#snippet we can be heroes

[aroaceleovaldez]

i have suddenly become obsessed with a theme that HoO established but never proceeded to extrapolate on, which is:

You are Percy Jackson, and you have been swapped with a boy who was allegedly everyone's favorite person, but they have decided to replace him with you. They just met you. You stand next to his best friend and the people he's known his entire life. In his home. In his cloak. In his place. They stopped looking for him.

You are Jason Grace, and you have just found out you have a long lost sister who completely replaced you in her life with this girl you just met. Your lives and personalities are mirrors. She is you, living the life you were robbed of.

You are Annabeth Chase, and you have just become starkly aware that you have been inhabiting the void left behind by your best friend's long lost brother. You and Luke were just replacements for him. Now you have to look him in the eyes when he has nothing and know you took that life from him.

You are Piper McLean, and you have just found out your relationship is fake and built entirely on the memories of Annabeth Chase. You have been given a boyfriend when hers has been taken away. You have no idea how much of it is real or not but regardless you feel like if your relationship isn't exactly in their image that you have failed.

You are Leo Valdez, and you have just learned that you are the echo of your great-grandfather. You are not your own person. You just exist to be a mirror of him. A doppelganger. An actor and stunt double facing all the danger he never had to but wearing his face. To be there for his best friend decades later simply because he couldn't. You are playing a role. A seventh wheel and a pawn for a goddess who carefully sculpted your entire life for her own purposes.

You are Hazel Levesque, and the only reason you are alive is because your brother couldn't save your his sister. You are a consolation prize. An apology. Your existence here is misplaced in every way but you inhabit it anyways.

You are Frank Zhang, and you are a shapeshifter. Inhabiting your own body feels strange and clumsy when you could be literally anything at any time. You are anything and everything and live your life with the simple certainty of knowing exactly how you will die.

[sodamnbored]

Did they ever actually specify who named Jason in any of the books? I can’t remember, but I thought it was just a sort of vague mention of why he was named Jason, as opposed to a concrete “Dad named you because / Mom named you because” kind of explanation?

So now I’m thinking, wouldn’t it be super cute and bolster the only ever implied sibling bonding if it was Thalia that had chosen his name?

Like, loads of older siblings get the opportunity to weigh in on picking baby names for younger siblings anyway. And if we can presume that Thalia had a similar situation to Annabeth in that her mortal parent was fully aware of their godly hookup and was very open about that with their kid and Beryl told Thalia lots of stories about the mythology, or like Piper she got interested in the stories and dug around on her own.

Then Thalia is like, what, seven or so years older than Jason? Totally old enough to have ideas and comprehend at least simple story ideas, but still young enough to work off the easy little kid logic to solve problems.

So she’d have been old enough to notice Beryl beginning to get anxious, beginning to get a little paranoid. She’d hear her mom talking about them being in danger, especially her baby brother to be, and all because Juno was mad at her brother before he’d even arrived.

And she could be reading stories and suddenly the answer presents itself and it’s so simple. And she asks to call the baby Jason because Juno liked and protected the original Jason from the Argonauts story. Therefore little kid logic demands that Juno likes Jason, so if they make her brother Jason, Juno won’t be mad at him anymore when he arrives and will like him too. Problem solved.

It would’ve been the very first time she ever protected her baby brother and she probably didn’t even know how much it had protected him from an angry god. And he hadn’t even been born yet.

[tracle0]

Snippet Sunday XI

Fun fact, 11 is one of my favourite numbers. Have a short snippet about it!

Right. The Hero they’d found yesterday. Probably a better person to speak to about his horror sneaking up his throat, barring the fact he didn’t want to speak to them. Still, he licked his lips and tried; “You…?”

They glanced up. He’d used the wrong word, the pronoun reserved for people of legend, success, wonder. They didn’t correct him. “You felt it too,” they stated, with the ordinary pronoun. “Didn’t you, prophet?”

He opened his mouth to respond, then shut it again, frowning. “My names Theo,” he grumbled. “I don’t know… what, I just –“

“We took too long,” they said. Their ponytail had come undone in the night, black hair settling on their shoulders. “The Blight got Sky.”

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting Heroes Discord voted for me to be bad and work on this idea after birb. So... ta-da? (Please no editing, this was strait from brain to Scrivener to y'all.)

Pair of Jacks - starting snippet

There was a knock at Bruce’s door: precisely rhythmic, but hesitant in volume. Tim, then. Despite Bruce’s best efforts, Tim still was shy about ‘interrupting’ Bruce. Though at least he did come to Bruce now, that alone had been an effort. But it was effort well spent and effort that he should have put in soon for Tim. Tim had born so many of Bruce’s inadequacies, and he would forever be making up for that.

“Tim, come in,” Bruce called out. He gave a little smile as his son peered through the door. “I didn’t know you were going to be home this weekend. It’s nice to see you.”

“I, um, wasn’t planning to be home,” Tim said. “But I—well, I mean, do you have a moment to talk?”

“Of course,” Bruce said. He made an obvious show of setting his work aside so that Tim would know that he had Bruce’s attention. It was harder to pause his brain from running through ideas and scenarios of what could be worrying Tim. Breathe. Wait. Tim would tell him and then he could help fix it.

Tim set his messenger bag next to the chair as he dropped into it. He must have come right up, which meant that whatever the issue, it was really bothering Tim. He pulled a manila envelope out of the bag. The paper was crinkled from being too rightly gripped. Tim didn’t open it.

“I, um, I got this today. It was delivered by courier and everything,” Tim said, eyes glued to the envelope. “It’s a set of wills for some people called the Fentons. Jackson and Maddi son Fenton. They were married. They died in a freak explosion last week, along with their daughter Jasmin Fenton.”

“That’s awful,” Bruce said when Tim paused and didn’t seem to be continuing. “Were they relatives of yours?”

“No,” Tim said with a worrying little laugh. “I’m not related to them at all. But there, um, there was a son. Is a son, Daniel Fenton. The will says that…”

“Tim?” Bruce prompted gently at the next pause.

“It um, it seems Jack—my dad Jack, not Jack Fenton, it says that Jack had a fling with Madison at some conference. It says that Jack is Daniel biological father. That Daniel is my half brother.” Tim finally tore his gaze away from the envelope and looked up at Bruce with wet eyes. “Dad, I have a brother. A brother that I never knew about and now… and now his family is dead. I’m the next of kin. They want to know if I’ll take him! I don’t—it’s just—I’m twenty-one! How am I supposed to take care of a kid? But I can’t say no if I’m all he has when he just lost everyone, but what do I even do? I don’t… I don’t…”

“Tim, sweetheart, breathe for me, okay? You’re having an anxiety attack,” Bruce said as he dashed around his desk and knelt by Tim’s side. He took the envelope, set it on the desk, and gave Tim his hands instead. “Can you squeeze my hands? There, good. Focus on how my hands feel in yours. I have that cut on my left ring finger that’s still healing. Feel along the fresh scar.”

“Sorry,” Tim whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, you’re alright. This is a great deal to handle, I know, but we’ll handle it,” Bruce promised. “Even though you’re an adult now, you’re still my son. Daniel will be welcome to live here at the manor. I can become his guardian along with you. We will handle it.”

Tim finally took a properly deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re sure? He’s fourteen. That’s another four years of a kid.”

“I wouldn’t know what to do with an empty house,” Bruce said, perhaps too honest in the jest.

Tim sniffled and freed a hand to wipe at his eyes. “Get some actual rest?”

“Boring,” Bruce said dismissively. He pulled out his handkerchief and offered it to Tim. “I’d rather have family than rest any day, even the unexpected family.”

“You’ve never had expected family to compare to,” Tim said once he’d dried his eyes. He clung to the fabric almost desperately, but at least he sounded better.

“No, but I’m quite happy about how my family has worked out. Speaking off, let’s go see Alfred for a snack, and you and I can go through the wills together, alright sweetheart?”

“Alright,” Tim said as if the word could ground him. “Alright.”

(oh look a part 2)

[serosblunt]

Kiribaku x Reader: Miss You

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Kiribaku x (Gender-neutral) reader

Warnings: Snippets of spicier content, pre-NSFW, 18+

Description: Bakugo's out of town on a mission, Ejiriou decides to text him late at night.

------------

12:46am

The numbers stared at Eijiro, taunting him with every blink. It felt like there was never enough space in your enormous king-sized bed, but somehow, now that there wasn't an angry blonde on the other side of the mattress, it felt remarkably empty.

You were long since asleep, curled up and drooling on his chest before 11:30pm - despite your adamant denial that you 'do not drool'. You were tucked up against his side, Dynamight plushie firmly secured under your chin.

The sturdy hero thought it was the purest thing he'd ever seen, and it gave him a reason to text Katsuki so late. He knew under normal circumstances, the blond would kill him for being awake.

He doubted Kats would even be awake himself, but if he wasn't, at least he'd see Ejiro's text in the morning.

So he snapped a quick photo of the two of you, cringing at the brightness of the flash.

~ Red 🪨

Think someone's missing you

<image attached>

The responding message came through in seconds.

~ Blasty 💥

Can't believe we still have that stupid thing.

*image saved*

True enough, the limited edition plush had more than a few scorch marks on it. Evidence of Katsuki's previously attempted 'hits' on the doll.

Ejiro smiled to himself fondly.

~ Red 🪨

I think we'd both prefer it if it was the real Dynamight

~ Blasty 💥

Obviously.

Which in Bakugo language translated to 'Yeah, me too.'

You stirred slightly under your boyfriend's hold, and the red head made a mental note to type more quietly.

~ Red 🪨

How much longer do they think the assignment will take?

~ Blasty 💥

Fuckers keep giving me different answers. Hard to tell. If it’s not done by Friday I’m coming home anyway. 

Ejirou knew he very likely would. 

~ Blasty 💥

  It’s late. Go to sleep, shitty hair. 

~ Red 🪨

  Can’t sleep. Miss you

~ Blasty 💥

Miss you too, E, and the Gremlin.

He meant you. The nickname stuck after the first time you all slept over together and Katsuki discovered your 'unsavoury' sleeping habits; snoring and latching onto people. 

~ Red 🪨

<image attached>

This time it was Kirishima kissing your head gently, your face smooshed even further into his pec with the change in angle. He knew it was risky to use flash, but he was praying you’d stay asleep. 

  Wish you were here x

~ Blasty 💥

  *image saved*

Why’s Friday so fucking far away?

The typing bubble filled the empty silence for a few seconds before disappearing. Riot held back a chuckle, he was tell Katsuki was wrestling with admitting defeat his feelings.

You guys are cute. 

~ Red 🪨

  Naww thanks babe, you’re not so bad yourself ;)

~ Blasty 💥

  Don’t start shit, Ejiro. It's too late.

The red head felt suddenly cocky.

~ Red 🪨

  That a challenge?

~ Blasty 💥

Warning you, E.

The red head considered his options for less than half a second before rolling away ever so slightly so he could send his partner a more…scandalous photo.

Pointing the camera towards his chest, Ejirou made sure to get his pec in frame once more, only slightly hardened this time, knowing how much the explosive hero loved them- even if he would rather die before admitting to that.

A cheeky smile showed off his sharp teeth and tongue that hung teasingly out from between them. 

He winced at the flash once more, but decided his mission was worth it. Satisfied with himself, he pressed the send button as you stirred beside him. 

~ Red 🪨

<image attached>

“E…what’re y’doing?” You mumbled. 

“Shit, I’m sorry sweetheart. I was just texting Kats.”

“With flash on?” You grumbled, clearly unhappy with the hero beside you.

“I’m, ah….helping him out?”

“Oh. Can I see?”

~ Blasty 💥

<video attached>

------------

[mindless-existence1]

Bakugo x reader fluff

Summery: You and Bakugo are just friends so why is it when the bakusquad comes by and finds you (innocently) sleeping in his bed does it make Bakugo realize something. Maybe he doesn't just want to be friends.

Authors note: This is a snippet of the longer fic I'm writing about mutual pinning between Bakugo and Reader. I just wanted to put this out there since the actual fic might will most definitely take me a while. To anyone who has sent in requests I promise I'm working one them and I love you all ♡

Words: 1008

Your soft snores paired with Bakugos near silent tapping was all that could be heard in the small dorm. Light shone through the large glass doors, giving the room a soft ambience.

Bakugo, who was sitting at his desk, glanced towards your sleeping form. A fuzzy feeling filled his chest at the veiw of you peacefully curled up in his blanket on his bed. He can't put his finger on why he feels that warm feeling whenever he sees you like this.

A forgotten manga layed next to your hand, he had put a marker in it for you once he realized you had fallen asleep. Bakugo also put the blanket on you and just so happened to notice hair in front of your face that he moved out of the way. Why was he doing all of that? Bakugo doesn't even know.

Its not uncommon for you to hang out in the young hero's dorm, or vice versa. Actually it was very common for the two of you to hang out with eachother. Somehow you had latched onto him and although Bakugo used to hate admitting it, he latched onto you to.

It had been an hour or so since you'd drifted off, the night was still young but what else did he have to do? The question answered itself when Bakugos door was nearly busted through but four very energetic teens.

The blond man jumps up at the intrusion. "Bakugo! What're doing not answering your texts man?" Kirishimas voice loudly questions his friend. Bakugo watch as Kaminari, Mina, Sero, and Kirishima barded their way into the small dorm.

Bakugo doesn't answer, instead looking towards you. Hoping your still asleep. To his horror dismay you once sleeping form pushes itself up with one hand, the other rubbing your eyes.

Confusion washes over your features as you take in your surroundings. The teens all look towards you, Kaminari and Sero's jaws seems to be on the floor. Kriishima and Mina look between you and their firey friend.

Once you realize what was going on you smile, "Oh hey guys." You yawn, covering your mouth and waving slightly. Your words are slurred with exhaustion. Mina grins, "Hey girl!" She waves while giving Bakugo a sly knowing smirk.

You plop back down onto the bed beneath you, grabbing the blanket and curling up to get comfortable. Once you lay back down Bakugo is quickly pushing his friends classmates through his rooms door.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He practically yells after he shuts the door behind him, he is cautious to keep his voice hushed to not disturb you.

"Us? What were you and y/n doing?" Kaminari and Sero start laughing in shock of what they saw. "Yeah what was y/n doing in your bed Bakugo?" Mina's voice is sly and knowing and for some reason it makes Bakugos ears grow red at her implications.

But no. It was you. It was nothing like that. So he grits his teeth and glares at the teens in front of him. "The fuck you trying to say racoon eyes?" Mine just smirks and shrugs he shoulders innocently. Kirishima intervenes before Bakugo can blow up the whole hallway.

"We just came by because we had a study session and you and y/n didn't show up." Sero cuts his friend off. "Though we didn't expect to find both of you here." Kirishima puts a hand on his angry friends shoulder, effectively keeping him away from Sero.

"We were just hanging out and she feel asleep you perverts." Bakugo watches his friends laugh, his scowl growing bigger. "Now fuck off, you screwed up your chance to get tutoring help from me assholes." Now he watches regret wash over his friends features.

Kirishima speaks up, "Don't be like that bro it was super manly!" This doesn't have the affect he wanted, it only makes the blond man angrier. "There was nothing manly about anything because nothing happened you freaks. Now I'm going back to my dorm. Ask the ponytail girl for help."

"Oh boo you whore, say hi to y/n for us lover boy." Mina waves him scoff teasingly. Kaminski and Seros laughs are quickly cut off when Kirishima fails to stop Bakugo coming at them. The three screw teens run down the hallway, leaving Bakugo with his spiky haired friend.

When Kirishima see his friends have left he chuckles, looking towards the angry blond. "Hey Bakugo you know it's not bad to have a crush on y/n right? In fact it's quite manly." Krishimas voice is sincere, it takes Bakugo back.

For some reason he fumbles over his words. Him? You? Together? No. Absolutely not. Not when he had to become the Number One hero, he can't be in a relationship. No distractions. He knows this. So why, just why, does the thought of you and him make him so goddamn flustered.

"Oh shut up shitty hair." Is all he can push out, trying to cover up his slip up. Kirishima catches his friends new demeanor. "Just think about man. See you later." Kirishima waves his friend goodbye, heading down the hallway most likely trying to find Momo and his friends.

After cursing under his breath Bakugo quietly heads back into his dorm. When he towards his bed and see your body, slightly moving up and down with your breathing, he almost falls to his knees when his feeling hit him.

Holy fuck.

Theres no way that he had a crush on you. No way. You were his friend. Sure he thought you were gorgeous. Maybe he always thought you were the strongest in the class, second to him of course. Maybe he tried to spend the most time he could with you, going out of his way to see you.

But that didn't mean anything.

But as Bakugo plopped himself in his desk chair with a flush face facing your sleeping form. He knew it was a lie. How did he not see it before. He was in love with you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had such a strong urge to write this and it took me over. I will be tweaking this for the actual fic but yeah thanks for read and hope you enjoyed.

Main Masterlist

Mha Masterlist

[ice-cream-writes-stuff]

Spider and Bats Snippets 2

[0.] [1.]

I headcanon Spider!(Y/N) meets Clark/Superman on accident before Batman does.

Just, imagine. Your heading to a part time job, super excited about it! Get on the bus, and wait... Then fall asleep..

The bus driver kicks you out at the Mertropolis bus station. Not good! You don't have enough for a ticket back to Gotham so you managed to get a part-time job at The Daily Planet, as the coffee runner! Simple enough?

Bumping into a meek Clark Kent, who is shyly thanking you for his cup of joe'. Then you, eagerly wanting a new friend in a strange enviorment, (again), asking about what he's writing.

"Wow Kent, didn't expect you to snag the new girl."

Lois teased light-heartedly. "Oh, ha-ha it's nothing like that. They're a good friend."

He shrugs it off as Lois shakes her head. "Sheesh, a lot of fella's make a LOT of trouble with that word. Good luck Smallsville."

Blinking in confusion, you were suprised she didn't notice you as you walk up beside him. "Huh... Wait, you think were good friends!?" You beam in awe at Clark, happily spinning around his desk chair. "Clark! You should of said something sooner!"

You let go, now thoughtful. "Hmmm, we should do friendship bracelets then.. I mean, I did make one with another friend of mine.. OH! I got an' idea-" "-Guh.. I-I think I.. Need to rain check.."

"Hm? What's wrong? You look dizy... Vomit-y."

I know there's different versions of how Batman met Superman. Personally, I perfer The Animated Series Ver!

I would like to think, Robin and Nightwing asked her to get Superman's autograph as a casual comment if Spider(Y/N) went to Mertropolis.

So during her "stay" at the other city, she'd often patrol and help a bit when she could.

Would totally meet Supes' on acident.

"Wow! Hello! Why is your city so much cleaner? I like your cape! Reminds me of Miguel-!" You try to descalate the situation.

You happily greet him, babbling as your buddy glared at you. You shrug at Batman's gaze, giving him a slight push. Herding him close to your side incase of any... Bad, course of action, between you and the supposed "Man of Steel".

Superman paused at the greeting, after thrown into a wall. He expected more hostily from you as well, since he read most crime-fighters were, due to the Gotham Gazette. Yet you seemed more occupied with keeping the Batman away from HIM.

Using his x-ray vision, he peaked underneath your masks.

"Bruce Wayne..." He mumbled under his breath as Batman shoved you to the side. Glaring at the super-powered male, "You peeked.."

"Hm? He did what?" You weren't paying attention, more focused on the destruction and damage. Frowning worriedly, knowung your "unexpected vaction" would meet it's end.

Superman The Animated Series: Season 1 Ep 16 - World's Finest Part 1

I can see Spider!(Y/N) being pen-pals with lot's of heros and vigilantes. Possibly even anti-heros and villians?

Carefully web-shooting the civillians away, you keep squint as you watch them dance in sync. Slightly envious, before shooting a glance at Batman.

He collapsed as groups of Music Meisters pawns held him down. Grunting as he tried to move away. You used your web to toss them away quickly. Huffing as you glanced down at your comrade.

Even with the ear-plugs, you couldn't help it!

As if spotlight shone on your cue, you sang encouragingly. Smiling underneath your mask, you hold out a hand to him. He grasps it as you slowly pull him up.

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ."And you can rise above...!" ♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.

The Brave and the Bold Season 1 Episode 25 Mayhem of the Music Meister!

We all know that THEE Batman has a certain type.

But this is for fun, so, (。ゝ(ェ)・)-☆

Overall, I stated perviously, it's more a comedic pairing that has many set-ups to be serious.

Watching Catwoman flee once more, you walk to Bat's side. Standing beside him politely, before.. Slowly... Reaching out your hand to his. Holding it firmly with no caution.

The vigilante glares at the action, yet you don't let up as he tries to shake your hand away.

You giggle as you watch your arm swing with his, your laughter becoming louder as he finally gave in.

Batfam relationship depends on if Spider!(Y/N) came before or after the Batfam was formed.

Personally, I perfer it before. I feel like it would show growth in Bat's and Spiders dynamic.

I sorta wanna explore it, but if ya'll got ideas Im open to it.

-

{Yay! Another self-indulg work! Lol. I was inspired once again, I really just love that more people are intrested in the idea than just myself! Horray! Comments, art, reblogs are always wanted! This is purely for fun! If anyone gets the easter egg I put, let me know!}

[theastrophysicistnextdoor]

The Ineffable Detective Agency presents: Decoding 1941 Hell – The Hidden Morse Messages

The Good Omens team never fails to surprise us: In the Hell scenes set in 1941, there are subtle beeps in the background that many might have missed: morse code messages! 

We took the time to decode these messages from about 5 minutes of the show – some parts are easy to identify, some parts are really hard due to overlying sounds or noises. 

We used the 5.1 audio and selected only the channel with the morse signals. Check out an easy snippet – which line is it? :)

Then, we applied high- and low-pass filters to emphasize the code’s pitch around 1360 Hz. Some of us have pretty sharp ears, some of us worked with the frequency spectra to mark short and long signals as well as pauses in between. 

Here is what we have heard or seen, together with some facts and thoughts on the lines. Let us know what you think!

S2E4 06:19 to 08:23 “Have a miserable eternity”

Here are the pieces we have successfully decoded: 

HAVE A DREADFUL ETERNITY

We are wondering why this is different to the text via loudspeaker as well as Furfur’s “have a miserable eternity”...

TOMMY’S A LEGEND

Do we know a Tommy?

1) There's the Welsh magician/comedian Tommy Cooper (his magical act specialized in magic tricks that appeared to fail), who was the inspiration for the red fez in the magic shop. Cooper died live on television suffering a heart attack. :(

2) There's also the lead character Tommy in Brigadoon, the plot of which feels seriously GO-coded. There is a magic village hidden outside time that only appears in Scotland once every 100 years and is connected to the rest of the world with a bridge, outsiders who find "clues about the village and its people that make no sense", and a plot about unlikely lovers who are separated (because one "can't just leave everything in the real world behind"), and an ending that reunites the lovers against all odds because of the strength of their love ("I told ye, if you love someone deeply enough, anything is possible ... even miracles.")

PAUL’S OUR MIXING HERO

Could that be the Re-Recording Mixer PAUL McFADDEN?

ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE CHEER UP IT’S ONLY ETERNAL DAMNATION ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE CHEER UP IT’S ONLY ETERNAL DAMNATION ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE CHEER UP IT’S ONLY ETERNAL DAMNATION ABAN

The phrase "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" is a quote from Dante’s Inferno, Prelude to Hell, Canto III, Vestibule of Hell: Dante passes through the gate of Hell, which bears an inscription ending with the phrase "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate". So, the minisode is THE place where we get quotes from the two most famous literary accounts of Hell – with Furfur's quotation of Paradise Lost in the dressing room at the Windmill Theater: "In dubious battle on the Plains of Heaven". 

S2E4 09:16 to 10:09 “Processing the Nazis”

ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE CHEER UP IT’S ONLY ETERNAL DAMNATION ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE CHEER UP IT’S ONLY ETERNAL DAMNATION

S2E4 11:07 - 13:12: “The offer to return as Zombies”

These two minutes are very tricky: while in the first half it is ok-ish to identify the signals in the spectrum, the second half is overlaid by so much noise… – yes, we are calling the dialogues and sounds in hell noise now :D – that we chose a different approach. 

It looked as if the sequence starts from the beginning, so we compared both parts, and now we are quite sure that it is the same pattern. 

DO NOT LICK THE WALLS HEAVEN LOOKS DOWN ON YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE PATHETIC ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE CHEER UP IT’S ONLY ETERNAL DAMNATION DO NOT LICK THE WALLS HEAVEN LOOKS DOWN ON YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE PATHETIC ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE CHEER UP IT’S ONLY ETERNAL DAMNATION DO NOT LICK THE WALLS HEAVEN LO …

So those are the sections we are pretty certain we have correct. However, there is one section we are still unsure on - maybe you can help?

Back to S2E4 06:19 to 08:23

We have been fighting hard with the first six seconds, before “HAVE A DREADFUL ETERNITY” and we think it is:

SHE’S IN MA PHONE

Who are we talking about now?

Do you have any other ideas of what this could be? If it is “She’s in ma phone”, what does that mean? Or is the S just noise and it starts with an H? Or even with a B – BE’S IN MA PHONE?

So, what are your thoughts on all of these messages? Why go to the effort of putting morse code here? Is it a fun easter egg, or something more? And why say “dreadful eternity” in morse when the quote used in the show is “miserable eternity”? We have so many questions!

Spoiler: There is more code hidden throughout the series.  Let us know what you see or hear!

-... .    -.- .. -. -..    - ---    . .- -.-. ….    --- - …. . .-. 

An amazing joint effort with @noneorother, @kimberleyjean, @thebluestgreen, and @embracing-the-ineffable at the @ineffable-detective-agency (with the incredible @maufungi, @somehow-a-human, @lookingatacupoftea, @komorezuki, @havemyheartaziraphale, and @dunkthebiscuit)

See more of our posts, plus a collection of Clues and metas from all over the fandom, here.

[lizmidfordsblog]

Record really is such an integral part of Kim Rok Soo's identity that he considers himself a non-person, useless and discardable without it. Case in point:

" This was the fall when the pretty useless Kim Rok Soo was the most useless in his life." —Chapter 555 "Pretty Useless Bastard (1)"

It gives him purpose in a world without laws, gives him value. Though our first explicit mention of Record is like chapter 300ish in the novel (during the Mercenary King's Records Arc I believe), we still see snippets of how deeply it influences him and his actions throughout the novel.

The eidetic memory he has of The Birth of A Hero, down to the most useless (self-admitted) like the backstories of the ancient powers and literal descriptions of geography (that 50 paces from the castle walls bit) etc. is one thing. But Kim Rok Soo acts on it willfully, plans for those interventions. It's a testament to his time as a Team Leader, he plans so that he never has to lose ever again.

So initially, I was a little confused why Cale brings up Record so late into the novel. I questioned whether it was out of necessity or simply because he forgot about it. Considering the weight Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo's deaths had on him, I don't think the latter is true. But the former ain't either, because I can think of multiple instances where it could have been useful.

Then I realized, it's because he simply does not need it to survive. In this world, Kim Rok Soo does not need his Abilities to define his self-worth. I'm sure this thought process is subconscious, since he's an awkward and dense little bean (towards his own feelings), but think about it—in his new life, he actively cultivates those around him, while actively defining himself as trash without value. Of course, his family would disagree, but this is still how Cale sees himself.

And strangely, he seems fine with it.

He seems fine with not using Record all the time, planning in a frenzy and accounting for all measures. I think this may be partially because of his trust in his family, but also because it's a testament to him becoming Cale instead of Kim Rok Soo. The past is the past, he continues to live on and becomes Cale in another world, where he doesn't need to be useful to be loved and cherished.

This kind of reflects in his mentality. He picks up On and Hong, justifying his actions by saying that he'll put them to use. Same goes for Choi Han. While it's initially a bit different for Raon, later Cale cackles that he'd use Raon too.

But since this is Cale, this is never just a single-layered statement, it's nuanced. It's a testament to how he sees and prescribes value, potential and affection to each and everyone one of them. Even when Lock is unable to go berserk at a very crucial moment, Cale still prescribes value to him, not as a tool—but as a person. As a child.

Because no one afforded Kim Rok Soo the same grace. Because the world became so fucked up that even if they wanted to, they just couldn't. Survival of the fittest, basically.

Lock doubts his value, but Cale reinforces it. Thinking back on his relationship with Record as the "value" Kim Rok Soo brought to the table (alongside that danged Instant), I think that's very beautiful. The funny thing here is, Cale recognizes how this mentality can be damaging but he only applies it to those around him, never himself.

That earlier quote is literally more than halfway through Part One. Cale is thirty-six, the dad of at least fourteen children, the commander of a kingdom in one world and an important team leader in another— and he still considers himself pretty useless and weak.

I can't pin down the quote right now, but I recall him also saying that "with this ability, even the pretty useless Kim Rok Soo was able to become a little useful." My guy is so emotionally strung he minimizes himself and his value constantly, even when he's a literal team leader.

[assortedcriminality]

snippet #6

contains: blood, cursing

Hero lay on their back, breathing shallowly as blood leaked in a thin stream through their crimson-stained fingers, adding to a growing pool beneath them. If they had to rank every stab wound they’d received, this one would be at the very bottom. Their eyes were shut tight, the electric pain radiating from their stomach so great that they couldn’t sense when someone else entered the grimy alley.

A nudge to their side made Hero’s eyes fly open, immediately locking contact with the pitying gaze of the perpetrator. “God, you look awful,” Villain said. The sharp sting that the nudge sparked through their body had Hero let out a low groan, but they couldn’t attempt to move. “Oh, come on. Aren’t you going to get up and hit me?”

“The knife was poisoned, you asshole,” Hero managed to rasp through gritted teeth. “I can’t feel my legs.”

Their nemesis crossed their arms. “Hmph. How unsportsmanlike. Who did that, then?”

“Your friend, Other Villain. They said they had information about Supervillain.” The idea seemed so stupid now, the trap obvious. This was what Hero got for choosing to trust a criminal. Though they couldn’t say they had learned anything, as the devious mastermind that stood above them was probably the person they trusted most in the city. 

“First of all, they are absolutely not my friend,” Villain objected. “They’re a conniving, backstabbing bastard. You should’ve called me.”

“A bit late for that, don't you think?” Hero’s voice came out higher, more strained with each word.

The criminal leaned over, studying them with a quick, sweeping look. “Can you walk yet?”

“Do you think I’m lying here for fun?” They snapped. “No, I can’t walk!”

Villain tapped a finger to their chin in mock deliberation. “What a predicament we find ourselves in, my dear Hero. I suppose there is no other recourse but for me to carry you.” 

“No—Villain, wait, Villain-” This time, when Villain reached their hands behind Hero’s back and knees, the touch didn’t immediately spark pain. It wasn’t until they swiftly lifted the crimefighter into their arms that agony seared like a white-hot brand in Hero’s side. They cried out, choking on a scream that became a hoarse cough. The feeling overloaded their senses, turning their nerves into nothing but conduits for pain as Hero sank into their nemesis’ strong grasp, head falling onto Villain’s chest. 

“Hero. Hero, look at me. Look at me.” The sudden intensity of their voice sharpened Hero’s focus, if only a little, and allowed their unfocused gaze to meet Villain’s again. “Jesus, you look like shit.” But an edge of fear was creeping into their tone, something that would have alarmed Hero even further had they been closer to coherence.  

Hero was no longer capable of opening their mouth, let alone providing a vocal response. Villain seemed to understand them anyway. “Stay with me, Hero,” they murmured, and both nemeses braced as best they could as Villain turned around and hurried out of the alley. 

word count: 501

@sausages-things

[gaylactic-fire]

An unnecessarily long analysis on why Toby Fox chose to heavily reference The Legend of Zelda in Deltarune Chapter 3 (I believe it has narrative implications)

[Warning for spoilers of chapter 3, chapter 4 and TLoZ Link's Awakening]

Deltarune Chapter 3 takes place in a TV show Dark World, hosted by Kris' personified TV Mr Ant Tenna (❤️). The "rounds" of this TV game show are the Fun Gang harkening back to Kris' youth and being characters inside an old video game. This game, of course, looking very familiar

On a surface level, you could say this is all about attachment (this chapter's very prominent theme). Ralsei wants Kris and Susie not to become attached to darkners, whereas Tenna desperately wants to rekindle Kris' attachment to him from their youth; using a likeness of a video game they and Asriel played as a means of manipulation.

I think this is an entirely sufficient explanation. But as a Legend Of Zelda fan, I can't help but believe there are deeper meanings to this inclusion. Meanings that non-Zelda fans might not necessarily pick up on. I want to discuss some of my thoughts below:

1: The Legend of Deltarune

Immediately from ch1, we get the backstory of Deltarune, akin to the "Once Upon A Time" segment from Undertale. In Undertale, it's as simple as showing what happened directly before Frisk fell into the underground. Whereas in Deltarune it's a far more whimsical affair; detailing a prophecy about a human, monster and prince from the Dark World on an epic quest that hasn't happened yet.

"This is the legend of DELTA RUNE".

I had always thought this introduction was very akin to Zelda, both in tone, context and the obvious use of "the legend" emphasis in the text. Even the titular Delta Rune symbol is not unlike Zelda's hylian crest. Zelda's consisting of the Triforce and the legendary crimson loftwing. Deltarune keeps the triangle iconography but replaces the loftwing with "the angel"

While these examples are all related to ch1 and Deltarune in general, I believe that ch3's Zelda segments are proof that these are not just coincidences. Toby Fox is taking clear inspiration from TLoZ in Deltarune, and we should be aware of what that means for the lore and narrative.

2: The rigid prophecy

A huge part of Deltarune ch4 showcases "the prophecy" and what it entails. We can see throughout the Dark World that snippets of the prophecy are wholly accurate, depicting details from previous chapters like Lancer's vocabulary and Queen's car ride. Ralsei clearly believes the prophecy to be set in stone - incapable of changing - and something about that is deeply upsetting him.

It's this plot point of ch4 that makes the previous chapter's Zelda influence even more interesting to me. The vast majority of the Zelda games are no strangers to prophecies and fates that are immutable. Ganon always returns. Link's spirit is always reincarnated. Hyrule is always doomed to fall again and again. Even before the timelines and reincarnation cycle were established, older Zelda games would usually take a rather cut-and-dry "the hero is destined to defeat the bad guy" approach. You can see glimpses of this kind of setup in Deltarune's game show.

I believe ch3's Zelda references are there to further reinforce ch4's prophecy plot point. With so much of Zelda's narratives being intertwined with fate, it further sows the seeds of doubt that Deltarune's prophecy can be altered. Has the story already been decided? Do our choices really not matter? It's an incredibly fascinating dichotomy, considering both Susie and Ralsei (possibly to an extent) are seen rejecting the prophecy at the end of ch4. It might even suggest something about Kris, although I'm not really certain what.

3: The Link's Awakening connections

Ch3's game show has various references to Zelda games from the "classic" era, including Zelda 1 and 2 and A Link To The Past. But the game that stood out to me as the most heavily referenced was Link's Awakening. Some of the references included:

The art style of the boards having a very "chunky" pixel style that is most reminiscent of Link's Awakening DX compared to any other LoZ game.

The boards taking place in a desert and on an island, as opposed to the usual fields and forests of stereotypical Zelda. LA famously takes place on a tropical island.

When using Lancer's dig ability, the OST for this interaction is called "Dig! Dig! To the centre of the Earth!" This being a direct quote from LA's Marin.

The game has its own version of Facade; a boss from LA who resembles a giant eyes and mouth.

When Susie picks up a key in the shop Tenna is quick to say "thief!" This is a reference to the ability in LA to steal from the store in Mabe Village, at the cost of you being labelled as a thief.

At first it may just seem like a cute tribute to a more obscure Zelda game, but when you look at the plot of Link's Awakening I think it starts to become really fascinating.

LA, for those who are unaware, is a game where Link washes up on the shores of Koholint Island after being shipwrecked. He tasked with waking "The Windfish", who slumbers in an egg atop the highest mountain. As the game continues, there is a sense something is not quite right with Koholint. The bosses you fight keep alluding to the island as if it is in danger by you being here. Then you get the bombshell: you are stuck inside The Windfish's dream. Koholint is merely an illusion created by the dream. The monsters infesting the dream are essentially parasites, but they are also keeping Koholint itself alive by facing off against you. In the end, Link defeats the nightmare boss and The Windfish wakes, but the island and all its inhabitants, your friends, are erased.

I needn't really have to explain how eerily similar some parts of this are to Deltarune's Dark Worlds. But I want to highlight how, at the start of ch3, Ralsei makes a specific point about how Dark Worlds are "illusions" specifically. For me that's the smoking gun. I think it's very much intentional that Toby drew connections to LA in Deltarune.

I'd also like to point out the character of Marin in relation to Ralsei. Marin is the girl who finds you at the start of LA. Although subtle, one can argue it is implied Marin knows she's inside a dream. She takes a specific fascination to Link and to what life might be like beyond the island; something that other characters on Koholint don't really seem to care about. She also has moments that are a little shocking and "out of character" ("dig to the centre of the earth" being one of them) as if she realises her actions are ultimately going to be without consequence.

Ralsei, canonically now, knows way more than every other character in Deltarune. He knows the entire prophecy, and he knows something tragic is going to happen in the end. He is painfully self-aware of being a darkner, and how he isn't "really real" like the lightners are. Whether intentional or not, I can see a direct parallel to Marin. Even at the start of LA, Link mistakes Marin for Zelda in his delirium, and it's implied that Marin exists as Link's "dream girl" counterpart to Zelda.

Who does Ralsei have a striking resemblance to?

If the connections are indeed purposeful, that poses potential implications for Ralsei's story. The secret ending in LA sees Marin get spared by The Windfish, allowed to exist beyond the dream as a seagull (it's a long story). Really makes me wonder if Ralsei isn't doomed to be a darkner all along...

4: Why not another game?

So why does ch3 so heavily rely on Zelda as inspiration, anyway?

All of the rounds of Tenna's TV Time use this Zelda-like game as their setting, and I remember being surprised by the fact. I was expecting a "Super Smashing Fighters" stage at least!

I wouldn't say ch3 has a traditional Dark World like chapters 1,2, and 4. One could argue that Toby used the TV boards as a means to include more of the exploration elements seen in previous Deltarunes and Undertale. But these boards could have used a slew of other old adventure games as inspiration, yet they consistently stay Zelda-like.

To me this is just the final reinforcement that Zelda is an important connection here, as to the reasons I stated previously.

And that's pretty much my whole thoughts on the matter. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. I am deeply unwell about both of these franchises, in case it wasn't obvious ❤️

[kateschi]

#MASTERLIST...

KATSUKI BAKUGOU

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ surprise delivery: husband edition!

synopsis: when you're just chilling after a rough mission, your husband makes an appearance to make your day better.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ midnight check-in

synopsis: in the middle of the night, you are woken up by a call from your husband.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ after the dust settles

synopsis: after a tiring mission, your husband insists on treating your injuries.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ when the hero falls

synopsis: in a moment of vulnerability, katsuki finds himself battling a cold, but he—begrudgingly— lets you care for him.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ cradled in strength

synopsis: after anxiously awaiting news from the delivery room, katsuki holds your newborn daughter, and everything changes.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ beneath the night’s weight

synopsis: katsuki comes home bruised and exhausted. in your arms, he finds peace and comfort, letting go as you care for him.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ little chef, big mess

synopsis: when your daughter and katsuki team up to cook dinner. you can only expect your daughter to defy everything your husband tells her to do.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ by god, don't leave me

synopsis: in a heart-wrenching moment of despair, katsuki races through a hospital to find you, only to confront the devastating reality.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ between bites and blushes

synopsis: class 1-a speculates about your secret relationship. as the teasing continues, a small slip reveals the truth, leaving everyone stunned—and katsuki annoyed.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ princesses explode things too!

synopsis: katsuki is tasked with the bedtime story today, and he shows you and your daughter his own version of a princess story.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ same book, different chapters

synopsis: an ordinary evening takes a turn when katsuki expresses what you've always known but never expected to hear.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ where pride meets love

synopsis: in a u.a. highschool reunion, your husband is up next in introducing his family.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ in the stillness

synopsis: after an injury leaves you in the hospital, your husband stays by your side and watches over you, silent for a moment.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ through the cold, with you

synopsis: amid the biting cold of patrol, katsuki finds his own way to keep you warm.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ get them fangirls away!

synopsis: katsuki’s greatest battle isn’t on the field—it’s surviving relentless fangirls. good thing he has you to shield him

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ chef's kiss is not enough

synopsis: a simple night out for good food changes when you meet the chef behind a dish that leaves you speechless.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ the katsuki bakugou effect

synopsis: where your husband, katsuki, has a way of calming your daughter like no one else can.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ texts with husband!bakugou

synopsis: a couple of snippets of convos between you and your husband

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ silent watcher, louder heart

synopsis: there’s something about the way you move, the way you hold your daughter, that leaves katsuki wordless.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ back in action

synopsis: being the wife of bakugou katsuki comes with multiple benefits, one of which is a front-row seat to his scrumptious back.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ happiness flipped on its head

synopsis: a glimpse into a lighthearted evening with katsuki and your son.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ the line we crossed

synopsis: a charged night with your bodyguard leads to emotions bubbling to the surface.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ two heroes, one marriage

synopsis: having stolen the hearts of fans with your teamwork and marraige, you and katsuki are called in for a joint interview.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ a language only you speak

synopsis: wife privileges with bakugou katsuki are very much real

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ big wins, bigger feelings

synopsis: at a lively festival, playful teasing leads to a plushie rivalry, but beneath the bickering, each prize reveals something new.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ a flicker, a push

synopsis: it’s a stupid, reckless game—glances that linger too long, touches that almost don’t happen, a silent challenge.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ second helpings

synopsis: he owns the kitchen—until you quietly claim a corner of it, and he is enjoying it more than he lets on.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ don't make it weird

synopsis: you fix things. he breaks things. somehow, this feels like the beginning of a very complicated maintenance schedule.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ windswept

synopsis: sometimes all you need is a chance to forget.

KEIGO TAKAMI (HAWKS)

TOUYA TODOROKI (DABI)

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ into the ashes

synopsis: amid the chaos of flames and debris, dabi bares witness to you getting injured. he does not like it.

SHOTO TODOROKI

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ what goes unsaid

synopsis: you started to notice small things todoroki does, but you’re not sure what they mean just yet.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ the first lean

synopsis: shoto faces his fears as he holds your daughter for the first time.

── .✦ EVENTS

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ what are we?

characters included: bakugou katsuki, todoroki shoto, takami keigo (hawks), and todoroki touya (dabi)

BACK TO NAVI...

[cosmalumi]

A summary of the rest of the story:

This is late, but better late than never I suppose. I've been asked a couple of times over the years to post the rest of the story, but I never knew how to go about writing it up, so here we go Chapter 3

This was the last one I had a proper script for. I guess partially 4? There was a snippet with Twilight and Spike figuring out how to find element bearers but I dunno if it made much sense. The script here is a bit rough and probably needed some refinement, but it gets the point across. The following are the last pages I worked on, two of which were never posted.

[START SCRIPT] He gives a short laugh. “Sorry about that! Nice to meet’cha. Name’s Nox. I hope those restraints aren’t too tight. You might be a prisoner, but there’s no need for you to be uncomfortable here.”

“…” Fluttershy glares at him.

Wow that’s actually a really great impression of my boss… You’re not related to Brass are you?

I guess you’re not the talkative type huh? That's alright, I can do it for you. How’s about we start with a name?

"Says here you’re Fluttershy. Only child of Cloud Cover and Posey who were prominent figures of the Velvet Carnation Movement until their untimely deaths ten years ago during the Ponyville fire, leading to you dropping out of Cloudsdale flight school. Currently you live in a cottage on the outskirts of New Ponyville and run an animal caretaking service.” Fluttershy is shocked, and he’s grinning “Pretty spooky, huh? The crown’s got eyes and ears everywhere… But it looks like few places are escaping us… saaay… the hiding places of your Red Sun friends?”

Fluttershy raises an eyebrow.

“Look, I get it. You don’t trust me or anypony in the castle for that matter, but you’re here on charges of attempted regicide and that means you’re on a fast track to a short rope. But I know you’re just another pony that’s been twisted by the Red Sun. If you work with us-

“I’ll never work for Nightmare Moon!” She blurts out angrily.

“But you’ll follow the Red Sun? Do you even know what kind of things they do? Because they certainly aren’t the heroes some ponies make them out to be.

“All they want is an Equestria where ponies can live in peace-” “Peace?”He places several photos on the table. ”Blood rituals, bombings of public gathering places, foalnapping and ransoming ponies to fund their activities.” Fluttershy's face is concerned. “Remember the wild weather that destroyed the harvest in Tall Tale last fall? Well the Red Sun’s goons stole the relief supplies our Queen sent. They were alright with leaving thousands to starve.

“Even if that were the case, I didn’t want to do what I did, but someone had to stand up to her. She’s nothing more than a big bully and I couldn’t sit around anymore and watch her hurt more innocent ponies. I had to try, and If that means this is my last day on Gaia, then so be it. New Fluttershy isn’t a coward!” “That’s quite noble of you. Ponies that selfless are hard to come by… which is why I don’t want to see you go down for this. Tell me who helped plan the attack and the Crown won’t press charges. I’ll make it so you never stepped hoof in Canterlot. You could go on with your life… Go back to your cottage… back to your pet.” Slides forward picture of angel. [PAGE BREAK] Fluttershy is thinking of Angel and other animals from back home. "I can’t do that. They helped put my life back together. I won’t let you hurt them. “Would they do the same for you though? I mean… they didn’t come for you when you got captured. They don’t care about YOU, they cared about what you could do FOR them.” “What and you care?” “Fluttershy, I just want to give you your life back. The way I see it, a cult took advantage of a young troubled mare and made you do things you'd never think to do otherwise. If the Red Sun was willing to sacrifice someone as kind as you, who else would they be willing to throw away for their selfish goals?” “They’re not like that…” She looks a bit more unsure this time. [PAGE BREAK] All I ask in return for your freedom is a name. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for the ones that care for you and would like to see you again. Take some time to think about it. He gets up and leaves. Fluttershy looks down pensively. [PAGE BREAK]

Nox exits. “That went well! Wanna grab a bite, Sabre? I’m thinking sandwiches-- Something with peanut butter. Crunchy, obviously. Crystal Sabre is there, looking at Nox, exasperated. She points at him accusingly. “I told you that wasn’t going to go anywhere. You should have let me interrogate her. “Look, until Brass gets back, I have to fill in for her, and that means I’m stuck with a mountain of paperwork. I even had to get up for that emergency meeting this morning! Let me have a little fun! Besides, I have a feeling it wasn’t all for nothing. “The Red Sun’s never been this bold before…What do you think changed?” Fluttershy says through the intercom window thingy “I want to talk to Rainbow Dash!” “…Who?”

[END SCRIPT]

In the end, I got too scared of the idea of backlash from one of my OCs being mean to Fluttershy ^^;; I recognize that it may not have been the case, but after how much hate I got for killing off a random guard, younger me got too scared to stick to this script and I flip flopped between redoing it or leaving it. I came to love the characters I had originally made for the sole purpose of filling cabinet roles. I struggled bring myself to make one of them the antagonist in an interaction with someone as beloved as Fluttershy. I ended up putting off the decision long enough that I lost interest in continuing the story though. This script was not the main reason I lost interest in the story, but it was a factor. My original points stand, and I don't regret deciding to let this comic go so I could branch out.

A chunk I wrote with Twilight: Sunset shimmer was a failed magician that was previously in Night's employ Twilight actually would have talked about here in this chunk: [START SCRIPT] “We know the elements are all part of a system. If they’re inactive, the bond is still there, it’s just faint, like how on a map you might not see a road between a town and Canterlot, but there has to be one because duh, all roads lead to Canterlot. We have pieces of the system and if we can isolate that link between the pieces, we could follow the link from one element back to the others. All we need to do is fine tune Rarity’s gem finding spell so instead of the beacon being any old gem, it’s whatever is on the other side of the link. Spike: “Wouldn’t the mages before you already have tried something like that? Twi: “Well the last one, Sunset or something, (Frowny scrunchy face), destroyed all of the notes from previous experiments so we’re pretty much starting from scratch, but even if they did, we have something they didn’t! A working element!” [END SCRIPT]

Night burned through so many young and eager mages trying to get what she wanted. Once they weren't useful, they got dumped.

Rest of it:

The big bad evil was going to be the guard Fenix who is actually a body hopping spirit of an alicorn from the ancient alicorn empire before it got decimated in the Alicorn-Draconequus wars. The alicorns had purged themselves of their "darkness" and went on a crusade to bring greatness and order to the rest of Gaia. The last of the Draconequus sacrificed themselves to break the alicorns into the three/four pony tribes--essentially exterminating both races. One of the newly minted unicorns had been in the Empress's inner council and refused to die quietly like the others. Since then, he's been taking over other unicorns' bodies as a way of living forever because he's scared of death (Unicorns because he wasn't sure if non-unicorns could do the necessary magic to prolong his life). That's why Fenix's personality changed when his buddy died in the flashback told by his cousin (The hopping usually kills original person. The original Fenix is gone, there's just the rogue soul now. The previous body was going to die, so he jumped ship before it did). The changeling comment by his cousin was meant to be a diversion.

The entity in Fenix's body had been around for thousands of years, just living a regular life. Ever since the rise of the two sisters, he attached himself to their leadership, usually hanging around as a soldier/guard of some kind, because he still believes in the Alicorns' right to rule and wants to help with bringing glory to Equestria and serve the greater good--the Alicorns and the ideals they choose to rule by.

Fenix had been fine living as just a guard, even under Nightmare Moon. Witnessing her uncertainty and paranoia--how the country was being divided by Night's poor leadership in recent years (especially after the whole assassin and Quake dying)--he became disillusioned by Night's rule and would go on to lead a rebellion against her by plotting to take the Elements of Harmony for himself, hopping into the body of the Red Sun Rebellion's Leader- Sunset Shimmer, then eventually hopping into Celestia to become Solar Flare/Daybreaker or Evil Celestia or whatever. The Elements of Harmony were actually ancient alicorn weapons of mass destruction. The enchantment that made them had mutated over the millennia, becoming something completely new, but contact with the soul of an alicorn of old would have ignited something. Not exactly a reset, but they would have recognized one of their original users and their original purpose.

Night is actually the darkness (a shade) that had been purged from the Alicorn Empress in the old days. It gained a will of it's own over years and forged a pact with Luna to help her take over the kingdom. She didn't remember who she was, only fragments because she was all the parts of the Empress that were deemed impure/bad. They were fine being partner rulers for a while, but then an offhanded comment led to Ponyville being burned to the ground by zealots in the Queen's name 15 or so years ago --this had been to destroy the Velvet Carnation Movement which had been a peaceful group advocating for democracy instead of monarchies--and they'd been feuding ever since and only recently made up in the comic.

Night would have freed Celestia from the Sun of her own volition to try to appease the population and show that she is a good ruler and stop all the talk of rebellion. She wanted to use her as a political puppet. Celestia would have been on a short leash.

Night would have died at the end of the comic, sacrificing herself to put an end to the old empire once and for all by holding down evil Celestia as they both get blasted by the Friendship Elements beam. The old ways were wrong, it was time to stop clinging onto the past--Celestia and Luna are left to make up and rebuild Equestria.

There was definitely a lot of middle stuff that I never figured out, but I did like the story. It just grew increasingly clear that it wasn't something I could ever finish.

Here are some of the alicorn designs I never got around to showing:

I feels quite nice to finally have it all out there.

[heartsongss]

three. we heroes.

masterlist.

a/n: guys im putting up a poll soon for the love interest because its a bit of a Choice and I want ppl to like it so watch out for that gang

One week later, you find yourself catching the train into Gotham. It’s 6:30, and the train is surprisingly packed for the time. You figure that even in Gotham, where rent is permanently cheap, people need to make a living. Insurance, and all that.

You chew on your nail, eyes watching the entrances and exits everytime the bus stops, but no monsters climb on, staring at you hungrily. Just more humans, blissfully unaware of the horrors hidden even further into Gotham’s heart. Would they run in fear, horrified by the odd contortations of monster flesh? Or would they accept it. Gotham is the home of human monsters, after all.

What is an empousai to Bane? What is a hellhound, all angry and drooling blood, to Killer Croc? Nothing. It's just another beast out for their blood.

The bus hitches to a final stop and you get off, near the heart of Gotham. Camp owns an apartment they use as their Gotham home base. You’ll start the Cull here and end it there, too. You wonder when your family will arrive. You know that they found out last night, as you watched through the windows as they climbed into a Camp van.

You were in bed by the time they got home, carefully ignoring the sound of them entering the house. Distantly, you could hear their whispers. Not the full things, only small snippets of conversation that relate to you.

“...(Y/N)...”

“It doesn’t….”

“...Weak!...”

You fell asleep to their thoughtlessly cruel words that night, and you made sure to be out far earlier than they’d be up waiting for you, intent on spending as much time away from them as you can. Hopefully, the Cull will save you from them. Maybe they’ll forget about you all over again, letting you fade into the background again, nothing more than the normal one.

You open the door of the apartment complex, hurrying through the halls and into the elevator. You press the button for the fourth floor, watching blankly as you pass the prior numbers. It’s all so close, now. In just a few hours, you’ll be fighting for your life. All of Gotham will be asleep, ignorant to the real monsters in their home city.

You’ll protect them all.

From block to block, borough to borough, you’ll keep them all safe. The elevator stops, and to step out to walk to the apartment door. You fiddle with your keys, unlocking the door and sliding in. There’s a few dim lights scattered about, illuminating eleven figures.

Katie Gardner, Travis Stoll, June Woods, Clarisse La Rue, Mary Leblanc, Will Solace, Lucy Black, and Jamie.

Your eyes widen at the sight of your friend. You had no idea that he’d be here today! He smiles tiredly at you, doing a two finger salute in a greeting. Smiling at him, you go and sit by his side. Clarisse stands just as you sit, looking out at you all.

“As you know, some of the Justice League will be involved in this year’s culling. We’ve supplied them with Celestial Bronze weapons, and Lady Hekate pulled the mist from their eyes. We’ll be working in groups of six. Three Demigods, three heroes.”

You nod, fiddling with your bracelet. You’ve named it doron, for gift. It was the first thing you ever got from your mother, and your most cherished. It’ll protect you well, tonight. You look to Clarisse, raising your hand.

She points to you, silently telling you to ask your question.

“Who’s working with who?”

“I was getting to that.” She says, deadpan.

You scowl at her, chewing on her lip.

“Katie, June, and I will be with the Flash, Wonder Woman, and Superboy. Travis, Mary, and Lucy will be with Batman, Wondergirl, and Red Hood-” You sigh in relief, “And (Y/N), Will, and Jamie will be with Superman, Impulse, and Nightwing.”

Fuck. Fucking shit. You try not to let the panic show on your face, reaching out to clutch at Jamie’s hand. He squeezes it reassuringly, tapping his foot in a panicked beat.

Clarisse barrels on, uncaring, “We’ll meet at eight today and get everything in place. Ensure they understand we’re doing it our way, never theirs.”

She takes it personally, you can tell. Something must have happened during the discussions. You don’t care much, though, a bit distracted of being on a team with your older brother. Your eyes flick to the clock. It’s seven. One more hour before you’re face to face with your family, walking them through the yearly massacre held in Gotham.

You’re so fucked.

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

Wonder Woman is leading them through a recap. Discussing do’s and don’ts, how they differ from baseline humans. She’s particularly focused on Bruce, who’d made the mistake of condemning the demigods who had killed.

He said they were cruel, and that nothing - even winning those wars - warranted so much death on their part. He said they should be jailed.

Clarisse, Dick thinks her name was, was royally pissed. She had turned on him, eyes wild, and spat, “Do you have it in you to lock up your own child?

The room had gone silent. Clarisse, breathing heavily, stared hin down and said, “(Y/N) did the most damage out of all of us. They fought for their survival. For our survival. You want to persecute them for that?”

Bruce hadn’t been able to answer. Mostly because Clarisse had been led out of the room and hadn’t returned. That was when Wonder Woman had taken over, explaining (Y/N)’s ancestry. She admitted that Clarisse would have known more, and she’d try to get her to talk the next day, but she hadn’t been with Wonder Woman this morning, apparently with the demigods in charge of the Cull.

Wonder Woman was still talking, saying, “They’re unconventional. They’re used to fighting with what they have, so they’ll probably make use of their surroundings. Including you.”

Dick nods. Bruce, beside him, grunts. His hands are clenched, tightening in a rhythm. He’s stressed. They all are, really. They hadn’t thought (Y/N) was so… scarred. They hadn’t even noticed! The poor thing must have been so scared. They couldn’t go to their family for help with the monsters following them… They hadn’t even been to camp! What if they were homesick, those summers spent away?

He frowns. Jason bumps his shoulder, looking at him through his helmet. Jason had taken it hard. It was different, but he knew what it was like to fight. He knew what it was like to be so scared, but unable to do anything but face it. It’s horrifying. 

They can fix it. After all this, they can talk to (Y/N) and fix it all. They must be so tired! It’s okay, though. Because they can rest with the family. It’s okay.

Diana’s voice filters through his senses again, “We’ll be meeting them at their safehouse in half an hour. From there, we’ll help with their preparations. They’re setting up some seals to keep monsters in, and preparing the spell to put most humans to sleep. That will happen around… twelve? one? It takes them a while to prepare themselves.”

They approach the Zeta tubes. Diana pauses, looking out at them. Her eyes stop on Dick, Bruce, and Jason. A silent plead to stay calm, a silent message.

They are strong enough.

“You remember your groups? Good. Gods help us all.”

[run-little-hero]

“What surprise awaits me today?” Hero leans against the bars of Villain’s cell, smiling. It’s their daily ritual, something Villain hates to admit they always look forward to. Hero is kind to them.

“You have such high expectations of me. You guilt me delivering them.”

“And you never disappoint.” Hero drops their head to meet Villain’s eyes from outside the cell. Villain smirks like they’re sharing a secret.

They hate that this is the happiest they’ve ever been—behind bars, swooning at the attention of the hero who put them there.

Villain retreats to a small desk in the corner of their cell. It’s littered with graphite drawings, a privilege granted for ‘good behavior.’ Villain scoffs at the irony, but decides not to challenge it.

They return to the bars, slipping a choice drawing through. Their fingers brush against Hero’s as the drawing is passed along. It’s calculated, Villain knows it. Just like the visits—a prescription to keep them from going off the rails and trying to escape. Villain swallows the medicine.

“Beautiful. As always.” It’s a landscape. A recreation of something they sketched years earlier. Hero seems pleased.

Emboldened by their reaction, Villain tests, “When do I get a surprise from you?”

Hero is nothing if not generous. They play along. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise, would it?”

“Give me a hint?” Villain sets a hand on the bar, They shift their weight so the motion is hidden from a security camera in the corner.

Hero isn’t phased by the gesture. “What would you want from me anyways?”

“Hm…” Villain trails. “Something genuine. Something beautiful. That’s what my art is to you, isn’t it? You should return the favor one of these days.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

For a moment, Hero’s hand finds Villain’s against the metal cell before they leave. Villain knows their routine by heart. They know Hero will never return their affections unless they need information or expertise out of them. But they’re content to play along, bask in a bit of that attention.

Villain believes Hero is kind. But at night, Villain does everything to squash the fractional piece of their heart that believes Hero cares for them.

Hero appears outside Villain’s cell late one afternoon.

“Where’ve you been?” Villain asks, approaching the bars. “It’s nearly dark. I thought you might’ve forgotten about me.” They keep their voice light, agreeable.

“I’d never. I just needed to prepare something.”

Villain crosses their arms. “And do I get to know what that is?”

Hero is beaming. “Of course. I tell you all my secrets.” Liar. “Come here.”

Villain indulges them and steps forward. Before they know it, Hero grips their arms and pulls them close. They embrace through the bars of the cell. Villain’s stomach plunges and their eyes dart towards the security camera.

“What are you—“

“I’m looping the footage. We should have about five minutes before it goes back to normal.”

Villain focuses on Hero. “Are you crazy? What the fuck are you—“

“You wanted a surprise,” Hero interrupts. They grip Villain’s side, steadying them. “How’s this for one?”

Hero’s lips crash against Villain’s before they can comprehend the fingers lacing through their hair. They can’t believe this is happening. They give into the desire they’ve been fighting since their first battle with Hero.

They part slowly. Villain keeps their gaze low. “Why did you do that?” They mutter.

“I’ve been thinking about doing it for a while.”

Rationally, Villain knows it’s not the best idea to trust a hero. “We’re enemies. You put me in prison.”

Hero grins. “But, you have to admit. Now we get to see each other more often!”

Despite everything, Villain can’t deny the gesture. “You’re insane.”

“You know, we still have four minutes. Care to do it again?” With a nod from Villain, Hero takes the lead and connects their lips again.

Villain supposes they can figure out what this means for their relationship tomorrow.

—

snippet #12

[cityofmeliora]

notes / thoughts on Terzo's characterization (Terzo is so disappointed and depressed and i love him)

a few weeks ago i saw this post from slavghoul which has snippets of TF describing the Papas. it includes this quote:

“He represents this frustrated old guy who hates everyone, especially himself. But despite his wounds and his darkness, he has a sense of humour and is endearing, like most of my heroes. The late actor Christopher Lee was an inspiration to me. In many ways, he is Papa.” (Metallian 7/2015)

i thought this quote was really interesting because i'd never seen anyone talking about that side of Terzo before. Terzo hating "everyone, especially himself" felt at odds with the charming personality he typically displayed. i wanted to know how that developed and where his "wounds and darkness" came from. so i did some digging for quotes on Terzo's history and characterization. here are my notes + thoughts:

something that came up again and again in my research is that he is actually quite antisocial when he's not performing. it seems like he didn't want people to know anything about him past his stage persona.

TOUR MANAGER: No one in the crew really gets to see or speak to Papa, ever. Only Anna and myself have access. He is not in the building and then he'll just be there, just for show time. The only thing you really need to know about Papa is what you see of him on stage. Ghost - The Devil's Hands (Documentary) (2017)

he almost never interacted with any of the nameless ghouls or the tour crew. in fact, he really went out of his way to avoid them. he traveled separately, would appear right before the start of a show, and then he would disappear as soon as it ended. in "The Devil's Hands", it showed they sometimes had trouble locating him when he was needed.

With this new era, can you introduce Papa Emeritus III? NAMELESS GHOUL: I don't know him very well yet. We haven't really done our mileage with him, so I am sure that we will find out. But he seems nice. He seems okay. Obviously, he's very close relatives with Papa number two, who was a little bit of a hmm. I'm sure that he isn't like, completely different, but we'll find out. He's a bit of a recluse, and he sort of travels on his own. And he sort of appears when we're due onstage and then he disappears when we're offstage. So yeah, I guess we have a little bit of a social disconnect there, but I don't see a big problem with that. I mean he seems to be doing well on his own, and I don't know if he has a little harem somewhere that occupies his time offstage, I guess. I'm assuming that. Loud TV (July 2015)

INTERVIEWER: How has it been working with the third Papa? How is he fitting into the group? NAMELESS GHOUL: We like him, actually. He seems to be quite nice. Obviously, we haven't really done our "miles" with him yet, so we don't know him that well. And he doesn't travel with us- he sort of goes separately everywhere, and he appears just before the show and then he just disappears. So we haven't really had the time to sort of fully get to know him. But overall, he seems quite a joyful chap. Metal Injection (September 2015)

predictably, his bandmates did not know him very well. but they always remarked that they liked him and that he seemed like a nice, chill guy. (they also assumed he had a harem that he spent time with when he wasn't performing, which is probably not true, considering how much effort he put into avoiding people whenever possible.)

NAMELESS GHOUL: We don't really socialize with Papa, so… But he seems nice! But he's very occupied in his harem. [...] He's a little bit cooler. He seems to be the nicer of the two brothers --I don't know if there are two-- but he seems to have, I don't know, a kinder mother, probably, or something that makes him slightly.. INTERVIEWER: A little different. NAMELESS GHOUL: Yeah, he's a little bit different. AMBY (October 2015)

i don't think his charming, pleasant demeanor was just an act, though. i think it did come from a genuine part of himself... he wasn't always an antisocial recluse.

before he became Papa, he was a cardinal in Krakow, Poland. Bishop Necropolitus Cracoviensis (the character representing Zbigniew Bielak, the artist who does the album art for Ghost) characterized younger Terzo as having enthusiasm in all his endeavors. he was always a very devoted member of the clergy who had big dreams of progress and modernization for the Ministry and the world. he had a strong interest in Futurist art and philosophy.

Bp. Necropolitus Cracoviensis remembers: "...our relationship goes a long way back to the times before his papacy, that is when he was still a cardinal in my hometown, in Cracovia...(...) Although we had our share of juvenile recklessness - be it indulging his beloved cream pies - allegedly verging on six hundred sixty six portions a year but that must be a rumor I believe, or wild parties at the attic of seminary school (laughs) - even in his formative years, he remained a focused man of vision, looking far into the future, always addressing his people's needs and longings to keep our church together in those turbulent, rapidly changing times (...) there were so many temptations to syndicate among our good people (...) (...) We would sit down to studying exciting Futurist manifestos, sketched the blueprints of utopian metropoles, spiked with shiny skyscrapers stabbing at the heavens belly... Wantonly swollen zeppelins would to carry our gospel of indulgence to the farthest corners of the globe to summon and enslave. (...) Forged in nostalgia of steam and fire, this brave new world of ambition, vice, lust and greed - all so inherent to the enlightened modernity, was always with him through all these years. And it is now - when our church continues to grow stronger and wealthier under wise reign of Papa Emeritus III - that these visions may finally be witnessed and embraced in the preachings of 'Meliora' - his most contemporary and humane Encyclical." (https://www.facebook.com/thebandghost/posts/994031900615606)

those core values of ambition, vice, lust, and greed stayed with him when he became Papa. though he had a revolutionary spirit, he's actually described as "less rebellious" in Metal Myths. Terzo took his job as Papa very seriously, and he cared about being successful and achieving his goals. while he and Secondo certainly had vice, lust, and greed in common, it was Terzo's ambition that truly set him apart.

"It felt like the goal was to take Papa II's sense of modernity and remove the recklessness." Metal Myths: Ghost Pt. 2 (April 2022)

How would you describe the personality of Papa Emeritus III compared to his predecessors? NAMELESS GHOUL: "First of all, Papa Emeritus III is an entertainer! He loves projectors, he loves the public, and he loves success. The first Papa Emeritus was someone very rigid, very strict, and very solemn. A real son of a bitch! (laughs) To be honest, we don’t miss him at all! Papa Emeritus II was a pervert a little bit sadistic, and, in hindsight, I think he wasn’t very at ease on stage. He wasn’t a showman, unlike Papa Emeritus III! Him, he’s the guide we missed to rise up the quality of our shows, to reach the step above and communicate with our fans." (MyRock #44 (2017) translated from French by @ a-wandering-ghoulette)

unfortunately, his ambition eventually led him to become disillusioned and depressed.

Terzo looked forward to becoming Papa. he worked so hard for it his whole life, only to be confronted with the realization that his time as Papa --and therefore his achievements-- would be limited.

he was a nice guy, but he was also was egotistical. he was a showman and an intellectual, and he thought very highly of himself.

NAMELESS GHOUL: He's a little bit more chill. But obviously, all the Papas are definitely pompous assholes. INTERVIEWER: That's part of the job. SPECIAL GHOUL: That's one of the criterias, the prerequisites, that you have to be this sort of flamboyant diva, know-all, show-off. Metal Injection (September 2015)

his self-hatred came from his inability to be the person he wanted to be. it's not that he felt like he couldn't measure up, it's that he felt like he wasn't allowed to express his full potential. Terzo's mindset was "i know i'm good enough. and i could prove it if they would just let me." but he wasn't really in charge, and his vision was at odds with the goals of Sister Imperator.

Terzo felt so stifled, it makes sense that he became a "frustrated old guy who hates everyone, especially himself."

and i think this is the reason for the paradox of him having a kind, charming personality onstage and being unsociable offstage. he still gave it his all. he did the best he could with the time and resources he was allowed. that zealous man of the people was still in there somewhere. but he felt betrayed by the clergy, the organization he dedicated his life to. his career ended up being unfulfilling and he was ultimately really bitter about the way things turned out.

he was good. he never got to be great.