#Like I'd have to pick someone to kill intentionally :/

[sysig]

We are both exhausted

[txttletale]

after being interested from seeing you post about mtg but too intimidated by how complicated it seemed, a friend recently taught me how to play and ive been having so so so much fun!!! ive mostly just been playing standard/jump in on arena so far, but i wanna start building a commander deck soon. my wuestion here is twofold, i guess - a) do you know any commanders you consider easy or fun for beginners (colour doesnt really matter to me; ive been finding enjoyment in all of them so far, altho im sure ill develop a preference once i have a better grasp of the game lol) and b) whats your own personal favourite commanders?? ones you play or ones you just think are neat :) anyways thank you for being at least partially responsible for getting me into mtg, ive been having an absloute blast, i hope you have a very niceys day :)

yippee! i'm glad you're having fun, magic is a really deep and exciting game.

to point 1: i'm increasingly of the mind that apart from like, extreme edge cases where you're playing, like a mairsil combo deck and have to learn a bunch of specific sequencing and rules minutiae, i think that looking for an 'easy' commander is a very overrated. resonance and stickiness are a huge part of how easy it is to learn a card or deck's mechanics, so if you have a special little guy you love i would play him no matter how comparatively complex he is compared to, like, monogreen ramp

if there's one piece of general advice i'd give to a beginner, it's to steer away from 'feast or famine' type commanders: a lot of commanders, especiually since wotc started intentionally pritning 'commanders' rather than just legendary creatures, are enormous resource snowballs, such that letting them be on the board for a turn cycle or two will put their player unstoppably far ahead. unfortunately the correct counterplay to these kinds of commanders is for everyone to kill them instantly the moment they're cast and genreally not let their playtrs play the game -- so they often lead to having games where you are either being ganged up on and beaten to death or stomping everyone. some popular examples of commanders that i think create these play patterns are miirym, krenko mob boss, jodah the unifier, kinnan bonder prodigy, and korvol fae-cursed king.

so generally i tyhink especialyl as a newer player you will have fun with slightly lower power commanders who aren't wearing a big PLEASE KILL ME sign on their heads. but other than that i truly think you should pick a blorbo or gameplay style that appeals to you on a visceral, emoitional level, and find out if if it's actually fun to play or not. actually that reminds me, try to also pick a commander that, like, rewards you for executing your deck's gameplan, or helps you execute it, but isn't the sole engine behind your deck -- commander is full of good removal and board wipes, and you will have a lot more fun if you're playing a deck that can still function evne if your special guy is in time out.

to point 2: i have quite a few. my first commander and overall one of my favourite still is the celestial toymaker (nei lpatrick harris jumpscare). i love him because -- while he is an example of the kind of commander i think ultimately can lead to bad gameplay patterns where big parts of your deck are dead without him -- he turns this extremely stupid fucking mechanic into a real theme. i fucking loe playing my toymakre deck, and doing a silly voice and saying PLAY MY GAME... WHO WANTS TO PLAY MY GAME? every time i have some silly choice to force someone to make. play piles with meee (also esper control is a shell that's just really fun for me regardless of commander or theme so that helps a lot too)

other commanders i have that i really enjoy... i think gor muldrak is really cool, hios abiltiy is so odd and niche and finding ways to make use of it is so much fun. only good simic commander. tip: [peer pressure] is an awesome win condition for him.

i really enjoy zedruu also, for similar reasons to the toymaker: giving people stuff is such a funny mechanic, and while the commander gets osme flak because a lot of people build around lieke, dogshit cards that are unplayable if you don't have zedruu to donate them, i think you can build a much more fun and resilient zedruu deck by relying on symmetrical soft stax pieces and oubliette-style effects where it doesn't mater to you who owns it. getting to play perplexing chimera in that deck delights me.

gallia is great. straight up i made a deck for her because i think she's cute. her joy is just so infections, i don't even like gruul aggro as an archetype generally, but something about playing gallia and being like NO THOUGHTS HEAD EMPTY TURN SIDEWAYS ILL DISCARD WHAT I DISCARD is very refreshing considering i usually like playing very controlly-pillowforty high-interaction decks wth 50 quajillion counterstpells.

oh and finally... the red death. i fucking love goad, im the goad liker, i enjoy goad, and i set out to make a Good Goad Deck and immediately got sidetracked form any of the stronger commanders for the format by this stupid little bebo with the meme eyes. i donit know what happens in fallout 76 and i dont care this little guy is my friend and he is SO funny with cards like psychic possession. Our card draw :)

for an honorable mention, two decks i really love but not really because of their commander: i have a huge amount of fun playing the new zimone (who has displaced vorel of the hull clade) at the helm of my millennium calendar deck. it's fun to have a deck where i can slot in all the werird counter-dependent artifacts like lux artillery and darksteel reactor, and it's a very fun supervillanious feeling watching the table scramble to stop me as my Sinister Calendar ticks up

and i also have a zoraline eggs deck nbecause i loved bloomburrow bats, built a zoraline bats dekc, then thought, hmm, i could be doing al ot more with her than just bringing back mediocre bats for a small lifegain pawyoff. Liek bringing back mediocre artifacts that ic an crack for 2 life and a card draw. it's a very intricate little device of a deck once it gets going and although it's not very strong it's very very fun. looping an executiuoner's capsule or a tainted sigil is what its all about babey!

[missvelvetsstuff]

No Benefits

Bucky Barnes x Reader, Bucky Barnes x Sharon Carter

Summary: Reader and Bucky are best friends until a drunken hook up. Bucky wants a friends with benefits situation because he doesn't feel ready for a relationship but reader knows that will lead to a broken heart.

Then Sharon Carter comes to work with them.

Notes: Steve and Tony are around but retired, everything else is mostly canon

Chapter Notes: I'm really nervous with the direction my muse has taken with this story. I hope I can pull it off. LMK what you think, please.

Previous chapter:

"Cookie!" Bucky roared as he came striding up to her office "What the Hell is this bullshit?"

Chapter 3

Warnings: Swearing, angst, Bucky's a jerk, Sharon Carter sucks

Cookie looked at Bucky with a deep exhaustion caused by researching all night and early morning briefings with the top agents to figure out what to do with Sharon while Bucky was her guard dog. Maria was ready to tear into him. Cookie cleared her throat to gain Maria's attention then made a small shake of her head to ask her to back down, Cookie knew she could handle Bucky by herself.

Maria nodded and left to sit in her office across the hall, leaving the door open just in case.

Cookie straightened her shoulders and sighed "How can I help you Sargent Barnes?"

Bucky glared at her breathing heavily "You know damn well how you can help me. Who the fuck do you think you are making accusations at Sharon like this?" He waved the report in her face until she grabbed it and tore it from his hands.

Holding the partially torn report Cookie stood up to her full height, her heels bringing her eye level with Bucky. She stared at him in his cold blue eyes to show him she wasn't intimidated by him, then walked around her desk to close the door "I don't think it's wise to leave the door open while we discuss top secret intelligence."

She returned to her chair "Please have a seat Sargent." took a deep breath and spoke calmly

"I think, no I'm damn sure I'm the lead east coast Intel analyst who was hand picked from Quantico by Nick Fury while you were still on ice with Hydra, who kept our intel operation running during the Blip while Nick Fury, Maria Hill and....hhmm, oh that's right, You, were all dust in the wind. None of my conclusions were specious and I followed the facts, without prejudice, as my job requires. This has less than nothing to do with your personal, ahem, entanglements. There's solid evidence to back up every claim."

Bucky shook his head "Bullshit. You've been acting put out since I rejected you and found a way to hurt me back. You obviously faked the proof. You better fucking retract this garbage and clear Sharon's name."

Cookie scoffed and shook her head "No Barnes. You're the one who lied to me and decided on your own to end our friendship but this has nothing to do with that." she turned away before he could respond and went into the filing cabinet behind her desk, pulling a thick folder from the top drawer then dropping it heavily on the desk.

"Here is all of the evidence that I have been compiling on the Power Broker since they showed on our radar during the Blip, and spent most of the night organizing. The pictures and the stack with a red paper clip all came in the mail from Latvia a few days ago, the envelope is attached, and was opened in front of Fury and Hill. The night before we received them I was on the phone with my top informant, the one who sent that package, who tried to tell me something about the power broker but was killed while on the phone. Before disconnecting a woman's voice told me to back off of the power broker or I'd be next." She played the recording of that call and others from the same informant.

Bucky shook his head "You've been doing this long enough, you could have made authentic looking evidence. Especially with all the AI stuff. Or had someone do it."

Cookie looked at him like he'd grown another head "Are you serious Barnes? You think I would ever intentionally risk the reputation and career that I've worked my ass off for my entire adult life, over a broken heart? You think that I would ruin someones life and risk legal repercussions on myself over a man? You know what this job means to me and what I've been through to get here."

Bucky hesitated with a pained look on his face and shook his head like he was trying to clear it. There was a voice in the back of his head, telling him this was all wrong but something made him push it down and keep going.

"Well, maybe one of your people is doing it. Are you even sure that informant is dead? Maybe the family is trying to get paid. Or the real power broker is smart enough to lead you to Sharon and you're all too willing to believe the worst because of me."

He paused for a minute "And I heard you call me a liar but I've never lied to you."

Cookie laughed "You sure about that? It's been awhile so I understand if your memory is failing. That morning? The last time you actually acknowledged me outside of work related, yeah you lied to me. Twice actually"

Bucky tried to remember back to that morning, something he tried to avoid because he knew he made one of the worst mistakes of his life. He shook his head to clear the image of her heartbroken face "Yeah I don't know what you're talking about."

Cookie scoffed "Of course you don't, I'm surprised you remembered my name when you came in here. First, you told me you weren't ready for a relationship but you jumped into one with Sharon before her car cooled down" Bucky opened his mouth to protest but she glared at him and he backed down "and second, you told me you loved me and wanted to stay friends but went to ignoring me before my tears dried."

She felt her eyes filling up and cursed "Fuck. You even started leaving the room if I was there. Do you know how it feels to have one of your so called best friends cut you out of their life like you were dog shit on their shoe?" She cleared her throat and wiped her tears.

"I would never frame someone, ever. No matter how I felt about them. Not even you."

Bucky stared at her then winced as though he was in severe pain and dropped his head into his palms before speaking again.

"Well something is going on somewhere because I know, in my gut that Sharon isn't the power broker. There's no way."

He picked his head up and looked at Cookie

"I'm not in a relationship with her, we're just friends. And I didn't lie, I was wrong. I thought I wanted to stay friends with you but I don't, I can't. You're always looking at me and making me feel guilty and I don't deserve that. Plus you've been nasty to Sharon since she got here, don't think she hasn't told me about the horrible comments you make to her."

Cookie laughed "This is the most we've spoken in months, I'm not doing anything to make you feel guilty. That's all on you. But Sharon has you all twisted around because she's the one making nasty comments to me."

Bucky bristled "I don't have anything to feel guilty for. I've done nothing wrong and Sharon wouldn't lie to me."

She shrugged "If you say so, I didn't say anything. Now I've given you the details and shown the evidence. What you do is on you."

Bucky stood up, winced again and shook his head "I don't know if you did it or someone you're working with but I do know someone is trying to frame Sharon and you're going along with it. I'll prove you're wrong, that's what I'm gonna do."

Cookie scoffed "Good luck with that, Barnes"

Bucky put his hands on her desk and leaned into her space, his voice quiet and cold "I'll prove you're doing this because of your jealousy and your job and reputation will be over."

Cookie spat at him "Go fuck yourself Barnes, if you think that poorly of me you obviously never knew me. I have never been anything less than thorough and professional. I guess I should be grateful you panicked and cut me out of your life before I let myself get too attached. Good luck with Carter and get the Hell out of my office."

She sat down and went back to the packets she was finishing.

Bucky stood and stared like he was expecting something to happen before turning around and stalking off to find Sharon.

He woke up in the dark, with Sharon curled into him and looked at his watch. 9pm? Not again, his last memory was yelling at Cookie after breakfast then finding Sharon but nothing after that. He decided he had enough and scheduled an appointment with medical in the morning to see if they could help him figure out why he kept losing time.

Cookie spent the rest of the day in more briefings with senior agents to discuss the Sharon Carter problem and how to negate it. Bucky Barnes attachment to Carter was discussed as well since he had already started causing trouble over the revelations and couldn't be trusted to do the right thing.

When she was asked why they couldn't just arrest Sharon and tranq Bucky if he caused a problem, Cookie told them about her concerns that Sharon had an ally in the intel department that needed to be weeded out before Sharon.

She was back in her office, cleaning up her desk for the day when Sharon Carter herself wandered in, sat down and waited expectantly for Cookie to speak.

"What can I do for you agent Carter? I'm a little busy."

Sharon smirked "I know what you're trying to do and I understand. You're in love with Barnes and he wants me. It sucks and I know you must be hurting but slandering me won't get him back. In fact he ran to me this morning to tell me what you were trying to do and wondering why you wanted to hurt him so bad. I told him I would work it out with you."

Her face turned nasty "So here's how this is gonna work. You are going to stop trying to smear my name and leave Barnes alone, he doesn't need or want you. Think you can handle that?"

Cookie kept her face blank. "I don't need you to tell me how to do my job, agent Carter, so get the Hell out of my office."

Sharon laughed "Don't mess with me Cookie, I'm not the girl you want to play with."

Cookie faked an exaggerated yawn "Sure Carter, I'm scared."

Sharon smirked "It doesn't matter what evidence you have, you know. Barnes won't believe you. You could record me telling you that I'm the power broker and want the Soldat to be my enforcer because that's the truth." She grinned and winked "and show it to him. He won't believe you, he's already mine." She sighed "Of course now that you're on to me I will have to adjust my plans but he will want to go with me, even beg to come to protect me from all of you.

Don't chase us little girl, you won't like what you catch."

Her grin grew to something that would rival the Joker "In fact, go ahead and show him. I know FRIDAY is recording all this so let's go and show him. I want you to see how pointless this all is so you can leave us alone."

Her face hardened "Let's go" she grabbed Cookie by her upper arm and dragged her away from her desk. Cookie tried to fight her but she wasn't great with hand to hand, give her a weapon and she might have a chance but Sharon didn't give her the opportunity to grab anything.

When they arrived at Bucky's room Sharon's face softened before Bucky answered the door.

"Hey doll, you don't have to knock just-" he stopped and frowned when he saw Cookie "What the Hell is going on, Cookie have you been harassing Sharon?"

He looked to Sharon for an explanation.

Sharon was able to squeeze a tear from her eye "I was by her office to talk to Maria and Cookie said she was watching me and knew she could prove that I'm the power broker. Listen to what she said. Friday can you play the audio from my talk in Cookies office a few minutes ago?"

"Of course agent Carter."

A recording started of Sharon and Cookies interaction in her office. Bucky started listening with a passive face but he grew angrier with everything Sharon said.

Cookie felt hopeful that he would finally see the truth about Sharon but he aimed his ire at her.

"Seriously Cookie? You just can't let it go can you? Sharon hasn't done anything except make me happy and it's killing you. Like I'm some prize to be won. I never thought you would compromise yourself like this but maybe I'll have a talk with Fury and Hill about your obsession with me."

Cookie just stared at him, trying to figure out what the Hell he was talking about. They both heard Sharon say she was the power broker but he still didn't believe it. "Are you listening to the same audio I am Barnes? She said right there shes the power broker and wants the Winter Soldier to be her enforcer."

Bucky glared at her "Jesus Cookie, that's not even close to what she said. Maybe you need to take a vacation because you're losing it."

He looked her up and down "Honestly you look like shit. When did you stop taking care of yourself? I definitely wouldn't have slept with you if you looked like this."

Sharon just stood next to Bucky grinning like a JackAss at Cookie. "I told you Cookie, he's mine so let it go."

Cookie took a breath then turned and walked away without another word. Sharon must have found some way to brainwash him again and Cookie knew there was nothing she could do right now except notify Fury and Hill that Bucky was under Sharon's control so they could work on getting him back. They scheduled a meeting for first thing the next morning at 5am.

Cookie was woken up by her phone ringing at 3am after just falling asleep. It was Sam, Bucky and Sharon were gone, Stark phones and tracking devices left sitting on the desk in his quarters.

Chapter 4

The Power Broker and The Winter Soldier, in the wind.

@erelierraceala @capswife @ozwriterchick @cjand10 @wintrsoldrluvr @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @browneyedgrli @greatenthusiasttidalwave @hhiggs @dontworryboutitsweetheart-blog @behindmygreyeyes @pattiemac1 @calwitch @mrs-bucky-barnes-73 @ordelixx

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for intentionally giving someone bedbugs?

So, a few years ago, I (17 at the time) got bedbugs. I'm still not sure where from because it was only me who had them. Maybe from visiting a friend's house, maybe from the hotel I went to for a convention, or maybe I was just unlucky and picked them up off someone in public. Regardless, I had bedbugs and was the only one in my house that did. Because of my relationship with my parents and a very intense fear of getting in trouble, I was convinced I'd be scolded for having them/seen as gross, so I didn't tell anyone I had them. I just killed them on sight and every other day used the vacuum on every side of my mattress.

Now, while this was happening, my parents were arranging for a family friend's daughter "K" (15 at the time) to move in with us. Her and I really didn't get along. She was generally rude to me, shittalked my little sister constantly. My friend had told her about something that happened between me and a family member where I was abused, something that I didn't tell the rest of our family, and K was threatening to tell them about it. The issue is this would cause a LOT of unrest and stress on my family that I thought would be worse than keeping the event a secret, so I told her not to. She said she wouldn't, and then went back on that and told my parents anyways. I barely managed to convince them she got it mixed up with something else that happened, and everything was mostly fine.

Anyways, point is, I REALLY did not like K. She was moving in with us because her parents are, frankly, terrible people and don't really take proper care of her. So, my parents wanted to give her a better environment for a little while. I wanted to give her a chance because I knew she didn't have the best background or anything, even if I didn't like her.

She got here and didn't have a bed get (we set up an air mattress and the plan was to get a new bed for me and give my old one to her since it was still a really good bed, but I was due for a new one because of growing). I was trying to figure out how to come clean about the bedbugs before the switch.

That is, until she started being a jerk while at our house. She was stealing from the fridge and then blaming it on me. She was lying to my parents and sneaking out. She was lying ABOUT me and my parents to hers, telling them and her friends that we were abusing and neglecting her. She cut the screen of the guest room window to sneak a boy into our house in the middle of the night. She refused to help me and my sister with chores, which got ALL of us into trouble when they didn't get done.

I don't know if it was just the cumulative stress of the situation, school, and the bedbugs or if I just really felt like being terrible, but I didn't tell anyone about the bedbugs.

Then, we put my old bed in the guest room, and I got a new bed after a while. She started getting bug bites and after maybe two weeks my parents found out about the bed bugs. We deep-cleaned the house and had to get rid of the whole bed set.

To this day, my family believes K brought the bedbugs because of her home situation. I have only told a few of my friends about this. In hindsight, I feel bad because bedbugs are terrible and I made it seem like she'd brought them herself. I'm conflicted because I generally feel guilty over lying about it, but I also feel a little justified for my little bit of revenge. AITA??

[theamityelf]

Omg I just realized how small class 78 was in comparison to the other two in the survivor's killing game au. So what if. Say. Not even intentionally. Every single one of the 78th class' survivors died somehow with only Makoto left?

(I love that we are on the same wavelength re: Makoto angst, lol.)

Oh boy, I think after he loses his last classmate (and insult to injury if he has to vote for them as the murderer), he's going to vanish.

First, he's going to disconnect from his surroundings.

If his last classmate was murdered, he'll try to investigate, but he's in such a bad place mentally that he's just wandering in autopilot. He'll notice something important, but all he can do is tell it to someone else, because he can't present evidence in this trial. He can only hold himself together until it's over. (Basically, he is providing truth bullets instead of collecting them.) He's mostly silent through the trial, he casts his vote, and as soon as the execution ends, he vanishes.

If, instead, his last classmate was the murderer, then it's a trial that starts off fairly normal (except Hajime is being strangely solemn/gentle?) and then at a point Makoto realizes that he's going to lose his last classmate, and he just automatically shouts "No!" Everyone asks him what's up, and Makoto is just staring into space, terrified that he's about to be alone, he's about to be the last one, and eventually his eyes land on Hajime and he just says something along the lines of, "I can't do this," to which Hajime very sympathetically consoles that he doesn't have to say anything; the rest of them will take it from here. And once again, after the execution, he vanishes.

Everyone spreads out to look for where he ran off to. They don't find him, but they do find a locked door to some room other than his. It's going to be whatever room doesn't have a camera, in this scenario. This game's equivalent of the bathhouse from the first game. He's locked himself in.

Shuichi's going, "Someone needs to pick the lock or something. We need to get in there!"

Fuyuhiko's going, "Leave the kid alone. This whole thing's been real hard on him. He needs some time to himself without anybody breathing down his neck."

And this might become a legit serious argument. Shuichi and Fuyuhiko haven't interacted much before this, but they've both been friends to Makoto throughout the game, and right now that's placing them at odds. Himiko intervenes, getting between them and making them back off each other.

Later that night, Shuichi gets Hajime to pick the lock so he can check on Makoto.

(Quick aside, Kokichi might already be in there when Shuichi arrives. This hasn't been an AU with any Naeouma stuff, but it's very possible the setup of "locked room and depressed friend" makes Kokichi get involved just to make sure Makoto isn't hurt. The rest of this post isn't going to operate in that reality, but I just thought I'd throw that out there.)

Makoto is just kind of laying on the floor, curled in on himself. He curls up even more when he hears that he's being approached.

Shuichi sits next to him. He can't clearly see his face.

(Hajime closes the door. He didn't follow him in.)

"Makoto?" Shuichi says gently.

It takes a few seconds for him to answer.

"Don't let them see me," Makoto croaks out weakly. "He said it's bad for everyone when I look like I'm giving into despair."

"Who said that?"

"Sakakura, Munakata..." He goes on listing names of people Shuichi has never met.

Shuichi has to interrupt the list: "No one can see you. Even if they could, no one would blame you for despairing right now."

"I'm not. I just need...I just need a nap, and then I can..." He trails off, like he can't think of a promise he's sure he can keep. After an excruciating extra second of silence, he asks, "Where's Hajime?"

Shuichi glances back. "He let me in. Guess he went back to his room or something."

"Can you please just make sure he knows it's not his fault? I can't...talk about it...with him, right now, but...He needs to know that."

"I'll talk to him. Can I get you to your room?"

"No." An ungodly amount of stress pours into his languid tone. "If they see me like this on the cameras, it'll be a whole thing. We don't know who they're showing this to. The whole world could be watching. If I lose it for a second, people out there might die." His voice breaks. "Komaru already has to deal with Toko being gone. I can't be another problem."

"You're not a problem. And you don't have to be a solution, either. You skipped dinner. I'm going to go grab you something and be right back. Okay?"

[bonefall]

For Riverstar’s Heir, do you have any idea where you want to land themeatically? Because from my reading of the possible themeatic directions, with the whole story being about this crisis of politics and succession, it feels like the character who “should” become the next leader of RiverClan narratively should be the Most ruthless/aggressive/willing to resort to dishonorable methods of dealing with rivals (reinforcing RiverClan’s entry into/building up of the early Clans’ emerging systems of battle society)

The alternative “most interesting” option I can imagine would be one that is least likely/least aggressive/some otherwise sort of underdog candidate (maybe not even technically “legal” depending on what qualifications there are for heirship?), but I’m not sure exactly what themes that would play into, other than maybe how the pursuit of power can change someone?

That said, your themeatic instincts are strong enough that I can see you having a strong idea for a “middle-of-the-pack” candidate winning out over the others just as much, so— I am genuinely curious what your thoughts are for where you Want this crisis of succession to end, narratively, even if you don’t have an exact cat picked yet.

Good ask because I'd not been clear about the theme yet, I think. What Riverstar's Heir is trying to get at, at the heart of the issue, is that this is a bloodbath caused by naiive optimism and greed.

The commandments to establish borders and prevent killing are nice, but not enough. You can't just have a society on good will, not when POWER is up for grabs in the scramble. It's about collapse, and how innocent, well-meaning people get caught up in the devastation. Not JUST the troublemakers.

Riverstar was an EXCELLENT king, beloved and wise, but if you don't prepare a proper successor, everything you worked hard to build might crumble to ruin.

Something unique is lost in this shuffle. It's no longer the River Kingdom, and the Wind Coalition also becomes WindClan at this point. For better, and for worse, they both lose a bit of what made them special. Redscar's choice at the end also solidifies the early political power of Clerics, which is eventually broken many generations later with Larkwing's Strike.

So, fragment time,

At LEAST three "heirs" end up getting killed.

So, because these ones are gonna die, I have Three Heir "Slots" that I'm committed to and just need to fill;

The Eldest, Riverstar's oldest living biological child.

The Chosen, Riverstar's adopted heir, a rather meek prince easily pressured into backing off his rightful claim. This one is likely going to be the BB! version of Mossfire.

The Firstblood, directly descended from Riverstar's FIRSTborn child. This one is likely going to be the BB! version of Jumpfoot.

I also have two tentative slots.

The Accomplished... who is a blood relative of Riverstar, but more of a "puppet" for WindCo. Someone they're intentionally propping up hoping for power.

The Diplomat, from WindClan, who is a lot like WindCo's puppet but this one is more subtle about it. Poetic. Happy to purr and remind the world of the wonderful, deep ties that had existed between King Riverstar and Thunderstar.

And, LASTLY, there's The Deputy. The most qualified choice, who served Riverstar, but was no relative.

It feels right that the Deputy is the one who is chosen in the end... hm.

Anyway

After a smaller conflict near the start of the story, either The Eldest or The Firstblood seems to be the favorite to win... but decides to wait for the morning to set out for the Moonstone and take their lives.

In this time period, without selecting a successor, this heir is assassinated.

In fact it might be VERY fun if this heir, being so much like King Riverstar himself, decided to throw a pre-emptive celebration.

Meat! Merriment! MURDER!!!

Having them go out via poison would be a fun way to send a character off.

This is going to be why the "DEPUTY BEFORE MOONHIGH" rule is established, but it's also what kicks off the bloodier parts of the plot.

Thinking about it... a cleric and/or the deputy should probably tell this heir, "Hey, buddy, you should really get going" and they're ignored.

With Eldest Heir gone, the small conflict from earlier becomes an LARGE conflict.

And, like they did back in DOTC, families start to rally together. Especially Eldest's offspring, who think they're just as entitled to the Throne as The Firstblood/Jumpfoot

King Riverstar used to encourage cats to enter the River Kingdom freely. The borders were essentially open, and everyone was allowed in, as long as they were willing to cross the river.

(maybe I'll even have him pull down the tree from Riverstar's Home intentionally, happy to accept other cats into his Kingdom. Then he defends it from Skystar, specifically, but refuses to destroy what he built.)

This had allowed River Kingdom to grow large and powerful, but it also meant everyone in River Kingdom had connections to the other Clans.

Which meant there were cats supporting OTHER bids to the Throne, like the one from WindCo and the one from ThunderClan.

Smelling a way to grab power, Duststar supports his favorite heir, and Whitestar of ThunderClan also begins to stick his nose in.

Each Heir tries to run the River Kingdom, and things start to get hostile. If there's more than just the three heirs, even more of them start to get openly attacked, chased out, killed, until there's only The Chosen and The Firstblood left.

Somewhere around here, River Kingdom is invaded. Probably by the leader of SkyClan at the time, claiming that they don't even NEED an heir to take what these cats clearly don't deserve.

And that's when the internal conflict becomes a FULL-BLOWN WAR between four Clans.

In those days, the camp was at Sunningrocks, right in the middle of the river.

ThunderClan jumps in to help its "Ally" against SkyClan, just like historical precedent, but they have NO IDEA who they're fighting against, because the whole Kingdom is divided. It's not as simple as it was in DOTC anymore.

WindCo came to support its favorite heir, but its cats don't obey Duststar's orders when it comes down to fighting their own friends and family, meaning they're functionally fighting EVERYONE and losing a TON of cats

SkyClan is getting pummeled because EVERY group is pissed at them as well as each other, getting a painful awakening that they are NOT being run by Skystar the War God anymore and they're no longer the biggest, baddest bananas in the bunch

(shadowclan is watching all of this and eating popcorn. moisturized. in their lane. unbothered.)

The climax here, between The Chosen and The Firstblood, is a battle that matches the chapter from COTC. They launch at each other, in a battle to the death.

The first Sunningrocks Battle.

They both wear "crowns" on their head, one custom made for Mossfire's short-furred head, and traditional, braided into Jumpfoot's long, lush fur.

As they claw, bite, and tumble, they plunge into the river.

Fighting and hissing, they try to pull apart to rise up for air-- and can't.

They're STUCK

The crowns became tangled in their skirmish, and neither one can work with the other to bring them both to shore, against the current.

Both heirs, the last with a proper claim to the throne, drown together in the river.

At the end of the bloodbath, the tone is very somber. The rules were meant to prevent The First Battle from ever happening again... but The Second Battle had just taken place.

The body count wasn't AS high as the First Battle, but it was still a bloody loss. Every Clan lost warriors. Even ShadowClan, who hadn't even been IN the conflict, checked its ranks to find that powerful warriors had run off to go fight with their Kin.

Now they could be buried with them, too.

And now, there was no proper heir. If any descendants were still kicking around, they were refusing to take a throne that so many cats had died for. Jumpfoot and Mossfire never emerged from the River, their bodies, and their legendary crowns, were never found.

At first I'd been considering Redscar being swapped to become a RiverClan Cleric, but now I'm thinking it actually makes sense he's still from ShadowClan. ShadowClan was the ONLY neutral group-- it's reasonable for the clans to turn and request their partiality.

So, Redscar peruses the options, having followed the situation from afar.

His choice, in the end, was The Deputy. The most experienced advisor who knew Riverstar, and probably tried to stay at his adopted daughter's side as well. The closest thing they'd had to a leader all along.

(Thought: Maybe this character will be the POV. Make it like a bit of a fake-out title, you THINK Riverstar's heir is Mossfire. But it's actually been this one all along.)

He creates his famous false sign, and from there, the five groups discussed how they could prevent this from ever happening again.

They create the Law of the Deputy, commanding that ALL Clans have a single Deputy who will inherit the Clan after the leader passes away, ending dynasties in WindCo and River Kingdom and centralizing power in the other 3.

With the massive losses that WindCo and River Kingdom experienced, they also restructure, forced to accept a lot of help from ThunderClan and ShadowClan.

The borders began to close up, leading to the sentiment that would lead to Commandment 4, the Law of Loyalty, in just one more generation.

[rohirric-hunter]

Oh this should be fun

Part of the design choice for Léonys was me very intentionally picking out all of the "weakness of Men" themes in LotR and just. Building a lot of her personality around that. It was kind of fascinating because the last time I made an OC of this nature after I designed the character I had to sit down and figure out some character flaws to give her (which was very popular -- and bad -- writing advice upon a time). With Léonys, as the personality began to develop, it was mostly flaws, and I actually had to sit down and make a physical list of her strengths. Which was kind of an ordeal, if I'm honest. I made one of them, "physically strong."

But that's sort of the point. Her strengths are not really the sort of strengths that are necessary for the story she's in. The things that make characters succeed in LotR are just not attributes that she has. Girl talks and dreams and makes plans around shit she knows nothing about. By the end of her story a Nazgul looks at her and she just fucking. falls over. If she'd had a second conversation with Saruman she would have absolutely fallen for his bullshit hook line and sinker. If you handed her the One Ring I would give her ~18 minutes before she was trying to murder someone with it. There's no digging deep down and finding untapped wells of resilience. Will is her lowest stat, both in-game and in-universe. She's the walking, talking reason why someone who understands the stakes of the world she lives in would conclude that humans can't be trusted with shit. And I designed her that way on purpose.

The comfort of the story, for me, is that sometimes you are weak. Sometimes your strengths are not what a situation needs. Sometimes everything comes out alright in spite of you. Sometimes, the things you're good at are only helpful in one tiny part of a situation. And sometimes that's enough. I think this is why the Wind Will Set Me Racing 'Verse also turned into a Boromir Lives AU. I wanted a story where the characters had the opportunity to sit with their failures, and then also to move on. To have a happy ending despite the fact that they, personally, failed. That their failure -- objective, genuine inability to handle the situation they put themselves in -- does not make them less of a person or less worthy of good things. There's not a lot of stories that celebrate that sort of thing.

(Yes, I am aware of the irony of the fact that by giving her strengths that are less useful than usual in LotR I have given her strengths that would serve her very well in most other fantasy universes. Making her strong, fast, and good at killing stuff would have her kicking ass in most stories. What luck that she lives in one where it's just kinda okay.)

In terms of this particular quest, it's one of those times when I'm compelled to make a quest dialogue work with my particular character decisions. What are the strengths that the Huntsman sees in her when in some ways she can be more a liability than a help? What does, "valour," mean in the context of someone who is actively getting worse at dealing with attacks on her psyche? IDK, I'm thinking something something the person who is willing to try something and be respectful and do it the right way being better than someone who is more likely to succeed, but less willing, or less willing to listen. LotRO often has quests where the player character asks for something from a group who is hesitant to trust, and that group sets them to some kind of task to prove that they're trustworthy and mean well -- often contrasted with some enemy ignoring those people and their wishes and trying to get what they want by force. (Vol. I Book 13 Chapter 4) I'd say it's kind of one of the game's main themes.

[suzukiblu]

For your ask game, what’s your favorite thing you’ve ever written?

. . . god I don't even know, man, that's a LOT of things, hahaha. And like, that answer definitely changes depending on the day/year/phase of the moon. So you're getting a couple answers here! Also I'm gonna keep this mostly to DC and only include finished fics, because me picking between WIPs would take a thousand years and also probably kill us all, lol (ignore the fact that a couple of these fics have sequels in-progress right now, STILL COUNTS OKAY??).

everything happens for a reason. sometimes that reason is that you are stupid and make bad decisions. is one of the funniest fucking things I've ever written, full stop. Lex is SO fun to write, seriously, I could write him all fucking DAY.

I'm really proud of blondes really do have more fun, both because of how much it seems to have affected/touched people who read it and because I think it was my first experience with writing gender euphoria as a major thing and writing, like, an actual explicit trans narrative? Like, I definitely wrote genderfuckery and implications and metaphors before that and probably even some trans characters, arguably, but that's the first story I really remember deliberately just making about being TRANS. And also holy shit, man, did I ever love writing gender euphoria for the first time, especially because I'd mostly only seen gender DYSphoria as a focal point in other stories and it just didn't/doesn't resonate with me the same way. I'm not trans because everything else makes me miserable, I'm trans because that's what makes me HAPPY. I don't remember if I was intentionally thinking that at the time, but that's the story I wanted to write for that one.

one day this will all be yours and you found me when no one else was looking are both concepts I love and found really cathartic to write and was very pleased to finish. I love that they're sort of "families of choice" fics about, like, actual BIOLOGICAL families (like, in the context of the fics, anyway), which probably sounds weird but is a concept I'm sort of painfully fascinated by--like, about the fact that you CAN choose your family, obviously, but sometimes you're lucky enough to find out that you had someone worth choosing already and just didn't necessarily know it, or to both grow into people who CAN choose each other even if you had problems or lashed out due to outside traumas or didn't always understand each other. That's, like, very personally relevant and meaningful to me, the idea that maybe the thing that got all fucked-up and the choices you made when you didn't fully understand the consequences of them can still be worked through and repaired and made into something new and better.

Also, special mention because this one is back a few fandoms but zero humble on it: best friends means you get what you deserve is just really, really good, and I did GOOD on it, hah. I took a three-word prompt/concept and turned it into 17k of "hey, doesn't this make more sense for why this character is the way he is, and isn't this what the main character actually wanted??" in genre-savvy explanation of why the sidekick character might stick around for the antisocial asshole hero and seem perfectly happy to base their life largely around them no matter how said hero treats them, and then I made the Consequences(tm) happen to Jaskier and Geralt, both bad AND good. I am just SO dang proud of that one, UGH I love it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ FRIENDSHIP, AND THE CONSEQUENCES THEREOF.

[iamnmbr3]

Zacharias Smith anon. I want to explain my reasoning for this interpretation a bit more.

First thing we learn about him is that he's on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Cedric was the seeker. I doubt anyone currently on the team is doing well.

Right off the gate he is already angry, more than I'd argue he has any right to be unless there was something else affecting his mood. (like, idk, the recent death of a friend/upperclassman you looked up to)

The only thing that Zacharias seems to actually be interested in hearing about is Cedric's murder. He immediately steers the conversation in that direction. Harry even picks up on this:

It had just dawned upon him why there were so many people there. He felt that Hermione should have seen this coming. Some of these people — maybe even most of them — had turned up in the hope of hearing Harry’s story firsthand.

Zacharias seems quite frustrated with the lack of detail that Dumbledore gave about Cedric's death, which makes sense. It would be like if a highschool student died on campus and the principal told everyone the student was killed by the booeyman and gave no further details. If you were friends with that student, wouldn't that make you angry? I mean, killed by the booeyman? What kind of explanation is that?

He strikes me as someone very firmly in the anger stage of grief, and no one picks up on that.

And then there's Cho. Her grief is a lot more obvious and acknowledged as grief. She also wants closure and thinks Harry is the only person who can give it to her. She is desperate to talk to Harry about Cedric during their date, but instead he shuts that topic down and unintentionally makes it clear he doesn't care about her feelings or her grief (and he doesn't).

I mean, look at this line after their disaster of a date:

“Women!” he muttered angrily, sloshing down the rain-washed street with his hands in his pockets. “What did she want to talk about Cedric for anyway? Why does she always want to drag up a subject that makes her act like a human hosepipe?”

Wow, Harry. Just... wow. If he couldn't give closure to Cho, Zacharias had no chance.

I think the next two years and torment by Ginny only served to turn Zacharias into a colder and more cynical person. It got to the point where in the climax he would rather leave wizard society to its fate than fight to defend the place that only served to make him miserable and took away all the good things in his life.

(This ask is a followup to this). This is very interesting and compelling. I love it. (My one point of disagreement is I will say I don't remember Ginny tormenting him systematically for two years; I remember her flying into him intentionally once, and I remember the twins being rude to him a couple times; but yeah other than that I love this analysis and I'm super here for it.) What a creative take. It's also neat because for all that he seems to not like Harry he also does come to DA meetings consistently and he never betrays them or expresses regret or uncertainty about his association with the group. And presumably he is not persuaded by the Ministry's viewpoint or the Death Eaters'. And yet he has utter disdain for Harry. Your analysis really adds some great depth and nuance to his actions and views.

Harry of course treats Zacharias like a normal person would treat someone they dislike - i.e. he doesn't spend time around him or thinking about him when he can avoid it, and thus neither Harry nor we ever learn much about him. (Harry was way too busy staring at Draco). But I love the idea of him having this whole complex inner world and conflict going on and it just not getting much play.

[it-one-line-at-a-time]

ALSO hi sorry you're the only one that knows what im talking about when i rant about It

i think its really a thing that bevs fear is different. its not wearwolves or mummys its blood

and while that doesn't feel a lot different shes a girl right at the age of having a period for the first time

HAVING YOUR FIRST PERIOD IS FULCONG SCARY

coufh cpugh bev and carrie are literally both stephen king characters whos main arc is being scared of having a period?? he does this intentionally?? cough

they nod to this in the movie when the boys go into the store to get stuff to help ben and shes buying tampons and unsure of what to do. she hides the tampons to cause shes embarrassed

AND HER DAD i could go on for hourssssssss her dad literally says "are you not my little girl anymore?" LIKE whatttttttttt the fuck. and no one but her and the boys can see the blood. while yeah this is because the adults dont see it but do we know WHY the adults dont see it? ITS BECAUSE THIS ENTIRE STORY IS LITERALLY ABOUT KIDS WHO ARE AFRAID. AFRAID OF PEOPLE BRUSHING THEIR FEARS ASIDE AND AFRAID OF BECOMING SOMEONE WHO DOES THAT.

HER FEAR IS FUCKING GROWING UP AND THE MAIN VILLAIN AGAINST HER IS A CLOWN THAT ONLY KILLS PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT GROWN UP AND IM SUPPOSED TO BE NORMAL ABOUT THAT

i love bev she needs a hug and a warm blanket and raspberry leaf tea and a good movie and to be loved

Don't you dare be sorry! I'm having the time of my life answering these things, I swear to God.

I think Bev's fear of blood has sooo many layers. It's more explicitly stated in the book, just because it's easier in terms of description of internal monologues, but the film does definitely, as you say, give a few nods. There's obviously the scene in the shop where she is struggling to pick out tampons (honestly same, girl, I hate sanitary shopping more than I can say), which shows how new to this she is, and then she hides it behind her back from the boys, because she's scared and embarrassed to let it be known that she's growing up.

Of course she's also scared of her dad, and fucking fair enough?? The man is awful. During the scene in the book after she's met and dealt with Mrs. Kersh and Pennywise approaches her in the guise of her father and says some shit that genuinely made me nearly cry both times I read it, it's confirmed that she was scared shitless of her father, and what he might do to her. Touched upon in the movie when she first stands up to him - in a scene that had me in a stressed-out, terrified chokehold when I watched it for the first time - this fear is definitely only enhanced when she starts her period, which is why she froze in fear when he first came across the tampons. Because in her eyes, she's now being forced to grow up at the speed of light, and her dad hits her with the "Tell me you're still my little girl", so she's forced between wanting to grow up and out of his reach, and wanting to stay a kid so she doesn't have to face the hellhole of adulthood.

Long story short, she should NOT EVER have been put through that shit, nor should anyone. Like, even the idea of being afraid of growing up whilst simultaneously having to in order to escape your predatory-ass father is so fucking awful and I'd never even thought about it too hard before this, so I appreciate this ask for making me consider how fucking awful it must've been for her.

Anyway Bev is my gorgeous girl who I would rather die for than have her suffer yay <3

[quirrelfan]

Foreshadowing

haha get it he probably died so his final resting place is the resting grou-

The foreshadowing throughout Quirrel's dialogue is so perfectly done that I just have to talk about it. (Below the cut. This is a long one.)

As seen in the above image and below quote, an instance of such foreshadowing.

"The city looks to be built into an enormous cavern, and the rain pours down from cracks in the stone above.

There must be a lot of water up there somewhere. I suppose, if the cave roof stayed strong this long, it should hold for us.

Before I leave this Kingdom, I'd like to see where all that water comes from. What a sight it must be!"

As we know, the rain comes from Blue Lake. And I must agree, what a sight it is!

Circled location is Quirrel

It is also proved by a quote I obtained [here], where Ari Gibson himself states:

"The only area that I can think of that exists purely for narrative reasons is the Blue Lake, which is above the raining city. And it's only there because there's all this rain falling on the city, and I just couldn't bear the idea that we didn't explain where this rain was coming from. So we put this big lake above it."

Quirrel's final location he is seen at is Blue Lake, without Monomon's mask atop his head, sat down on the ground and gazing out over the gorgeous lake.

The final location before his implied death, his second and final departure of hallownest, fulfilling his wish to see the source of the rain before he leaves.

"To persevere in this ruin, that old nail alone just won't be enough. Though that's no problem! One only has to look around.

Plenty have come before us and most have met their grisly end, many more equipped than you and I.

I'm sure they wouldn't mind were a fellow explorer to relieve them of their tools. It's a kindness really. The dead shouldn't be burdened with such things."

Quirrel's death (although uncertain if he truly died as stated by one of the devs themselves, saying "we don't know," but that is a topic for another time), or rather, his nail in the ground, is foreshadowed by the above dialogue.

Quirrel believes that a weapon is a burden to oneself when dead, encouraging the Knight to pick up a stronger weapon they may find.

Upon the re-entry of Blue Lake after the Knight has spoken to Quirrel, they will discover that he seems to have left the area, the remaining evidence of his existence there being his nail, which looks intentionally stuck into the ground, tempting one to grab it and use it to its fullest potential. After all, Quirrel would not want to be burdened by his own weapon much like past explorers have been. Whether he drowned himself, withered away of old age, or had been killed by enemies, it must have been intentional due to his nail's placement.

Free from the burdens of his weapon. Of surviving. Of life. He had lived life to the fullest and had seen all that the world has offered him, his mind freed from the awful events in between.

"All tragedy erased. I see only wonders..."

That is not the end, by the way. Although it is the perfect quote to end on, I still have the random tidbits of info he remembers to cover.

"What is this feeling?... So familiar. Drawn forward yet repelled.

And those shapes upon the door...To gaze directly at them turns my mind to fog."

"That lake... a revered presence once slept deep within...

Did it? What would make me think such things?"

"There is a city nearby, the old capital of Hallownest. I've heard a Nailsmith resides there. Seek the old bug out and you may find progress that much easier."

"...Who was it that told me of the Nailsmith? I can't even remember, yet I can almost picture the smith himself..."

For someone who is exploring Hallownest along a similar path to your own journey, he seems to know some pieces of knowledge in regards to the kingdom, whether he tells the Knight of the nailsmith, or the thought of Unn being locked within his mind.

The Knight later discovers that Quirrel has been in Hallownest before, although his memory of the place is mostly blank.

"Did she call you too then? I realise it's no coincidence we arrive together.

Though much of my memory is blank, this place I recall."

Quirrel had taken part in the Teacher's sacrifice to become a seal upon the Black Egg Temple, although he cannot recall the event, thus showing he has lived in Hallownest once, but remembers nothing but small fragments of information, the tragedy of the infection blocked from his memory upon departure.

"Twice I've seen this world and though my service may have stripped the first experience from me, I'm thankful I could witness its beauty again."

ok NOW I will end with the line.

"To live an age, yet remember so little... Perhaps I should be thankful?

All tragedy erased. I see only wonders..."

Ah, foreshadowing. A beautiful thing.

[justabeewithapen]

does any other monster/voice know what hero looks like or is it just the ships crew(princess, narrator, tlq)

Firstly, I assume you were probably hoping for art but I wracked my brain and just nothing occurred to me TwT Mostly because, my second point, I realized no one besides the main crew probably have seen Hero!! I thought really hard about this but Hero only takes his helmet off when he is: - Eating - Sleeping - Using the "bathroom" to shower (Either their mini corner with a toilet and shower which Hero had to awkwardly request because none of the rest of the crew needs either really, or when they stop by gordon to pick up rations and supplies. I imagine it sorta like a little gas station place where they use company cash to get things they need and can request specific supplies for more charge). That already makes the list of voices who could have seen him pretty slim. Broken, Paranoid, Skeptic, Hunted, Stubborn, and Cold almost never get on the ship. It's not impossible but it's highly unlikely. Smitten, Cheated, Opportunist, Contrarian are the main ones who like to travel with the crew on occasion, which also makes them the most likely to see Hero. Problem two, however, is the fact that they are absolutely still monsters. Hero has gotten comfortable sleeping and eating with TLQ and Narrator around (It took a few weeks but TLQ was openly very friendly and he didn't know Narrator was a masked. When he found out there was another sleepless period but Narrator has yet to kill him in his sleep fdsdf) but that was through a lot of exposure. Even though he is friends with Contrarian that guy makes enough "haha but what if I DID convert you haha, wouldn't that be funny?" jokes that Hero would not risk exposing his face fdsaf. Smitten and Cheated don't usually hang around much longer than a quota and he can pull enough excuses out to avoid it. Opportunist is probably the most likely to have seen it??? Opportunist is small and while obnoxious is fairly harmless, they like to hang around a lot because they are CLINGY, and he is opportunistic like his name would imply XD So if anyone has seen it, I'd say him? It isn't like Hero is intentionally trying to hide his face, if he could safely remove his helmet on the planets he probably would because it's stuffy in that thing. Something about being trapped in the very enclosed ship with "monsters" even friendly ones has him hesitant to take off the only thing between his face and a stray claw from someone gesturing too excitedly. It is accidentally a special thing. Thank you so much for this ask, I love how deeply it made me think about the situation!!! (Also please feel free to double dip asks anon if you were hoping for a doodle /genuine!!!)

[freezerbnuuy]

Act 5:13- The Fox Condemns the Trap (Page 4)

LORE | CHARACTERS | ABOUT / WARNINGS | CHAPTERS

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CONTENT WARNING: alcohol (casual), mention of family death

Volpe

"I will try to put this as plainly as possible, Eduardo. What hope did you have of successfully asking me to intentionally cause the death of someone else when it is my job to keep people alive?"

There it is, again- that smug, superior tone. So the vampire is still alive! I try to quell my rage. I cannot unsee him as the lost young man he once was, no matter how hard I try. My gentle threats the last time we spoke did not faze him at all, so I am unsurprised lying to me like this hasn't either.

"So you lied to me for four years? Five, if we're counting the one that has passed since? Where's your integrity?"

Owen narrows his gaze, swirling his wine glass.

"If I did not have integrity, then I would have offered to essentially poison someone at the request of a nobleman."

I pull my fingers into my palms. What is the point of me trying to recruit more men and women if this vampire will just pick them all off like a hawk?

"You owed me!"

"I owed you nothing. I offered it as a favour to you, at no cost, so that you could not turn around and question my integrity as the patriarch of a business, and yet here you are."

The insolent cur! He is nothing like his father was! Samuel would have gone ahead with it without a second thought. He'd have bowed under the pressure, yet Owen did no such thing. The next generation is frought with fragility, and yet...

"My father destroyed the notes and his prototype of his cure that could have saved a man's life. It was a potential cure for a terminal illness that could have saved thousands and he destroyed it to spite one man. In turn, I destroyed all evidence of his successful vampire cure. If he prevented me from saving thousands of lives out of spite, then I'd prevent him from ending any more of them out of spite."

I would have never done such a thing. I would have never defied my father like this! Vittorio would was a harsh, stern yet respect-worthy man. I followed his every footstep as I was growing up. What is it with children nowadays and a complete lack of respect for their elders?

"I cannot begin to describe how disgusted I am with you! I did everything I could to lead you on the right path as you grew up, and you defied me as well as your own flesh and blood! I trusted this family to be one of the only families with magic who could stay in line, and now you've completely severed any trust I ever had for you! And now I have to watch as your children follow suit!"

"My children will never grow up to be like either you nor Samuel, if I can help it."

Owen heaves himself out of his chair, leaning back on it to support himself. 

"Fine. Another question, then, which you will answer truthfully if you have as much integrity as you say you do."

"Of course."

"Rumour has it that Samuel Annorin was murdered. Some say it was for power, others for money. So tell me, Owen- what really happened to Samuel Annorin? You didn't expect anyone to believe your cover story forever, did you?"

Owen's chuckle is grating.

"Power?" His laughter is sickening, and slightly influenced by the wine. "What more power or money does the Annorin family need? Heavens, no. He was murdered by Oskar's mother."

Just like that, he admits the truth. My one true friend, Samuel Annorin, killed by a vampire...and everyone believed Owen's feigned grief as well as his lies. 

"The second time that a vampire tries to kill your father, and the second time you try to protect said vampire in spite of it! You should be thoroughly horrified with yourself for what you did to your own father and the only man I've ever considered a friend!"

"Samuel was never your friend, was he?" he asks, his voice taking on a particularly-dark tone I've never heard before from him. "He was your pawn. He was willing to put up with you either because you'd have him killed, or you'd have him revealed to be a spellcaster. If anything, he feared being viewed as a quack far more than he did being killed. Unfortunately for you, I don't fear either."

I cannot control my rage. What kind of attitude is this to have towards someone who just found out that someone he considered close was murdered by a dangerous monster - who is still out there, ready to murder whoever else?

"And what of the vampire?"

"She admitted it to me. I forgave her. She had good reason to murder a man responsible for the death of her one hundred and sixty year old son, even if that man did happen to be my own father. You see, Eduardo, some of us don't use the deaths of our family members as an excuse for bloodshed."

Forgave? I have fought for countless years to eradicate witchcraft from Henford and then the world for the sake of my father's murder, and Owen forgives her?

"How dare you! I did not just lose my mother and father, but my young children! You've lost a child yourself - you should know better than to speak ill of them!"

"I don't speak ill of your children, Eduardo. It is tragic what happened to them. It is the fault of the witches that killed your family that your children died, there is no questioning that. What I am questioning is why you believe thousands of other people's children should die to satisfy your revenge fantasies."

I can't. All of this vitriol and I cannot unsee him as family...I cannot do it any longer. It doesn't matter what history we have - he can't be allowed to continue like this.

Who does he think he is, rolling his eyes and sighing at me?

"Samuel Annorin was a detriment to medical science as well as to magic. He was an obstacle and I was glad to see him removed. I am not you. I do not care for power and money, Eduardo - I already have both in plentiful supply. What I do care about is the wellness of the people of Henford, which rests safely in my hands. I am not Samuel. I won't buckle under the slightest threat."

Does he not realise what he's just done? If people find out about this, the scandal will be immeasurable. He'll be finished.

"The people deserve to know about this, Owen."

"And will they believe you, Eduardo? The word of a senile noble against that of a respected and feared physician?"

"You are nowhere near as well-respected or as feared as you think you are."

"Of course I am," he says snidely. "You're afraid of me. You always have been. I am not the wet doormat my father was, and you're afraid of what I'm capable of doing to you. The combination of societal and magical power is something I believe you've always been envious of."

"I left my father outside on the night of the witch-hunts knowing that the streets would be flooded with those who wished to see him dead. 

If you are going to be an obstacle like my father was, Eduardo, then I will see to it that you are removed."

[author's note: The title comes from 'the fox condemns the trap, not himself' from William Blake's 'Proverbs of Hell'.]

[affluent-havoc]

Okay, so here's a little thing I noticed. Not sure if others have noticed this too but, hey! Why not spread the good word. Also, this thought contains spoiler talk as well so heads up if you wanna avoid those! Will warn when it happens. Ahem. Here is a sprite of Aoi I just snatched for demonstration.

Here she is closer. Can you see it?

It's the school emblem! Or like, that part of it that's in Monokuma's eye! Kinda forgot what it's meant to actually be on the emblem itself ngl. Like.. is it am abstract wing??? Not sure. I shrug like Aoi.

Here is a closer pic of her shorts and the school emblem as well.

Here are other sprites of her too which shows that it's not just a one sprite deal.

This doesn't seem like much bit it also got me thinking. This is where the spoilers come in so run while you can!!

First of all, during the tragedy and the brain wiping of the students and their memories of previously being in the school, this would mean that she had these on, right? Right before shit hit the fan? Like, when Junko did her junking around and all, Aoi would have had this get up on during that. Or, maybe not. Perhaps there is a chance that Junko put her in different clothes? Like, she intentionally picked out these shorts for Aoi as some elaborate trolling method and planted them their on her person. And, maybe she'd know that the chances of them questioning and noticing this is low but, she did it anyway for her own amusement. Also, if Junko DID redress them all before the killing game, she was really going all out with this. Very conniving of her. Maybe it was to make sure it convincing that they had never been at Hopes Peak and feed into that lie. Something along those lines. Also messed up too. Wonder if she did it herself or had Mukuro do it though... Not sure Also, now I'm curious what tools she used for memory wiping everyone though that's another question. Not sure if I'd wanna know anyway! Know for a fact that Kyoko took the longest though with her being the Ultimate Detective and her dad being the headmaster of the whole dang school! Poor Kyoko. Or... hmmm. What is the likely hood that these shorts are from the school and she got them while being IN the school itself pre-tragedy era or like... did she preorder them or something? Could a student preorder clothes from Hopes Peak High School??? Or did Aoi wear this outfit on her way to Hopes Peak or did she have MOST of the outfit on and the "Junko planted the Hopes Peak shorts on" theory happened at the same time? Or, ooh! Maybe Junko used some. She may be the Ultimate Despair and the Ultimate Analyst (think that was in Danganronpa Zero manga??) but maybe she was able apply those skills into designing shorts that perfectly matched the ones Aoi wore to school pre-tragedy but JUST with that added emblem on it to troll? So many questions! This really does makes me think. Like, imagine in an alternate timeline. Could this be evidence of some sort of how they all used to be in this school? Like, when discover that they all used to go to Hopes Peak and that they had their memories wiped, could someone be like "Hey! This is all mad and crazy and all but look at Aoi's shorts" or something? Does that make sense? Maybe? Makes me wonder too. If Kyoko was on her A-game and not struggling with the fact that she got hit the hardest with her memory loss, would she notice this detail on Aoi's shorts or like, how long would it take her to notice? I'm not a detective and I saw this after all! Again, so many questions of mine! I swear though. I dunno how much this makes sense. Though, this small detail on Aoi's sprites kept coming back to me and I have finally figured out how to word it all!

[beardedmrbean]

Seeing a lot of my friends posting Instagram Infographics about the Israel-Palestine conflict, which is to be expected, but today, I saw a tonne of them reposting the exact same one which included the incredible statement that “so many people including progressives and leftist are learning meaningfully about Palestine for the first time” and I just

What happened before? There wasn’t any information then? There wasn’t any conflict before? It’s just infuriating seeing people treat this like a football team, where you support a side and just post picture after picture, statement after statement, without needing to worry about anything that happens in the region bc it likely wouldn’t have affected you.

Back when they had that whole dust up over evicting squatters from a home someone bought before WW1 a couple years back I expected more people to look into this stuff, suppose the fact that even if the place were still under the ownership of the Ottoman Empire the people would have been evicted shifted things.

One of my favs is the "map" everyone pulls out, which on the surface looks bad until you start looking at the dates where everything changes and realize that most if not all of the increases in the land size for the current state of Israel happened because one of their neighbors with the aid of the palestenians decided to try and invade and while I'm not a history major or anything I'm fairly sure that that's how borders happen, there's a war and territory is sometimes included in the spoils of war.

Right or wrong is irrelevant, it's just how it is, or at least always has been, look at Tibet it's recognized as part of china. They annexed it had a little war and won so now it's part of china.

Was Russia always as big as it is or were there expansionist wars?

Whole apartheid thing is weird too, place has equal rights for all citizens, resident aliens don't do so bad either, not equal responsibility though in a similar vein to men in the US only Jewish residents are required to serve a mandatory term in the military, I think, Arabs are exempt I know that much.

It's all insane, and I hate it, wish people would be honest. Israel is far from perfect but seriously some of the complaints,

with current news and accusations, let's remember this gem which was buried oddly never had to dig for this one before time to bookmark I guess.

This part is new information to me, doesn't make the whole thing any less batshit other than someone that hates Jews quoting Jewish research, I'd the nut bag must be getting the Eduard Bloch treatment, but Bloch wasn't an academic he was a healer, also Bloch wasn't an idiot.

Wild.

let's end with this one check the date

oh look down at the bottom is it a ray of hope

I'm good with legitimate fair criticism of people and countries and faiths and traditions and all that stuff.

Key word is fair

Fucking amnesty international can go and inspect and tell Ukraine that using schools to house munitions or soldiers or stage operations from is bad because it makes them a legitimate military target.

One for brits now, cuz cuntbin

If the accusations of white phosphorous are found to be true, I hope the people involve are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, if a civilian in intentionally murdered I hope the person responsible is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, if a rape is committed I hope the rapist is not only prosecuted but also castrated, if any one causes a noncombatant to be killed through their own actions I hope they are prosecuted, if any war crimes are committed I hope the perpetrators are held fully responsible.

You will notice I did not indicate a side on this, that's because if something is bad when one side does it, it is just as bad when the other does it.

But ya it's fairly obvious people haven't been paying attention and a lot of them are just picking a side now without any background perspective, there's legitimate gripes against Israel, they don't justify what happened though.

war crimes don't justify war crimes, I hope all of the guilty are punished

[practically-an-x-man]

A movie has been made starring your OCs! Who are you casting?

Oooh, interesting! So this is like... faceclaims but they don't have to be perfect, kind of. This will be fun :D

Robin: Erin Kellyman. She's already her faceclaim, so that much is easy. There are a few different details, but she's by far my number one for Robin

Ophelia: I struggled to pick something for her, but I think Rhea Ripley would be a good pick. She's a little short to play Ophelia, but she's got the right facial features and that strong fighter's build.

Rae: I struggled with Rae for a WHILE and I have no idea why. Nothing just clicked, I looked through so many lists before finally landing on Nell Tiger Free. She's just about the right height, has the perfect eye color, and overall has the right sort of vague intensity for Rae (that sounds weird but like... her bone structure and the way she holds herself, I can see Rae's first fight in the alleyway right there)

Jasper: I'd definitely want an actor who's trans irl. In all actuality, it would probably be an open audition rather than pulling from the pool of existing actors, as a way to introduce more queer talent into the industry. But for the sake of picking someone.... Miles McKenna, if we punk him up a little bit.

Madison: I think I decided on Dove Cameron for her a while ago, and that still works. She's need to be put in some SFX makeup for her mutation, and her hair and eyes might just have to be CGI because of that mirror effect.

Katherine: It's hard to find actresses with Katherine's facial features AND vitiligo (again, would likely be an open audition if I actually were making a movie), but I think Dara Reneé with SFX makeup for her vitiligo would be a good fit.

Quinn: Same with Jasper, I'd probably open it up to wider auditions, especially since Quinn is very visibly trans and actors who fit her character aren't always given opportunities to get into the industry. But again, for the sake of picking someone... I dunno man, I really fuckin love Mason Alexander Park. They're a little too short for Quinn but everything else is just about perfect.

Kestrel: I'm gonna be honest... I have absolutely no idea. They're intentionally designed with a few incongruous features (since they chose their own appearance, it's not genetic), so I really don't know who would even come close.

Eris: I was scrolling through a list of Middle Eastern actors to try and pick someone out, and I'm thinking either Alia Shawkat or May Calamawy. Alia looks a little more like the picrew I made for Eris, but May (having done Moon Knight) would potentially get Eris' fight scenes and general character a little better.

Nikoletta: Let's give Teyonah Parris her dual Marvel/DC credit, why don't we? I think she'd kill it as Nikoletta, and it would be neat to see her in a more villainous/dark role