#But I am unfortunately not well versed in villains

[gaminegay]

For all the villainfuckers/enthusiasts out there

[exstasyplague]

UnPopular Jujutsu Kaisen Opinions (with arguments)

manga spoilers

☆ Yuji is the perfect MC

i've seen a lot of people trashing on him. some say gege writes him poorly and doesn't give him enough scenes, some say he's boring because he doesn't have any fancy cursed techniques. first of all, yuji has been aware of the jujutsu world for 6 months in manga; even less in anime. he doesn't have any OP cliche to him (looking at you Ichigo) and that makes him so much more enjoyable! when he loses he loses for good reasons and when he wins you can feel genuinely happy for him because you know he deserves it. he is a teenager and the shift in his mentalities embodies that perfectly; along with him we discover the cruelty and unfairness of the jujutsu world. at first, especially if you're a shonen watcher, you'd tend to believe he will shift to a high white knight borderline annoying mentality yet he doesn't, the jjk verse doesn't work like that. yuji is able to adapt. he has traits that you'd see in your real life friends: silliness, kindness, idiocy, love for jennifer lawrence etc but also traits that make him a perfect mc: empathy, resiliance, convinction, raw anger. + gege have him some of the HARDEST panels.

ㅡif it's just pain... Yuji Itadori won't ever stop

also. his last battle with mahito. hands down. best. panels.

mahito (another well structured villain) RUNNING for his life while yuji walks slowly behind him. if that doesn't show major improvement from the kid he was at the beginning idk what does. that's some MC shit right there man.

☆ Sukuna is not a fraud

the fraudkuna memes are funny. i admit. i'm sure mahoraga kisses him goodnight and tucks his blankey, however, sukuna is a fucking piece of shit, LOL (i mean it in the best way), my man literally became curse. people expect him to not use the weapons he has to his advantage as if he didn't want megumi from the beginning specifically for using his abilities. a good gun doesn't make you a military tier shooter. it's about the resources, it's about the experience, it's about the aim. "why doesn't he use his curse technique wah wah" — because he knows gojo is strong. unless he isn't absolutely sure he will strip him away from all his gimmicks, he has no reason to flaunt his true powers. sukuna wants to win. he wanted to kill gojo since the beginning of the series. i think the fight is balanced well, sukuna uses his resources and takes the consequences for being a tad too cautious. in the heian era when cursed energy had a purer, rawer output even domain expansions were simple in principles: you're in, i kill you. (line from the manga, btw) his CT is probably straightforward as well with a simple principle so having gojo use his infinity against it and figure out how to strip him naked would make him lose faster than todo called yuji his bestie.

☆ Gege doesn't hate women

because the unfortunate thing with nobara and yuki getting xd-d by kenjaku, a popular belief seems to be that gege is fond of trashing the women in his series. argument people have for that? "the only one in the spotlight is maki and she's female toji". first of all, if gege hated women he wouldn't write them as he does— each one of his lady characters is incredibly well structured and way beyond the love interest/ gotta be protected trope. mei mei, shoko, utahime, miwa and many others became non-existent, or what? even tengen is a woman. masashi kishimoto (the creator of naruto) is an author i'd say has 0 regards for women since the way most of his girl characters are built is literal dog shit. sakura is naruto's one sided love and a sasuke dickrider, hinata is a stalker that sharts when she sees naruto, karin is a sasuke dickrider, kurenai is asuma's chick and the only two women somewhat ok as a structure are tsunde and temari. (i am a big fan of the naruto series but i am spitting facts, also an avid sakura lover) plus there is a rumour that gege is a woman too and from the way sato sugu is written i'd agree anw

☆ Kenjaku is the best villain of the series

homie got railed by itadori's papi just for his plan, that's not even aizen level of plotting bro. he got drizzled in jizz and gave birth to yuji 💀

how good that d had to be for him to get impregnated....

ANYWAY jokes aside, he is very calculated and chill. he is not the strongest but his literal essence is to be a technique stealing leech and well, he's just that. with suguru, even in his villain arc you can empathize. sukuna is cool and straightforward: he wants to massacre people, kill gojo and then enjoy his life slashing random ass people who don't kneel is total submission.

kenjaku? bro, kenjaku has plans over plans and he executes all of them. even in geto's sexy body he still gets hated because there is genuinely nothing likeable about him. not because he's a poorly written character, he's written to be a piece of shit that makes you wanna break the screen when he gets a W and idk about y'all but even when he exorcised mahito i was like "aw hell nah bruh, get your hands off asap". may come as a shock, i know but we're like supposed to hate villains (not me being the biggest sukuna simp even in his crusty dusty OG form🤭) and well, nobody fucking roots for kenjaku. so gojo, go take your boyfriend's body or something fr.

☆ Yuta is.... mid

hear me out.

i don't hate him— not in the slightest. i hope he will actually have something going on with maki since apparently nobara is afk. i liked his entire rika situation but... bro.

yes, i will be going into the power system 😭I'M SORRY BUT like all he does is copy shit. wow. sure, he's a good copycat. i am not complaining about him being called so powerful and wtv but i don't find anything exciting about his battles and his personality is dead ass boring. do i get happy when he wins? yes. do i hope he'll come and save goatjo? yes. yes. yes. but people call him the real MC and all that shit... not even that— i... nothing in me likes him. my opinions are not absolute. his story is cool. i liked jjk 0 but the only thing that ruins his story is literally his lack of perosnality. and don't come at me for not grasping his depths or whatever. yuta is best fanfic y/n material because he can be turned into bashful stereotype really easily. "omg, best friend power, precious friends made me wanna live ❤️" very sweet HOWEVER very untouching for me. i only liked him when he made maki go all blushy because my girl deserves happiness.

☆ Toji actually cares about Megumi

is he the good father that would spoil his kid as a ray of sunshine?

no.

but he chose this. to forget about everything, to abandon his pride, to part himself away from the clan that rejected him and live his life on his own. megumi's mom made shit better for him and she died so his life became shit again. he thought that by entrusting megumi to the zenin clan he would actually be able to make something of himself since he had cursed energy.

also, people tend to forget just how conservative and judgemental the 3 big clans are, maki and mai have been shat on their whole life by the zenins, especially maki. toji went through the same shit if not worse. he wasn't always buff max version of himself, he wasn't born with anything. exactly because he gave up on all the things in his life he was able to reach that type of power and live with some purpose since he failed in everything else.

in the manga he has the option of coming back to life as long as he keeps killing sorcerers, which is his speciality, but he meets megumi, recognises him and kills himself in order to not hurt him. be fr. anciet sorcerers sold their booty holes to kenjaku to get a second chance at life.

ANYWAY. SADLY i can't post Toji memes since i reached my pic limits.

let me know what you think:) i may make a part 2. feel free to also ask for my opinions about anything in the verse, lol. if you wanna see my fics check my ao3, i promise i don't write in the same braindead way i type. <33

[irenespring]

House M.D. Fanfiction: A Clearly Discernible Line, Chapter 1 (House/Wilson)

Chapter 1: We're here to learn, aren't we?

Chapter can be read here!

----

It's finally ready for publication! I have made so many posts about this (from planning to publishing) so I am so glad to finally be ready to share the first chapter (of ten) of my Hilson School for Good and Evil AU!

THIS FIC SHOULD STILL MAKE SENSE WITHOUT ANY PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF SGE. If you have a question I will answer immediately and possibly address it in the fic text for future readers.

Fic will be updated every Friday. I have a multiple chapter buffer in case of writer's block or unfortunate circumstances, so I don't anticipate any issues getting this fully updated on time.

Yes, this AU sounds crazy. I am cashing in my "please trust my writing and read this weird AU" chips while only having seven published fics. But it still should make sense!

On that point, I would like to give my eternal thanks to @jameswilsonsupremacy for their help with finalizing the plot of this fic (the whole thing is plotted!) and making sure it is understandable to someone not well-versed in SGE. Also sorry Lucas I just realized you share a name with Professor Lucas from the School for Good and Evil. He's a side character in SGE, not a deliberate reference. I know it's weird to randomly see your name in fiction.

I would also like to thank users @a-case-of-the-ace , @thatpersonwithbooks , @deanbane , @everytuesday, and @atmaligaya for their encouragement when I was thinking about whether to attempt this AU at all given it's niche nature, and when I was writing (and having writer's block issues!).

---

Fic teaser:

James Wilson, new student at the School for Good, is excited to live out his destiny and make his own fairy tale. He excels at everything: weaponry lessons, history tests, smiling class. He just doesn’t exactly feel true love for any of the girls. But that won’t be a problem. It’s easily faked. In fact, a surprisingly alluring Evil student is going to help him keep up his ruse. He’s totally covered. Gregory House, new student at the School for Evil, has finally gotten away from his father. He’s also found the first home he’s ever had... at a school built for training villains. He has books, magic, and teachers who don’t suck. After a chance encounter with a Good student, he might even have a friend. His life is finally making sense. So, there we have it. Their fates seem sealed. James will go on to star in a fairy tale and in young girls’ dreams. Gregory will cause some manageable mayhem, then take the under-the-radar magical academic track that produces some of the few Evil students who live to get gray hair. Nice endings tied with a bow, just like the elusive School Master likes. Except here you are, reading their Tale. Which begs the question: what went wrong?

---

I would love to hear what you think about this chapter on either AO3 or here on Tumblr! I totally understand the anxieties inherent to commenting, the executive functioning demand, or the time demand, so I totally understand if you are not comfortable. But if you are able and like the fic, it would be great to know! It always makes my day and is super helpful for writing motivation.

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

Snippets part 11

"Settle down, please," Pullman snapped, ever so slightly bent out of shape. "You are all aware that you are to work as mercenaries for the Mages' Union, yes?”

We all nodded. Chris and I settled down on the sofa, with Merida standing ram-rod straight beside us. “What about it?” I raised my eyebrows. (You know, I always wanted to raise a singular eyebrow, like those super-villains in the comic books, but unfortunately genetics did not comply, and my magic had no hold over neurology.)

“The Mage's Union has long had a need for a group to specialise in dealing with the twice-dead. It seemed pertinent to assemble this team, in light of the recent crimes committed by ghosts, spirits, fae and demons. To name one incident, the spate of thievery committed by Kristavla Ko-clan,” Pullman said, inclining his head at Chris, who snickered.

“So? We're your new anti-twice-dead squad? You don't need me,” I said cheerfully. Chris was a nice guy and all, but every time I looked at Merida, I could only think of our struggle within her mind. Something deeply unnerving lurked beneath her conscious, something not quite sane. Something I deeply wanted to avoid. Even now I could see the inhuman stillness of her mind, like she'd been silenced. Even Pullman had minor ripples in his thoughts, like the movement of a breathing chest. “I mean, I can't speak spirit! Surely there's a linguist or inhuman psychologist you could ask…”

Pullman rippled with amused irritation. “Certainly, there are many linguists who would jump at the chance to aid our endeavours. But we already have an honest to goodness spirit on our side, and a second individual well versed in both the Cescereli, the official language of the spirits, and the pidgin used by the Fae. It seemed a better choice to have you on the team, given your… skillset.”

I grumbled under my breath. It didn't seem like there was a way out of it. (I would find a way, however. I always did.) “So what's our first task, then? Hunt down a secret triad of Fae? Stop an incubus prostitution ring?”

“Nothing quite so mundane, I am afraid. There is a peculiar being, whom analysts suspect to be Fae, rampaging the suburbs of the city Iraios, along the border with Palioden. So far it has destroyed five houses and killed at least a dozen civilians, alongside two teams of mercenaries. It uses elemental magic unique to the Fae, and seems to be resistant to any form of evocation,” Pullman explained. He had slipped into the bored tones of a lecturer, as though he had repeated it a dozen times. His mind wavered, drawing the knowledge from the depths of memory.

“I have informed the local Mage's Union that a specialised team will be sent to aid them. They will provide you with lodging and any resources you might require. Unfortunately, the Paliodaen Exorcist Corps are unable to provide any assistance to our endeavours,” he added, giving a peculiar glance at Merida. “One may well ask why.”

“I regret nothing,” she said simply in response.

There was definitely a story to sniff out there, I thought, one that could be turned to my advantage. Goodness knows I needed anything I could use against her. “You know,” I said slyly, “It would help if you explained how you got here, Merida.”

The look she gave me could have turned the very air solid. “That is none of your business,” she whispered. There was no inflection in the words, no growl or hiss, but the threat was there nonetheless. “Let us move on.”

Taglist:

@coffeeangelinabox, @dorky-pals, @calliecwrites, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @shukei-jiwa

@thewingedbaron, @pluppsauthor, @cowboybrunch, @wylloblr, @possiblyeldritch

@ramwritblr, @urnumber1star, @fortunatetragedy, @bigwipscholar, @ratedn

@vampirelover890, @possiblylisle, @illarian-rambling, @the-ellia-west

@finicky-felix, @evilgabe29, @glitched-dawn, @rivenantiqnerd, @dragonhoardesfandoms

@drchenquill,

(Anyone else who wants to get added can tell me in the comments, pm me, or send me an ask about it!)

[mangledscrimp]

HAIII,, Here is Desmond for dy au :3,, I redid her ref sheet and I think it looks so much better than the original sprite edit! (comparison)

(WILL HAVE AZRAN LEGACY SPOILERS.)

As a bit of a warning;; There will be nonsexual nudity in the post going over scars from surgeries and wounds (not very graphic)

As usual, going to go through each bullet.

•Pronouns

Desmond goes by He/She/They/Its. Everything pretty much goes for them. She’s genderfluid.

•AroAce

Desmond in this au is aroace. He still had that past partner like canon desmond does. But after she had disappeared, it helped him discover himself after being unable to be a suitable partner for anyone else due to stress and general complications with understanding people.

•Artistry

Desmond is still very much into art, but taxidermy is what she values higher than most. She thinks it’s a beautiful way to show the life an animal once lived or a creative way to express oneself through an animal.

•Airship or water ship?

Desmond in this au owns a mixture of both! She owns a cruise ship with an attached airship at the top (the Bostonius)! Making her able to leave the ship without having to turn the cruise around and an easier place to have the airship without having to put it into a hanger. Her crewmates often call her red or dessy, a fun little nickname!

•Glasses?

Surprisingly, her glasses are only for show. She’s got no lenses in those red rims and are merely an accessory.

•Profession

Desmond studied the arts of archeology and anthropology. He’s well versed in the two topics. Archeology is something that peaked his interest since it was a major thing in his childhood. Often times, his father would bring him to dig sites to see pottery from the past and how humans used to live. Unfortunately, his father was taken by a suspicious group of people, as well as his mother.

Anthropology also peaked Desmond’s interest as it went along with Archeology. Learning about how human being behaved throughout history over time is interesting to them.

This is more of a habit but, Desmond is also an interested hunter. While learning about different cultures and their practices, she learned more and more about different hunting strategies used by many cultures. These were inspirational, so it slowly became a hobby. Of course only in areas that allowed hunting. Nothing non-ethical for her!

———— AZRAN LEGACY SPOILS!!!

I feel like…you guys will hater me for what I did to descole for the au ok…Don’t get mad at me pleaseeeee!! :< She’s kinda cringe but I DON’T CAREEE MWAHAHA I AM FREE I CAN DO WHATEVER I WISH!!

Cannibalism and Hunting mention uwaaa

remember shit gets diabolical in this au, so don’t be surprised when the main villain is a cringe scary character that goes EEEVIL!!

ok yah this is..this is descole in this au.

Again, gonna do what I gotta do. A lot of what’s in here is related to lore stuff that some people may have or have not read..sooo tralala

This ref is general and not affected by gameplot!

•Similarities and differences

Desmond and Descole act VERY differently. Desmond is simply just an act for the public eye.

Also, not called “Jean Descole” in this au. She’d probably find it rather ugly to be called “Jean” and thinks that name is stupid. Her canon counterpart would definitely hate her.

Desmond and Descole both share the same pronouns, that part does not change. Same with their sexuality.

Desmond is more open and tries her best to communicate with people, while Descole acts more cold and serious. Descole also gets agitated more easily compared to Desmond.

•Outfit and design.

Descole’s outfit is made to hunt. It’s hunting gear. She has white hunting gloves and a purple hunting jacket.

The boa and cravat is for style, might as well look good when you’re hunting. (Not..very affective..but don’t tell her that..)

The cape is also for style but it’s also used to hide her belt and anything else she has concealed in her pockets. The pattern of the cape isn’t very consistent but it has the overall pattern of a leopard with a soft texture. Often times her chihuahua, treats, enjoys to lay in it. (Treats is the Keats dupe for this au! hehe). Can ditch the cape when she needs to run after prey and it’s slowing her down.

Her boots are lightweight so she can easily run after her prey if needed.

her hat is funny, that’s why I did it lols. She can’t own a cat, or else it would knock it off all the time haha!

Under everything, it’s just a plain cream shirt with her hunting pants.

The shadow is a design choice that I like hehe, it allows her to blend in with the darkness since she mostly hunts at night. Also makes her mysterious hehehe lalalal! Desmond can also have this shadow to show the cover being blown.

Mask to conceal her identity.

Wig is not connected to the hat, if she wants to take it off, she’ll take it off from the front, similarly to how the masked gentleman takes off the costume for the big reveal.

•Weaponry

Descole carries a belt on her waist that holds her smaller tools. For example, her cautery tool she stole from her adopted father (Raymond). Carrying it around incase she needs it for prey. (Of course, it’s only been used on one creature she’s hunted.)

Another weapon in her arsenal would be her handgun. It’s used near the ending of Randall’s game. She has larger ones but she carries a small one for quick trips and not for longer hunts.

Lastly, she owns a net guns. Made by herself. The case is a deep dark purple with a red “D” to label it as her own. It has foam to protect each netgun head and handle. The yellow button on the handle is to release her white web onto her prey. She mostly uses her net guns instead of killing what’s she’s hunting right away.

• Diet.

She’s a hunter that eats her prey. if her prey so happens to be Human, she won’t find a problem using every piece that she can.

With her normal hunting, she often uses every part of the animal. For example, if she were to hunt a deer, she’d use every piece.

Though, she has yet to eat a human being. She had plans to feast on a red headed woman after her plans had failed since she had no more use for her, but that sadly didn’t go through. Once you aren’t needed anymore in her eyes, she’ll find a way to satisfy her hunger.

Under the cut there is nudity!! NOT SEXUAL! Just to show Des’s body.

Warn for scarring and nonsexual nudity!! uwaa

This is how Des looks underneath everything!

•Under Both

During the Randall game, Des gets shot in her shoulder, leaving a scar after raymond tried to tend to its wound.

Des had gotten breast reduction surgery by raymond. Raymond has surgical experience, he’s a retired surgeon who decided to work in an orphanage where he met Des and her future crew.

Raymond is like a father to des and was happy to make her feel more confident in himself.

The wound on their right hand was caused by desperate measures going through the labyrinth in Randall’s game. She carved a pathway onto her hand so she wouldn’t get lost.

He’s got a symmetry line down its chest. Idk, just a neat body detail I wanted to add because I think it’s nice! hehe

• Under Descole

She wears a binder under her descole outfit to appear more flat chested. She doesn’t mind her breasts but she’d rather wear that when she’s hunting that a bra. Feels more contained.

OK LALALA THAT IT!!

[unlocked-doors-verse]

Mystery Kids AU: New Changes

Ho boy, somehow I've fallen back into Coraline since the local movie theater decided to premier it again - hence why I decided to talk about my Mystery Kids AU and the updated lore changes because well, I want to be a menace today.

So, to recap from old posts - the chosen fandoms are Danny Phantom, Coraline, Paranorman, and Gravity Falls. All of these do take place post-canon, although Phantom Planet is retconned because- no. For the record, I don't necessarily hate it but it's not really important to my plot.

I'm going to break this down into different sections, so! Let's get started, shall we?

The plot begins with Dipper and Mabel returning to Gravity Falls, Oregon, for the summer and due to a camp program happening - well, it leads to the others becoming part of said camp, arriving to the sleepy town where shenanigans ensue. Dipper and Mabel are both nearly sixteen now, as of course - their birthday is near the end of summer break. Things start off as very typical to the weirdness that is Gravity Falls, and introducing the characters to one another. Though about halfway through, when the main storyline picks up, we're also given a glimpse of the main villains... who I unfortunately cannot mention right now because that would defeat the purpose.

I do intend for the series to be a lot darker than the original movies and/or tv shows because that does defeat the purpose, so this is your fair warning of what to expect for the Mystery Kids/Unlocked Doors verse. I am hoping to transform it into a proper series, exploring the Main Bad Guys across the four franchises but we'll see what happens with the first installation!

(Under-the-Cut Information)

Character Introductions

Dipper Pines: 15-16 years old. After the defeat of Bill Cipher, Dipper and his twin sister Mabel returned home to Piedmont, California. His intrigue and fascination with the weirdness and abnormal continued to get stronger - in light of what went down during the events of Weirdmaggedon, Dipper follows in Grunkle Ford's footsteps. He's fallen out of the preteen anxiety he had in his preteen years, even if it does little to help his own paranoia of the return of Bill Cipher. Dipper began keeping his own journals, adding onto them and hoping to one day become a paranormal researcher.

Mabel Pines: 15-16 years old. Mabel Pines is the twin sister to Dipper. Unlike her brother, Mabel is known for her artistic and creative side - she dreams of the day she can make it big as an artist, or even simply becoming a teacher. She's not picky to be honest! Mabel's hyperactive, cheerful personality continues to shine even now; though she still has dreams of what happened during Weirdmaggedon. Even then, she's just looking to have a great time in Gravity Falls, not having the slightest clue of what awaits her and her friends.

Norman Babcock: 14 years old. Norman is a bit younger than Dipper and Mabel, simply due to his birthdate, but even then - he's matured quite a bit since the events that went down in his hometown of Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts. Norman can still come off as a little awkward around new people, but he does have a good heart and does his best to help wherever he can. He has fully embraced his ability to see ghosts and helps them cross over.

Danny Phantom: 16 years old. Danny is the eldest out of the kids. Following the defeat of Pariah Dark and a few other select baddies, things slowly returned back to normal - Amity Park became a little more accepting and Danny's role as protector flared even more, but of course... there are still other threats brewing under the surface though I'm sure they won't be much of an issue for Phantom.

Coraline Jones: 15 years old. Coraline's life slowly settled after the incident and became closer with Wybie Lovat. She has hoped to forget about what happened, attempting to bury it down (and no one would blame her, it was quite the traumatizing experience-) but an unexpected summer camp program to Gravity Falls, Oregon is about to change everything in ways she didn't expect. She's got a spunk to her now - still just as sassy as she was in her younger years.

Wyborne "Wybie" Lovat: 15 years old. Wybie is Coraline's best friend now; the two became practically inseparable after what happened in the Pink Palace - though more specifically, the wall. He still doesn't know what to make of it, but he isn't nearly as spooked by all of it as Coraline. Wybie continues to be kooky and eccentric and might just be having a tiny puppy crush on Coraline, though he's never going to admit it. Who knows what might come of their summer camp in Gravity Falls?

Other characters will be in this, of course but they're not nearly as important as the ones I already listed - or who knows, maybe I have plans I can't share just yet ;))

Lore Infodumping

Ho boy, I can only share so much because weeelll - I will not be able to share spoilers, but here goes nothing.

Gravity Falls, Oregon, and other likeminded towns became natural hotspots for weirdness once the barrier was broken - of course, this is canon but people just sort of accepted this as part of the everyday normal. With cities like Amity Park however, and the fact Danny is in fact a superhero, this becomes a different can of worms. Much like one of my other projects, it isn't out of the ordinary for the hotspot towns and even 'hero cities' to keep to themselves though it remains unclear why.

Gravity Falls became a very popular tourist spot, eventually creating the summer camp program. Though no one talks about Weirdmaggedon, preferring to keep it that way in the hopes of warding off bad energy and superstitions associated with it. The Pines are still an oddity amongst the residents, but they came to be respected - especially now with how they managed to stop Bill Cipher. Ford continued recording information about his adventures in new journals, using it as a pastime now more than his job. Stan and him return home during the summers to spend time with their great niece and nephew.

I genuinely don't have much to say about the Pink Palace or Blithe Hollow since things just sort of went back to normal. As for Amity Park, it's a bit different as it became liminal and just has more ghost activity; like I mentioned earlier - Phantom Planet has yet to happen, or won't happen, I don't know which. It turned into a hotspot of its own and the citizens have been marked by ghostly activity (not that they have powers-). Anyway,

Earth as a whole has changed a lot and who knows what come next?

I'm going to be changing the blog url into unlocked-doors-verse since Secret Origins is now separate from this! You are more than welcome to send me asks and/or interact with the blog, and I will be providing headcanons and more information in a following post! Obviously I can't share many spoilers though there's going to be a lot more for this universe. As of right now, this is not a character blog - it's more for the AU itself, BUT you can ask me information about the characters and how everything works.

Until next time, my lovely readers!

[constelationprize]

hi! i’d love if you’d answer a, u, and o for the ask game

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

I am currently in Rhaenicent brainrot lockdown. (someone posted a full edit of them to the full 3:39 minutes of Good Luck Babe to YouTube and I'm being very mentally well about it). My beloved doomed yuri. I cannot wait until Alicent has to (redacted) (redacted) (redacted) Rhaenyra and then be miserable about it the rest of her life. I don't care if she's not on Dragonstone in the books life will find a way.

HOWEVER I have also been enjoying the armandaniel/Devil's Minion content we have gotten from the IWTV fandom post-finale. They are horrible. I do nothing but look at memes about them all day.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

Instead of choosing I will just shuffle my downloaded songs and report back to you.

I got An Act of Kindness by Bastille and I'm gonna assign that to jeanee :)

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

This one is fun because I instantly forgot every media I've ever consumed.

So, uh.

Luke Castellan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians – Baby's first morally grey character. I just find him so fascinating as a foil to Percy and as a villain in and off himself. Unfortunately he is struck by the curse of being part of a middle grade franchise and so people often engage with his character in a very black-and-white way, and I hate how people use a single, ambiguous line in his literal last scene to moralize about him. ANYWAY. He did in fact do all that shit but he was Literally Right. So.

Adam Parrish, The Raven Cycle – he's truly the perfect character. He's a liar. He's traumatized. He refuses to accept help and be perceived and so tries to do everything himself, always resulting in making things 100% worse. Most of his problems could be solved by open communication and polyamory, and he refuses to do either. He's a real magician that does fake card readings for money. He does absolutely everything wrong and still manages to get everything he wants. He got rid of one of the villains by framing him for murder. He fully killed a guy. He's even bisexual. What's not to love?

Mallory Glass aka Sister Carpenter, The Silt Verses – Maybe my favorite podcast protagonist of all time. Attack dog of the faith. She's jaded and cynical and still gets emotionally attached to almost everyone she meets. The only thing she wants in life is a peaceful retirement from making horrible human sacrifices and two separate gods refuse to let her. We listen as she gets more and more tired of the world around her and the path the marginalization of her youth led her to take, and is still forced to keep going. Owner of the iconic line "Tell me more about your god, I wanna know whose house I wrecked", a batshit moment in a batshit episode that's been in my main blog bio for two years. I'm not ready to say goodbye to her this Thursday :(

[antlerqueer]

More psychologists and psychiatrists *need* to watch Yellowjackets and analyze everything. I'm dead serious I need more professional doctors that will analyze all this fucked up show together with us the yellowjackets (btw why don't we have a fan fandom name for ourselves? Maybe because we're not 16 ) Now discuss

We kind of have a fandom name! The official TikTok has been saying the hive, but in the discord server I'm in we call ourselves the book club.

I would love to see queer psychologists/psychiatrists weigh in, especially women, but I'd be slightly wary mostly bc my thoughts on the institution are that it's an exploitative, bias-ridden educational system that unfortunately is only just now working on undoing the sexism/racism/ableism/classism/etc baked into it. (Gets off soapbox.)

But yeah! I talk about the show with my therapist and since I've been receiving professional mental health services since I was a kid (and at some point decided to take a couple of classes in college) I like to pretend I'm well-versed in enough to provide some insights with a critical enough lens. I think the way the show is handling trauma in women is honestly so incredible and unbelievably respectful given how traumatized women in media are almost instantly villainized by the narrative and audiences.

I am, of course, wary that the only women whose mental health issues exist beyond the trauma of The Wilderness and Misty's pre-crash bullying are women of color - that seems to be something the showrunners wrote unintentionally, then cast Lottie as a woc, and didnt revise post-casting. I hope they deal with these sensitively as it moves forward and we see more of the other girls, but since the surviving/named supporting cast is mostly woc (Gen, Crystal, Akilah, Mari compared with iirc just Melissa) I'm not entirely sure how they could remedy this. Natalie has pre-crash trauma that looks to have developed into PTSD and is an abuse survivor, so she's likely dealing with CPTSD but we don't see that much in her teen years storyline beyond substance abuse (which stopped in the forest) and the one flash of her dad as the plane was going down. We see Shauna grieving but it's only been two months - she's having a trauma response on top of the existing trauma of the wilderness. That's not mental illness (yet) that's just being constantly traumatized.

Misty is. Y'know. Misty.

[agentnico]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) Review

Why would they release this only a month after Across the Spider-Verse?? It’s as if they WANT to live in the shadows!

Plot: After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers. Their new friend, April O'Neil, helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of course are close to the hearts of many people’s childhoods, however I do not share that element of nostalgia. I am aware of the turtles and their pizza obsession, and I have unfortunately seen both of the Michael Bay produced ones, but nonetheless I walked into Mutant Mayhem with a very open mind. I am a fan of Seth Rogen and have also been enjoying this new style of animation that spawned from 2018′s Into the Spider-Verse, that steps away from the Disney/Pixar dominated oversaturated 3D computer animation and instead incorporates 2D and various interesting art styles from watercolours to comic-book sketches. Again, Spider-Verse started this and is still probably the most well executed one, however I personally also believe Klaus and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish have managed to take this new artwork animation style and make it their own. Mutant Mayhem again looks very good visually, and even though this one doesn’t really add much more to this animation style that Spider-Verse already did, there were still some creative choices made, like in many shots parts of the character drawings and the background sketches looking unfinished, as if a kid drew them, which I found to be a nice touch, especially with the movie’s youthful nature. But yes, the artwork is very close to Spider-Verse, and that is not the only comparison. Strangely enough the energetic music score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross hits near all the same notes and drum beats of Daniel Pemberton’s excellent Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack. Both are very similar, and again reiterated that TMNT: Mutant Mayhem gladly embraces that it exists solely due to the trend that Spider-Verse started.

What really works for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is that it actually accepts the fact that its titular turtles are teenagers. Voiced entirely by a youthful cast, the four central turtles have amazing banter and share that coming-of-age feel, making their friendship believable and entertaining to watch. At times it feels like you’re just hanging out with a bunch of friends who are being goofs. The supporting cast all do their part and are evidently having fun themselves. Ice Cube makes for a formidable villain who at first comes off really cool and charming, but then turns into an intimidating presence that manages to proudly proclaim rap lyrics. Jackie Chan is an inspired casting choice, as he brings an endearing warmth as the overprotective father-figure to the turtles, and his vocal performance felt genuine. There’s many famous actors that provide vocal additions to the shedload of characters in this movie, but I’d say Paul Rudd stood out the most as a crazy skater-bro who was foolishly funny.

Jeff Rowe (known for The Mitchells vs. The Machines) balances the themes of coming-of-age and acceptance really well with the fast-paced action-packed energy of Seth Rogen’s and Evan Goldberg’s script, and there’s plenty of laughs and colourful set pieces to keep kids entertained at the cinema this month. This is definitely a more younger audience aimed affair, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and at the very least is the best version of TMNT I have seen so far. Naturally my main comparisons are those Michael Bay movies and, well, that’s not a very high bar. But don’t worry, Mutant Mayhem provides plenty of entertainment value, popping imagery and mountains of ninja skills. And pizza, of course.

Overall score: 7/10

[eiseryn]

Mafia/ Crime AU

Synopsis: Remember that yandere! Vail picture I drew way back? Well this is the collection of notes which are the plot as to why that type of Vail came to be! It is a tragedy so... TW character death? But not in the way you expect? Hopefully? This takes place in a crime/mafia AU (which I am not well-versed in), so note there's not much description about that. These notes are mostly focussed on "romance" and written in a very messy style.

Under the glamour of the city of Mertalline lurks the underdark where organized crime is rampant, and there are many gangs fighting amongst themselves. Rarely do citizens get caught up in their actions, and some aren’t even aware of the darkness that lies underneath… 

A small but prominent group — Lexi’s Red Dragons have been catching the attention of bigger and older groups due to their excellent work. Everyone in this group has insignias/ tattoos of a red dragon with horns on them.

Lexi (boss)

Rose (2nd in command?) + sniper 

Zoey (classic muscle(wo)man/hit(wo)man who goes on the frontlines), Keeper (works behind the scenes, mostly runs the comms line + rarely goes on the front lines. She also often is their strategist.), Vail (often sticks to things in the shadows/stealth missions, but does go on the frontlines) 

They also later recruit Liam as a standard muscleman for their work who also goes on the frontlines 

For funsies Elik + Tiger are here too XD (in my AUs they will NOT be villains) 

Elik is an assassin ofc, classic hitman — he is #1 in terms of damage tying with Lexi.

Tiger is a hacker ofc 

PEOPLE WHO ARE ALSO IN THIS GROUP FOR PLOT REASONS

Maric — we need more Runner bodies to fill up the hitmen slots LOL 

Flash — getaway driver :3 

The reason they are powerful is because they also have backing from Maria, one of the richest in the city. This might also mean they do dirty jobs for Maria.

The order they were recruited in:

(Starting members) Lexi, Rose, Vail, Keeper, Elik, Tiger. Then Zoey was recruited, and then Flash, and then Maric, and Liam is the newest recruit. 

Underground doctor group — Elise, Lei, Ceres. 

Elise, who has a mysterious past (would be revealed in plot) as to why she’s an underground doctor. 

It is likely because her company did illegal experimentation/ unethical experimentation and she ran away somehow? She might still be hiding from them.  

Ceres — got caught up with the mess due to her relation to her brother Rose, who hid his criminal activities from her for a long time. Unfortunately, she is now also hiding from whatever forces are going after Rose. 

She often stays indoors, as forced by Rose and Lei so that she stays “safe”. 

In this AU she got trained to shoot — by Lei and Rose. 

Lei, formerly falsely accused of making illegal drugs in her company, and thus had to turn into underground doctoring after this stain in her records. She probably did go to jail for this but got a reduced sentence. 

She is popular because she cooks the cleanest drugs on the black market. They’re so clean people wonder how she got here.

Under her cold bitchy persona there lies a soft heart. 

Carries a gun strapped to her thigh for “self-defense” but also can kill in self-defense. 

Only wears dresses/skirts, almost never wears pants. Often wears heels as well because she used to have a sort of agreed immunity by the gangs as a doctor… until some gangs thought she was favouring a certain group a little too much.

Plot: 

Due to competition from the other gangs/groups, Lexi’s group is being targeted and many other crime groups are trying to wipe them out. 

As an underground doctor, Lei is supposed to remain impartial to those who show on her doorstep — as long as the money is there. But she may have favoured Lexi’s group a little too much and is now being targeted by the mysterious forces after Lexi’s group.

Lexi assigned a bodyguard for her — Vail. 

Vail does his job diligently but Lei isn’t so pleased with this set up (in the beginning) b/c she doesn’t want someone to die for her and she knows people are going after HER life. This responsibility makes her a little anxious.

Lei: Why did they send you? I can shoot better than you. 

Vail: Just think of me as a meat shield then. 

Lei: This is a waste of your time. I can take care of myself.

Vail: Just following orders from the boss (Lexi).

It is hinted that there is a mole in Lexi’s group — they don’t know who at the moment but they suspect someone is betraying them.

Early in the story, Liam might look sus since he is the newest recruit but it will be soon proven false.

Throughout the plot the red herring for the suspect is Maric, who is the second most recent recruit.

Smoking scene (kinda spicy?) 

Aside from her doctoring duties and selling the drugs she makes, Lei often does networking (which Elise is actually better at but Lei feels like she’s at less of a risk than Elise). 

In the alleyway, Lei takes out a cigarette and lights it up and smokes it. As her loyal bodyguard, Vail is standing basically beside her.  

Lei: Hey, you know second hand smoke is bad for you right? 

Vail: Yes, and?

Lei: So stay a little further away. 

Vail: I’m your bodyguard. I can’t protect you if I’m far away. 

Lei stays nothing, because she begins to shiver a little. Nights in Mertalline are cold, especially in sketchy alleyways. And yet she also often wears sleeveless dresses. Vail takes off his suit jacket and moves to put it on her shoulders and she kind of flinches away as he approaches. 

Vail, confused: You said you’re cold. 

Lei: I didn’t ask for your jacket. 

Vail: Yeah, you didn’t. I’m just giving it to you.

She shivers again, so he drapes it over her shoulders.

Lei: It’ll smell like cigarette smoke.

Vail shrugs: Most of the Red Dragons smoke, so it doesn’t matter. 

He doesn’t tell her that he usually stays away from them when they smoke. But she doesn’t ask why his jacket smells devoid of smoke either. 

Sedatives

Vail needs sleeping pills to sleep b/c he has some insomnia → trauma of his job? 

He gets them from Lei usually, so this is how they knew each other before he became her bodyguard.

When it gets really bad to the point it’d become dangerous on the job (unable to sleep at night, falling asleep on the job?), he asks her for better/more effective ones.

She has a new recipe she’s trying out but she’s not sure of the risk/side effects.

He tries them and they’re quite effective, but they don’t really seem like there’s that many side effects … that are obvious.

The amount of dosage needed is lower

And it’s less addictive/ barely addictive at all. 

But they will later find… there is an issue with this new drug

Sometimes after eating these drugs and falling asleep he also has strange dreams… 

In some dreams he is having a spicy time — he’s touching her (hands on thighs? Face? etc.), kissing her, she might be whispering sweet nothings into his ears as her hands wander lower (and also more spicy things happen that I will not describe… in this doc LOL). He probably feels guilty after waking up and wonders why he dreams these things.

In some dreams he’s killing her — sometimes he’s choking her, sometimes he slits her throat, once it was a gun to her abdomen and he watched her bleed out.

He doesn’t realize he only has these dreams when he’s eating the drugs, because dreams are strange like that / doesn’t make the connection. 

He does not tell anyone about these dreams.

These dreams he has… start to bleed into reality… (the spicy good ones not the killing ones) 

Guns

Vail hates guns. That’s the truth. He hates using them and he hates that he needs to use them sometimes. 

Maybe his parents were killed by one, and a gang, so he first became part of the scheme to avenge his parents?

But either way, whenever he doesn’t need them, he will not use them.

Lei also hates guns but it is the only way she can protect herself, being physically weak otherwise.

She is good with them though, it’s so easy to aim and pull the trigger. Concerningly easy → cold bitch Lei let’s go.

Of the doctor ladies she’s killed the most. I think maybe Ceres has killed more than Elise directly though :3 

Maybe their mutual dislike in guns is revealed in the story and this brings them closer

Lei: Why didn’t you use your fucking gun? You almost died!

Vail: … I…

Vail: I hate using them. Sorry. 

Lei: … 

Lei: (sighing) That makes two of us. 

Flash saving Lei :3 

This might happen very early in the story — one of the first events, which is why they discover she’s being targeted. 

Lei is walking in the sketchy alleyways and she notices someone is following her, so she begins to run and they also run after her. There are possible gunshots that she manages to dodge. She also shoots back and manages to land 1 shot on her pursuer, which is why she escapes from the situation. 

Coincidentally, Flash pulls up and tells her to jump in so they escape the situation.

This high stress situation → getting saved by Flash → makes her very grateful to Flash and she finds herself trusting him more quickly/easily than she should.

Although, she doesn’t seem to be aware of this being the reason why, as Flash seems to have high emotional/social intelligence

She does find that he seems to always say things that SHE likes to hear, but she feels like he’s not like this with others, which reassures her a little. 

He also gives her rides sometimes when he’s not on jobs from Lexi. He even opens the door for her when he does so like a gentleman. 

She ends up talking to him more than she anticipates because he makes the situation seem comfortable. 

Liam being scrutinized as the newbie 

Liam gets recruited because his goal is similar to Lexi’s goal — to get rid of the scum of the city (Maybe?) — him to make the city a better place for his brother, Lexi just because she is a hero (main protag energy). 

Other than Zoey, the rest of them were not so keen about Liam at first and there was a bit of a distrust for him.

Zoey and Liam might be childhood friends in this because their homie energy is too strong. 

He also quickly hit off with Tiger + Elik — probably didn’t get along with them at first, but after doing a few jobs with them… they found out they got along quite well, especially him and Tiger. 

Rose might have been one of the people who distrusted Liam the most at first, but warmed up to him eventually when they slowly found out about each other.

Keeper probably started out neutral with him but like tsundere, he does end up having a place within her circle. 

Maric, Vail, and Flash were pretty neutral about him. I imagine most of them would still be neutral about him, but more accepting of them. 

As the newbie, he was first to be accused/suspected of being the mole, but Rose, Elik, and Vail probably all took turns tailing him and found his sneaking around was him trying to stalk his bro

Maric as the red herring

He is the second suspect after Liam is “cleared” of his suspect status. 

Personality wise he’s a little rash → jump into action type. I also think he’s the type to follow instructions / not think too much because he’s just the muscle. Other people with bigger brains can do the thinking. 

But the fact he follows instructions well makes him more sus maybe? 

Maybe sometimes he even messes up a little, which makes him a prime suspect.

I have no idea why he was cleared of being the suspect but they just find out he’s kinda just a guy. And then they’re like why did we even suspect him… he’s the most normal jock type person ever.

Protection

For like the first month-two months nothing really happens when Vail is bodyguarding Lei so they lessen the amount of that so he can work on other things Lexi needs him to do. 

One time she’s walking alone and she actually does get attacked. She manages to take down her pursuer but also gets injured in the process — luckily just a sprained ankle (from running in heels LOL) 

When they inspect the pursuer’s dead body, they do find an insignia of a rival gang/ tattoo on him — Rats maybe? XD 

She does stop wearing heels as frequently after and opts for lace-up boots.

He finds her at the clinic later where she is doing her own treatment. 

Vail: Sorry… 

Lei: It wasn’t your fault. We got too comfortable since they didn’t make any moves. 

She sighs, taking off the ice pack from her ankle and binding it to reduce the swelling: I guess you’ll be stuck with me a little longer. 

Vail: …

Lei: Well, don’t get too excited there. 

Vail: Don’t worry, I’ll protect you next time. So it won’t happen again.

Lei laughs a little: That is definitely supposed to be your job. I’ll be looking forward to it then~

He’s just keeping his eyes on the treasure

Since he often walks behind her and slightly to the side of her, when he’s not paying attention to his surroundings, he’s watching her from behind. 

Lei: You could stare at my ass and legs less often, you know. 

Vail, surprised: How did you know that? 

Lei: … Well I didn’t but now I definitely do. 

Vail: … 

(She’s always wearing like short dresses and skirts — sometimes with stockings, sometimes her legs are bare — anyways there is a reason he is looking) 

Lei: What do you like better?

Vail: What?

Lei: Stockings or bare legs? 

Vail: Stockings  (because it’s more fun to imagine taking them off :3 and it looks less cold) 

Lei: No hesitation… Alright. 

And then starting the next day she starts to wear stockings/ tights more. Vail doesn’t ask but she explains it like

Lei: Since you’re guarding me, I thought that I should give you some motivation, y’know. You can look — you just can’t touch. 

Liam in this world

In this AU, similar to canon, Liam would do anything to make sure his younger bro Alba has a good future so after their parents’ death, he turned to crime to make a living for Alba. 

Possibly went to jail a few times for pettier crimes. Eventually starts doing organized crime as a grunt/hitman. 

Alba eventually found out about Liam’s criminal activities and cut Liam out (same as the canon LOL) but Liam is okay with this more so because he wants Alba to live the best life he can, untainted and pure as he is. 

Liam still kinda stalks Alba creepily though, whenever he can or hires someone to do it/ gets someone from the gang to do it (maybe Rose or Elik? — whoever is willing)

Tiger + Elik 

The twins, for as long as they knew, only had each other in life. So it makes sense that after all these twenty-something years, they still stick together as much as possible.

Part of the story for them in this AU is to learn that yes, they will always be important to each other, but also learning that they can be independent of each other

Liam gets close to both of the twins in different ways! 

Elik cuz they’re both big bros. And they’re bros. And maybe more than just bros XD 

Tiger because they just have similar ideologies and their personalities mesh well together so they’re very close friends! Liam also becomes her big bro (cute vibes only)

the twins are still very girlboss in this AU so they are like some of the #1 in Lexi’s group. (obviously). 

Rose + Ceres

In this AU, Rose and Ceres grew up together and their parents were really bad so Rose took Ceres and escaped as soon as he could (maybe he was 18 and Ceres 10) 

Rose had to turn to crime to ensure he could raise Ceres. But he would do anything for his precious younger sister…

They’re quite close in this AU but Ceres feels guilty that her brother went to such lengths so that she could grow up… and Rose feels guilty he got Ceres involved in this mess.

At some point Ceres almost got taken which made Rose have a bad time and break down but it’s okay she was okay in the end and Rose trained her in shooting after so she could protect herself

She doesn’t like using guns but she’ll do anything to ease her bro’s burden

Ceres does feel like a little trapped bird in a cage sometimes though… it suffocates her a little. 

Ceres + Elise + Lei 

After prison (?) Lei had to turn to doing underground doctoring which was pretty dangerous since she was a lone young woman. Elise heard about her and asked if she wanted to work with her (and Ceres)

Of course there is no reason not to accept so Lei did and thus they opened their own little underground clinic, mostly catering to the organized crime groups.

Lei got particularly close to Ceres because they were close in age and they spend the most time together in the clinic. Ceres because she’s not that allowed to leave and Lei because she’s cooking drugs. 

Sometimes Lei would joke with Ceres that she could be her older sis (instead of Rose LOL) 

Ceres: My older sister? Like… my sister in law?

Lei: ABSOLUTELY NOT. 

Lei makes a disgusted face: I love you, Ceres, but I would not marry Rose for you. I’m sorry. 

Ceres: A-ah… o-okay… 

Lei: We don’t have to be sisters by law. After all, when has the law ever done something good for us? 

Lei: Instead… we can be sisters by oath (smiles)

Ceres smiles back: Okay… sisters by oath.

Sometimes Lei helps Ceres sneak out… because if Ceres is with her she’ll be safe right? :) Lei will protect her.

An intended promise

Lei: You know, I don’t think it would be too bad, if the three of us stuck together for the rest of our lives.

Ceres: Y-yeah? You think?

Lei nods: The prospects aren’t high, but… 

Ceres: Pro-promise?

Lei: Well as long as I don’t croak early and the two of you don’t get married, yes I promise.

Ceres: D-don’t say that! We will all be fine…

Lei: …

Lei: Yeah…. 

(in her thoughts) Hopefully… 

Since the red dragons all carry red dragon tattoos/ insignias… I think it would be cute if the doctor gals also have their own little symbol they carry. I have not decided what this symbol is, but probably a bird like a dove (Elise is an eagle, Lei a swan, and Ceres in this AU is a bird in a cafe. Doves are supposed to represent peace). It’s probably a little keychain though. 

Elise hangs it on her stethoscope

Ceres on car keys (when she is allowed to go out LOL)

Lei’s is on her keys to the clinic. 

It would be a shame… if anything happened to anyone in this group. They are very tight-knit and all of them play very important parts in the running of their little underground clinic… 

Big Bro squad

Liam, Rose, Elik. They hang out a lot and do missions a lot together XD they can all relate that they are big bros who would do anything for their younger sibs…

POSSIBLY AN OT3??? Age gap between Rose and the other 2 is concerning but let’s handwave this for funsies. Maybe they are just FWB who knows this is a spicy dark AU so anything goes.  

THEY CAN ALSO JUST BE SUPER GOOD FRIENDS. Not everything has to be a ship. I said. Me LOL. But no, I just want them to be a squad for sure. 

Ceres gets kidnapped by one of the rival gangs.

Against Lexi’s wishes, they (Rose, Lei, Vail) go on a rescue mission to get her back.

They might also convince Liam + Elik/Tiger for this rescue mission due to big bro squad camaraderie. 

It’s very dramatic and epic — stealth mission after all to break in and get the girl

Rose actually doesn’t miss many shots this time and he snipes a bunch of people. He first takes out some guards at a distance before the others go in. 

Liam goes in guns/sword ablazing —what is stealth? He tanks again.

Elik is very calculated about the way he approaches this. He doesn’t need to stealth though cuz everyone will die as soon as he steps in #girlboss 

Vail stealths… it’s in his kit to ambush people from the shadows. 

Lei is also just shooting cuz she does not have stealth. She even wears pants for this mission. (She only wears pants when she’s serious LMAO) 

They get Ceres, who is in a little room on her own, knocked out (sedative), tied up to a chair, and gagged. She is otherwise okay.

It is concerningly easy to get to Ceres once they kill everyone and the way back seems unusually clear… 

As if it were a trap :3 Or a set up for something :3 

Lexi shakes her head at them when they return… saying there will be repercussions for their actions…

After this rescue mission, Vail and Lei grow a little bit closer. They start to talk more over the few months and sometimes also borderline flirt. This flirting is in Lei's personality though — she’s used to sucking up a little.

Jacket

Vail, putting his jacket on her again because she’s cold: Why do you never bring a jacket?

Lei: It wouldn’t go well with my outfit. Besides, why bring my own jacket when you’ll give me yours~ 

She’s right though LOL he will give her his jacket.

Collar

I just think this would be hot. There's no particular reason why Vail ended up with a collar from Lei. It’s a very simple choker — like a stretchy durable piece of durable fabric with a silver clasp… TRUST ME BRO 

Someone may have called Vail Lexi’s dog or Lei’s dog or just a dog in general

Lei: Don’t listen to that drivel. You aren’t anyone’s dog. 

Vail: Well… essentially I am your guard dog right now.

Lei: Bodyguard. You’re a bodyguard.

Vail: I dunno, sometimes I think dogs are better than people…

Lei: … You’re not wrong about that… but… 

Lei: What, you want a collar, too?

Vail: If it’s a gift from you. 

around here is where Lei starts to suspect something is wrong. 

She still gives him the collar though :3 cuz it’s sexy.

Lei: Since you asked so nicely, here. 

Lei: It’s really simple though, so you can throw it away if you want. 

For some reason, Vail is exceptionally touched by such a small tiny action. 

Vail: I won’t. 

And then he puts it on right away. He only takes it off when he’s showering, and cleans it immediately if it ever gets bloodied. 

Name 

In the beginning, he simply called her “Doc”. 

But at some point during the bodyguarding (close to like 4 months and almost every day too?) this changed.

Lei: You know, you don’t have to keep calling me “Doc”. I’m not your doctor right now.

Vail: Yeah? What do you want to be called?

Lei: Just call me Lei, at least we are alone. 

Since it is her request, who is he to refuse? 

Jealousy

canon Vail doesn’t get jealous but this AU’s Vail… is a spicy meatball also for legitimate plot reasons. 

Specifically, this event takes place where after Lei treats a patient, they’re extra touchy with her, which she shuts down quickly, but the patient is generally being a sleaze? 

Lei asks Vail to show the patient out the door and he does, but as soon as he and the patient are in the alleyway, he kills the patient in cold blood.

He doesn’t even realize —  he’s doing this subconsciously — until the blood is on his sword and hands.

He just realizes after that, he didn’t like how the person was treating her… and in cold anger he decided that such a person was not needed in the world.

He has to get rid of the body first before returning

When he comes back a little later, Lei notices the blood on him and after confirming it’s not his injuries… she realizes he’s just killed someone.

Lei: Who was it? That you killed? 

Vail: …

Vail: The guy just now. 

Lei: Why? Was he from a rival gang?

Vail: … He touched you. 

This is more evidence that allows Lei to realize something is wrong with Vail. 

She used to feel safe with him… but now, she just feels dread… and fear. 

“More Addictive than Any Drug”

Lei is not blind, she notices him looking at her mouth, so she says, mostly as a joke. 

Lei: You want to kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid.

Vail: And what if I do?

Lei raises her eyebrow, clearly not expecting him to admit it. With a smirk, she beckons him forward with a finger. 

He obliges, and once he’s right in front of her, she pins him to the wall, presses her knee between his legs and then leans in to kiss him, hard. 

“Fuck” he thinks. Because her kisses are more addictive than any drugs he’s taken before. And he suffers withdrawal symptoms every time. 

His fantasy (dreams) and reality blurs a little when it comes to this. But a dream is no longer enough… 

I don’t know where this scene fits in the plot but it’s spicy so it has to happen. Also that previous point is important. :3 

“First Time”

Things get spicy real fast… not sure why this happened but I need it for plot reasons… plot reasons XD 

Maybe they just gave into the desire — what is self control when there’s always a chance you’re going to die the next day? 

The other option is she got drunk somehow (maybe the stress of the situation) and called him up LOL cuz she has a diff personality when she’s drunk. 

Canon Vail would not do anything to her while she’s drunk/ under the influence, but this AU’s Vail has a reason why he’d give in… 

It's Vail's first time so it’s still spicy in that regard because Lei is still leading. 

Spicy things happen and he finally gets to touch the legs and thighs he sometimes looks at. 

He whispers the words "I love you" before he passes out which makes Lei freeze up and realize she’s made a huge mistake. 

If she’s drunk this is what causes her to have a moment of being not drunk → cold water to her face

Spicy scene: Morning after 

He wakes up alone the morning after and finds no notes left for him or anything — no trace of what happened last night. He goes to find her, but when he goes to her workplace, he finds Liam standing outside the door. 

Vail: What are you doing here?

Liam: I’m Doc’s bodyguard.

Vail, frowning: No, I’M her bodyguard. 

Liam: Not as of this morning. Ask Lexi for details. 

Vail, bristiling with anger: Are you fucking with me right now? 

The door opens and it is Lei who has her hands on her hips. For once she’s wearing pants: You two are making a ruckus while I’m trying to do my work. 

Vail: Why the fuck is Liam your bodyguard now?

She seems to hesitate for a little bit but she exchanges nods with Liam and finally invites Vail to come inside the room where she’s working on drugs.

Vail: Lei-

Lei: Doc. Call me Doc. 

Lei: … Last night was a mistake, Vail. 

Vail is deeply hurt by these words: What do you mean a mistake? 

Lei: … A temporary lapse in judgment. We were simply giving into our animalistic desires. 

Vail: Animalistic desires? I said I love you.

Lei: … Love doesn’t exist for people like us, Vail. I’m sure you didn’t mean it. You just got caught up in the moment. 

Vail: What if I mean it? 

Lei: You don’t.

Vail: How would you know that? 

Lei: … 

Lei: … Well, either way, you definitely can’t be my bodyguard anymore. 

Vail: Why not?

Lei hisses: It’s for your own sake. This is supposed to be a job for you — you can’t just bring your personal feelings into it. 

Vail: Then what was last night supposed to mean? 

Lei: … You’re right, I’m sorry. If I had known it was your first time I wouldn’t have played around with you.

Vail: … Is that all? Just that you wanted to “play around” a little? 

Lei: …Yeah. That’s all. 

He is silent, the hurt stinging, so he says nothing. They both stay in this tense silence for a long time — the clock continues to tick tick tick on the wall and it is the only noise for a few long minutes. 

Lei, more gently: You can love anyone you want, Vail. It just can’t be me. 

“I don’t want anyone else” Vail thinks, “I want you.” But he doesn’t say this. He cannot, because he knows she would shut him down even further. He simply clenches his fists. 

“Alright.” He says instead. What else can he do? 

Lei seems to smile at him, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. 

Lei: I need to do my work now, and I’m sure Lexi has tasks for you to do. Let Ceres or Elise know if you want any drugs on the way out though. 

His voice is empty when he says his second “alright". And it takes every fibre of effort in his being to walk away, but he manages to leave. 

He doesn’t see how when she turns away, her hands are shaking as they grip the glassware she’s working with. 

Withdrawal symptoms 

Time passes. They do their jobs separately. 

Everytime he gets injured (and he seems to get more injured during this time, especially because he gets distracted a lot and keeps thinking about her), he goes to their clinic hoping to even just get a small glimpse of Lei but it’s always Ceres and Elise who treat him. 

Ceres treats him silently and rarely, only for minor injuries (first aid lower than Elise + Lei)

Elise is usually the one who treats him, and usually tells him Lei is 1) not here, 2) busy, 3) seeing another patient. 

Elise usually doesn't say much but once she tells him that he needs to stop coming here to try to see Lei because she has been firm she won't see him. 

He asks why.

Elise: Lei… she thinks it's best for you if you can forget about her as quickly as possible.

Vail: I'm trying but it's not working.

Elise: Hmm… clearly. But she is right, whatever you’re feeling… it isn’t as you think it is.

Vail: Why does everyone keep telling me what I should feel? 

Elise: … 

Elise: Our advice comes with experience. Of course I cannot control what you feel, but, just err on the side of caution when it comes to these things. 

Elise: After all… this world is cruel to those who show weakness.

Vail: I'm strong, I can protect her.

Elise: Maybe you are. But you haven't considered that if you’re the one showing weakness… she might be the one to get hurt.

Elise no longer elaborates as the treatment has ended. On the way out she does say something else

Elise: If you really do care about her… it’s best to stay away. 

Vail still doesn’t understand but just generally feels bad as he continues to stay away. There’s a constant sort of small pit in his stomach as he’s separated from her and even though spending time away should make it fade — it doesn’t… 

It is also heavily hinted during this period that the sedative he gets from her has trace amounts of the yandere/obsession drug in it (but if you see previous parts, this has been foreshadowed). This is why he is extra obsessive / why he developed feelings so fast. He is not aware of this at the time and Lei began to suspect it later. 

Elise has also been told by Lei of the issue and now she is seeing it in action.

Re-meeting

Liam gets busy / assigned to do stuff with Tiger + Elik (in terms of trying to crack down whom exactly are the rival gangs trying to take them down) so Vail is reassigned to be Lei’s bodyguard

It has been ~2-3 months and the first re-meeting starts off a bit tense… 

From Vail’s POV he is immensely excited though — as though it’s a natural body response from him and he cannot explain why. 

Imagine like a dog wagging his tail — but he tries his best to hide this. 

Lei is like: Oh good, you seem to be well. 

Vail, in pain is like: Yeah I got over it. Don’t worry about it/ about me. 

He is lying, but he got better at hiding it… he used to not lie at all… but he has to now. 

Because in his eyes, being just a bodyguard is better than being nothing at all… 

Lei: … Good. I’m glad to hear it. 

She thinks MAYBE the drug is wearing off and she’s relieved but she’ll still work on the “cure” if she can. 

She later finds out the drug has not worn off. 

She does get attacked eventually by a group of people durin this time. 

Vail does his bodyguard duties all cool and he gets injured in the fight, so he gets treatment by her ASAP.

He goes unconscious from blood loss but when he wakes up, he finds himself lying in a bed and she’s like there with him, asleep on the floor beside the bed.

For extra spiciness she might be holding his hand, which she planned to retract before he woke up but she fell asleep from the hard work of making sure he didn’t die. 

He’s like “don’t play around with my feelings like this” but he takes the hand that’s holding his and kisses it.

She doesn’t wake up. 

Because of fatigue, he does end up being able to fall asleep and when he wakes up the second time, she is gone, like she was never there to begin with. 

Tiger finally breaks into the systems of the rival gangs and they figure out the main gangs that are after them. Lexi + Keeper + Rose and some of the higher ups decide it’s time to get rid of them because they’ve been a pain in the assforever → final battle/ big confrontation time. 

They’ve been doing plot stuff in the BG but I’m not actually that well-versed with mafia AUs so just know the plot is going on in the BG but… the action is NOT the focus of this story :3 it’s just the setting for something else I want to convey. 

“Dinner” 

She’s changing his bandages for the last time before the final battle — he’s basically healed enough to fight and there is no choice. 

Vail: If I live, let’s go out for dinner. 

Lei: … That’s a death flag. You shouldn’t say those things.

Vail: We deal with death flags all the time. I’ll be fine. 

(his thoughts) And as long as you’re alright… then that is what matters. 

She is silent for a long time. Because he can’t see her expression right now since her face is downturned, he has no idea what her face looks like. Is it angry like it has been before? Is it disgusted? Is it sad? He will never know. 

Lei: … Maybe. (she finally answers very quietly. She is still looking down and shadows obscure her face.)

Vail: Maybe?

Lei: I didn’t outright say no.

Vail: If that’s the case then it just might be enough to get me through this. 

She doesn’t reply. (She is too scared that she will say her true feelings if she opens her mouth, so she keeps it shut). 

There’s a super epic final battle with Lexi’s group vs some other gangs. Lexi’s group wins of course with no casualties — although there were some close ones.

almost deaths: Keeper, Zoey, Rose, Maric, Tiger

The rival gangs found the hideout that Keeper + Tiger were in doing comms work and hacking work, but they manage to escape. Maric was probably the one with them, and so also got caught in the crossfire. They then join the main battle, Flash brings them. 

They are injured so Elise/Lei/Ceres patch them up… well as best as they can cuz this is semi-realistic and there are no magical regen stims. 

Maric is the most injured, he unfortunately cannot participate in the battle after but he did his job of guarding their squishy girlies so y’know give him some applause please. 

Then both Keeper and Tiger go in guns ablazing as well — when I’m talking epic I’m saying gunshots explosions everywhere LOL 

Keeper steals one of Zoey’s shotguns and uses that. 

Zoey and Rose almost get taken out by a bomb / explosion/ cave in but somehow Liam saves them (just like in the canon universe) 

Lexi is of course on the frontlines with the other DPSes — Elik, Zoey, Liam, Vail. They are all girlbossing their way through this. 

Ceres even goes out and shoots some people — I imagine she takes down someone who almost killed Rose. Sibling bond uwu

Elise is in the corner providing medical care. Lei and Ceres are with her — although Lei is shooting at people who come too close XD. 

“Support? Yeah I support the enemy’s right to die” — Lei, probably.

Lei probably ends up fighting a lot/ not standing in the corner in the end cuz she is capable of that. 

Everyone lives :3 well except for the gangs they decimate. They uh destroy a lot of gangs one by one… it’s only the remnants that are really in the final battle, trying to get revenge on their fallen brethren. Lexi’s group has been slowly whittling the forces of the scummiest over time. 

They celebrate after with drinks + dinner party 

People who drink: Lexi, Rose, Elik, Tiger, Liam, Zoey, Vail

People who do not drink/ drank nonalcoholic beverages: Maric (he’s in the hospital bed LOL) , Flash, Ceres, Keeper, Lei, Elise (she’s watching over Maric LOL) 

Lei leaves early to “go sleep” but she’s really going to work on developing a cure for the Bessenheit symptoms and Vail notices and tells her he’ll walk her home. 

She’s like “You don’t have to guard me anymore.” (thinking the gang situation is resolved)

He’s like “I want to, though.”

Again, she is silent and feeling hella guilty.

During this time he asks her about dinner again and she’s like “... I will think about it carefully. But I also have something that I might need to tell you so please give me a few days.” 

This sounds more hopeful than he was expecting so he’s like “Alright. I will wait.”

And so she gets dropped off at her workplace?, but they don’t notice there is a car following them with someone watching very carefully… 

The “End”

They think because they uncovered and eliminated the groups that were after Lexi’s group they’re safe now. 

A few days pass uneventfully and some of their guards lower, although strangely, they never discovered the mole.

Lei still hasn’t responded to Vail’s dinner request. She is too afraid and she knows that his feelings are all but lies, so she doesn’t want to complicate it, but she’s thinking of telling him why / informing him of the likely contaminant in his sedatives. She’s already stopped giving him those sedatives but knows the effects are still lingering based on his reactions toward her… 

She’s considering telling him why she cannot accept the dinner request after she goes to black market that day.

Lei gets into the familiar car of the gang’s getaway driver, Flash… she had asked him prior to take her to black market so she could get the materials for a drug she’s trying to figure out what is wrong with Vail’s sedative.

He opens the backseat door for her, which he has done for her before so it is not unusual and she’s busy thinking about what to do with the Black market.

But instead of going to the driver’s seat, he overpowers her with his strength and injects her with a sedative she had given to him days prior… 

Specifically he sometimes does deliveries for her + maybe for the gang in general, so it was not unusual for him to have access to the materials she was using… 

It is also possible he simply managed to steal one, but I think it’s spicier if he simply got Lei to trust him enough to believe his word that Lexi or someone else needs 1 dose of the sedative. 

She thinks: Fuck, the mole was Flash all along… I shouldn’t have trusted him… 

And she goes unconscious… 

When she wakes up, she finds herself in an unfamiliar location — a dirty and abandoned barn, likely far away from the city. She is tied up and cannot move, Flash looks at her with surprise. Her gun is in his hands, pointed at her head.

Flash: Thought that sedative was supposed to knock out a grown man for 12 hours. 

Lei: It should. But I built up a resistance to it. I like to be prepared.

Here it is revealed she also needs sleeping pills in this AU. Cuz trauma. 

Flash: I’m surprised you’re not screaming your lungs out. I didn’t gag you. 

Lei: What’s the point in that? No one will come save me.

Flash: Oh, you’d be surprised.

Lei: …

Lei: Well, what? Is this where you’re going to monologue like a villain? 

Flash: A villain? 

Flash: Believe me when I say, I didn’t want to do this. 

Lei: Whether you wanted to or not, it doesn’t change that you did. Intentions mean nothing in this world, only actions matter. 

Flash: That’s true. But I am sorry. It wasn’t supposed to be you. It could have been anyone else. But I’m out of time and my hands are tied.

Lei: Say whatever you want to make yourself feel better. But it doesn’t change what happened.

She tries to struggle a little more in the ties, but she truly doesn’t have the strength to escape. And she’s tired, and she’s cold. She wasn’t lying when she said no one will come to save her. 

Lei (tired voice): Why don’t you get it over with?

Flash: Maybe I’m just trying to buy you some time.

Lei: (scoffs) Buy me some time? Or maybe you’re just having fun trying to torture your prey before her death? 

Lei (sigh): Just kill me already…

Flash: You really that eager to die? 

Lei: Don't really have a choice here, do I? 

Flash: Maybe, not. But what about those you’ll leave behind? Don’t you think about them at all? 

Lei: … 

Lei: That’s not my responsibility. 

Flash: Maybe, but what might they think? Elise? Ceres? 

Flash: … Vail? 

Lei: … 

Lei: They shouldn’t think anything of it at all. We are all not strangers to death. They will be fine. 

Lei: Please… just get it over with, Flash. 

She finally hears the safety click OFF and wonders how long Flash has been keeping her here for, without just shooting her while she was unconscious. He could have even done so in the car, or could have dropped her body off a cliff. Maybe he was not lying in saying he tried to buy some time for her, or maybe he was just getting off to torturing her a little before her death. That is something she will never know.

As she closes her eyes and braces herself for the gunshot that will finally end it all, she wonders how much of her words she’s just said to Flash are lies and how much is the truth. 

She hears the ringing gunshot

But she feels nothing. 

There’s a crashing noise of wood breaking and when she opens her eyes, she sees Vail crashing through the barn door, eyes blazing. He is holding a gun in his hands as well — the very weapon he hates. 

They exchange fire for a while, but Flash is fast and dexterous and Vail is not adept with his gun. Vail also manages to dodge the gunshots Flash fires at him. 

But unfortunately, Flash manages to land a shot at Lei who is still tied up and hits something in her abdomen. 

Through the red mist of pain, she sees Flash mouth the words “I’m sorry” and he promptly runs away.

You can see the internal conflict where Vail starts to run after Flash, but he sees the amount of blood pouring out of Lei and goes over to her instead.

He holds her in her arms but she’s bleeding too much… A doctor cannot administer first aid on herself, and he’s essentially useless as she’s quickly bleeding out. Even if Elise were here herself, the wound is in such a vital area it would only really be a miracle that would allow her to live. 

Lei: Why… did you come?

Vail: To save you. 

Lei: Sorry… you wasted… your time. 

Vail: Don’t say that I’ll get you to Elise and you’ll be alright… you’ll be alright. 

Lei: Not enough time. 

Vail: Save your strength. You just need to hold on a little longer. 

Lei laughs bitterly but it turns to hacking coughs and she coughs up blood.

Lei: That dinner… I wanted…

Vail: You can tell me later. We have to get you out of here. 

Lei: I wanted… to say…yes.

Vail: Don’t say these things… why did you- 

Lei: But… your feelings… it’s all… a lie… I'm sorry.

Lei: Vail… Forget me… and.. goodbye…

And thus her green eyes flutter shut and they do not open again. She lets out the softest and shakiest sigh — her last breath, and no more air enters or escapes her lips. Like a candle extinguished out by the tiniest breath, the life in her has been snuffed out. This bud has wilted before it had the chance to bloom.

Vail: Lei?

There is no reply. Only the sounds of his own harsh breathing.

Still holding her in his arms, he bends his head over and tries to listen for a heartbeat. There is none.

Alone in the barn, holding the body of the woman he loved, Vail bends his head over and cries. 

He could not protect her. 

He could not save her.

 “The Truth”

He brings the body back so Elise and Ceres and the others can see, holding it like it is something precious. 

Before they burn (?) the body, he gently brushes her hair from her face. If it weren’t for the blood, it would look like she’s sleeping. 

Ceres is heavily distraught and unstable over this so they have to sedate her over this. She straight up breaks down when she sees the body.

Elise seems unaffected on the outside but she breaks down when she's alone later. 

Elise: I see. 

and that is all that you get from her. 

Later (maybe a few days later?) Elise shows Vail certain pages from Lei that were in her lab notebook. They state:

"The sedative I have been giving Vail seems to have trace amounts of another drug. Elise suspects it has been contaminated with Bessenheit or related family of drugs. Likely, raw materials have been contaminated with it, possibly from Chemical Y because it is a liquid reagent that may have Bessenheit dissolved into it. Further investigation is required.” 

There are many drawings of what appear to be metabolic pathways of how drugs affect human systems, lots of complicated diagrams of the brain, thyroid, etc. and very neat handwriting. There are also various chemical names and recipes listed. 

There is a list of objectives written on the side:

Determine the contaminant → likely Bessenheit 

Determine the source of contamination → likely raw materials? Check out Black Market? 

Determine a possible solution to reverse the lingering effects of the drug → possibly xxx hormone pathway + xyz metabolic pathway + chemical X 

Tell Vail about the situation when prior objectives are mostly complete.

A sticky note says: Go to Black market — Flash — xx pm. It is dated for the day she died.

Elise tells him about a drug her and Lei’s former company was developing that causes the taker of the drug to develop an obsession with the giver of the drug… = Bessenheit 

Elise also tells him since he’s only been getting trace amounts, it should not affect him as much as it did the other test subjects, but clearly, he suffers from some symptoms. 

She explains she and Lei started suspecting that he was under the influence of this drug around 3-4 months ago, hence why they had him stay away from her until they could find a solution to it but… unfortunately they were still working on it when Lei died. 

She does not explicitly tell him Lei was looking into this that day she died, but he can see from the sticky note that was definitely the case. 

So how much of his feelings were real and how many were from the drug? There is no clear distinction between them — it is muddled and murky… 

Lei died believing that his feelings were all a lie fed to him by the drug. That is why she could not accept them, because she believed they were not real. 

She died believing that she ruined something for him when she was trying to help him (with the sedative). She died believing that it was all her fault… 

She told him to forget her because she wants him to no longer be affected by the drug. She wants him to live his own truth, untainted by all the lies. 

He will never be able to accomplish her dying wish to forget about her… Is that due to the drug or did it simply enhance his true feelings? 

They will never find out this truth… because she no longer exists in this world.

[astro-break]

Thoughts on the 3rd ep of Hypmic Rhyme Anima+. Spoilers beware

Season 1 | Ep.1 | Ep.2 |

i love how its samatoki who tsks when ichiro talks, they never stop and i love it fuugen looking dude still has a great design love the fact that they kept the Ramuda is scared of ghosts plotline ww TBH is a silly name DJ or not, but it does tie in some ARB lore eyyy joint mission! does that mean that nagoya and oosaka will be enemies? might be and interesting naughty busters and MCD interactions OFC theres gonna be some good good ichiro/kuko and samatoki/sasara KUKOOO I LOVE YOU the kinshachi! love those little dudes, they're tiger-headed dolphins lol JYUSHIIII you chuuni dork i love your flowery wordss Mr. Kuko wwwwwwww nooo amandaaaa so ripped up oh more visual kei!! i am so happyyy www this villain is so silly i love silly villains. how unfortunate that they'll be plot slaves but they genuinely had something fun going on awww look a kuko being silly and amagani being a silly lawyer LETS GOOO JAKUHITOOO eyyyyy lets go grandmaaaa the MVP of repairing Ichikuko relationship lets gooo naughty butters!!!!! i love themmmm were they also a influence ichiro to get onto the right track? thats sweet ofc they had to tie in different characters together still love that sun shadowing them the moment they talk about the villains the squeakkkkkkkkkkk amanda thats so cuuteeeeee awww no magical girl transformation? rip -

Damn the imagery on this MV goes super hard i love the non-traditional stuff you'll find scattered around at a glance the ones i spot are: buhddist funeral rites with from, what i can count 39 candles which can mean thank you… those funeral flowers look like white chrysanthemums (grief, honesty, truth which the later two may be nods to the fact that they're not in their right minds), pink, and purple carnations which symbolize capaciousness and unpredictability Kuko also references gokurakujoudo which is the most well known higher buddhist celestial land known as the land of bliss so basically he's saying that he's so hot shit that he'll reincarnate into the holiest of holy lands Ragnarok is the end of the known gods according to nordic mythology aside from like. two gods and two humans which means either Jyushi is a ghost as shown in the scene or he's just that cool and survived Kuko's second verse is a reference to old paintings that depicted monks training their spiritual disciplines by mountainsides. if you're an old soul like me, think Libra Dohko's Mnt. Roshi Hitoya's second rap scene is mimicking an egyptian depiction of a weighing of the heart, specifically it seems to be parodying the scene found in the Papyrus of Hunefer. interestingly, the three opponents are on the side in which the feather of maat is commonly depicted on, the thing which the heart is weighed against while Amanda is the heart Hitoya and Kuko's spots on the papyrus is where anubis would be, setting them as the judges who preside over this battle. Jyushi is also sitting where Ammit, the devour of the dead, would be depicted sitting. Ammit is also a goddess, which is fun Given the red moon behind him, Jyushi also plays at a fallen angel The chorus' first scene is another very famous generic buhdist scene. while i don't think it references anything specifically, the three sitting on lotus flowers and the bodhi tree's in the back implies that they are buddah. like no joke, they are actually buddha don't know if this is actually a reference, but the red hell-like place that the three find themselves in might be Sañjīva, one of the buddhist naraka's where those who are reincarnated there are born fully grown and are attacked by other people and monsters return of the kinshachi! kaleidoscopic imagery which is also heavily associated with buddhist imagery That ending is a reference to the spider's thread by ryunosuke akutaguwa! you might remember it if you've played Danganronpa V3 but its a story about a man trying to escape from hell from a spider thread but ultimately falls back into hell because of his greed - that Obaaachannnn is so cute. and the bait and switch was so silly Kuko as always is just the absolute star of the show even if the spotlight isn't on him Huh???? Are Doppo and Hifumi okay???? Please??? you can't just cliffhang that???? how dareeee

Badass Temple endingg lets gooooo Kuko verson is so cute!!! that illust tooo Jyushi is just so stylish and silly, treading that fine line. also is that just water in his champagne glass www this is such a fun ending version i love it. Its just a lot warmer and more comforting in my opinion, super sweet and heartwarming. a lot more electric guitar as well

I'm so glad for their first feature episode I really enjoyed BAT! The song was such a banger and the imagery along with it so evocative. I really liked the episode how it brought everyone together for a chaotic jaunt. I hope next week with dotsuhompo will be just as silly

[king-and-his-consorts]

RP Rules 

Rating:

This blog will eventually be 18+ with tagged NSFW posts. 

Basics:

I can be a bit selective at times but not private or exclusive. IMs and Asks are always open to talk to me about plotting. So, if you want to interact, feel free to message me. Please do not rush me, it tends to make me shut down to the levels of stress and depression I’m still getting used to.

I know a lot of people don’t like them but unfortunately I need an introductory thread in order to start writing with an OC or characters my muses haven't met yet. My muses can be hesitant or fickle. Unless my character knows yours in canon they need to be introduced because  I need to be able to form my responses around how our muses would actually interact, otherwise I tend to lose muse. 

Important Note!:

This is a queer-based RP blog. While that will not be the focus of threads, it does effect threads. Please respect the info below.

_ Luffy: Cis, Gay Polyromantic, Asexual. (Has a Bi verse specifically for Nami if my partner wishes it, but I won't push for it) _ Zoro: Cis, Gay, Demisexual. _ Sanji: Genderqueer (leans masculine. He/Him, occasionally She/Her), Bi.

Starting RPs:

There are several ways to RP with me.

 _ Send me an in-character ask _ Message me and ask to plot a thread  _ Send in an a starter meme I posted recently  _ Respond to one of my Open Starters that hasn’t been answered already

Writing Rules:

I write paragraph style, no asterisks. Please use a minimum of two sentences per reply unless we’ve known each other for a while. Your grammar and English do not have to be perfect. So long as I can get the basics of what you’re saying then we’re fine to continue.

Shipping:

Shipping and smut only happens if there is chemistry between our characters. Muses must have a first meeting before any shipping officially happens unless muses know each other in canon.

NoTPs: Luffy will not ship with his brothers. Sanji will not ship with any of his siblings. The trio won't ship with villains barring some possible plotted AUs.

Canon and OCs:

This blog is OC friendly and encourages them to interact. 

For canon, I love to interact with most One Piece characters. I will not interact with Doflamingos though. Sorry.

Warnings:

Combat violence, swearing, and the like.

Dark themes may happen. They are a part of life as well as a part of One Piece. If something in particular bothers you, tell me so that I can tag it for you.

Smut:

Smut may be put under a “read more” but that is currently undecided. =

Smut is only for Muns and Muses over 18. 

Triggers:

I will try to tag most triggers. Still, something may slip by, my apologies. Remind me if I miss something so that I can tag it.

Mun’s only trigger is maggots.

Tagging:

I am currently in the process of making a tagging system but I am forgetful. I do not usually tag every post. I usually will only tag the first post of a thread so that it can be found through the search.

[thebaffledcaptain]

Music of the Revolutionary Century: Frenet Ha'

I was experiencing some doubt as to whether this tune was actually a Revolutionary War-era one, since the earliest notated record I've been able to find was published in 1796, but it seems like my doubts were incorrect! There is an earlier version of the song in David Herd’s Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, published in 1776—a ballad called “Frennet Hall.” There’s no notated music attached to this publication, because most of these times these songbooks were published only as text, which was set to existing popular tunes. It was only toward the end of the 18th century that we see people moving in the direction of notated songbooks (which is not to say notated folk tunes didn’t exist—quite the opposite, in fact—but not so much in the form of published songbooks), hence the first instance of its notation occurring in the 1790s. I would assume that the tune existed before the Revolutionary era if it was standard enough to have text set to by the time the 70s came around.

The original text, though in what Traditional Tune Archive describes as "garbled and inaccurate" terms, tells the story of the burning of the castle of Frendraught ("Frennet"), allegedly set on fire by Lady Frendraught in the 17th century. This illustration is a 19th-century production, depicting Lady Frendraught scorned as the villain.

This does not leave me entirely without questions as to the origin of the tune itself, but regardless, it's certainly no less a beautiful Scottish melody, well deserving of some more recognition. The 1796 version published by John Hamilton includes a different set of lyrics originally written by a Bauldie Scrimezour (what a name!), with additional verses written by Hamilton himself, and tell the story of a man who commits suicide to be with his dead lover. I can't find any performances which include the lyrics, which is a shame, because I find them rather beautiful—they're written in a Scottish dialect so they do require some parsing:

Quhair wile I lay my hede, Quhair lay my bodie doune, Qhairfor na am I died, Sen’ wandrin’ I bene bown; O! Marie ze war fairer than ony goud or gear; O! bot my hert is sairer than’t has bene mony zeir.

And now for the technical music stuff:

The James Aird version of this tune, which is essentially the one in the video, is actually in a A mixolydian, giving it its distinct kind of "floaty" harmonic quality, which I love. On the other hand, Hamilton's version is in G natural minor, but kind of achieves the same mixolydian effect by raising the sixth whenever it's a passing tone (which is half the time anyway). I don't have much to say about that except that it was interesting to see; I like the fully mixolydian version better for that extra bit of brightness—I feel this modified minor scale we have going on is a little too sinister for a tune so melancholic. Unfortunately for me, tinwhistles and mixolydian do not mix very well in the key of G, where, on that instrument, it's generally easiest to play.

[chorusfm]

Letters Sent Home

Recently I was able to catch up with a German quartet called Letters Sent Home to discuss their new LP, Forever Undone, that released today via SharpTone Records. The highly anticipated album features recently released singles, “Request Denied” and “Elements”, alongside nine ambitious and exciting new tracks. The band is comprised of singer Emily Paschke, bassist Lara Ripke, guitarist Robin Werner, and drummer Louis Schramm. In this interview, I asked the band about their excitement level with releasing their debut LP, their touring plans, and much more. Forever Undone can be purchased here. Can you tell me what went into the writing process for your song “Hysteria”? The inspiration for the instrumental for Hysteria was the song “Family” by Badflower. This song immediately caught our attention because of its song structure and verses that only contain vocals and drums. We loved how the verses focused solely on the gut wrenching lyrics. So, we drew from this idea and added our own twist to it. Lyrically, the song summarizes my thoughts on social media in the postmodern days. It shows the struggle to never be good enough in the age and eyes of social media and how even the slightest misstep can make you a villain. What was it like filming the music video for this song as well? It was a dream come true filming with the very talented Pavel Trebukhin (TRE FILM), who also filmed and directed the video for “I hope I die first.” We had a very clear vision of what we wanted the video to look like but we didn’t have the resources to implement that vision, so we had to compromise. We wanted it to be a witch hunt and although we changed the original story, we think the essence of it stayed and we are more than happy with what Pavel was able to achieve. We filmed this video after a long video shoot for “I hope I die first.” The day before, so we were all exhausted but we pulled through and finished earlier than expected. The feeling you get after the “It’s a wrap” is unbelievably satisfying haha. Does your band have any plans to tour the States? If so, how do you plan to craft out the setlist for the upcoming tour? Unfortunately, we have no plans to tour the States yet but this is something we are working very hard for to be able to do eventually. To be completely honest, we always put those songs on our setlists that are the most fun to play and those that we have learned the crowd always enjoy. For the upcoming shows we are changing our intro for the first time in two years which is really overdue.  Your debut album comes out this Friday, April 12th, called Forever Undone. What are your expectations for how the material will be received by fans both old and new? Also, what is the meaning behind the title of the LP? We think that this album perfectly describes us as a band with all our personalities and influences. You will be able to find songs on the album that remind you of the old material but you will also find new vibes and styles that we wanted to try out. Old fans will be used to us experimenting and hopefully appreciate it and new fans will be surprised by the genre variety on the album but, we hope, in a good way. The album title Forever Undone basically means that we and the world are never complete. We don’t have a finish line we will run through. There is always something in us that is undone or broken that needs healing or evolution. You’ll find this theme in every song on the album. “Request Denied”, for example,  deals with depression and how it never really just goes away, so I just deal with it. “I hope I die first” shows how a love story is forever undone and never a hundred percent perfect. The trauma and experiences that I deal with on this album broke something inside of me but it also made me who I am today and that will never change. Therefore, I am forever undone.  Every band has a story to tell with their music. What do you hope people will take away most when they listen to Letters Sent Home? We are so vulnerable… https://chorus.fm/features/interviews/letters-sent-home/

[dark-horse76]

The Wicked + The Divine: The Faust Act

Read this one last night. It's one of the ones I picked up from the library a few weeks ago. I'm trying to keep an open mind with regards to storylines/characters (i.e.: is it something I'd consider on the too weird side, like Saga or Ask For Mercy) - which mostly means picking up anything/everything that's not like the 10th volume of something (*cough* like the volume of Saga that the library has lol *cough*) and avoiding looking at it too much beforehand or reading the blurb because that may mean fighting my initial reaction of "urgh monsters/weird stuff no no no this is too weird" - tbf, a lot of the superhero stuff also leans into the 'too weird' side for me, and I'm doing mostly okay with that so I'm trying not to miss stuff I'd otherwise enjoy. But once that reaction kicks in, it's hard to stop it / go against it, despite the fact it's become obvious over the last year that I don't actually know what's too weird for me, really xd

So, yeah, basically I'm just grabbing everything that isn't Marvel off the shelf (they don't have a lot of DC, and I've read most of what they do have and/or just not interested in the rest - the Marvel stuff mostly falls afoul of the 'I vaguely know what this involves and it's too weird for me' xd) and chucking it at the librarians to get it checked out asap before I have time to change my mind xd.

ANYway. This one is about some gods who get reincarnated every 90 years or something and then have like 2 years to live before dying.

I read a review that said it's basically a superhero book, which I think I can see (though not yet sure I agree), even though they didn't do any superhero-ing (or, really, villain-ing) in this book.

I started off not sure about it, then really liked it, then finished it by not being sure about it again lol. I really liked the character of Luci (Lucifer). I think I'm a bit at a disadvantage reading this, as I'm very much not familiar with a lot of myth, and this obviously leans heavily on it. Like, I'm very familiar with Lucifer / Christian myth. Passingly familiar with Odin and Norse mythology. Vaguely familiar-ish sort of with Greek/Roman. And pretty much know nothing at all about any other myths. And I took a whole class on mythology in college! Although to be fair to me, that was 1 semester, mostly focussed on Greek/Roman, and it was also like 15 years ago lololol.

But even if I finished reading it feeling unsure about it, I still want to find out what happens next - so I guess they did their job lol. There are a few more volumes in the story - unfortunately, none of my libraries have them, so I'll have to wait until I feel like buying a book I'm not certain I'm into. But I don't dislike it. Like, if someone bought it for me for my birthday/Christmas, I'd be pleased.

The art and colours are gorgeous. I mean, look at this:

I also liked that it was a simpler comic to read. None of the headache-inducing, inscrutable fight scene panels like in some of the Batman-related books I've read. But it's still complex. I definitely do want to read it again and again, because I suspect there's layers and things I've missed in just one read.

Every so often, there was a page like this:

And it changed depending on what was happening in the story. I thought that was really cool lol. To be honest, the first time I noticed that that page was doing that, I immediately thought, "I have to buy a physical copy of this for myself," because it makes me want to just...study it (and the story) like a bug xd.

Sadly, I am, again, not well-versed in myths, so for the most part I don't actually know which symbols go with which gods, but it's fun that this book has made me interested in finding out - and in trying to see if knowing more gives me any clues about them / the story generally xd.

It just occurred to me that I also know nothing about Faust - know the name but never read or heard anything of the story - so I probably missed something there, too xd.

The very first page of the comic included a quote from Doctor Faustus, which I liked a lot and made me put that on my reading list:

Ah, Faustus, Now hast thou but one bare hour to live, And then thou must be damn'd perpetually! Stand still, you ever-moving spheres of Heaven, That time may cease, and midnight never come