#And he could also be trolling besides

[quietplace26]

Another SAGAU au idea, but this time mixed with SAHSRAU?

I'm basing this idea off this post (the creator is called @suiana. give them love!) where the MC lands in Honkai: Star Rail and every character, besides the Trailblazer, Pom-Pom, and the Aeons, hates them.

Warnings: Cringe worthy content. OCness from the characters. HSR characters (minus Trailblazer and Aeons) calling MC an 'it'.

Notes: This is mostly crack, so don't take it seriously. I only included certain characters that I felt comfortable with since I'm not good with keeping characters in character. So, if you want, please send me any suggestions about shenanigans the Genshin crew and MC could get mixed up with while trying to get back to Teyvat, or just how they would interact with the HSR crew.

Basically, the MC is stressed beyond belief. Besides Trailblazer, Pom-Pom, and the Aeons, everyone MC once admired in Honkai: Star Rail, hates them, calls them an it, tries to hurt them, and even tried to KILL them on many occasions.

And when everything becomes too much, they kind of break down? Maybe wishing they landed in Genshin Impact instead.

Then because of Aeon shittery, as the MC is their darling and want them to be happy, MC's wish is granted... and the next moment, characters from Genshin Impact start appearing on the Express... and they all know the Reader!

Reader is quickly surrounded by worried Archons and vision holders, and their chosen Traveler was hugging them, saying they were worried as your presence just disappeared!

Needless to say, the Astral Express becomes more crowded, and you gained a whole bunch of bodyguards that weren't afraid to throw someone down for your honor and safety.

One thing I think would be hilarious if Nahida met Dr. Ratio. He's like all, 'I'm above you or something', because one, she's a 'child', and second, she was with that... thing (the MC).

But then Nahida just tears him down with a sweet smile and quick wit... and then he finds out this 'child' was actually a Goddess of Wisdom.

And speaking of children, the child vision holders become absolute menaces to the HSR characters.

The MC had to on many occasions stop Aha or one of the more chaotic Aeons from blessing the Genshin children.

Especially Klee.

MC and Jean: "Klee where did you get that bomb?!"

Klee: "Masky gave it to me!"

MC: "AHA!"

Klee is definitely Aha's favorite of Teyvatians. She's just so naturally chaotic it brings them joy!

The Aeons as a whole find the Teyvatians to be... interesting, but this could probably be because the MC was very fond of them, so of course the Aeons would be interested as well.

Did the Archons count as Teyvat's Aeons? The Sovereigns? Maybe?

If Long somehow pops in, alive, jump scaring the Vidyadharas, and just zeros in on Zhongli and Neuvillette.

Long's like, dragons? But not mine, not Vidyadhara? There's more like you two (Zhongli and Neuvillette).

And then MC's telling Long all about Dvalin, Azhdaha, Apep, Mini Durin, Ajaw, and goodness knows, all about Natlan's adorable and amazing Saurian population.

Long would also probably find the Melusines fascinating as well because they were born from the blood of the dragon Elynas. And there's 48 of them???

Childe would definitely pick a fight with an Aeon, only for either the Traveler or the MC to grab his ear and pull him away.

Yae Miko would go about trolling the Foxians and spending time with the MC via asking them to help her go over potential new novel ideas. Because this whole experience would no doubt make the best novel to hit Teyvat.

Ei would be like MC's protector like the others but would help them relax via teaching meditation... and if one of the HSR characters butt in, they're in for a nasty shock to the ass.

Zhongli and Neuvillette casually dunking on Dan Heng and the other Vidyadhara, both of which are in awe and slight terror as these true dragons...

...who only spends time with it (the MC) of all things!

Zhongli, for shits and giggles, shifts into a tiny, chunky form of his Exuvia form, his Chonkli form if you will, and lets MC cuddle and smother him with affection all the while Dan Heng and the Vidyadhara are watching in disbelief.

Like this man was like an elder Vidyadhara, a TRUE dragon... and he was waddling around in a tiny, chubby undignified form, and lays on its (MC's) lap like a common house cat!

Zhongli only innocently bleeps his tongue at them before making biscuits on MC's lap and curls up to for some cuddles.

Neuvillette immediately joins in so not to be out done by the Geo Archon, but his form is rather large, so he tends to squish the MC but they only giggle and return the cuddles.

He's so big and long that he scares most of the Honkai characters away while MC naps with him.

If MC starts feeling nervous or scared, Furina dramatically swoops in to steal MC away, drawing their attention by retelling a story of one her many plays as she helps MC with their hair or clothes, maybe even pulling them into a small performance with her Hydro familiar's while Neuvillette stands guard.

Wriothesly helps with MC's self-defense after they admit about feeling scared whenever the Trailblazer, he, or the Aeons aren't around. And considering how the most of the HSR crew treats you... he becomes MC's self-defense coach.

Though afterwards he always asks you to join him for some tea, which usually leads to Neuvillette or others always inviting themselves to join.

When the Genshin crew gets to know the Trailblazer some of them make a connection that they reminded them of the Traveler... A bit of a more feral and raccoon like Traveler.

And since they were kind to MC, protecting them when no one else on the Express was willing to, the Trailblazer was automatically granted access to any of the nations of Teyvat if they wished to visit once the Teyvatians made it home.

Except for the Trailblazer, no one else from the Astral Express was given this permission. In fact, any special guilds, explorers, Stellaron Hunters, and especially the ICP was banned from setting one foot in Teyvat.

Nanook and a few other Aeons made sure to emphasize on this... after setting an example with the first few foolish ones that tried to force their way in.

And that's how Teyvat quickly becomes something like vacation spot for the Aeons whenever any of them wanted to visit MC.

[zevrra]

caught in the rain—

synopsis: you and sebastian seek shelter inside an abandoned home where every feeling is laid to bare.

tags: sfw, pure fluff, fem!reader, hogwarts legacy, sebastian sallow(18+), about 3k words

“As if this day couldn’t get any worse,” You mutter. Mostly to yourself but you wouldn’t at all be surprised if Sebastian had heard too. You both had been sent out together to gather some information about some dark magic being practiced on the Poidsear Coast.

Everything had been going smoothly, from taking witness statements to tracking down the dark wizard’s hideout to the coast, even the two of you getting along.

That is until an unexpected heavy downpour comes. Cold rain falls heavy like a thick blanket on the two of you, forcing you to take shelter. Every piece of clothing you wore was soaked—down to your very bones. Thankfully, Sebastian and yourself had managed to find an abandoned home. Boarded up with a more than obvious appearance of not having been taken care of in a very long time.

While you say things could not be worse you really didn’t mean it. Being rained on and forced to wear your freezing clothes wasn’t truly the worst thing in the world. Neither was being stuck in that house with your academic rival. And crush.

“Well. Try not to make it sound so horrible now,” Sebastian sarcastically says. Teasing you as he shrugs off his heavy coat in some hope to warm himself. Rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt as he does anything but look at you. “We could be in some troll’s den. That would be worse.” He chuckles as he checks out the house, hoping to find anything to maybe start a fire with. Swatting away at cobwebs with an annoyed look.

You sigh. Too cold to even defend yourself at the moment. Moving to stand next to a window. Watching as lightning flashes across the sky and the harsh sound of thunder that follows.

“We’ll be here all night if this storm doesn’t stop soon.” You say, irritated. Not that sleeping in some random home, far from the safety of Hogwarts, with no other change of clothes, no warmth, and no bed, didn’t sound fantastic and all but it would also reset all of your progress from today. Tracking down the dark wizard hiding out on this coast had been an assignment given to the two of you and not completing it would leave you both looking rather poorly in your professor's eyes.

“You worry too much,” Sebastian says, cutting into your thoughts, making you look away from the window and towards where his voice had carried from.

You watch as he moves towards the other end of the dark home, Lumos, lighting the tip of his wand as he examines the place. Stairs lead to a second story or perhaps an attic in the farthest corner from the door. Off next to the stairs is a large stone fireplace just waiting to be lit.

“See, always so dramatic.”

You roll your eyes at Sebastian as you follow him into the home. Shoulders tense as you wait for anything to jump out at you. No damn spider was sneaking up on you, not today. In a smaller room straight across from the stairs sits untouched furniture from who knows how long ago. With chairs perfect for disassembling and using as firewood.

Well, at least you’d be semi-warm and somewhat dry for the rest of the time being.

After some rearranging and the use of Incendio, the two of you make quick work of starting a fire and laying out your cloaks before the hearth to dry. Now you are left in just your blouse and skirt, shoes and socks forgotten until they also get the chance to dry as the storm continues to rage outside.

Sebastian stood beside the fireplace, hands held out to try and warm his fingers up. The dull sound of the rain is really the only noise the two of you make. You were friends, classmates, but above all rivals. You could have a civil conversation but seeing as the two of you were there on an assignment, things were tense as both of you wanted to outdo the other.

You shiver, curling up on yourself by pulling your knees to your chest. The fire was working well but the wet clothes still sticking to your body kept you from truly getting to warm up.

“I’m going to go look for a blanket.” Sebastian says, suddenly breaking the silence between the two of you.

You nod in response as he leaves to rummage around the forgotten home. His search for a blanket takes him up the stairs and you watch him go. An eerie feeling creeps up your spine as soon as you‘re left alone. The strange feeling of being watched itches just behind your senses of being cold. It makes you look over your shoulder a few times. That is until Sebastian finally returns.

A thick quilt is draped across your shoulders that startles you ever so slightly. In all honesty, you had thought Sebastian went to retrieve the blanket for himself. Now with the heavy cloth wrapping around your own body you realize that he had been watching you beforehand. He had retrieved the blanket solely for you. The thought makes you flush.

He moves to sit beside you now. Hands returning to hover out in front of the flickering flames. “There’s also a bed upstairs. If you’re tired.” Sebastian once again cuts through the silence to speak.

You laugh at his words. Shaking your head as you tighten the blanket around you. “Tempting but no thank you.” You reply, turning your gaze to the fireplace.

“Why not?” Sebastian asks. From his tone he seems genuinely confused.

His confusion makes you chuckle again. As if he really didn’t know. “Oh alright, Sebastian. Let me just go take a small nap while you run off, find and finish our assignment, and then take all of the credit.” You tease. A smile stretches across your lips as if you’ve caught him in the act.

You imagine he’ll make some funny quip about how you were right and that he was just thinking of a way to get ahead in your studies but instead he says nothing.

The silence has you lifting your head to glance over at the other. His brow is furrowed and there’s a deep frown on his face. Clearly you’ve said something wrong.

“Do you truly think I’m so shallow?” Seb whispers. His voice drips with displeasure.

The disdain in his tone was not something you were used to. Sure, Sebastian had had his moments for being a little irritated with you. From cave crawling and accidentally setting off a trap to the two of you butting-heads for top grades but never had he sounded so…upset and hurt before.

Now it was your turn to truly be confused. You did not think of him as shallow or selfish but you also wouldn’t put it past your rival to take the upper hand on you.

“I don’t find you shallow.” You awkwardly reply. Suddenly you’re thankful for the sound of rain and thunder. “I didn’t mean to offend you.” You add quickly afterwards.

“We may be rivals academically but I’m not your enemy. I’m not evil. I still care for you.” Sebastian says with a sigh. You can feel his eyes on the side of your face. Searching for something you’re not sure of at the moment.

“I apologize,” You mutter. Now would be the perfect time to suddenly disappear. “I simply just thought because of school you would take the opportunity…” You ramble. Wondering why you were even telling Sebastian any of this.

This time, it’s his turn to laugh. It’s a very dry and curt laugh. No humor lingers behind it like it normally would. “I would never sabotage you.”

“No?” You reply short and simple. Wondering why now he would have a soft spot for you. Seeing as he had never before when it involved your academic standpoint.

“What do I have to gain besides you hating me?” Sebastian asks, again genuinely curious. His now warmed hands rub against his cold shoulders and biceps. Hoping to chase away the chill. “I would never want you to hate me.” He adds in a hushed voice.

Listening to Sebastian be so open was definitely something entirely new to you. He was the type to be open about pretty much everything except his feelings. His true, genuine, feelings. And now that he was wearing his heart on his sleeve, you couldn’t help but want him to keep talking. “Not that I would ever hate you but would that really be the end of the world?”

Sebastian turns to look at you then. His brown eyes meet your own as the light from the fireplace softly caresses his features. Turns his freckled face into something far more gentle than you’re used to. Yet you weren’t entirely sure if that was because of the dim lighting or the fact that he was looking upon you with such tenderness that it made him look more attractive suddenly.

“To me, yes, it would be.” He admits openly. As if this is something Sebastian said on a daily basis. As if he constantly told you how important you truly were to him.

Upon realizing his confession, Sebastian’s eyes widened. He coughs in an attempt to move the conversation along, or even just to simply cover up the fact that he just told you how horrible the world would be without you. His face flushes a dark red that even in the dim light you can see.

“Only because, well, you know! I wouldn’t have anyone else to compete with!” He stammers, trying to save face.

It’s a little too late for that now though. You knew he meant something a little more meaningful.

You smile as he avoids your line of sight. “Sebastian…” You whisper. His name rolling off your tongue has him freezing in place. Unsure if he should flee and never speak about this ever again or just stay still long enough he can pretend he’s dead. “Be honest.”

Sebastian continues to ignore your gaze for the most part. Fiddling with some interesting looking piece of dust on the rundown wooden floor.

“I don’t know what you mean. I am honest! All the time!” Embarrassingly he answers. “You’re just too dense to see it!” The insult is a hollow insult at best. Just another tactic to avoid the situation he’s started.

You hum in response. Scooting closer to the other to try and get a good look at his blushing face. “How so?”

“N-nothing! No, I don’t know!” Sebastian deflects. Attempting to turn and hide his face from your gaze.

You had never seen him so defensive before. Wanting to close off from you entirely but that was something you would not allow. He started this and he needed to finish it or else you might go mad.

“What do you mean?” You ask. Not that you couldn’t read his body language at the moment but you still wanted him to tell you. To be loud and clear with his feelings so that you too could be honest about your own.

“Ugh!“ He groans in frustration. His hands come up to hide his face from your gaze. Covering over mainly his eyes so he doesn’t have to look at you looking at him. “I’ve been in love with you since the first day we met! You’ve never noticed it before so why are you suddenly so keen!?”

The inside of your stomach does a flip. The first day you two met was almost three years ago. Had you really never noticed any of his advances? You think back on all the times when he’d let you copy his notes when you were busy with Mr. Fig for the day. Of all the times he called you annoying but would do anything you asked of him. The countless hours you two would spend in the undercroft, practicing your spells and studying together.

All this time…and he only ever stayed by your side.

You reach to grab gently ahold of his wrists. Somewhat prying his hands away from his face so you could get another good look at him. He’s a mess. Red as a tomato. Blushing like he had been sick with a fever. Hair tousled and curled far more than usual from previously having been rained on.

Sebastian Sallow, your friend and rival, sat before you entirely and wholeheartedly shy. Something you would never have imagined to happen before this day.

He’s still under your touch. Still attempts at avoiding your eyes even now. Doesn’t stop you from reading over his features. From every freckle highlighted by his blush to the pretty length of his eyelashes. He was so handsome. Far more than you had ever realized before.

“Sebastian,” You whisper in a soft tone. As his name is called, his head shifts ever so slightly as he finally meets your gaze once more. A rush of emotion swirls up inside of you. Your chest tightens with sudden adoration for the man sitting before you.

He doesn’t say anything in response though. Just slowly takes control over his own hands, placing one against your cheek. His fingers run gently across your skin. Pushing back damp hair as he finally wants to look at your face.

“You’re an idiot. A fool,” Sebastian mumbles after a few painstakingly long heartbeats. “How did you not know?” He asks as his thumb caresses the high of your cheekbone. A lighthearted tone to his voice. As if it were obvious.

His words make you laugh ever so slightly. Of course you hadn’t realized it. Too blinded by your competitive drive to know that all along he was only competing in hopes to make you like him. Which was silly in itself. Seeing as you had always liked him too.

“Forgive me for not seeing it before,” You reply with a smile. Reaching to touch the back of his hand lovingly. “I would like to know everything now.” You add as you turn your head to kiss the inside of his palm.

His breath hitches as he watches you kiss his hand. A slight tremble in his shoulders tells you he’s holding back on moving things further. Even as his thumb brushes against your lips, while his brown eyes stare at every curve his thumb traces. Wanting to commit all of you to every bit of his memory.

“You…you’re over dramatic, always worrying about me. Sometimes you’re too loud. You manage to best me at everything.” Sebastian rambles on with a soft laugh. “And I love every bit of it. Your drive, your excitement, the way you laugh. Everything about you…”

Sebastian softens as he continues to stare at you. His eyes flick up from your lips to your eyes before glancing back down at the lips he tenderly touches. “And I’ve wanted to kiss you for far too long…”

The words he speaks makes your heart beat far too fast. With how hard your heart beats and how tight your chest is, you could almost swear your heart might have burst out from beneath your ribcage right then and there.

Your own face softens. Pressing your lips gently into the pad of his thumb. “What are you waiting for?” You ask with a smile. And immediately Sebastian mirrors your smile. Now, nothing was going to hold him back.

For a moment, as he leans forward to capture your lips, you thank the sudden rainstorm. For without it, you would never have ended up here, held so lovingly in Sebastian’s arms.

[guiltyandashamed]

hiii!!! could you do brothers + side characetrs with an mc who is famous on devilgram? like ever since they came to RAD they became super popular online :D thanx!!!!

headcannons: devilgram-famous MC (brothers + side characters)

From the moment you arrived in the Devildom, Devilgram became your outlet. You posted everything, your outfits, your food, funny observations about Devildom life.Your page quickly gained traction. Now you have brand deals, fans, and even the occasional paparazzi moment at RAD.

Lucifer

At first, he brushes it off. "If it doesn't interfere with your academic performance, I have no reason to be concerned."

Then he sees how successful you are—Sponsors reaching out for promotion or looking to get into business with you. He makes sure you aren't getting exploited, are promoting the right people, and maintain a respectable image.

It's helped you elevate yourself professionally, and he respects your hard work ethic when it comes to taking your position seriously.

Slightly more possessive in public when you're approached by admirers. A gentle hand on your back. A subtle glare that makes fans back off without realizing why.

Mammon

Loudly and immediately obsessed.

Starts posting with you constantly. Tries to leverage your fame for duo sponsorship deals “Get rich together, ya know?”

Deep down, he’s insanely proud. Shows your posts to his modeling friends like, “See that? That’s my human.”

But also gets jealous when fans get too flirty in the comments. Starts hearting every comment that mentions your relationship, even if you’re not officially dating.

Obsessed with fan edits of you. Tries to hide that he watches them, but you can see it in the reflection of his sunglasses.

Leviathan

Has an existential crisis. “You’re more popular than I am on Devilgram… you’re living the normie dream…”

Starts watching your follower count rise like it’s a real-time leaderboard. Gets nervous when you surpass his favorite stars.

Softens up when you post a photo of you two gaming together, calling him your “best coach.” You even tag him. He stares at it for hours.

Gets extra shy when fans recognize him in your videos.

Feels somewhat jealous that tons of people admire you, besides him. You comfort him, “All they see is a person on a screen. You get to see the real me,” which makes him smile and nestle a little closer.

Satan

At first: indifferent. “Social media isn’t exactly my scene.”

But once he realizes how cleverly you use your platform, highlighting Devildom culture, normalizing interrealm relations, he’s genuinely impressed.

“You’ve created a kind of social bridge. I respect that."

Gets incredibly flustered when you post a 3-second video of yourself with a cat. The public seems to go crazy over it, he does too.

Gets very defensive if anyone posts rude comments. He’ll never say it out loud, but you once caught him trying to trace a troll’s IP.

Has a folder on his D.D.D. titled “Their Best Posts.” You pretend not to see it.

Asmodeus

He's thrilled. “You’re famous? Oh, we simply must collaborate!”

Loves being seen with you, you're both beautiful, you both have fans, and you both know how to pose for the camera.

He understands attention better than anyone else, and he knows how intoxicating and isolating it can be.

Offers to help you with skincare routines, posing tips, PR strategy, partly because he wants to help, partly to stay close.

He also gets more clingy in private. “They all want you, darling... but you’re mine tonight, right?”

Beelzebub

He doesn’t really understand the whole Devilgram fame thing, but he gets that it makes you happy. That’s all that matters to him.

At RAD, when fans swarm you, he calmly stands between you and the crowd, not to block them entirely, just to make sure you’re safe and not overwhelmed.

He especially likes your food posts. Thinks it's cool that other people like to see food too.

You’re never just a screen persona to him. You’re someone who laughs with him at breakfast, helps him find rare protein bars, and brings him quiet peace in a world full of noise.

“I don’t care how many followers you have. You’re already important.”

Belphegor

Acts like he doesn’t care. “Tch. So what if you’re popular now? That doesn’t mean anything.”

But he watches from the sidelines more than you think. Lurking in the tags. Scrolling when he can’t sleep.

The moment you start getting approached at RAD, his mood dips. He doesn’t like strangers looking at you like they know you.

Despite the sharpness, there's a vulnerability underneath. He’s afraid of being left behind, forgotten in the blur of lights and fans.

He won’t admit it out loud, but he clings harder when you’re alone together. “Don’t let them take you away from here. From me.”

Diavolo

He thinks it’s fantastic. The Devildom needs more human-devil cultural exchange, and you’re a living ambassador.

His support is big-picture. He encourages you to use your platform wisely and offers official RAD sponsorships or protections if needed.

However, when he sees how people crowd around you or speak to you overly familiar, there's a flicker of protectiveness.

“You're doing wonderfully, but remember, you're not obligated to be available to everyone.”

Occasionally invites you for PR events or asks if you’d like to co-host a Devildom-wide livestream. Always gives you the option to say no.

Barbatos

He’s largely neutral outwardly, but very aware behind the scenes. He monitors your online activity and fan interactions like a hawk, purely to assess threats.

Subtly reroutes suspicious or overzealous fans before they get close. You may never know how often he's intervened.

He offers you quiet reminders: “It’s wise to schedule rest periods. Even stardom mustn’t replace self-care.”

Helps you manage time between your obligations and online work. If you have a shoot or sponsorship, he’s already rearranged your RAD schedule to accommodate it.

He doesn't compliment often, but when he does, it’s precise: “You handled that interview well. Controlled, charming, and sincere. Admirable.”

Solomon

Oh, he thinks it's hilarious, and impressive. “Guess I’m not the only famous human in the Devildom anymore.”

Loves to tease you: “Should I start calling you 'Your Influencer Highness'?”

But he also offers practical help. He’s seen what fame can do to people, and he quietly checks in if your confidence falters.

“Fame’s a fun illusion. Just don’t forget who you are when the lights are off.”

When fans push too far, he’s not above sending them a politely cursed message.

Simeon

Supportive in a very grounding way. “Your success is lovely to see, but more lovely is the kindness you still show.”

Watches your rise with a gentle fondness, like a proud mentor or older brother.

Offers advice if you ever feel overwhelmed by the attention.

Helps you sort through fan mail, especially when it becomes too much. Keeps you emotionally anchored.

He makes sure you still have private, sacred spaces where you can just be yourself, with no cameras.

Mephistopheles

Incredibly bitter that you're more popular than the RAD newspaper he runs. “So you take selfies and suddenly you’re Devildom royalty?”

Has tried (unsuccessfully) to get you to guest-write an article for the paper to boost his own traction.

Occasionally shows up in your tagged posts looking way too smug.

While he pretends it’s all business, he gets quietly flustered when fans ship you two.

Thirteen

She's amused by the whole thing. “You? A Devilgram star? Never thought I’d see the day.”

She makes fun of you constantly for being famous, but secretly watches every story.

Teases you like: “Careful, don’t trip over your fanbase on your way to class.”

If you ever feel down because of rude comments or pressure, she’s the first to call it out.

“Want me to rig their phone with exploding hexes? No? Just say the word."

Doesn’t treat you differently and likes that you are still you, despite the fame.

Raphael

Skeptical at first. “Why do so many people need to see what you ate for breakfast?”

Doesn’t understand the appeal of social media, but respects that it makes you happy.

Has to learn to be okay with the attention you get, he's the type to walk just a little closer when fans crowd you, not possessive, just… present.

If you ever express that you're tired of the pressure, he listens seriously and offers calm advice.

“Then take a step back. You’re not obligated to be seen constantly to be real.”

[katsukis-wifi]

Single For The Summer

☆ katsuki bakugou x f!reader

★ modern au / social media / college au / loosely based on this song

☆ sfw / slow burn-ish / tension + banter heavy / reader recently single

★ word count: ~3k

☆ warnings: cursing, strong language, suggestive references, thirst traps, implied past relationship (reader), lots of yelling via text, one (1) very flustered bakugou

“Spotting sounds fun,” you said, quirking an eyebrow.

“But I already did my upper body sets. Mina said we were doing legs today?”

“She lied,” Bakugou said flatly.

Katsuki wasn’t crazy about social media. He was a young adult, he kept up with the times and all, but he mostly used it to check in on his friends.. When it came to his own profile? Zero posts. Decent profile picture, and the most basic-ass username he could think of: BK0420.

Still, when he had nothing to do, he’d scroll through random videos or tap through people’s stories without really thinking. It wasn’t his thing– but sometimes, it filled the silence.

Today, one post made the silence loud.

He was tapping through people’s stories, not even really paying attention, when he stopped dead in his tracks. 

There you were.

On Mina’s story, posing in the mirror beside her, with the same stupidly gorgeous smile he couldn’t get out of his head. You looked–God, you looked insane. Like you knew what this photo was going to do to him. 

But the part that really got him? 

#singleforthesummer @yn/ln

He muttered under his breath, “What the fuck...” 

He pulled his phone away from his face and closed the story for a second, blinking at the wall like it would explain what he had just seen. Then, he tapped back onto the story, clicking your tagged username.

His breath hitched.

Bakugou wasn’t the type to stalk your account on the regular – yeah, he thought you were hot, but he didn’t want to look at your boyfriend’s ugly face all the time. 

This time? 

No posts. No story highlight. Just a brand new profile picture – which was shamelessly a thirst trap.

You finally were done with that loser.

It was no secret – Bakugou wanted you bad. He never shut up about it. Whenever your boyfriend came up, Katsuki had two settings: pissed, and pissed-er. He made it very clear: he thought the guy was a total dick. Kirishima could probably write a book titled Shit Bakugou’s Said About That One Guy She Dates.

But now?

Now you were single.

Right on cue, a notification lit up his phone.

GC: [future dropouts + katsuki] katsuki:  y/n and her troll thing broke up?? kirishima:  BRO. KATSUKI. YOU GOTTA GET ON THAT, LIKE, YESTERDAY. kaminari:  need to ask  lmfao mina did you KNOW y/n was single and just decided not to fill bakugou in?? mina:  no, i knew she was single and wanted to announce the good news on her behalf with a hot thirsttrap when she felt ready yk kaminari:  LMFAOOO mina:  no because let me walk you through my mastermind - i knew fuckass katsuki would never hit her up unprovoked even if he knew she was single SO i figured a hot story was the perfect excuse katsuki:  ?????  when did they split mina:  like a month ago? thats when she told me at least

Bakugou’s jaw went slack. 

A whole fucking month?! And no one thought to fill him in? 

kirishima:  MINA….A MONTH????

Katsuki dragged a hand down his face, then dropped back onto his desk chair like someone had punched him in the chest. 

He glared at the screen again, thumbs hovering over the keyboard. 

What the hell was he even supposed to say? “Hey, you looked fine as fuck on Mina’s story, we should hang out”? Jesus.

He was in genuine disbelief.

mina:  ok hate me all u want but she was lowkey pulling hella huzz and i didn’t wanna mess up her game sero:  not for nothing bakugou is a little late to the game LMFAOOO mineta tried to hit her up like three weeks ago when he heard. also she posted about it on her spam account a MINUTE ago

“Fuck all the way off…” Bakugou muttered out loud. 

What the fuck was a spam account? 

And why the fuck was he not following it to see these VERY IMPORTANT life updates of yours?

katsuki: what’s the @ ? katsuki: I’m so fr if one of you doesn’t put me on, you’re all dying

Bakugou never ended up sending you that message.

 It’s not that he didn’t want to – he just genuinely had zero idea what to say. He had plenty of encouragement; his friends constantly advised him on how to approach you. But honestly? You being single didn’t take the pressure off. It just made it worse.

And Mina wasn’t helping when she reminded him, “If you don’t make a move on her, someone else will. Trust me. She’s shown me.” 

So now?He didn’t have to worry about your sorry-ass ex-boyfriend anymore. 

He had to worry about how many guys were slumming it in your DMs.

Great.

This was the issue that had taken over Katsuki’s mind. Doing chores, he wondered what to say to you. When he saw his friends, he asked them if there were any updates on you. When he lay awake at night, he contemplated what could come from a bold message to you. Even now, at the gym, mid-workout, getting himself situated at the pull-up bar, he was still thinking about it. About you.

And then a familiar voice cracked through his headphones.

“Oh my gosh, Bakugou!” He shot up an eyebrow and turned around, scanning the area for the voice when he very quickly noticed a pink silhouette speeding toward him, waving happily. 

“Oh-em-gee, what are you doing here? This is such a fun coincidence!” Mina waved her hands around while she spoke, making dramatic expressions and overcompensating for something she was obviously hiding. 

He stared at her, deadpan, “You stupid or something? I come here at the same time every day. You know this, idiot.” 

He turned back around, reaching up to start his set, but kept half an ear open. If she wanted a favor or a sparring partner, she could just say it.

“That’s so true! That’s so true,” Mina nodded frantically. “I must not have realized it when I showed up! You always work out at this time!” 

She was lying. Badly.

“Why are you talking to me right now?”

Mina’s eyes widened. Then she crossed her arms and let out an over-the-top huff, pouting as she stood. “Jeez! Sorry for wanting to have a chat with my good friend at the gym! Gosh!”

“Yeah, well, if you really just wanted to chat, you wouldn’t be acting so damn weird. Do you need something from me, or are you just-”

“Girl! You left me at the stairmaster! What the fuck?!” 

Another voice cut in from behind him – and Bakugou froze. Completely caught off guard.

Mina’s annoyed pout shifted into a mischievous grin as she tilted her head and waited for him to let go of the bar and turn around.

  “Sorry!” she called back, chipper. “I just went to use the bathroom and you’ll never guess who I ran into!”

Bakugou dropped from the bar, already snapping his gaze back at Mina, when he saw you trailing behind her with a pissed off look…and a really flattering gym set that made him question his entire life. 

“You’re fucking dead,” Bakugou said, just loud enough for Mina to hear.

She ignored his comment, stepping aside like she was presenting a prize on a game show to make some space for you.

“Ta-da!” she whispered under her breath.

You finally caught up, giving Mina a flat look before turning your attention to the guy she “ran into” – only to freeze for a half second when you realized who it was.

“Oh,” you said, catching yourself mid-step. “I didn’t know you worked out here.”

Bakugou stared at you like you’d just roundhouse kicked him in the jaw. That set? That stupidly flattering gym set? He didn’t even believe in fate, but this felt like the universe had beef with him, clearly.

“Yeah. Every day,” he replied, trying to sound normal and absolutely failing.

You blinked. “Well, that’s cool. I just started tagging along with Mina a couple of weeks ago. It’s more fun to with a friend, y’know?” 

You gestured vaguely, then crossed your arms under your chest like you wanted him to break eye contact. 

Mina clapped. “Ugh, this is such a great coincidence! My two good friends, in the same place, lookin’ cute and sweaty – we should work out together! Or stretch! Spot each other! I’m just brainstorming!”

Bakugou gave her a look like he was mentally setting her on fire.

You, on the other hand, were trying to suppress a laugh. “Spotting sounds fun,” you said, quirking an eyebrow. “But I already did my upper body sets. Mina said we were doing legs today?”

“She lied,” Bakugou said flatly.

You shrugged before turning to Mina, “You lied?”

Mina placed a hand over her heart, gasping dramatically, “You two are literally so rude to me. You hate me. I know it. I try to orchestrate one beautiful moment of friendship and all I get is slander.”

“You’re so full of shit,” Bakugou muttered.

You tilted your head, studying them both for a moment. “Is that why you were acting weird? You knew he’d be here?”

He didn’t answer immediately–just stared at you like he was torn between punching a wall or sprinting out of the building. Then he scratched the back of his neck and muttered, “Yes. And she’s just annoying.”

You smiled – small, but real. “Thought so.”

A beat passed. You gestured at a bench near him. “Were you planning on using that?”

He blinked. “Uh–no. You can. Or we could…I mean–” He cleared his throat, straightening his posture. “Wanna finish our workouts together?”

Your brows raised slightly. Not a total surprise, but close.

“Only if you don’t wanna train alone,” he added quickly, looking away. “Not trying to invade your space or anything.”

“No, I wouldn’t mind!” you said, a little too fast. You caught yourself, smoothing it over with a calm shrug. “Yes, sure, why not?”

Mina looked at you two like she was watching her OTP become canon in real time. 

But then– buzz buzz.

Your phone lit up. You glanced at the screen and sighed. “Shit. I think I have to cut this short – it’s my boss. Work thing.”

Bakugou’s jaw twitched, but he gave a short nod. “Yeah. Go ahead.”

You gave him an apologetic look, gave Mina a little wave, then turned, phone already to your ear as you walked toward to exit.

Mina stared at you as you left like she’d just watched the final scene of a canceled show.

“NOOOOO,” she groaned, dramatically collapsing onto the bench. “COME BACK! MY DREAMS WERE LITERALLY COMING TRUE.”

But you were already out the door, not even looking back at the pair of them.

Bakugou sighed, picking up his water bottle from the ground and dragging a hand down his face. “You planned that whole thing, you’re not fuckin’ slick.”

“I was so close to greatness,” she groaned. “I could taste the sexual tension between you two. It was delicious. Like protein powder if it were crack.”

He rolled his eyes and turned away. “You’re actually so fucking weird. Remind me never to ask you to be my wingwoman.”

“Not true,” she grinned. “You have zero game! None! But, it’s fine– I’ll be officiating your wedding when my work here is done, thank you very much.”

Bakugou scoffed and muttered something that sounded like a threat.

Mina only beamed wider.

GC mina:  just want it on record that I watched bakugou and y/n EYEFUCK each other at the gym and end the conversation like nothing happened. katsuki:  that’s NOT what fucking happened kaminari:  excuse me????  context. Asap. mina:  [blurry chaotic photo of the two of them mid-convo.] Live footage, ur welcome all. kirishima:  OHHHHH SHIT!!!!! katsuki:  you’re actually psychotic.  when and why the fuck did you even take that mina:  doesn’t matter. You both looked hot. It’s actually a crime against humanity that the two of you didn’t start macking on the spot. kaminari:  i’m dead  she was right there and you still got no play??? yeah…this is going to take longer than we thought chat katsuki:  she literally had to leave because of a work problem  I invited her to join me and she said yes. sero:  ok?? if she wants you so bad then dm her Or even easier Just request her spam mina:  DUDE JUST FOLLOW HER SPAM She’s so fucking funny on there and she’s always posting HOT selfies. katsuki:  Yeah, not doing that. She’s gonna think I’m a fucking creep.  mina:  It’s not creepy, you’re just a pussy,  She posts the best shit.  I literally shed a tear whenever her selfies grace my eyes kaminari:  nah cuz if it were ME I would never let her walk out that gym without at least a number. katsuki:  i was literally in the middle of my workout trying not to blow up the place.  Can we drop this shit? sero:  if u don’t dm her i’m gonna do it and ask her for lunch Or i’m gonna steal ur phone and do it on your behalf katsuki:  do either of those things and we can fr square up. don’t try me. kirishima:  pause. You invited her. she said yes. And you STILL don’t wanna message her….. broplease i’m losing hope REF DO SOMETHING!!!! katsuki:  i swear to god i’m not in the mood She had to leave for work shit, that’s all. I wasn’t trying to make a fucking move. mina:  you can all just ignore him because he’s LYING THROUGH HIS MF TEETH. Yall were both giving each other that look. I saw it. it moved my heart katsuki:  bro WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT

Some days had passed since the last encounter you and Bakugou had, an event your good friend Mina was still living vicariously through.

“I just think you two look super good together,” she said, fanning her hand wet nails dramatically. “And, I promise you, there’s no harm in sending him a flirty little message. I’ll even give you his number if you want, I’d never steer you wrong.”

You laughed, glancing up from your phone as you both sat criss-cross on the floor of her dorm. She painted her nails with precision while you aimlessly scrolled.

“Okay, but I just broke up with Neito, what, two months ago?” you said. “I’m gonna look like a bop.”

Mina scoffed, rolling her eyes, “Okay, I love you, but literally no one was rooting for you two. Like, you know you were out of his league, right?”

You shrugged, flicking your thumb down your feed, “Hindsight’s 20/20.”

She clicked her tongue and leaned over, peeking at your screen. “$5 says you’re looking at his socials right now.”

You angled your phone away, “No.”

She raised a brow.

“.....Yes. Maybe. Shut up.”

She grinned smugly. “See? You like him. And he doesn’t even have any pictures posted! That’s how I know it’s serious– you’re pressed over a guy with zero selfies.”

You groaned and threw your head back against the side of her bed. “Girl– he’s hot, obviously, and we’re into each other or whatever. But he’s also like… a human grenade? He’s so intense. What if I text him and he blows up? I’m so serious, by the way.”

“You literally couldn’t be more wrong,” Mina said, chuckling as she slapped your arm lightly. “He’s one of my best friends. He only acts like that because he doesn’t talk to women. He gets all…intense. But he’s not a scary guy.”

“Yeah, maybe not to you,” you muttered, eyes flicking back to your phone. “Like, I feel like he could either kiss me or yell at me at any given moment, and I wouldn’t know which until it was happening.”

“Oh, so you’re complaining about hot sexual tension?” she teased, laughing out loud as the words left her mouth. “That man wants you. I’d show you receipts, but he’s my friend, so just trust me. He wants you and doesn’t know what the hell to do about it.”

Right then, your screen lit up with a new notification from your spam account. 

Someone had just requested to follow it.

You blinked.

Bakugou Katsuki.

“Mina.”

“What?”

“He just requested my spam.”

Mina nearly dropped the nail polish. “YOU’RE LYING.”

You scrambled to accept it, hands shaking. “I didn’t even know he knew I had a spam. My name’s not even on it.”

“Bitch, I barely knew you had a spam! This man is so deep in the trenches.”

You both stared at the screen like it had asked you a riddle.

“Maybe he followed by accident?” you offered weakly, already pulling up his profile to confirm it was real. Tagged in three posts. No bio. Same profile pic.

“Don’t even start with that,” Mina said, pointing her nail file at you. “Explain how you accidentally follow a locked spam with no name on it? He is invested.”

You didn’t respond to her, refreshing your screen until anything new appeared.

Bakugou Katsuki liked your post.

You tapped it.

It was on old mirror selfie. From months ago. You were posed provocative, all confidence and angles, captioned: “like if u want me.”

Suggestive. Flirty. Bold.

You blinked. “Mina.”

“Please tell me good news, I love good news.”

“He liked a thirst trap. From November.”

“Oh my GOD!”

You grabbed her by the wrist. “That means he scrolled. Like, really scrolled. That post isn’t even recent!”

“He’s digging,” she gasped. “He wants you so bad he’s literally excavating. Katsuki Bakugou is clicking through your spam account with sweaty gym fingers, doing research. I used to pray for times like this.”

Your heart was racing, you could barely even look at your phone. 

“What should I do?” you asked. “Should I post something? Should I hit him up?”

“You do nothing,” Mina said immediately, eyes wild as she shook you by the shoulders. “You should wait and let this man COOK. He’s plotting on you right now. He followed your spam and liked a single thirst trap from the archives. You don’t interrupt a man mid-plot.”

You laughed–half crazy, half sick with nerves. Your thumb hovered over your phone again. Nothing new.

Then: a message notification slid across the top of your screen

BK0420

didn’t know u looked like that off-campus.

you always post like that? or were you just hoping i’d see that one?

You screamed.

Mina screamed.

And somewhere, not far away, Bakugou put his phone face down on the bed. Heart pounding like he just ran a fifty-yard dash…and immediately regretting everything he’d ever said in his life.

[kathrahender]

Tired of seeing Strickler's hate from Blinky's fans so I'm making this post to say something (controversial or not): Blinky is not perfect. Strickler is not a perfect character, of course, but Blinky isn't a perfect character neither. No matter what you try to say about Strickler, or how much you hate him, Blinky also made mistakes.

Yeah, Strickler did a bad things in the show:

First, he worked for Gunmar. But while he could have decided other thing, he didn't serve Gunmar "because he wanted to" or because he hated humanity (like Gunmar and other characters did, who btw don't get as much hate as Strickler does), but because he needed to serve Gunmar. Trollmarket hated changelings and considered them "impures", and humans didn't even know about them. So it's not a surprise he and other changelings decided to turn to the troll who was going to "make it better for them" bringing the Eternal Night (and if they got deceived by Gunmar, it's not their fault. Everyone can fell for the lies of another person).

Second, yes, he fought Jim, and that was "wrong" because he could have decided to be on his side since the beginning. After all, Jim not only was a teenager, he was also his favorite student, so he could have supported him. Besides, telling someone "Don't you see? I'm only trying to protect you" and then throwing a knife at him it's not very protective but anyways- Strickler didn't try to kill Jim. He said "I'll kill you if I need to" in Recipe for Disaster, yes, and fought against Jim in season 1 part 1, but he had more fighting skills than Jim. If he had wanted to kill him, he would have done it. But he didn't. Because the only thing he wanted was to keep him out of his way. It was easy to kill Principal Levit, and he could have done the same with Jim if he had wanted to (and no, he didn't decide not to kill Jim because of the consequences, because in Bittersweet Sixteen the stalkling could have killed Jim and Stickler wasn't at all happy with the idea of Jim dying).

Thirdly, he woke up Angor Rot to stop Jim. He shouldn't have done that, and it wasn't "right" (Not only because of what he ordered Angor Rot to do, but because of how he treated Angor Rot), but it was perfectly understandable. Jim wanted to free the familiars of the changelings from the Darklands, and that meant the changelings would have had to keep being trolls forever -without being able to change to their human forms- so it wasn't a surprise Strickler tried to stop Jim (despite he could have chosen to talk to Jim instead of fighting him-).

And fourthly, he entwined his fate with Barbara's. Doing something like that it's horrible. And I'm not justifying what he did. But in that moment, when he was going to entwine his fate with Barbara's, for the first time in a lot of episodes, he showed a little remorse. And that means that he isn't the irredeemable villain some Trollhunters fans want him to be. He wasn't flawless, he wasn't perfect, but he worked to be a better person. He gave Jim Gunmar's eye, he came back to Arcadia in season 2 and helped Jim to defeat Gunmar in season 3, and he sacrificed himself in ROTT for him.

So yeah, while I kinda understand why some people consider Strickler's redemption arc "a bad redemption arc", I don't understand why he is hated by a part of the fandom so much. Specially knowing that some Trollhunters fans are also Star Wars fans and they don't hate Darth Vader as much as they hate Strickler. I also didn't like some things about his redemption, but again I understand that it was because of the lack of episodes, not because he was a bad written redeemed villain.

And it's funny how some people hate him, and adore Blinky, when he isn't perfect either. I can tell Strickler has a lot of flaws, but Blinky is not a troll without them.

Blinky was prejudiced about the changelings, and not just a little. He was very prejudiced against the changelings, and all because of what? Because the changelings were the product of troll babies being stolen and transformed into half-human half-troll creatures? Because they weren't full trolls? Because the human part of them made them impure? You know that sounds awfully similar to what the purebloods of Harry Potter think about halfbloods. That's not a very good reason to hate the changelings honestly. And it's not that I'm biased about Strickler (and want Blinky to be some things he isn't), because Blinky in the show talked about how "bad" changelings were when he told Jim they existed. Besides, even when Strickler came back to Arcadia, the first thing he believed was that Strickler was working with Gunmar. Even after he gave Jim Gunmar's eye in season 1. So yeah, he was definitely prejudiced against changelings and that's a fact.

Apart from that, he wasn't a good mentor at first. Yeah, of course, the destiny of the world was in Jim's hands and the weight of the world was on Jim's shoulders and all of that, but Jim was a teenager. He wasn't a troll like Kanjigar or like the previous trollhunters, who trained for decades after they were chosen by the amulet. Jim was a human. A teenager. A person with other worries: his mother, his friend, his grades. And one of the first things Blinky said to Jim when he talked about the school? "I assure you, the relevance escapes me". This only shows one thing: that Blinky at first only cared about Jim being the trollhunter, and that he probably wanted Jim to leave his past life behind and only care about the trollhunter' duties.

And while Blinky got over the second flaw, he didn't get over the prejudice about changelings. Strickler did fix most of his flaws during the show.

To end this post, I want to say that of course, you have the right to love the characters you want, and hate the characters you want, but don't be hypocritical about it. Yes. Strickler was a villain. Blinky was not. But both have flaws. Both made mistakes. Neither of them is perfect. So ackowledge the flaws of the characters you love when you need to, and don't act as if they did nothing wrong when they did.

[chronicdelusionistsart]

"Does He Know, Chat?" - The Conflict of Timbern

There's so much about Tim Drake: Robin that is characterized by being a cancelled run. Like, every reading of it should come with the context that they meant to do way more and were forced to close the doors early because of sales. The knowledge that we'd basically been doing Act 1 this whole time puts a lot into perspective!

While the overarching plot had just started to kick in and I think that's what most people catch, that it seemed slow to move (Something I think isn't necessarily true either but that's another day another longpost). BUT I think many people miss that we'd also just started to hit the meat of Tim and Bernard's relationship.

Specifically, we'd just - JUST - gotten enough information to deduce the central complication to their relationship. A miscommunication of epic proportions that affects how two people that very much love each other view the other and their place in the relationship. One that actually does have a few cracks showing on-panel! I think - and I'm being more speculative than usual here, but I feel solid about this one - if the comic had gone on, we'd have seen this become The Conflict.

Spoilers for Tim Drake: Robin under the cut. And as a VERY important note, because this is under the lens of an exploration of what the run was building to before it was cancelled, we'll be assuming that information given out in the last two issues was what the writer intended to give out later, but rushed for the ending.

Anyway, I call this game "Does he Know, chat?"

Step 1: Bernard Knows

Yeah, this is pretty straightforward. He says this one out loud to the audience.

I've previously made the case, or at least implied that it is the case, that Bernard not only knows, but he knows that Tim is Robin for his entire time onscreen for the TD:R run. This is because he is hilarious about it.

Absolute icon. He's so unserious

He's hilarious about it and he's also... cagey about it. He lets Tim move at his own pace about telling him, but he also pries gently into it when he thinks Tim might be in over his head.

RIGHT, ANAKIN?

we're coming BACK to this conversation later in full trust

When exactly did he figure it out? Dunno. Doesn't really matter for anything besides comedy value. I think it is the most funny if he somehow put it together years ago, but I think the evidence of his trolling and doublespeak points to somewhere between his reintroduction in Urban Legends and the start of TD:R - you could argue that him asking Robin to take his last words to Tim is when he figures it out, but that's ehhhhhh. It don't mattah.

Step 2: Tim Doesn't Know Bernard Knows

So like. Tim doesn't fucking know, chat

No literally like I'm combing through the entire comic. Is there any indication he knows besides Bernard assuming that he does? We see his thought bubbles. Since it's really hard to show the absence of a panel let's just take some looks at Tim Drake's Inner Monologues While Hanging Out With The Guy That He Allegedly Knows Knows His Secret Identity

I could scrape for more examples, and there are more, but we get this, right? This is not how you think about the guy you know knows your secret. He is in fact straight up anxious about Bernard finding out that he's been lying to him. He goes out of his way to point out that he's not sharing his full self, which would presumably include, as the mooks put it, da Bats.

Actually, no, I changed my mind. Let's scrape for more examples. All of those are pretty early on, so what about in the middle of the comic?

Still actively hiding his mask from Bernard. Visibly panicked. From Bernard's revelation, we know that Bernard is fully aware of who he's talking to - one might even take this conversation as him prodding at Tim to just stop the charade already, but having fun with it.

Like "I don't think I'd be dating my boyfriend if it weren't for you" speaking to the boyfriend in question. LMAOOOOOOOOO Bernard I'd die for you

Tim's so firmly separated his identities and doubled down on keeping this secret from Bernard, in fact, that in their penultimate meetup before the finale, he grieves the fact that he can't be there to comfort Bernard as himself.

I don't think this is because he was simply unwilling to come as Tim. This is, put together with everything else, the behaviour of someone who. Well. Doesn't Know, chat.

Oh yeah and there is also that he outright says "Bernard can't Know" but what would the fun be in leading with that 💖

Step 3: Bernard Doesn't Know Tim Doesn't Know Bernard Knows

Okay so now we're really getting into the juice of this.

Bernard thinks they're on the level.

A lot of people see this as proof that Tim does in fact know, but the thing is that, as we just handily established, everything we see from Tim's POV contradicts this. Sometimes explicitly.

Which leaves the obvious answer - that Bernard is an unreliable narrator. He doesn't fucking Know, chat!

Hey sooooooo remember how I said that Bernard has a habit of dropping Robinisms into conversation or bringing up Tim to Robin because he's prodding at Tim to drop it?

Bernard you are soooo insane for this level of doublespeak. Just talk to your boyfriend my man

Bro sincerely thinks that Tim is just. Holding out on him on a pretense. This explains why he is so GOD DAMN MAD when Tim comes knocking as Robin when the Chaos Cult comes back to town.

Like. From the Bernard POV. The disrespect from Tim here.

Step 4 - Ruh Roh Raggy

This is, as the writers' workshops say, THE CONFLICT. The fundamental disconnect of Tim and Bernard's relationship is that they're going through the same motions and interpreting them completely differently!

Tim DOESN'T realize Bernard is smarter than he appears he DOESN'T realize that every time he's sent Bernard away or tried to send him away to deal with something, something that happens repeatedly

that Bernard has known that he wasn't letting him into his life all the way and he DOESN'T trust Bernard enough to let him in despite Bernard making him very happy. He's so hung up on doing the relationship Right and not compromising Robin as he learned it from Batman (Themes!) that he misses that he has a competent partner right next to him who is willing to be his equal.

I sincerely believe that we were in the buildup for this to come to a head when the run was cancelled. The buildup itself is, in fact, excellent - as we've proven, if you're paying attention, you can see this coming like an oncoming train.

I actually specifically want to highlight how tightly Page fucking 2 of the run sets this up. Like mmmmmm writing masterclass here

This page is doing double duty as foreshadowing the Moriarty fakeout (Ooooh is Bernard the bad guy? No lol) and just setting up that Bernard knows and that Tim is too distracted by Bernard... being the Bernard he likes to put forward... to notice.

Like it is genuinely impressive how many conversations in this run, on reread, mean completely different things to both participants, and they start it RIGHT away.

I've been focused on Tim here so far but on Bernard's side he's just. He speaks in doublespeak all the time. Like even when it's something he's upset about or has hurt him in the past he just keeps it in and hints at it because he trusts Tim blindly to understand because he's a detective and shit. Look at this mf he can't turn the layered meanings machine off he's even doing it in the Pride Special

THE PRIDE SPECIAL!! Metaphor loving mf... you're everything to me you funny bastard

So basically if this had been allowed to run its course...

Step 5 - Okay so we now Know that Bernard Doesn't Know that Tim Doesn't Know that Bernard Knows. what now

... Well, it would have been really fucking interesting!! I think Bernard would not have been happy to know he'd been so thoroughly misunderstood and underestimated, and I think Tim would have been very torn between his bat-training and what needed to be done to make things work between them.

Personally? I think that Tim would have learned that he doesn't need to be the Robin that he was before and that it was getting in the way of really knowing Bernard. At the same time that Bernard learned that his conception of Robin (and by extension Tim) as larger than life was getting in the way of knowing who Tim really was.

Step X - Reflections

I find myself, like... I keep coming back to these two. The build here is incredible, and subtle, and it's really a credit to the writing that I can just go back and panel by panel always find some new way that it was tightly written when looking for the panels for these writeups. Their interactions are layered, and each layer has something interesting going on. Really great use of (in the interim I learned the proper term for this!) delayed decoding! I really don't understand why people don't think Tim is interesting in this, too. He's out here being the second funniest mf in Gotham.

Unfortunately, having to end the run on Tim being rescued in costume by Bernard being the world's least subtle about Knowing, we kinda blew our chance to slowburn this in canon. Maybe a good canon divergent fanfic departing from before the last issue could do this justice, idk.

Such is comics! Hope this turns out to be good reference material for someone, at least.

Seeya!

[nitewrighter]

Snow White and the Fae Co-Op

Part 5: An Autonomous Collective

Previous Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4

Masterpost

Of course I know where we're going. Circling around the same block four times and threading through the park twice is part of it. Besides, I'm basically at the best part, which is me and the guys, obviously.

Well, I mean it's not the best part for Snow, because she's running for her life with no fucking idea where to go through a dark forest right now, she is having a bad time, but then the best part is when she meets me and the guys, so I'm going to take a quick aside here to talk about how our operation worked at the time.

Remember how I mentioned earlier that me and my guys kind of got compared to the mob? Well... there's a reason for that. See, there was a time when the balance between human and fae kingdoms was maintained by the possession and trade of magical objects...

...and people. Okay, yeah, but our team wasn't the ones stealing kids and replacing them with goblins. We didn't deal in the exchange of living things, which is why Snow's case was so exceptional for us, and also probably why it took so long for the Queen to find her when she started staying with us. God, I'm getting ahead of myself. My point is, we mined, manufactured, and traded in magical trinkets to help maintain this delicate balance. We weren't the ones who made the mirror, that's way the fuck out of our pay grade--but coins that always turn up heads, or a necklace that makes your fuck-ugly daughter the most eligible bachelorette in the county? That was our wheelhouse.

Let's just start with the team.

So basically the one in charge of everything was Seachnasaigh, the Púca. Tailypo-looking motherfucker, but he had a tongue of silver. He was our primary broker with the Fae Courts, you know, the Deep End. He secured the contracts, talked us out of trouble, kept us abreast of most of the goings-on between the two kingdoms so that we would know where there were demands in the market, and when to keep our heads the fuck down. And if we ever had a hard time crunch for a deadline, the shapeshifting also made him pretty useful in a mine, all things considered.

Then there was Grom Gruach--the Redcap. Mostly just known as 'Grom.' Best at stabbing. He was our security and muscle and helped maintain secure exchanges of goods... and as Seachnasaigh's right hand, kept the rest of us on task because he was pant-shittingly terrifying. Didn't use that muscle for the mine as much as you'd think, though.

The more specialized workforce was split between four gnomes. Dok was an architect and maintained structural integrity of the mine as we progressed further into the mountain, Psellus manned the heavier mining machinery and the cruder smithing work and refining, Appius was our main smith, and Pasha was our enchanter.

...and I guess here is where we get to me.

Don't fucking look at me like that.

"I was the stupid one who could wiggle his ears" is that what you want me to say? Yes, I can wiggle my ears. No, I'm not going to do it now. I mean I was the only beardless one so I guess folks got that right. Kind of. (Not that Seachnasaigh counts all that much since he was covered in hair...)

I guess if I gave the names of all the others that it's only fair I give my own. It's not like the name I can give you is very accurate, anyway. Trolls have a very phonetic language. My name literally translates to "A small round stone being cast into still, deep, water in a vast and empty underground chamber." (Obviously trolls have a lot of rock-based names, you understand). The closest phonetic spelling in human lettering and characters is something like "Dhowop~op~op" and you don't make a normal "p," sound, it's more like you close your lips while pushing them forward and also kind of rounding them out in a reversal of that lip-popping sound, and you have to decrease the volume of your voice on the second and third 'ops.' Like an echo! You don't have to--

Yeah no, you didn't get it.

Just--

No, that wasn't it, either. It's basically a sound effect.

Okay, that was closer, but please, for both our sakes, stop trying. This is why my name got gnomicized to Dhopi.

Anyway, you may have noticed that mining formed the basis of the materials needed for our operation, but not a lot of us were actually miners. Well, you don't need to swing a pickaxe if one member of your group can talk to rocks.

I talked to the rocks. That was my job. I asked the rocks to move in a way that was polite to rocks, and the rocks moved.

Rocks are actually a lot more inclined to change than most think. The younger ones wish they got sprayed out by a volcano, but they won't say "no" to the pickaxe, the drill, or the shovel. They sing of seething heat and rivers of pressure...the hands of a loved one pressed hard against your back. As far as actual magical gems within the hills went, those were like little shards of wrongness. You were doing the mountain a favor if you got them out. Magic was an irritant. Magic longed to make contact with a consciousness, a mind, not the mind of a rock, and magic thrummed against the stone like out-of-sync music. They were about equally as naturally occurring and desirable as zits to the other rocks. I like to think of our crew as something like... Oxpeckers, or your sibling who pops that really painful back zit for you.

Sorry, am I still making sense? It's been a long time since I've been able to talk to someone about any of this.

Oh--Snow! Right, of course, Snow. She had a rough time. I don't know how long she was running through that forest, and neither did she, but the way she told it to me was, she was running, her outfit got torn up by tree branches, she fell into some horrible freezing stagnant water at some point, kept running, then she made it to our house, and her immediate reaction was basically, "Jesus fuck this place is a dump."

Well, at first, it was like, "Oh my god this house is so cute." And then it was like "Jesus fuck this place is a dump."

See, we weren't home at the time, me and the gnomes were at the mine, and Seachnasaigh and Grom were... I assume either schmoozing up a high Fae or breaking someone's kneecaps. I dunno. We usually met up about half a mile from home, though.

And I know what you're thinking: "So Snow could just walk right in? You didn't lock the door?" And it's like, fuck, dude, humans weren't supposed to find our house! Like, ever! In theory a human could look right at our house and just not fucking see it like the way your brain won't register keys you were looking for on a counter! She literally found our house because of Chosen One Bullshit. She changes the world--both human and fae. The rules bend for her, and the rules we made for our house bent for her.

She didn't clean our house before she passed out, by the way. It's kind of weird that that was a thing? Obviously she called us on our shit about our place being a fucking armpit, but she had been running through unfamiliar terrain so long that when she hit our place she passed the fuck out. Beds were beds, even if they were fucking disgusting. And it wasn't like she was less disgusting, on account of being covered in boar's blood and whatever the hell was in that stagnant water.

So like... we get home and we find a passed-out, soggy, muddy teenager with blood-stained skirts sprawled across three of our beds shoved together.

And because Seachnasaigh has to be a cheeky clever bitch about everything he's like "Well, isn't this a development, lads?"

And Grom says, "You want I should stab her?"

But I don't want Grom to stab her because everyone basically treated me like shit, and I thought if there was a new person, they'd have someone else to treat like shit, so I say, "Rocks don't find themselves in the middle of a field for no reason. You don't mess with a big rock in the middle of a field." And they all laugh at me and say, "Classic Dhopi."

...okay I get why it was easy to make me the stupid one, in hindsight.

But then Snow wakes up and she screams, and then like, half of us are screaming, and she starts talking rapidly like, "I'm so sorry, I thought this was a magic orphanage or something."

And Seachnasaigh is like, "A magic what."

And Grom says, "You want I should stab her?" again.

And she says, "Please! I am Snow White of Temperate Kingdom, and I beg thee for shelter from the Queen."

...and that combination of words somehow ends up flipping a switch in all of us because Grom takes off his crusty scabby cap and takes a knee, and Seachnasaigh instantly clasps her pretty white hands in his freaky-ass aye-aye fingers and says, "Sweet Princess, our home is yours. How may we aid you?"

And there's a long pause, and her eyes flick to me, and then to the other guys. Her eyes flick around the room, and her jaw sets. She blinks at Seachnasaigh before saying, "You should do your dishes."

And Seachnasaigh bows his head, saying, "It shall be done, my lady," before barking, "DHOPI! DO THE FOCKING DISHES."

So Snow and me don't get off to a super-great start.

But... she was good at noticing things. She noticed me from that first moment. I know that sounds dumb. I know she just had that effect on people because of what she was, but I'm not bullshitting when I say I was her favorite. I know I was. She never said it because, y'know, you don't want to play favorites when you're depending on the hospitality of a collective. It was in her interest to keep the peace, so I don't take it personally. But I felt it. Every time she sat next to me while mending one of our trousers, every time she invited me along to pick berries and herbs and mushrooms, every time she talked about her stupid useless prince with the dishwater hair and the bump in his nose, I felt a slice of loneliness, of vulnerability in her peeking through. A part of her she didn't share with anyone else. Maybe she saw the same in me. The Princess torn between worlds and a troll a long way from home. There are some weights you don't share until you know they're not a weight for the other person.

Snow carved out her niche with us, she didn't try to push or change our lifestyle too much, but I could tell she gave her little nudges where she could to make things easier, to make us fight less, clean more, eat better... but we changed her, too. She went from that neat red hairnet studded with pearls to tying her hair up in crowns or rams horns of braids threaded through with scarlet ribbon. She got calluses on her palms and scuffs on the knuckles of her pretty white hands. She could hike up her skirts and swing a pickaxe, though honestly she made a bigger difference at the house, swinging a hoe. She made a little garden for us, and all she had to do was sing, and the cabbages would be huge and lush and green, and the carrots would be sugar-sweet. She sang to the birds and they would shit on her compost heap for her, can you freakin' imagine?? And... yes, with a little nudge she had us pulling weeds and spreading mulch for her. I'm not too proud to admit that. It felt good to make something grow from the earth, it hit different than just... yanking wrongness out of rocks. And there was yeast bubbling in the kitchen and songs being sung at night and in a matter of weeks our house went from a place you just pass out in to a living thing. A community. A home.

Just like how her poisons just turned into medicines, Snow's cooking just... always turned out good. It was really simple stuff at first, but it got better and better the more she figured out what she was doing. And after every meal we were racing to do the dishes for her. Eventually she did set up her own little apothecary lab just to experiment on slower days when we were all out at the mine. She laughed more. Sang more. Teased and wrinkled her nose. Something about her became... freer. Wilder. Older. It was like the Fae software and the human hardware weren't fighting each other anymore, you know?

Every one of us loved her in our own ways. Seachnasaigh ran circles around the rest of us, but he was an absolute sucker for her. I'd listen to them stay up talking next to the dying embers of the fire, contests of riddles and convoluted stories that ended in puns, and a lot of shit that frankly flew over my head. She made salves for Psellus's hands, and listened patiently to Dok's mutterings as he tried to puzzle through buttress placement, and she backseat drove Appius on jewelry design. Even fucking Grom, who was given to looming, loomed a little warmer when he was escorting her on her little forest foraging trips.

To be honest I never... 'got' Pasha, but Snow seemed to get him? They could just sit in that room full of crystals for hours together, her singing while Pasha played his rebab, and the enchantments came out.. warmer? Stronger? Truer? Seachnasaigh tried to be subtle about it, but with Snow on our team, our products were suddenly a much more hot commodity. Maybe that's why it couldn't last. Maybe that's how the Queen found us, eventually. Maybe Snow was like those magic rocks in the mountains, she couldn't not reach out to those who would make her gifts shine.

We should have kept her safer.

We were fucking idiots.

Oh--! Hey! We're here! Okay, let me talk to the doorman, don't make eye contact with anyone, and keep your voice down, all right? Just keep your head down and I'll get us a seat at the bar. DON'T MAKE FUCKING EYE CONTACT WITH ANYONE. No, I'm fine, you can look at me. No, don't stare at me, keep your fucking head down. Look, shut up, let me talk to the doorman. I'll handle this.

[giulliadella]

Speculative Biology of Euclydians (and Bill Cipher) part 2

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, UPDATE, Part 5

So this part is what you've all been waiting for, it took so long, but you'll quickly understand why. This part is:

The Biology of Bill Cipher

As always, this analysis is based on two assumptions:

Before Bill Cipher became a demigod, he was a biological, living organism and so were the rest of his species.

Even after Bill Cipher became a demigod, he still retained some physical characteristics of his biological form.

And a fair content warning: This contains anatomy illustrations. This isn't anything gory, but there are people who are squeamish, so you've been warned.

Click on the images to get better quality!

And without further ado, let's begin.

External structures

Euclydians are animals with a very specific shape. They have a shell in a form of a geometric shape and four limbs. Bill is an equilateral triangle, so my analysis will be just on triangular Euclydeans.

They have bilateral symmetry. This type of symmetry is characterized by having a left and a right side placed like mirror images of each other. Humans and majority of Earth’s animals also have this feature.

Bilaterally symmetrical organisms usually have a distinct head region, because of a process known as cephalization. This process moves the animal’s brain and sensory organs towards one end of the body – the head. Euclydians have a head. It’s the “tip of the pyramid” on Bill and that’s where the eye and other sensory organs and brain are located.

Finally, Euclydeans are segmented. Their segments are clearly visible as those weird brick lines on their body. Bill also often separates his body into three segments. This is a part of his god powers, but it tells us that Euclydeans have three major body segments, I’ll call them the tip, the middle and the base. Each segment contains specific organs.

Euclydeans are invertebrates. And yes, I know this image exists, but this is just Bill’s trolling. He’s making fun of human classrooms where we often find skeleton models. That skeleton wouldn’t even be functional, because it doesn’t have any joints in arms and legs, so it wouldn’t be able to move. And it has a hole where the brain would be, so you know, the fucking brain would fall out.

It was outright stated that Bill has an exoskeleton. Having both external and internal skeleton would be a big waste because you have two systems that do the same thing. Besides, the way Bill's limbs move is much more similar to an invertebrate. His shell is also somewhat bendable which would not be possible if it was made of bone. And the eye-mouth complex that Bill uses to eat would also be completely impossible with a set of vertebrate jaws.

Euclydean shell (or exoskeleton) is nothing like anything here on Earth. It’s most likely made out of silica combined with proteins. I say this because Bill turned to stone when he died and he also likes to eat glass, which is pure silica.

The exoskeleton is made out of several parts. It has a front (ventral) and back (dorsal) part. Both the front and the back part of the exoskeleton are made out of head region (the tip) and three layers of “bricks” which are just segments of the exoskeleton.

The front tip is probably made of more protein and elastic tissue than the back, because Bill has a very expressive “face”. This means that he also has quite complex facial muscles. The back of the head is probably the hardest part of the exoskeleton because it protects the brain. Bricks are in the middle since they have a very important role in speaking and breathing, but also allow the shell to bend.

Can Euclydeans change color, or is it just Bill Cipher using his god powers? Well, since he changes his color on instinct, I think they could! Bill can change color to black, yellow, red and blue. This means that he has a complex system of chromatophores – cells that contain little sacs full of pigment. When the sacs inflate, the body appears to be the color of the largest sac, whilst those deflated are invisible. Color changes depending on the pigments contained in inflated sacs. In Bill, the pigments are red, blue and yellow. Yellow is the standard color, it signifies neutral or content emotional state. He turns red when he's angry or wants to look intimidating and blue might signify fear, despair and cry for help. Black is the color of Euclydean’s skin, so when they look black, it’s because all pigment sacs have deflated and the transparent shell allows us to see the skin underneath.

And yes, Euclydeans have black skin. I know some people say that Bill wears thigh high boots and long gloves, but to me, that doesn’t make any sense. Like, that image of him in Theraprism is showing him with clothes over his supposed gloves and boots. Why would they make him wear sneakers over boots? And why baby Bill has yellow hands? Well, that’s something I’ll tell you in the next part where I’ll talk about babies.

Anyways, the skin is black, but we have no idea what it feels like. Seriously, so many people shook hands with Bill and nobody wrote down how his skin feels like! But we know that he has fingerprints. That means that he has very sensitive fingertips and that those little paws were made for grabbing things. Also, Bill doesn’t have any growths on his skin: no nails, hairs, scales etc. I know a lot of people love to draw Bill with claws, but he doesn’t have claws, not even in his most eldritch form. His fingers always remain small and soft. The legs have no fingers and the skin of the sole of their feet is probably thick.

Internal Structures

Coelom

Coelom is one of the most important organs, that you probably don’t know you even have! It’s a fluid filled cavity whose role is to separate internal organs from the muscles of the body wall. This allows organs to move and grow independently of your muscles and it also protects and cushions them against impact. In humans coelom is complex and it’s made out of pericardial cavity (around the heart – allows heart to pump blood), pleural cavity (around lungs – allows lungs to expand while breathing) and peritoneal cavity (around digestive system – allows for expansion and movement of digestive organs).

I believe that Euclydeans also have some form of a coelom. Coelom is even more important in invertebrates, as that’s where their immune system is and it can also serve as a supportive hydroskeleton. Since Euclydeans have a hard shell, they need the protection around their organs. Every shelled animal on Earth has coelom for that reason. They also need room for the food they eat, since the shell can’t expand and their limbs can enter the shell, so they need room for that too.

2. Nervous system

Euclydeans have a vast range of emotions, capability to communicate using speech, body language and even color shifting. They are as intelligent, or more intelligent than humans. They have a highly developed eye and other senses and all of this requires a nervous system. We saw Bill’s optic nerve when his eye got pulled out during Weirdmageddon, so he does have a nervous system, but I can't tell you how exactly it looks like.

There’s one part of Bill that I bet is similar to human - it’s his brain. Bill claims that he can take control over any being a long as they have neurons. This is his god like power, but then, why just beings with neurons? Well, most likely, because he has neurons too and kind of understands how they work. Maybe his brain even produces similar neurotransmitters as ours, so we’re easy to control with them. The brain is in the tip of the pyramid, slightly above eye and it likely has a lot of neurons and a very complex structure. I can’t tell you how exactly is his brain organized, but since he's bilaterally symmetrical, it’s very likely that it has hemispheres. He likely also has two neural cords, like most invertebrates, and those run down the dorsal (back) side of his body

3. Senses

Euclydeans have camera lens type eyes. Now here I can only speak of Bill, since we haven’t seen any other Euclydian. Bill’s eye is large, placed in the center of his “face”. It has eyelids with “eyelashes” (more on them later) and produces tears (Bill cries after his break up with Ford). The pupil is slit and vertical and there is no iris. However, there are muscles that can change the shape and dilation of the pupil. The eye looks similar enough to human that I can confidently say that he has cornea, lens and sclera. The eye is filled with refractory fluid and has some form of retina in the back. Bill’s eye changing color and being used as a projector or to shoot lasers are all parts of his god powers, however, it is possible that his species has a tapetum lucidum, a reflective layer of cells which help animals see in low light conditions and also makes the eye glow in the dark. Bill has color vision and he claims that he can see every part of the electromagnetic spectrum, but I think that's a part of his god powers. However, Euclydeans definitely could see in color, since their alphabet was basically a color code and they also use colors to express emotion.

Since Bill has fingerprints, we can confidently say that his fingers are the most sensitive part of his skin. Bill can feel through his shell too, just like every shelled organism ever (that's why he used Ford as a backscratcher). Tactile senses are very primitive, so Eucliydeans could feel cold, heat, pain, pressure, vibration and everything else just like we do.

Bill has a sense of smell and he even says which scents he finds attractive. This could mean that sense of smell plays a big role in reproduction of Euclydeans, but where is it located? Well, on the eyelashes. Except, those are not eyelashes, they are antennae. Bill has total eight of these antennae, 4 on lower and 4 on upper eyelid. They are very soft and sensitive, so he can retract them inside the eyelid. He does that when he feels threatened, so it’s probably a fight or flight response. His lashes get longer and he flutters his eyelid more near Ford, probably because he enjoys his smell. They are also located close to the mouth, so that’s how he samples the scents of the food.

Euclydeans have great hearing. They communicate vocally, sing, Bill can play the piano, so obviously, they hear. But I have no idea what they use to hear. It could be the bow tie, since it does look vaguely ear shaped, but it's possible that the bow tie isn't actually an organ. In that case, they could have an unknown structure inside them or they could just use their thin exoskeleton to catch sound vibrations.

They taste using their long tongue.

4. Muscles and movement

We have seen Bill’s muscles and they are striated skeletal muscles like mammals and insects have.

As the shell is kind of bendy, there is a lot of muscles underneath it. Those are the muscles of the body, they also move the face and bricks while speaking. The limbs have muscles too and two kinds at that.

When Ford shoots through Bill’s hat (which also a part of him) it is shown that inside of it are strange bone-like structures. These are not bones, since they aren’t articulated, but muscles do connect to them. They kind of remind me of echinoderm ossicles, but they don’t really look like them. This is another fully alien structure and I’ll call them anchors.

You know how Bill’s limbs can both bend just like human arms and legs, like he has elbows, wrists, knees and ankles, but they also bend like goofy rubber-hose cartoon anatomy? Well, that’s because there are two types of muscles in them. There are muscles attached to the anchor points and subcutaneous muscles.

Anchor points are located in the same places as joints in humans. Muscles that attach to them are long and strong and they are used for regulated, precise movement. The subcutaneous muscles (the one we see in his Weirdmageddon image) are used to bend the limbs in every other manner. They are not attached to anchors, but to the skin, so they resemble muscles of octopus arms. They are shorter and less strong, but when they act together they move the limbs in coils. These muscles are also responsible for squishing the limbs inside the shell when they are hidden.

Bill has incredible control and dexterity of his muscles, especially in arms and fingers. Even though his paws are soft and small, he can use them pretty much as efficiently as humans use their hands.

Possibly the strongest muscles in Bill's body are his jaw muscles, so let's talk about those jaws.

5. Eye-mouth complex and the digestive system

Having your eye used for feeding seems wild to us, but this adaptation is seemingly common in fictional geometric shaped people, as it has convergently evolved in Flatland’s inhabitants as well. And, speak what you like, but Euclydeans can’t choke on their food, so they have it better than humans.

I don’t know what Flatlanders eat, but Euclydeans are definitely predators. Now, I know that Bill sometimes depicts himself with human like teeth. The guy has a thing for teeth, especially molars, but he doesn’t have mammalian teeth. In every image where he opens his mouth that was not made by him, we see that he has cone shaped sharp teeth, like a predator. These teeth are great for biting and subduing prey, but they suck at chewing. Euclydeans can’t chew, so they they feed by swallowing chunks that they bite off, or swallowing their food whole if it’s small enough.

Here I depicted how this “eye-mouth complex” functions:

Euclydeans have a stomach in the middle of their body, but I have no idea what goes after it. My best guess is that they have a branching intestine. Our flattest organisms (flatworms, sea stars and brittle stars) all have this type of intestine. It basically means that, instead of just going like a tube, the intestine branches into different parts of the body. I also have no idea whether they have an anus and if it’s just one. This is just something I can’t tell you.

Since Euclydeans are capable of eating a lot of various things, I expect that they have accessory digestive glands (that’s liver and pancreas in humans). Strangely, despite the fact that his anatomy indicates a predator, Bill likes eating starch (pasta, empanadas, sandwiches etc). Most carnivores are unable to digest starch, so I went with god powers, but he ate sandwiches when he was a kid and had no god powers. So, we have two options. Either Euclydeans are omnivores (which, with those teeth, I doubt) or the animals on their planet store their excess calories as starch, not fat, so predators evolved the ability to digest it. If the second one is true, then Bill eating pasta is like your cat eating pure butter. It’s probably not healthy for him, but I don’t think he’s a guy who would give a single crap about that.

6. Breathing and speaking

In The Book of Bill, Bill says that “dumb trapezoids and rhombuses were sucking up his rightful oxygen”. This means that Euclydeans are aerobic organisms – they breathe oxygen. Their skin is dry, so they don't use it for breathing and they also speak, laugh and sing. All of this tells me that they have lungs.

I believe that their lungs are located near the base where the bricks are. The gaps between bricks have little tracheae that lead to the lungs. Bill most likely breathes in from his back side and breathes out from the front. The air is probably forced to travel through small crevices inside the lungs so that it can exchange the oxygen with blood. We don’t know whether Euclydeans exhale carbon dioxide, but they probably do, since they can eat our food, so they probably have similar metabolism to us Earthlings.

Since Euclydeans can speak and laugh, they probably have some kind of a diaphragm. In fact, I think they have two! Their voice has an echo, which means that, most likely, their lungs don’t always expel air at the same time. Air expelling causes the bricks to vibrate which produces sound. That’s why Bill seems to glow when he speaks – he’s actually vibrating. This action is also controlled by muscles. Depending on which row of bricks is vibrating and how many of them are involved, Bill changes the pitch and tone of his voice.

And the growling noise? Well, when Bill uses his demonic voice, he is doing one of two things. He is either using his god like powers to modify his voice, or that’s just how Euclydian vocal fry sounds. If you don’t know what vocal fry is, it’s produced when the vocal chords are vibrating slowly and they become out of sync. This produces a very specific sound and that sound can be made voluntarily. That’s how Mongolian throat singing works. Similarly, Euclydeans could slow down the rate at which their bricks vibrate and make them out of sync to produce that menacing “demon voice” as a threat display.

7. Circulatory system

We know how Euclydean blood looks like. It’s silvery and kind of seems like it glitches. It also contain chemicals that can make humans sick. This means that Euclydeans have much different blood from animals on Earth, but it certainly serves the same function. It’s used to transport nutrients and oxygen through their body.

Since the agents from The Book of Bill were able to draw his blood, it’s clear that Bill has a circulatory system and a closed one at that. The closed circulatory system means that blood vessels end in capillary nets and don’t open inside the body cavity like they do in molluscs and insects. If the agents used syringe to pull Bill’s blood and he had an open circulatory system, they could actually collapse the entire thing as they would pull his organs as well. That’s why I believe that he has a closed circulatory system.

Closed circulatory system requires a heart and I believe that Bill’s heart is located between his lungs, like ours. I have no proof that his heart looked anything like in the illustration, but I looove cardiology, so I did all this just because I wanted to draw a weird heart. I don’t think Euclydeans have a super complex four chambered heart like we do, they most likely have two or three chambered heart. The heart separates lung and body circulation and regulates their blood pressure.

The capillary nets are all located in important places: lungs where they exchange oxygen, intestines where they absorb nutrients and brain where they feed the neurons. Euclydeans have a rather large brain, so it probably uses most of their calories and oxygen.

8. Other systems

I can’t tell you anything abut Euclydean excretory system. I don’t know whether they produce urine or not, if they have kidneys, nephrocytes or something completely different. I genuinely have no idea.

They have to have an immune system because they are multicellular. Every single multicellular organism including sponges and plants has some form of an immune system. I believe Euclydeans have something similar to coelomocytes - a very common type of immune cells in invertebrates which reside in coelomatic cavity.

I'll talk about reproductive system in Part 3!

Are Euclydeans warm or cold-blooded?

This was a very tough one, because they could be both, but I am leaning more towards cold-blooded. They have very little muscle mass and heat is produced within the muscles via trembling or metabolic heat (heat released in various chemical reactions in the body). When an animal has very little muscle it isn’t used for that. Even mammals like sloths who have significantly reduced muscle mass become dependent on the surrounding temperature. Also, Euclydean flat shape can easily distribute heat they absorb, so they wouldn’t need to waste energy making their own. On top of that, Euclydeans don’t wear clothes, which can be a cultural thing, sure, but they could also not wear clothes because they need their skin exposed so that it could absorb heat.

Here's how Bill Cipher's complete inner anatomy looks like:

There, I hope you enjoyed this! I'll see you hopefully next week to tell you about Euclydean reproduction and development.

Thank you @ok1237 @unoriginal-starwalker and @chrystalitar for your support :D

(Also, I hid Ford Pines in one of the anatomy illustrations. Can you find him? Click on the images for better quality!)

[partywithoutsmiling]

Another AU that has been knocking around my mind for a while XD I call it Moonlit AU

It can be summed as such: Pop Trolls are pretty wild bunch when it comes to looks, varying in colours, flocking/fur patterns, glitter, freckles, hair, you name it

It got me thinking, what sort of thing would they find attractive in prospective partner? While singing/harmonizing could be a part of it (and ngl, that did made me think of the Happy Feet movies, as silly as those were), my mind turned towards more physical attributes

Thus, this AU was born- where one of the reasons why Pop trolls like to be most active at night (to party) is that a Moon's Light also allows them to appreciate fur/flocking patterns otherwise hidden, where the complexity and style varies from troll to troll, as is thought to show one's inner self

Contrary to what one would expect from the Princess (and future Queen) of Pop, Poppy's patterns are rather simple- but striking nonetheless, firm and bold stripes, like taking a wide brush to a canvas- straightforward but chaotic in their hardly orderly fashion Poppy struts her patterns; they are unique and dominant among the general showing of swirls, polka dots and flower like spottings She is aware her stripes are not considered the most attractive of features- too similar to that of a predatory critter, too sharp for who is supposed to be cheerful queen of equally cheerful people- but she is a romantic at heart and believes that when it will be time to choose a consort, those physical features are surface-level importance at best, and this is the mentality she has going forward, looking at the glowing marks of her friends and considering them equally beautiful no matter what.

Until she manages to spot Branch one night outside under the full moon light that is.

Branch's pattern, in high contrast to Poppy, is far more complex. Symetrical but delicate in its filigree, and far more detailed than anything the Princess has ever seen before. Usually, Branch ventures out only on moonless nights, as he feels the glow of his marks are too visible, too dangerous to just show out and about, for every dangerous predator to see- and it is purely bad luck when bad weather caughts him outside longer than he would have liked, and Poppy manages to catch the sight of him while he is completely unaware he had been seen.

All her conviction flies right out of the window, as she looks at his delicate patterning and her mind just goes blank and - Oh

Usually she would have called out to him, ask him to come to a party- but she feels mesmerized, hypnotized by the elegance of the filigree, and her mind longs for a way to memorate it forever- with a photo, or a painting- and she stares at the entrance of his bunker long after he vanished inside, completely stupefied and wrong footed.

Before, Poppy hardly ever gave Branch a thought, when it came to this part of Pop Troll culture; as part of her, guiltily, sort of assumed that with his lack of colour, his patterning would be rather bland as well- and besides, it's not like he ever shown a desire to participate in courting dances.

But now she is left with sudden new, and unexpected feeling- her heart and breath going now a bit faster everytime she catches a glimpse of him from now on, her cheeks flushing and her tail wagging in excitement

(Her desk's drawer is filled with failed cut out scrapbook pieces of leaves and tiny detailed filigree, as she attempts to journal her sudden and new discover and cant get it quite right)

Tldr; Pop Trolls have fur/flocking patterns that appear only under the moon's light, and Poppy finds Branch's so irresistibly attractive she hardly knows what to do with herself

This pushes her to try and spend more time with him- just spend time with him, no trying to push him to go to parties with her or trying to get him to sing or hug

For his part, Branch is both secretly pleased his own crush is now paying more attention to him than to Creek (who is not happy with this development) but also holy shit Poppy is paying more attention to him, so it is kind of unnerving for him, freaking him out

[cindyss]

my beautiful liar

chapter 1; as a child, and with your fathers’ dislike toward each other, you and mattheo never liked each other, he would beat up your friends every at chance he got, he would mock you and humiliate you very often. however, now that you're all grown up and in your final year in hogwarts, you've learnt to stand up for yourself and a little encounter with a troll proves just that.

3.8k words

You had mixed feelings about this year; you were ready to leave and finally be free to roam into the big world, but you were also terrified.

As you stood next to Harry, one of your closest friends, your nerves started eating at you. You were not excited to go back and had to endure the Slytherin boys' mocking. They had always found a way to make you feel lower, for your mom passing away when she gave birth to you, for your dad passing shortly after because he couldn't live without her.

After a few minutes, the Weasleys showed up late as usual alongside Hermione who was scolding Ronald while he rolled his eyes in dissatisfaction.

As soon as she saw you, Ginny ran up to you and hugged you, almost knocking the breath out of you. A few moments later, Hermione spotted you and hugged you as Ron greeted both you and Harry.

"So, who's ready for this year then?" came in Dean's voice, who was followed by Seamus and Neville who were discussing something inaudible with Luna shortly behind them, holding a book and her suitcase.

You were very fond of Dean, he had always been nice to you, and at some point you couldn't deny you had a massive crush on him. You hugged him as the others caught up, greeting you.

Shortly, you all boarded the train, you, Dean, Seamus, Harry, and Ginny shared a separate section while the rest sat in the one beside you.

As you took your seats, you heard loud laughing and stomping, you could recognize them from a whole nother continent, the Slytherin boys. They walked past your section, to theirs, which is as usual at the end of the train.

The ride to Hogwarts was mostly peaceful, apart from the first years screaming simply because they couldn’t contain their excitement.

You fell asleep after the train took off and you woke up shortly after to loud speaking. You found your head rested on Dean’s, and you raised it as he looked back at you, smiling at you.

You smiled back at him before your gaze shifted to where all the noise was coming from, Draco, Mattheo, and Theodore had been standing at your door making fun of Seamus’s accent.

Harry was trying his best to calm Seamus down as Ginny barked words at the boys telling them to “fuck off” and “get going” or she’ll use her wand.

They of course didn’t bother, “what could a weaslette like you do besides use her brother’s hand me down wand and look through his old map?” spoke Draco causing them all to chuckle.

You decided earlier that this year you’d put and end to all this bullshit and begin standing up for yourself and for your friends and so you did.

You stood up from your seat, walked over to where they were stood and spoke “you speak about any of my friends again like that and i will cut your penises off one by one and seel them shut into your mouths.”

“oh look! sleeping beauty has awakened and chosen violence,” claimed Theo sarcastically laughing as the other two joined him.

As you went to shut the door in their face, Mattheo placed his foot stopping you from completely shutting it off, “You know Haworth the new act doesn’t suit you at all, you know I'd chop your fingers off one by one and make you swallow them before i let you touch my penis right?”

You scoffed at him and kicked his foot before sliding the door closed as he flashed you one of his usual cocky grins.

Mattheo had always had a thing for you, not in a good way though. Your father, previously a Slytherin, had been a very good friend of Mattheo’s dad before he snitched on him to Hogwarts and told the school about all of the Dark Lord’s plans.

Luckily for the lord, he was able to escape on time, but he never forgave your father, even after his death, and so what caused his son to hold such a grudge against you.

You sat back down in your spot next to Dean and chatted with your friends, and in no time, you arrived at Hogwarts.

You unloaded your bags and got to your rooms, unpacking everything in the room you and Luna shared.

Unfortunately, you and Luna were the only Ravenclaws of your group, which resulted in most of the time in you being split apart from the group, but for the most part you enjoyed her chill company as you shared many similar traits.

You would talk about books and your studies, about things you found interesting and remarkable things you learnt about people throughout the day, because you were both admirers in the same way. You enjoyed observing people and their movements as to not only study them, but to learn more about them.

A few hours later, most of the students had made it to the dining hall and so did you and Luna. You greeted your friends at their table before moving to sit on your own house’s.

As the sorting ceremony came to an end, you welcomed some of the new first years at your table as everyone began feasting on the mouthwatering foods and goods on the table.

As you ate your food, your gaze admiring all the people and appreciating your last first day, your eyes spotted the Slytherins, all 5 boys gathered around your friends at the Gryffindor’s table. They were talking about something inaudible to you but it was making both parties grow only more mad with time, and before you knew it, Draco punched Harry.

After that, and in a matter of seconds, the rest of the boys broke into a fight. Theodore continuously punched Ron while Ron barely managed to throw one back.

Blaise was trying his best to hold Draco back from Potter, opposing him was Seamus, who was for the most part doing the same.

That was when you spotted Dean and Mattheo, who were only screaming but being held back by Neville and Berkshire.

Before you could get there, the teachers had separated both sides and you ran as fast as you could there.

Harry’s face was now covered in blood, and so was Ron’s. Before you said anything, you escorted both the boys to Madam Pomfrey’s to get their faces fixed.

Behind you followed Ginny, Draco, Theo, alongside Mattheo.

You got there and made Harry and Ron sit for you while you called Madam Pomfrey.

She got there and gasped at the sight of the four boys. “Oh dear, what happened?” “y/n take care of the other two boys, Ron and Harry's are more severe.”

Last year, you started helping her because you wanted to learn how to be ready incase any fight like this, or worse broke out. You would help clean wounded quidditch players after their match, or cure the spells of the younglings who were just getting started with their potions.

You turned around to find the Slytherin boys sat next to each other, waiting to be attended to. Fuck me.

You walked over to them, scoffing, and grabbed a cloth with some cleaning liquid and started with Theodore. He was not as hurt because Ron barely got to punch him, he had blood on his cheeks, a slit in his eyebrows, and his lip was swollen.

You cupped his cheek with your hand to keep him steady, to which he scoffed, and purposely, you pressed the cloth on his eyebrow where you knew it would hurt.

He hissed at you and you smirked to yourself before you began moving your hand cleaning the blood off his wounds.

After all the blood came off, you grabbed a bottle which contained a serum for bruises and opened it. “Give me your hand,” to your command, Theo opened his hand and you dropped some of the liquid on his fingers.

“Now put this on your lips so it’ll be less swollen,” he did that and in just a few seconds, his lips were just again the pink color they usually were.

After you were done with him, you moved to Draco, who, unlike Theo, was more hurt.

Once again wetting the cloth and making sure you press on the spots you know will hurt. He let out a few words cursing you as you stuck some bandages on the spots which were not to be treated with the healing liquid and moved away.

You felt a gaze boring into your skull and you found Mattheo staring into your soul. You raised your eyebrows at him and he just shook his head, not wanting to discuss the matter further with you anymore.

The 6 of you left, and you and Ginny went back to your dorms whereas the boys were called to Dumbledore's.

Luna told you that she found out that per usual, the Slytherins were making fun of some first year Gryffindors when Harry had commented, which eventually resulted in a fight.

The next day, you headed to the breakfast hall, greeted your friends, had your breakfast, and all was well. 100 points had been deducted from both the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses.

After you ate, you headed to your first class with Ginny, Hermione, Seamus, and Dean. You got to potions class and stood waiting for all the other students to arrive so that you can begin your lesson.

In a few minutes, the majority of the class showed up and you began your lesson with Professor Slughorn. As he was going on, explaining the steps and ingredients needed to create an Amortentia potion, Mattheo Riddle and Enzo Berkshire burst into the room.

"A little late are we?" Slughorn spoke, "a'ght just get in and listen to what 'm sayin'" he continued.

After he finished the instructions, he decided to split you into pairs so that you will work effectively without the distraction of each other.

"Hermione and Laura, Ginny and Seamus, Berkshire and Cho, Dean and y/n haworth, Marietta and Bridget, and Riddle and Ophelia."

You got to work on your potion, heating the cauldron, crushing the Ashwinder eggs, stirring the powdered moonstone and pearl dust until the mixture turned iridescent. Dean then helped you add the rose thorns and valerian roots slowly while you were stirring clockwise, then you added a drop of a sprig of peppermint and let the potion swirl naturally.

The both of you were the first to finish as Hermione and her partner were struggling with the mixing and Ginny and Seamus were so far behind. You called Slughorn over and then he confirmed "perfect! 10 points to Gryffindor, 10 points to Ravenclaw!"

The class clapped for you, or most of it, where Matheo just scoffed as he struggled with the measurements. "Now, what do you smell Haworth?"

You came closer to the steamy potion, sniffing "I smell cranberry juice, chalk, old notebooks, pear custard pie, it's rather a very mellow and smooth scent i'd say sir" you said, looking up at Dean, you both knew whose smell that was, his.

Dean knew you liked him, you knew he liked you too, but you had come to a mutual decision to keep things professional as to not cause discomfort to each other.

"beautiful!" he said once again, impressed by your ability to create such a potion in such a short time.

"Now who else.. Riddle! Let's see what you smell!"

Mattheo proceeded to roll his eyes from crossing the room in a few long strides. He sniffed a bit before speaking, "well, I smell vanilla, uhh.. old books maybe, sweet raspberry, freshly washed hair, I suppose."

"wonderful! Now you do know what this potion does, everyone right? no? Anyone?"

You raised your hand to speak, "When you smell the potion, it triggers a memory of smells associated with feelings of affection and comfort."

"very well, now when you drink it?" he asked.

this time, Matheo Riddle spoke, "it can cause powerful infatuation or obsession from the drinker."

"that's right riddle, bravo!" With that, the class ended and you headed to your next.

You enjoyed the rest of the day, and at the end of your classes, you showered, using your new vanilla shampoo that you'd just bought earlier from Hogsmate.

You walked alongside Luna and sat on your table, quickly finishing your food as you were suddenly not feeling well.

When you finished your food, you excused yourself and got up to the bathroom, as you walked by the Gryffindors' table, Harry grabbed your wrist, "Hey, where are you going?"

"to the bathroom, I'm not feeling so well"

"want me to come along?"

"No, I'll be fine, thanks".

You made your way to the bathroom and as soon as you got there, you couldn't help but throw up everything you had just eaten.

As you were washing your place, cleaning up, you heard footsteps coming closer, and before you could even process what was going on, Mattheo was standing in front of you. "Riddle what the-"

"Listen, don't think I don't know what you're doing, but your little stupid games won't work on me."

"what-"

"don't act stupid, you're fucking smarter than that. aren't one of your house traits like super fucking smart or whatever. don't think by sneaking a potion into my food you can make me like you even the littlest bit, you humiliated me in front of everyone today, just because i smelt your stupid fucking vanilla shampoo, doesn't make me in love with you."

"Riddle, I didn't do anything! you sound ridiculous, what are you talking about!"

"stop acting dumb, goddammit! admit you did it! admit you fucking snuck the potion into my food! It can't be a coincidence, you're the only one who got the measurements right!" he was now screaming.

"calm the hell down you are honestly unbearable-"

before you could continue, you heard loud stomps coming near you, and as the sounds got closer, the ground shook from beneath you.

Before you could process, a giant troll broke into the bathroom, you couldn't help but scream, you and Mattheo both ran into the bathroom stall, the farthest one from the troll, as you shook in fear. Mattheo, however, was surprisingly keeping his calm.

In no time, the troll had broken all the stalls and gotten to yours. He broke the top off and when he saw both of you, huddled into the corner, he tried to grab you, but before he could, Matheo had used part of the broken toilet to jab it into his hand before he could reach the both of you.

You used that time to slip out of the stall and run toward the exit, as you turned around, you saw Mattheo running to you.

But before he could get there, the troll caught him, getting him near his mouth to eat. You cursed yourself for doing what you did, but you returned to help him.

You were already smacking his leg, urging him to drop Mattheo, and so, distracted by you, he did.

Mattheo landed behind the troll, on his back, coughing and struggling to catch his breath as the troll cornered you.

"Mattheo!! Help me!" you screamed begging for his help. "Fuck you! You got us into this, handle the fucking consequences bitch!" he said as he ran out of the bathroom.

Tears began trickling down your cheeks, however the course of adrenaline gave you enough strength to think quickly, and as the troll extended its arm to catch you, you jumped causing it to hit the mirror behind you instead.

The mirror shattered and the troll groaned in pain, you took some of the glass scattered on the floor, climbed on the remains of a sink that was on the troll's right and jumped onto its back.

You could tell the troll was a baby, not only because of its features, but because it was crying, trying to pick the glass off of its skin, which gave you the chance to get to where you were.

Putting your emotions aside, you jabbed the piece of glass into its hip, pulling it out, twice, pulling it out, three times, pulling it out, until it had fallen onto its stomach.

You jumped off, feeling exhausted as the adrenaline, which was your boost of energy, wore off, and fell onto the floor next to it.

You woke up, your head hurting, you touched your hand to your forehead to feel a bandage, beside you were Harry, Hermione, Luna, and Dean.

As soon as you opened your eyes, Dean gasped, "oh my god, she's awake! Someone call Madam Pomfrey!"

Luna smiled at you before she ran to call on Madam Pomfrey.

"Are you well?" Harry asked to which you nodded in return, trying your best to give him an authentic convincing smile.

"Head hurts, a lot. but I'm fine".

"I'm sorry no one was there to help you,"

what.. wasn't Mattheo there though? He helped you.

Then, before you could think more, Madam Pomfrey came into the room, followed by Dumbledore, Snape, Slughorn, and Luna.

Your friends stood up, backing away to let you talk to the teachers.

"Ms, Haworth, how are you feeling now?" Dumbledore asked,

"I'm fine sir thank you."

"We're going to let you rest for now, but when you're ready i need answers." you smiled at him nodding in agreement before madam pomfrey approached you.

"drink this dear, i don't usually use it, but it'll help with the pain quite a lot"

“thank you" you drank what was in the cup she handed you, gagging at the taste.

Then again, your friends approached you, Harry speaking "they don't know who let the troll in yet, but you did a wonderful job killing it, stabbing it over and over again, you were wonderful!"

"Harry! She just woke up!" Hermione scolded him.

"I'm sorry, I saw you doing unwell and thought it was just a bad day or something, I should've followed you, I should've been there. you shouldn't have been there all by yourself, i'm sorry you had to endure that all alone"

alone? mattheo was with you too.

"alone?"

“yeah alone, if it wasn't for you, others could've gotten hurt, but thank god you were able to stop it before it injured other than you." this from Dean.

“Was there someone else?” asked Hermione.

“No that i remember no.. i think i just need to rest and i’ll remember more clearly” you smiled at her and lay to sleep.

You could swear Mattheo was there, or maybe you were imagining?

It took you a few days to recover, and when you did, you were now sure that Matheo had been there but chose not to tell anyone.

How did you know? Well, he avoided your gaze, although he knew you were staring at him, he would avoid you completely when making fun of your friends, and no one mentioned his name alongside the incident.

If the others had known Matheo had been involved in this, his big ego would take all the pride and praise to himself.

As you were in the library, catching up on the studies you missed, Cho came to check on you and tell you that Dumbledore had called for you.

As you were headed to Dumbledore's office, you bumped into someone, you looked up to find the infamous Mattheo Riddle staring down at you, as he tried to run past you, you grabbed his wrist hard, "we need to talk" and you shoved him into an empty classroom.

He was taken by surprise by your strength but didn't complain as you locked the door, your back facing him.

Just as you turned around, you were suddenly taken back as he had caged you between his arms now, his hand on either side of your head.

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you brought me in here to kiss me," he chuckled coldly.

"Don't flatter yourself riddle, why the fuck aren't you telling people you were there! Dumbledore is asking to meet up with me right now and I will tell him that you were there. And what were you even talking about! You think I put a potion in your food?"

Just then, his eyes widened, and his hands were now wrapped around your throat, choking you slightly.

"Listen, for both your sake and mine, you will not tell Dumbledore I was there. What do you think it's going to look like? The Dark Lord's son was coincidentally there and managed to escape by chance! No! They're going to blame me, put it on me! They're going to say I let it in!"

You were now barely breathing and decided it was enough, you raised your knee, kicking Riddle in his stomach, and got away from him.

"Fuck you, you hit like a bitch Haworth”

“Maybe you did let in the troll! After all you did run away and were going to let me die! I came back for you i could’ve run away!"

"No body fucking asked you to! I swear to fucking Salazar this gets to Dumbledore and i will make sure a full grown fucking troll gets you!"

“Fine, I won't tell, on one condition, you find out who did and tell me".

"As if i would do such a thing"

"You don't have a choice do you though"

"fucking fine, i'll do that!"

"okay then, we have a deal" you said as you left the classroom.

You made your way to Dumbledore's and sat as you waited for him.

Once he entered the room, he once again wished you a speedy recovery before taking a seat opposite to you.

"So, I'm going to need you to tell me about exactly what happened."

"I was in the bathroom, not feeling very well, I mean sir it was a very tiring first day and my trip from home to here is quite long so.. anyway, I was there washing my face and hands after i'd just thrown up when I heard loud stomps.."

"okay go ahead"

"and well then suddenly he was here"

"who was?"

"uhh"

"do you need some time?"

"no i'm fine, the troll sir, he was there and i ran to the furthest stall to hide. And when he eventually destroyed all the others and got to me, he extended his hand to grab me and so i used a piece of the broken toilet to stab him in his hand and took the chance to hide under the sink"

"why didn't you run for the exit?"

"He was blocking it sir, and then he tried to grab me and instead punched the mirror, so i used part of it while he was busy crying, jumped on the sink, then on him and well stabbed him."

"and what happened after that?"

"Well, i remember him falling to his knees with me still on top, he hit the floor hard, then i rolled off onto the floor"

“Alright, one more question, how did you know it was a he?"

"Well, obviously sir, i'm one of the top students, hagrid taught us about trolls and i payed attention. You're not accusing me of letting the troll in are you?!"

"No, no, of course not. Would you like to add anything else?"

"No sir, that's all".

tags:

@aur0ral1ghts

[commandershepardvasfuckit]

An Arranged Marriage, part 19

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18

M!troll x f!reader

1.4 k words

No one enjoys a hangover, but especially when it’s combined with messy feelings.

(I am feral over my own character, ask box is always open for talking about my writing or just monster fucking in general!)

————

“My head” Zen whined at you and attempted to bury his face into your hair.

You reached up to pat his head, “You had quite a night”.

“I feel awful, this is why I do not drink”.

“Yeah, I didn’t think you were that drunk until you stood up and tried to get into bed last night, the wine must have hit you all at once when you stood up”.

“I feel like I got hit over the head”.

You rolled over to face him, grimacing at the way your back stuck to him for a moment and the crusty feeling on your skin. “Besides waking up hung over, did you enjoy it?” you asked.

“What? Hearing how incredible you sounded? Looking up and seeing your beautiful face all flushed? Tasting and smelling you? Feeling your thighs against my face and how you came on my tongue? I enjoyed you very much”.

You face was red hot and you buried it into his chest, this time not minding the cum still there.

“Are you embarrassed?” his words were soft in your ear, “Because you should not be. I could have spent all night kneeling before you and worshipping you”.

“You’re still drunk” you muttered.

“No, not any more. I simply want my wife to know how desirable I find her”.

You stayed quiet, not really sure how to respond. Not being used to Zen, or anyone else for that matter, ever being that intense.

“I am sorry” he apologized, sensing your discomfort, “I thought- never mind”. His voice fell and you felt his grip on you tighten a bit before he withdrew from you.

The two of you sat in silence for a moment, unsure how to proceed but Zen was no longer purring.

“How about I get you something for your head?” you offered, trying to break the uncomfortable mood that had settled in.

“You do not have to” he responded.

“Your head hurts, right? So let me help you”.

“Thank you”.

You got up and for the first time that week his touch did not linger on you. He had never tired to keep you from getting up, but normally he would keep his hands on you as long as possibly until he could no longer reach you as you got up. His sudden disinterest stung.

Trying to ignore it you busied yourself with the same medicine Zen made up for you when you did not feel well, mixing the powder with cool water and trying to stir all the lumps out. You also took a moment to light the hearth and start heating water for tea.

His back was to you when you brought him over the medicine so you gently tapped his shoulder to get his attention. He rolled over, sat up and accepted the medicine with a quick “thank you”.

You leaned in to kiss his forehead as you had gotten into the habit over the past week. Usually Zen met you half way, nuzzling against your kiss so you each could expression affection in the way that felt natural to you. This time he remained still.

As you pulled away you felt the tears welling up in your eyes. You had wanted to just calmly ask what was wrong, what you might have done or said to cause such a sudden shift, but quickly emotion overwhelmed you instead.

Before you could register what happened he had pulled you down onto the bed next to him, his arms wrapped tightly around you. “Hey, what is wrong?” he sounded panicked.

You sniffled, gulping down air and unable to get words out you just wailed into his chest.

“It is ok, I have you” and you felt his tusk bump against your face in his clumsy and panicked attempt to nuzzle you.

“Are you mad at me?” you finally managed to get out.

“Mad? Of course not”.

“Then why did you get so cold all of a sudden?”

“I believe I misread the situation and it hurt a little, that is all. But I did not mean to upset you”.

“Of course I’m upset, you suddenly wanted nothing to do with me” you sniffled.

“I just- yesterday, yesterday was nice, and I do not mean just the physical part. I do not think we had ever just sat and talked like that before, like how we just laid in bed drinking together. It felt nice. It felt close.

“And I do not know how you see me, but I think I might have misread things this morning.

“I do not think you look at me the same way I look at you, and that is alright. I will never ask for more than you are willing to give, it just did not feel good to realize it”.

Your heart sank. You were not entirely sure what you did to make him think that, but he sounded so crushed, and he was still the one comforting you instead.

“I’m sorry” you instinctively nuzzled against his chest, it was amazing how fast it had just became habit to do so.

“It is ok if you do not feel the same. I will meet you where you are at” he assured you.

You wrapped your arms around his middle, practically pulling yourself into his lap, “How do you feel then?”

“I have felt happy. It has been nice to wake up and not be alone, to come home to someone. And over the last week it has been nice to just be close, and I thought it was what you wanted too last night, but I see I am mistaken”.

“Is it because I turned you down last night?”

“What? No!” he seemed offended, “I have some gaps in my memory, so I do not remember that, and I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I am not upset if you did not want to sleep with me”.

“What is it that you wanted then?”

“This morning I wanted to lay with you and tell you how much I enjoy having you in my life in any capacity, and I started to tell you and you just froze. You stop talking or reacting and seemed so uncomfortable, so I stopped”.

“And shut me out”.

“Yes, I am allowed to be hurt or disappointed, I thought my wife may actually want a relationship that was more than just in name, so when you stopped responding when I starting telling you that it did not exactly feel good”.

“I didn’t realize that’s what you meant” you said softly.

“What did you think I meant?”

“I don’t know! You were talking about last night and I just assumed you meant like a physical desire, and it was just sort of intense how you were talking. I didn’t know how to respond”.

“Then why did you not say something then?”

“I don’t know, it was just a lot. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I was worried! And hurt! I felt so rejected” he sounded so broken, “I was trying to be romantic and tell you how I felt because I’ll thought you felt the same way”.

“Since when?”

“Since when what?”

“Since when did you feel like that?”

“The bandit camp, when I accepted Tsov’ka gift without a second thought. Because the fear of someone harming you, or losing you, scared me enough to not even think about the repercussions. I realized that I truly wanted you in my life as a constant presence, romantic or not, and then when you wanted to stay here and started being affectionate I got my hopes up that maybe you might want to have an actual relationship too”.

“I do”.

“What?”

“I do want to get to know you, and actually have a relationship, I thought we were already doing that”.

You felt his arms tighten around you and finally heard him purring again.

“I am looking forward to courting my wife then” he said.

“I think we’re doing it out of order then”.

“I do not care. I am going to court my wife and get to know you because we did not get to choose each other before, but I want to choose you now, and I hope you choose me too if given the chance”.

You kissed his chest and nuzzled him, “I’d like that. Now take the medicine and I’m going to see if there’s any water left if the kettle for tea or if it all boiled away”.

“I am never drinking again”.

“Do you want to hear everything you did and said drunk?”

“Oh spirits”.

————

Part 20

Tag list

@blushycadaver @hazyspacefairy @littlelovebug98 @tufflepuff23

[intothedysphoria]

Steve didn’t understand why people kept trying to push him towards Billy Hargrove.

It was like they didn’t think two gay guys could co exist in the same space without fucking, it was archaic. Besides, they hung out in completely different circles, bar being on the same basketball team.

Steve wouldn’t be interesting enough for Billy. Or smart enough. It was just Carol’s obsession with meddling so Steve ignored it.

He was watching the Lion King to revel in nostalgia when Dustin demanded to know how long he and Billy had been dating. When Steve looked blank, Dustin sighed and told him to check Instagram.

Tommy, the eternal troll had made a long post about his “favourite couple” which would seem sincere to anyone who hadn’t been friends with Tommy since the first grade. So now Steve had to do damage control.

Ignoring his mom’s texts about the “lovely new boy”, Steve decided to go on a quest to Billy’s apartment.

The Billy Hargrove Steve came across when he knocked was glowing with anger. The only positive was that the anger was directed at Tommy, not Steve.

He’d also evidently been cooking, judging by the smells coming from the kitchen. Steve sat himself under a shrine to Metallica and accepted a bowl of soup, poorly masking his confusion.

“How the fuck do we clear this up?”

Well that was the question.

Vehemently denying it would make them look guilty, ignoring it would make everyone just think of it as fact………..there was only really one option.

They played into it. Just a little bit.

A couple of flirty Instagram posts, some footsie under the table, everyone would realise how ridiculously not a couple they were.

At least that was the plan.

What actually ended up happening was Steve getting handsy with Billy in a club because he’d just realised a year long crush. Billy was presumably just super fucking horny.

Tommy was annoyed that they’d taken the joke back from him, which was really the aim, (Steve loved Tommy but god he was insufferable sometimes), but Robin didn’t seem so sure.

“Just check that you’re both on the same page with this Steve. You tend to get attached quite quick.”

Ugh.

With a deep feeling of reluctance, Steve sent Billy a voicemail, then hid his phone under his bed.

If he didn’t look at the phone, the problem didn’t exist.

It had become the Harrington way.

Over the next week, it had gotten so excruciatingly awkward that even Tommy apologised. And everyone was telling him to talk to Billy.

Even Heather who found listening to anyone’s love life a tedious activity said he NEEDED to see Billy.

It was the word need that got Steve to go over. Also the fact that it sounded like Billy had been crying.

Steve was not a fan of any type of scary conversations but the one with Billy was mercifully brief. And it didn’t end up including a lot of talking.

Having his next Instagram post as them kissing on the beach may have been corny but it was worth it.

[carylmeanslove]

FLOWERS ON A VERY SPECIAL DAY

When the amazing @frantastical asked me to do an analysis of this beautiful flower arrangement. I of course, agreed to, because - 1. I love the language of flowers & 2. I love the language of flowers spoken in Lukola's love story.

We have a beautiful bouquet of flowers in a vase. Flowers that feature her favorite color(s). In case you didn't know this fact. Nicola has said she loves both pink & purple at different times during the WT. Nothing wrong with having two favorite colors. I am the same way about the same two colors. Sameies!

Also, I would like to thank @entertainingthethought to whom I agree with when she pointed out in a comment section that these beautiful flower choices were reminiscent of the flowers that were used to make the flower crown in Australia on the WT. Your comment helped me some in this analysis for it made me go back to re-watch those interviews. Where we know Luke was very helpful to her picking out flowers, them being the team they always are. We know how Luke seems to always remember things when it comes to Nicola despite stating he doesn't have a great memory. So, him remembering something like her favorite color(s) is a given.

FYI: You can probably tell by now all I'm writing here is with the belief that these flowers were a gift to Nicola from her husband, Luke Newton. So, if you don't believe so too, this post is not for you so move along, please. I am not putting up with the trolls anymore.

Now moving onto the actual analysis.

--

Pale Pink Garden Rose

Light Pink Garden Roses so beautiful besides being one of the colors Nicola mentioned was one of her favorites it's also a color that symbolizes femininity, elegance, purity & innocence. As well as ideas of happiness & joy. Also good for saying "Congratulations" & "Thank you"

Luke has a pure happiness & joyfulness for Nicola over her accomplishments/achievements.

Furthermore, thornless varieties symbolize love at first sight. I know we have all talked about how it's kind of evident that Luke fell for Nicola the moment he met her given his description of their meeting & how he mentioned at first that he believed in love at first sight then probably afterwards deciding to express that 'friends to lovers' was the ultimate journey he believes in. I believe it started as love at first sight, but he repressed the feelings due to both of them being in relationships at the time they met, but then it became a friends to lovers story.

We don't know if these roses are thornless, but it's a good chance they are due to it was likely delivered by/picked up from a florist where it's a common practice to remove thorns unless requested not to remove them by the customers. I decided to add this little bit of information.

--

Dear @frantastical was indeed correct in her post about the second largest flower in this arrangement, it is the Ranunculus (Persian buttercups)

Ranunculus (Persian buttercups)

It symbolizes Charm & Attractiveness/Radiance regardless of color. They're sweet & romantic, making it the ideal gift for loved ones.

We all know who has loads of charm & who is very attractive & has a radiance about her, especially to a certain English man of hers. I could easily hear Luke saying to Nicola "You light up the room" or "You're captivating"

--

Next flower there is in miniature.

Mini Daffodil Thalia (multi-Flowering Dwarf Daffodils)

A repeat symbolism of purity & innocence. Seems Luke is being very protective of Nicola. I don't blame him with all the hate she has been getting lately. It's no wonder he is feeling so protective. People ought to be utterly ashamed of themselves.

This flower is such a pretty addition to the bouquet arrangement. As pretty as the last of the flowers, which are also very telling in a couple of ways if you ask me. 😏

--

Which is...

Baby's Breath in Pink/lavender (Gypsophilia elegans or Gypsophilia repens)

More Innocence. More of protective, Luke. 🤗

😠 Come on people stop hating on Nicola! & I'm sure Nicola would echo the same to those hating on Luke as well.

All these meanings are totally appropriate for Luke to want to show in this arrangement.

Simplicity = We've heard Nicola also saying it's easy with Luke. So, this checks the other way around too.

Endurance = She hangs in there. She's tough & She keeps going.

Everlasting beauty = She is so beautiful & always will be.

--

I decided to add the greenery as well.

Eucalyptus leaves

The meaning behind the greenery. Strength = Nicola has loads of it. Purity (Innocence) = Repeat of that one. So protective, Lukey. Heaven & Earth = Someone is so thankful of his angel that came down from heaven to earth & into his life. To shine her light on him & to everyone she meets. Leadership = She is his/their fearless leader after all.

--

So that's it! This was a dozy of an analysis & when I've been quite busy IRL. I got there in the end. I just was going to do it. I just had too. I love Lukola & I just had to talk about this beautiful bouquet arrangement that, I too, like my fellow Lukolas believe was indeed from Luke. My reasoning for believing so is in this analysis.

The fact that this particular arrangement doesn't scream out romance (where other flowers in Lukola's journey has), it just makes sense this one is more simplistic when you take into account that Nicola has expressed wanting to be taken serious for her work & not her romantic relationship. Luke understands that this BAFTA nomination is important to her, for her career. Luke proved that by waiting a bit before interacting with her post (unlike a certain gay friend of hers) so Nicola could have time to shine all on her own. Luke knew that when he did interact with her post it would put the focus back on their romantic relationship. That's also why he chose flowers that showcased how proud he is of her talent & what she does. Not making it about his love for her (she has his love of course, that's a given) he just wanted to focus on her. Especially if we take into account how tired she must be lately. Taking care of BN & still going out to events for work. We could see how tired she looks in this picture of her while on chat with her mother.

Although she of course looks adorable, lovely & happy. She does look tired also. It's understandable of course & I'm sure Luke is such a big help in so many ways.

One last little thing I wanted to point out. Nicola made this flower arrangement the last post in her stories that night. In my opinion saving the best for last just as she did with her stories on her birthday. Luke is the final word for her always. He is the first & last person she sees every day after all. Very telling indeed.

--

ETA: As seen in below capture from her picture I believe there may be a couple white roses in there too.

So, more purity, along with more happiness & Joy.

--

@kiirol, thank you for the comment. You are right, Nicola has always thanked those who gift her things. This one she didn't. The reason is, because it's private. It's from someone she doesn't want to reveal. Who has she been very private about lately? Luke. Which Luke is fine with that, because he loves to see her shine. So very Colin coded. Most like his character indeed.

[annachronisme]

The six of us!JD met Sunshine!JD He's joking btw Yapping and flatter version under the cut 👇

Difference between the two JD

Sunshine!JD is older, in his thirties. He has a cut in his eyebrow but doesn't have any scars. In my Sunshine!AU the Neverglade are still considereded as th wilderness but they aren't as dangerous as in other AU I've seen so far, pretty mid even. Mainly looks like canon!JD, exempt I gave him a belt/pounch to go with my botanist JD headcanon (I headcanon that JD -beside being a survivalist- is a botanist and that's what he does in the Neverglade, this headcanon follows on a lot of things I've seen so far about what the Bros were up to for the twenty years separation and I like the idea of JD being a plant nerd)

The six of us!JD is younger, roughly in his early/mid twenties. Same stance on the Neverglade in this AU but he still got in several scraps and scrambles thus the few scars he has and the nick in his ears. I added piercing and jewelry too (cause I could.) This version of JD has more muted colors, result of being grey for a while and slowly recovering his colors. He doesn't have his furred vest yet either and his hair is more unkept than Sunshine!JD Now the fun part: Kismet! First Branch. Branch is still grey but like John Dory, is slowly recovering and regaining some of his colors. Branch keeps JD's goggle for two reasons: 1. It's easier to rest in John's hair if the goggle are away 2. JD would never leave without them so if Branch keeps JD's goggles, JD won't leave Branch also has a few scars because of the time after the escape from the Troll Tree that he spent alone (check my new fic Its about that lol) Ablaze! Made his hair curl on the hands but didn't change much. He's also a challenger at heart and will put up a fight, that's why he's glaring suspiciously at Sunshine!JD Hype! Same with Ablaze, messier hair due to living in the Neverglade and spending the majority of their time outside doing whatever come to the mind of 7 to 11 years old boys. Boom! He's the brattiest one. Also the messiest. He would roll in the mud if JD allowed it (he doesn't.) Trickee! He doesn't have the white streak in his hair yet (cause I'm pretty sure in canon it's dye?) and he also tends to copy what JD does hence the gloves. He doesn't wear goggles (yet) but he wears a bandana to keep his hair out of his face. And DONE

[thewertsearch]

CG: BESIDES, JADE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OTHER IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE PLAN. CG: FOR ONE THING, YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR HER TO SEND YOU THE CODE FOR THE QUILLS. CG: YOU CAN'T SCRATCH THE MESA WITHOUT THEM. CG: SHE GOT THEM FROM HER DENIZEN, OR WILL LATER ON HER TIMELINE, NOW THAT SHE LIT THE FORGE AND WOKE THE MONSTER UP. […] EB: did she kill him? CG: HELL IF I KNOW, HER EXPLANATION OF THE ENTIRE ENCOUNTER BOILED DOWN TO AND I QUOTE "shenanigans"

It certainly doesn't sound like Jade fought Echidna directly. That'd definitely be a tall order for a Player who's been in the Medium for less than a day.

Let's assume, then, that Echidna relinquished the Quills of her own free will. This reads to me as a vote of confidence – as if Echidna approves of the reboot, or at least won’t intercede to prevent it.

Davesprite’s version of Hephaestus was angry about being in a doomed timeline, because it meant that he could never complete his ‘work’, which I believe to be the universe itself.

This current timeline isn’t doomed, exactly – but it is pointless, since it can't birth a universe. Echidna probably wants a timeline where her frog Quest can actually bear fruit, so maybe she’s willing to negotiate with Jade in order to make that happen.

CG: ANYWAY, AFTER SHE GIVES THAT TO YOU, SHE THEN HAS TO GO THROUGH WITH THE REST OF THE PLAN, WHICH IS MAKING SURE YOU ALL SURVIVE AFTER THE SCRATCH, MINUS ONE OF THE DERSE DREAMERS OF COURSE. CG: THE PLAN REVOLVES AROUND SOME REALLY BAFFLING HAND WAVEY MUMBO JUMBO WHICH I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND, BUT SHE TOLD ME TO TRUST HER ABOUT IT BECAUSE THE INFO COMES FROM A "Reliable informant." CG: WHITENED FOR SMUG TOOL. CG: IT INVOLVES SOMETHING TO DO WITH A YELLOW LAWN RING.

So the Yellow Yard is also Scratch’s idea! Great! That's awesome!!

I don’t know why I’m even surprised anymore. We can assume, then, that the kids will preserve themselves in a manner which is disadvantageous for them, and advantageous for English. Maybe they'll be be reduced to something as insubstantial as Aradia's ghost form - still technically present in the session, but unable to warn their successors about the demon menacing their reality.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around what a yellow yard could possibly be. Hussie’s direct involvement suggests to that there’ll be some meta element to their escape – in which case, it's not really possible for me to predict what'll happen. Hussie could pull anything.

EB: maybe she could use some protection? maybe that is what Dave was just trying to do, when he temporarily died. EB: remember, jack is still on the loose! he has killed rose and dave once, and me twice. […] CG: […] IT'S A TOTAL NON ISSUE. JACK WOULDN'T HESITATE TO STAB YOU AGAIN, BUT HE WON'T HURT JADE FOR SOME REASON. […] CG: HE LINGERS AROUND HER UNTIL THE SCRATCH BEGINS AND I LOSE THE FEED, NEVER ONCE DOING ANYTHING THREATENING. [...]

And after the feed cuts out, Jack somehow finds his way into the troll session. I still don't have a clue what's up with that.

CG: [...] SHE SAYS SHE THINKS IT'S BECAUSE JACK INHERITED LOYALTY OF HER LUSUS.

Maybe Jade'll toss a steak into the Rift, or something.

[katyspersonal]

Heolstor might be a Carian in-law, or just a Carian + Ranni tried to prevent his raise too?

So, he has a Moonlight Sword! It is a staple in Fromsoft's games, but in Elden Ring setting, it is a customary gift by a Carian queen to her chosen one

+ not a ring finger, but it reminded me of a ring of purple gemstone that Rennala is depicted wearing (also not a ring finger, funny enough):

So, I wonder whether he also was engaged with a Carian at some point? He is apparently an AU version of The Revenger from Weeping Peninsula whose whole nation got wiped off by Godfrey ( x ), and sorcerers from Liurnia, Carians included, were also enemies of the Erdtree before Rennala's marriage!

I am actually questioning whether it might have been an existing character? 🤔

I was not sure what to make out of the fact that in Japanese original script, Ranni says that now "the night is infinitely far away" besides the fact that 'age of stars' is somehow a different type of the 'night' than whatever it was that she presumably prevented!

But now, seeing that Nightreign's whole poster is an Elden Ring that was altered into a blue version with crescent motives, that Heolstor has Elden Ring inside like Radagon once did, and that he has a sword gifted by a Carian princess to her consort (and maybe their customary ring), I feel like I know just the person that can offer some insight on this situation!

The thing is? The Carian princess in question here is not Ranni, but Renna herself! It is especially apparent by how Lazuli Conspectus sorcerers in Raya Lucaria were already a thing before Ranni was even born, and they wield this crest!

@val-of-the-north explained why the Snowy Crone is Renna in a way more detail in this ( x ) post, but all in all, Renna was long time ago dead and became the four-armed blue cursed ghost herself:

Ranni's motivation is to push the Elden Ring out of anyone's reach as it is the tool to hack laws of nature and people's fates according to your own vision, and allow a presumably more "objective" force (the stars) guide people instead!

But if Renna knew Heolstor, and already was dead from old age (?) by the time Ranni found her, she might have also added something like "Oh by the way there is another guy who will seek to nuke the Golden Order but not for a noble reason that you do, he will seek revenge upon all living after what happened to him, I don't know when or if he will raise but you might want to prevent him from taking the Elden Ring as well :/". So now, along with other things, the Night is also "infinitely far away", because Heolstor did as much as he did through taking the Elden Ring!

Now, I am not sure whether Renna herself was his bride! Could be that, could be someone else but she would still know about him through being family in law. Maybe Godfrey nuking his country even was the actual reason Liurnia became hostile to the Erdtree? The thing is, trolls, close allies of Carians, were traitors of the Fire Giants that sided with the Erdtree during that war instead! A Troll named Theodorix was even glorified as a hero by them. Raya Lucaria soldiers also seem to honor the Golden Order's ways, as they specifically loathe Albinaurics for their "impure blood" and went against Carians because Rennala "was no god, after all" (so, didn't like how divorce effected her). Original Raya Lucaria sorcerers also respect the golden amber along with the stars, as the source of ancient life, as said by Sellen, just that they aim higher for the cold stars!

I was confused, but with the new information, it started to feel like it were Carians specifically who went against the Golden Order! It just meant roping everyone in Liurnia with them too, since they are literally the rulers of the region! And maybe Heolstor's people being killed off and Castle Morne / Weeping Peninsula usurped became the trigger. Something more like 'well when we decided to not do anything about the usurpators we didn't expect they'd eventually usurp us :/'.

At the same time, there is also the whole fact that "night and flame" is exactly what Heolstor inflicts on the Lands Between x)

He must have been in a very close association. Alternatively, maybe he himself a Carian princess that went a very separate way to establish a different territory and country, but the Erdtree could not let someone thrive without their authorisation. -_-"

+ fun fact that might be a coincidence but maybe not: Weeping Peninsula and Liurnia are the two regions where whole settlements tormented by Frenzied Flame exist! A residence of Carians, and a residence of a Carian's consort......

UPDATE: @sahashbelvanie left a comment and:

Yes, seems like the Moonlight Sword restricts him, it isn't necessarily his.

sjhfshdsh Well, folks, perhaps like 70% of the post is cancelled, it is JUST about how Ranni intending to stop him along other things was foreshadowed XD