#excerpt from a game i might create

[caesarflickermans]

Analysis on the SOTR excerpt

The upside of being born on reaping day is that you can sleep late on your birthday. It’s pretty much downhill from there.

This is his last "happy" birthday with his family. By this time next year, he'll celebrate his birthday by being shipped off to the Capitol, having watched two kids get reaped and mentor them until their death.

“Happy birthday!” My 10-year-old brother, Sid, gives my shoulder a shake. “You said be your rooster. You said you wanted to get to the woods at daylight.”

This level of family care and love is a strong entry to the book, as this is Haymitch's last day being surrounded by loved ones. There will never again be a morning where he wakes to his brother being his 'rooster'. It's a clashing contrast to the brief glances we receive in his victor's home.

Haymitch & Katniss parallel + Did Haymitch know Mr. Everdeen? Are they friends gathering (Haymitch) and hunting (Mr. Everdeen) in the woods? This could imply a similar relationship as Katniss and Gale initially had (potential parallels between each character?)

It’s true. I’m hoping to finish my work before the ceremony so I can devote the afternoon to the two things I love best — wasting time and being with my girl, Lenore Dove.

LENORE: Edgar Allan Poe reference: "Lenore" by Poe is a poem that explores themes of mourning, loss, and the hope for a better afterlife. The poem is about the death of a young woman named Lenore and the grief of her lover, who laments her passing but also finds solace in the belief that she is now in a better place. The poem contrasts the sorrow of those left behind with the idea that Lenore has transcended to a more peaceful and heavenly existence. Poe's use of language and imagery creates a haunting and melancholic atmosphere, reflecting the deep emotions associated with loss and the hope for eternal peace.

DOVE: Although no colour, her double name might suggest a potential Covey relationship. Dove could be a reference to the bird (grey or white) which might reference both Lucy Gray (grey) and Snow (white).

“Haymitch!” wails Sid. “The sun’s coming up!”

Wonderful reference to the title, 'Sunrise' on the Reaping. It starts at Midnight Sunrise.

“All right, all right. I’m up, too.” I roll straight off the mattress onto the floor and pull on a pair of shorts made from a government-issued flour sack.

This implies that Haymitch is taking tesserae, making it likely that this already existed during the 50th Hunger Games

The words "courtesy of the Capitol" end up stamped across my butt. My ma wastes nothing. Widowed young when my pa died in a coal mine fire, she’s raised Sid and me by taking in laundry and making every bit of anything count.

Haymitch's and Katniss' mothers are stark contrasts here. This increases the parallels between them and what he might have seen in Katniss when she was reaped.

In addition, Katniss remembers the loss of her father as a deep cut into her life. Potentially, Sunrise might answer whether Haymitch feels that way, too, or if he had been too young. Does he feel sorrow when walking not only around the Seam (mother, brother), but also around the colliery (father)?

Out back, my ma’s already stirring a steaming kettle of clothes with a stick, her muscles straining as she flips a pair of miner’s overalls. She’s only 35, but life’s sorrows have already cut lines into her face, like they do. 

His fondness for Hazelle as his housekeeper and potential friend might be due to seeing a resemblance of the mother he lost in Hazelle.

What with pumping and hauling, filling the cistern’s a two-hour job even with Sid’s help.

The brotherly connection he has with Sid being one of mutual aid, in contrast to Katniss' motherly role toward Prim. Haymitch had a real chance at a (relatively) normal family life and an actual childhood until this very day.

A blanket of mist wraps protectively around the worn, gray houses of the Seam.

It's interesting that Haymitch perceives mist as protecting the seam. Mist could potentially link to poems akin "Spirits of the Dead", where mist is a "symbol and a token", "a mystery of mysteries". This Poe poem itself reflects on the inevitability of death and the idea that the spirits of the dead continue to exist in a different realm. This could be a foreshadow for Haymitch and his relationship with the seam; insofar that his past life and soon-to-be-deceased family resided there; still lingering due to his own grief.

Don’t give the Capitol that. They’ve taken enough already.

"When they televise the replay of the reapings tonight, everyone will make note of my tears, and I’ll be marked as an easy target. A weakling. I will give no one that satisfaction." (Katniss) and "Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping" (Lucy Gray)

[idontliekmondays]

excerpts from a daily mail article released shortly after her arrest

When members of the Geneva High School role playing club asked 16-year-old Lindsay Souvannarath to choose a character they were expecting an elf, a sorceress or perhaps a female warrior.

But the shy, clean-cut teenager opted for a rather more unsettling choice, presenting them with a detailed pencil drawing of her chosen persona - the 'Nightmare Nazi'.

The trench coat, jackboots and gas mask were unmistakably those of an SS soldier; the skeletal hands clutching a vast dagger more akin to dark fantasy art.

Former classmates at Geneva High recall Lindsay Souvannarath as a shy, withdrawn youngster, who had few friends and instead sought out after-school groups and writing clubs to express her creative side.

But she was also prone to bouts of anger and violence - allegedly stabbing another student with a pencil in one outburst and occasionally letting slip an alarming infatuation with the Third Reich.

'On first impressions I didn't think there was anything too strange about her,' he told Daily Mail Online.

'She could be funny and intelligent but most of the time she was quiet and not very warm or outgoing.

'One year her character was a sort of Wonder Woman-type heroine, then all of sudden she tells the group she wants to be a Nazi ghost.

'You choose your species and come up with a back story. Hers was that her character was a guest from a crazy, dark Nazi universe.

'It's supposed to be a game in a medieval, fantasy setting but she would just argue if she didn't get her way.

'So we went on our quest with a robot, a couple of elves, wizards and this weird Nazi.

'Aside from the character's background he didn't do anything racist or too alarming. We didn't know about her interests at that time so we just got on with it.

Ms Szigeti recalled how Souvannarath began to idolize black-death metal bands in her mid-teens.

She became particularly infatuated with Varg Vikernes, a white supremacist musician convicted in 1994 of killing a rival guitarist and burning down three churches in Norway, describing him as 'cute' and writing essays about him.

'Her work was always dark and full of violence, there were soldiers and Nazis and all this weird stuff,' Sabrina said.

'She acted normal on the surface. She was never physically violent but she would get aggressive and upset if you criticized her.

'Everyone was uncomfortable but we just avoided trying to start a fight with her. 'If you asked her straight up 'are you a Nazi?' she would argue that she wasn't.

As far back as 2007 - when she was just 15 - she allegedly wrote 'free speech is dead' in one forum, adding: 'That's why we need people like David Duke to bring it to life again.'

In another warped entry, writing that same year under the pseudonym Snoopyfemme she wrote: 'They use sex in commercials all the time to sell products. Why don't they ever use violence?

'Wouldn't you love to see a bunch of guys tearing each other apart with machine guns to get a bowl of Cheerios?

'Sure, it might traumatize our children, but in my opinion, children aren't being traumatized enough.

'The only reason for Americans to breed is to create more soldiers to fight for freedom. We need to weed out the weaklings early on. Survival of the fittest, man.'

'She was very odd to the point among a lot of our classmates that no-one was surprised by her arrest.

'She was a very lonely person - but she isolated herself. 'From what I remember she was even suspended for stabbing someone with a pencil in middle school.'

'She was known for putting spells on people. She would do it by saying weird things and then putting on a curse - obviously we did not take her seriously.

'She would break out into laughter in the middle of class for absolutely no reason.

'When we saw that Lindsay did something like this, nobody was surprised. She was the one most likely.'

source

[elementroar]

This is the "Why ABA and Paracelsus can feel horny" lore/theory post

The main Paracelsus deepdive post is a monster that I'm building in Google docs cos Tumblr can't handle it while it's WIP. This is a separate lore/theory monster I want to get out of my system first.

Here's my theory why ABA is consistently portrayed as being horny for Paracelsus from the start.

Translated excerpt from the Night of Knives Vol.2 audio drama CD, released in 2004 (20 IRL years ago):

Her being horny wasn't so much portrayed in-game in XX/AC+R really, prolly engine/sprite limitations and all; but then STRIVE happens and we get:

It's not just her being horny, and knowing exactly how to rizz Paracelsus up, and clearly has been doing this in her pocket dimension for a while now. PARACELSUS CAN FEEL HORNY NOW TOO!

And I stg I'm not joking...I think there's a legit lore reason for this.

Cos by the end of her arcade mode's flawless ending and according to the latest interviews with Daisuke-san and the game directors, it's explained that Paracelsus' form depends on what ABA thinks of Paracelsus, as well as her general mental stability.

ABA thought Paracelsus looked like a key, and he morphed into a key as part of his nature, which naturally makes him always fit to his wielder's preferences. In my deepdive I'll explain in more detail, but in addition to that, Slayer figured out that since ABA also saw Para as her hopeful "key to the future", Para's heart also began to change to basically fit her ideal of what he is.

So if ABA finds Paracelsus sexually attractive, and has made very obvious physical advances on him for years, then it follows that if she's horny for him, she can make Paras horny for her over time too, just like how Para is getting more key-like subconsciously just by being with her all this time.

I don't think this is entirely involuntary on Paracelsus end. I believe how much he wants to react to his wielder's emotions is still in his control...unless they become truly insane like with ABA's Jealous Rage being emotionally powerful enough to override Paras' ability to maintain his key form.

Also he reverts to his 'sharp teeth' design when he gets rizzed up, so he's losing his composure again and prolly holding back most of his...response. It's actually kinda telling cos Para used to just disassociate, ignore, scold ABA when she tries to make advances on him, so him actually responding now and to this degree is...interesting. And ABA seems very aware of this.

And for the bigger question of why ABA, an artificially created human would be created with the ability to feel horny...

Ok, crack theory time, it might be linked to why she apparently can summon an actual alchemical gate just whenever she wants, and even use it as her private pad. ABA doesn't just wanna rizz Paracelsus up as a key, she wants him in a human body since the start too.

Y'all remember Ghostbusters, and what the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster have to do to open the gate...?

[lucabyte]

i’d love to hear more elaboration on rose rejecting motherhood as a whole, i know she didnt want to do the quest but i had always saw it as she didnt want to be directly commanded, i’d love to hear your view on it (i am also astoundingly bad at parsing not direct narrative elements, so if i have missed something under my nose im sorry)

Yeah so I'm not gonna be the most super boned up on ALL my Themes and Evidence right now on account of only being at [page 2835] rn so half of this is working off of my ambient knowledge so that means i wont be super in depth BUT

So to start i'll throw down a bunch of screenshots straight from the horse's mouth from the pages I was recently at wrt the commentary that spells out a lot of the intent extremely clearly

[pg 2688 onward & 2816 ]

& this page excerpt that i like. dont remember which page it is and the site is fucked & im in new reader mode so just take it

But yeah so this explains mostly that she's in the *right* to be sceptical and destructive, that hussie agrees that she should be upending her 'quest'. But how does that tie into the Motherhood themes?

So, the long and short of it is that Sburb is representitative of "The Game Of Life" in a very literal way? It is textually, a thing that requires of the children that play it to procreate in some way, both ecotbiologically to create themselves, and then when the game is won to Settle Down and Create a Society in the Desired Manner.

'Winning' Sburb is, metatextually, thus representitative of 'Growing Up and taking your role in 'Proper (read: normative) Society'. Something hussie (a queer artist) is obviously pretty critical of. (This is why beating the game on its own terms (beating lord english in a physical fight-- something that feeds into LE's childish ideas of masculinity) doesn't work)

So, Rose, being the Feminine Girl of the group, the one with the Mother, and who is called Mom Lalonde herself in the Alpha Timeline (despite her absence)-- Well its what the game Wants from her. And notably this stretch of the comic has her conversing with well. Virgo. Kanaya. Who attempts to mother her away from this dangerous route (And Who Rose eventually ends up dating and that sure isn't heteronormative. given that she's an alien and also a girl)

So rejecting the game & the quest follows the pretty clear throughline to rejecting her Role as Assigned by Society.

I will admit i legit feel like i'm missing a massive evidence chunk here right now that i KNOW is like somewhere in fuckin... act 6 or some shit. so right now im just kind of pointing and going "yeh its themes innit?" . but like its themes innit. So might need ppl who um. remember things (and aren't trapped in new reader mode) to chime in if i HAVE forgotten something big.

but yeah i doooo think a lot of homestuck makes more sense once you have the skeleton key of reading "the game" as "society at large". its not the only reading but its a pretty illuminating one. this isn't coherent but i hope it helped? its 3:39am <3

[darkroom-fanzine]

[Yet another tutorial time, Stardust~! Let's discuss themes, shall we?]

Darkroom: an ISAT Fanzine will be an anthology of works categorized into three acts presenting a whole.

Here is an excerpt from our initial introductory post for the Fanzine, explaining the overall theme of the project:

The theming for this fanzine centers around the idea of distortions, how they obscure what we see and perceive, and how they can bring to light an entirely new perspective hidden behind the more easily comprehensible. In Stars And Time shows us throughout Siffrin's loops how the order of a carefully curated script can bring about a chaotic mental state, and how the chaotic breaking down of these self-imposed walls can bring about the order of accepting vulnerability.

Change is often destruction, and in the midst of that destruction can be found something beautiful, something to live for. This is the idea we hope to present through this fanzine.

Now, what about those three acts? What are they, and how will we present their ideas within this fanzine?

Negative Space:

In photography, negative space acts as anything within the photograph other than the subject. It provides the room to breathe, to collect and focus one's attention, so that the subject material might shine clearly to the viewer. This act will focus primarily on the events of Start Again: A Prologue, as the catalyst that frames every event which proceeds with In Stars And Time. The negative space which gives its everything so that the subject might persevere.

Long Exposure:

That perseverance given form. To take frame after frame after painstaking frame and stitch them into a whole. The time and dedication needed to see something beautiful captured in the end. Though we know the events of In Stars And Time do not compare to the length of what we are told that Prologue held, it is the main game that we the players are fully immersed and captured within, that we experience every same step that Siffrin also experiences. And so this act will focus within the events of the main game.

Afterimage:

What we see when we close our eyes after exposed to a searing light. The visual information which lingers past the moment it holds life. It is only a singed shadow of what the real thing once had been, but it remains with us nonetheless, for better and for worse. This act will focus on what takes place after, what future awaits the party in the light of a new day, while the memories of their journey still burns dimly across their retinas.

We're less than two weeks away from the sign-ups closing! I hope you're all as excited as we are, and I can't wait to see everything we'll create together over these next several months!

Sign-up form will remain open and available until March 22nd.

[See you very soon, Stardust~ ✨]

[ndrv3expert1]

How I would rewrite the utilization and timing of Tenko's flipping ability (That also slightly changes the narrative.)

Tenko's flipping ability had the power to change the entire narrative of DRV3 but the game barely used it here's how it could have made a really impact.

This is an excerpt to a 25 page essay I wrote inspired by @whattheskyknows' post about the underutilization of Tenko’s flipping ability. Check out their original post below.

https://www.tumblr.com/whattheskyknows/766230450261884928/i-wish-drv3-utilised-tenkos-flipping-technique?source=share

The first reveal of Tenko’s ability

The first time Tenko’s power will be revealed is late chapter two early chapter three. Here she will flip Shuichi and Himiko just like in the original game, but this time instead of being the only time her ability is ultilized it will be used to give the player an inclination of Tenko’s power with characters that we already know enough about to deem Tenko’s analysis correct making her ability seem reliable and trustworthy.

The next time Tenko’s power will be utilized is in the middle of chapter three.

Maki's flip

Here she would flip Maki. I know you probably think I don’t know if that would work out, etc., but at this point, Maki is getting closer to Kaito and Shuichi, and even though Tenko was one of the many people who were wary of Maki after her talent reveal she did eventually come around and had a nice chat with Maki in chapter three.

Tenko could guise it as sparring, especially after her dojo opened up and flipped Maki telling her something along the lines of:

“You hide from us because you believe that we’ll all hate you, but Tenko can tell, deep down, you’re a caring girl, Maki. You’re afraid, just like the rest of us, afraid of hurting your loved ones, which is why you lie to build up walls. You don’t want us to shun you, and you don’t want any more blood on your hands, at least not if you don’t have to.”

And then Maki would obviously (and understandably) be shocked, probably asking Tenko how she knew that just by flipping her.

I think the two would grow closer and make that conversation between them before Angie’s death a bit more impactful.

Either Shuichi would have to be in the room or Maki would have to tell him (and Kaito) after the fact since Shuichi is the protagonist and we find out all the information through him, and then he would do that thing where he has a thought or an internal monologue, but it pops up as text that reads:

‘It’s nice that those two are getting along with their combined strength; we might be able to find a way out of here.’

Kokichi’s flip

Next would be Kokichi, which wouldn't be an on screen moment like Maki's because Kokichi dropping his mask is a big reveal for the end of the game.

Tenko would either flip Kokichi out of pure annoyance or reluctant curiosity, then say:

"Tenko can see you're putting up a villainous facade, but she can tell that there’s more behind it."

And Kokichi gets so scared that he’s vulnerable and just runs away.

Maybe he even writes on his little whiteboard an insult under Tenko’s name, then erases it and writes interesting or useful under it.

They can then have little interactions where they talk, combining their skills to try and figure out the mastermind or the truth of the game, and we see them getting closer to each other.

Then I wrote two separate storylines because I love Tenko so much I created two alternate universes for her ability to be used correctly, and I wanted to make this harder for myself because I can't take the easy way out.

Here's how Tenko’s flipping ability could play out in two possible narratives option being closer to the canon and option two deviating further from it.

Option one:

Tenko dies like she was supposed to and all the secrets die with her. Kokichi and Maki are upset, but of course, in typical fashion, don’t show it in front of the others.

After Tenko’s death, Tsumugi looks happy/relieved, and Kokichi gets suspicious, but it’s not enough evidence to determine anything yet.

In late chapter three or early chapter four, before everything happens, Kokichi finds out that Tsumugi was happy Kiyo killed Tenko because she found out too much and goes into his plan even more determined to end the killing game and get revenge on Tsumugi for everything she's done to them (and Tenko).

Option two:

Kiyo kills Angie locked room mystery style, he then tries to kill Tenko but it fails (it still hit her in the arm or a non-vital part of the neck.) Tenko still dies, though, and everyone believes that it was from blood loss.

Later Kokichi discovered that Tsumugi killed Tenko using the power of the first-come, first-served rule to save herself because Tenko flipped her and found out way too much.

Kokichi would then find out and confront Tsumugi in a confrontation that would go something like:

“You did it, didn’t you?” Kokichi said, his voice filled with emotion, Tsumugi turned around, confused and angry. "You killed her."

Here bits of Kokichi's mask would start to drop , the usual mischievous smirk replaced with a rage-filled scowl.

Tsumugi would walk closer, their faces almost touching.

“She was learning too much, sticking her nose into places it didn’t belong. The game wouldn’t have been as fun if there was a reveal so early… I had to get rid of her; she was a threat to me. You understand, don’t you, Ouma?” (referencing chapter four).

Kokichi would then curse her out and say something along the lines of he'll ruin Tsumugi's game for her and everyone watching, either Tsumugi directly or the cameras, and continue his plan to end the game.

Tsumugi would then either be amused that Kokichi would try or genuinely concerned seeing Kokichi as a threat and trying to stop him herself, once again changing the narrative.

This one is especially nice because it shows the parallel of Kokichi and Tsumugi as a sheep in a wolf’s clothing and a wolf in a sheep’s clothing and also them both having scripts and doing whatever is necessary to make their narrative happen.

Kokichi is manipulating Gonta to kill Miu and Tsumugi killing Rantaro and framing it on Kaede.

This also gives Tsumugi more of a role as the mastermind in the game, also allowing Tenko to use her power multiple times without the consequences of an early reveal or boring game.

Then for either one or two, the ending would pretty much go the same except for maybe Tsumugi subtly mentioning that Tenko (and Kokichi) already found out a while ago, but the rest of the ending is perfect and wouldn’t be affected.

Conclusion

And that is a rewrite of how I think Tenko’s flipping ability could have been used to its full potential.

Of course, there were a few things that I couldn’t stress as much as I wanted to, like Tenko and Maki and Tenko and Kokichi's friendship, and the others would be like:

“Tenko and Kokichi/Maki are close these days, aren’t they?”

But this is getting long, so maybe I'll talk about it in another post.

Tenko had a really amazing power that had the chance to change the narrative and be a really cool arc, especially since she's a character that expresses her emotions wholeheartedly and wants others to do the same, but it instead was just like so many other things about Tenko's character overlooked, underutilized, and forgotten about, during and after its reveal.

Tenko deserved better. We deserved better and it's a shame to see such a great opportunity go to waste.

And if anyone wants to read the full essay if requested I will make a comment or another post (unlikely though it's very long 😅)

[machiroads]

Don't look, i'm about to overthink this panel

Long post under the cut.

Notwithstanding that I can't figure out what's going on with Aizawa's legs here because he's twisted around or something—it's a good panel. Look at them, they're adorable. 11/10 no notes.

Actually that's not true I have so many notes.

Will someone also please get this man a blanket for god's sake

I'm going to unpack the implications here from two perspectives: Aizawa telling Eri he got hit by a truck, and Eri trying (and failing) to save Aizawa.

Tis But A Flesh Wound

Aizawa tells Eri he got hit by a truck, and a common interpretation I've seen of this is that nobody told her what happened to him. I don't necessarily think this is true, because:

A) She rewound Mirio the day before the raid

B) She was watching the fight on TV with All Might.

Canonically, she is at least tangentially aware of what happened. Aizawa also knows that she's at least somewhat aware of what happened, vis-a-vis excerpt A.

I've also seen the interpretation that Aizawa is trying to obfuscate the truth about his injuries from her (presumably because the quirk-deleting bullets were created from her blood), but again, she was watching the fight on TV.

The most rational (hah) explanation is that he's just back on his bullshit, lying to children for his own amusement.

which is. hysterical.

Anyways, onto item 2!

The Deus Ex Machina

As we saw above, Eri rewound Mirio the day before the raid. I am not a scholar of the BNHA timeline, but I did do some research while I was writing Nine Lives. My understanding is as follows:

The Shie Hassaikai raid is sometime in September

The Jaku raid is at the end of March

Mirio corroborates these two points when he arrives at Jaku, noting that he's been out of the game for about 6 months

Post-Jaku is where the timeline gets weird.

Tartarus is breached the night of the raid on Jaku and Gunga

Midoriya is brought back to UA about a month after that

The Star & Stripe fight happens the day after that

The day after that, All Might reveals they have at least a week to prepare for the final battle. Aoyama is revealed to be the traitor on the same day.

In summary, the final battle happens somewhere in the ballpark of a month and a half to two months after Jaku / Gunga.

With the timeline sort of squared away, let's move on to the interpretation I've seen some readers make, which is that Eri didn't have enough energy to rewind Aizawa. The translation of Ectoplasm's dialogue has varied between the original leaks, the fan scanlation, and the official release, leading to some ambiguity of interpretation here, but there are a few different reasons that this doesn't make any sense:

Based on the timeline outlined above, where Eri successfully sends Mirio back 6 months on the day before the raid, it doesn't really make sense that 0 to 2 months later, she couldn't hypothetically rewind Aizawa by 0 to 2 months after he loses his leg and eye. Eri's power is wishy washy at best, but this seems like it's entirely within the realm of plausibility if Aizawa wanted to be rewound.

From a storytelling standpoint, what's the point of rewinding Aizawa to de-nerf him for the final battle if him and Monoma are ultimately removed from the fight via Sad Man's Parade anyway?

My interpretation is that this doesn't actually have anything to do with Eri trying and failing to rewind Aizawa, but rather she's trying to go rescue Midoriya and help him the same way that she did during the Shie Hassaikai raid.

The inference Ectoplasm is making is that it's too late for that, because she's at home watching the fight on TV rather than already being on the battlefield. This was also the case at Jaku, where she was canonically watching the fight on TV with All Might. She must have seen Aizawa go down and wanted to go save him, but it was already too late for her to try to help.

There's an entire separate essay worth of discussion on why Aizawa continues to live with one leg and one eye (both from a canon and a meta perspective), but I won't get into that here.

In conclusion:

This panel is fucking adorable

Aizawa continues to lie to children for fun and profit

Eri is baby and is physically perfectly capable of controlling her power at this juncture, she's just geographically removed from the action because she's like seven years old

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk

[beerok23]

Runaway Groom AU - Chapter 17

With the compliments of my beta @somewhere-in-wales

Excerpt from Chapter 17 - Spirits

It was past 8 in the evening, and he was taking a stroll down the high street. After the longest day of the year, the shops were finally all closed, and all the owners had gone home to their friends and families. It was a particularly cold night, and Aziraphale could feel the chill passing through his immaculate beige coat down to his core. You could spot little puffs of air coming out from his mouth, but his recently grown beard was proving to be really helpful to protect at least his cheeks from the glacial winter. Aziraphale was so engrossed in his thoughts that he almost didn’t notice the sound of steps on the pavement behind him. He was being followed, and when he eventually realised it, he turned around in one quick motion, startling the person who was approaching him. “Fuck, Az, you scared the shit out of me!” Aziraphale chuckled at his best friend’s colourful language, “I’m sorry, Anathema. You shouldn’t have been following me like a pickpocket, then.” Anathema narrowed her eyes cunningly, “It’s funny that you should mention pickpockets, because that might have something to do with what we’re about to do tonight.” “What I am about to do is go home and wallow in the misery of the distasteful, troubled, fragile existence that I’ve carved out for myself here.” Anathema scoffed, “You sound just like Crowley.” Yes, I do. So what if Aziraphale had spent the last couple of days reading all the pieces Crowley had published in the last ten years? What if he’d been inspired by his almost lyrical language? Sue him! “What do you want from me, Ana?” Aziraphale sighed in exasperation, and the fact that he’d just short-named her was proof enough of his distress. “It’s late, it’s cold, and I want to go home.” “No, you don’t. Because tonight you will be haunted…” Anathema moved her fingers in what was supposed to be a spooky gesture, “By Three Spirits.” It was Aziraphale’s turn to narrow his eyes at his friend, “What are you talking about?!” “Without their visits you cannot hope to shun the path you’re treading.” Aziraphale had known Anathema for years, and she’d never used those two verbs since she’d become a British citizen, not once. Good Lord, he knew British scholars who’d never used the word ‘shun’. But Aziraphale knew who did use it. “Why are you quoting Dickens to me, Anathema? You know I don’t like him that mu—” Anathema thumped her feet on the ground, “Will you just shut it and let me act?!” Aziraphale smiled tenderly at his friend and waved his hands so that she knew that she could go on with whatever silliness she was up to. “I am here tonight to warn you that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping a horrible fate.” “This sounds a little bit improv.” Anathema scoffed, “Maybe if you let me finish, Mr. Scrooge, you would understand!” “Right, sure. I can most certainly shut up.” “Thanks,” Anathema nodded hard at him. “Can I take the visits all at once and have it over, Anathema?” Aziraphale was deliberately misquoting the novel, now. But two could play this game. Anathema gave him a scornful look and mouthed a silent ‘fuck you’. Aziraphale replied with a whispered ‘love you’.

[READ FROM THE BEGINNING]

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@firephoenix2305 @on1occasionfork @moralsofanalleycatsposts @captainblou @bellisima-writes @shadesofecclescakes

With the ineffable trailer created by @ineffablerainstorm and the support of my second beta @pookasluagh 💛🧡

[merbear25]

Really like the visored being called captain imagines! I am addicted to Bleach and Izuru Kira is my absolute favorite. He's pretty tricky to keep in character for romancy stuff, so it could be a challenge, but there is a severe lack of Izuru content and I'm starving lol. So, I'm thinking about a couple of things. 1) Some headcanons on places/ activities Izuru might choose for dates (can be world of the living or SS and can be either before or after TYBW) OR 2) shinigami!reader gets invited to a drinking party with Kira, Hisagi, and Matsumoto. What happens? I prefer f!reader because I'm female, but I'm ok if you want to write them gn, too. I enjoy both SFW and NSFW content, so what ever combination of that you choose would be lovely! I don't expect you to do both things if you accept this request, unless of course, you want to! I appreciate the consideration. I love lots of other characters, too, so if you really aren't into either of these, I'll just look forward to whatever Bleach content you come up with next!

Awww I love Kira. I see him as having a bit of a romantic side to him, but one that cultivates love and isn't flashy by any means. I hope I did your request justice! 💜💜

CW: SFW, gn!reader, headcanons, fluff

A date to remember (Kira)

He went through the options, going back and forth between them in an attempt to choose the perfect one. However, settling on just one proved to be an unexpected challenge. What he chose would ultimately depend on which one he believed you would enjoy the most. The options wracking his brain were:

Murder mystery: It could appeal to his creative side but would require him to step out of his comfort zone a little. He wasn’t the most social person, so getting into the swing of things was a tall order. That being said, having clues, character details, and most of all a captivating story to carry the heavy lifting, he was able to ease himself into the setting. You being his date meant that you were given characters that were a couple in the game. This made the experience feel a little more like a date, since you were able to spend more time with one another and hopefully work together to solve whatever plague had been unleashed or who knows; maybe one of you was working for the enemy.

Poetry reading by candle light: He had a hint of a romantic in him, and being a poet made those budding feelings of love flow eloquently. There was a preference for this to take place at his home because it provided him the chance to create a romantic atmosphere: setting candles around the room, choosing a good selection of poetry for the occasion, and setting your favorite drink out for you. It wasn’t anything crazy, but he put thought into the layout to ensure you’d be comfortable in his home. While you delved into the writing, you took turns reading out your favorite excerpts. Listening to the amour hanging from each other’s lips gave you both a flutter in the pits of your stomachs. The early stages of love were exciting, so he wanted to take a small risk. Unfolding a paper from his pocket, he began reading the haiku he’d prepared. The delivery alone was captivating, and the content had you wondering if perhaps he wrote it with someone in mind. He didn’t come right out and say it, instead it was all in the look he gave you.

A late night stroll: In summer the weather was perfect for taking a walk late at night. With the moon and stars hanging high in the dark sky and the hustle and bustle of both people and animals quieting down to rest, the rustling of the leaves and tall grass were your only companions. Conversations were light and easy, although natural beauty gave a lot to comment on if topics ran dry. The dirt path you were walking on was less traveled, leading you to a field of wildflowers. The opening to pinks, reds, purples, and oranges illuminating under the moon’s rays took your breath away. Then you noticed the flickering greenish yellow in the distance. Fluttering delicately around you, the fireflies added to the already stunning scenery. Catching a few in the palms of your hands, you stood closely to each other to watch their soft glow together. The crickets sounded off around as you stared down at the little lanterns in your hands before eventually releasing them.

Ending the date felt a tad awkward. Not knowing if you preferred a hug or kiss by the end of it, he was too caught up in doing or saying the wrong thing to make a move, which meant you had to decide. Kissing him would go over more smoothly if done on the cheek. That wasn’t to say he’d reject a kiss on the lips, but one on the cheek held a certain charm that would melt his heart. Needless to say, he wanted to see you again and was already brainstorming what the date would entail.

[littlemissgeek8]

Reflection Ruesday

So there's two versions of this post game going around today, and while I did get tagged by @thedissonantverses for the one version, I figured I might as well be an overachiever and do BOTH! I will warn in advance that only one of these examples is Bioware related because I really didn't do much in the way of fanworks for Bioware games until like, last year? But hopefully someone out there appreciates it anyway! And thank you to @becausedragonage for creating this fun little idea!

Also preemptively tagging some folks b/c the bit under the cut might not be everyone's cup of tea: @hyperions-light @biowaredisasterbisexual @mageofquandrix @sandcastlekings @seaglassmelody and anyone else who has anything they want to share!

First, @woundedsoul12 wanted people to share a published work that they personally liked that they felt didn't get much love. So, I'm gonna bring around a sketch I did back in November of Darvia and Varric getting a little quiet moment during the mission to Halamshiral. I hadn't really poked my head into the fandom much at that point, so it got a bit lost in the shuffle.

And secondly, we have the usual version:

What to do: Go through your writing, art, gifs, etc. that you started but never finished and find something you love. Brush it up a bit if you want and share it. Tag me and use the tag Reflection Ruesday (it'll grow on you, I promise) and I'll comment and reblog. Then tag some other folks you think might enjoy it.

As previously stated I don't have any Bioware-related works to dredge up, but I got hit by an old special interest this week and realized I still really love the snippets from a magical-boy-inspired Ghostbusters AU from like, 2013. So, uh, if anyone feels like reading some 11-year-old writing from me, here's a little taste. Who knows, maybe I'll actually finish it someday!

Excerpt 1: Ray

The floor under my feet lurches. I look around nervously to see my friends responding the same way. Egon shoves his glasses back up his nose with a slightly unsteady finger. "It would appear that the defeat of the node guardian is having an unexpected seismic effect on this structure," he says matter-of-factly. "In English, Egon?" Peter asks. "This whole building's coming down!" I say, hoping my voice doesn't sound as nervous as I feel. The ground is growing more unsteady by the minute. "By my estimation we have less than five minutes to get out," Egon says. Winston swears. "We're on the top floor! We'll never make it down in time." "Unless..." All three sets of eyes shift to me. My hands go all clammy, and it feels like my heart's going to beat right through my chest. "Me?" I ask, my voice squeaking through my tight throat. "It's the only chance we have, Ray!" Egon's voice is urgent. "But--" I swallow and try to talk again. "I've-- I've never transported anyone but myself! And the battle took so much of my strength... I don't even know if it will work! Or even if I can get us outside of the building!" By now, the floor is buckling so much it feels like the deck of a ship during a storm. Debris from the ceiling is raining down around us. "Ray, for heaven's sake, JUST DO IT!" Peter shouts, nearly falling over. Winston grabs him and hauls him upright. I tighten my grip on the staff. It just has to work! "Hold on tight!" I yell. When I can feel three hands holding onto my coat, I raise the staff and visualize our intended destination. "Mass Shadow Transport!" The dark purple shadows swarm up around us and for a moment the bottom falls out of the world and the dark building fades into spinning purple nothingness. Then, I can hear wind. Birds. We made it outside. Winston and Peter stagger back, Peter collapsing onto the grass with a thud. Egon doesn't seem to have been bothered by the disorienting transportation, though it's always hard to tell with him. I turn to face the dark structure that we left. With a massive groan, it collapses in on itself in a shower of obsidian black rubble. My stomach lurches as I realize we would have been trapped if I'd waited any longer. With the adrenaline gone from my muscles, it's all I can do not to collapse on the grass in a quivering lump. "Admirable job," Egon says from behind me. "Yeah, thanks Ray." Winston's voice is shaky, but relieved. "Does anyone else's mouth taste like socks?" Peter asks dryly. I know he's trying to diffuse the tension, but it's not helping. I can still hear the structure collapse in my head. Peter must have noticed, since all of a sudden he's poking his head around my shoulder. "Are you all right, Ray?" Winston asks. "He looks kinda green," Peter says. "Not pretty. Your hair's the wrong color for it." "Ray?" Egon says. Just as I open my mouth to speak, my stomach heaves. I only just make it to some nearby bushes before my lunch comes up.

Excerpt 2: Peter

Dana is at her locker with her back turned. I take a deep breath and wander over, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. She looks up as I lean on the locker next to her. "Yes?" she asks. "Can I help you?" Sometime between kindergarten and now her voice has gotten deep. I'm not complaining or anything; it's kinda sexy. "Dana Barrett, right?" I ask. Not that I needed confirmation or anything, but it's a great conversation starter. "Yes." Whoops. I guess Ray was right; she almost immediately gets defensive on me. Not what I was planning on, but she hasn't shut me out completely. I decide to play my trump card now and hope that does it. "Pete Venkman. I just moved back into the area. We were in the same kindergarten class, remember?" She softens just a bit, and actually smiles. "Of course I remember you." Score! "You were the one that got sent down to the principal's office for eating glue on the second day of school." Crap! I mentally slap myself in the face. I was hoping she'd forgotten that. "They called you 'Peter the paste-eater' for about four months, right?" Mayday! This is not going well. I need something for damage control, and I need it fast. Otherwise, I'm going to end up as "Peter the paste-eater" for the rest of my LIFE! I slide in and decide to throw on the charm. "Yeah, well we all do dumb things as kids. It's a miracle we even live to see Middle School, much less High School." She chuckles. "Some more than others." Ouch. "So, you have first lunch period or second?" I ask, trying to change the subject without sounding desperate. "Second, and I need to get to class," "But the Minute Music hasn't started yet--" Right on cue, the music comes on. You know, I get that all the teachers in this school are nostalgic for the sixties, but this is the third straight day that we've had nothing but Beatles hits. You'd think they'd shake things up once in a while. Dana grabs her books and straightens up. For a moment, I catch her eyes, and I can just feel a connection-- "PETER!" --and the connection shatters like a shot-put through the neighbor's good china as Ray nearly bowls me over in his enthusiasm. "C'mon Peter! We need to get to the cafeteria so we can claim our table! Egon's got some great ideas he wants to discuss." Dana smiles. "Goodbye, Peter." She closes her locker and melts into the crowd. I'm so frustrated, it's all I can do not to throw my ridiculously heavy history textbook at that stupid speaker in the hallway that won't shut up about how it wants to "hold my haaaannd." Instead, I just push my way through the crowd and down the hall to the cafeteria, Ray right behind me and still talking. Like the overachiever he is, Egon's already gotten a table. Thanks so much for ruining my moment for nothing, Ray. I dump my books on the table and line up for food. With tray in hand, I return to my seat, sandwiched in between Winston and Ray. "How'd your meeting with Dana go?" Winston asks almost immediately. I shoot Ray a glare, then turn back to Winston. "Well, she didn't slam the locker door in my face." "She's probably saving it for the second date." Egon doesn't even look up from his notebook, and his expression never changes. Until that stone-faced mask cracks a bit with a tiny smile. As nice as it is that Spengs is showing a bit of humanity, I wish it wasn't at my expense.

[puckpocketed]

sorry if this is a bit much, but do you know where i can find information on LA's system? from what you've said it seems really interesting

Not too much!! I love chatting LAK :D I watch this team in Ways I simply don't with my other teams!

I really couldn’t tell you anything in-depth or specific about LA except that they’re running a 1-2-2 neutral zone forecheck (moving away from their infamous 1-3-1). Privately I dooo think the way some fans couched it as a huge shift was a little premature. I get that everyone was fed up with it at that point, though.

Many teams have employed a 1-2-2 with variations, it is apparently a system everyone learns to play at some point in their hockey career!! Here's a bit on it (includes diagrams) <- eventually I will gather media about it and make gifs and diagrams, but that's a long way away <3 I'm simply not confident in my own ability to break it down for you and tell you what the Kings are doing that's so special.

Beyond the 1-2-2, they changed up their special teams as well. Something about a more aggressive penalty kill here. I don't know what the hell they did to the power play because it is NAWT working </3

Here's what I've dug up from LAK media... Sparse coverage on the gritty details of the system. Wish I could say I've scoured every corner of the internet but I think when the changeover was happening I was laser focused on the Can.adiens + Shar.ks offseason. I unfortunately haven't trawled all the Kings podcasts out there. Might be worth a look to see if any of them covered the topic around the time the change was happening?

Note: There are some repeated quotes that I've cut out, and some of these articles are excerpted from larger pieces!

Published on The Hockey News, 20th September 2024: Kings Officially Move Away From Much-Discussed 1-3-1 - by Austin Stanovich (link / archive link)

The Los Angeles Kings' use of the 1-3-1 neutral zone trap has been a much-discussed topic amongst fans over the last few seasons under head coach Todd McLellan and briefly Jim Hiller after him. For a third year in a row it was completely infective against the Edmonton Oilers and saw the Kings lose in just five games in round one.

Both Jim Hiller and general manager Rob Blake hinted at a change in system over the summer and early in training camp that change has been confirmed.

Captain Anze Kopitar came out and confirmed the team won't be playing a 1-3-1 and Hiller talked about moving to a 1-2-2 after day one of camp. This move has sparked a lot of excitement amongst fans and for good reason. The 1-3-1 wasn't working and the Kings needed to change something. A shift to a 1-2-2 makes sense as well. It isn't a million miles away from the 1-3-1 and allows the Kings to remain a structured, defensively sound team without being as rigid as the 1-3-1.

The forwards, in particular, will have more freedom to be aggressive in the neutral zone and can look to create turnovers higher up the ice.

The biggest change will be for the defensemen, this team's blue line was very clearly built with the 1-3-1 in mind with all of their puck movers being right handed. While this defensemen; Drew Doughty, Jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke, will still be asked to do the majority of the puck moving, there will now be more pressure on the left sided defensemen to move pucks.

Mikey Anderson, Vladislav Gavrikov, Joel Edmundson and whoever else fills in will fall back and be less aggressive in the neutral zone but will have to go back and retrieve more pucks. I'd expect all of them to adopt a safe game on the puck and look to go D-to-D or straight up ice with a safe pass most times.

Still, there will be more pressure on them to have the puck on their stick which will be an adjustment. It might also put a little more pressure on the Kings' goaltenders. For all of the faults of the 1-3-1, it did do an excellent job shielding the Kings' budget goaltending. Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich won't have the same safety net goalies in the last few seasons have enjoyed. Again, the Kings will still likely be a more defensive team even with the system change, but their goalies might need to have an extra save or two in them.

I also wouldn't expect to never see the 1-3-1 again, it just won't be the Kings' default system.

Anderson and Trevor Moore discussed this in their exit interviews. The 1-3-1 is good for holding leads and is used throughout the league, the Kings just needed to get away from defaulting to this system.

Late in games and against certain opposition, I wouldn't be surprised to see this return at times, Kings fans just won't have to see it all game anymore.

-

Published on The Athletic, 2nd October 2024: What we’ve learned about the L.A. Kings so far in training camp and preseason - by Eric Stephens (link / archive link)

[...]

Ding, dong, the Kings’ 1-3-1 is dead

System changes rarely rate highly in terms of camp intrigue but the Kings’ switch from the 1-3-1 neutral zone trap setup to 1-2-2 is notable in that it’s something the players have lobbied for. The 1-3-1 boosted their defensive play for years and helped bring success but also left them feeling stunted in realizing offensive potential.

Most notably, Kempe and Kevin Fiala expressed their wish for change after last spring’s playoff loss to Edmonton. At the start of camp, Kopitar flatly said, “We’re not going to play the 1-3-1 this year.” It’s clear they’re embracing the change.

“Everyone likes to be on the attack and not playing on your heels,” Jeannot said. “Hopefully what we’re trying to do this year is just be hard on the other team. Don’t give them any time and space and keep them on their heels. Keep the momentum sloped our way. We’re just learning this new system and everyone’s going to take the time to buy in and just learn it. Come the regular season, it’s going to be dialed in and working really well.

“I think it’s going to cause a lot of turnovers and be a little bit more aggressive maybe. Hopefully get some more opportunities for our offensive guys and keep us out of our D-zone more.”

Jordan Spence, whose ice time will spike upward in Drew Doughty’s lengthy absence, mentioned how, as a right-side defenseman, there will be fewer times when he and others will be the ones to retrieve dumped-in pucks by the attacking team. Kempe said right wingers like himself will benefit from being more in motion on breakouts as opposed to starting from a standstill.

“Last year as a right winger you had to go back for the puck a lot and maybe aren’t up in the rush as the main guy,” Kempe said. “Sometimes you come late, and you get good chances. But I think playing 1-2-2, once we turn the puck over in our favor, I think there’s going to be some times where we get good rush opportunities. That’s where I feel like my game is really good so that’s something I’m excited about.”

The change to 1-2-2 as a means of creating more offense means the Kings goaltenders could be asked to do more, as the 1-3-1 helped limit chances and insulate them. But they’re on board.

“We have enough practices to figure out what’s going to be important in our system for goalies,” David Rittich said. “Some sort of things we already know what we’re probably going to see more than we’ve seen in the past. But I think it’s good. I personally feel like we have a really fast team and 1-2-2 is just going to help us.”

-

Published on LA Kings Insider, 9th October 2024: Kings learning, adjusting, embracing the switch to the 1-2-2 - by Zach Dooley (link / archive link)

[...]

All the way back on the first day of camp, Jim Hiller spoke about the neutral zone as a way to get the team’s forward moving a little bit more. No reminder needed on the infamous “standing still right winger” comment from exit interviews.

The 1-3-1 was certainly a part of the identity the Kings built over the last few seasons. You can’t say it wasn’t a part of the team’s success in transitioning from a team at the bottom of the standings to a playoff team three years running. Typically, any time you hear an opposing team comment on systems, it’s out of frustration.

While it’s no longer the primary option, it’s not like the concept has been forgotten, either. If the Kings need it, it’s there. But, with the personnel in place right now, Hiller believes that the best way forward for the Kings was to make a change in that area. It’s not meant to be a change away from a strong, sound defensive team, but a change that could hopefully fit the way the current roster is constructed.

“I think the 1-3-1 was a very effective system, I thought the guys played it very well, we just think with where we’re at now, as a franchise, it’s time to make an adjustment, to see if we can get our forwards to skate a little bit more” Hiller said, early in camp. “Hopefully we get better results because of it.”

As the Kings have progressed throughout training camp, the comfort level has risen within the system. It impacts the forwards, defensemen and goaltenders all a little bit differently.

Okay, maybe not really the goaltenders. Darcy Kuemper comes to the Kings from Washington, a team that did not play a 1-3-1 last season, while David Rittich was inclined to believe the change could benefit the group he sees in front of him.

[...]

In terms of the skating ability, the Kings certainly have it, especially on the wings.

In the top nine, down the right side, the Kings have Adrian Kempe, Trevor Moore and Warren Foegele, who are all strong skaters.

For Kempe and Moore, both players came from the 1-3-1 and are learning this system for the first time, if you will, although I don’t think there’s a professional hockey player in the world who hasn’t played a 1-2-2 in the neutral zone. Drew Doughty said as much prior to his injury. Even I learned it with the Shaker-Colonie Jets high school team back in 2009, so I’m certain that those guys can pick it up.

Both acknowledged the learning curve, but both also agreed that the change in system speaks to the speed that players like them, and others, can use within that system.

Kempe – It’s learning a new, complete system for the team, but I think we’ve created a lot of turnovers, a lot of chances from it. I’m excited for it, I think it’s going to be fast, I can use my speed and skill even more and hopefully it’s going to turn out good.

Moore – It feels a little bit more intuitive out there, a little bit more forward skating. You can attack better. I think it’s been good so far. There was definitely stuff you have question marks on, but we’ll get it going.

Moore highlighted the system’s ability to get the feet moving for players like him on the wing, to better capitalize when the system executes as intended. It gets players skating, as opposed to waiting, so when a turnover comes, it’s a created with forwards already moving. There’s benefits to that with regards to potentially going the other way.

I think part of the change too comes down to the players the Kings have on the right. Kempe, Moore and Foegele are all penalty killers and none of them cheat the game for points. The Kings were a Top-5 defensive team around the NHL last season in just about every category. Whether it was goals against, suppression of high-danger chances or anywhere in between, the Kings ranked in the league’s Top-5 in 5-on-5 situations.

They don’t want to lose that, but they also understand that the offensive production hasn’t been to where it needs to be in order for the organization to take the next step. Having the right mindset, with the right system change, is something the Kings hope can help one without hurting the other.

With regards to the defensemen, there are multiple changes.

In past seasons, the Kings prioritized fast, puck-moving players on the right side because they fit into how the 1-3-1 was aligned.

Doughty was already there, but frankly he can play in just about any role and be successful. Think Jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke, as puck retrievers, those are the guys who handle pucks well, with the right defenseman always the furthest player back.

Even guys who have recently departed the organization were strong puck movers, guys like Sean Walker and Sean Durzi had those areas as strengths, whether it be Walker with his legs or Durzi in moving the puck.

The right-sided defensemen now have different responsibilities. Puck retrievals will still be key, but there’s more variance.

“I think we’re way more aggressive this year,” Spence said. “For the right D, we were always staying back, trying to retrieve the puck, but this time we’re trying to step up to guys before the blueline. It’s a big change, but at the same time, I think it’s going to create a lot of opportunities in the offensive zone, turn the puck around as fast as possible. I think for us, it’s going to work out really well and for me to jump up and contribute.”

For those who play on the left side, the Kings typically looked for that more defensive player, perhaps with some physicality, as the left-sided defenseman was up on the left side as a part of the three across.

For Mikey Anderson, the 1-3-1 is more or less how he came into the professional ranks. Playing that system for four consecutive seasons turned it into clockwork for him. The role is a little bit different now and he admitted there’s still an adjustment taking place. But, with two weeks of camp under his belt, he and the group are feeling more comfortable.

“It takes a little bit of time, the 1-3-1 turned into second nature because of how long we were doing it, but it’s getting more comfortable,” Anderson said. “It’s nice to go through it in practice, do it in a game, being able to talk through it in different situations, but overall I think it’s been a good transition so far. We’ve got to keep grinding away at it to feel more comfortable.”

While players are generally optimistic, it hasn’t been perfect.

Look at the preseason win over Boston, with the goal conceded.

The Kings lost the faceoff at center ice, just after Quinton Byfield scored his second goal of the game. The play was a lesser-seen detail, with center-ice faceoffs not occurring all that often other than to begin a period. The Kings got lost between a neutral-zone faceoff loss and a neutral-zone forecheck. It led to Bruins forward Patrick Brown splitting the team down the middle and scoring from the slot.

“That was kind of an in-betweener, it really should have been a neutral-zone faceoff loss and in that scenario we have protocols, in a neutral-zone forecheck is another protocol,” Hiller said. “One of the players thought at that point, it had turned from that into a forecheck, so we got a little bit mixed up. It shouldn’t happen again, but things like that will happen from time to time.”

With a new system comes adjustments and the Boston game, while generally good, served as a reminder that mixups can still happen as the team becomes more comfortable. Tomorrow, those mistakes would be even more costly. When the Kings take on the Sabres, we’ll get a truer sense of where they’re at with this facet of their game.

It’s exciting to talk about these principles on October 9. On October 10, those principles need to be put into practice, in the games that matter. If the Kings get burned through the neutral zone, aw the pace picks up and the intensity increases, we’ll know there’s work to do. If the system is executed as intended, it’s onto another evaluation on Saturday. Such is life in the NHL. The team feels prepared. Tomorrow, we’ll find out for sure.

-

For a deeper dive into the systems they're running this year I am waiting on Jack Han’s 2025 edition of his hockey tactics reference book where he goes over every team's systems, but that won’t be out for a while.

Last I heard he plans to squeeze it out around the Trade Deadline this season! It’s gets published here if you want to keep an eye on it, and he posts updates on progress semi-regularly here in this twt thread. I will be purchasing it and no doubt yelling about it enough on here so you could always just wait for the smoke from this blog <3

Can't recommend him enough as a twt/bsky follow + substack read. If I had the disposable income I'd be subscribed to him and paying for his work. He writes plenty of free stuff, but his paid work... oughhh...... absolutely worth it.

Sorry this was a bit long! I considered just dumping the links on you but honestly I've been meaning to get all this archived on my blog so thanks for prompting me to do it. <3

[p-h03n1-x]

Excerpt from Xiao Zhan’s interview and WeChat article posted by Elle "Xiao Zhan, The Simpler, The More Complex"

Part 3 Elle September 2024 magazine with Xiao Zhan. Link to part 1 here and part 2 here

ELLE: Do you watch any sci-fi movies or read sci-fi literature?

Xiao Zhan: Yes, I used to enjoy reading "Three-Body Problem." Recently, I’ve been watching some sci-fi shows, like the American series "Kaleidoscope" and "Chao's Adventure in Parallel Universe." They all touch on infinite loops and parallel universes. I find the concept of parallel universes fascinating because each choice you make could potentially create a different parallel universe.

ELLE: Do you ever imagine what Xiao Zhan in a parallel universe is like?

Xiao Zhan: Yes, I really do. For example, is he still an actor? Maybe he is, but is he still filming now? Is he still singing? Or is he a designer? Is he working for someone, or has he started his own business? (laughs) Yes, I really think about this.

ELLE: What about the future? What do you think it will be like?

Xiao Zhan: Wow, I actually think the future might see a return to simplicity. This world might become more beautiful, with people going back to more fundamental ways of communicating.

ELLE: That’s interesting. Why do you think that?

Xiao Zhan: Well, I’m personally a bit averse to the omnipresent nature of the internet. When we were kids and didn’t have phones, we’d chat over meals, and friends would call each other downstairs to play, hide-and-seek, and various games. I actually think those times were precious.

ELLE: Do you think the profession of acting will still exist then?

Xiao Zhan: I think it will. I believe as long as life continues, drama will continue. People need an outlet, and they need emotional resonance and solace, whether through images or sounds. So, I think that even if the world were to be destroyed, as long as people still exist, drama will definitely exist.

[henrysglock]

Escape from Camazotz: TFS, Shadow NINA, and Saving Your Dad From The Fucked Up Idyllic World A Shadow Monster Has Imprisoned Him In

Loads of people have already talked about how this all:

is reminiscent of A Wrinkle In Time. And I agree...to an extent. I even have an initial Thing about AWIT from April 2023.

What doesn't make sense, though, is if that's the case...then whose father is being sought after/saved? The whole point in AWIT is that Meg Murry had to save her father from Camazotz, a creepily idyllic/conformist world created by IT...

...that also serves as a prison.

The capitol city of Camazotz is CENTRAL/Central Intelligence, and it's overseen by IT and the man with Red Eyes, who serves as a front for IT. Something something...CIA...Richard Brenner being the head of narcotics at HNL vs all the NINA-TFS-Mindflayer hallucinogenic drug ties I outlined previously.

Anyway, returning to suburban Camazotz...You know what else is idyllic that arguably shouldn't be?

Henry's current form.

There have been numerous posts relating the Mindflayer to IT (AWIT), which is where the idyllic but unreal nature comes in.

I've spoken ad nauseam about how TFS, NINA, and Shadow NINA all run along the same lines re: unreality/simulation/Matrix-y type deal, with the Mindflayer being able to quite literally run a different version of NINA to entrap Henry in the VR game. What I want to touch on is a section from the big analysis re: Henry's current whereabouts—

Specifically, per the VR, Henry was banished back into his mind in 1984, just before Will's flaying...which, as far as the VR tells us, he had no active involvement in. We don't know where he ended up, exactly, but the banishment does introduce us to the Shadow NINA concept.

Henry, per the VR, may very well still be trapped in the unreality maze of Shadow NINA.

It's also hilarious to to me that AWIT has a stage play...

...because we see, per TFS, this degree of romanticization coming from Henry alongside the unreality (below is also an excerpt from the big analysis)

In the VR, we're told Henry was bullied by his peers, but that never takes place in TFS. Nor is Bob bullied, though he also canonically says he was. This tells me the romanticization feeds into the unreality, creating what I had been saying all along: A nearly perfect dream world...

...until it comes crashing down when TFS Brenner exposes the truth. Henry has a persistent and steadfast commitment to writing off aspects of this unreality that flag it as unreality, and a persistent drive for normalcy. He wants to be normal and happy, and he tries to push down/hide from/ignore anything that says otherwise until he can't anymore.

In short: He's in deep, babes.

However, the real point I want to make with all this in mind: It's 100% possible the leaks we've seen of Jamie and Nell are set in a Camazotz-like Matrix-y idyllic dream world.

It's also possible, given the ties between Nell's character, Jane, and Henry, as well as Jamie's statements on Henry truly having wanted a nice life with El outside the lab and the understanding that parallels between texts and show are NEVER going to be 1:1, that Nell's character is the Meg Murry to Will's Charles Wallace and Mike's Calvin O'Keefe.

This works especially well considering that Charles Wallace is the one who ends up possessed by IT, much like Will has his persistent connection to the Mindflayer, and Meg Murry is looking for her father, which Henry isn't to either Mike or Will...but might be to a Mindflayer-generated version of the daughter he wanted to run away and start a new life with: Jane.

That's not to say Henry would be willing to leave that world, especially if he's got the life he always dreamed of, whether it's a gilded cage or not.

Final additional point: Hello overalls on Meg and flannel+bowl cut on Charles Wallace.

[ashesofdeadempires]

These excerpts from Van Richten's Guide to Vampires seem particularly intriguing in the context of Astarion’s “good” ending, as I’ve always been skeptical of the very idea of “fixing” a vampire. Even without considering the early concept of Astarion’s backstory, where he was already pursuing eternal life and acting immorally as a corrupt magistrate long before becoming a vampire.

In D&D lore, vampires are inherently evil creatures by default. Their alignment undergoes a drastic shift upon their transformation: emotions and feelings become distorted, moral principles (if they weren’t already corrupt before the transformation) are warped, and the thirst for power and control grows significantly. However, this aspect is often overlooked when it comes to Astarion’s spawn route, while all "vampiric" traits are attributed exclusively to his Ascended version. This, in reality, is a selective application of the lore.

Stephen Rooney: "It's important to have that… and also… he's a vampire, he's all about blood and he's all about darker sides of humanity. So, it's important that that's represented in the game."

Given these facts, the idea of shifting Astarion's alignment to good or even neutral seems highly unlikely. Considering the nature of vampirism, keeping him away from dark desires would be a significant challenge for Tav. It might even require rolling Charisma checks every few years to prevent him from succumbing to temptation. The only real way to move him toward a stable "redemption" would be to cure him of vampirism, which, as far as I know, is possible within D&D. However, the game itself never addresses this possibility. Instead, the spawn-ending merely offers the chance to seek a way to remain in the sun without sacrifices or deals with dark powers, as Ascended Astarion does.

However, according to Neil Newbon, Astarion is in harmony with his vampirism.

"Astarion’s challenge wasn't directly related to him being a vampire. It was that he was a spawn, and that he wasn't free. He is technically free now. [...] He's okay with being a vampire."

The prospect of being cured of vampirism does not even appeal to Astarion.

The first classification includes those who became vampires because of “deadly desire,” like Strahd Von Zarovich (see Chapter XIII, “The Who’s Doomed of Ravenloft,” in the Ravenloft boxed set).

The second comprises those who became vampires as the result of a curse, whether laid by a mortal or by an evil deity.

The third and final category is the most numerous: those unfortunates who became vampires as a result of the attack of another vampire.

The first two categories have one major factor in common: in almost all cases, these vampires were evil while they were alive. The transition to undeath never affects this, except, in some cases, to intensify their evil.

The final category is a completely different case. Victims of vampires have no commonality with regard to ethos, moral strictures, philosophy of life, care toward others, or any other factor. A victim of a vampire could be a saint or a sinner, a paladin or an assassin, a compassionate healer or a ruthless alley-basher.

The fact is that the vast majority of vampires are chaotic and extremely evil. How does this come about? In most cases, it seems that the transition to undeath itself brings about this grim change in the victim’s mentality; the Fledgling’s previous worldview is largely irrelevant.

There are, however, some fascinating exceptions—documented cases of Fledgling vampires that managed to retain some of the attitudes and beliefs they had while alive, at least for a time. What sets these exceptions apart? Was it, as some sages suggest, a characteristic of the vampire that created them? Or was it something inherent within the victim?

My own theory is this: the victim must possess immense strength of will, and the vampire that killed them must be prevented, in some way, from implementing the innate control such creatures have over “secondary” vampires. (This can happen if the creating vampire leaves the area or is destroyed between the time of the victim’s death and the night the victim first rises as a vampire.)

Some of the most fascinating examples of this sort of "carryover" were recorded by a sage whose name has been tragically lost in a treatise whose title I have borrowed (with thanks) for this chapter: The Mind of the Vampire. Two examples follow:

A young, naive man, raised in a sheltered and privileged family, was slain by a vampire passing through the neighborhood. At first, he was unaware of his true nature (or unwilling to accept it), believing that his "death" had been nothing more than a profound illness and that his "premature" burial was merely a mistake by his overzealous family. However, evidence of his vampiric nature soon became apparent. The poor wretch was unable to fully renounce the life he had left behind and took to "haunting" his old home, watching from the shadows and pretending he was still, at least peripherally, part of mortal life. He might have seemed a wholly pathetic figure were it not for his vicious attacks on anyone who dared to take away the semblance of his former life.

An intrepid vampire hunter was slain by one of the creatures she so tenaciously hunted; the monster that killed her was immediately destroyed by her colleagues. For reasons unknown, these colleagues neglected to take the necessary precautions to prevent the woman from rising as a vampire. The trauma she experienced upon realizing her vampiric condition was almost—but not quite—enough to drive her mad. She had taken up her life's work as a moral duty, committed to ridding the world of the scourge of vampirism, and now she had become the very thing she had always hated! Despite the shock, she resolved to make the best of the hand Fate had dealt her. She dedicated her unlife to continuing her mortal mission, using her newfound powers to track down and destroy others of her kind. Tragically, her sense of duty soon became corrupted by a quest for power, and she was ultimately destroyed by Strahd Von Zarovich.

Van Richten's Guide to Vampires. TSR, 1991, Chapter XII: "The Mind of the Vampire: The Psychology of Immortality."

But this thesis raises a fascinating question: if we set aside the matter of feeding habits, could a vampire exhibit other behavior patterns that might be described as “good”? The answer is “theoretically yes,” and I can even cite one short-lived example.

A man of good alignment was killed by a vampire and subsequently became a vampire himself, initially under the control of his dark master. When the master vampire was destroyed, the “minion” vampire became free-willed. Despite his undead condition, he still held the beliefs and attitudes that had, during his life, categorized him as Good. In secret, he resolved to use his powers to at least partially amend the damage caused by both himself and his master. For several decades, he acted as a secret benefactor to his hometown.

Unfortunately, this situation changed over time. At first, the undead benefactor sought no recognition, keeping his identity and nature completely secret. He lived in a cave on the outskirts of town and had no contact with the living. However, after a decade, it seems he began to resent the lack of gratitude shown by the townsfolk for his generosity. He started leaving behind notes requesting some form of “concrete appreciation,” generally in the form of money, in exchange for his efforts. (Of course, he had no need for money; the coins were purely symbolic of the thanks he felt he deserved.) His demands grew increasingly steep until the townsfolk decided his requests were excessive and stopped paying.

At this point, the vampire’s feelings toward the townsfolk turned to hatred. In his rage, he fell upon them like a scourge, terrorizing them until he was eventually destroyed by a group of intrepid adventurers.

I have a theory that explains this transformation. Eternity is a long time, and as the years passed, the vampire’s feelings began to change. Gradually, he lost his sense of kinship with the living and started prioritizing his own desires—even when those desires were irrational—over theirs. Eventually, he came to view their very lives as insignificant and unworthy of his consideration.

I strongly believe that this shift in attitude happens, inevitably, to all vampires. For some, it occurs almost immediately; for others, it may take decades. Although I lack concrete evidence to support this conjecture, I suspect that no vampire can maintain a nature other than Chaotic Evil beyond the Fledgling age category.

Van Richten's Guide to Vampires. TSR, 1991, Chapter XII: "The Mind of the Vampire: A Question of Alignment."

[weightedblankettt]

An Analysis on the Literature Girl Insane MV!

Hey! You might not know me that much, as I’m not active in the DRDTheory community, as I’ve dubbed it, but my name is Blanket! Technically, this is a work of collaboration between the majority of DRDT Twitter, but it’s mainly just an analysis of stuff I couldn’t do by myself.

Okay, and now, onto the video!

So we start off with the spoiler warning. Pretty standard stuff, of course.

Many of my theories beginning here will be based on the colors and what I, personally, associate them with. Of course, the actual MV’s contents will be looked at further down the line. 

As a bonus, take note of what pops up right after that. It’s a question: Do you want to forgive... someone? We’ll answer this question later on in the theories section.

These are mainly just lyrics, but the “final verdict” part catches my eye, as I believe it isn’t in the lyrics further down the line. Perhaps it’s about the current trial? As many people believe, David did not kill Arei. His reasons for lying about doing so are unknown, but we can assume that the singer is calling the listeners idiots, because of their incorrect final verdict. Whatever David wants to do, it’s certainly not leading them to the right one.

Next, these lyrics. While I believe it’s fairly obvious that the pink is meant to represent the typical Danganronpa-esque color of their blood, the color that the word “game” is in is probably relates to David. After all, his hair clips and star eyes, both prominent features of his “facade”, are in the same color.

Here is where the most prominent part of the MV is, to me. The text that flashes across the screen during transition points. The first one, in white text, is an excerpt from Osamu Dazai’s “The Flowers of Buffoonery.” The book, while I’ll spare you the greater details, greatly describes themes of suicide. The story’s main protagonist, Yozo Oba, can be described as so: “-But the narrator, a self-conscious writer, makes frequent first-person asides, breaking the fourth wall as he comments on the quality or believability of the novel he is writing.” 

Something especially telling is this line, from an analysis of Yozo’s character. “Yozo is a person characterized by shame. Although I pretend to be someone who is confident and unabashedly themselves, that is not really true. I have always been ashamed of who I really am. I created a whole persona to interact with others because I believed my true self would never be enough.”

David’s character is someone very similar to that. Someone who has created a false persona to interact with others. Yozo is someone who feels resentful of other people, simply because he is forced to make them happy. “Yozo Oba is the tortured author and unreliable narrator of the three notebooks that comprise the bulk of No Longer Human. [That is the sequel to The Flowers of Buffoonery.] His appearance is depicted in three photographs examined by an unnamed narrator in the Prologue. These three photographs correspond to his appearance in each of the three notebooks. As a child, Yozo is precocious by design—an impish child who uses his antics to hide his fear, shame, and inability to relate to humanity. These fundamental flaws carry over into young adulthood; in the second notebook, he is a handsome young man whose smiling photograph lacks humanity, betraying the depth of terror and isolation that his comical persona seeks to hide. In the third photograph and notebook, he is only 27, but his gray hair and forgettable appearance prevent him from being labeled an ordinary human being.”

The quotes in yellow are from Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” The full quote reads as follows. "If you confront anyone who has lied with the truth, they usually admit it – often out of sheer surprise. It is only necessary to guess right to produce your effect." I think the relevancy of this line in terms of David can be explained with his actions so far. Fun fact: Similarly to Danganronpa, “Murder on the Orient Express” is a murder mystery. 

This is just a rickroll. DRDTDev thinks that they are FUNNY!? (They are.)

The “an archaic personal pronoun rarely used in real life, but popularized in fiction by the book” is most likely referring to thou/thy/etc. I’m not sure what this correlates to, but it’s probably important. I couldn’t find the green text, but from what I can tell, the green text probably relates to David’s nihilistic point of view towards humanity. Update: Bleuflower on Tumblr has located the source to be I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki, so go check her out for that! If I had to say anything about that, it’d probably be relating to MonoTV, however, there’s also a continuation of David’s nihilism towards humanity that was also found in the Osamu Dazai references. The book itself is described as a “mordantly comic evocation of Sōseki's deep pessimism about his own humanity and indeed about humankind in general.”

The white text here is an excerpt from Osamu Dazai’s “No Longer Human,” which follows the same protagonist as “The Flowers of Buffoonery.” I’m sure you can all gather what that means in relation to David, but the main point is that he seems detached from his view of “normalcy.” @shidoutism on Twitter had this to say, as they’ve read the book itself: “OKOK so basically this first excerpt is from 'no longer human' by osamu dazai (its his last finished work because dazai sadly took his own life after publication of the book) now from the limited knowledge i have of david the meaning and message of the book might help in whatever analysis ur doing?? no longer human is about a man who never felt like he understood humans. like the title suggests, he never felt like a person. its revealed the protag was pretty sheltered and rich in childhood but experienced trauma from the familys housekeepers, but he never reported it. thats basically the start of it all as the protag grows up, he finds fear in communicating with humans. so he ends up either isolating himself and/or destroying all of his relationships with people. he's scared of people seeing the real him, so ever since he was a child he started putting up a happy, cheerful front. but it just creeped some ppl out bc it didn't feel genuine, it was more like a clown wanting to so badly entertain others. the protag starts resorting to bad coping mechanisms such as dr/gs and alc/hol and has many relationships with women to drown his sorrows and feel closer to being 'a human'. aaand the end of the book is kinda unsettling as the protag is sent to a rehab center and then when released, isolated himself somewhere far away without people, stating "everything passes. thats the one thing i learned in this living hell [somewhere along those lines]" and the book ends numbly like it feels like nothing”

I don’t know about you, but this sounds rather similar to our “protagonist.”

This quote is from “The Setting Sun”, by, you guessed it, Osamu Dazai. It tells a similar story, albeit with a different protagonist, but I feel like this ties in more with his facade, and how his inspirational speaking comes off to other people. Considering he is in his facade at this time of the MV, it’s safe to say that that’s what this is referring to.

And now, this all falls into place. These are the names of the Osamu Dazai books referenced in the text beforehand. The (I’m), next to No Longer Human, however, could signify how David views himself. Someone so sunken into depravity that they don’t register themselves as human anymore.

The faded text here is the first sentence of Yasunari Kawabata’s “Snow Country”. I don’t know what this refers to in terms of David, but this also seems important.

David still views himself as manipulative. Even if he does love people, even if he does have a semblance of care for those in his life, he views himself as an evil, irredeemable sack of shit, incapable of any emotion other than selfishness and cruelty.

This part is especially intriguing to me. David still wants to live, as anyone else does, but he can’t bring himself to find a reason to leave. His career is dead. He’s worthless, and nobody needs him around. Where would he go? There’s no room for him anywhere, even if he escaped, he’d just be shunned for good now that his entire life has been thrown away. 

The excerpt from “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, describes someone losing motivation to leave the island. The island is a metaphor for the building, that the students are trapped inside, and David has lost the will to leave in the first place. He doesn’t want to leave, because there’s nowhere else for him to even go. He doesn’t have a home. He doesn’t have a fanbase. There’s nothing left.

The text here reads: “If you’re Hythlodaeus, then I must be Morus.” This refers to the work “Utopia”, written by Thomas More. The book follows Raphael Hythlodaeus, a man who claims to be from Utopia, a perfect place for everyone. His surname quite literally means “Bringer of Nonsense,” or something along those lines. While this may be a stretch, I believe that “Hythlodaeus” is referring to Pre-Reveal David, and “Morus” could possibly be either Post-Reveal David or someone affected by his speeches, for example Xander.

Also, I find it interesting how the girl in this frame, most likely David’s “sister,” Diana, and David himself are both tilting their heads at similar angles. It’s possible that their relation is hinted at through this, but I’m not sure.

The excerpt right here is from Kajii Motojiro’s entry in the Kyoto Journal, entitled “Lemon”. While some of the text has been altered, the main story is about a man who finds himself suffering, and walks through his neighbourhood only to find a greengrocer selling lemons. He goes home, and finds himself happier than before. I’m not sure what this means when it comes to David, however if you’d like, you can analyze for yourself and let me know.

https://www.kyotojournal.org/fiction-poetry/lemon/

This part doesn’t have any external references, but I believe that the lyrics here reinforce David’s worldview, that no matter what you do and how hard you try, “nobody ever changes.”

The star imagery here is a direct reference to David. Stars are representative of his happy facade, and when he loses the stars, he quits the bullshit. 

…And this frame. Alright, let’s start from the top. The electrocution definition is a callback to Xander, who’s referenced quite a few times in the video. The yellow text, which is from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince”, is possibly a reference to David’s view on other people or himself- That nobody is special unless you were born special. However, the end of the text describes that if the boy were to tame the fox, the speaker, that they would need each other. I’m not sure if this is a description of manipulation, or a codependent relationship, but the David parallels are there. That, and the title of a “little prince” probably refers to David and how he’s idolized by many. The green text is, again, from “The Flowers of Buffoonery.” The full text is as follows. “A man crushed by reality puts on a show of endurance. If that's beyond your comprehension, dear reader, then you and I will never understand each other. Life's a farce, so we might as well make it a good one. But real life is a realm that I may never reach. The best that I can hope for is to loiter in the memory of these four days, so steeped with empathy. Four days that count more than

five or ten years of my life. Four days that count more than a lifetime.”

In reference to David, this is more representative of his true feelings. Not the asshole persona or the facade, but the genuine feelings he has. He already feels far too gone by his own standards, and constantly puts on a “show” for other people in the form of his speeches. 

The red text is possibly a person dealing with depression speaking on one of their symptoms. There’s no way I could find a source for such a short quote. A common symptom of depression is losing interest in things you previously found enjoyable.

The white text on the side describes someone who finds pleasure in solitude as opposed to being bossed around by other people. It’s a reference to David’s backstory, as someone who was pressured into putting on a performance for others, finding comfort in being alone rather than having to play pretend whenever around other people.

The white text at the bottom is a continuation of the white text at the top.

The only theory I can think of for this is that it’s a foreshadowing to either gaps in their memory or the amount of survivors left in the killing game being four. Not sure.

Update: I don’t know how I missed this, but the “11” next to the suspicious gaps refers to this. It’s possible that the suspicious gaps are gaps in their memory now, being as he doesn’t remember having an older sister, but her existence is most likely confirmed, as we saw her. 

This part here is referring to “Catch 22,” when the main character realizes that without a soul, humans are just… matter, if you will. Empty husks.

For this part, I had to call upon my not-so-trustworthy old friend, Google Translate! The translation of this from Latin is “I think, therefore I am (not.)” That’s what makes the most sense to me. We’ll refer back to this part later, for I have a different intention for it in my mind than David himself.

The dark blue text is another excerpt from “The Little Prince.” The prince in question is talking to a castaway, and the main takeaway of his words is that only your heart can tell you what you really need. If you were to simply look with your eyes, then what you truly need would be drowned out by the blinding light of superficial desires. I’m pretty sure that’s what that means. David is looking through his eyes, seeing a cruel world where nobody changes unless they were born to.

Now, let’s get into the next big part of the MV: The crossword puzzle. You might be wondering how this relates to David, but its moreso his own commentary on his classmates. Let’s go back to the latin. Pay attention to this reference of the solved crossword by raspbeyes on Tumblr. It will be very important for you to follow along.

Notice how there’s roman numerals in some of David’s lyrics? For example, this that we established earlier meant “I think therefore I am (not.)” This is referring to Rose. Her photographic memory can be linked to the description of “thinking.” The context of this may become clearer in future parts of the story. 

III. That’s Charles. “If you doubt brittle things are broken.” Is, in my mind, referring to his memories. He has a recurring element of not remembering things, but he doesn’t seem to be aware of this until Chapter 2. For example, his secret- “Your older brother died, but you don’t remember him at all.”

IV. Arei. Her breakdown sequence should be all you need to associate this with her.

V. This is Ace. He’s going insane, obviously, because of the paranoia and failed murder attempt against him. That, and he’s become more disheveled as the game progressed.

XIV. Veronika, correct? Substance to the arts relates to her talent as a Horror Fanatic. Naturally, she’d be related to things like that.

XV. Whit’s refusal to accept his mother’s death, staying ignorant to the tragedies around him, is one of the “happiest” members of the cast.

XI. Mai Akasaki is not mentioned in the current story, and all of her quotes hidden amongst the cast members describe her in past tense. She was someone everyone viewed as reliable, trustworthy, and perhaps, if you exaggerated it, as God.

These two walls of text are both from the same source: Hamlet’s Solliloquy of “To Be, or Not to Be?”

This is what the thing actually means, in case you aren’t aware, which even I wasn’t until just now. It represents David’s suicidal ideology, from what we can assume with the way he’s trying to get everyone to vote wrong in the trial for Arei, quite well. Whether he wants to live, or die, is most likely a constant struggle for David to answer.

Which is why he leaves it up to… whoever can answer.

This is an absolute reference to the trial. The class trial rules are overlaid over the death portrait texture, which is “conveniently” covering David’s face. The seventeen here is also telling, considering what the description has to say about it!

This is what I believe is David’s end goal. To get everyone executed as a result of his own hopelessness. By pretending to be the killer and antagonizing the class, he believes he can easily sway the votes by “manipulating the public” as he always believes he’s done. By getting everyone to vote for him, he can end the killing game and his own “pathetic life” in one fell swoop.

After all, it’s not like he believes they have a chance of winning and escaping in the first place.

And here, is where we left off in Episode 11. David completely drops his facade in order to effectively kill himself, along with everyone else. After realizing the hopelessness of his situation, he makes a drastic turn to accept it readily. Someone who self-sabotages continues to do so because they develop a warped perspective of having control.

And again referring to the description, the 12 near the “Tallying Votes” caption refers to this. It’s David’s way of justifying his selfishness, with a diluted form of justice serving as an “ultimately fair verdict to the trial.” 

However, David has always wanted to be loved. It’s why he even bothers with his facade, because he’s been putting it up for so long that disregarding his persona would effectively ruin everything he’s worked so hard to maintain in the first place. The repeated imagery of applause could also be a callback to his status as a celebrity, especially with how he reacted to Xander and Arei’s reliance on him.

While this does have a small fade of text pointing out that the “degraded copy” is the cover, which is not true because the MV is amazing, but. I believe this–

Oh. That’s literally it. Well, that makes one mystery solved!

Hey, look, we’re already halfway through! nice! Eden’s optimistic personality can be referenced here. She wants to live with everyone, together, and make sure that nobody gets hurt. 

This is another reference to David’s rambling on about how attempting to change is utterly futile, and that nobody changes. 

The yellow text is the definition of a television show, I believe. The blue text is an excerpt from “And Then There Were None,” by Agatha Christie. The full quote is this: “Breakfast was a curious meal. Everyone was very polite…. Six people, all outwardly self-possessed and normal. And within? Thoughts that ran round in a circle like squirrels in a cage…. ‘What next? What next? Who? Which?’...” …Do you get it? It’s a parallel to the killing game. Or, rather, how David views it. Everyone is terrified and scared for their lives, but they still greet eachother with mock kindness.

The blue text on the side is an excerpt from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.”, and it goes like this: “I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er.” A critical analysis of the original work reads as follows: Shakespeare is saying here that Macbeth has involved himself in so many murders that it is as easy for him to carry on than to turn back. Macbeth compares his course of action with wading across a river of blood, creating a vivid image of his bloody reign. The word 'tedious' reveals the hardening of Macbeth's heart.

And now, the moment I’m sure most of you have been waiting for. Xander. Something I took notice of was that the cracks line up directly with his left eye, while his right eye is the one that’s actually missing in the game. Nonetheless, Xander clearly did mean something to David. Whether it be through his idolization of David, or if he inspired David in some way, his death had an impact on him. Manipulative persona or not. 

XVI translates to Hu from the crossword puzzle. He’s taunting her, similarly to how he did in the trial, although the ??? makes me wonder if it actually IS David…

XII, that’s Eden. I assume it’s because of her optimistic persona that she is standing in someone’s way, although we’re not sure who. 

For the next part, let’s say we take this at face value. It could definitely be referencing David allegedly pushing Arei to commit suicide, although this could also be something he internalizes, with the themes of suicide and wishing to be dead explored previously.

These are all repeats of the previous works included in the MV, like The Little Prince, Ozamu Dazai’s series, Agatha Christie’s works, etc etc.

Now, this is code, I’m assuming, but I tried translating it and couldn’t find anything. It’s a common encryption language. In case you want to translate it, it’s: 3aqxw97pktc8uki458fbdpfoacllex2f07bf8mg24b4mpfx2adc6v3f5yhxjd8i7sf11312zaj5lazet47jod5jczec5mvb6bz2o59r143sf2pe916sczcn7emvbl55ehe9iqb2708tt83482c8tw3c77gn47ojca634gbcfz0016s647wwlakcn46brcle0eam9

NOTE: @glorywelpchild on Twitter says… “For this, it may have been encrypted multiple times by different engines? I'm not a programmer so I'm not really familiar lmao. Another thing, it could be a type of programming the dev knows/commonly uses.”

The VI here is Arturo, but I don’t know what this means. Perhaps the description can give us some insight?

Hmm… Well, I don’t mind. Whatever you say.

Nico’s number is VIII, and this is referring to the defense they put up when asked about their intentions against Ace’s life. They claim they never thought about it, and “even if they try to think, they don’t know.”

This is Levi’s, as per the IX. 

I actually managed to find the original image in the background. It’s a study on Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s orbit around Jupiter for several years before crashing into the planet. While the name, Shoemaker Levy, may be a play on Levi’s name, I believe this is also referencing that he may die soon. Maybe this is a stretch, but the symbolism of a comet named “Shoemaker Levy” crashing into Jupiter being right under a symbol that represents Levi, our prime suspect in a game where being caught results in death, is too far to be a coincidence. Part of my theory for Chapter 2 is that Levi is the blackened, after all, but that is in a previous post. Nonetheless, we can move on.

This is “Enterance of the Gladiators.” While it is now associated with silly things like clowns, it was originally a military march song. Hmm, where have I heard this description before?

Ah, that’s right! In the description!

These two are relatively straightforward. The David we meet in the prologue is his facade, and it serves as an introduction. However, we are re-introduced to him with a whole personality change, and that comes delayed from all the others.

This is a direct reference to MonoTV and the throne in the trial room.

The truth bullets. Typical Danganronpa symbolism, and it’s also a neat little reference to Xander’s custom weapon.

References to some of the students. The dresser is Levi, the bowl of fruit is Rose, the gun is Xander, the teapot is Hu, and the candle is maybe J?

The clock is Eden, the portrait, maybe a reference to the game? The stupid kid’s toy might be Whit.

Teruko and Mai. Teruko’s misfortune and Mai’s idealization are both key parts of their characters.

The gavel, another reference. The kitchen knife, Min. The skull, Veronika. The mirror… Possibly Xander because we’ve seen him with broken glass earlier in the MV, but it might be David and his personas making another reference.

The mastermind, sitting atop their comfortable chair.

The noose is Arei, the gas mask is Charles, the mouse is Nico, the theater mask… Perhaps the mastermind again, or Veronika again. The safe is David’s locked away and suppressed emotions. These are all mainly theories based on observation, don’t take it as the wholehearted truth.

David being mentioned again with the hair clips. The lemon has been brought up beforehand, it’s a callback to the journal entry. The dummies represent David’s detachment from his humanity, and the television is a callback to the fact that they’re on a television show.

David views himself as a snake, a liar, a murderer. Snakes are common imagery to use when referring to the Devil as well. The blood is a callback to the killing game itself.

Either a reference to Min, or the fact that all the books are empty could be visual dramatization of David’s feelings. There’s supposed to be something in them, but the books are empty. The “various kinds” could also be how many personas he puts on, if that’s a prominent part of his backstory.

The killing game is being broadcasted, so that counts as terrorist iconography, if nothing else. Dandelions, while beautiful in their own way, don’t belong in a garden. The megaphone is David’s custom weapon, and it’s a way for him to broadcast his speeches to those around the world.

The letters are from the joke comic that the dev released. You know the one, where Xander writes a letter for David and he accidentally throws it away thinking that it’s garbage. The popular toy refers to the commercializing of the Tragedy, as Veronika explained on the first day of Chapter 2. How horror movies will put black-and-white designs in their films to up the fear factor because of the subliminal/primal fear of the design back in the days of the Tragedy. The flowers… No idea.

This is cleverly disguised, but it’s a reference to the debate between continuing to live and killing yourself. To be or not to be, to stop or to keep going, but they’re both lit up. How are you to do both at the same time? You have to make a choice.

Main Roles are David and Xander. It makes sense, considering they both have full-body moments and we know who they are. The crossed out name is Mai Akasaki, but the cut off name is a bit harder to decipher. Thanks to some inspiration and help, I’ve come to my final conclusion regarding this.

They are related to Arei, 100%. The letters match perfectly.

Even in comparison to Arei, the “N” in her name starts only a bit earlier, but that’s because the first word is probably only two or three letters, in comparison to the four letters in Arei.

Originally, I couldn’t translate any of these. All I could make out was that the first hand was Xander and the second hand was Min or Mai. However. @MAHIRUMILGRAM on twitter managed to translate them! They are as follows:

After this point, the truth bullet breaks through David’s words, similarly to how Teruko is fighting against David, despite the truth bullet being in agreement towards David’s idea.

There’s also this, which could be David trying to deflect us from the truth, or that the lyrics genuinely don’t relate to him. I’m leaning towards the former.

The white text at the top here is from a story, entitled “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” It is about a beautiful city where everyone is happy. However, their city is not as beautiful as it seems. They tell the story of how the townspeople have locked a child in a basement, and left it to suffer. Their happiness, as they’ve been told, requires a sacrifice. “Inside the room, which is behind a locked door, there are a couple of dirty mops, a bucket, and a young child. The child is ten years old, but looks younger. The child is scared and completely miserable. It is never allowed to leave the room. Occasionally, someone opens the door and kicks the child to make it stand up. The person fills the food bowl halfway with corn meal and grease, fills the water jug, and leaves. The child can remember what the outside world looks like and begs and pleads to be let out. The child is naked and covered in sores, and it wails at night in its misery. The people of Omelas all know about the child in the basement. They all understand that everything good about Omelas, from their abundance of food to the good weather, depends upon the suffering of the child. They all understand this because when children are between the ages of eight and twelve, they are brought to see the child, and this tradeoff is explained to them. During this experience, the children of Omelas are disgusted. They want to help, but they are told they can’t. If anyone helps the child by clothing, feeding, or otherwise caring for it, then the perfect happiness of Omelas and its abundance would die. Therefore, no one may even speak kindly to the child.” I wanted to include this because it describes David so well. Someone who has been cast away because they’re deemed useless to society, someone who’s happiness would destroy the happiness of anyone else. I find the story truly fascinating, as it might describe David’s suppressed emotions and the depressive tendencies he indulges himself in.

“Their tears at the bitter injustice dry when they begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality, and to accept it. Yet it is their tears and anger, the trying of their generosity and the acceptance of their helplessness, which are perhaps the true source of the splendor of their lives. Theirs is no vapid, irresponsible happiness. They know that they, like the child, are not free.”

“How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was—such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth [alēthēs]. But many as their falsehoods were, there was one of them which quite amazed me—I mean when they told you to be upon your guard, and not to let yourselves be deceived by the force of my eloquence. They ought to have been ashamed of saying this, because they were sure to be detected as soon as I opened my lips and displayed my deficiency; they certainly did appear to be most shameless in saying this, unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force of truth [alēthēs]; for then I do indeed admit that I am eloquent. But in how different a way from theirs! Well, as I was saying, they have hardly uttered a word, or not more than a word, of truth [alēthēs]; but you shall hear from me the whole truth [alēthēs]: not, however, delivered after their manner, in a set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases.”

Do you remember, in the prologue, where Xander describes the “rumors” against David’s positive front? This is a direct parallel. Here, Socrates denounces the words of his attackers, similarly to how nobody truly believes the rumors except for the critics themselves. Even Xander was fooled by his charisma.

“Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes? Never Hamlet: If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away, And when he's not himself does wrong Laertes, 240 Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. Who does it, then? His madness: if't be so, Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd; His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy.”

Hamlet blames his own insanity for the death of Laertes’ father. Just like David tries to get everyone killed, and blames himself for murdering Arei, because of his own insanity.

This is a line from the poem “Be Not Defeated by The Rain,” by Kenji Miyazawa. It describes a man wishing to become someone strong, someone who cannot be bested. I believe this is exactly what David wants, too. To be as strong and as hopeful as he is forced to pretend to be, instead of a hopeless mess who would rather die than be seen as worthless.

David reaches the height of his insanity, before finally quieting down after being basked in green light. I don’t know if this was intentional, but I believe that it represents how he’s given up on even death after the students manage to vote correctly, hence the green coloring.

And now, number 19.

I severely doubt that David will actually die in Chapter 3. That is not “foreshadowing,” that is just giving out the answer, and DRDTDev is much more careful than that. I believe this is a final representation of David’s suicidal ideologies. He says he will forget, he says guilt will not weigh him down, but he’s lying to himself. That’s why the stars are still behind him, because he’s still lying. He says he is satisfied, he says he’s okay with death, but when has David ever been truthful with us?

And he leaves an empty throne behind. Not because he is dead, but because he has relinquished his career and his reputation for nothing.

Even though he is missing, nothing else has changed. That is how he views his life.

And that concludes the main analysis of David’s MV! It’s such a beautiful thing, really, I don’t know how to phrase any of it properly. Thank you to everyone who’s read this far, and everyone who helped me out. The decoding and puzzles? Ah, I’ll let you all do that… But, maybe I can help a little! Blanket, out~! See you all next time!

[darsynia]

Don't Read the Last Page (Tony Stark/Engineer!Reader multichapter)

Summary: Your friend Nat claims her plan to distract Tony Stark with her sex appeal isn't working, so she wants you to do it with your brain--and a sexy red dress. Things start out completely over your head and get more complicated when SHIELD becomes involved.

Length/Warnings: 3,500 | none (future smut!)

Masterlist | MCU Masterlist | Tony Stark Masterlist | Next

Excerpt:

“Put on a persona, if you have to. The one I chose, okay, yes, sex kitten, but-- and don’t laugh,” Nat sighs. “I’ve been playing it so straight, Cat. I thought sure he’d break, but it’s almost like he can tell that I know it’s innuendo? And by now it’s a game of chicken, and the man is too stubborn to lose. He’ll never back down.”

You can’t help the little smile of pride in the idea that the man you’ve been crushing on for so long can hold up against an onslaught like that, even though you haven’t ever met Tony Stark. Natasha is painfully gorgeous.

“So, what? You need me to be the Cat to your kitten?” you tease.

“Actually, yes.”

Chapter One: Alice In Wonderland

“Nat, you cannot be serious,” you say, holding your cell phone to your ear with your shoulder as you frown at the computer screen in front of you. The water temperature calculations in the unit you’re designing are all wrong, and you’d hoped to finish the associated code by tonight.

“You said you’d freelance for me, and I need you. Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are.” Natasha’s voice is every bit as dry as it always is, but today there’s a strong undercurrent of irritation that you hardly ever hear. “I can tell he’s interested, but I actually think the sex kitten thing is somehow overboard. I don’t think he’s going to go for me, but I can read him like a book. He definitely wants a connection, and I can’t risk him ending up with someone else. Bottom line: I need you.”

“I can’t believe you’re using drunken confidences against me right now! I have shit to do!” You were whining a little, but when your friend had joked that she might someday ask you to do some favors for the shadowy governmental agency she works for, you thought it was going to be related to computers, not the billionaire tech genius you’ve secretly crushed on for years.

“I think the hard to get thing might really work. Look, what we need is a sexy delaying tactic. You’re not going to have to sleep with him. You just need to catch his eye and keep him from doing anything really stupid with a woman at this birthday party. He’s feeling his mortality, Cat. We don’t want him to FIND it.”

“I still can’t believe that you, Miss Manipulation, have failed at doing it yourself,” you tease, saving your work and standing up.

“I overcompensated. It would have worked with the man in the file, but he’s not that guy anymore. Can I pick you up at 7?”

You pause in the act of shutting the light off in your office. “Woah, hold on. That was ‘wrapping up the conversation’ language. I have no idea what to wear, how to behave, where--”

“Shy sexy engineer, shy sexy engineer, Tony Stark’s Malibu mansion. I’ll pick you up.”

“Nat!” you protest, but the line has gone dead. The mirror you’ve hung on the other side of the reception desk helpfully reminds you that you’ll need to wear some extra concealer under your eyes, tonight. You’ve been pulling some late nights with this project. Productive ones, sure, but late. 

The concept is one of the most ambitious that your small design firm has taken on so far, but you’re passionate about it. The group of investors’ idea was simple: create a kiosk that can help eliminate the waste of single-use water bottles on college campuses. Students sign up and receive a BPA-free reusable water bottle that fits into any of the multiple stations placed around the campus, based on population and traffic patterns. In exchange for watching a few ads for a minute, their bottle is sanitized and filled with clean, cold, purified water for free. Companies can buy the ad space, and hopefully, if the project takes off, all that will be needed is the initial capital and a few fees for maintenance and water, paid for by the college itself. 

In theory, your small company made up of five friends with various engineering degrees definitely has the expertise to bring the concept into reality. In practice, it’s a lot bigger of a project than you had initially thought, especially now that a few schools in the area have been contacted by the investors to see if they’d be interested in being the pilot school. 

It’s far more coding than you’d anticipated, for one thing, and you’re the only one with the expertise to write it. You’ve got to finish this up, commit it, and then see if it actually works on the prototype in the back room, ideally before noon tomorrow. In a very real way, it’s your reputation, your name on the line if the company can’t deliver, for all that you’re not the face of the company. You’ve got Alan for that part. The stress has been bad enough that you stopped going by your business name in public completely, reverting back to the fanciful name you’d given yourself when you daydreamed about having a secret royal history.

You’ve shortened it to ‘Cat’ nowadays, since you’re not royal, though you are secretive. 

Even though you’re not really one for parties, you are curious about what a Stark party would be like. He’s ramped back his playboy lifestyle since miraculously returning from three months in that cave. Not all the way, though, you recall, because there was something in Monaco not that long ago, but you weren’t interested in Stark for that stuff anyway. You crush on his brain, really, though the rest of the package isn’t tough on the eyes.

If you’re honest, you’d been kind of glad that he’d gotten more serious and less reckless lately, so hearing Nat talk about him ‘feeling his mortality’ makes you worried, in a strange way. Ever since you were in high school, coming up on ten years ago, he’s been your celebrity crush, the person you kept an eye on, looked for references in all the magazines. You’re not really a celebrity watcher, but for the most part, Stark is different from an actor or sports guy. In your opinion, for a man with such innovative intelligence, his playboy lifestyle is as much of a waste of his talents as designing weapons. He’s done with the latter, but seems to be having trouble dropping the former.

Checking your watch, you sigh. It’s already five, and you need a shower. As you turn toward the stairs that lead up to the door to your apartment, you catch another glimpse of yourself in the mirror. God, you need a haircut.

“The only thing Tony Stark is going to do when he sees you is wonder who let in the mousy wallflower,” you groan. You never were a flashy, ‘draw all eyes when you walk in the door’ kind of girl, even though you do have a flair for picking clothes that accentuate your build. Still, the mirror is telling some home truths that you don’t appreciate right now, so you flip it off, holding your hand in that position as you walk up the stairs and tap out your code for the door.

An hour and a half later, and you’re in a push-up bra, matching panties, and a complete freak-out spiral. You have three dresses to choose from, and none of them are right, and you don’t have time to do anything else than pick one. You’re about to do the thing where you hang them in three different places in your room and spin around with your eyes shut till you stop with your finger pointed out, when you hear the front door opening.

It can only be one person, but you still grab your oversized white bathrobe and pull it on before you call out to her.

“Help, I am a damsel in serious distress. De-stress me, Natasha!”

“You need more friends if I’m who you would turn to for that,” Natasha says. She’s wearing a tight gray dress that, while stunning, doesn’t look like a party frock at all.

“Wait, is there a party? Because that is NOT what you of all people would wear to one. This is not a ‘you’ party dress. Particularly not if you’re… what did you call it? Trying to ‘sex kitten’ Tony Stark!” you protest, crossing your arms against the thick terry cloth of your robe.

“Settle,” Natasha says, but her lips curl up into a kind of a secret smile. “The party’s later, and I have to go in early. My boss wanted to talk to you a little bit beforehand.”

You back up and fall back onto your bed. “No, no, no, you’ve told me about your boss. He’s badass and terrifying.” Your tone turns whiny, then resolute. “I have stuff to do, Nat! I am reneging, right here, right now.”

Even as you say the words, your inner fangirl screams at you. No way do you want to miss the chance to be in the same room as Tony Stark, even if it means you have to withstand being glared at by Nat’s one-eyed scary spy boss.

“No, you’re not. Because I need you, and you will never forgive yourself.” Natasha is, as always, completely self-assured in the face of your frantic protestations. You’ll never forget the crazy way the two of you met, when she’d ducked into your store and frowned, confused, when she’d seen the empty racks for what had used to be a clothing store. After taking in her tight pleather fighting outfit, you’d thought fast, taking off your white hooded sweatshirt and tossing it to her. Natasha had put it on right away and you’d sat on the receptionist’s desk you were setting up, pulling open a folder and leaning over as if to present a proposal to a person sitting at the desk. She’d vaulted over the desk in a truly spectacular move, seating herself and zipping up the sweatshirt just in time.

The door had opened seconds later, revealing a tall, burly, terrifying-looking man in tradesmen’s clothing. “We’re closed!” you’d called out, and he’d grunted, looking around a few seconds before leaving.

“What about this one?” Nat says, from deep inside your closet. She emerges with a red dress that you’d bought once on a deep discount and then hidden in the closet, too embarrassed to picture yourself ever actually wearing it in public. It’s skin-tight, and the neckline/straps make up a bold X that crosses your chest in a brighter red than the rest of the fabric. Under the X is a second stylized X that stretches up to make a diamond gap between the two. The cut-out gives a daring glimpse of the lower curves of your breasts before the second X continues down to hug your hips. The damned thing continues its ‘high fashion’ nonsense in an angled cut just below your knees, except for where it slices up into a slit on your left leg, making a third, smaller X.

“I can’t wear a bra with that, Nat!” you hiss, even as you take the hanger and look at it. “Not to mention the fact that it’s literally a triple-X dress!”

“Just tell your inner self you’re living the dream?”

“I can’t believe I ever told you about having a crush on him. You know I’ll never trust you with anything ever again?” you gripe.

“Put on the dress, I don’t want to be late.”

It’s Stark’s favorite color, and actually fits perfectly. After you touch up your makeup to make it a bit more aggressive, with red lipstick that matches the dress (the one concession you’d made to someday choosing to wear it. The color’s been taunting you in your makeup bag since you’d come home with the damned thing), you’re actually feeling like a confident, capable person.

“That’s right,” Natasha says, coming up behind you and making eye contact with you in the mirror. “Put on a persona, if you have to. The one I chose, okay, yes, sex kitten, but-- and don’t laugh,” she sighs. “I’ve been playing it so straight, Cat. I thought sure he’d break, but it’s almost like he can tell that I know it’s innuendo? And by now it’s a game of chicken, and the man is too stubborn to lose. He’ll never back down.”

You can’t help the little smile of pride in the idea that the man you’ve been crushing on for so long can hold up against an onslaught like that, even though you haven’t ever met Tony Stark. Natasha is painfully gorgeous.

“So, what? You need me to be the Cat to your kitten?” you tease.

“Actually, yes.”

“Okay, I’ll wear this, but I’m not comfortable with the message the top… everything this dress is sending, so...” you say, and head over to the closet. On the way, you notice how you’re walking with more sway to your hips, like you can’t help yourself. You definitely feel like someone else, someone more bold, maybe? It’ll crumble completely if you were faced with the man himself, not that you probably will. Even with your assets on display like this, you’re still you, shy but tenacious, a ‘watch and learn’ kind of girl. Basically the opposite of his type. After years of spending time with every kind of woman, all of whom are begging for his attention, Stark will probably look past you like you’re not even there.

In the closet you find the long rectangular gold scarf/shawl your aunt had given you for Christmas what feels like fifty years ago. It’s still new in its rolled up package, and when you pull it out, you realize that its crinkled texture hides the folds perfectly. With the shawl wrapped around your shoulders in just the right way, the dress doesn’t look anywhere near as indecent as it did without. You look at yourself in the mirror one last time as you slip on your shoes, and the whole ‘sexy dress, demure shawl’ thing almost seems like a metaphor for the ‘hidden depths’ your family always joked that you have.

They wouldn’t appreciate these particular ‘depths,’ though. The only thing keeping you going is the fact that you look very different from your normal self. If everything crashes and burns, you can just pretend it wasn’t you, right?

“Okay, I’m convinced. Give him one glimpse of what’s under there and he’ll definitely be distracted,” Natasha says with a smirk.

“I bet he won’t even look in my direction,” you tell her as the two of you walk down the stairs and onto the store floor. It is, of course, devoid of the clothes racks that had been there when Natasha had barged into her accidentally unlocked door, that day. Now, eighteen months later, there’s hardly any customer-facing space at all, with double-high cube shelving separating the small lobby area from her colleagues’ workspaces. It’s cozy, but your company does decent business, and you’re proud of how far it’s come since then.

“I’ll take that bet,” Natasha says, pushing the door open with her ass and smiling a secret, knowing smile. “If he talks to you within the first half hour, you owe me my favorite take-out.” 

The place in question is basically impossible to park at, meaning if you lose, you’ll have to park fifteen minutes away to pick up the food. However, you picture the kinds of parties you’ve seen in magazines, with beautiful people all crammed together in a darkened room, and can’t help but feel confident. You don’t have the money, the attitude, or the clout to draw the attention of someone like Tony Stark.

“You’re on.”

When you get to a nondescript office building and park, Nat assures you that there’ll be a car coming to pick you up and waves you into the building. Once you’re inside, you see a man standing with his back to you, his long black trench coat doing all the work for him. 

“Nice to finally meet you, Catriona,” he says, still faced away. “Or should I call you Cat?”

“Feeling more like the mouse today,” you say, disconcerted that he knows your 'secret identity.'

“Don’t worry, you’re not prey. Not for me, anyway. Natasha tells me you were up to do her a favor,” he says, finally turning. He’s wearing an actual eye patch, and the front of him is every bit as badass-intimidating as the back of his black boots and coat had implied.

“You know technically, she owes me,” you point out. “And, is this a safe house? Wait-- don’t tell me anything top secret. I like my life. I don’t want to be in the witness protection program.”

You’re babbling, which is the other side of your extreme lock-up, ‘freeze and hope no one notices you’ coping mechanism.

“Nothing we’re asking you to do is at witness protection level. Just be beautiful, enigmatic, and smart.”

You can feel a blush rising on your face. “Uh, maybe I have the wrong building?”

“You think I’d let you in here if I didn’t know everything there is to know about you?”

Your stomach drops. “Can we start over? We can do the introduction part, and then I can find the floor I’m actually supposed to be on, and we can forget this ever--”

“Cat…” the man says, adding more gravitas to the name than you have in the decade-plus you’ve used it. “--did you know for the first few months, I thought you were an actual feline? You’ve been good for Natasha. Grounded her in the real world. She made me promise not to scare the shit out of you, and I think I’ve failed,” the man says. “My name is Nick Fury. I run an organization called SHIELD. We’ve had our eye on Stark for a while, mostly because we’d like to make sure he doesn’t implode and take half of the security of the country with him. We’re coming up on a delicate time, and I need to know I can count on you.”

You are starting to feel a little woozy. Fury can tell, you think, because he walks over, passes you to head into an alcove by the door, and comes out with a small chair. Even though you’re standing in what amounts to a darkened lobby, he places it right in the middle and gestures. You sit, because the alternative is to try to run out of here in heels, and if you did that, Natasha would make fun of you until the end of time. It’s really unfair of her, honestly.

“The bottom line, young lady, is that Stark’s a ladies' man, but his tastes are changing. Time was, he would have gone all in on someone like the character Natasha’s currently playing, but now, who knows?” Fury sighs. “Making his PA the CEO was actually one of the most brilliant ideas the man’s had since Afghanistan. But not if they’re going to be involved. That was what Natasha was supposed to deflect him from.”

“Wait,” you say, straightening up in the chair. “I’m just going to a party. I get to look pretty and be ignored by my celebrity crush. That’s it.” You’re shaking. Everything has escalated far more quickly than you ever could have expected, and you don’t even think taxis know about the building you’re currently freaking out in. You feel trapped, even though your faith in Natasha is strong enough that you don’t feel in any physical danger.

“Of course,” Fury says expansively. “I’m just letting you know what’s at stake.”

He’s trying to use your innate sense of responsibility to influence you, and while you’re offended, you’re also kind of impressed.

“I see why you’re the boss, anyway,” you mutter. Then, louder, you add, “But you’re not my boss. I’m self-employed. And not in the ‘boss babe’ kind of way.”

“I can respect that,” Fury says. He spins around to start pacing, heading away from you, before turning around and coming halfway back to stop and look at you. “I am not asking you to do anything you wouldn’t already feel comfortable doing.”

“That is such a line,” you blurt out, twisting your hands in your lap. “What if I tell you I’m not comfortable holding this conversation, or knowing the things you’ve already told me?”

“That is manifestly obvious. It’s also what makes you perfect for the thing I’m asking you to do.”

“What are you asking me to do?” you demand, the words coming out in a choked gasp. You’re so out of your element you can barely breathe, and the worst part is, Fury’s instincts are spot on. You feel a sense of responsibility, not just to Natasha, but to Stark. He's the sort of person who shows up in the news as often for a dazzling tech breakthrough as for a catastrophic break-up... or a kidnapping.

“Be yourself. In the process, give Tony Stark someone intriguing to focus on. Someone who isn’t his CEO. Think of it as helping him diversify.”

“If I called you a pimp right now, would you throw me out?” you ask, standing up and squaring your shoulders. You’ve always lashed out when cornered.

Fury laughs. “Stop trying to chew off your own leg and learn to adapt to the shackle. For all we know, this could just be for tonight.”

Until that moment, it hadn’t even occurred to you that it wouldn’t just be for tonight. You watch as Nick Fury casually checks his watch.

“Guests are starting to arrive. I’ve ordered a driver for you. The make and model of the car along with your attire should be enough to get you admitted, and if not, Agent Romanoff will. It’s been a pleasure.”

He holds his hand out to shake yours for the first time that night, and when you take it, your own is shaking.

“Chill. It’s not an assassination,” Fury tells you, squeezing your hand before letting go.

“Like you’d tell me it was at Employee Orientation anyway,” you grumble.

His laughter follows you out the door, where you find a sleek black car that’s probably worth just about as much as your salary for a year.

“Out of the frying pan and down the rabbit hole, I guess,” you sigh, opening the door and climbing inside.

To be continued...

Cat is kind of egged on out of her comfort zone in this chapter, thanks to Natasha's influence and her sense of duty-- but she can't keep up that intensity forever!