#{ ‘’ who wants to live forever ‘’ | kain }

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Letters Part Three

John Mitchell x Reader

Words: 3196

Summary: Mitchell and the reader try to create some normalcy living in the same house for the first time in eighty years. 

Notes: I’m not going to lie, this series is also a place where I get to hate Lucy as much as I want because I despise that woman. 

Part One; Part Two

-

Y/N: Do you know where the towels are?

J.M.: Who is this?

Y/N: Right, sorry, it’s me.

Y./N: I mean it’s Y/N. Annie gave me your number.

J.M.: I didn’t give you my number? I thought I did.

Y/N: No, you must have forgotten before you left. 

J.M.: Right. Sorry. Good that you have it now. 

…

…

Y/N: So towels?

-

Mitchell shot you a text explaining that they were in the cupboard in the bathroom, though he didn’t know why Annie couldn’t have just told you that. He tucked his phone back in his pocket and returned to cleaning out his cleaning bucket, which always felt counterproductive to him, but whatever. 

He could still see you standing in that doorway, so different yet so much the same. Even speaking with that new doctor, Lucy, all he could think about was the fact that you were waiting at the house, worrying about Lizzy Kain and God knows what else and he was in the hospital mopping up shite. 

He still didn’t understand it all. Lizzy being a vengeful, psychotic bitch, he could understand. In his brief acquaintance with Herrick’s reluctant Irish aly, he recognized both her and her disgusting husband’s brutality, even for vampires. How you got mixed up with them…

Mitchell gritted his teeth. 

He knew how, of course. 

Because he let you get away. 

“Right, so George tells me we have a new house guest?” Nina appeared in front of him, hands on her hips, and eyes holding her usual contempt for him. “Were you planning on asking the rest of us?”

“Where did you even come from?” He peered over her shoulder at the long hallway. 

“Don’t avoid my question, Mitchell.”

“It wasn’t my idea, okay?” He snapped. Mitchell ran a hand down his face and sighed. “It was Annie’s.” He chuckled humorlessly. “Sometimes she forgets the complicated nature of having relationships when you’ve lived over a century.”

Nina leaned in and lowered her voice. “So it’s true then? She’s your… your wife?”

Mitchell turned away. 

“Wow,” she scoffed. She shook her head, surprise clear on her features. 

“What?” Mitchell was getting tired of this conversation. 

“Nothing,” Nina shrugged. “I just wouldn’t have thought you the type.”

“I did have a life, you know.” He crossed his arms. “A very long one, actually.”

“Right.” She exhaled deeply. “I forget that sometimes, I guess.” Her tone softened from interrogation to just regular curiosity. He couldn't tell which was more frustrating. “So are you two, still, you know, together?”

“If by that you mean are we still legally married?”

Nina nodded. 

Mitchell let the tension in his shoulders relax. “Yeah. Yeah, we are.” He noticed her lingering surprise and elaborated. “Things like divorce get a little trivial when you-”

“Live as long as you do, I get it.” Nina bit her lip, trying to decide whether or not to keep walking or say something else. She chose the latter. “Listen, I’m not trying to be that flatmate, I just…” She looked up at him without disdain. “After everything that happened, we have to be careful.” 

Mitchell gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Nina.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” She started to back away, raising a brow. “I can’t wait to hear all about you in your younger days from Mrs. Mitchell.” She held up crossed fingers. “I’m hoping for a photograph and a bad haircut.”

Mitchell rolled his eyes but laughed anyway. 

“I’ll see you later,” he said. 

She took a deep breath and pushed through a set of doors into a different hallway. 

After another hour, Mitchell finished work for the day, though a part of him wanted to stay there forever. The hospital was far from a palace, but there he could be something else. He could be invisible. 

You could see him. Better than anyone else, you could see him. 

He walked slower than usual down to his locker. 

“Mitchell!” A woman called after him. Lucy hurried towards him. “Sorry, I know you’re about to head off, but could you do me a favor?” 

He stopped walking and waited, but she just kinda… looked at him. 

“What is it?” He asked, a little more impatient than he intended. 

“Right, sorry.” That look in her eye didn’t go away but he couldn't quite tell what it was. “Could you show me where room 303 is? You would expect it to be next to 302, but no, finding anywhere in this bloody place is impossible.” 

His confusion must have shown on his face because she continued. 

“I just figured they make you clean up all round, so…”

“Um, sure,” he said. “It’s up this way.” 

He couldn't help but feel her watching him as they walked. She looked away every time he glanced at her, but he could still sense her eyes every time he turned his head back. 

“Alright, what?” He said. “Have I got something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?” 

Lucy sighed. “It’s nothing, I just-” She shook her head. “God this is stupid. I just feel awful about how I was earlier and I wanted to say sorry.”

Mitchell shrugged. “It’s okay. Really.”

“This transfer hasn’t exactly been what I expected and I took it out on the first bloke I saw.” She fixed a loose strand of hair. “So, yeah, I’m sorry.”

“Really, Lucy, it’s fine. I’ve dealt with worse from some of the white coats around here.”

“Can I make it up to you?” She blurted. She cleared her throat. “Buy you a drink or something?”

“Oh, I…” Mitchell grimaced. “You know, I just had a lot come up in my life and-”

“Okay,” she cut him off. “Forget I said anything.”

She walked away before he could say anything else. 

Mitchell stood in the middle of the hall, looking utterly flabbergasted. “Well, that was weird.” He ran his fingers through his hair and headed back toward the locker room. Shift change had already happened, so the place was empty. One of the lights was out, flickering overhead. It set him on edge. He opened his locker. 

And a rose fell out. 

-

You didn’t know how long you’d stood with the fridge door open, staring at the light while the cold air seeped out around you. 

“You…okay?”

The sudden voice made you jump, slamming the fridge door shut. 

Mitchell stood in the doorway to the kitchen. He held out his hands. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Christ, well you did,” you exclaimed. “If I could, I’d have a heart attack.” 

He snickered. “I said I was sorry.”

You turned to him, trying to look angry, but you just couldn’t. Not when he was smiling at you like that. Even with everything that had happened that day, you couldn’t keep yourself from laughing with him.

“Hand me a beer?” He asked. 

You opened the fridge again and grabbed two, popping the top off of your own. You took a long, slow drink. 

Mitchell took a long, slow drink. 

Then the two of you exchanged a long, slow look. 

It was enough to drive both of you mad. 

“How was your day?” Mitchell wondered, unable to keep the awkwardness from his voice. 

“It was fine,” you said tightly. You could still feel the heat of Daisy’s stare and the chill of Ivan’s indifference. “You?”

Mitchell thought of the rose he’d thrown away on the way here. He thought of the only person who would have sent it. 

He shrugged. “Fine.” 

“Great.” You took another drink. 

So did he. “Great.” 

“I found the towels,” you said. 

“That’s good.” The image of you in the shower popped into your head and just made him all the more awkward. “Does Annie’s room suit you okay?”

“Oh yeah, it’ll be fine while I’m here.” You leaned against the counter. “I really appreciate her letting me stay there.”

“She doesn’t really sleep, so,” he shrugged. 

“Still,” you said, “it’s nice of her.”

“Yeah.”

You both finished your beers. 

Was this how it was going to be? Sitting in silence, walking on eggshells, never knowing what to say? It used to be so natural. You could tell him anything and he you. He was your best friend. Now, were you anything more than strangers?

You finally both spoke, words overlapping each other.

“I was wondering if you’d like to get dinner.”

“Do you want another drink?” 

You blinked, processing his question after yours. 

Mitchell looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s just, I don’t cook much and Nina and George are working tonight, so I thought…” He stood, picking up the empty bottles and tossing them. “Never mind, it was a stupid idea.”

“No,” you said, following him. “I think that sounds kinda nice.” 

After the day you had with Mr. and Mrs. Crazy, you wouldn’t mind a nice meal. And eighty years left a lot of catching up to do. 

“Really?” Mitchell asked, brows raised in surprise. 

You nodded. “Maybe you can show me around Bristol. I haven’t been in ages.” 

He smiled and your knees felt weak.

“Great.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m just going to take a shower and then we can go?”

“Alright,” you said, turning away to keep from melting entirely. 

So that answered that then. Even after all this time, you could never be strangers. Not really.

-

It was a quiet night. The pub had few other patrons, which let you and Mitchell eat in peace. Though, without the bustle, it left room for the awkward silence that plagued the two of you still. 

“Good chips,” you noted. 

He shrugged. “It isn’t the nicest place, but it’s George and I’s favorite.”

“It reminds me of the place my father used to take me to,” you said. “Do you remember?”

“How could I forget? I’d see you in there when you were just a girl, waiting to help walk him home.” He shook his head. “Drunk prick.” 

It wasn’t a pleasant memory, but for some reason, the frustration in his tone comforted you. 

He still cared. 

“Not all of my nights at that pub were bad,” you said softly, looking at him over the top of your beer. “We first danced there.”

Mitchell chuckled. “Dancing is a generous word for you stomping all over my feet.”

“Maybe I was just giving you a reason to give me more lessons.” You smirked back. 

You looked at each other for a long while, his soft hazel eyes staring into yours and making time stop. For that moment, it felt like you were back in that pub and he was asking you to dance. 

Mitchell looked away first and cleared his throat. “So how long were you with the Kains?” 

You set your stein aside. “I met Lizzy around the turn of the century and she took a liking to me. When she asked me to stay with them, well-” You took a deep breath. “She isn’t exactly the type you say no to.” 

“I remember her being,” he tried to think of the right word, “intense.” 

You snorted, bitterness lacing your tone. “She’s a right crazy bitch.” Taking a long swig of your beer, you shrugged. “But having her for a friend for the better part of ten years had its perked. I mean, no one messed with us. It was like we were untouchable.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.”

Another uncomfortable tension filled the air. 

Mitchell couldn’t help the frustration burning in his chest. All those years ago, you left him behind. You left him with the power you both feared more than any other. And you left only to stumble into another situation that was just the same. 

You felt his demeanor change and anger bubbled up your throat. 

He had the audacity to judge? After everything he’d abandoned you to be a part of? After everything he’d let Herrick get away with?

You shook your head. 

In his defense, he didn’t know everything.

“Maybe we should be getting back,” you said, keeping your eyes trained at the table. 

Mitchell leaned back in the booth. “I’ll get the check when she gets back.”

“You don’t have to-”

“It’s not a problem.”

Christ, it was worse than a bad first date. 

Daisy’s mocking words from earlier rang through your head. 

“You’ve been apart longer than you’ve been together.” Her blue eyes sparkled wickedly at you. “I’m surprised he even remembers you.”

Was it possible? Had he blocked out your past together while you’d spent every day for nearly a century thinking of his smile? 

“Oh, um-” Mitchell scratched the back of his neck, his awkwardness turning less irritated. “There’s a sweets place on the way back. They’ve got those old-style chocolates you like if you want to stop by.”

“Are you buying those too?” 

A small smile returned to his lips. “I’m a hospital porter, Y/N, and I don’t mop up money.”

“We could always swipe it like we did that bottle from McQuinn’s place,” you snickered. 

“He almost shot us.”

You waved your hand. “He was half blind. The man couldn’t hit the side of a barn.” 

Mitchell stood and held out his arm. “Let’s just go, alright?” 

“Alright, John.” You took his arm and let him lead you out. 

Things may have changed, but he hadn’t forgotten. 

-

Y/N

I would like to see you again. I know it might be complicated because of your father. We can meet by the river at the spot where you hid the whiskey. Meet me there tomorrow night when your family falls asleep. If you don’t want to, I won’t bother you anymore. But I’d really like to hear more about your story. 

Yours,

John

-

Back at the house, Annie greeted you with a cup of tea and a big question.

“Were you two on a date?” 

You nearly choked on the tea. “What? No!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Mitchell sputtered. “We went out to the pub, that’s all.”

Annie simply raised a brow and took your hand, leading you into the living room. “Well, I think he has hogged you long enough.” 

Mitchell scoffed arms out at his sides. “We were gone for two hours.” 

“But Y/N was gone all day,” Annie said, confused.

Mitchell turned to you with brows furrowed. 

“Annie, why don’t you show me some of your favorite channels?” You hurriedly picked up the remote and let the sound of the TV take over the growing tension. 

Mitchell narrowed his eyes, but decided not to push it, heading upstairs to take a shower and wash the memories out of his head. Being sentimental now wouldn’t help anyone. Even if your laugh reminded him so much of how it felt to be young. To be human. 

“So.” Annie’s curious, bright eyes found yours. “Where’d you disappear this afternoon if it wasn’t with your husband?” 

Daisy’s piercing eyes and Ivan’s smirk popped into your head.

“I just wandered around,” you shrugged. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Bristol. A lot has changed.” 

“I know!” She exclaimed. “Just last week they finished building this awful shopping mall and I don’t think I’ve ever seen an uglier building.”

You laughed, reminding yourself that even though the two of you weren’t exactly amongst the living, she was still so new.

“Sounds awful,” you agreed, though not without a teasing tone.

Annie nudged you with her shoulder. “Just wait til you see it.” Her mouth fell open and her face lit up. “Oh my god, we should have a girls' trip and get you some new clothes!” She clapped her hands excitedly. “It’ll be so fun. And you didn’t come here with much in the way of outfits.”

“What’s wrong with this one?” You looked down at your ratty jeans and jumper. 

“It’s… fine,” she said. “A little too ‘on the run from my crazy vampire coven’ don’t you think?” 

You gasped in mock offense.

“This is my favorite shirt.”

“Maybe we can get you a new one?” She snickered.

“You’re terrible,” you exclaimed, letting the laughter take over. 

She was right, of course.

It was a fucking hideous jumper.

-

Summer 1909 

You couldn’t take it anymore. 

He threw the bottle.

You raised an arm to keep the glass from hitting your face as it shattered against the wall. You ran.

“Get back here ya ungrateful-”

The slamming door cut off your father’s shouts. 

You couldn’t take it anymore. 

Thunder rumbled over your head but you didn’t care. The sound cleared away the stinging words in your mind, washing everything away like the rain that was sure to follow. You hoped it was a tempest. You hoped lightning struck that house and burned everything to the ground. You hoped it took you up in the wind and carried you far from here. 

You don’t know where you’re going by the time you get there, finding yourself at a crossroads down the lane from your cottage. A wheel with a broken wheel sat abandoned on the side of the road, providing a good specimen to focus your unfiltered anger on. 

Wood splintered and metal creaked with every kick you landed against the vehicle. Screams of frustration mixed with the sound of the destruction. You tore off pieces of the seat with your hands and threw them into the field. 

You attacked the object until you were out of breath and sweat stuck your hair to the back of your neck. 

“That’s an interesting tactic to fix a wheel.” A voice said behind you, making you jump. A boy your age stood with his hands in his pockets, watching you with an amused smirk. “I could help you if you like.”

“I don’t need anyone’s help,” you snapped, tucking your shaking hands under your arms. 

“Is that why you’re attacking a poor, defenseless wagon?” He stepped towards you. “Because I think there might be an underlying issue here.”

“I know you.” You glared. “You’re that Mitchell boy who used to chase me around with frogs. John.”

He laughed. “In my defense, we were six.”

“I hold grudges.”

“Is that what happened with the wagon?” 

You let out a growling yell and threw another piece of broken wood at him, which he aptly dodged. 

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.” John held up his hands in surrender. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He raised a brow, ready to make another comment about the splinters you’d kicked in. 

You looked away. 

John took another step towards you, his tone sweet and gentle “Can I walk you home?”

“No,” you answered a little too quickly. You cleared your throat and shook your head. “I don’t want to go home.” 

“Can I walk you somewhere else then?” He smiled. 

You scoffed. “If my father saw you alone with me, he’d shoot you.”

John glanced around, holding out his arms. He shrugged. “I don’t see him anywhere.” He held out his arm. “McQuinn’s’ll serve us so long as we don’t tell him how old we are.”

You smiled, feeling a small weight lift off your shoulders. 

He was rather cute, you supposed. 

“Okay, John.”

[rathologic]

P1 Saburov and Viktor are so terribly underrated and it's such a shame because their characters are immensely interesting and way more developed beyond "evil corrupt politician" and "isolated and rich single father with much children cooler than him", which is how I've seen some people halk about them. You are doing god's work

Oh deeply... I do think there's an effect where an important part of both of their arcs as rulers is that they're rendered obsolete halfway through the game, as soon as the Inquisitor shows up and overtakes their authority. from that point on only their associated healer gets to interact with them at any depth, but both of them are also planning to die (...normal reaction to being rendered obsolete) so it's harder for their dialogue to stick outside what's most vital for quests. also since nobody plays changeling route :-(

I see victor reduced to 'wifeguy' more than 'guy with important kids' more often (and enjoy it, even partake!) but he stands out to me as having the most personal, even self-centered wants in the cast- repairing his relationships with (living) family, the wish to leave and finish his university degree; in fact I'd say victor is someone who's been deprived of the things most important to him for a long time, and is in a position where he could get them back, if he only abandoned the project of leading the Town towards utopia which the kains have devoted themselves to for the past 5 years / forever. and nina's soul is present in and tied to that project, but there is some level on which only victor remembers her as a person instead of a divine instrument- and that lends itself to the ability to grieve and move on. if victor kain walked out of pathologic I think he'd ultimately be happy, and I think he's unique among the rulers for that. but the tragedy of all of the families is that they're embedded in a town and traditions that Will Not Let Them Out

whereas saburov is like. he grew up in this town, his mother would've been a Mistress herself, the town's needs and impositions as a structure are so ingrained to him that he doesn't conceive of any selfhood or duty that Doesn't involve his role as The Saburov, putting himself on the line for everything that might befall the town. and the patterns are also so ingrained to him that he starts to think he can change or at least outsmart them. come to think of it, the whole first half of changeling route is his trying to find someone responsible for the plague, and ultimately when there is no such person he takes that responsibility onto himself but He Tries so hard first... clara's presence disrupts the balance and therefore taking her in might allow him to control the balance (and per recent discussion there's a masculinity in his need for control), except the conjectures he makes don't really apply to something completely new and unknown. and to his credit saburov loves changing his mind when presented with new information and there's a lot of guilt accumulating because of it and ultimately he gives up that control to clara, being one of few characters to genuinely grow over the course of the game. But in a way that's still symbolically equivalent with death 🙂

So they're two self-abnegating people who are the "less important" member of their ruling family and become surpassed by their daughters in the town to come, but from totally perpendicular backgrounds that cross just at this point... it's very fun that they don't get along as administrators when rulerhood is the one thing they kind of share

[shmowder]

Ooh, OCs! I'm in a patho oc group that I've unfortunately been too busy to participate in lately but I love my little (big) guy, so I'll share him here.

His name is Yonho, he's a former butcher turned botanist/agriculturalist, and he's 15 - because odonghs aren't born, they're spat out from the earth as fully formed adolescents. Yep, he's a worm NPC!

After learning how to exist for a few years he was put to work as a butcher for the Bull Project, but after doing that for a few years and realizing his labor mostly just made their greedy exploitative Böös richer, he quit and went to be a cattle herder in the steppe. He was free, but lonely, and couldn't enjoy his freedom knowing so many of the Kin were still slaving away at the meat factory. So he thought, hey, we're working there so we have money to buy food, right? So why don't we just grow our own food and we can stop working for him?

Great idea! Lots of other people thought of that before, though, and... the soil just sucks. It's terrible. Anything except twyre is barely worth growing. If they were going to stay in one area they had to depend on imports. But instead of giving up or saying they should return to being nomads he wondered if there was a reason twyre grew so well, and if they could give other plants that property. He planted the herb patches in Shekhen and started studying them, and one day when he was explaining his idea to a butcher who stopped by, they said they saw a book about something similar at a shop in town. He looked into it and found several books about plants, but they were all in Russian. So he went to some of the Kin in town and had them translate, and started trying to learn to read Russian himself so he could understand them better.

Now, a worm being interested in western science and trying to learn to read Russian is very unusual. And guess who caught wind? Vlad Jr. He immediately sought out Yonho and offered to help, saying he would give him the books he used as a child to learn to read, and would have books on agriculture imported for him. Yonho was obviously skeptical but Vlad Jr seemed better than his father and he couldn't think of a way this would hurt him so he cautiously agreed. And it worked, Vlad Jr did get him books on reading and agriculture. With his help Yonho quickly picked it up, and with a better grasp on Russian he started to speak more clearly, more like a townsperson. That was when Vlad Jr started talking about how wouldn't it be great if they could educate all the Kin and make them civilized like this? And Yonho realized he had never actually been interested in helping him, he just wanted to show they could be assimilated. He was understandably furious and while he didn't cut ties with Vlad Jr completely since having those connections is handy, he went back to Shekhen to focus completely on his twyre experiments. That's where he is during the game, and he's thrilled when Artemy frees the survivors from the Termitary and brings them there. He's even more determined to succeed now so it can be a long-term solution.

Despite being a devout Boddho boy, he really doesn't have any issues with the Town itself. Plenty of the Kin seem to like living there. It would be fine if not for the meat slave factory. And the racism. But a lot of people, especially those from the lower districts, are completely okay with living alongside them. Bar a mass departure, Yonho's staying near Shekhen and the Town forever. The Kin are his family. He's not leaving them.

Of course he believes all the steppe legends, being one himself, and he also believes the Mistresses. They've had Earth Mistresses and Mother Superiors for ages. However, he doesn't like the Dark and Light Mistresses. They're powers not native to the area, and like invasive species, they cause more destruction than good. He obviously hates the Olgimskys and thinks the Polyhedron is an abomination, so he hates the Kains too. He doesn't know much about the Saburovs but Katerina is a townborn Earth Mistress and they're not responsible for any huge destructive superstructures so he likes them best by default.

Obviously he would aid Artemy in his attempts to bring the Kin to Shekhen, but he wouldn't be hostile toward Clara or even Daniil if they were polite to him. I doubt he'd sabotage it, but he'd try to rescue the Kin from Utopian end by bringing them to a safe place in the steppe rather than inside the Polyhedron. As for quests... I'm not sure! He might ask you to get him a book or some supplies for Shekhen, or to talk to Vlad Jr for him. He would definitely be one of the worms you can trade herbs with though.

This was... already much longer than I intended it to be oops but here's the full document I made for him! And here's a drawing of him, done by the awesome @hayheadd!

A WORM OC!! IS IT MY BIRTHDAY? I LOVE HIM PLEASE MY CHILD <33 I would move the mountians and boil the seas if even one thread on his clothes gets touched by someone with malic.

Reading his backstory felt like reading a fable tale, one of those beautifully drawn bedtime stories you's obsess over as a kid. The narrative build and gradually steps he takes in order to solve this conundrum instead of just surrendering to the harsh reality.

He isn't satisfied with the current treatment of the kin. He wants his people to be turly dependent rather than subjected to borderline slavery by greedy cooperations.

It's very admirable how he doesn't give up even when his attempts fail, when the plants he attempts to grow withers, he asks why and tries to find an alternative way, searching for knowledge and information rather than simply giving up and thinking it was a foolish thing for a worm to even amount to anything.

I also like the complex relationship with Vlar Jr. Because he genuinely would help a worm if he ever caught wind of someone of someone like Yonho attempting to learn russian and actually read books. Sure, he'll do it with the intention in mind to spin this whole thing into benfiting his agenada to "uplift" and "enlighten" the kin, rather than actually understand why Yonho is doing the things he is.

But he still helps, I love that rat boyfailure man who. It is clever of Yonho to not cut off all connections since Vlad Jr. naivety or underestimation of the worms and kin can benfit him into getting even more batony books and outerworld resources with the Olgimskay's connections alone.

Ha, ironic. Taking advantage of the Olgimskay ignorance to help his own people who were wronged by them, to provide the kin even more knowledge whilst still respecting his own traditions and culture.

Because he knows the earth is a living thing, that he is a living proof of the magic in this universe and you shouldn't forgo one for the other.

Yk who else believes in steppe legends? Yulia, at least in P1. Taya also seems like she'd hold great favouritism towards the worm attempting to plant her strawberries and all kinds of fruits she's always read about but never tried.

Mother superior would definitely have his back if one of the Kin has a problem with his ways or claims it's an insult to the earth to attempt to not be satisfied with just the twyrine and swerve.

The art is so beautiful, I adore the little flowers and how accurate his clothes are to the Kin fashion ingame.

[shiroi---kumo]

for the url meme @aquaticsoul

Send me your URL and I'll tell you

My Opinion on;

Character in general: Let's talk about one Aqua Sielu (awk-va see-ah-loo) I love this man. Granted I had a hand in him. I designed him for Theo from a picrew I was handed to work with and I named him to keep to the Misterican naming structure. Other than that? Theo's ran with it and made a man with so much dimension I could swear he's canon. He's canon in my heart. Sielu is bright and funny and kind and witty. He's also scared and traumatized and understandably struggling. He's just someone who has crawled into my heart and made a home there and I have no intentions of charging rent. And then there's all the others of friends and family that have come with him. I could do a whole rant on just how much I love Pauhu alone. They're all precious and I adore them. How they play them: Theo has this way of writing Sielu that makes me so desperate for more of him. Sielu blends into Misterican Society flawlessly, just like his family does. I think about them a lot. They all have so much depth and flavor and dimension and they're alive. They are all so wonderfully NOT human and I just cannot get enough of them. I am always excited for any of them. Special shout out to Terälehti for living in my heart at constant. The Mun: Did you think you weren't gunna get another Theo ramble because I did it for Kain's blog. HAHAHA. No. Buckle up. Theo comes to me one day going "I wanna make a Misterican OC" and I was like "chill. do it. Cloud boy doesn't have a music teacher yet." and I just got "I can fix that." and that's all Theo had to go on. I said "send me a picrew reference to work with and I'll doodle him for you."

I got this:

And I churned back this in return. We had to PUFF him up and give him that Misterican flair okay. (And apply things like Misterican's don't where white or black. Cultural rules and such yanno) Theo has then gone from there to make this man so ALIVE. I need you to know, Theo has read EVERYTHING. I was blown away. Every bit of Misterican culture / biology / Religion / Government / Tech / etc Everything I have built to give Kumo a society, Theo has read ALL of it, just so Sielu would fit in flawlessly and he does. Theo has gone so far as to help me develop more things and expand Misterica even more. Misterica is our baby now and I'm more than honored to share it with him.

Do I:

RP with them: YES! Want to RP with them:  FOREVER YES!

What is my;

Overall Opinion:

**Note: Mun’s answer are all to be completely honest. Don’t send url if you don’t want brutal honesty

[transrathma]

3, 7 and 28 for kaine!!

ooaoaauaaououguughhhhh . yeah

from this ask game~

3. If you could jump back through time to save a loved one’s life, would you? Despite what it might to do the timeline? To everyone else? Do you believe it is their fate to die regardless?

Kaine doesn't believe in fate. Or if fate exists, it's their prerogative to follow it or not. As it stands, if it were Gale, or Adelaide, or either of their parents, fuck the timeline. Timeline? Sounds like a made up idea anyway. No, they're doing whatever they have to.

7. You have the key to immortality in your hands. But not for free. If you want it, as a price, your worst enemy also gains immortality. Is it worth it?

If you asked Kaine who their worst enemy is, they'd really have to think about it. It changes over time, I think. They could think of the person they hate the most, of course. Regardless, Kaine doesn't care much about immortality - living forever sounds exhausting. If it came with some other condition or power, they'd go for it - an enemy is subjective, and immortality doesn't mean immune to Kaine.

28. How long would you wait for the one you love? A year? Fifteen years? Forever? Could you honestly be loyal to an unfulfilled love?

Kaine doesn't wait. Whatever the reason given for being asked to, they'll find some way to fix it, or make up for it, or change the situation. If that doesn't work, it's over - they're ruining their life and they're taking everyone else down with them. :)

[pens-and-gems]

From the Bottom of My Asylum Heart Act I Preview

Hi everyone, so this a preview to one of my upcoming original plays: From the Bottom of My Asylum Heart. This play is about a young girl, living in the Victorian Era, whom after believing she is the cause of her mother's death, believes that she is mentally ill and thus, checks herself into an asylum, hence the title.

Before I post the preview for Act I, I do want to apologize if anything I say is historically inaccurate. I'd been writing this play since I was in high school, so please feel free to leave feedback. <3

Anyways, here's the preview. Please enjoy!

From the Bottom of My Asylum Heart

Characters (in order of appearance)

James Sebastian

Christopher Kaine

Lewis Smith

David Wallie

Annabelle and Mary-Lou

Dr. Richard Lee

Madeline "Young Maddie," "Young Madeline," or  "Maddie" Sebastian 

Emily Sebastian (appears as a spirit in Maddie's dream)

Juliana Winston

ACT I takes place at the Sebastian mansion in the living room, dining room, and upstairs. One scene takes place at five o'clock in the morning and the next takes place at night since it's a party the Sebastians are having.

ACT II is set three days after the events of the party. Scene is mostly in Maddie's room.

ACT III is at the asylum.

Time/Setting-Victorian England, during the 1820s. 

____________

Act I, Scene I

(Scene I. In a mansion during the times of Victorian England. It is raining, thundering, and lightning at five o'clock in the morning.  in the morning. Inside, JAMES SEBASTIAN,the ruler of the mansion is in the living room sitting on a chair as he is reading from a journal that has the name, EMILY SEBASTIAN written on it. In fact, the journal's whole title is called "EMILY SEBASTIAN'S TALES.")

James Sebastian: (reading from the journal) On this day, March 27, 1808, my beloved Madeline Sebastian has been born. My one and only daughter, my one child, my dearest child. I shall forever love you (brief pause) until the day I die. 

(James then closes the journal and signs deeply as he sets the journal down on the nightstand.) 

James: If only that day was later on instead of sooner. 

(Enter CHRISTOPHER KAINE, the mansion's butler.)

Christopher Kaine: Today is the day, isn't it sir?

James: Tomorrow, Christopher. Tomorrow. 

Christopher: (pours tea into James's cup) Today, tomorrow, next year, you are going to have to tell her either way, sir.

James: (picks up his tea and sips it softly) I am aware, Christopher. The only problem is how do I explain to my own daughter, who is only eleven turning twelve in just a few more hours from now, that twelve years ago after her mother died due to a horrific disease and she left her nothing but a journal behind? (slams down his fist on the chair's arm) It just frustrates me!

Christopher: (puts down his teapot) Relax, sir. I know it is frustrating to explain to Madeline what happened to Emily; but we must do something about it or it will be too late.

James: (seething) You don't need to remind me, Christopher!(sighs) Just put yourself in my shoes for a minute and try to analyze how I feel about this conflict right now. (rises up from his seat and pushes Christopher towards it) Here, sit in my seat and tell me how does it feel?

Christopher: Sir, sitting in your seat will not do anything for me about this problem. 

James: That's right, because you don't understand, Christopher!(pinches the bridge of his nose) Excuse my temper, but you just don't understand, now do you? 

Christopher: Of course I do. Twelve years ago, you lost your wife.

James: And twelve years ago, Maddie lost her mother and she believes it's her own fault!

Christopher: (surprised) James sir! You mean she is...

James: (sighs deeply) Yes, Christopher. As much as I want to lie or even forget about it, Madeline still believes it's her fault that Emily is dead; even after all of these years. She still won't let it go, no matter how much I, Lewis and David, her doctor try to help her. Nothing works anymore. But despite all this, I believe there is still hope for not only us, but for her as well.

Christopher: (concerned) Sir, are you sure about this?

James: (snaps at him quickly) Of course, I'm sure about this! I'm her father after all! (speaks calmly again as he begins to pace back and forth) Of course, her next appointment with Dr. Lee will be here until her party starts of course. 

Christopher: And this means what exactly, sir? 

James: Christopher, my dear man. Don't you know? Dr. Lee always knows the answer to all of our problems, no matter what. (grins brightly) In fact, he already understands Maddie more than any of us have throughout these years. 

Christopher: (confused) But sir, how will this work out?

James: (walks over to Christopher and puts his hand on his shoulder) My dear Christopher, Dr. Lee is a specialist in the mentally insane.

Christopher: (offended) Sir, how dare you say that about Young Maddie!

James:  (quiets him down as he grits his teeth) I don't mean like that! (takes a deep breath) What I mean is, think about it: It has been twelve years since Emily's tragic passing, and in those twelve years, Madeline hasn't moved on. Even if she doesn't show it, I know deep down what she is suffering from.

Christopher: (gasps) Sir, you don't mean...

James:(nods his head) As much as I hate to explain it, Maddie, my own daughter might be mentally ill with a horrendous disease called melancholia.

Christopher: (trembling) James sir, there's no way you can...

James: What, tell her? Of course I won't. (pause) Not just yet.

Christopher: Not yet!

James: I'm her father, I can't just hide the truth from her!

Christopher: But she'll be horrified to learn that term! Especially from her own father! 

James: Be that as it may, somebody has to help us. Somebody has to help us realize that Maddie may be insane, might be upset, most likely is suffering from melancholy. I pray to God that Dr. Lee will help us understand more of this disease, and that my beloved daughter will not be alone on this journey if he will diagnose her with it. I'm very sure that she will be informed, "Maddie, you have melancholia. It's where you suffer from external sadness. Due to the twelve-year anniversary of your mother's death coming up, you most likely have this disease; this illness, this thing that makes you upset even when you don't want to be. It's not your fault, but with the help of your family and I, we can help you make it through."

Christopher: Sir, this feels like a difficult challenge.

James: Difficult, what's diffcult is that my daughter is turning twelve in less than three hours, and I'm in a crisis not knowing when or how to tell her she is most likely insane; suffering from the worst possible thing ever. And you, Christopher, are making it harder for me to think what to do about it!

(A knock on the mansion's door is heard, followed by a voice.)

Voice: James, Christopher, somebody.

James: (astonished) By George, it's Lewis and David! Let them in, Christopher, let them in at once!

Christopher: Yes sir, on it sir.

__

And that's all I have for now! Please give me any feedback to help me improve!

UPDATE: 1/11/24

I made a few corrections and edits thanks to a Discord friend of mine!

Please enjoy and correct me if anything else needs work!

[megamangx]

scp allince slayer-the girly things plot

read the allien slayer sweries of scp storys

mike jenklin was doing paperwork witch he hatted becuse he liked fieldwork becuse he liked guns and swords and fighting with his buddy darkblade.

but one day all the female sciantists started quitting jobs and dressing like fucked up barbie "what is happened doctor rights you used to love sciance you where part of the science team for god sake" mike shaked her

"like i love make up and ballat and dolls now witch is normel things for girls to like now go away" she said and walked out in high heels and blodn hair.

"something is wrong and the peace is not more i must go to ask doctor kain pathos crow he is smart and willing know ansmwers" i said then mike opened the door to crow lab

the doctor was there "crow all the females are wearing pink and quitting"

crow laughed "oh its just girls they havbe womenblely needs and it is normal for them to do girl things like cottege cores and housewife" he said and the other staff laughed and slapped each others bums

"now mike lets get you a wife woof woof" barked kain pathos crow but mike was not imprassed becuse he was womans rights "something is wrong why are you liked this"??

then the door opened and evil woman keelee was there "i control the scp now and soon this site 19 will be demolished and turned into a cottagecore village for good girls to live and service the men" she said as the men bowed down

"you see i have a blog called just girly things and it will make girls into nromal girls who like pink and being wife" she laughed

mike jenkins tryed to go for gun but a strong women grab him and he could not fight "but why men help you" mike begged

suddanly a purple computer grapheic farmer man was there "well thatd be me pardner i used my goat mind control to make all the boys here do what they are told.

mike was scared "GOAT VR YOU ARE HELPING THEM?!"

The farmer laugh "thats right keelee promased me i could have 10 percent of the worlds men to turn into my goat slaves forever and send them into my game"

keelee kicked mike whern he was down and wispered in his ear "remember years ago when evil pagan cult take over scp that was me we where doing a testing run for the just girly things program memes" and mike was shook.

darkblade came in holding the mastermune sword as he stuck the heavy weapons girls down "mike you where trained in the kata how could you be so easily defeeted after you punched the evil sun to death remember" said darkblade

MOTIVATION came over mike as he powered up becoming powercul with the kata and unlashing his silver power form "Keelee you have stolen these womens freedoms and slaved them and for that you will pay" and mike puncher her 20000 times "ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora" he said and punched her out a window.

"you gotta deal with me boy" said the farmer as mike used norton anti virus to kill him "oh fuck you too" said the farmer who was deleted.

then mike and darkblade used the antimeme to cure doctor crow and the others as the dog thanked them "sorry about that i was weak to let that computer man mind control me." said crow

"Don';t worry friends look out for each other" laughed mike and they all wented out for pepsis.

at a secret base hitler crushed his list as his glass of warm milk shattered he was angry "so our gender roles group we funded has failed i am das angry and hate zat mike i will get him" hitler said no longer in the mood for his warm glass of milk.

[intotheabyssofunknown]

I have been doing a little thinking 🤔 ... Everything that's happening in VKM , like the truth was hidden from vampire community about the mother and daughter pair found in the abandoned house , cause it would lead to one sided massacre, like Ruka and Kain living in a place deep in the mountains, i mean a nation wise arrest is alright. Yuki going to every nobles house to warn them not to hurt zero that's alright, and in turn also killing one or two low level vampires is also fine to protect zero . This is justifiable , i mean it is , anything done for zero and by zero is justifiable.

Finally the pain caused by vk is lessening in my heart . It is but a fiction and the author can write whatever they want , they can justify anybody's actions , they can justify anybody's love with just a few sentences. So no need for me to analyse anything, or point in analysis. Afterall it is nothing with someone's imagination. Though it does feel like lots of cliches put together 😅 . And the biggest cliche of a maiden's life is simple (mostly for me and some of my friends) , we want everything, we want lots of attention, we want an eternal love (Kaname kuran ) someone who wouldn't be with us yet they would forever protect and love us no matter what, someone to constantly to run to whenever things get hard , also we want to be this person's angel so that they will forever be indebted to us and never move forward in life , like stuck by our memories and devotion and though they are unable to comprehend much emotions but they are able to know we won't be happy with them , so without us trying they will take us to our loved ones and then die. Like zero who would be the recipient of our love though we will also treat them horrible still we are this person's angel as well and he too won't abandon us physically.

Like all of our maiden dreams combined into one . I am not saying that this is something that everyone wants but yeah I do.

[fantasmalforces]

“How is it that I share DNA with that buffoon?”

[shiroi---kumo]

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ He's sick to death of people running off unannounced. Do these Amestrians not understand how dangerous Wonderland is? Obviously after the latest incident with Kain, not very. He understands their worry for these boys but they must be pretty damn important if all these humans seem to be willing to throw their lives onto the fire like kindling without a thought to it again and again. He has to admit that he's a little bit ready to scream.

Rushing out after Miss Maria had not been in his plans for the day but he was lucky that Cid had installed this communication system in his sumunaamio, even if it is always a rather unwelcome sound when it comes ringing in his ear. He really needs to have a discussion with the man about programming it with something that's not so deafening. Surely he also installed some way to deal with the volume.

The man came ringing out of no where and it was all he could do to not to stumble forward in midair when Cid's voice bellows.

"Where are you?!"

He's wincing at the sound as he halts midflight to linger there for a moment as the blond man yells all the way from the other side of Wonderland. Jade eyes drop to the ground below as he looks around under his feet and then out and around the surrounding area.

"About Sector 382." The swordsman replies with his left thumb pressed to the button on the underside of the covering of his ear. "Well she's gone. She ran off without telling a single person and her sister is about losing her mind trying to find her. I need you to check the surrounding area to see if you can find her." "Find who, Cid?" "Maria. She ran off and now Aurora is losing it." "Oh dear." His voice pauses only long enough for a sigh to escape him. "I'll get right on it but you know that means I need to fly to the complete other side of Wonderland don't you?"

It's almost like the technician needs a moment to process the sector number that had been given him only a moment ago before the swordsman hears the man make some sort of inhuman sounding noise before he groans.

"Wait - urgh - why are you so far out?! " "Because I've already searched the close sectors so I had to expand my radius, Cid." "You really think they're that far out though?" " "I have no idea where they are so I'm searching every where." "But the Soil Desert...." "We'll cross the Sateenkaari when we get to it, Cid." "Kumo, just - be careful. Be careful and don't do anything stupid. Come home this time, okay?" "I will come home to you in the best condition I can manage Cid. I give you my word." "You better. Bring her home, Kumo."

It's all the blond can say before he hears that connection fizzle out on the other side of his earpiece. So now he has an entirely new problem and that is to find Miss Maria before something bad happens.

So he's racing, just as quickly as he can manage to get to the other side of Wonderland. It's been a while since he's allowed himself to reach these speeds but he doesn't have the time. He needs to keep his ears open to see if he can hear -

There is rustling in the forest below so he's going to have to stop and check each and every one to see if he can find her. He's frowning behind his mask when he's met with a bunch of chocobos so that leads the Misterican back to the skies again.

This is going to take forever.

He doesn't have the time for this. If only she would do something so based in pure instinct as to possibly scream and that's it. That's when he hears her. At least he hopes that's her. He can hear a mess of noises coming from a few miles off and the sound of a girl screaming in what sounds like fear. Someone - perhaps Miss Maria is in trouble.

Of course she is.

There's a voice in the back of his mind, groaning about how this is why he didn't want them leaving on their own and he can feel the demon swordsman rolling his eyes all the way to the back of his head at the notion. He's dipping out of the skies and into the forest only to be assaulted by the damn wet smell in the air. It smells like sulfur and smoke. There is motion all around him but he just needs to focus for a singular heartbeat.

There she is, and he sees her. Just dead ahead and -

There's no time. The Maken is called from his belt and into his hand the swordsman rushes forward in a blur of white and grey. He's driving the blade deep into the creatures shoulder as the sounds of his own tongue fill his ears, spoken for lips that have never known the taste of Mist.

Withdrawing the Maken, the beast lets out a whine of pain and rushes off before he can finish the job. No matter Miss Maria is what is important right now. A hand is held out to her, to help pull her up off the ground and he stands and waits while she dusts herself off and gathers her belongings.

"What's wrong with you?" He sounds in frustration. "Why would you leave alone - "

He's cut off with an explanation and it's those boys again. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he's wondering if these boys in question understand just how much their friends and family must love them to risk life and limb to find them... and she won't go back without them or at least something more than the hope that they're out there. She's - she's being stupidly stubborn in a world she can't begin to understand.

He's ready to scold her when his ears fill with the sound of rumbling. Trees coming down around them and as he turns away from her - ah - of course the beast went for help. He doesn't have the time to pay Miss Maria much mind in the moment as his grip on the Maken tightens and he's rushing to engage the threat. Blocking blows and shifting to quickly drive the blade in so he can deal a few of his own.

"Better get out while you can." he demands but will she listen? Probably not. She already got firm with him and she already asked for his honesty - but he failed to give it....

... for the time being anyway.

She's not running. He doesn't need to look back to see that. His ears are painting a clear enough story for the swordsman to know that.

Stun it she says. Stun it so they both can run.

No, he has a better idea.

He doesn't want her to have to see this kind of thing but he doesn't really have a choice. She's just a child but she's also caught out in the unforgiving Wilds of Wonderland now and she needs to learn of the mess she's dared to challenge without the knowledge to know what she was getting herself into.

His mask slides back for a moment, never once turning back to face her as lips part and white mist seeps from his lungs just enough to cover the space around himself and his opponent. The beast wobbles as it inhales the sleep filled gas and he uses that moment to drive the Maken straight through the monster only to cleave it clean in half.

It won't be coming back this time and it won't be bringing it's friends for reinforcements.

Thin metal is called forth once more, his mask replacing itself on his face before he turns around to her. His right hand swing around to quickly replace his blade upon his belt with a single click.

A sigh.

The prince bends down to lift the girl from the ground with little effort as he begins to walk.

"Are you alright, Miss Maria?" He sounds in his usual tone of softness, ignoring her question into his own well being. "Hold onto me while I find us a place to rest and we can look over your leg. It seems.... injured."

They can't stay here forever, so the Misterican is working to make his way through this forest looking for a place where they could lay low for a while. It doesn't seem like they'll be getting back to the Comodeen any time soon and he only brought enough supplies with him on this trip for one person ...

@shiroi---kumo keeps trying to warn.❛ Better get out while you can. ❜

She's using her leg as a brace, but even with every force of concentration, the automail's gears can't force the monster off of her. She can feel its hot breath on her face as it continues to snap its jaws. Weren't the hours spent training with Riza meant to help her in one of these moments? But the rat... if it even could be considered such a thing, was overpowering in every sense of the word. Even her knife is out of reach-

She just needs an opening, a chance to run back to the Comodeen. But this thing is unrelenting, and a part of her knows she won't make it back in one piece, if at all.

That is until she sees him-

"Isoveli!"

White Cloud's attack sends the rodent-like monster scrambling and right back into the underground burrow it emerged from. All Mar can do is watch as she tries to collect her breath. What was with his perfect timing in her life? She should be grateful, but it's all still a bit too much to comprehend.

A hand is offered out to her, and she takes it without hesitation. She rises from the ground, dusting herself off from the caked-on mud and dirt. There's that inevitable questioning as to why she was even out here in the first place. The girl huffs, bending over to grab her knife, "I got tired of sittin' around. I can only explain so many times to Cid how automail works for his research; better off gettin' Ed to make'm the new specimen."

A heavily shaded lie to hide her true intentions, more so, the undercurrents of turmoil laid dormant in her heart. Frustration from the adults' lack of action, fear for the worst to have befallen, and her own heart broken from the idea that two people in her twisted-up family may never come back to them.

She slides the blade back into the holster on her belt. "I'm not goin' back to the Comodeen until at least I can give them all more than 'we don't know, but we can hope.' Hope alone... it's stupid."

If he wanted to accompany her, he was more than welcome, but Mar folded her arms in defiance as if to say, 'You can try to take me back, but I'll kick and scream the entire time.' && more surprisingly, he didn't immediately try to force her into returning to the Comodeen.

Instead, a compromise is made. They will go back by the end of the day, especially since Mar didn't bring enough provisions for two to last more than a day or two. For now, he'll humor her and let her peer under every hidden spot in this forest for the boys.

As they walk along, any attempts of conversation have been pretty surface-level. Questions about this place, and were there any other villages around here...She wants to trust White Cloud with those thoughts from before. And he has been more than willing to listen to her before. So, is it not safe to do so now?

After a brief moment of silence, she begins, "You've always been honest with me, Isoveli." This forest, it was far enough away from the Comodeen. They wouldn't have to worry about peering eyes and ears listening into their words, "Aurora, she's a sugar coater. She lies through her teeth so I don't worry about anything.... and I think she's doing the 'they're okay because they have to be' thing to placate Roy's nerves too."

She swallows, her throat holding a significant amount of tension when she asks, "Do you think Edward 'n Alphonse are... dead?" Even she can feel the weight of that sentence hit her stomach like a stone.

Or is it the ground shaking?

It seems this grim question is left in the air because they're not alone anymore. The ground itself shatters into chunks as they're sent sky-high. The thunder of a few trees slamming against one another. Mar's fall is broken by a few tree limbs, and the eventual final drop to the uneven ground. She risks mechanical failure by allowing her automail to take the full brunt of the drop unless she'd rather have a broken leg on the other side of her body. And so, she chooses the automail.

She's on the ground, groaning from the pain. Fuck, that hurt. She heard a wire snap too. Dammit... Cid is going to have to help her investigate that. Can her toes move? Yes, her knee? Barely but it's there.

Then comes the scent of blood, but it's not too much. A tiny stream of blood is pouring from her nose, and her arm has a small slash in it. Nothing she couldn't handle.

"Isoveli, are you okay?" She asks hoarsely, turning over her body to face where she last saw the Misterican. Instead, she spots what looks like a standoff between Kumo and what seems to be the mother of the rat monster.

He's suggesting that she make a run for it.

Or is it a soft order?

"I can't... Kumo- I can't leave you; I don't know where to go."

Should she mention that her leg really doesn't seem to be fairing? Possibly, but she almost forgets that note. (Given that he's about to be eaten by a huge Rat!) "Stun it, and we can run!"

[venusdeluxe]

I'm freed from Twitter, here's the Spider-Man No Way Home review I wrote when it first came out. It's so stupidly long.

I don't really know what started my love for Spider-Man. I can't even remember where I first learned about him, it just feels like he's always been a part of my life. I watched the cartoons, all the movies, I got any game I saw with Spider-Man on it at the store, I had a Spider-Girl toy that I thought was just Spider-Man, but it was actually Mayday Parker the whole time and I didn't notice. Point is, I really love this character and it feels like I always have. As a fan I also like to find the positives in all of his movies, even if I greatly dislike them. All that is to say that I am incredibly biased, this movie means a lot to me and I don't think any other singular character could give me the kinda experience I got from this film (except maybe a Star Wars movie). I absolutely loved it. Even as "pandering" as it might seem with how much of it is about bringing things over from previous incarnations of the character that people feel really nostalgic for, I think No Way Home uses those elements to really great effect. It's clever, it says something about the core of Peter Parker, and it teaches this younger Peter a lot. It's hilarious, it's painful, it's exciting, and it feels so… sincere. (I'm gonna be using that word a lot).

It's kinda hard to hold it in for too long, so I just have to get it out. There's three Spider-Men in this movie, the big three live-action Spideys finally coming together. Holy shit. Tobey and Andrew jump straight from the worlds of Sam Raimi and Mark Webb into the MCU, bringing their own flavors and personalities, but still feeling like they've grown since we last saw them. Tobey is of course older, a bit wiser, and pretty mellowed out, polite and quite positive. Andrew is still bitter from what happened with Gwen and admits he let his anger get to him more after that event, but here he still brings a lot of love, charm, fun and sarcasm into the movie. They really shine once they enter the scene, and it doesn't feel like they're purely here to get paid.

Andrew's line before the final battle, saying he always wanted brothers, really stood out to me personally. It made me smile so hard. I don't think it was meant to invoke this specifically, but it reminded me of Peter's clones in the comics, Ben Reilly and Kaine, who sorta become Peter's brothers. And I think that kind of brotherly dynamic was the perfect way to pull this off. I was very skeptical of the idea to bring the three Spideys together when the initial rumors started to circulate, thinking that it wouldn't work as well as Into the Spider-Verse did with all of its distinct Spiders. Since then I’ve warmed up to the idea, and my god seeing it for myself was truly magic. The banter between the three Peters in this movie really gives that brotherly vibe. There's such a sincere love that develops between them in the short time they have together as they bond over shared traumas and desires and weird experiences as superheroes. Tobey and Andrew have felt all the same things that Tom is feeling during their first meeting, soon after Aunt May's death, and they serve more of a purpose in the film by helping him through it, and not just being there to fight in the finale. I also love the moment where Andrew calls himself lame after Tobey and Tom talk about how they've fought aliens, and Tobey backs up and repeats to him that he's not lame, he's amazing, even trying to get Andrew to say it to himself. They're all so supportive of each other, it's really great. And their last hug made my heart absolutely flutter. It's just so… sincere!! And sweet! I feel like there aren't enough hugs in superhero movies. They're brothers, they love each other, and it feels like they were destined to be brought together one day. It's beautiful. Their brotherly bond makes me wanna see them stay together forever, but of course Tobey and Andrew must return to their lives. If they all come back in Across/Beyond the Spider-Verse, I will cry.

Speaking of Into the Spider-Verse, it is certaintly easy to compare this movie to that as another multiversal Spider-Man film. They do share that aspect, but they are so completely different that I can't really compare them. Into the Spider-Verse was an origin story for Miles Morales, while also being all about the Spider-Man identity as a whole and what it stands for, the idea that anyone can be Spider-Man. It's why Miles was such an effective protagonist for that story. No Way Home shrinks that lens and focuses soley Peter Parker (three of him even!), and the kind of struggles that often define his career. It's not exactly an origin story in the same way, but a continuation of a character we've already seen plenty of times. It's about his on-screen legacy and all the things that bring these three distinct adaptations together, while pushing our newest and youngest iteration to his absolute limits and beyond. The movie does a lot of work to "fix" some of the issues people have expressed about Tom's version of the character, but to me it never actively feels like that's what it's doing. It feels like a natural progression for him, and a transition into a newer, darker and more mature stage in his life as he enters adulthood and takes on new responsibilities. While none of us have faced circumstances as fantastical as Peter does in this movie, the ending gives off a feeling I can relate to. When you enter that next stage in life, like leaving high school to go to college or get a job, you often drift apart from people who were once so close to you. It hurts, and for someone like me it's difficult to let people go, but it's a part of growing up. You grow away from people, and that's natural as sad as it might sound. That's not exactly what happens here, there are supernatural causes for Peter drifting away from Ned and MJ, but it invokes that feeling which grounds it in reality for me. And even then, there's still hope left for a future rekindling of these relationships if you look closely and see the Black Dahlia necklace Peter bought for MJ in Far From Home still hanging around her neck. You can drift apart from people, but you might still find them again further down the road. For now though, Peter has been given a fresh start, a fresh suit and a new apartment where he can start to rebuild his life, and continue being Spider-Man. Even after all the pain it's brought him, he can never forget the lessons taught by his family, his mentors, and his brothers. As long as he wields great power, he must always be responsible with it, and by the end he's given a second chance to take on that responsibility and take on his duties while protecting the people he loves the most.. The events that lead down this path started in Far From Home when he forgot that lesson, and this movie guarantees that it'll stay forever. He feels like a truly tragic character now, which is made so painful because they've actively made him so likable and charming and adorable in all his previous appearences. We met him in such a young and innocent state, and Tom's Peter has been defined by that innocence and optimism much more than Tobey and Andrew ever were, so seeing where this movie leads him just pains the soul. But it's good! As much as I think people exaggerate how miserable Peter's life should be, tragedy has always been a part of it, and I think this movie does that very well while not letting it make the whole thing a downer of an experience. It's still so fun and exciting, while giving all the tragic beats the room they need to breath. It's a delicate balance that I think is handled with a lot of care, more than many other MCU films.

The first bit of the movie has the same kinda tone as Homecoming and Far From Home which eventually takes a turn into darkness and tragedy, but again it doesn't feel like total whiplash, it feels like a transition. The movie takes all the neccessary steps to get us from that John Hughes fun to the darker new reality. I think in addition to the classic "great power" mantra, the ending embodies an important line from Spider-Man 2 said by Aunt May, and that Peter repeats to Doc Ock. "Sometimes to do what's right we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams". I'm honestly surprised that wasn't one of the lines they referenced since it is so applicable, but either way I think it's fitting that the words of two Aunt Mays feel so central to this movie's ultimate conclusion.

Going back to Into the Spider-Verse, another thing that seperates these two is No Way Home's focus on Spidey baddies of the past. ITSV certaintly attempts to give Kingpin a sympathic backstory and motivation for doing what he's doing and is otherwise jam-packed with classic Spidey foes, but it still isn't really about the villains in the same way No Way Home is. This movie is all about saving them, redeeming them, and getting them home. It's like a twist on ITSV's plot to get all the Spideys home, with NWH adding an extra layer to that. One of the biggest conflicts in the movie is the disagreement between Doctor Strange and Spider-Man on how to handle them. Spider-Man desperately wants to cure them and send them home safely and alive, while Strange is rigid in his belif that their only destiny is to die. It's such a smart and Spider-Man-y way to deal with this multiverse drama. I don't think anyone watching the ending of Far From Home expected it to lead to this sorta multiversal madness, but they really make it work anyway.

And as we're talking about villains… Green Goblin. Holy shit. He's not really in that much of the movie, but he is a god damn demon in the time he has. Breaking the mask early on was a smart idea I feel, as it opens Willem Dafoe up to really shine even brighter than previously as Green Goblin, letting us see every bonkers expression on his beautiful face. When Goblin takes over he becomes so insanely sinister, in a way that only Willem could pull off this well, and it is so god damn entertaining. He's clearly having a great time playing the role, and it's really makes him stand out among other MCU villains (besides the fact that he's literally from another franchise). I think he's the perfect villain for this movie. He's the perfect challenge for Peter's desire to save the villains since the Goblin persona is so cruel, and evil, and heartless. Doc Ock, Electro and Lizard aren't exactly the nicest guys when they're in villain mode and they're quite resistant to the idea of being "cured", but they're nothing compared to the pure evil that Norman's alter ego showcases. It really adds to the feeling that the whole world is against Peter. Strange, the general public, the media, and even the people he's trying to save with Goblin going as far as killing our dear Aunt May. And it makes Peter really doubt his whole mission in the movie, and the wise words of his aunt. Goblin doesn't wanna just kill Spider-Man, he wants to twist him. He wants to push him over the edge, just like he tried to in his original appearence, and he gets even closer to that goal in this movie leading to one of my favorite moments of the film. After Spidey and Goblin's raw final brawl, Peter is ready to just murder him with his own glider, way more directly than when Tobey just dodged out of the way. And right at the last second, Tobey catches it. No dialogue, no music, just a knowing look from Tobey to Tom, as Tom's Peter relents and lowers the glider. Tobey saves Tom from completing his dark path, and makes up for one of his biggest regrets by saving Norman and allowing a new timeline to be created without the fallout between Peter and Harry. It's such a great moment, Tobey's eyes alone manage to say so much. Absolutely powerful.

The previous two Spidey movies have had very strong villains in my opinion, soaring a lot higher than many of the other boring grey villains in the rest of the MCU. Michael Keaton's Vulture has personally been my favorite since Homecoming came out, and Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio was insanely entertaining in Far From Home once the twist happens, with his presence looming over this film as his final illusion lays ruin upon Peter’s life. I was very much looking forward to another new baddie in this one before we started hearing about all the old ones coming back, which felt a little disappointing at the time. But as much as I would've liked to see Kraven or Michael Mando's Scorpion finally enter the picture, I was still very happy to see how the returning foes were handled here. Films like Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 have often been criticized for having too many villains to deal with at once, and it very much was a worry that this movie would face that same problem tenfold. We now have 5 villains in one movie, more than the two other movies I just mentioned, but No Way Home manages to pull it off incredibly well. That might in part have something to do with them all being returning villains of course, we've met these guys before and we know their history so they don't need to dedicate as much time to setting them up, but it could still easily feel very crowded anyway. But as I said before, the villains are a major focus of this film and I think that's the key that really makes it work. It's all centered around them, it's all about the debate on what to do with them and if their fates are truly sealed. They're all shown to not be truly rotten to their cores, there are people underneath those scales and lightning bolts and sand particles that deserve redemption and a second chance at life. It's kinda beautiful in a way, atleast to me. I love a good save the villains plot, and it's part of what makes this movie feel so… quintessentially Spider-Man. I think it's also part of what makes this movie feel so sincere to me. Despite the high drama and tragic tone it doesn't feel pessimistic, atleast not to me. There's a fight for hope happening. Peter is going way out of his way to rescue these guys and get them home safely, fueled by the words from his aunt, when he could so easily just do as Strange tells him and solve the problem for himself way quicker. I really think it's something beautiful.

I just have to take one paragraph to talk about the death of Aunt May. This isn't the first time I've had to see her die, but I cried just as much this time. I don't know how to even begin to describe my feeling about it. I really love Aunt May, every iteration of her brings something new to the table, but she is still always so warm and morally strong. As important as Uncle Ben is to Peter going down the path to becoming Spider-Man, it's Aunt May who consistantly takes the role of being Peter's northstar. And while she hasn't had a big role in the previous two MCU films, she is incredibly important in No Way Home. More than ever, she is Peter's moral compass and her teachings drive Peter for the rest of the movie and changes his life forever. If he is to truly become Spider-Man, he has to come to the terms with the fact that his powers give him a responsibility to do good by other people, and to do that he has to make some sacrifices. He can't have it both ways, if he wants to clean up his mess he has to give up some of the things he wants the most. That doesn't have to mean absolutely no one can ever know he's Spider-Man, but it does mean that he can't shift his responsibilities onto others like he tried to do with Mysterio. He can't be wreckless, and that is what I think is the most important lesson from May's death. God I cried so hard.

I think No Way Home might have my favorite performance of Spider-Man that anyone has given on the big screen. Tom Holland hits every beat perfectly. He's always been incredibly charming in the role, and I think he's always put in a good performance in the moments that have required him to get serious and sad and scared, but as this script turns the drama up to 11 he keeps up with it all the way. He's goofy and mischievous, he's furious and sad, he's scared and unsure, he capture so many sides of Spider-Man so, so well, I absolutely love watching him. Tom Holland's version of Spider-Man has been deeply personal for me. When Spider-Man Homecoming came out I was the exact same age as Peter was in the movie, which strengthened my connection to him and his daily struggles even more, and quickly made it my favorite Spider-Man movie. And now here we are, at the end of the trilogy, and I am once again in a similar place to Peter as I prepare myself to move on to the next stage of my life, which is one of the reasons this movie once again feels as personal as Homecoming did all those years ago. The tone is entirely different from where the trilogy started, but there are so many heart breaking connections back to the beginning and overall I think this is an amazing trilogy capper. It's been a wild ride for MCU Spider-Man, in his own movies and beyond, and after No Way Home I can say with more confidence than ever that he is my favorite Spider-Man of all time.

I can't keep rambling on, and I can't touch on every single moment I loved and every character that I adored, so I think I have to just end it here. Overall… god I wish I didn't have to wait so long to see this after everyone else was storming the theaters, but I am so happy it's finally in my brain. I adore this movie, I absolutely love it. It's kinda hard for me to not place it as my number 1 Spidey movie and MCU movie. Is it recency bias? Did the nostalgia bait get me? I don't know, and I do not care. This is everything I could've wanted it to be and so much more. It's everything I love about this character, everything I love about the MCU's incarnation of him and it ends with so much room for future stories from new creators. I can't wait to watch this over and over again in the future. I should've edited this down, but fuck it. You can't control me and I can't control my emotions. So with that, I'm just going to list a couple short bullet points of stuff I liked.

MJ absorbing Peter's optimism as his mind is shrouded in darkness is such a beautiful thing, it makes their relationship feel even stronger and their goodbye even more heartbreaking. I cried so god damn much. Also, I love Ned. Whenever a fun and goofy supporting character makes you cry, that shit is POWERFUL. AND THIS IS THE SECOND TIME HE'S DONE IT! FIRST IN ENDGAME, NOW AT THE END OF NO WAY HOME! And then they show how Peter kept his Lego Palpatine, the first thing we saw of Ned in Homecoming. God, my heart is just broken.

Michael Giacchino is a god amongst men, and he steps up his game tenfold from his previous two Spider-Scores which were already excellent on their own. What an absolute fucking genius.

The apartment fight between Spidey and Goblin is amazing, and that is all I have to say about it.

And with all that, I think I've said enough. This movie is great, and they should PUT SPOT IN THE NEXT ONE, THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT!!

[permian-tropos]

hiii so im still relatively new to the pathologic fandom, i havent finished bachelors route yet but i love him. i still dont understand why he isnt in his own ending, do you mind explaining it for me? like what are the theories. also on that note, what are some of your favorite pathologic essays? on tumblr in written or on youtube anything will do, ive watched the hbomber sulmutal ragnarrox and mangaloregaming ones already. thanksss for your input <333 i really am obsessed!

Hi there anon!!! So cool of you to reach out to me! 

So the explanation about why the Bachelor isn’t in his own ending comes from an online AMA with the writer/head of IPL (who I feel obliged to mention has been recently accused of some awful shit so until that gets properly investigated -- and will it? honestly I don’t know :< -- the fandom is kind of holding its breath on this matter, or at least I am, if you’re new here I am very very sorry to break that news to you). 

What I remember from the screenshot I saw of it was that apparently the Bachelor doesn’t “belong” in this “weird world” he’s helped create, and that it was intentional to not show him among Maria Kaina’s worshippers during the Utopian cutscene. So that’s what I’m working with.  

Daniil is a pretty complicated guy, especially when he’s the player character. I feel like you have some leeway, not just in choosing which ending, but even why he chooses various endings, including his own. He can be skeptical and concerned about a lot of aspects of the Utopians, even while he falls more and more in with them ideologically. Not helped by the fact that the Kains are, to my mind, lovebombing the hell out of him in the end, he’s just... very conflicted I think? There’s a lot of dialogue options he can take that suggest he admires the Polyhedron for what it is currently -- a place for children to explore their dreams together and express the wonder and creativity of their youth. You can have him be concerned at the idea of the Kains kicking out the kids so that they can take the Polyhedron themselves. But he thinks it would be awful to destroy the Polyhedron even if it’s about to be used by some very weird and very Sus people. Because to him it’s irreplaceable. 

So... I think his relationship with the Kains is fraught. He sees the nasty sides of the other two ruling families early on and believes the Kains are the most sensible rulers of the town... but once the Kains know he’s hooked, they reveal their extremely absurd, grandiose, and rather ominous plans for Utopia for him. And he’s kind of in too deep to get out by then? He’s been through so much that I can see how it would be tempting to hope that the Kains are just being melodramatic and that they’re not actually evil... hopefully...? That the world they create will at least be beautiful and interesting. Maybe unique. 

But he isn’t as enthusiastic about actually living in it himself as them. He has more rational reasons for seeing the Town destroyed -- underneath it, in the soil, is a dangerous biohazard. He thinks that preventing people from inhabiting this land is the only way to stop this plague, which is his job. It’s like if he found out they were atop a nuclear waste disposal site -- abandon it and put up a sign saying This Is Not A Place Of Honor.  There’s not just one way to interpret his choice at the end but if you believe dialogue he has about seeing the Polyhedron as a way to preserve childhood innocence... he knows he’s past that point. He’s not innocent, he’s been destroyed by this plague, and whether you imagine him leaving the town in disgrace or even ending his own life, an interpretation where he walks away from the “weird world” is one where he has given up on himself.  He’s one of the few fictional characters out there who pursues a dream of defeating death while never once suggesting that he wants to live forever. I’ve always found that really interesting about him. He may be a very flawed guy, but he isn’t really coveting ultimate power or even ultimate happiness for himself. 

Except the one indulgence I would argue he does allow himself is constantly scamming and lying to accumulate more and more guns (seriously he can do this over and over in his route it’s so funny) and if you want to take that to be a metaphor for being transmasculine bc guns are phallic symbols, be my guest xD /j

------ 

And regarding essays... UmmmMM well there’s a few off my personal collection on youtube that I’ve enjoyed that aren’t the big ones you’ve already mentioned:  The Youtube channel Shmowder Productions has quite a few wonderful video essays on Pathologic.  There’s also @loquaciouslore who has made a lot of awesome videos centered on various characters and mechanics of Patho 2 mostly. This is an analysis specifically of the plague in Pathologic 2, trying to come up with scientific/historical explanations for it (despite it defying explanation). It’s a fun time. Also big mood for Bachelor stans, trying to use science on the magic plague.   I have a soft spot for this video essay on the Bachelor and his Suffering TM because it uses a comment that I made on reddit to talk about something the essayist found personally relatable. This one is I almost feel essential viewing, it’s about the relationship Pathologic 2 has to avant-garde movements in theater.

Hope you like this collection! 

[root-admins]

SINoALICE x NieR Replicant - Weapon Stories

A complete compilation of all weapon stories from SINoALICE’s NieR Replicant collab... well, the ones that has lore to do with NieR anyways.

Whatever grammar mistakes/translation errors belongs to Pokelabo, and you will tell there are some. Most are stories are pretty self-explanatory tho.

Grimoire Weiss

We fought for what seemed like ages. To kill those things that took a twisted human form. To protect those precious to me, with my own hands. We were deceived for so long. Deceived by people in a land we've never been, whose faces we've never seen Issuing orders from a safe distance. We must have been in love. And despite the fact I couldn't save you, but I never got to thank you for saving me. These fragments glimmering deep in my depths... they seem to be the vague memories of people... the faded remnants of human wisdom... H-hold on! I’ll have you know my name is not “Booky Wooky!” You may call me "Grimoire Weiss" I am a great compendium of ancient wisdom. Treat me with respect!

Grimoire Noir

My name is the Black Book. Are you the king who will lead the world to salvation? Don't be so surprised, Your Majesty. For me, it is a simple matter to speak human words. I sympathize with your distress, Your Majesty. On this occasion, however, we have no choice but to let them deal with your sister. When sorrow overtakes you, you may come to me and speak of your tribulations. Reading is an admirable pursuit. Your Majesty--for me?? I shall peruse this volume if it comes on your recommendation... What is that? You think it odd for a book to read a book? Noir? I would prefer to dispense with this nickname. My name, Your Majesty, is the Black Book. I am a grand tome of human wisdom... thus, to refer to me by such a curious moniker is, dare I say, inappropriate.

Kaine’s Sword

She was slender, with smooth, white skin. The hint of a dark shadow in her expression highlighted her beautiful features. But something about the sword in her hand didn't seem to fit the picture. Anger, sorrow, hatred. When emotions overwhelmed her, she would swing the sword, so there was never a lack of blood to quench its thirst. The problem was that she couldn't put the sword down. A heart and body in constant conflict. No one in the world could understand her. And loneliness was eating her alive. The long war came to an end, and darkness devoured her. But her heart remained at peace. Because she faced fate in the arms of the one she loved.

Halua Head

File_25_10: Update Soon twins will be arriving. There is nothing at all in the white-walled, prison-like room except for a white bed. If only there were something to do in there... File_25_12: Update I went to look in on them, and the girl was kindly encouraging her anxious younger brother. The two of them had heavy expectations to fulfill. The weight of all humanity's hope bore down upon them. File_26_06: Update The day of the experiment, the girl passed me a letter. To the very end, she wanted someone to watch over her brother. Once I agreed, she quickly ran away. Report: Human Weapon Development Things seem to be progressing as expected with Experimental Subject A (Sister), but her condition has changed drastically. In her present state, she seems to have no sense of self. I am urgently beginning work on Experimental Subject B (Brother).

Devola & Popola’s Staff

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Dear Popola, Thanks for that soup recipe! My mom loved it!  －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ A note received from a child in the village. Does this mean they are developing a sense of self? －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Dear Popola, Thanks to the medicine you gave me, I'm feeling a lot better, though I can't leave home yet. Just sending a note to say thanks. －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ According to our records, humans wrote their feelings down on pieces of paper, and sent them to others. Where did they learn to do such a thing? －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Dear Popola, I like you a lot. Will you be my girlfriend? Waiting to hear back. －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ I simply cannot understand the things they have written on these scraps of paper. I feel an unfamiliar feeling, my heart saying “no”… －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Dear Popola, Sorry I couldn't tell you in person, but I'm coming home late tonight. Go ahead and sleep if you're tired. －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Ah, Devola. No need to worry about me this way. Tee-hee.

Favorite Pot

Yonah, I learned a special recipe! When you eat it, all your injuries will be gone! Oh! I want everyone to feed it to those they care about!

The ingredients are deer meat, sea turtle eggs, fresh veggies and herbs from the garden, and lastly tons of scorpion claws! Next, fill a pot up with all your ingredients, place the top on, and let it simmer overnight! The white steam rising from it is just so mesmerizing. ...Oh! I think it's ready! Smell for a soft scent when you take the lid off. That means it's done! I can't wait to give it to grandpa.

Transience

"Rule 0: You have the right to disband a rule by vote." I am the king's aide and second-in-command. Until now, all rules have be absolute, however, a "Voting Rite" was held where citizens could vote to change rules. Now, let's see what sort of ballots were made...

"Rule 451: Consuming alcohol is forbidden during the daytime." And stated as the reason is: because I like drinking... Because it's anonymous, all these votes are based off selfish desires. We need to improve the system somehow that reflects public opinion.

"Rule 356: Royal inquiries are limited once per day." And stated as the reason is: because I long to be with the King more...? Could this Fyra's vote...? No. Of course not. She's not the type to be interested in love. Moving on...

"Rule 68: The King's aides are to forever serve at his side" Reason being: Thank you for all your hard work. You deserve a break once in awhile... Could this be from the King himself? I'm honored to have stood by your side all these years. And the citizens of this country are proud of your work. There's no doubt of it.

Note: After rigorous deliberation, "Rule 451: Consuming alcohol is forbidden during the daytime", the most voted for rule, was repealed.

Grimoire Weiss ver.1.224

My name is Grimoire Weiss. I am an ancient tome of profound wisdom. After awakening from my long slumber, I traveled the world with my most beloved friends. She was a woman lacking respect for her elders. She'd continuously talk down to me, calling me nothing but paper and even set me aflame. However... Her rash words were also the driving force that moved us all. He was a compassionate and gentle boy who loved his friends. His manor of dress was odd, but his kind words warmed everyone's hearts. This I know to be true. I wonder if he, too had felt any relief from his sins. He was a cheeky guy, but not one you could just leave behind. We've been through a number of rough times together. I'd tell ya about it, but... I'm running out of time. If... If only I had an arm... Then I could have...hugged...him...

Grimoire Rubrum

It's the silk of fate. Knowing you, I shall begin living a life of truth. It's the forbidden fruit. Protecting you, I shall sink into wisdom's abyss. Those are the flames of anxiety. Thinking of you, I shall endure eternity's darkness. That is a reunion of bitter tears. Who are they? Why is it not me who's besides you?

Kaine’s Dual Blades ver.1.224

I craved it. Blind violence and blood-thirsty carnage. And I found it. I finally found it. A vessel stained with anger and hatred, seeking vengeance for the murder of her parents. I possessed that woman and gave her "power." That power turned the woman into a beast. One swing of her blade was enough to cut through stone and her grazes healed in an instant. She began downing every foe before her in the name of vengeance. I was delighted to witness the fruition of my desires. The woman's destruction didn't end there. After having her revenge, she continued to exert her "power" for the sake of her friends. Along her journey, her anger and hatred showed signs of waning, however, I gave it no thought. All I desired was to continue bathing in her bloodshed. Because her body has reached its limit, her power has lost control. Still, in the midst of the clashing of blades, I could feel her desire to protect her friends. Yes, this is the violence and carnage I crave. But why is it deplorable and empty?

Devola & Popola’s Spear

Upon hearing an old lady from the village caught a cold, I immediately collected my medicinal herbs with some boiled water, and rushed out from the library. I nursed her and remained by her side until her symptoms calmed down. She was extremely grateful for it.

I read a picture book to a group of children from the village. It was of an old tale about a brave, courageous man who triumphs over evil. I watched their expressions alternated between joy to sorrow to the story's pacing. I'm glad they enjoyed it.

Devola and I performed a song for the people at the village tavern. In addition to the regulars who drank there, elders and children were part of the audience. At the end of our song, the entire crowd smiled and cheered.

Every day Devola and I have been staying late at the library thinking of a plan to make life easier for the villagers. They're indispensable "vessels" for the project, so we need to do what we can for them.

Letter to the Postman

I was in a dimly lit cabin when I met a kind man. He taught me how to write a letter. What should I write on a blank piece of paper...? ―――――――――――――――――――――――――――― ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Apparently, a letter should start off with the name of the person you want to give it to. Of course, I'd want it to be his. I hope he'll be able to read my sloppy handwriting... ―――――――――――――――――――――――――――― 　　Hans ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

At the end of the letter should be the name of the person who wrote it. Of course, that would be the name he gave me. Is it odd my chest feels warm writing it...? ―――――――――――――――――――――――――――― 　　Hans 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Luiz ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

And in-between these two names, I'm supposed to write how I feel. And tell him what I want the most. I wonder if he'll be happy to receive this...?

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――― 　　Hans, Thank you　Thank you　Thank you Thank you　Thank you　Thank you　Thank you 　Thank you　Thank you. Luiz ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

[nadziejastar]

with axel/lea being based on reno, do you think there's anyone that saix/isa was (incredibly) loosely based on?

Riku had a lot going on this time. In comparison to Sora, he has the charm of a dark hero type. How do you see him? 

 Riku grows while carrying various troubles with him, he’s a lot like a retro Square hero I think. Final Fantasy-esque, so to speak. On the other hand, I made Sora the sort of character you wouldn’t see in a retro Square game.

Well, Nomura does gather inspiration for KH characters from FF. If I remember correctly, he said that Riku was similar to Kain Highwind from FFIV. And Kain falls to darkness and gets possessed because he’s jealous of his best friend’s love interest. They do have a lot of similarities, so it’s not surprising that Riku was loosely based on Kain.

I think when they came up with the idea for Isa as Lea’s former best friend (and love interest, IMO) they were inspired by FFX and Tidus and Yuna’s relationship. Axel was associated with the red sunset in 358/2 Days. And Saix was always a moon character. However, in KH2, his association with the moon was being a deranged berserker/werewolf who developed savage bloodlust when exposed to moonlight. 

With Isa, his association with the moon was more similar to Yuna. Moon = Yin energy. So, like Yuna, Isa was soft-spoken, quiet, shy, selfless, wise, sensitive. Lea was given Yang energy like Tidus. So young Lea was very extroverted, courageous, adventurous, and action-oriented. Basically, Isa was designed as the feminine counterpart to Lea. The Yin to his Yang.

FFIV was a love triangle. Kain and Cecil were best friends who loved the same woman. Tidus and Yuna were lovers. They had a tragic romance. At least in the original game, they couldn’t be together forever like they wanted to. Yuna accepted her fate. She was gonna sacrifice herself and die. Tidus was the bright one. He absolutely refused to accept that Yuna had to die. But their story was sad. Tidus disappears, leaving Yuna with only the memories of their time together. 

Yuna never wanted to forget him. Tidus was represented by a sunset. And Yuna was represented by a waning crescent moon. The Sun/Moon lovers concept was the underlying idea for Lea and Isa. I think Axel in Days actually acts really similar to Yuna in FFX-2. Yuna constantly reminisces and lives in the past. But she keeps it all bottled up inside and never tells anyone.

[go-redgirl]

Is Biden Reenlisting America in Forever Wars?

Thursday, in its first military action, the Biden Pentagon sent two U.S. F-15Es to strike targets of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia just inside the eastern border of Syria.

The U.S. strikes were in retaliation for a missile attack on a U.S. base in Irbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, which killed a contractor and wounded a U.S. soldier.

"We're confident that the target was being used by the same Shia militia that conducted the strikes," said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

But Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., want to know where President Joe Biden got his authority to launch attacks in Syria, where there was no clear or present danger to any U.S. troops.

Days before the U.S. strike, Kataib Hezbollah issued a statement denying any complicity in the Irbil attack, "We absolutely did not target Erbil or the Green Zone and have no knowledge of the group that did."

Iran has also denied any involvement in the missile attack on the Americans. On a visit to Baghdad, Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called for an investigation as to who is initiating the attacks inside Iraq.

"We emphasize the need for the Iraqi government to find the perpetrators of these incidents," said Zarif.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russian forces in Syria got only four or five minutes' notice that U.S. planes were on their way to a strike.

Bottom line: Those conducting these attacks on U.S. bases and troops in Iraq, provoking American counterstrikes, seek to ignite a conflict between the U.S. and Iran, and its proxies in Iraq and Syria.

And they are succeeding.

Biden broke with former President Donald Trump on the latter's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and impose "maximum pressure" sanctions to compel Iran to negotiate a more restrictive deal. But Biden has yet to reveal his own strategy or goals in dealing with Tehran.

Is he willing to accept a return to the nuclear deal the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, China and Russia negotiated with Iran in 2015?

And if that deal is now no longer adequate, how does Biden propose to get Iran to negotiate and agree to a tougher deal?

The leverage we have are the sanctions Trump imposed.

If Biden lifts those in return for Iran returning to the terms of the 2015 deal, he surrenders all of his leverage for a new deal covering Tehran's missile development and aid to Shia militias in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

But if Biden refuses to lift the Trump sanctions, Iran is likely to revive its nuclear enrichment program, give up on the U.S. and elect a hardline regime this year that could adopt a policy of attacking U.S. interests and personnel across the region until the Americans go home.

Six weeks into his administration, Biden seems in danger of being drawn back indefinitely into the forever wars of the Mideast.

In Afghanistan, under the terms of the peace deal negotiated with the Taliban in 2020, all U.S. troops are to be out of the country by May 1.

Under that deal, not a single U.S. soldier has been lost in combat in the last year.

If the U.S. announces, as some believe is likely, that we are not going to withdraw all forces by May 1, the Taliban, who control half the country, are likely to begin targeting the remaining American troops in the country.

Biden could then be presented with this Hobbesian choice: Flee Afghanistan under fire, or send more U.S. troops to protect those we left behind. Writes William Ruger, a veteran of the war and Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Afghanistan:

"Keeping our troops in Afghanistan beyond the promised deadline is pushing them back in the Taliban's cross hairs and indefinitely continuing an . . .  unwinnable war, which has already cost more than $2 trillion and more than 2,400 American lives . . .

"Anything less than a full drawdown means that Afghanistan will become President Biden's war. He will have to own the predictably terrible consequences of continuing a war that can't be won."

Looking at our 20 years of military intervention in the Mideast since Osama bin Laden drew us in by bringing down the twin towers and hitting the Pentagon, what is on the asset side of our balance sheet?

Two decades of fighting in Afghanistan, yet the Taliban enemy we ousted in 2001 seems today destined to retake power when we depart.

Pro-Iranian Shia militia dominate the Iraq that we sent an army to liberate from Saddam Hussein.

In Yemen and Syria, we bear major moral responsibility for two of the worst humanitarian disasters of the 21st century, and we are facing strategic defeats in both theaters.

In Libya, whose regime we helped to overthrow, Turks and Russians are fighting for control.

And China, which stayed out of all these wars we started — or into which we plunged — has prospered in these 20 years as few other nations in modern history.

Patrick Buchanan has been an adviser to three presidents, a two-time candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, and the nominee for the Reform Party in 2000. He was also a founding member of "The McLaughlin Group," which began on NBC News

_________________________________________

OPINION:  Yes, Joe Biden is ‘Reenlisting America in Forever Wars!’ Yes, what did you expect from Joe Biden.  He’s clueless on everything thats going on in this country and around the World.

When you elect someone like a Joe Biden then you must have known the ‘worst’ would come out in our Country.  Our Country don’t need to go to WAR with any country these days.

[cosmic-navel-gazin]

No banner doodle this time but I’ll make it up to you on next ones I promise.

In which I chronicle my Legacy of Kain journey and bridge it with your boy Adam Warlock, and Thanos too for a bit! (Part 4 of many, BIG SPOILERS for Soul Reaver 1 and 2)

Part 1

Part 1.5

Part 2

Part 3

As mentioned in Part 3, we have postponed our revenge on Kain and let him be for now, forcing History to take on a new course (this was only possible by having two incarnations of the Soul Reaver Sword meet in the same time, thus allowing a paradox to happen). Both the Elder God and his agent, the Time Guardian Moebius, are pissed at me now but hey, it's fine.

You see at this point everyone and their mother keeps telling Raziel that the only way to restore the land of Nosgoth to health is killing Kain. The entirety of Soul Reaver 1 was Raziel rising from the abyss to get revenge on his brothers and Kain for sentencing him to "burn forever in the bowels of the Lake of the Dead". But Kain tells me that killing him and vanquishing vampirism is not the solution to stop the corruption that sweeps the land, and that the people who have been guiding me have ulterior motives.

Things do not go as expected for Raziel however, and as we go and demand Moebius to send us further into the past to observe history with our own eyes... he plays a little trick on us. I just really love how during this entire scene we think we have the upper hand on the master manipulator himself, and then he pulls this face right as we're about to time travel again:

Like, we know since Soul Reaver 1 that Moebius is not to be trusted, but damn him and his poor old man façade, I underestimated him hard. Not gonna lie, I was legitimately afraid here after that smile. xD

So, instead of sending us to the past like we asked, he in fact sends us 100 or so years into the future. And things don’t look too good:

We witness the decay of the land and it seems our good old friend and benefactor, the eldritch cosmic being known as the Elder God that recruited us to eliminate vampirism in Soul Reaver 1, has been doing quite well for himself.

* Legitimately jumped when that last eye popped out.

But as as we travel through time, we see that his power and reach has only grown the more corrupt the land became, with his tentacles rising above the water and beyond the Pillars of Nosgoth.

This is a hallmark of the series but I just love the highfalutin and pompous speeches these bastards give about themselves. A lot of the lines from the characters remind me of the way Thanos, Adam Warlock and some of Marvel's cosmic entities conduct themselves, how they pontificate with certain mannerisms and the flowery words, the high and mighty tone, making up new titles for themselves every now and then. 

The Elder God goes:

"I am the hub of the Wheel, the origin of all Life, the devourer of Death."

All things one should have on their CV. 

And I really like Raziel's answer here:

"... or maybe you're just hungry - could it be as simple as that? Wouldn't that be poetic irony? The great adversary of the vampires turns out to be the biggest parasite of them all." 

Soul Reaver 2 has this more sarcastic Raziel that delivers burns left and right, but without becoming one-note or too overbearing I feel like. Just the right dose of snark at the right moments.

I'll leave the short confrontation between Raziel and the voice of Judge Claude Frollo here for you to go listen to:

Oh and fun fact, Tony Jay, knocking it outta the park as the Elder God here, also voiced another neverending hunger-stricken entity, this time for the the Marvel Universe: that's right, your boy Galactus in the 1994-96 Fantastic Four Animated Series. Awesome.

And so we rebell against Moebius and the Elder God, and are on our way to try and get the big picture here on the Pillars, vampires and the crusade against them, and who exactly is orchestrating these events. My boy Raziel seems to be learning not to jump to reckless assumptions and actions like he did in Soul Reaver 1 and I'm proud of him (more on that later though). Now it is not his self-righteous indignation and lust for revenge that guide his actions, he’s tired of being used and his priority is merely to seek out the truth.

So while on Nosgoth's nightmarish future and after a bit of fighting and exploring, we get another meeting with Kain. I found it funny how he refers to both him and Raziel as "irritants here" to the eyes of History (or whatever force/entity turns the wheel of fate), after Raziel decided to let Kain live.

It's not exactly the same thing, but the label of "irritants" reminded me on how both Adam and Thanos gain the "outside the norm" brand and how they keep pissing off the cosmic powers that be with their shenanigans, messing with the laws of physics. And now Kain and Raziel have pissed off "History" and the ones who have been choreographing everything.

*These panels refer to Adam only specifically, but Thanos joins in later on as I'm told:

*Shout-outs to @adamwarlock​ that slaved away at my expense finding these panels for me.*

Then, Kain warns us that we're in a very precarious situation, that "History", despite the paradox, will try to go back to its original course, " finding the path of least resistance while admitting only the slightest alterations", and that if it can't, it will destroy said "irritants". Raziel does have a bit of faith in the fact that his "unique resurrection" as a wraith, that has made him virtually indestructible, may even the odds stacked against them. On the topic of his unique nature in this world, I just want to reaffirm how death holds no real grasp on both him and Adam, in the sense that although they can both be defeated and destroyed, they always come back. Here, more stuff that might as well come from the other's mouth:

Raziel goes:

"Why do I survive one trial after another... on and on in an endless succession of humiliating deaths and resurrections?"

I love my absolutely clueless soliloquy boys!

*This deathless state is also something Thanos joins in on this due to his unique relationship with Mistress Death:

*Damn it, the post got too long again so I’ll link here to the second half of this once it’s up*