll be a monster", or even a situation where his 'monstrosity' through the badge of killing his dimension is garners him respect. Considering that his henchmaniacs are chosen out of monstrosity and violence as a badge of honor, it feels very much like this would make sense, except none of them really know about Bill's dimension. He doesn't brag about the violence of it; he only calls it a liberation, contrary to the idea that Bill ever used it to gain clout. Instead, it's more likely that an interdimensional authority showed up and accused Bill, except from circumstances, it doesn't seem like it was Time Baby, so not sure who it would be... but at the same time, that expectation is often required for the character to truly embrace their 'monstrosity' and become truly violent. Or perhaps it was delayed after the destruction of his dimension, later when he begins to run with his henchmaniacs and disregards the law, but that also doesn't feel satisfactory for character development. Or perhaps I'm just overthinking this trope...

Also, how did he have his powers? Some is clearly stuff he's always had; pyrokinesis from that one rhyme, the ability to see into 3d, and he was somehow able to destroy his dimension by whatever he did to let Euclydians see the stars (telekinesis?), but beyond that? Was he always all-seeing? How did he become a 'dream demon'? Are his deals actually binding or does he lie? Are these things that he acquired later, because Euclydians seem to be written about as if they usually don't have any of these abilities, nor the abilities Bill is known to have when young, nor did Bill seem to be able to be all seeing when he was younger. Plus, how was Bill able to survive the destruction of his dimension, if he's technically made of the same stuff as everyone else, who all seems to have a physical form? Why then does he seems to be characterized as a being made of pure energy and thought; is that just in Earth's dimension, or does he have a physical form within the nightmare realm? There's multiple things that are contradictory about his body (mouth-eye, yet talked about removing his exoskeleton to feed--not sure exactly when this was mentioned--plus his mouth located under his bricks and bowtie in his exoskeleton in journal 3). But he seems so thrilled by his physical form though on earth, and we know that physical forms exist within the Nightmare realm as Ford was in it... yet it seems like hes characterized to have no physical form, so did he perhaps lose his physical form when his dimension died? Did he technically die with them too, but with his powers was able to survive essentially as a ghost like he tells Dipper you become without a body?

[paragonrobits]

Talk to the people that fight the monsters in the dark, skulking in the alleys no one remembers and hiding behind suits and smiling faces in the expensive buildings, they'll tell you stories. They say there's a city block that doesn't belong to the city anymore.

Don't make trouble for the people there. The unspoken statement is that the people there aren't... exactly human anymore. They used to be. But there's worse things in the dark then men with the hearts of wolves or undying monsters that drink the blood of the living; worse than patchwork men that spread disaster in their wake and don't understand why. Sometimes, a terrible mystery ensnares someone, trapping them in promises and story and lies, and drags them away.

What comes back isn't human anymore. It's still a person, though. They reason and understand things, same as the humans they were, once. You leave them alone, the local Union rep says. They're no harm to no one, as long as you don't bring trouble to them.

Don't rat to them, you get warned. If someone who looks too good to be true comes around sniffing for their addresses, you just smile and nod and say you never heard a damn thing. Don't rat them out. Because the people in that place will know, and they'll find you, and your family. You try to throw them back into hell, they'll return the favor three times over.

But it goes both ways; if you watch out for them, mind your business and keep their secrets, they'll help you out.

The Union rep tells you a short little story; he says that most of the time, the people in that city block look the same as you or me. There might be a few signs; a girl with teeth unnaturally sharp and pointy, or a man who knocks on wood and it makes a noise like HE'S made of wood. But if things are going normal, you won't see what they really look like, just a kind of magical mask that hides them. But they got their fancy tricks, and they know all about escaping bad situations.

So if you do your part in the deal, they'll help you out. Pretty much anything; a single mother went down to them after some bad business with her ex came up and her kids went missing. Well, she talked to Pop Hammerfist, the big ol' dude that looks like someone carved a tree into a man. Her ex was on the news in the hospital a few days after, yelling about the trees following him, and her kids were back home safe and sound, and with the ex having already signed a few agreements to pay his damn alimony already.

Or a little boy with a missing cat came up to them and asked for help. If any of the real hunters or Union folk had heard about it, they would have stopped him, but the people in the city block didn't turn him away. They nodded, and listened, a few hours later came back with the little boy's cat, safe and purring up a storm. You help them out, they help you out; I hear that kid tells 'em stuff he heard. 'Spose there's a lesson in that. We're all in this together, long as we don't tear the boat down with us in it.

Reminds me of a story about the lady who brought the cat in, in fact. A big lady; has to go to special shops to get clothes that fit. Weird shiny teeth, too, with the weirdest damn braces I ever saw, if those are braces. You hear some funny stories about her, that when she comes knocking the whole floor shakes, but she couldn't be a sweeter lady. Nice to kids, loves cats, always help out. If she's got the weird habit of speaking in rhyme before she says anything else, well, we all got our promises, I guess.

Well, a while back, we had a Slasher. Yeah; the thing that happens when a Hunter goes bad, or someone just gets too much of a taste for murder. Killing opens up a soul, and some part of us leaks out, or something else gets in. This particular fellow liked to call himself a real genius; a real nasty piece of work that liked making elaborate death traps and leaving people to die. Well, we worked out he was there when they started finding the bodies, and by that point he'd already gotten the Big Lady.

...Yeah, that's the name of that lady I mentioned. Long story.

Well, we found what was left of him, and his death traps. The whole place was smashed to pieces by something big. Big and helliciously strong, I'd say. It was like the set of those torture horror movies got hit by a storm. And they found the guy, or. What was left of him. Looked like a wild animal had bit him up, or a jaguar.

Well, from what we heard, he got her all right. But she might have been a bit more than he bargained for. I'm not sure exactly what she did to him, but they were cleaning his blood and bone off the wall for weeks. They said his skull looked like something real strong had just slugged him, so hard he sorta splashed. Don't make me draw you a picture, pal.

But, yeah. Funny thing is, they said the fist mark was so big you'd need a person the size of an elephant to throw that kind of punch. And we kept seeing cats around the area. Really, really big cats.

..You remember about promises. You keep 'em with the city block folk, because they got all kinds of things keeping promises to them.

What happened to the Big Lady, you ask? Oh, she's still around. Helps out the local Union cell now and then. Good hand if you need brute force.

She don't much like having to handle anything that's got too much iron in it; steel is fine, but not real iron. She saws its an allergy.

...Yeah, I know how it sounds. But we got our funny ways, and she keeps her promises, so keep your nose out of it, yeah?

[windvexer]

Got any super duper cleansing magical tips?

hell yeah I do brother (nongendered)!

this is just kinda how I do things and people definitely have different opinions but here we go, in no particular order:

If at all possible, physical cleaning is going to go a lonnnnng way towards magical cleansing. Even a little cleaning helps. If we're discussing cleansing something big (like, an entire person, a room, or an entire home), there may also be "key points" which deliver the most cleansing returns if physically cleaned. For example, a human person may find that their spiritual cleansing is very much aided by washing of hands, feet, and face - even if they can't fit in a whole body scrub.

Likewise, certain areas within a room may hold more influence than expected. A certain shelf, bookcase, or corner may alleviate the room of much badness if they alone are tidied and dusted.

In the home overall, look for major thoroughfare areas (perhaps near the front door or kitchen) which have little corners that have gone too far untidied, perhaps sticky with dust.

When it comes to objects, even a little wash, rinse under soapy water, wiping down with a damp cloth, and so forth, can go a long way towards magical cleansing. Often I do not magically "cleanse" at all, as a normal clean suffices for me in most situations.

I don't find physical cleaning to be totally necessary for magical cleansing, but it can be very helpful both as a first step, and to tackle stubborn cleansing problems.

Speaking of physical cleaning, home cleaning recipes also tend to work well for magical cleansing. A little vinegar is a very strong cleansing agent. Steep some lemon and rosemary in that vinegar for a few weeks, and forget about it - that's both a general household cleaner, and it'll cleanse the shit out of your magic stuff, too.

Ammonia is regarded to be an immensely powerful magical cleanser - one that must be heavily diluted, and tends to strip not only negative influences, but positive ones too.

Early on in my education, I was advised that a bit of bleach can go a long way towards destroying magical bonds. So, don't discount the household chemical cabinet.

For the own self, applying bleach or ammonia directly to the skin simply doesn't do - but a very gentle shower scrub containing a bit of salt, plus various kitchen herbs (dealer's choice - try sage and rosemary to start with) goes a long way. Wash from top of head to bottom of feet, and don't forget the back of the neck.

Other mundane things, like filling a space with fresh air or good vibes, are useful in cleansing in general, but may not suffice in heavy-duty situations.

A very fine cleansing charm is created with saltwater, this being from Paul Huson's rhyme in Mastering Witchcraft:

Water and Earth Where you are cast Let no spell, nor ill intention last Not in complete accord with me As my word, so shall it be

My personal lazy modification for the use of incense:

Fire and Air Where you flare Let no spell, nor ill intention last Not in complete accord with me As my word, so shall it be

Speak this over a little bit of salt water (after mixing) or incense (after lighting) and then sprinkle/wave it all about the thing to be cleansed. To be done when physically cleaning did not suffice, or when physical cleaning is not possible, or when feeling a bit fancy, or when preferring to just do magic.

In cases of emergency, or when it's desired to strip all magic and influence away from a thing, put it inside a plastic bag and bury it completely in salt. Seal this entire thing up (ziplocks are under the purview of true magicians) and then cover it up in a black cloth (or inside-out black graphic t-shirt, or oatmeal gray pillowcase, or whatever's on hand - doesn't matter really) in the back of the closet for 3 days and 3 nights, or until you feel like dealing with it.

When retrieved, the object should have no magical influence on it whatsoever.

In cases of confusing or unsatisfying results, consider if "cleansing" is really the action you should take. For example, if a tool is acting up and producing bad results, it might not be because it's "dirty." It could be that the tool needs to be fed. It could be interference from an ancestor looking for attention. It could be because your technique needs an adjustment.

Cleansing is a fine first step, and it's probably not going to hurt anything, but it's kind of like the "have you tried turning it off and on again" of magic. A lot of the times it fixes a lot of problems, but it's not going to fix actual issues that require a mechanic. (The good news is, the mechanic is you, so you're going to save a lot on repair fees)

In advanced cases, consider why things cleanse the way they do, and employ this to your advantage. Rosemary and frankincense may be considered to be "cleansing" because they "raise the vibes" and create an atmosphere incompatible with a lot of heavy bullshit. But, neither of these Allies are really attack dogs (at least, not in my experience).

Clove and Jalapeno are "cleansing" in that they will take the offending energy out behind the woodshed and teach it a lesson, and tell it not to come back to town or else. But, in my experience, neither of these allies really elevate a space with the heavenly touch of more celestial Allies.

So while I would say the average "cleansing formula" (whether it be a vinegar, an incense, and so forth) works in most situations, from time to time a more nuanced approach is helpful. Like a stubborn little stain, difficult-to-cleanse energies aren't necessarily powerful or bad - they're just nonreactive with whatever formula you're trying to use.

[terapsina]

You know what I'm weirdly looking forward to now that the Ahsoka series has come out and Sabine Wren has been added to the Disaster Lineage?

All the inevitable fics where Sabine gets sent to the Clone Wars and saves the galaxy while being weirded out by her emotionally constipated Jedi Master being a snippy and pretty optimistic kid.

(also, I'm just curious about Sabine being confronter by the sheer tragedy of what the genocide of the Jedi Order means. I mean, yeah, she's more aware than most because she knows how it affected Kanan and Ahsoka, but that's very different than actually walking into the Jedi Temple and seeing all these people who will be horribly murdered in the near future).

(also, I love the hilarity of the Jedi Order dealing with the fact that apparently what they can look forward to next from their headache team is the first Mandalorian Padawan in a thousand years).

Like being the focus of a time travel fix it fic is like a right of passage for basically every single character whose name doesn't rhyme with Schmalpatine, but it's ESPECIALLY a right of passage for the the Disaster Lineage.

And if she's a part of Disaster Lineage then I NEED her to meet Anakin and Obi-Wan and the extended family that is Rex and Cody and Padmé and... well everyone. And I know that can't happen in the show, but it goddamn BETTER happen in fic.

[dea-thynote]

Death note au where L transfers to daikoku academy in undercover to catch kira, and light yagami is not one of his suspects. The reason being this kira is too reckless and relentless, there is no rhyme or reason why they kill, they just do. This also means they leave more trail to where they are, but also puts more pressure to the police since so many people are dying randomly, and the broadcast confrontation L did just solidified the theory this kira is in Japan. Since this kira doesn't really have any connections with the Japanese police they never knew that they've already narrowed it down to kira being a student. With this, they then narrowed it down to daikoku private academy in which L coincidentally becomes classmates with Light. And Light hates him.

(Don't mind this, I just need to draw it first to put it into words, but yeah, this is the idea?)

Light's first impression of him was that he was certainly unique (read: weird). This guy suddenly transfers to the academy when it's the last term of their third year. Sits crouching in his seat and his legs tucked to his chest and starts eating sweets in his table. He doesn't even talk to anyone unless it was to creep or interrogate them, and just looks at other people. He once saw him standing and observing an entirely different section. It was annoying, and he could barely suppress his annoyance to the whole situation. So he ignores the transfer and waits for the teachers to reprimand the transfer themselves. It doesn't take while for the teachers to notice the transfer doing these.

"RYUGA!" the teacher shouts. The transfer pauses with what he was doing. "Can you answer the question from the board?" The transfer barely glances to the board before saying the answer. This doesn't satisfy the teacher however, and asked him random mathematical questions, some which light knows haven't been taught, and the transfer, once again, answers them perfectly.

Light is surprised. And only caught himself staring when he saw ryuga is staring at him back. The teacher moves on and asks light to answer, which he answers correctly. The teacher started complimenting him, and how that's how a student should be. Light just sits down again, and sees ryuga's attention somewhere else. (He doesn't know why, but slightly pissed him off. But he ignores him, better not associate himself with him)..

Is what he would say, if the teachers didn't just unanimously agreed that the transfer needed to be seated near light so that ryuga could learn from him. (Read: let light deal with the transfer, and any to no improvement of his behaviour would be blamed to him instead). So he tries to talk to ryuga, only to be met with short or cut out answers and sarcasm.

But then the open debate happened. With the news about kira, a mass murderer with no morals or reason, the philosophy teacher decided it would be a great topic to debate on. Which L was on the side of kira and light against kira. (Idk, maybe they argue the world is too overpopulated and lacking resources to provide for basic needs, and something about programs and also murder shouldn't be the solution and the fact that lives are being killed for no reason) and after the debate (which lasted the whole time for the subject, the debate ended in a draw and none of the teams are happy) light became intrigued with ryuga. He made points he could barely argue with, without directing it to another topic, and how he manages to sometimes take over the conversation by twisting his words to something else. Light is annoyed. And intrigued. But before he could even congratulate him, he just ignores him and walks over to the other section!

(Lmao, I just imagine light fascinated but also hates L, but gets jealous because he seems more fascinated with the other people in other sections. While L ignores light because, although he is also as fascinated with him, he's not a priority considering he needs to catch kira).

[skaruresonic]

TBH I refuse to play SXS Gens out of pure principle until the option to restore the original Generations dialogues and animations are avaible, fuck the rewrites

I just finished the Shadow portion lol. Overall I feel like you're not missing much. Like, yeah, it's supposed to be an anniversary game and all that, but there's honestly not much in the way of story. You would unironically be better off playing the older games before this one.

I really feel like the "SxS Gens is necessary to catch new players up to Shadow's history" argument is looking a lot weaker now. If anything, you wouldn't understand the emotional resonances behind many of the allusions unless you've played previous games; they don't provide exposition or context within the narrative itself. You wouldn't know that the ARK raid happened because nobody implies as much. The narrative is written as though it expects you to know why Black Doom's threats to possess Shadow are such a big deal.

This game's narrative is about as patchwork as Gens; characters are in nonsensical spots (why do we find Metal Overlord in Kingdom Valley's boss area, but Mephiles in some random cave on the side of Chaos Island's? what purpose did Metal Overlord's presence serve? or Mephiles', for that matter?) and the plot is just "stop giant monster before it destroys the world" sans Eggman. Much peak, many wow.

There's literally no plot progression from point to point; there are six levels in total, and you will only see most of the "plot" unfold at the 3/4ths mark. Until then, you're just running around without much rhyme or reason.

Maria and Gerald are simply there for moral support. They don't really do anything besides that. Gerald justifies this by claiming he doesn't want to mess with the timeline by changing anything.

I went around talking to various characters. Conversations with Big and Maria were the most enjoyable, and I felt like they were the highlight of the game. Rouge gets a bit on-the-nose by comparing herself to Amy when saying she'd support Shadow. Some of Omega's lines strike me as a little acanonical. For some reason, Orbot and Cubot are also there, and you can help them build a rocket by collecting 80 machine pieces. From what I've heard, however, there's no reward for collecting them all, so I was like "lol bye" and left.

I was also disappointed by the lack of a Sonic boss fight. I would have loved a reprise of the original ARK race from Gens; it would have been a nice callback to how you get to see the race from both perspectives in SA2 as well, but we can't have nice things ig :v

Mephiles appears. Lol. Lmao, even. Rofl, if you will. It feels like ST included him solely to riff on the fact that he'll never be canon. He's such a nothingburger of a character and is so negligible as a plot point that he might as well not have been there. He's only there because fans wanted to see him again.

For one thing, you find him in an out-of-the-way cave under Chaos Island. For another, my guy literally says "I just want to exist" and Shadow goes "no. perish." Based, but also, way to waste my time lmao.

Black Doom wants to consume the world as well as possess Shadow. It's not explained how he returned; Gerald handwaves it as "he rebuilt his body through timey-wimey shenanigans."

The gameplay is serviceable for the most part but also incredibly tedious; I found I only enjoyed Radical Highway Act One, and that was because the design was unencumbered by the use of Doom Powers.

Chaos Control and Chaos Spear are your standard abilities, nothing to write home about.

Doom Missile has limited application since only enemies or targets can be shot down, and thus isn't used much.

Doom Surf controls like a friggin' surfing Blooper.

Doom Morph is okay, I guess. Shadow turns into a giant squid and is able to traverse pools of Black Arms juice.

I hate how the Doom Wings control so much omfg. And they say the Homing Attack is a crapshoot. >.>

tl;dr It's okay. Not terrible, but I honestly don't think I'd play it again.

[kimyoonmiauthor]

Useful free tools for writing.

More of the incidental tools that I find useful, regardless of how one usually writes that are often known in the writing community, but you might not know?

One Look dictionary

Reverse word look up. You know when you're getting stumped on a word you kinda know, but only can get the definition of, or you want to make sure your 3-word phrase can't be said more succinctly? Yeah, this resource should help. (The underline is a link)

Google Docs

I should note that after about 100K words, it starts to struggle. But it's good for editing, collab work, spreadsheets, and also keeping track of your previous drafts so if someone says, "But, but you plagiarized from me," you have a log saying you didn't, so you can say, "you likely took from me."

And so on.

Libre Office–because not everyone wants to deal with Google Docs or can afford Microsoft office. It also has a recovery function, so if it crashes, you can get your words back. (Microsoft Office often doesn't?)

Use it for formatting your manuscripts. For the editors out there, accept ODT format. This is absolutely free and sometimes it doesn't port well.

Rhyming dictionaries–yes, they exist. The slant rhyming is also useful. There are slant rhyming dictionaries too.

The almighty square bracket. []

To all of you discovery writers out there that can't afford Scrivener. This is the tool for you. You've written and dumped all this information into the text that shouldn't belong there, but you want to keep it. What do you do? You square bracket it.

If not that, there is also the curly bracket if you need a sub category. {

It's great for:

Editing notes.

Please expand this note to yourself.

Examine this phrase later because you moved on, but it doesn't sound right.

Cataloging important information you might need at a later date.

Info dumping that you want to break up.

Storing long descriptions you want to use elsewhere.

You're too lazy to catalog in your world building notes great information.

You have ADHD and some other idea has occurred to you, but it's totally off topic. Square bracket.

To avoid plagiarism 'cause you forgot you pulled a source.

If you're one of those super detailed people, you can also color code it. The reason is that both curly and square brackets almost never show up in manuscripts. <> sometimes does, but also often doesn't.

The best part is no matter your program, format, or keyboard, you have it.

Note that this doesn't work for Japanese as well, but Japanese also have access to {} which is why I noted it here.

Spreadsheets

You need to make a calendar for your planet and need the quick calculations.

You need to make a morpheme list for your mythical language.

You want to delineate gender quickly.

This usually comes with Google Spreadsheets, Microsoft Office and Libre Office. But writers often (me included) forget they exist.

But they are useful for more than number crunching. And some writers use them for plotting too.

For Fantasy/SF writers: Donjon:

The whole website, but particularly the Fantasy Calendar maker is useful.

Google Search: Quotes.

You want to fact check a quote. Or you got distracted and forgot to put in the citation information.

To be or not to be

is horrible search for. So what you do is this: "To be or not to be."

And you might get Will Shakespeare.

BTW, Goodreads is a horrible horrible source for finding out where quotes came from. Make sure you have the actual page number/place it was said with the surrounding quotes.

Equally, the -[item] is also often useful when you're searching.

You're looking up say... Kimchi, and you want search results that don't have napa in it You would type "kimchi -napa"

You are researching... I hope, I hope.

Public domain books: Project Gutenberg

You need a back issues of Gustav Freytag's Dies Techniks des dramas.

You need the quote from Anne of Green Gables.

You want to check if this Winnie the Pooh quote is in the earlier or later works because of public domain issues.

You need to read The Art of War for the tenth time.

You need to read Machiavelli's The Prince, because you are writing politics and war.

This is the place to find it. Sometimes, sometimes it is public domain, but it's not in there.

Library

Libby (app), for example. Sign up for it. Get a library card and you'll save yourself money. Some countries don't have one, but for the ones that do, you can read print books and consume audiobooks at home.

Often self-pubbed books are on there too. If you have an amazon account then you can use the kindle app with it.

Sometimes you can also go to university libraries and though you can't check anything out, you can use their catalogs to look up things. You sometimes have to be there, but often they give links to free resources in their catalogs and might be easier to use than JSTOR. You don't have to be a student. Just be respectful of the people there, and try to put the books back where you found them. (usual library stuff).

This will save you going to Hawaii for the University of Hawaii, for example, because you know they have some awesome East Asian resources.

[yourpalmickeymouse]

Mickey, who would you say is your worst foe?

Mortimer, Pete, the blot, Julius, the mad doctor, or-

.....Other names I can't think of right now.

P.S, is it possible to be asking you too many questions? Don't wanna be a bother!

Hello hatred-n-hav0c,

Don't worry about askin' too many questions. I like answerin' them. Though it may take me a while to get to them all, haha. 😅

As for my worst foe. Gee, that's a toughie. I deal with a lot of terrible people who are all awful in different ways, it's hard to compare 'em. It doesn't help that it seems like every year each one tries to outdo themselves in horribleness.

I mean just goin' the list you mentioned, like Mortimer...

Well... So listen, Mortimer definitely can be a pain in the butt and I definitely wish he would get a clue and leave Minnie and me alone, but I dunno if I would call him my worst foe. To be honest he is more of an annoyance than anything. A BIG annoyance mind you. But nothin' I can't handle. He usually ends up embarassin' himself anyways haha.

Pete on the other hand is a piece of work. He's a big bully who uses his larger size to beat his way into what he wants. It doesn't help that he's a pretty crafty menace. Able to come up with all sorts of new ways to commit crimes and teamin' with just the right person to help him with the job. I've definitely dealt with him way more than I wish and would definitely put him up there near the top of my list.

In fact there's a lot of people I would put up there, Doublejoke with his nasty tricks, Miklos with his frustratin' mimicry, Portis with his immoral experiments (I think this is the mad doctor you are talking about?), Sylvester with his sinister schemes, Dr. Vulter with his harsh cruelty, Ecks, Doublex, and Triplex with their inhumane inventions (they could be the mad doctor I guess), The Rhyming Man with his... evil rhymes... I'm gettin' off track

To answer your question, I really think any of these guys could be my worst foe on any day. Dr. Vulter and the Rhyming Man are pretty particularly awful, but I feel like I don't see them as much. I mean Pete is more of a consistent threat in Mouseton. I feel like he is the one I have to deal with the most. I feel kinda connected to him as if we've been foes in many timelines or some nonsense like that. But I feel like the severity of his crimes varies, and sometimes he could even be reasoned with. I guess that leaves...

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention...

Him.

I talked 'bout him before. But the Phantom Blot is one of the worst. He's a twisted megalomaniac with no sense of morality and just doesn't know when to quit. I have to be vigilant when I am on a case he's involved in, or risk dealin' with a vicious surprise attack or trap he planned for me. I don't know why he specifically makes me feel this uncomfortable, but he just does. Honestly, sometimes I wish I didn't have to deal with him at all. Yet I oddly feel drawn to him. But someone needs to stop him, and I have a better record than most when it comes to handlin' him.

But maybe I shouldn't pick a "Worst Foe". Wouldn't want any villain to read this and try to outdo the others to get the number one spot. 🙄

[eyeoftheb3h0ld3r]

dsaf is actually rotting my brain this is becoming a problem

ok so im listening to mumford and sons rn trying to work on homework

AND EVERY FUCKING SONG REMINDS ME OF DSAF

so please take what i relate every song in sigh no more to (spoiler warning. like really big spoiler warning.) oh theres a lot of text here too. read under the cut at your own risk 🤷‍♂️

sigh no more - dsaf 3 good ending, last goodbyes from jack. why does this song make me sad

the cave - also dsaf 3 good route but like the entire thing. ive analyzed the lyrics to this song so much its not even funny "so come out of your cave walking on your hands, and see the world hanging upside down" is literally so davetrap coded to me.

winter winds - FLIPSIDE DAVESPORT!!!!!!! this is self explanatory im pretty sure but uhm. dave dealing with learning to love properly

roll away your stone - dsaf 3 evil route!!! woo. this song to me describes jack's slow acceptance of henry's influence ("and darkness is a harsh term, don't you think? yet it dominates the things i see") and davetrap's trust of jack leading up to his demise ("don't leave me alone at this time, for i'm afraid of what i will discover inside", "and you, you've gone too far this time, you have no reason nor rhyme, with which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine")

white blank page - reality dave's feelings towards jack, the obsession. three cheers for toxic zombie yaoi!! anyways this song is rlly good at portraying that for me. "you desired my attention, but denied my affections, my affections, so tell me now, where was my fault in loving you with my whole heart?" ITS SO DAVE CODED.

i gave you all - henry's major influence of how dave turned out and how davetrap's relationship with legacy reminds him of henry. trust me on this one guys.

little lion man - jack and dave's relationship to me, how jack (imo) will lash out say things he doesn't mean ("i really fucked it up this time, didn't i, my dear?") self explanatory enough.

timshel - THE KENNEDY FAMILY!!! this is so the kenendy siblings to me. theyre all different and yeah they have their fights but they stick together ("and you are not alone in this, as brothers we will stand, and hold your hand") i feel like the first verse is more dee-coded to me- "and death is at your doorstep, and it will steal your innocence"

thistle & weeds - MY FAVORITE!!! anyways uhm. dsaf 3 for SURE. more good route to me. jack sort of being torn between what to choose, the flipside crew advising him what to do ("but plant your hope with good seeds, don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds" (thistle and weeds implying henry here)) etc etc. but also dave in a way?? like how jack could leave him ("alone in the wind and the rain, you left me, it's getting dark, darling, too dark to see, and i'm on my knees, and your faith in shreds, it seems", "i know you have felt much more love than you've shown")

awake my soul - flipside davesport to me. again. im so normal abt them. sort of like jack teaching dave what a healthy relationship is like ig

dust bowl dance - dave. definitely dave. listen to the song and you'll see why tbh.

after the storm - post dsaf 3 good ending!!!! with also hints of thoughts back to the henry fight ("and i took you by the hand and we stood tall and remembered our own land, what we lived for")

woo!!! that was a lot of typing. thank you for taking the time to read this im very normal abt mumford and sons and dsaf

[taylorhawkins]

2002 Singles Roundup! (Spin Magazine)

Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins break down this year’s radio gaga…

Nelly - Hot In Herre

Dave: You know this song? Nelly?

Taylor: He could have affiliations, we better be careful.

[Spin:] I don't think he has anymore.

Taylor: Anymore. Once you're in you're never out. I've never even heard this song.

Dave: You hang out at the wrong clubs.

[Spin:] Any idea why he's got a Band-Aid on his face?

Dave: Maybe he popped a zit.

The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So

Dave: I do love the Hives. This kind of has that 'My Sharona' effect on people. It spans all demographics. It's just a totally bare-essentials rock song.

Taylor: The Stooges did it better.

Dave: Elaborate.

Taylor: It just sounds like if the Stooges were way tighter.

Dave: Or maybe if the Kinks didn't fight so much.

Avril Lavigne - Sk8ter Boi

Dave: Is this Bon Jovi? Don’t tell us. Is Pat Benetar back?

Taylor: I'm sorry, I hate high school lyrics like this. It grosses me out to picture some 50-year-old A&R dude in a limo with her, like [puts arm around imaginary girl], "This is gonna be huge, baby. The kids are going to love this." It's like, God! Go right for the fuckin' mallrats!

Dave: Well she's Canadian.

Taylor: She got a nose ring?

Dave: I don’t know, but I bet her navel's pierced.

Taylor: No, she's got a tattoo of a dolphin on her butt.

The Vines - Get Free

Taylor: I think these guys suck. This song is real fuckin' boring.

Dave: Avril Lavigne's song is more challenging than this. If you really want to challenge the listener give them some of that Canadian stuff.

Taylor: This is just, like, buy your angst at the local Kmart.

[Spin:] Dave, does this Nirvana sound bug you at all?

Dave: It doesn't bother me that much.

Christina Aguilera - Dirrty

Taylor: I'd rather discuss the video. The song doesn't even matter!

Dave: It's a serious career shift.

Taylor: Yeah, like when Guns N' Roses went from Welcome To The Jungle to November Rain. I don't know if it's going to work out for her.

Dave: I think it promotes group sex: it promotes lesbianism.

Taylor: She's a little slut! Just kidding.

Justin Timberlake - Like I Love You

Taylor: Ugh! I'm sorry, Mr Timberlake!

Dave: This is Justin? It sounds like Michael Jackson.

Taylor: Are there young boys in the video? Justin tries to dance like Michael Jackson - he even has the hat on.

Dave: Here's the deal with Justin. I'll go rent Breakin' 2 and put on Thriller, and there you go.

Kylie - Can't Get You Out Of My Head

Dave: Killer song! No question! You're getting ready to hit the clubs, put this on. It's got an old nursery-rhyme melody to it - unforgettable.

Taylor: Kylie - I'm proud of her.

Dave: I've got to say I can't stand it when a singer dances - except for Kylie.

Taylor: Freddie Mercury.

Dave: Freddie didn't dance; he pranced.

Taylor: This songs way better than that Christina Aguilera - Aguilerica.

Dave: I've got an idea! Let's start a Christina Aguleria metal cover band - do all her songs but heavy metal, and call it 'Aguilerica'.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - By The Way

Dave: What's this song about?

[Spin:] It's about a girl he wants to sleep with who's coming to the show.

Dave: Isn't that what all their songs are about?

Taylor: That's what all our songs are about.

Kelly Osbourne - Papa Don't Preach

Dave: I dig it! She's got a good voice, man.

Taylor: I bet that's Dave Navarro playing guitar.

Dave: He definitely sounds pierced.

Taylor: Whoever's playing guitar has his tits pierced, so it's probably Navarro.

Dave: I'm into Kelly Osbourne. She's the snotty punk-rock kid at your high school - but deep down, she's kinda sensitive.

Dirty Vegas - Days Go By

Dave: Is it a car commercial? You could sell a ton of cars with this song. (adopts portentous car commercial voice) Ford Aspire.

Taylor: A new wave in technology.

Dave: The new Ford Probe!

Taylor: Feel the power. Next!

Eminem - Without Me

Dave I love this. Great song, no question.

Taylor: What's so cool about Eminem is the rhythms of his melodies - he's a step ahead of everybody with his flow. As far as I'm concerned, there's him, Snoop and Kool Keith.

Dave: So good! So Hilarious!

Taylor: Awesome. He's no dummy. He's an intelligent motherfucker.

Dave: Even Moby probably likes this song.

Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles

Taylor: What the hell is this shit? Is it someone's piano recital? Who's Vanessa Carlton?

Dave: Some girl who plays piano.

Taylor: It's kind of like the new Bruce Hornsby. Does the Range play with her? Nah, I don't like it.

Dave: Flashdance.

System Of A Down - Toxicity

Dave: Badass sound.

Taylor: I like the fact music like this is...

Dave: ..challenging people.

Taylor: I'd rather listen to early Genesis or early Rush, just because it's more nostalgic, but it's fucking awesome to me that shit like this is popular.

Dave: Agreed.

Shakira - Underneath Your Clothes

Dave: Shakira sounds like she's got a fuckin' booger in her throat that she's got to cough out. She's like sex education in junior high where you see the cartoon diagrams of a penis entering a vagina; it's just caricatures of sex. That's how I see Shakira. Does that make any sense?

Taylor: No, but I say we leave it at that.

SOURCE: fooarchive.com

[mothsgotghosts]

Soapghost Tangled Au

LOOK. I'm certain I'm not the first person to think about this but I Don't Care. This blog is basically just me saying shit about cod to the void anyway and talking like a bunch of people will see it lmao. THIS IS GONNA BE LONG AS FUCK BTW.

Also this shit is gonna feature some good old fashioned nikprice and alerudy and my several headcanons, a few of which I will share for context: First of all, almost everyone is trans in my mind, I won't lie to you. But mostly that's not relevant to the plot besides Soap and Nik are both trans men. Also Ghost is transfem and that's not super relevant but I will be using mostly she/her for her (I hc her using she/her and he/him pronouns) so be prepared. OKAY GOOD This is just gonna be me rambling my ideas in a bulleted list hopefully in the order of the plot.

The story sticks fairly close to the actual movie plot, once upon a time there was a magic flower yadda yadda. Anyway Old Man Shepherd wants to be eternally young yeah

Meanwhile the kings (Price and Nik) are like "let's have another kid", I say another bc Gaz is here also he's adopted <3, and seahorse dad Nik is real, okay great (DO NOT TURN THIS INTO OMEGAVERSE SHIT. HE'S TRANS. A TRANS PARENT.)

Anyway uh oh Nik gets sick (haha rhyme) and Price is like "go get that flower so my husband doesn't DIE thanks), Shepherd is pissed, steals their baby with magic hair

That baby with magic hair is Soap! Who is raised by Shepherd, everyone's favorite (least favorite) manipulative piece of shit!

Some background info on Soap's childhood, it wasn't great being locked in a tower and also. Soap is trans in this (as I've said), he's just gnc, but the long hair. Eehh. Not something he super loves but Shepherd won't let him cut it, obviously. The mohawk was a compromise (yes I know the hair lore but I want him to have a mohawk so shh)

Anyway Soap's 20-something birthday rolls around and he tries to ask Shepherd to go see the glowing lights, Shepherd says no, they argue, Soap asks for paint instead, Shepherd leaves to go get it

Meanwhile Ghost and Graves are robbing the fucking castle and steal the lost prince's crown, Ghost leaves Graves to get caught by the royal guard and then gets chased by a horse named Riley for a while before ditching him and climbing into an abandoned tower, and gets hit with a frying pan

Again, the story continues fairly the same. John makes a deal with this stranger in a skull mask to take him to see the floating lights, the lanterns apparently, and he'll give her her satchel back, Ghost begrudgingly agrees.

Ghost then takes Soap to get some food to convince him to go home and call off the deal, and she takes him to Los Vaqueros Saloon, run by two outlaw husbands and frequented by loads of criminals and bounty hunters

In case it wasn't obvious, Alejandro and Rudy own the saloon. Its patrons are made up of various different operators + Valeria (who IS an operator now but still).

Poor Soap is terrified bc Shepherd told him all people, esp ones like these, are bad news and then a bunch of guys lunge on Ghost to get her bounty and send someone out to go find some guards. Soap stops them, I've Got A Dream happens. Alejandro wants to be a pianist, good for him :)

Meanwhile Shepherd returns, sees Soap is gone, and rolls up right as Soap is saying how glad he is he left and gets pissed

Then the royal guard show up and Rudy and Alejandro help them escape and then call Ghost's dream stupid.

"Go follow your dream, hermano." "I will." "He was talking to him, your dream is stupid."

They get cornered by Graves, the royal guard, and Riley, escape and then get trapped in a cave and nearly drown. Ghost cuts her hand trying to pry away some rocks but it's too dark underwater for her to see. They both think they're gonna die so Ghost tells Soap her real name.

"my real name is Simon Riley. Somebody might as well know." "I have magic hair that glows when I sing." "....what?" "OH MY GOD- I HAVE MAGIC HAIR THAT GLOWS WHEN I SING!!!"

John's good old magic hair saves the day, they escape, they find a clearing to camp out in for the night and Soap uses his hair to heal the cut on Simon's hand, Simon freaks out a little bit it's fine, she's fine

John then asks why Simon changed her name to Ghost, Simon says it's a boring story but John listens anyway. She talks about her father and her brother taunting her with ghosts and skeletons, and when they died it stuck with her. She decided to become a ghost.

Simon asks about John's hair, he tells her that his "father" keeps him in that tower to protect him from people who want to steal his hair, shows her the tiny little brown strand that never grew back and says people want to use him for his hair's healing abilities, it's how he got the big scar on his chin.

Simon leaves to get firewood, and Shepherd emerges from the fucking shadows like a creature and tells Soap to come home with him, to which Soap says no because he Likes Simon, and she's gonna take him to see the lanterns, and she's nice!! Shepherd gets mad, tosses him the satchel and says to give it to Simon and see what she does, that he'll be sorry when she runs away with it, and then leaves

Simon comes back and Soap lies and says everything is fine. Shepherd runs into Graves who wants to kill Simon and makes a deal with him

Then morning rolls around and Simon is awoken by RILEY THE FUCKING HORSE, Soap convinces Riley to be nice and let Simon go for one day because "it's my birthday :)" and she's supposed to take him to see the lanterns

They make their way into town and Simon immediately is like "okay yeah your hair is too long" because people keep stepping on it and gets some kids to braid it. John looks very handsome, Simon is very queer, they run off and have a good time enjoying the town square and all the festivities

At some point Soap notices a mural of the royal family, with a certain golden haired baby that looks very familiar, but quickly brushes it off to dance with the townsfolk and Simon

Then it's time to see the lights! Yay! Simon gets a boat for him and John, tosses Riley a bag of apples that he Definitely Paid For, Okay...Or Mostly Paid For.

I See the Light happens, John gives Simon the satchel and Simon pushes it aside in favor of taking off her mask, just for John.

"but I'm not scared anymore, ye know?" "I think I'm starting to."

AND THEN HE TAKES THE MASK OFF AND. sometimes, I am a genius. Anyway, they get back to shore and Simon sees Graves and is like "I promise I'll be right back" and goes off to just give him the satchel, he doesn't want it anymore he just wants to be done with all this criminal shit, mainly for Johnny.

Graves instead is like "what if I took that magic hair guy instead" and knocks his ass out and ties her to a boat then goes to snatch Soap. Shepherd shows up AGAIN and knocks Graves out like "oh look son I saved you!" And Soap sees the boat with Simon on it, thinks she left him, and goes back with Shepherd

Simon wakes up TIED TO A BOAT WITH THE FUCKING CROWN HE STOLE AND GETS ARRESTED

Graves also gets arrested and Simon freaks out on him when passing him being led to his cell, Graves says that some weird guy showed up and took Soap back home and Simon is locked in her cell

Meanwhile back at the tower, Soap is laying in his bed all sad bc his gf left him, when he realizes the sun crest on the little flag Simon got him at the festival matches suns he's been subconsciously painting for YEARS, that when he tried on that crown Simon stole it fit, that that baby on that mural WAS HIM, that BRO HE IS THE LOST PRINCE.

Then he yells at Shepherd for stealing him away and Shepherd is like "okay fuck you" and plans to lock him up forever

Meanwhile, Simon gets broken out of prison by two cowboys and their gaggle of thieves and bounty hunters and a horse named Riley. Riley takes him to the tower where he climbs up and gets stabbed by Shepherd after seeing Soap LITERALLY CHAINED TO A WALL.

John begs Shepherd to let him heal her, that he'll go with him quietly and never complain if he does and Shepherd agrees and chains Simon up too so he can't follow them. Soap goes to heal her and Simon slices off a bunch of his hair. Shepherd rapidly ages and falls out of the window and dies, L moment. Simon dies too tho, sad.

For real though, "You were my new dream" "And you were mine" fucks me up every time. Anyway, Simon dies, Soap's magic tears of love or something brings her back to life.

"Did I ever mention...I like brunettes" "PFF- YER AN ARSEHOLE!" "Sorry Johnny, there can only be one blonde person in this relationship!"

Anyway happily ever after and all that, Soap gets to reunite w his long lost fathers and brother.

Look idk how they recognize him okay. Father's intuition? Blue eyes? The big fat scar on his chin that wasn't ACTUALLY from someone stealing Soap (he was a stupid baby)? Idk could be any or all of those.

THE END!!!!!! Thank you to those who sat here and read ALL of this <3 big preesh! Okay idk how to end this so bye