#yearly introspection

[catharsis-in-a-bottle]

sometimes my brain just doesn't beat the aroallo allegations

[seafoamreadings]

week of november 10th, 2024

these are written predominantly for the *rising* signs but they are also intuitively "channeled" enough that they should work for any dominant energy you have! (try your sun if you don't know rising, or more advanced readers can try moon, anywhere you have a stellium, etc and see what works best for you!)

aries: significant nodal transits this week mean all you have to do is walk, and the path appears. the full moon this week also points to (likely positive?) developments around money and your deepest core values.

taurus: the full moon this week is the yearly full moon in your sign. it can be a highly emotional time and yet, the moon is so happy in your sign that it's hard for this to go badly for you. just make sure you're meeting all your needs as much as possible.

gemini: a full moon across your 6th/12th house axis this week pushes you to integrate the multiple parts of yourself that sometimes disagree with each other. sometimes as you go about the routines of daily life it's easy to forget that you even have some of these parts. quiet introspection, especially if you can actually have the moon in view as you do so, is likely to bring about fruitful results psychologically.

cancerians: while full moons may typically have you feeling moody and broody with lots of mood swings, this week's feature in taurus is likely fun and friendly. if you're up for socializing a bit it is a fantastic time to do so, and if not, at least send off a few texts to strengthen community bonds.

leo: if you've had any changes you'd like to make at home or to your more public-facing image, this can be a good time for it. just be cognizant of mercury and mars doing their impending retrograde things.

virgo: earth energy amplifies a bit with venus into capricorn plus a taurus full moon. this is good news for you, overall, especially if you're looking for fun or a new flirtation, or if you're trying to work out an academic plan or spiritual leveling up.

libra: while the vibes are not particularly libran, your ruling planet venus is quite busy all the same, and this is broadly beneficial to you, especially in your home life and/or if you want to reconcile with a family of origin or ancestry. meanwhile a merging of households or a sharing of resources or expansion of intimacy can also be a really good move now, being mindful of course about upcoming retrogrades and possible associated hiccups.

scorpio: creative pursuits or flirtations that seemed to fizzle out in the last few months (and similar endeavors) may pop back into existence this week. you get to choose what to actually follow through with, but if you've wanted a fun fling or artistic undertaking to come back and get a little more permanent, this is the time.

sagittarius: work you've done on your inner world, like shadow work or therapy or a dream journal, starts to pay off big time with this week's full moon, in such a way you can see benefits on the earthly plane. meanwhile a household problem may begin to resolve by the end of the week - rent issues, a roommate search, repairs, etc.

capricorn: venus moves into your sign to grace you with timeless elegance, attractiveness to money, and similar. if you're seeking a charming benefactor this may also come to you in the next few weeks.

aquarius: you can let this week's full moon act as a sort of bridge between your private and public life. of course, if you want to keep these compartmentalized you can, but if it helps you to live authentically to dissolve the boundaries or just make them a little less impermeable, this is a great time for it.

pisces: make new friends and build your close-knit community. it doesn't have to spontaneously appear over night or even in a week or a month. but it is built brick by brick. place a few tetris pieces about it this week.

watch the transit posts in real time to have the best guide through your week. want a little more? have a look at my patreon or ko-fi.

check out my etsy for a private reading or dm me to set up a reading through venmo, cashapp, or paypal.

[thistransient]

Halfway through July, and I have neglected to write my yearly birthday introspection, although it did occur to me that between my birthday and the new year I was in fact doing two introspections a year anyways.

For certain reasons I've been waffling about it, but it's also quite nice to be able to look back and compare with the previous year, to see what's changed (sometimes unexpectedly) and what's still the same. Last year I mentioned I "made a close friend [...] and disentangled myself from a draining relationship", but in the end I had been drawn to said friend because he was the polar opposite of the person I was disentangling myself from, and while a different extreme might have been refreshing in the moment, that too was unsustainable in the long run. I think what finally dragged me out of the cycle of too-clingy/too-distant nebulous just-friends-but-what-if sort of relationships was twofold: I started going to counselling with a goal (not the usual "I feel like I'm having a breakdown so I'll see a therapist for 3-6 months before ditching"), and also got into a communal hobby such that I was able to make casual friends and attend regular and diverse events with a time limit (rather than laser focusing on one person and relying on them for all my socialising).

A year ago I said I was feeling adrift, goal-less, and filled with the sort of summer malaise inspired by the scorching Taipei weather this time of year. Unfortunately we are still rather scorched. The temperature and UV levels somewhat put a damper on my usual practice of walking around outside looking at things. On the positive side, I did struggle through the adrift-ness and applied for one (1) grad school program over the winter, which I didn't get into but I did learn that I feel better when I'm working on something, and I was also motivated to finally take Taiwan's Chinese proficiency exam to open up my options for the sort of programs I could try for in the future (I passed a level higher than I expected to, and it was great to feel acknowledgment of my competence at something I'd really put long-term effort into). After the grad school rejection I started planning the trip to Ladakh, which allllmost felt like it involved a similar level of paperwork and fuss- and actually pulling that off in the end (ok, even tho this was after my birthday) despite all my fears and anxiety (particularly around travelling post-transition) was also a great confidence boost. (For a week after I also had this frantic urge to drastically change my life, and I can't tell if it wore off with time or if the heat simply drained out all ambition beyond staying out of the sun and sitting in front of the fan eating cold dragonfruits.)

I have at least two proper goals now, and although one may require starting over entirely from an educational standpoint, as they say, "the time will pass anyways". On my bike rides at night I do tend to start pondering what shall become of me, creeping along in the years but being no closer to permanent or even temporary residency status than any other time I write about it either wistfully or with well-intentioned but otherwise ultimately futile determination, nor feeling like I am useful for any sort of capitalist pursuits. (I suppose this is the part of reflection wherein things have stayed the same, and we must stay tuned for next year.) But I also believe I have made some progress in deflating a little the omnipresent catholic guilt at simply existing, not to mention the adjacent notion that enjoying life a bit and not being maximally miserable at all times is a SIN. By this I mean I have gone twice now to a nice hair salon to let a beautiful woman shampoo, condition, and also give me a haircut that doesn't bear a strong resemblance to a bichon-frise immediately after.

All in all, I would say the verdict is incremental improvement. (Okay maybe I'm also racking up incremental nerve damage from all the shibari but you win some you lose some.) My housing/employment/visa-running status hasn't changed dramatically but I feel more hopeful and kinder with myself. I think my Chinese reading speed has kicked up a notch. I've managed to keep the instant noodle consumption under control. I've sent a lot of postcards on my quarterly trips, which are generally well-received. I have taken great delight in growing many plants in the window cage (whether they survive is another thing, RIP to the tomato plants while I was away, bravo to the basil that miraculously rehydrated from what seemed to be a completely unsalvageable state, sorry to the lemon tree sprout that was apparently doing fine on its own before I came back and over-watered it to death). Things feel kinda okay, and I used to be quite suspicious of this because surely they were only going to get worse again, but these days I figure hey, even so, might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

[2024-grimoire-challenge]

June Week 1: The Wheel

Even if you don't prescribe to the popularized Wheel of the Year ideology, your year rolls on, as a wheel does, and continues day into day, month into month and year into year. And there is a cycle to that rolling wheel, even if for you it is only the seasons.

So this month we'll be taking a look at that wheel, at our year, and how the changes in the seasons influence our practices, if at all, along with what things we celebrate or acknowledge throughout the year. Let's dive in!

Monday - Seasons/ Sabbats/ Esbats/ Holidays

Research/ New Pages - So this is going to be a lot of new pages, if you feel like making them. Make a page for each of the holidays you celebrate, if you feel the need. Anything from the wheel of the year, to important cultural holidays you celebrate, to holidays you acknowledge in general. Do basic research, beyond the things you already know about those holidays. As an example, Imbolc, part of the wheel of the year. When is it? What is it? How is it celebrated? Why is it celebrated? What is its history, myths and legends? What magic is associated with it? What deity, if any? What are other associations it has? What foods are related to this holiday? What activities? Make a general page for each of the things you celebrate that you can come back to as you learn more about them and celebrate them over time!

Research/ New Pages - If you associate more with the general seasons, make a page for each season. When, for you, does the season start and end? What is associated with it? Both in your practice and in your life, how do you relate to the season? As much info as you can gather!

Tuesday - Transitional Periods

Research/ Introspection - As we observe the wheel of the year there are periods where they seemingly overlap at times, or when things are in a transitional period. Not quite summer, but not yet fall. Are there any associations for these periods of time? Certain magic or events associated with these times? Think not only about the world, but about yourself during these time periods. How do you feel, where do you fit in? How does this transitional period influence you and your practice?

Introspection/ Meditation - Think about how the weather and the seasons effect you. Do you get sad on rainy days? Do you get the winter time blues or seasonal depression? Are you happier on sunny days? Dig deep and try to discern the reason for these feelings, good or bad. It could be simple psychology, ya know, sunlight does in fact help our brains feel happy. Or it could be something deeper. Think hard and journal the experience have your introspection.

Wednesday - Personal Holidays

Research/ Introspection/ New Page - What are the holidays you celebrate? How do you celebrate them and why? Are they part of your craft or are they just days you celebrate? Make a page for each that you can expand on at a later date!

Research/ New Page - Herbal research - Pick another herb from your list and discover all that you can about it! Everything from the magical, to the mundane! Practical and medicinal uses, culinary uses, myths and legends, what is it associated with and why is it associated with those things!

Thursday - Activites through the year

Introspection/ Journal - Are there any yearly activites you participate in? Anything you only do once or a few times a year because of the timing or certain events or schedules? Why does that schedule exist and what is the importance of the activity? For example, my mom's coworkers have a yearly hog roast to kick off the summer. It's become rather the huge event. We all go out to her friend's farm, they dig a pit, clean it up, everyone camps in campers or tents for a couple days. There's games, karaoke in the barn, swimming and so so much food. I learned more about why they do it after talking to my parents and other people that were there. Do you do anything similar? If so, what is the significance?

Friday - Enjoy the weather

Practical - get up, get out, and no matter the season, enjoy your current weather. Connect to the wind, the rain, the sun, the earth. Take a breath and a break from the challenge today and exist. Cause the world is a heavy place sometimes, but it is also the things carrying you through life. Connect to it and enjoy it!

That's it for this week! I hope you're all doing well, and i'm getting ready for the summer along with taking care of the coming weeks of the challenge so i can sit back for a while as they post. Continue to carry on, practice safe witchcraft and enjoy the things you do!

-Mod Hazel

[shores-of-oblivion]

God how do I even start this.

So I'm doing my yearly rewatch of Evangelion as one depressed artist does, and I noticed some similarities in the concept of the Human Instamentality project and the Artifact ending.

The Human Instamentality project is, as simply as I can manage because Eva is dense and Like That, a plan to kick-start the next phase of evolution and combine all of humanity into a single god-like entity. The shadowy organization of Seele wants to do this to ascend humanity into a perfect, content being, while Gendo Ikari, the main characters father, wants to do this so he can be reunited with his wife. While I am loathe to compare the two on account of Elster being a perfect sweet angel who I adore and Gendo being just the fucking worst, both are willing to perform an esoteric/biblical rite involving death and the sacrifice of oneself, as well as ushering in the apocalypse, all so they can see their loved one again.

The description of the Key of Sacrifice, one of three needed to unlock the artifact ending, has these incredibly biblical descriptions/quotes on it that sort of started me down this absurd rabbit hole. And I mean that very literally, it reads like something right out of Revelations. A third of all life in the sea dies, a star falls to the sea and thunder like the trumpet of angels sounds. This doesn't paint a happy picture to me, but one full of death and doom and the end times. It feels apocalyptic.

And, when the Instrumentality project is finally started, everyone turns into Sunny D and becomes a single entity, something which is also described in Signalis but with a flesh theme. Everyone breaks down and becomes one with each other while our main character struggles with their identity while confronting horrors both divine and man-made. In Eva it takes a more introspective look with Shinji, and in Signalis it's eldritch horror.

The other two keys are Love and Eternity. Love is Ariane speaking of teaching Elster to dance and falling in love with her, and Eternity openly tells us that we will never have all the answers. Only heartbreak awaits us. Maybe I'm just being a depressed artist, I'll gladly wear that crown, but my current thoughts are that while the Artifact ending does see Elster and Ariane dance together again, it comes at such an incredible cost. All three keys together paint a depressing picture for me.

And as a further note of comparison between Signalis and Eva, the Rebuild series is all about retelling the story of Neon Genesis Evangelion with some minor differences at the start before wildly diverging with a different ending and outcome for the world and the characters while using a bunch of reoccuring imagery and playing with the idea that this story has happened multiple times. And every telling of the story is big on themes of identity and personhood and figuring out who you are. Which, y'know, plays a big part in Elsters journey. And I don't think this is me reaching, the false ending directly references episode 26 of NGE and Shinjis struggle with his own identity as an individual, and the steam page credits Hideaki Annos work as a source of inspiration.

ALSO both use dream sequences and feature sad queer characters having a rough fucking time on trains, both use horror imagery with the main artificial humanoids around the 2/3 mark, both have endings which feature a beach, I'm loosing my mind.

You watch one messy mecha anime as a teenager and it fucking ruins your life. I need to go lie down.

[hillbillyoracle]

Pen and Paper Planning

Maybe you like me are endlessly drawn back to pen and paper. I have often felt more at home in a good notebook. For a long time I thought there just weren't many options for notebook systems in comparison to "productivity" apps but over the years I've collected a number of them that I pull inspiration from for my own system. I've been told my little compilations are helpful so I thought I'd share what I've found here with some notes about each.

Bullet Journal

The OG. I think bujo has gotten a bad rap by people who've only every interacted with it via aesthetic routes like instagram. I found out not to long ago that there are people who don't know what the original system entails at all so I thought it was worth mentioning here.

Check it out here.

I recommend it less as a "productivity" system and more as a style of rapid/micro journaling. Does journaling feel like it takes forever and just isn't worth it - this is the system for you. When you go into it with that mindset, it's a lot easier to get the benefits. Wouldn't really recommend it for full blown tasks management and planning but the creator is upfront he never really intended it for that.

Everbook

This is more of a folio style as opposed to a notebook system but I think there are aspects that translate nicely to notebooks. It's definitely more of a productivity system too - very GTD influenced according to it's creator. I like it for it's modular approach to tasks, inspiration, and tracking.

Check it out here.

I recommend this if you like multi-notebook systems and are focused on getting tasks done more so than reflection/introspection.

Analog by Ugmonk

Basically a glorified notecard but this one has been a real game changer for me with regard to my daily tasks. I keep my today card clipped to the cover of my journal. You don't need to buy their fancy system for it at all and lots of people have hacks of it. Easy to combine with 1-3-5 Lists and the Bento Method as well.

Check it out here.

I recommend it for people who prefer a more flexible way of planning their days than what traditional planners offer.

Strikethru

I've not gotten to try many aspects of Strikethru yet but there are some I'm definitely looking to incorporate in another journal. Strikethru is a much more task oriented system than a bullet journal. It features a "live list", "dump" "vault" and calendar. I think it best replicates what you do what many to-do apps. They have their own journal you can buy but it can be set up in your own notebook.

Check it out here.

I recommend this for people who are doing large projects with lots of moving parts.

Theme System by CPG Grey

I love CPG Grey's ideas about yearly and seasonal themes. He created a notebook to compliment those ideas. It basically is composed of a section on fleshing out your themes, daily reflection pages, and habit tracking. I like the light direction while still being freeform enough for most goals.

Check it out here.

And here.

I recommend it for people who's primary use case is self improvement oriented. If you're looking to move the needle forward in some area of your life, themes are a great way to start.

Commonplace Book

I think the best way to think of a Commonplace Book is that it's a sketchbook for ideas. I think too often with digital systems it's easy to get caught up in worrying about capturing all of our ideas or optimizing them to be found again - which only really adds stress and unnecessary complexity. What I like about a commonplace book is not only it's usage throughout history but it's simplicity.

Check it out here.

And here.

I recommend this for people who are looking to do a lot of creative or intellectual work and don't want to get distracted by screens to capture what inspires and moves them. Also for people who prefer to refer to their inspiration in a more tactile way.

Maurice Moves' Notebook

When I first found this method, it had very few views. When I went to look it up again, it had taken off. I'm so glad because it feels like an underrated system that can be easily paired with some of the other. It's basically a series of pages he uses to work through goals or just directions he wants to move in life. I've never see a system that's both so orderly and thorough. I especially appreciate is way of working backwards from his desired results to develop his plan.

Check it out here.

I recommend this for people who are trying to achieve big things but aren't totally sure how to get here. Seems very neurodivergent friendly too depending on what you personally excel with.

1-3-5 Lists

I first learned about a similar concept from Esme Weijun Wang's ebook "Productivity Journaling with Limitations" but I can't seem to find it on her website anymore. This website has one version of it but the version I've been using is slightly different.

The first task is my "win the day task" - if I only do this it was a productive day. It's achievable based on the resources I have that day. On low energy days , the task might be a simple chore like laundry or a health activity like walking. On a high energy day, it's usually something that moves me forward in some way - tackling projects like redoing my room or organizing all of our papers. Most days are inbetween though.

The next three have historically been "to not cause myself further trouble" tasks but I've been experimenting with making them one home/work task, one health task, and one relationships task as mentioned in this Ali Abdaal video (in Part 3).

The next five to six tasks are usually just easy wins - things I can get to if I feel like it but I feel no pressure to complete.

I recommend this system for people who are working with variable energy, health, time, or other resources. I could see it being helpful for folks with children or who are caregivers as well. I've found it useful as someone with chronic illness.

Sorry this section is a bit of a mess, when I originally put it on here I thought I could just link to Wang's ebook but alas. If anyone has the link, please drop it in comments.

Bento Methodology

This is another one that can be paired with another system. While the video I link to is talking about it in terms of an app, I think it's similar to the 1-3-5 system in that you can just use it inside of any other to-do list or task system you might be using. I appreciate it's nudge to do deep work and it's clear criteria for each compartment. I use this when I have more energy and want to use it to the best effect. Whenever I use it I always feel like I had a really meaningful day in terms of my efforts.

Check it out here.

I recommend this for people who want some structure to their day but still want flexibility from day to day to pick what they work on.

And I think that's most of them. I hope something here inspires you to pick up a notebook and get to writing. Best wishes!

[cupidlovesastro]

Hi, I‘m new into astrology and I have a question. How can I predict the weekly or monthly events for each sign ?

ways to predict how things will go for each sign

1. look at the planets transits

a lot of planets don’t transit every week to month, but it can still give you insight on how the next few months or even years will go for each sign

2. look at what sign each planet is in, and retrogrades

this is useful because it can give you insight on how someone might feel, react, be going through during that time

ex: moon is in virgo, and your a virgo mercury

this can mean that you may speak on your emotions more, or you might doing introspection on yourself by navigating through your emotions

ex 2: sun is in scorpio and you have scorpio in 1h

this can mean that you’ll be really identifying with the scorpio energy and your scorpio traits. you could go through a ego/ identity death or rebirth, you could also be more closed off that day, etc

3. look into solar return charts

you can look into your own chart, or someone else’s, and read into what this means and even create your own personal notes on it. i make observations when i learn new stuff as my form of notes , but you don’t have to do that! solar return charts are yearly, but it can still give you insight !

i hope this helped !💖

[storm-called]

I've been wanting to write something for days and finally decided to just go for it. This ended up much longer than I initially expected.

Mild spoilers for SotO

A moment of introspection from Glaw at the end of the journey.

--------

It was a strange thing, to miss the stars.

That was the first thing that crossed Glaw's mind as they stepped free of the portal. They turned, just in time to see the shimmering of purple-blue magic snap closed behind them. So much for a big send-off.

The stars twinkled overhead, the night air sharp with a hint of northerly chill. There were no stars in Nayos.

For months, Glaw had been — they didn't want to call it trapped, that was too strong a word. There had always been that unspoken option: the chance to dip out and leave the Realm of Dreams to rot. Sequestered away, perhaps, entangled in the politics of an unknown land so much so that they were were kept away from their own. There had been no time for even simple excursions back to the Wizard Tower for supplies; a war, a coup, a rebellion — whatever you wanted to call it — didn't have time for getaway weekends.

And sure, this was not their first breath of non-kryptis air in months. They had gotten their fill of that back at the Tower. The sun had shone too brightly there, though, dusk too far off to show the stars. The air had felt stifled, too sheltered in its magical protection to allow even the stiff breeze in.

That, too, Glaw had missed — something they never thought they would admit. They had missed the chill, and not the bone-aching dampness that seemed to permeate all of Nayos. They had missed the scent of snow on the wind and the caressing of the biting gale across their face.

And the stars, most of all.

It took them a moment to fully absorb their surroundings. To their surprise, it was familiar. The copse of dark trees in the distance with snow-capped mountains behind that. The wizards, it seemed, had been kind enough to drop Glaw off right outside Hoelbrak, in the foothills just a meandering walk away from the nearest hold.

With a sigh, Glaw shook the weariness off their shoulders and plodded into motion. After a few minutes of walking and much conflicted deliberation, they pulled their comm from their belt. The little block of technology was small in their palm, and they turned it over once. Twice.

It had been months since their last point of contact, barely long enough to count as anything more than a 'hey-I'm-not-dead' check in to Taimi. Since then, the wizards — particularly Helter — had strongly suggested Glaw to keep their communications with the outside world to a minimum. For Tyria's sake.

Had anyone even noticed they were gone?

Glaw couldn't decide if they even wanted anyone to have noticed their absence. If someone had, that meant discussing where they had been, what they had been doing. Skirting the dangerous edge of admitting there was a whole sect of wizards lingering at the edges of Tyria's reality.

If someone hadn't noticed, then, well...

Swallowing thickly, Glaw pocketed the comm device again. They continued on their trek, boots falling onto a worn dirt path that winded its way towards Hoelbrak's southern gate. Unsurprisingly, the settlements on the city's outskirts were dark and quiet. Glaw wasn't sure the time difference between here and the Wizard's Tower, much less Nayos, but they would hazard it was early morning now. Any reasonable person would be asleep.

Inside Hoelbrak was much like the settlement, but a few sounds could be heard, distant and muffled. For a moment, Glaw paused. Tired, pale eyes searched over the city as if drinking in the sheer sight of it alone. It was as unchanged as ever save for a few fresh paper decorations propped up as Hoelbrak prepared for the yearly Dragon Bash celebrations.

Home.

Right?

This did not feel much like a homecoming, though. Not like the previous times Glaw had returned to Hoelbrak. Not stumbling in on unsteady feet after Jormag's death — when they truly had been lost and then found. Dearly missed. Not coming back heralded as a hero and slayer of dragons, finally fitting into their title of Commander, after the Dragon Cycle had finally been ended in the far reaches of Cantha.

The city slumbered on, unaware of all that had transpired on Tyria's doorstep. Glaw would be lying if they didn't admit the idea didn't make them ache, just a little.

Spurred back into motion by the reminder of the cold, Glaw turned onto the side path that led to a cluster of lodges. Their family home, where their mother slept and the forge burned on as faithfully as always. They wondered if their sister, Bryn, was visiting from the Priory. She had made a habit of coming home every few weeks to help their mother around the house. A habit of filling in for Glaw where they had been made absent by their duties.

A thin trail of smoke rose from the chimney, and a dull glow emanated from their mother's forge behind the lodge. There, at the threshold of the house, Glaw found their feet faltering. It was not trepidation nor excitement that gave them pause. It was a deep-seated sensation of wrongness, like everything had been shifted two inches to the left and then made to masquerade as if that was how it had always been.

With a steeling breath, Glaw gently eased the door open. Familiar smells accosted them: the cinnamon-pepper scent of their mother's cooking; the taste of wood ash in the smoky air; and the lingering tinge of wet dog that permeated the households of all who followed the Spirit of Wolf.

Glaw shrugged off their heavy cloak and hung it on a peg by the door, as they always did. Their mask went beside it, along with their gloves. Beside their muck-dirtied boots, they rested their hammer.

Everything was the same. Nothing had changed.

Except for them.

[handsome-jacks-toy]

Hindsight

"You know Rhysie? I'm so friggin glad you talked me out of that endoskeleton plan."

Jack stands up from his desk, one of two now in the large office, and walks over to Rhys.

"I mean, look at us! I have a new body. You're Co-CEO of Hyperion. And quarterly profits are through the friggin roof baby!"

Rhys chuckles at that. "Yeah Jack, not airlocking half the R&D department every month will do that."

Jack throws his head back and groans. The kid has a point, but it doesn't mean he has to like it.

"Yeah well, I still say the numbskulls had it coming."

~~~

"Aaaand that'll do it."

Jack closes the Hatch on Rhys' arm and gives it a pat for good measure. The kid lifts his arm, inspecting it this way and that.

"What, ya don't trust my handywork cupcake?"

Rhys tilts his head at him. "Nah, it's not that. I'm just, kinda surprised you know how to fix it? I know you're more of a programmer than an engineer."

Jack can't help but laugh at that one.

"Did you forget I used to be code living in your cybernetics pumpkin? The first thing I did when I got access to Hyperion systems was learn how to repair you. Couldn't have you breaking down on me."

"Helps that you got the top of the line stuff too. Holographic palm interface. Echoeye with AR overlay. 200 year internal power supply. The works. Must have cost you a pretty penny."

Rhys slips his shirt back on as he nods, "Yeah, it definitely wasn't cheap. Cost my entire yearly bonus. I was eating instant noodles for months." He shudders at the phantom taste of noodle before looking Jack in the eye.

"It was worth it though. Without it I never would have met you."

~~~

"Hey cupcake, do you remember the time you first trusted me? When you let me into your subsystems?"

Rhys pauses from reviewing the contract and looks over at him. "Yeah, how could I ever forget? It's still the most terrifying, yet exhilarating, thing I've ever done."

"More terrifying than facing down a hoard of bandits and psychos in a race to the death?"

"Oh for sure. I didn't really have a choice. I could watch my friends die, or trust you. And let's be fair, your reputation preceded you. I mean, when you woke up, the first thing you tried to do was strangle me."

Jack couldn't help but grimace at the reminder. He'd never admit it out loud, but there was a lot he regretted about how he'd treated the kid in the early days.

"So why do you ask anyway?

Jack looked back down at the contract he was writing. "Just thinking about how far we've come, you and I. And this business deal were working on feels like that moment. For me it was pure exhilaration. It was then I knew that we could do anything, and I mean anything, if we worked together. We make an amazing team pumpkin."

Jack looked up to see the fond little smile the kid had. He was directing those at him more and more these days.

Jack clapped his hands together. "Alright, no more sappy shit or I'm gonna get a rash. Back to cracking skulls and writing loopholes."

"We're not cracking any skulls Jack."

"Hey, a man can dream can't he?"

~~~

"Wake up Jack. It's time to get up. Today's the big day!"

Jack rolled over and cracked an eye open. Ugh, he'd fallen asleep with the mask on again. Sometimes he wished he hadn't opted for it on his new body, but he just didn't feel like himself without it. The man before the mask was dead and gone, and he wasn't coming back. He was Handsome Jack now.

Rhys snapped him out of his introspection with a small shake to his shoulder. "Jack, come on. You gotta get up. The meeting's in an hour."

Right, the meeting. The most important one of his life. Jack was definitely awake now. As he sat up he realized he could smell greasy goodness wafting in from the kitchen.

Food was one thing he never took for granted anymore. Go for as long as he did without a sense of taste or smell, and you really learn to appreciate the little things.

He padded into the dining room and Rhysie turned and smiled at him.

"I know you were up late working on last minute revisions, so I made you breakfast. I hope bacon and eggs are alright. There's a pot of coffee brewing too."

Jack sat at the table and took it all in. Sometimes he couldn't believe this was his life. He never thought he'd be so domestic again.

"You're a godsend cupcake, you know that? I could just kiss you."

Rhys froze as he was plating the food, before setting it in front of Jack with a smile.

"I'm glad you like it. Now hurry up, we have a busy day"

Jack dug in gleefully. It was the best thing he'd ever tasted.

~~

"Looks like everything's in order. Pleasure doing business with you gentlemen. We'll talk again soon."

Rhysie turned towards him as the holo-call ended, business facade broken. The kid was downright giddy. It was contagious if he was being honest.

"We did it Jack! We really did it! I can't believe it!"

He thought the kid was gonna faint he was so hyped up. Instead he did something Jack never expected. He reached up, grapped his lapels, and pulled him foreward into a kiss.

Jack froze in shock, before melting into it. This was better than anything he'd ever imagined. Rhysie was a surprisingly good kisser. Finally they ran out of breath and pulled away.

"I can't tell you how long I've wanted to do that. Now just felt like the right time. We made this deal together Jack. Can you believe it? Hyperion is now the biggest company in the univer-

*CRASH*

Jack's eye flew left and right, searching for the source of the noise. He couldn't see anything though, and the mic wasn't picking up anything else. It must have just been more wreckage from Helios setting.

Jack hadn't seen another living soul since the crash. It'd been years, and he didn't want to think about how many more it could be.

That daydream was nice though. He wished it hadn't ended there. But he could always start over again. Wasn't like he had much else to do.

He flexed the arm again, trying to reach the eye, but it was a futile effort. Just like every other time. He couldn't help but look again at the scattered remains around him. The eye had long since rotted and fell to the ground. The bones were all he could really see. Everyday, reminded of his greatest mistake.

"God, I miss you Rhys..."

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Memories Masterlist

7 Minutes (ao3) - saraswords

Summary: “Moments, memories, that’s all that Dan had left to relive, but he could only pick a handful. He only had 7 minutes after-all. So…he picked. He chose his favorites, a compilation of small and big moments: lying in bed together, moving in together, slow dancing, life-changing questions, and simple nights.

And what they all had in common, was one person…”

2009, 2012, 2019, 2022 (ao3) - OliveTheHobbit

Summary: “Most people have like yearly photo books, we have this weird ass videos” - Daniel Howell, some bloopers from phil is not on fire 10.

Some of the memories they gathered along the way got fresh in their minds at the moment they decided to buy a photo album.

In celebration to Dan and Phil’s 10th anniversary.

constant future memories (ao3) - kishere

Summary: time travel fic, either dan and phil time travel from current year to 2009/2012, or vise versa, introspection would be nice of how much they’ve changed

Cute Neightbours Make the Best Friends (And Sometimes More) - crescendohowell

Summary: The day Dan starts watching Phil’s videos he gets in a car accident causing him to lose his recent memories.  The only problem is he hadn’t subscribed yet.  And it isn’t until years later, when he’s a lawyer living in London, that he meets a cute neighbor in the elevator named Phil, makes a best friend (one that he has a minor infatuation for), and the memories come back.

Eyes on You (ao3) - krissyxlove

Summary: To the public, Phil has always been the one taking sneaky candid photos of Dan but behind the scenes Dan has also been taking photos of Phil.

Alternatively, Dan has had a disposable camera for 10 years now and he has finally used up all the film and is ready to develop the candid photos of Phil from over the years.

Favorite Record (ao3) - jfcmartin

Summary: Phil’s most treasured memories are the times he had spent with his childhood best friend, Dan. Unfortunately, Dan doesn’t remember it just as much because of an accident two months after he moved away. Phil is determined to help him bring back his memories, winding up making new ones in the process.

Getting To Know You (Again) (ao3) - rainbowchristy

Summary: After an accident, Dan and Phil lose their memories. They’re left to learn who they were and what they meant to each other. Turning on Tumblr (aka phan central) to do that, though, may not have been the best idea.

Golden Days (ao3) - sunshineandsadness

Summary: Dan is remembering his golden days

fond memories (ao3) - overmyhead

Summary: Dan remembers meeting Phil for the first time.

Friday, I'm In Love (ao3) - raindropsonconcrete

Summary: When cleaning the apartment, Phil stumbles across certain items that compel him to take a trip down memory lane.

higher than high (ao3) - watergator

Summary: prompt: skybar

japan brings back some memories

I’d Forgotten to Fall in Love With You - echohowell

Summary: Phil is involved in a serious accident causing him to lose all his memories of his time with Dan. In a rush of panic to try and see Phil, Dan claims that he’s his fiancé. But unfortunately now, everyone, even Phil’s own family, believes the lie.So Dan embarks on a new mission. Dan’s in love with Phil Lester, and he’s going to make Phil Lester fall in love with him.

I Think I’m Breaking Down (ao3) - Lizzyboo

Summary: “Hello?” he answered, surprised to find his voice calm under the circumstances.

“Phil,” Martyn’s voice was tired and tight, and Phil wanted more than anything to hang up on him and crawl back under the covers for a few more hours. Days if possible.

“Yeah.”

He didn’t ask the question, they both knew what the phone call meant.

It didn’t make it easier to accept though.

John Doe (ao3) - Riddle

Summary: After one of the worst fights in their history as a couple, Dan flees the apartment and is hit by a car and left for dead. When he finally arrives at the hospital, a computer error misidentifies him as deceased and effectively kills him in the eyes of the world. Phil must learn to live thinking that Dan is dead, and Dan–who no longer remembers anything of his life before waking up in the morgue–tries to start a new life and regain his memories with the help of a kind stranger.

Kairosclerosis (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Kairosclerosis n. the moment you realize that you’re currently happy—consciously trying to savour the feeling—which prompts your intellect to identify it, pick it apart and put it in context, where it will slowly dissolve until it’s little more than an aftertaste.

2009/2010 Dan ponders his happiness and new life with Phil.

keep it or yeet it (ao3) - possumdnp

Summary: Phil’s armed with sticky notes, ready to keep or yeet everything in their room before the big move.

Dan just wants a break.

Keys to My Heart (ao3) - thatsthephan

Summary: We’ve all wanted Dan to get his piano fixed forever. But when a cute repair guy shows up and causes trouble, can a simple song played on the piano fix things? Well, that and a long overdue discussion of the past.

Memories in Manchester (ao3) - Spring_Haze

Summary: Dan and Phil feel nostalgic while in Manchester for tour and recall their earliest memories of one another, including their first kiss.

We Built This House on Memories - 2009 - darling-phil

Summary: A look into Dan and Phil’s relationship over the years from the moment Dan bought his train tickets in 2009 to Phil stealing his cereal in 2016

who’d have known? (ao3) - CallofTheCurlew

Summary: Nerd!Dan and Badboy!Phil meet at a club Dan isn’t even sure he wants to be at. But it’s his last year of university, and those are made for memories. Allegedly.

[eepyreading]

The Art of Food and Culture in Crying in H Mart

“How cyclical and bittersweet for a child to retrace the image of their mother. For a subject to turn back and document their archivist.”

4.5 / ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Zauner’s harrowing memoir recounts the details of her mother’s last years before her death. She takes the reader by the hand and shows them the ugly face of unadulterated grief - what losing the most loved person in your life to cancer feels like.

I have read both criticism and praise for Crying in H Mart that believe the focus on food imagery either serve no functional purpose past making the reader’s mouth salivate (which it did - Korean food is delicious). I have to absolutely disagree, and would even assert that the descriptions of food are such an integral part to this story - to the story of Michelle Zauner the Korean - that Crying in H mart would not be as impactful without the in-depth details of each dish.

Throughout the history of humans, food has been a pillar of society and culture. It is an integral part of many traditions, from the family dinner table to the yearly Thanksgiving meal in America. For some cultures, including Korean culture, food goes a step beyond and is seen as a symbol of love. To cook someone a meal is to show a sense of belonging and kinship with that person. For Zauner, she witnessed this in her mother, Chongmi, who showed her devotion to the author through cooking and homemaking.

Until Zauner takes up the mantle of caring for her sickly mother, food descriptions are not nearly as frequent or detailed as they are later in the novel. After, however, we see this shift of food as a minor detail in the book to a predominant motif. Throughout the memoir, there is little else that gains such detailed accounts; preparation, texture, taste, and visual are all descriptors of different dishes Zauner has throughout the novel. While the food in Crying in H Mart is definitely enticing, it is treated reverently - almost as sacred.

As a first generation Hispanic American who did not grow up learning the mother tongue of my parents, I can absolutely understand not feeling connected with your culture. It is like being stuck between two vastly different worlds and not finding a neat place to fit in either. But this is why I absolutely adore the use of food as language - food becomes the unspoken vessel for Zauner to retrace the steps of their relationship and familial love. Learning how to make kimchi and indulging in food feels like a celebration of her mother’s life - the “lovely mother” who showed her affection through cooking.

Each description of a meal is mouth-watering, sure. But they also show Zauner’s growing dedication and reverence toward the food that symbolizes her mother’s culture. For this reason, I find myself wanting more direct introspection on the culture barrier between Zauner and Chongmi as a result of language. Zauner conveys enough to the reader so they understand her relationship with her mother became strained as a teenager, but I believe the narrative would benefit with more introspection of why their relationship is strained in the first place and how their language barrier plays a role in this.

Chongmi spoke fluent English, but pure language is not what I am talking about - I speak of the culture that is lost in the language barrier. When she visited Korea or was able to speak Korean with others in the memories of Zauner, the reader sees a different side of the author’s mother - they see someone who is human and able to be carefree. As someone who felt this barrier with their own mother during my teenage years, how do you convey this sense of deep grief and anguish - the abyss - in words that will resonate in their mother tongue? Where mother and daughter are unable to communicate themselves through words, food heals.

This memoir feels more like the journey rather than a destination, as if Zauner is flipping through a catalogue of memories and putting the pieces together as we look on, rather than being a cohesive end product that perfectly maps out her thoughts and experiences.

The nonlinear narrative of Crying in H Mart can feel disorientating at points for some readers because of the time jumping. However, I believe this suits the message Zauner ultimately tells - grief is not linear, nor is the process of coping. The narrative feels like a chaotic roadmap and the reader is in the passenger seat, trying to navigate the twists and turns on the road. Ultimately, this book is the author's attempt at coping with grief and this memoir is a great example of using the narrative style to situate the reader in the mindset of the author. This book will make you feel sad, happy, hopeful, defeated, and nostalgic. Perhaps it can feel incohesive storytelling-wise, but I do not believe it was meant to be that. To me, it felt like I was invited to an intimate meeting between a dying mother and a grieving daughter - how could I expect clarity in a situation that offers none?

[zebratoys]

The month of Elul is the last month in the Jewish calendar. As one of the most elevated months, it delineates a time when God is most present and accessible to us. Elul offers us an opening, a gateway that serves as a path to a very meaningful and Sacred period in the yearly cycle of Judaism and Jewish spirituality. During Elul, we seek forgiveness in preparation for the High Holy Days and the Jewish New Year celebrated in Tishrei. Elul’s shofar blasts and סְּלִיחוֹת prayers for forgiveness awaken us to start soul searching. Rosh Hashanah, the New Year holiday, is believed to be a Day of Judgement that marks the beginning of the Days of Awe עֲשֶׂרֶת יְמֵי תְּשׁוּבָה, which is a ten-day period of introspection and repentance that culminates in the Day of Atonement, the Holiest day in Judaism, Yom Kippur.

Elul is called "The month of mercy and forgiveness." Engaging in its spiritual rituals and penitential prayers is very powerful for accessing and integrating an alignment that connects us to God and arouses remorse and forgiveness. Elul’s observance activates a force of will to serve God, unifies our tribal alliance, and facilitates our will to reconcile, as we all, both individually and collectively, draw closer to God.

Throughout Elul, we experience a time of awakening to our day-to-day actions, thoughts and intentions. We ask and grant forgiveness within our hearts and among the tribe of Am Yisrael. We strive to marshal an alignment of will that seeks to cultivate and affirm our spirits' longing to live more holy lives, purify and crystallize our spark. This cycle originated thousands of years ago, it involves forgiveness, contrition, purification, spiritual elevation and renewal for the coming New Year. As individuals and as a nation, we are guided by Elul’s spiritual preparations for entering the gates of the New Year for each of us and as a whole, as one united tribe - the tribe of Yisrael.

We are being called to awaken our spirits' yearning to unite our sacred soul with holiness. During Elul, we blast the shofar every morning starting from Alef Rosh Chodesh Elul, which is the beginning of the month, until the day before Rosh Hashanah. The shofar blasts are a reminder that calls us to commence our soul searching and draw closer to God in preparation for the coming Day of Judgement, Rosh Hashanah, which is the Jewish New Year Holiday; and Yom Kippur, which is the Day of Atonement and the Holiest day in Judaism.

Entering and passing through the sacred gates of Elul and the High Holidays provide a God-given path to come back into alignment and harmonious relations and dwell in God's sacred presence.

It's a time of unity and tribalhood. The healing of a nation.

[story-weavr]

A Study in Astrology:

Arising from its ability to indicate the seasons and their respective natural activities, astrology has played a massive part in human cultures.

The importance of them even goes as far as to indicate what a person is like when they are born.

Rather than the stars being determinators of a person’s character, I believe astrology is a tool that God gave us to be more introspective of ourselves.

To honestly look inside ourselves and see who we truly are and what we need, whether it’s to enhance our strengths or address our flaws.

Below is how I interpret the planets and the stars. I highly encourage the reader to use this as a tool for their own interpretation of or investigation into astrology.

Planets:

I am only considering those planets that would have been visible to the naked eye as they would be the ones that would indicate events. I will also include which Babylonian god rules them.

The first three are what is considered the inner world of a human

Sun ☀️ _the ego, consciousness _ Shamash

Moon 🌙 _ Emotion, unconsciousness _ Sin or Selardi

Rising/ Ascendant/ 1st House ⭐️ _ expression _ as it the constellation that is rising from the horizon at one’s birth

The following are how one interacts with the world

Mercury ✍️ _ communication, logic _ Nabu

Venus ♥️_ expression of love _ Ishtar

Mars 🔥 _ passion, drive_ Nergal

The next two planets are both about growth as indicated by their brightness & must always be considered together.

Jupiter 💼_ ambition, “to reach” _ Marduk

Saturn 🧙‍♂️_ wisdom, experience_ Ninurta

Descendant/7th House/House of Balance_ the shadow self, the part of a person one doesn’t realize that they have_ the star sign which setting on the horizon at the time of one’s birth

Stars

Each constellation and their symbols are tired very closely with the mythology of different ancient cultures: Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek just to name a few.

They will be listed according the Babylonian New Year, which began in March-April

Aries ♈️ _ Babylon_ Agrarian worker -> ram due to association with Dumuzid, god shepherds & agriculture, 1st husband of Inanna, -> Canaanite = Adon -> Greek Adonis

Dumuzid spends half the year in the underworld and the other half above with his wife -> his yearly death brings hot dry summers

Egypt_ Amun-Ra = ram, fertility, creativity; Greek _ the ram who saved innocent children; Chinese _ cattle sacrifice, harvest

Bringer of plenty, self-sacrificing, adaptive to changing situations

Taurus ♉️ _ bull, related to “Seven Maidens”; spring equinox;

Heavenly Bull_ Sumerian-Inanna (divine wrath) & Egypt (sacrifice for sake of spring)

if provoked frightening

Gemini ♊️ _ the twins,

Babylon- minor gods guarding doorways or specifically Underworld or representations of major god Nergal, plague and pestilence & King of Underworld (warlike but necessary for protection of the peace)

opposing traits (peace & war, life & death) working in conjunction

Cancer ♋️ _ Greek-Hera’s crab, Egypt-Scarab (immortality/rebirth -Sirius), Babylon- snapping turtle (death, passage to underworld) + Enki,

initiate summer solstice

basically will justifiably bite a bitch; literally what turtle does to get rid of Nergal and summer; shell protects inner soft bits

Leo ♌️ _ lion, Egypt-Sekhmet or Sumer’s Inana

- protection, regality, Sun

- fierce hunter, passion, aggressive

Virgo ♍️ _ female (maiden or mother)

Demeter &numerous Greek maidens

Egypt = beginning of harvest

Babylon-Shala war of grain

Libra ♎️ _ Greek- Scales (Themis-justice); Babylon-claws of scorpion & the balance/ scales (Shamash- Sun, truth, justice)

Scorpio ♏️ _ Babylon = the Scorpion with Libra as its claws = scary guardians, serve higher beings

Sagittarius ♐️ _ centaur firing a bow & arrow

Babylon_ Nergal the chimera-centaur; Sumerian _ Pabilsag, elder/Chief & warrior/hunter; Greek _ centaur or satyr

The cunning intelligence of man and wild instinct of animal

Goal oriented, fierce

Capricorn ♑️ _ sea goat, Babylon- Enki = water+earth, fertility, hope

- stability, creativity

- high expectations, ambitions, standards

- sensitive and emotional;

- wary and kind(nurture in others/ survival)

Aquarius ♒️ _ water carrier, Babylon-Ea or Sumerian-Enki,

flood of water- positive or negative depending on region

Pisces ♓️ _ Greek - 2 fish, Babylon - 2 constellations: “the great swallow”(dove?) & “the lady of heaven” (Inanna?), Egypt - great fish who saved Isis

plentiful bounty _ the sun, wisdom, helpful

I hope this guides you on your journey of introspection, both of yourself and those around you. 🌌 🔮

If you want to find you’re birth chart, use the following site:

[farmboyprince]

My introspective- week 1 of @2024-grimoire-challenge

Tuesday, 2.1. It's only been a few days, but I already feel like I've done something good for myself. Writing definitions on the first day felt like a great start, especially since I'm writing in my native language and spell/ritual don't translate perfectly- I've chosen the words that I think most fit and expanded on that. It will be helpful to have a kind of dictionary and I already have some ideas on what to add to it when I have time:)

I'm also a bit surprised that I recognise the english words for the plant and spice I chose to research, but I wouldn't have ever connected them with ours- I just thought it was something we don't have here xD I feel a little silly about it, but interested in finding more connections like that!

Wednesday, 3.1. I've found today's prompt pretty difficult on the account of the yearly celebrations outline. A couple were quite easy to list- the summer and winter solstices, the spring equinox, pust,.. but for some others it's hard to find credible sources for even approximate dates of celebrations (on account of my ancestors not having a written language and forced christianisation). As such, I wrote down the dates that appeared most often (and most well sourced!). I ended up with 10 celebrations- 6 that I know how they're celebrated and when they are, and 4 that I either saw mentioned a lot or that seemed nice, even if I can't find definite proof of them being historical (Domovoj my beloved, of course I'll have a day for you<3).

As for the tools I use, they're just there to make the whole spellcasting/ritual experience feel a little more mystical and add a bit of whimsy. I have a couple different candles and incense/wax melts, sometimes I add stones or shells I found on the beach. All of those get placed on a "vibes" basis before I do my work. I also sometimes burn herbs I've foraged or make tea with them. My most important tool is my wand; a sun-bleached conifer stick I found on a mountain once. It's just a stick with a wax coated tip (so I can use it to transfer a flame and light my candles without destroying it- very cool) that I absolutely love. It's my kind of protection- instead of casting circles, I just use my wand to start a working. I always had an affinity for trees and wood (lol), so I've never worried about saying the wrong thing or accidentally fucking the spell up as long as I had my lil piece of tree:)

Behold, the stick! It fits really nicely in my hand<3

Thursday, 4.1. Thinking about my altar- it's been trough many changes since first set it up. That was after I began doing more research into witchy stuff and it followed all the "rules"; I've had the four elements in their right places, candles, a knife, wand, cup,... In time and with practice, I've realised that's not how I work. Since setting it up my own way, it rarely changes. I have everything that I need on hand, along with my god/spirit representations and lucky things. I don't really consider it an altar as much as my personal important space where I do magic work, watch candle flames flicker and drink tea. I do want some more idols tho- I think I'll finally have to learn how to whittle.

Friday, 5.1. I don't really have any personal practices. In part, it's the reason I started this challenge- I'd like to do more research, write down my findings and make my personal practice with the help of that. The only thing I can think of is, that along with doing a yearly spread of tarot cards (I do it in january and pull one card for each month) I also pull MTG cards. It's started because divination can be fun and I really wanted to do some with my boy, who is super into magic the gathering. I usually do it with leftover cards from drafts and while I don't know about accuracy (forgot to write down what I pulled lol), it's definitively a fun bonding activity:)

all in all, I quite liked the prompts and filling up the indexes feels very rewarding! Looking forward to the next week:)

[lowkeyclueless5137]

Au smoothie recipe #1

Welp... We have a recipe here :v

Thankfully it's not me cooking real food. Y'all aren't ready for THAT bandwagon. :'D

But I got boooorrrreeeed... And when I got boooorrrreeeed, I do stupid shit.

So I put a poll, a bit hidden, I admit. And got the results :3

It shouldn't have been a surprise that if I combine 3 of my most popular aus, that thing will be picked.

Maybe, in the future, I'll hold a surprise poll from time to time for another Au smoothie. Dw, the previous options that didn't win will be featured too, so you can have another shot at them. :3

Now... For our recipe! We need a bowl, then we put in:

2 cups of my first P5 Au

1 cup of Jumanji Au

5 tablespoons of DR Au.

mandatory quarter bottle of crack(fic genre)

Stirr well and wait for it to grow a bit. Sprinkle in some angst and fluff upon likes of y'all. Then put it in the mixer, add aprox a mental breakdown of your fave punching bag character and wait for the reading speed of your fave ship's new fic on a good day on the fastest option of the mixer. Pour it in a nice glass and add a pretty explanation format straw.

There you have it! :D

Honestly it took way more than I expected, but here we are :'3

Now let us enjoy this drink!

Alright... Let's start with where we starting like usual! Background! :D

We have your normal twst, except that it isn't normal. Due to the magic being rare amongst your usual, adult, crowd, it's more of a 1 in 10 people actually having magic. This complicates things for mages schools as they need students as well.

The reason I specifically said 'adult crowd', is because blot levels were very, VERY, sensible. To the point overblots are quite easy to achieve. And having do few people actually having magic, it was a given that technology compensated for it.

It's also mostly since, initially, some mages don't make it past 20 if they overBlot. It's not a common case, neither is it extremely rare. It is seen mostly like an incurable, spontaneous, illness. You are guaranteed to die if you overBlot and might also take some other people with you too.

But, since we were talking about magic schools, in order to compensate, the elite schools introduced the term of 'ultimate'. The best of the best at something. It allows for teens with incredible talents, weather they have magic or not, to hone their craft and thus work in the world with their talent. An ultimate was basically like a free entry to any university centered around the talent in question. Those people were hunted down by companies and marked for them endless opportunities in their craft aera.

Once the said ultimate finishes school, they lose that title, but that doesn't mean that their talent is gone too, hence why this hype. It allows for multiple people to gain this title in time. Hence, schools are doing this testing yearly, in case of someone previously known as no ultimate talent to suddenly have one, bcs the one before them left it.

Thus, the title of ultimate was much more wanted and respected than the title of mage.

Since an ultimate was hard to determine, for such thing, powerful magic artefacts of introspection were used. Such artefacts were so rare, most of them were the only exemplary altogether. Those were special due to their ability to peer in someone's mind and memories and able to tell if that person has a draw to something, a hidden talent or more.

The most powerful and well known artefact of this kind was, of course, the dark mirror.

Now, fast forward to our time. We have Lilia's 2nd year orientation. This year, Silver was starting his first year as well. Of course, before the 1st years were even introduced at all, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years all have to be examined for an ultimate change. Clearly there were a few rare cases for such thing and Lilia was not amongst them. He was an exceptional mage, but with no ultimate.

So far, one who did get a title change, was Trey, who gained his 'ultimate baker' title. He was the only one out of our (in game) 3rd year main cast. :3

As for the 2nd(in game) years, they first get assigned their ultimates. And thus they are introduced to how this whole thing works:

The dark mirror looks in one's soul and tells them their talent. But because this is such an intimate soul search, only the one evaluated gets to hear, then they only sign if they had an ultimate, OPTIONALLY specify what exactly, and let the mirror go on the normal way to assign them a dorm.

The only exception is the Ramshackle students, who are magicless, thus they automatically have an ultimate.

Lilia only takes note of a few particular students. First of all, there was this Azul guy, who got in Octavinelle, but didn't sign the register of ultimates, followed by a pair of twins who both signed. There was a hyena boy, put in Savanaclaw, with no ultimate, then the next particular one was the infamous Asim and his buddy, who both signed in the register.

Then, there was one last guy before Silver. Lilia particularly kept an eye on him, because his son was next, thus his attention was lazer focused on the ceremony now.

The guy seemed hesitant. By how he looked at the register for a hot second, Lilia knew that the guy hesitated before marking something off on the register and leaving in a hurry.

Then it came to Silver! And he got an ultimate! Yay! :D

Silver was the ultimate dream analyst and in diasomnia to boot, thus Lilia was extremely happy for his son. Malleus, who attended this year, was also down to congratulate Silver, since he as well had an ultimate: the ultimate librarian. The oddest of talents one would associate with THE Malleus Draconia, but the latter seemed very happy with it.

Lilia did ask Silver what was up with the guy before him. Silver says that he and one of the twins that went first caused a small commotion, but the twin got thrown across the room while the older years were examinated, which made people to believe that the short guy was a freakishly strong mage.

Lilia advises Silver to put up good with the guy and maybe they could be friends and study together. It would be in his benefit after all.

The guy before Silver was none other than Riddle, who was pretty shaken up by what ultimate he was assigned. He was given an ultimate, but the said ultimate was a controversial one, thus he specifically wrote in the registry 'do not mention at any cost', which gave away the idea that it was something private, shameful at best and downright dangerous at worst.

This is why specifying was optional. There could be good talents, titles that can bring opportunities and then there could be titles that put in danger people by their mere name alone.

And Riddle himself would take to the grave his talent.

On his first night in the dorm, the redhead was forced to call his mother, but he lied and told her that he had no ultimate title. It came with a berating session and an abrupt call, but Riddle found it better than the actual truth.

Back to Diasomnia, Lilia had to deal with one lil unexpected surprise: Floyd. Floyd didn't want at all in this dorm. He wanted specifically to be with his twin and Azul, who both were in Octavinelle. Lilia figured that these 2 could've been in any other place, thus it wasn't a bias towards some dorm. And Floyd was cranky and refused to even go to dinner.

In between us, maybe that was the best call Floyd ever did out of his pettiness that night.

Silver reported the next day that Floyd didn't want to talk to him at all. He only glared and puffed, which, frankly, was pretty hard to understand exactly what bothered him.

What Lilia did not expect tho, was that after the first school day, to meet with Azul and Jade. Azul declared loud and proud that he needs to talk with Malleus, which got Lilia surprised, because not even mages with ultimates would speak about such things as if Malleus was their equal. Of course, the latter was polite and Jade was, more or so, silent in this matter.

Upon a small talk towards diasomnia dorm, Lilia finds out that Jade's ultimate was actually private and so was Floyd's. Only Azul knows about those and he also said he won't disclose unless the twins request that of him.

At Diasomnia, watch Malleus be absolutely bewildered. He's doing the shocked Pikachu face for a solid 10 minutes when Lilia told him about Azul wanting to talk to him and the said 2nd year also presenting himself next to his vice, fully ready to have the said talk and addressing to Malleus in a friendly and polite manner, but most importantly, friendly. He was friendly with him. No one on this ever loving earth did this befoe(except Silver) and for Malleus it was mind-blowing.

Meanwhile, Floyd hung only around Jade and only talked with Jade. The latter reprimanded his twin for wearing his dorm uniform sloppily, but it wasn't that important, as Jade assured his brother that Azul's taking care of things.

As for the discussion, Malleus notes that Azul is no Dormhead, nor does he bring fame to his name, thus what is the purpose of this conversation. The latter admits to it, but his purpose is to transfer Floyd into Octavinelle. Azul points out the fact that Floyd was uncooperative and in a foul mood all day. And he warns that it will only get worse as time goes by. So Azul's merely taking this problem off Malleus's shoulders, but if he wants something in exchange, a service or material gain, the latter could arrange to fit the criteria.

And Malleus thinks for a bit. He sees it as such: 'this bold human came to him to discuss a matter of transfer so that Malleus won't have to deal with Floyd's moods. Not only that, but he also offers anything in his capability to compensate for the transfer.'. Clearly, from all of this, Malleus was the one in gain. The Fae saw no problem in Floyd just hanging out outside of the dorm or after classes, but Azul insisted on that transfer and, frankly, why not actually get a gain out of it, since it was so important.

And so, Malleus puts his terms on the table: he wants an engagement in between them. Azul is absolutely taken aback by this, not having any idea what to say. This guy is asking for an engagement of all things. Sure, if it's a business engagement or a temporary service, Azul would've said yes in a heartbeat. But Malleus said it was just an engagement. A plain engagement. Of course, Azul's mind jumped to the base meaning of the term used alone.

So he asks for a few seconds to talk to the twins about it. In truth, in those few seconds, Azul merely looked at the 2 from a distance, the twins unaware the latter came in the same room before Azul already went back.

And he accepts, insisting that he will be a loyal spouse in all there is to be. Seeing this declared dedication, besides signing Azul's um contract, Malleus also binds the 2 of them with the engagement tie, a Fae traditional spell which ties together 2 or more future spouses and tells other Fae off from engaging in any action that might affect the tie, including bringing harm onto one of the tied.

Azul accepts it and as such, tells the latter that tomorrow he will come to officially settle the matters of the transfer. The contract Malleus signed was used only for Floyd's transfer, as such Azul insisted that he must show this first to his dormleader and make the formal proceedings with him as well.

Malleus is just fucking happy. He got himself a friendly guy to stay around with and he also prevented a future problem from taking place, by helping the pair of twins to also be happy. He feels proud of himself, because it's a win-win in his eyes. :3

And Azul pointed, rather as a small talk, that a grotesque at the window was pretty, which Malleus immediately was over the moon since 'YES! SOMEONE FINALLY UNDERSTANDS THE DIFFERENCE!'. His lil mind is doing flips atm for choosing a good engagement partner.

Yeah, Malleus, dear... That's not how things work, but go off I guess. :'D

When the twins heard about the actual deal, they lost their shit. Floyd wanted to barehandedly strangle Malleus, insisting that Azul went too far for this. Jade is the more rational one, saying that they are talking about one of the strongest mages in existence. Malleus thought he gained something through this engagement, but if they play their cards right, they could use the fae for their own gain. After all, if Malleus breaks off the engagement, then it's clearly no big loss for Azul as long as they keep on professional terms at least. Jade tries to see the positive side in all of this, which, frankly, was quite a bit to take in account.

Especially since Malleus, fully set on being an exemplary spouse, complies to any and all proceedings Azul mentions. Not only that, but Malleus's status alone intimidated the 3rd year Octavinelle Dormhead into giving out his position to Azul, as a means of getting on the fae's good side.

Of course, Azul insisted for the engagement to be kept private, for the sole purpose of not influencing his hard work. Malleus didn't want to comply to that, but upon Lilia also insisting on this, he had to throw in the towel on that matter. It wasn't the last of it in Malleus's eyes, but he's going to accept defeat for now.

While that was going on, we also have Riddle siezing his Dormhead position on his first day of school, the fastest leader change in the school history, along with Scarabia enjoying their newly renovated dorm, and later down the line, Kalim becoming a Dormhead, with Jamil as his vice.

Along those, there were a few overBlot cases, but, again, it wasn't something particularly rare. It was an unfortunate reality, but students had to get used to this grimm truth, hence why there were special blot courses, meant to try and prevent mages from overusing their magic. Only 3 overblots this year! A surprisingly small amount!

That was also because of shadows. Some new blot branch, manifested as these monsters of desire that ran wild. Normal magic seems to do nothing against them, Malleus's magic as well, rendered useless, so you either had to get physical, entrap it or run away. It made the blot level to decrease considerably and not pile up that easy anymore.

What was also a notable event, was the rise of the Phanthom thief. One individual who is able to destroy these Phanthoms by summoning strange magical spirits, of course, not without stealing the object the shadows latched onto. Most times it's just jewelry, hence the title of 'Phanthom thief'. Those people want their jewellery back after all. :'3

They do get found, mostly in the lost and found cardboard box Crowley put next to the teachers lounge. So there's usually a pile of people there after the thief sighting.

Now that we have the background, we can finally get a taste of the plot. :'D

We start off with Epel and Ortho. Epel was surprised to see a robot of all people getting taken in the school. Ortho took interest in Epel, after the latter apparently ran into a fight with Vil of all people. Slowly, while waiting for their turns, the 2 clicked together and befriended each other.

Epel was first, getting assigned the title of 'ultimate carver', while Ortho was given 'ultimate programer'. He was very happy since it matched with his big brother's ultimate too!

Both get yeeted in different dorms. Ortho in Ignihyde, while Epel in Poemfiore. Still they managed to exchange numbers and are more than hyped about the possibility of sharing classes together.

They don't share almost any class. And besides, Sebek was in Ortho's class, which Epel didn't like the loud cabbage. Ortho tho, was willing to give the latter a chance at least, since they were deskmates. (Sebek, you have to comply to the friendship attempts for F's sake)

It turns out Sebek's actually a pretty cool guy. As the ultimate bodyguard, he was more than happy to share his training routine with Epel, who immediately was down on trying to train with him. Ortho was content with simply watching from the sidelines and remininding these 2 try-harders to keep themselves hydrated and not collapse on the ground.

As for our pre-established peeps, Lilia was not happy with Malleus's lack of implication in his engagement. At this point he popped rarely to see Azul. The latter would give him fridge notes with the dormleader meetings, but Malleus forgot about them and thus Lilia couldn't say he wasn't warned in advance. So he mostly nags him for forgetting.

There's also our lovely Octa-trio who are thriving. Azul's engagement was forgotten a few times, if it wasn't for Malleus just popping at a convenient time. Azul always wore gloves, so the mark on his hand wasn't seen by anyone except the twins and Malleus, who had the same mark too.

There's also Heartslabyul, who are actually pretty chill. Riddle felt so bad trying to reprimand his dorm members, but when they did go over the line, they would get collared. The line was pretty high, but it could've been much higher if Riddle didn't feel that sense of guilt. Cater did bring it up a few times and Trey also tried to talk with the redhead about this, but it proved futile last year, so this year they didn't try it out yet.

Now, we have to follow a bit Adeuce, Yuu and Grim. Yuu was a magicless and titless student, who was brought as a mistake and unable to return to their world. Thus they were welcomed in Ramshackle to stay and serve their job as a school janitor. Grim also joined them as a 2 parter and things mostly go like in cannon, except that this time, their official school position is 'school assistant' and not prefect.

The difference is that when Ace steals the tart, he meets a not so excited Riddle, who was literally too tired to deal with this bullshit. He collars Ace and tells him that tomorrow he should replace the eaten tart, for the upcoming unbirthday party. The ginger doesn't take it lightly, him understanding that basically he's kicked out of the dorm. So he stomps away, pretty mad about it.

It takes Riddle a bit to realise that Ace actually left the dorm, so he tries to catch up with him and prevent Ace from bothering some other dorm at this ungodly hour.

That's when he runs into some shadows and a blot monster that followed from the mines.

That's also when we find out that Riddle was the said Phanthom thief all along. The fight drains him out completely, thus the redhead had to abandon his initial task of retrieving Ace, which translated as a poorly slept night and a cranky morning. Naturally, Trey and Cater called out the redhead when he was a bit too harsh, but in the end, Riddle did comply and insisted that he'll take some rest before the unbirthday party.

Still, Riddle's mood wasn't better all day. Everything was just piling up, including Adeuce and their shenanigans along the magicless student with no title and that lil monster of theirs. Still, to show some hospitality and settle the matters straight, Riddle forgives Ace, demands for the maroon tart to be put in the kitchen fridge and eaten after the party and indulges for Yuu and Grim to participate as well.

Trey and Cater fill in our braincell club about the fact that Riddle gives easy into his emotions, but he doesn't mean harm at all. You just have to get used to the more important rules and you are good to go.

Of course, chaos wasn't yet over. When the magishift tournament gets announced, ofc like in cannon, Crowley is out for cheese so our gang investigates these misterious accidents.

On another side, Ortho is very happy since his brother finally allowed him to get in the magishift team this year. Epel and Sebek do congratulate their buddy, knowing that Ortho, at least, was very hyped about magishift. Not enough to actually join the club, but the thrill of the tournament was the primary factor after all.

Although, Sebek really wanted to bring in question the fact that this robot boy had pretty darn powerful weapons at a finger's disposal. Sebek really doubted that wasn't a factor in Idia's skepticism on the matter.

The 3 were also in the Ignihyde lounge, since it was the quietest place and little to none was there a chance they would get interrupted by someone.

Still, they get cut off by Idia himself, who was pretty serious. The latter didn't even try to be gentle about it, he cut it straight to the case: Ortho was denied of being in the magishift line-up. This, of course, got Ortho enraged. Like what do you mean you allow him and then immediately take it back?! Bro... Settle on the matter already!

Idia tho, insists that, as his big brother, he couldn't let Ortho on the line-up on a good consciousness. This raises some questions from Epel and Sebek, since they did hear Idia declare things before to Ortho and usually he stated 'as your dormhead', meaning that this was not an official thing.

After Idia does leave, Epel brings it up the said phrase change. Ortho also seems to finally pick it up and wonder about it. He says that usually Idia reminds him that he's the oldest, mostly when he's trying to tell 'I'm worried for you and you are my responsibility', thus downplaying the actual severity of the situation as just him overreacting. It was a big red flag for the 3 once they trace down the fact that Idia must've had some important reason for his refusal. A reason concerning Ortho's safety first and foremost.

Thus, they also start investigating! :D

They run into our braincell club, who were there to question Ortho and Sebek, since these 2 were promising first years on the line-ups, further proving that Idia didn't change the line-up yet or was a spontaneous decision caused by smth.

Riddle's also there, saying that he, himself, was staged for such an accident, but Trey took the fall. So they want to prevent other students from getting into similar accidents.

Except that it seems that the accident was meant to happen now, as Ortho's senzors go hairwire, causing the latter to immediately 'drop dead'. It's a technique the latter explains is for safety reasons, when controlling magic tries to get a hold of his body. Something tried to control his body and the system's magic detectors went off. Thus Ortho adapted and went limp, specifically to confuse whoever tried to get a hold of his body.

We get to see Ruggie (courtesy of Sebek's loud yelling) and the hyena boy tries to play it cool.

Except that Riddle catches his hand mid act, revealing that Ruggie stole Adeuce, Epel and Sebek's pens already and wanted to take the redhead's and Cater's too. Of course, being held down, Ruggie had to give them away and Riddle collared him as well, trying to take him to his dorm and hold a proper questioning there.

Ruggie tho, uses the first second Riddle shows any vulnerability/distraction to yank himself off and run, collar on still. Riddle was too tired to keep up the pace and Sebek with Epel were helping Ortho back up. But fear not! Ace's the ultimate lucky student, so surely they could have a chance. Right?

Wrong. :'D

But they had a collar on Ruggie! Surely that could count for smth!

Apparently not, since the very next day, Ruggie has no collar and everything is going fine for him. He was avoiding the 2 investigation groups tho, which made it especially hard when other savanaclaw students were suddenly hit by that pack solidarity.

Although, Riddle was fuming. Like man had literally 0 tolerance now. He saw Ruggie, off he was to find an excuse to bend the guy in half. He saw the hyena and immediately he saw red. So the others usually holded him from actually starting a nasty fight.

Ortho tho, does some actual pin-pointing and violates some privacy laws, but he gets Ruggie's latest transactions, on Leona's card, ofc. A few were made at the Monstro Lounge, which was a bit sus. So Ortho decides to look further into it, especially since he knew well that Azul had some soft eyes for Idia, thus here comes the baby brother perk of softening Azul's guard enough to allow Ortho to have a small 'study session' with Azul. The payment, ofc, was made too.

The 3 find out that Azul has no ultimate and he admits that having an ultimate seems a bit grounding for some. There was that expectation put on the ultimates. At the same time, an ultimate title was something Azul wished he had. He wished he would be apart of the school elites: the mages with an ultimate to boot. Alas, he declares that he's well off for himself and his main priority is his flourishing business. :3c

But, of course, there's a perfectly convenient commotion outside, which gets Azul to leave Ortho alone for a bit. In response, Ortho manages to hack through the safe password and look through the golden contracts. He finds Leona's contract pretty easy since it was fresh atm. He does photograph it and puts it back, making sure Azul won't suspect anything.

So post that, Ortho shows Epel and Sebek the said contract, which was for a magic enchanting potion. The 3 want to show this to the other investigation team, but it seems like both had in mind to meet up, because the braincell club find them and requested of Sebek to send to Malleus a warning.

Apparently the braincell club meet with Jack, who helped them piece together the whole scheme regarding the accidents. And now Riddle was devising a plan to counter this.

Ortho, Epel and Sebek bring up the potion contract. Riddle assures them that he'll get that taken care of. The exchange was meant to be on the tournament morning, so there was a small window where the potion is at Ruggie and thus, the prime time to take it. Azul would have his contract fulfilled and thus there couldn't be handed a replacement.

The big day comes and finally, our shortie gang all are all meeting each other. Riddle came in later, showing that he did get the potion. The how was irrelevant in the redhead's words.

Still, there's a bigass sandstorm, which does manage to hit the decoy diasomnia team. Leona and Savanaclaw still cheer for their supposed 'win', so our group had to burst their bubble. :'3

Cue overBlot fight! :D

Post that shit, things mostly wrap up like in cannon, with the mention that Ortho got his place in the magishift team, despite Idia forbidding him at first. :3

Post that, finally the realisation sinks in everyone's heads. Leona overBlotted. And survived! No one died that day and everyone started to look at the lion Beastman as some alive legend. No one thought it was remotely possible to be snapped out of overBlot and survive, but here he was, in flesh and bones.

So, at the end of the day, Leona didn't win any tournament, but he got a title of 'the first'. He was the first ever recorded person to overBlot and survive it.

But, this wasn't a long lived hot topic.

Because, right after the tournament, a body was discovered in the Savanaclaw lounge. It was drowned in the pool and students were freaking out since 'wtf is this?!'. Azul, naturally, was spooked, since that student was from his dorm and he looked yesterday all over for him since he was on inventory duty today. The student was one with no ultimate, just with magic, so Azul didn't see why they would have anything remotely to envy at first glance. Still, he gets his way to be mainly involved in the investigation as the Dormhead of the deceased.

That seemed to strike a fear in everyone for a bit. Still, Riddle tried to concentrate with his studies.

Except that, because of the said death, the teachers also had a load of bullshit to take in account, so Riddle found himself on detention overlooking duty.

And it so happened that one detention, he had to supervise Epel, Ortho and Lilia cleaning the basement. It seemed like Crowley always said that the detention punishment wasn't at the latitude of the teachers, but the all universal ✨basement cleaning✨. So really, Riddle knew by now that it didn't matter how grave the mistake was, the punishment was the same.

The 4 end up passing some time and clean a bit, until Ortho stumbles upon a box of goodies. Inside there were old comics, photos, letters and other trinkets. You can imagine these 4 had a blast when they read the sappy romance letters from a girl. The old comics were still well kept, so they also gave them a quick read, even if the pages were yellowed from the time and dust gathered on them.

The photos tho, showed a boy from Ignihyde, quite young, smiling happily. They couldn't really say that the guy resembled anyone they knew, but in a few photos he had a kitten, just as big as his palm. There were also some photos with a girl too, or with other boys that were his colleagues. Pretty standard things.

Riddle did wonder what does such a personal box have to be in a school basement? The answer comes at the bottom of the box, where there's another box, but this time it was a board game, titled 'Jumanji'. Being excited over the game, the group unknowingly ditched the cleaning and got a table to set it up and play.

Cue choosing characters. Ortho got first, while Riddle had to pick the very last character left. Lilia did bring up that the redhead looked uneasy, even seemed like he dreaded to play a character meant to be a thief, but Epel just says that it might be because it's a thief and it only adds up to the pile of 'rulebreaker' characters Riddle despises.

Cue the game actually being fucking cursed. :'D

So the 4 now got their characters's species and powers. Lilia was probably the chillest one. Ortho tho, was absolutely bewildered, since, unlike the rest, when he woke up from the knockout, all of his robot pieces were on the floor. The rest do question that tho. :v

It turns out Ortho was a human. But he was meant to be dead if it wasn't for his big brother making an armour meant to keep him alive and allow him to enjoy life like any other person. Ortho keeps his big brother in high-regards for this, so to see that he was fully healed and in top shape, is a miracle. He never thought he would catch a day where he could wear normal clothes and actually feel the fabric itself on his body. He was SO thrilled about it.

Epel and Riddle tho, were in the unhappy corner. Epel bcs 'I'm not a fucking macho strong fish :(' and Riddle bcs 'I literally changed species, I'm so screwed'.

The 4 tho, still have to play the game and finish it. :v

If you know my jumanji oneshot, it goes almost like in there, with the mention that there wasn't a parent-teacher meet, rather a meeting with parents regarding the overBlot and the death of the Octavinelle student.

Azul wasn't at all pleased with the verdict given, regarding the murder. The students were more focused now on the shortie gang and their game adventures and the adults were buying Crowley's statements because they didn't know any other detail.

The Verdict in question? The student commited suicide. Now, Azul was ruled out of the equation, because he was his Dormhead and it wasn't exam period, nor did that particular student made any deal. They seemed happy with their paycheck and pretty carefree from other students's Intel. Still, look where they are now. The friend group of the deceased was getting questioned and Azul found himself going in between those questionings, to try and prolong the investigation.

Malleus, again, was more than passive, so Azul couldn't count on him. Floyd was pretty shaken up by the jumanji adventure, or at least the things he saw going on in the lounge and Jade was helping with the damage control, even if everything was magically fixed at the end.

He instead counts on Idia, the ultimate robotics engineer, to help him out, by trying to see on the cameras any trace of the victim. Azul gave the dates and managed to narrow it down to a specific interval. After that, the cameras cut off due to the implemented 'sleep hour', to make the electricity bill cheaper. Again, a decision done by crow man, which Azul found to be damning at best.

Idia also opens up a bit and tells Azul about this jumanji game and how Ortho gave him nearly a heart attack. He was so caught off-guard by this sudden reality-bending magic and how it healed Ortho in an instant and also added some height too. Rosehearts was a dragon, Epel a siren, Vanrogue a vampire. And all with '3 lives' as stated by the younger Shroud. Idia found it wierd, but after that parent meeting, the game was, apparently 'finished'. Before Azul could ask about the game, Idia says that Ortho and his buddies destroyed it, because it was 'something that shouldn't be used by anyone'.

Azul also takes note of it.

Meanwhile, back to our shortie gang, it had to go back to getting used to the changes made by the game. Trein was a nice man and helped them out, even if sometimes these mfs would get annoying with questions about those old photos and letters. :'3

Still, now that they grew closer, the group also observed how reserved Riddle was. He would dissappear at certain times and no one knew where he was. Trey said that this happened even last year, so it wasn't something unusual. He just goes deadbeat for an hour or so, then he's back like nothing happened.

The new nurse was also Riddle's father, who explained that, at the moment, the home life is a bit rocky so he understands if his son needs some space alone. After all, he came to NRC as a nurse to put some distance in between him and his wife, now future ex due to the upcoming divorce.

So in desire to show their support, Epel, Ortho and Lilia try to hang-out more with Riddle. Help him out and overall trying to 'keep his mind off the home life' for a while.

Riddle finds this absolutely troublesome. :v

It is through this insistence and the absolute shitshows these 3 caused when they followed him in the middle of the night, that the redhead has to come clean and say 'hey, it's not about my home life, it's about the shadows roaming around.'. He was stressed because the shadows were in an all-time height, always 3 or 4 roaming per night. Riddle was overwhelmed by those. He was the ultimate thief, a talent that helped him manifest a persona and be able to fight the shadows.

Epel and Ortho are so hyped by the idea that their buddy over here was THE phantom thief. Like, please, they want a slice of that action too. Lilia seems to be the more rational one and says that maybe, since everything's overwhelming, Riddle should tell exactly what he needs. They could help him. What are friends for, after all?

They also tell this to Trein, because he was also the one who basically has them under a protective wing of sorts. The latter vows to keep the secret and so, he may sometimes indulge Riddle falling asleep in his class. :'3

Up until the exam period, shadows roam around so much that it runs poor Riddle dry. It doesn't help that, because of their involvement in this and the dire situations it puts them in, the rest of the squad also unlocks personas. Imagine their hype when they also get badass costumes and weapons too. Although the hype is a bit salty when they realise only Riddle could have multiple personas. Thus he was deemed the leader of the thief operations.

Watch Trein get even more grey hairs due to these mfs. :'3

BUT! Exams also come around. Riddle did indulge to have Sebek and Silver to join their small study group for the exams. The 2 weren't much of a bother. Jack also joined down the line, when he said that Adeuce weren't that keen on learning and Yuu was way too busy trying to study and also teach Grim.

They get noice scores. Ortho even scores a 99, second highest after Riddle, so he rubs it in Epel's face. :'D

But, this also starts the chain of anemones. From Epel's Intel, Jack went with Yuu to Octavinelle to address the anemone problem. Riddle tho, insists that he doesn't want to get involved with Azul's shady shit at all, especially the anemones.

Cue the braincell club doing sum shit, Azul overblotting and even more shadows roaming around post that.

Again, no one died from the overBlot, which was another miracle. Students were stunted about this. :v

Also we get Malleus barging in because he felt the engagement mark and, unfortunately, in all of his panic he forgot he could've actually teleported. The only time this guy doesn't use his magic for trivial things is the only time it actually proves to be important. :'3

In all this chaos, Floyd's transfer contract gets destroyed. Which meant, by the terms, that Floyd would have to transfer to Diasomnia, as he couldn't stay in Octavinelle anymore. Ofc, the latter instead transfers to Heartslabyul, thus abusing of a loophole in the contract. Riddle was taken aback by this sudden addition, but he indulged it, since Floyd stood almost 24/7 in Octavinelle to help Azul recover from his overBlot.

Also we have Malleus trying to be a better fiancé and actually take care of Azul. Finally Lilia punted sum sense in his thick af skull. :'3

The next day, in Octavinelle, a body is discovered. Malleus discovers it when he went to fetch sum food for Azul. Clearly, at that, Azul ditched the bed and immediately was on to investigate before crow man or anyone else would come and tamper with it.

It was a Scarabia student and he was clearly murdered. Azul had a bad feeling about it, so he calls in Idia, saying to come here and check the lounge's cameras.

Again, during this 'sleep hour' the cameras were off, which was wierd, since Azul swore that the lounge cameras were independent of the school ones. He asked Idia to run a few diagnostics on the cameras, but nothing was out of the ordinary, besides the fact that those were manually set to turn off at the 'sleeping hour'.

Malleus doesn't understand all this, so he demands of Azul to tell him why is Idia involved, why there was a literal murder in the lounge and why was Azul all over this? Leona only did the formalities and complied when that student died in his dorm. Why does Azul keep on making things so difficult for police and staff to proceed with a conclusion?

Azul says that something is fishy. That the verdicts are wrong. Crowley is padding up this thing to make it seem like some depressed students just ending it all. Indeed, the Verdict was the very same as in the case of the first victim, which was enough for Azul to link those 2 together.

Malleus was just not understanding anything. Idia had a vague idea, but both were in the dark about wtf is Azul onto. Like this dude has no chill when he clearly needs to rest. :'v

Meanwhile, for Riddle, things were awkward. Now, don't get him wrong, things were pretty messy around now. Still, the main reason for his awkwardness was that he both got to dating Floyd of all people, but the divorce case will commence during the winter holiday, so he'll be obligated to attend and his mother will see what happened to him.

Ortho is all like: 'if you want, we can hack in the legal files and add homicide on your mother's'. Ah yes, the easy way out :3

This time, Lilia sees the winter holiday as fit to have Malleus deal with his romance problems. He has to work with this guy, bcs Sebek can and will unintentionally rizz people, while Silver has that dad approval™ in getting a date.

But Malleus? Malleus would be the whole package, IF he wasn't so incapable of picking social cues. Someone has to educate him and by heavens Lilia would be that person.

So while trying to work on this, they hear that Azul is still looking into the murder case, which brought him and the twins in Scarabia. So seeing it as a perfect setting, Lilia yeets Malleus in there and hopes that maybe Kalim's friendly and outgoing personality will rub onto Malleus a bit.

Malleus comes back 3 days later and explains that an overBlot occurred and the next morning, some poemfiore student was found dead, stabbed by the fountain head. So Azul again jumped on the conspiracy bandwagon. :'D

But what Azul finds, this time, is something odd... More exactly the blood placement. It looked too artificially put. So he deems it fit to ask Jade about it.

Now it turns out, Jade is the ultimate evidence analyst, thus he could determine things such as counterfeits or unnatural marks on things. And indeed, just as Azul predicted, the blood was fake. It was placed there to induce people in error.

Error, which Azul has to note it down meticulously. Upon further investigation, the poemfiore student fit the same criteria as the other 2 before them: a mage with no ultimate. Jade and Floyd do priquire some curiosity, but for now, Azul insists on one thing: keep this overBlot under wraps. Under no circumstances does this need to get public.

And here is where Malleus and Idia come into play. Malleus, bcs he wants to prove that he's a caring fiancé. Idia because Azul promised him a month of 80% discount at the lounge. :'3

One would be foolish to breach Malleus's wish of keeping this under the wraps. And Idia was the best man when it comes to actually keeping the media quiet about this. Azul thought that he had a foolproof plan, thinking that only the scarabia students and Yuu are involved.

He was fucking wrong.

The second that winter holiday ended, outrageous news about the murder were out and about. Everyone and their grandma knew of what happened. They didn't know of the overblot, but they knew of the murder that occurred, or as told by Crowley: 'another student falling on an unfortunate path'.

As for Riddle? He's praying, alright? Lilia and Ortho were the ones who filled him and Epel on the real deal.

So it strikes him as very freaky that he saw the exact same guy on the street, back in the queendom of roses. They meet by coincidence and with some small talk, Riddle found out that the student in question was expelled overnight. He just woke up one day and he was expelled.

So with a bit of digging on ortho's side, our lil thieves group find some info about the past murder victims and even 'visit' them(aka, spying from afar to check if the guy is alive).

Lilia also compiles the news statements and articles from Malleus, who got a copy from Azul's conspiracy board. And they figure that something is wrong. Something is striking way too familiar to their Jumanji session.

So they also share this with Trein. That's when the old man admits that he found the game in the library archive from NRC. He didn't know why it was there, but at that time, the ghosts said that it was unregistered and he was let to keep it for himself. Trein also adds that at that time, it was another headmaster. Crowley came after them, so there was little hope that crow man could be actually useful in recalling shit.

But woe! VDC be upon thy!

Ortho is struggling to have his brother give a proper speech. He is very much contemplating if he should straight up drag his brother in like a kidnapping attempt or bribe him out. Either way it ends up futile because Idia has to pull through a presentation and q&a section.

The others really wanted to help, but Epel was forced by Vil in the VDC group even before the auditions were announced. Lilia and Ortho also were planning to audition, but the latter didn't really have many hopes regarding it, admitting that maybe Vil was a bit freaked out when he saw this cutesy twinkish looking boy punch a hole through a brick wall. He still has a few loose ends when it comes to his super strength. :'3

So they admittedly leave the matter of Idia to Trein and Riddle. Why Trein too? Because Trein was Idia's homewroom teacher and by seven did this man promise he won't retire until he sees this boyflop execute a coherent sentence in front of a crowd. Making Leona graduate is far easier than this. :'3

Also because Riddle is chosen to be in charge of the festivities this year. Hooray! They choose the local fire-breathing semi-kleptomaniac! :D

The odd thing is that Azul is much more nosey this time. At first he excused it as him checking in on Floyd. But Riddle could see that he aimed for something else. Mainly, the documents regarding the festival activities. While all the dormheads had a schedule and basic knowledge of the program, Riddle, as the head organiser, had access to much more information. Information which Azul wanted.

And it wasn't like he could use Floyd as an excuse. Neither Malleus worked. Riddle was a dragon now. So Malleus, as a draconic Fae, is less superior when it comes to respect in the Fae traditionalism. So he must respect the alleged 'territory' of Riddle(his dorm). He only mingles when he feels like his territory(dorm and Azul) is threatened.

But due to his 'bold moves', Malleus is concerned for Azul's wellbeing. It all comes to a great halt when the octavinelle dormhead is apart of an accident on the still in work sets.

This leads to the meeting between Azul and Mr Rosehearts, who won the custody in the divorce case. The man insisted for Azul to stay in the infirmary for a bit, due to the nasty wound at the legs. And Malleus, skeptical at best, had to allow it. So Floyd and Jade often come by to fill Azul in on things around.

Mr Rosehearts does recognise Floyd as his son's boyfriend, but doesn't dab too much into it. He only passively mentioned that Riddle was racking his brain on how to make Idia attend a presentation.

Azul perks at that and asks Floyd to nudge Riddle so that Azul will take care of Idia. If he does that, Riddle would become indebted to him and thus Azul will get access to the extra documents from the festival.

But what Riddle figures instead is that HE should set up Idia on a date, as to convince him out. And what better candidate than 2 smitten Malleus Draconia and Azul Ashengrotto.

So the auditions finish! Ortho and Lilia don't pass. For Ortho, he wasn't that bummed, while Lilia considered that his performance was satisfactory enough. :'3

Epel was out with the VDC camp and, naturally it makes the Shadow fighting job harder. Add to it the stress of the up and coming festival.

When that shit comes tho... We have an overblot. :'3

And after that, Grim goes hairwire, starting a bit of chaos in ramshackle. Add salt to the wound, Ortho comes to the thief group with the news that Grim is wanted by STIX. He is still gripping onto the secret that he is an executive of STIX, but within the group, it's more of a glass closet than anything at this point. The others didn't question how Ortho had access to classified information, so he isn't elaborating :'3

So it turns in a big chase for Grim. There's the ramshackle ultimates, who needed Grim in order to participate to other magic-oriented events(also bcs Grim is their friend), Azul, who figured Grim has something to do with this conspiracy thing going on, the phantom thieves, who wanted to stop this mess, the other dormheads that were appointed by crow man and the Shroud brothers, who got very clear orders to capture Grim or call for backup if this is too hard.

So 5 different motives for 5 different 'groups', but ultimately it ends up with the same target: the rampaging Grim.

Ortho is the one who catches Grim, but not without a hefty fight. So it comes down to a decision: either give Grim to the phantom thieves or hand him to STIX. He ends up with the first one, presenting Riddle with the situation. They need to keep Grim somewhere where the others won't even think to search at. So he suggests the Ignihyde dorm, due to how little is frequented by anyone outside the dorm.

That way, Ortho feels like he's shooting 2 birds with 1 stone.

Except that he doesn't, because after the whole culture festival is wrapped up, charons break in. And Ortho is absolutely done and over with all this bullshit. :'3

So what's going on? Well Riddle tags along Epel, Rook and Yuu towards STIX, leaving Lilia and Trein to cover up for them at school. We get the reveal that the Shroud Bros are in charge of STIX until their parents come back from a very important trip. Ortho bagged his brother to let him handle the guests and while Idia wouldn't want to greet Rook of all people, it was either that or deal with the wants of the 4 NRC problematic kids, so pick your poison, Idia. :'3

1 round of rock paper scissors later and Ortho ends up with the NRC problematic kids. He just mentally prepares for the bigass nag Riddle would give him later. :'3

One thing that was painfully clear for Ortho tho, was that the 'subjects' were very curious about his situation. They knew him as a robot before, so to see him... well... a human... It was mind blowing. Ortho briefly explains that it was a mishap and while he originally was a human on hi-tech life support, now he's healthy and better than ever in terms of physical condition.

But a good point is brought up: Ortho was seen dying during his play in Jumanji. Vil saw him and the others recall that his 'playmates' also experienced those things. They weren't necessarily very private moments unfortunately. For some reason, Azul was all in on this subject, Which Ortho recalled that his big brother mentioned about the Octomer's recent conspiracy theories.

Ortho responds that it was most likely a field curse put on them. He didn't really have the opportunity to test things out, but he figured that as long as he got wounded during a 'level' on the school ground, he would immediately heal the next one. That comes from a small accident, when he went out with Epel and accidentally burnt his finger. It didn't heal upon entering a new level, so Ortho had to bandage it. He may be 'indestructible' in his character description, but that doesn't mean he cannot get scars from burns. He found that out the hard way.

That seems to priquire more of Azul's interest, but he refrains from asking about it.

Idia comes to the rescue tho. Calling mostly Ortho to discuss with him over the data that was done and also to announce that in 12 hours maximum, everyone would be back to NRC with no scratch or trouble if they just wait patiently.

Not even 15 minutes after the short discussion and he'll breaks loose in the form of the ravenous Grim and the Tartarus ghosts acting up again.

Idia does check up with the other surveillance staff and finds out the trouble: an overblot occurred outside. It was a very natural thing, for the phantoms at the upper levels to get a bit agitated when an overblot occurs. What was not alright, was that the ravenous Grim made a nice lil bit of damage to the cooling system of the Tartarus. And by that I mean he completely shredded the main unit in charge of keeping the cooling system active.

Now, in all of this chaos, not being able to find Ortho, Idia is overwhelmed. Everything is chaotic and he has to stop Grim from breaking into Tartarus, which in turn ends up with the Shadows and blots dragging in Idia and cue overblot.

All in all, out of this whole mess, 3 things are happening: 1. Idia finds the truth behind the phantom thieves post his overblot. 2. Azul gains more information on his case and starts to hatch a plan.

3. OLD MAN VIL! OLD MAN VIL!

Returning to NRC, Ortho does tell his gang that he will have to stay back with Idia and clean up the mess. Also get one hell of a nag from their parents. :'3

Ortho also pleads with Idia to not share his secret with anyone. Sure, STIX knows, but it was a miracle the NRC problematic kiddos don't and Ortho would rather have it that way.

Their parents also weren't very happy with the mess they returned to. But... All in all, Idia had to undergo a few checkups and Ortho had to also go through them too, mostly to make sure none of their sons are actually hurt.

Back at NRC, Azul clears up his conspiracy board. The twins and Malleus think that, maybe, Azul is done with all this conspiracy shit.

By the time Idia returns, the conspiracy board was rebooted. New info, old info, all jumbled up and in some kind of order that makes sense only to Azul.

Turns out, the overblot registered wasn't at NRC, but still, a diasomnia student was found dead. Azul didn't miss the investigation, although people did tell him that the ultimates in this field and professionals should be let to do this. Azul was skeptical, because this is exactly what happened before and the verdict was still the same.

Idia wants to actually break it down to Azul: this was bullshit. He had no ultimate that would give him any right to mingle in this very sensitive business. No one knows what Azul's even aiming at, nor does Idia care, just lay down for f's sake and calm down. Everyone went through enough already.

Azul tho, counters, saying that his motive concerning this investigation is well built. This school, like most mages schools, is notorious for overblots and how casualties happen during that time. But now there were no casualties. The overblot victim was saved. Yet people still die. So Azul wants to get to the bottom of this to prevent any chance of it happening to him or his close ones. And by the pattern he has, he fears that in diasomnia, an overblots would occur, then a heartslabyul student will bite the dust.

And Floyd was a heartslabyul student as of present.

Naturally, this alarms both Malleus and Idia. There was a pattern, just how the STIX data implied. Idia was pretty on edge, since if that was true, then he was a victim of an induced overblot. While Malleus was worried for his dorm's sake. Already 1 student was killed, by Azul's evidence, he couldn't handle having someone also overblot.

So Malleus suggests that Azul should get in contact with Rosehearts quick, seeing how this morbid pattern points towards him. Idia tho, brings this news to Ortho to pass on.

There was a criteria that Azul discovered in this wired string of events: a mage with ultimate overblots, then the next day, a mage from the next dorm with no ultimate is found dead and the cycle is repeated. This year it seems to have started with savanaclaw and it will end with heartslabyul by Azul's calculations.

Lilia also shares with the group the fact that his magic has started to weaken. He was old, so he figured it was time to retire. His persona could hold him oh so long, but even he had to admit defeat at one point.

And while our thieves group and Trein do console Lilia on the matter, nobody was as devastated as Malleus. With the new information at hand, the Fae prince thought Lilia was likely to overblot and boy has his senses went in all mf directions. He tried to scramble for any excuse to keep Lilia here, to keep the dorm morale high.

As a goodbye gift, the Jumanji group decide to give Lilia the board game. It was ripped off its magic, but it would be a nice memory that Lilia could hold onto.

This prompts Malleus to also think of a farewell gift, when he sees the board game and Lilia explains that it was a gift from his buddies. He brings this problem to Azul, mentioning the board game passively.

And that makes Azul finally click in things. He found out from Idia about the allegedly alive victims he was looking into. And now, with Jumanji put in perspective, Azul realised just what big piece he missed in his puzzle.

So he calls in Rosehearts. He wants all the details about the game from Riddle. He insisted that it was of utmost importance. And while Azul was known to be a 2 faced scammer, Floyd advised Riddle to just tell him what he wants to hear. No one really bothers with his nuts investigation anymore. :'3

So Riddle endorses in this saga and gives to Azul the rundown of what happened. And that seems to make Azul pleased enough. He's more than excited to finally get somewhere and point things towards a result.

While that happens, Lilia is having a farewell party prepared. Everyone chimes in a bit to help and keep the mood up. And when that one comes, well...

It's a rave, alright... U-Ub

During the party, Jade and Floyd are sitting aside more. When confronted about it by Riddle, the 2 admit that they have no idea what Azul's planning. He was very hurried today especially. Something about 'catching the mastermind'.

But, their lil party moment is busted when Malleus comes in, proudly here to present his gift towards Lilia. And by how his magic was used around, naturally the students knew where this was going.

The other dormheads and our thieves team do try to stop Malleus before it was too late. Heck... Even personas were up on the table.

Their saving graces come in the form of one Azul Ashengrotto, who came in here all disheveled, demanding for everyone to stop, especially Malleus. He does stun down Malleus by using the engagement mark. Aka, stabbing his hand to also induce a shock to the latter.

Azul reveals that the overblot is staged. That whatever they will do, Malleus is set to overblot weather he overuses his magic or not. So right now, he's on a tight chronometer.

What Azul reveals to the whole crowd goes as follows: the overblots in NRC were all staged. Someone was staging them and stacking them up for a long time, using them as means to murder unsuspecting students and blame it on the overblot. It was effective, until Leona became the first overblot with no casualties. Then the little monotony was broken. The only odd thing was the lack of news coverage or how the families of the deceased didn't chime in. Then he was brought forth the Jumanji game. And by putting pieces head to head and looking through some records, Azul figured who was in charge of this manslaughter.

But before he could actually reveal who did it, he is stabbed from behind. The attacker was a random student, fully under the control of some kind of mania, who immediately seemed to come to his senses and not being able to discern anything. He was just as horrified as the rest of the crowd. The twins rush to Azul's aid. Idia summoned some bandages and also came to the aid.

Malleus? Oh Malleus was furious. You mean to tell him someone attempted to push him to overblot, tried to use him to harm innocent people, then is covering their trails by some hypnotized student harming his fiancé? He may not know who that someone is, but sure as hell is he dumping his initial plan off the window.

So we do get an overblot. But instead of dream adventures, we have a hugeass dragon rampaging in search for the criminal. There were people whom Malleus (triggering his sanity back) protects them. The rest are on their own I guess. :\

That's when we find out 2 things about Floyd:

1. He's the ultimate attendant.

2. That tittle was given to him because he is Riddle's velvet room attendant, thus he could use the glossary to summon personas that Riddle discovered up until now.

Cue very epic ass battle. :3

During that chaos, Azul does try to grip on his last bit of consciousness to tell Jade that the one behind all this is Crowley. He doesn't know why, but he knows that Crowley needs to be caught.

So after knocking some sense in Malleus, Sebek and Silver manage to catch Crowley and present him before Malleus. At Lilia's insistence, the Fae prince doesn't immediately smite him down and indulges to give crow man a few seconds to find a good enough excuse for not getting smited this very second. And of Malleus wasn't going to thunder up his ass, surely the rest of the school body will.

And, surprisingly, Crowley accuses Riddle first. He was the one who messed the order by not overblotting. If he did it, then he would have by now completed his plan and Azul would've been too late. He used the Jumanji game as a tester and our group were the fortunate guinea pigs that survived. He used despair induced students to gather up further victims to test on his rituals ripped from the game's mystical energy.

His plan? Revive Malenoir.

Yes... It's that moment of 'Luke, I'm your father.', which makes it a shock for Malleus. Really the new revelation added so much hatred to Lilia that he did the kill, not Malleus. He straight up decapitated the guy. And his attitude towards the screaming mob was to 'tough up' and give to forgetting this events.

With this, Lilia decides to properly finish the school, not trusting literally anyone to take care of his sons right. He may be old, but he's a vampire with a badass persona. He'll manage. :3

Despite the anticlimactic turn, Idia gets ahold of the blot stone before Grim. He will give it to STIX for study, but alas, with no more Crowley, a new headmaster is going to be elected.

So that would be a happy ending. :3

Azul still ain't getting an ultimate tho x3

[autumnsup]

Image credit: “The Yule or Holly King”, by Michael Kerbow.

Midwinter is here, and with it comes my yearly return to the first fantasy series that captured my imagination as a child, which further kindled my appreciation of the winter solstice. Susan Cooper's book The Dark is Rising in particular addresses the curious mix of celebration and introspection that occurs around this time of year, some of it darker than we might like to admit.

Yes, hygge and family and altruism are wonderful things, but I like to remind myself that it's okay to not be feeling the "holiday spirit" as much as a need to turn toward the stories that comfort me and give me hope, as well as the stories that remind me of what can happen when hope is abandoned.

One character from The Dark is Rising that stands out for me is the horned figure of Herne the Hunter (pictured beautifully above, to my eyes anyhow). Not quite mythical ghost, not quite pagan god, he falls into uncanny valley territory that leaves me uncertain as to whether he lands fully on the side of Light or Dark. And that is the beauty and the curse of being human, not quite one or the other, but somewhere in between.

To borrow from the blog that led me to this artwork, here are three ways to honor the winter solstice (blog post linked below):

1. It causes you to be inward and reflective rather than energetic and action-oriented.

2. It reminds you to draw upon the help of plants.

3. It gives extra depth to your dreams.

May all of us find time and space for needed reflection, to heal and sustain ourselves with Mother Earth's bounty, and to enjoy the wild and wondrous landscape of our dreams.

P.S. For anyone who knows and loves The Dark is Rising, I wrote a fic about some of the characters last winter. Please heed the tags, as there are some NSFW scenes. :)