#Rose says: I don't even remember what this was about. The only record I have of this is in a completely out of context screenshot.

[bluerosefox]

Our Well Deserved Break

Its

Shenanigans (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Time again!~

-x-x-

Danny, our boy the Ghost King, looking over a small team going over relic's given or 'offered' to Pariah Dark over the years both before and after he was sealed away. As they're taking inventory of the chaotic offering room, they stumble across a certain artifact.

This artifact is able to summon a set number of people (it does have its limits) of the users wishes to them and it sets up a barrier around the surrounding place so no one summoned gets out. You know, those kinds of artifact's certain people use to summon heroes and or villains into a room and have them fight to see whose the strongest or for a tournament, Yeah that kind of artifact!

Danny, who found the item, takes a look at after being told what it does. Then out of the corner of his eye he spots himself in a mirror in the room and see's his crown floating above his head and feels the full weight of his responsibility since before and after his crowning. Yes he had help with his advisor, despite how cryptid he can be at times, and of his council but still the weight was a bit too much for a teenager like him.

An idea struck his mind when he hears the ticking of a clock behind him. Without saying a word Danny looks back and raises an eyebrow at Clockwork whose staring at him in silence as well. He glances at the item, tilts his head a bit before...

Smiles in only the way CW knows would both be good for Danny and amusing for him. He nods and says "One weekend should be fine. All timelines will be paused for them. I suggest telling your friends to help prepare for your guests. Enjoy and have fun my King."

"YES!" Danny's voice echoing in the offering room made many ghosts in the room jump for a bit.

This was totally going to be fun!

-x-x-

When the following weekend arrived, young and very stressed teen heroes from across the multiverse are suddenly pulled from their worlds and are summoned into the Infinite Realms. Before any of them can panic or start fights a voice rang out above them and when they looked they could see a young teen, with a crown floating above his head, white hair, and glowing green eyes sitting on a throne.

He smiled and said

"Welcome fellow stressed out Heroes and Heroines to Phantom's Keep! I'm King Phantom, recently crowned fifteen year old, and this is the Infinite Realms! The birth and ending of the multiverse afterlife! Now don't worry none of you are dead or anything like that. I summoned you all here for one reason and one reason only..."

Here Danny paused, just to troll a tiny bit, and could see some of the more tense heroes readying up for a fight or at least argue to let them go. He grinned though and then said.

"And thats.... TO HAVE FUN!"

After that he floated out of his throne and with a flourish in the air he waved his hands and his throne room changed with party decor all around. Tables off to the side appeared with food and drinks from well everywhere and anywhere the multiverse, balloons rose from the ground and floated upwards, streamers flew across above to attach themselves to the other sides, the castle lights shifted to a dim and music began playing from somewhere.

Danny grinned brightly down at them and their shocked faces. oh that's funny, thank goodness Tucker is recording this and Jazz is gonna scrapbook this party for him (she plans on making them for all the guests as a party gift later, you know to remember how fun the party was)

"Now all of you are stressed out teen heroes with a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders! Believe me, I know that feeling, been there done that still doing it even now! But! My advisor says this will be both fun for me and good for you guys to spend one whole weekend here to de-stress and have fun! I do have some ground rules though. One your timelines are in fact PAUSED, you don't have to worry about calling your parents or if you got mentors to let them know where you are at. Two you are all heroes here, many of you are from different worlds and if you are from the same world they already know or CAN be trusted with your real identities but you are NOT required to remove any masks or de-transform or anything like that, if you wish there are masks on that green table over there you can stick on if you want to keep your identities hidden and are spelled to stay on and fuzz the minds of anyone trying to remember your looks once its on, even if they catch a good look at you right now it'll fuzz their memories of you once the mask is on and even after the party don't worry we thought of the time. Three, boys and girls rooms will be at different wings within the Keep! Just ask any of the maid or butler ghosts that will be joining us shortly and they will guide you to the rooms! Fourthly! There are sparing rooms if you wanna test your strengths with others, I only ask please don't get too carried away. We are here to have fun not make enemies! and lastly PLEASE DO NOT try to leave the castle, we are in the very afterlife of the multiverse people, its like the ocean and even I find it hard to navigate it sometimes. Portals can open up to any and all worlds, different timelines, etc etc. I have key items here in the castle that can pinpoint YOUR timeline and world so when the party is over I can send you home no problem, so again please do not attempt to leave."

Danny paused to take a breath, okay ground rules set up and warnings given. He could see the absolute bewildered looks on all the heroes faces and held back a laugh. He smiled however when one of the teens, mask on his face already and dressed in green, yellow, and red asked 'Why?'

"Why? Well... I think its time us teens get to have some fun without worrying about the next big bad or world ending event. Even if just for a weekend, we do deserve a break. So... Lets have some fun for once!" Danny responded.

[jesawyer]

A big thanks to you and your team for making Pentiment, it's an amazing game and it'll be with me for a long time I think, especially the personal and emotional character writing.

I'm curious about what was the inspiration behind, and creative motivation for including, the motif of the labyrinth. The church's painting of the Virgin Mary with the labyrinth seems striking in particular, especially because I don't remember ever coming across a strong association with labyrinths in Christian imagery.

Thank you. I'm glad it was so impactful.

Labyrinths have a long association with Christianity going back to the 4th century, when one was placed in a cathedral in Chlef (now in Algeria). This is known as the St. Reparata or St. Reparatus Labyrinth.

The Chartres Labyrinth was built around 1200.

Christian labyrinths are meant to be walked while contemplating. The path twists and turns, but there is only one way to go. They also all clearly take inspiration from labyrinths of the classical world even if their purpose and origins are effectively lost to those who see them.

As Beatrice says to Andreas (paraphrased), the foundations of our memories become buried and invisible. And she is paraphrasing and abbreviating Plato speaking to Solon in Timaeus,

whatever happened either in your country or in ours, or in any other region of which we are informed-if there were any actions noble or great or in any other way remarkable, they have all been written down by us of old, and are preserved in our temples. Whereas just when you and other nations are beginning to be provided with letters and the other requisites of civilized life, after the usual interval, the stream from heaven, like a pestilence, comes pouring down, and leaves only those of you who are destitute of letters and education; and so you have to begin all over again like children, and know nothing of what happened in ancient times, either among us or among yourselves. As for those genealogies of yours which you just now recounted to us, Solon, they are no better than the tales of children. In the first place you remember a single deluge only, but there were many previous ones;

I also wanted the association with the labyrinth from The Name of the Rose, which in turn was inspired by the Reims Labyrinth.

The Reims Labyrinth was constructed in the late 13th century but was destroyed in the 18th century by superstitious priests. It was through the discovery of drawings that modern scholars were able to recreate and project the path of the labyrinth onto the cathedral floor.

The cover of the 1st Italian edition (and therefore, first edition overall) of Il Nome della Rosa prominently incorporated the drawing of the Reims Labyrinth.

Note the map of the Aedificium:

The final lines of The Name of the Rose are:

Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus.

The original rose remains only in name, we hold those names stripped.

This refers to a specific object in the story, but more broadly symbolizes historical records, art objects, and other artifacts lost to time. The Reims Labyrinth remains only in drawings, stories, and light projected on the ground where it once stood; the labyrinth itself was destroyed.

Nomen est; res non est. - The name exists; the thing does not.

As a side note, France uses the Reims Labyrinth as its symbol for historical monuments - an important reminder of how fragile their existence can be.

[unhetalia]

England headcanons (pt. 1):

Chain-smokes like a motherfucker. Alfred, who doesn't smoke and pretends very hard to think smoking is disgusting, hasn't yet realised where his secret smoking kink comes from.

Currently works for British Intelligence/has infiltrated his own government.

Carries around either a cane or umbrella that hides a sword even though he has never ONCE had to use it. He just feels more comfortable having a sword. (He does also carry around a gun, which, in contrast, has been used often.)

Also carries around his own pen, and absolutely loathes the thought of using someone else's. The pen is a first edition Michel Perchin Serpent in Champagne LE Fountain Pen given to him by Alfred - only ten were ever made and it cost a cool 8k. While Arthur has more valuable things - especially from his time as a pirate and back when he personally knew his royal family - the pen is still one of his most prized possessions.

His favourite tea is actually French Earl Grey - which is Earl Grey with rose petals. Not actually French? But Arthur's still pretty annoyed about it.

As mentioned in a few of my other posts - Arthur is incredibly physical and has kept up with sword fighting and various martial arts over the years, and regularly goes to the gym. He's very disciplined about it.

Tends to eat only for fuel as opposed to enjoyment whenever he's left to his own devices.

If pressed, Arthur will admit his best friend is Francis. Francis would say the same about Arthur.

(Despite their individual body counts, Francis and Arthur have never slept with each other.)

(Arthur doesn't have a lot of friends and has a strained relationship with his siblings, and has always felt that people don't like spending time with him. Even when he was on top of the world, working with his government to become an Empire, he still felt like an underdog.)

On that note, Arthur worked with his government longer than the other Nations, and was a huge part of establishing the British Empire. It made his already fraught relationship with his siblings even worse, and he regrets a lot of it.

Nations get scars very rarely, because very few things have the ability to give them scars - magical weapons is one of those things. Out of all the Nations, England has the most scars.

England is amazing at knitting and crochet, and he gifts Francis crocheted figurines from French cartoons for his birthday every year, which Francis adores. He also knits Canada scarves and gloves and beanies whenever he remembers him.

One of Arthur's most embarrassing memories is getting gonorrhea during his pirate days. He didn't have sex for a month after his healing kicked in - a record back then - and he became a lot more diligent in procuring and using the linen sheaths they used as condoms at the time.

Three of Arthur's back molars are implants made of real gold.

Alfred is the first (and last) person Arthur will say he's ever fallen in love with BUT the closest he's come is with another American - a nurse that took care of him during World War I. She was blonde and blue eyed and once shouted Arthur down when he insisted on continuing to fight even with a bullet lodged in his shoulder. She completely disappeared in April 1917, just before the Americans officially joined the war. He sometimes wonders what happened to her.

[intrawebs]

A list of misc. Hermitcraft/Life Series fics from someone who loves AUs

There is no smut on this list

❤️ = Angst  💜 = Fluff 💛 = Fic I recently added

No Romance and Romance Optional

❤️Hermit Hybrids (In Progress Series) by Flickersprout - "Loosely connected fantasy AU with background dystopian elements. Mostly exploring the Hermits as a magic found family and all their different ways of being nonhuman." Can be read in any order! I'd suggest starting with The Colors of Friendship cause it's the earliest chronologically, ZombieCleo's great, and it's a good introduction to the world.

❤️the sanctity of the mundane (Completed Series) by crabbunch - “Snippets of life on the Double Life server; mundanity can reveal the most interesting things about people, after all.” This series makes me crazy. The only happy pairs are Boat Boys and Ranchers hell yeah

From the Archives (Completed Series) by Sixteenthdays and zeph - “A collection of statements from the archives of the Void Institute.” A Hermitcraft/Life Series Magnus Archives AU with Grian as the Head Archivist and Pearl, Mumbo, Scar, and Impulse as his assistants. Can be read with no knowledge of the Magnus Archives.

Interlude From Another Reality: Peacock's Eye by Sixteenthdays and zeph - “‘My assistant,’ announced Scar Goodtimes, newly-promoted Head Archivist of the Peacock's-Eye Institute, to nobody in particular except maybe the paused audio recording software on his laptop, or perhaps the small pile of tape recorders his predecessor'd left piled on a shelf in the corner, or arguably the little peacock-feather eye logo that dotted the office as haphazardly as it did the entire Institute, ‘is weird.’

(In which Scar is Grian's Archivist, and Grian is Scar's assistant.)” Sort of an AU of the Magnus Archives AU? Haha. But it’s completely divorced from the canon and can definitely be read stand alone.

❤️Shining and Polished (But Never to Plan) by SaltyServal - “A cough makes Grian freeze in his tracks, shakes him to his core. Despite all the signs, of all the things he was expecting to find in this cave, a truly sentient creature was not one of them. That’s what scares him the most.

He turns, grabbing his dagger and pointing it at the newcomer, who simply smiles at him, fangs and all.

‘Why hello there.’

tldr; Grian is an avian desperate to keep his wings, and he'll do whatever it takes to save himself. Even if it means stealing from a dragon.

(It turns out there's more to the dragon then he thought).” A fantasy AU with bird!Grian and dragon!Scar

oh captain (let's make a deal) by birrdie - “No one on these shores knew Scar’s name. Aside from Tango, of course. No one feared the humble, white-sailed ship docked on the south side of the port. This, like the tides, would eventually change with time. They would know his name soon enough. The greatest pirates all rose from humble beginnings like a phoenix from ashes. Scar was no different from them; that much he was sure of. And it would not take him long to prove it.

Or; Scar is a Captain of a humble pirate crew of one. That is, until a discovery on the shore shakes things up a bit.” A heaping helping of greedy pirate Scar and mysterious crewmate Grian, with evil Boat Boys and innocent Solidaritek as a garnish.

❤️starry eyes stare through me by whatcaniwriteinthis - "'You know,' he says. 'Gotta have a good show: high stakes, violence—' He nods at the room, at the 24 children learning how to use weapons, how to start a fire, how to find food that won’t kill them.

'An unlikely allyship,' Scar finishes, smiling a little. Grian smirks back.

–

Grian is this year's male tribute from District 9. Clearly, the odds are already not in his favor. But he has to get home to his sister and to do that he has to play the Games. Give them a show. Stay alive. Remember to step out of line is to threaten Pearl. Don't get too attached to the Career that agrees to be his ally, but not to put a damn shirt on." Angst without a happy ending. Made me cry

❤️Stained Glass Sunlight (In Progress Series) by Cosmic_Retribution - “The Watchers had seemed so nice, is the thing. So… disarmingly hospitable.

When they’d set out for the ruins, they’d gone in search of some magical beasts reportedly plaguing the area, according to the flyer they’d taken. What they’d found instead was an empty city and a group of mages and scholars studying… something. They’d been cagey about what. Certainly not the history of the place— the Watchers arrived long after the fall of Dogwarts, content to live and work inside the city’s corpse with no special reverence for the grave it lay ruined in. They had no stake in its fall, or its future, or the preservation of its once-hallowed legacy— but its bones, certainly, served as protection enough for their studies.

The beasts were the only thing troubling the Watchers’ work, or so they’d said. Strange, then, that Grian and his party never once saw a trace of them.

How long after, until his friends realized Grian was gone? That they weren’t safe?

—

Two decades ago, the city of Dogwarts met its demise. Today, a traveler meets god wearing the mask of a merchant, looking for a miracle.

These two things are not as unconnected as they appear.” Grian and Scar’s version of the lamplight AU(below). Featuring bored god Scar and oblivious paladin Grian.

Lamplight (In Progress Series) by skelew - “Welcome to Lamplight, a DnD/Fantasy Third/Last Life Renchanting AU. Ren is a god stuck in the form of living fire. Martyn is his sole follower. Martyn and Ren help free one another from imprisonment by the Watchers and are now traveling the world on a two-man adventure of fond companionship and occasional arson.” There’s angst but really just in the first fic. The main series has no shipping but skelew has written some treebark one shots that are also in the collection.

❤️dandelion wishing by skelew - “The white lily is known to symbolize purity, innocence. It is also a symbol of mourning, a popular choice to decorate the casket at a funeral. This is due to their beauty, yes, as well as the fact their smell can cover up the scent of a decaying body. Dandelions are best known for their magic, but no dandelion survives a wish.

The King of Dogwarts is not dead.” A Martyn and Ren centric fic about coming back from the dead.

❤️Wooden Mausoleum by skelew - “‘To take the life of one you love an agony Martyn understands far too well. It’s not something he’d wish on anyone—not on his worst enemy, and certainly not on his dearest friends.

Least of all would he wish it on Ren.’

Or, for the Red King, there are fates worse than death. How fortunate he is that his Hand will never let him meet them.” Dogwarts makes it to the end of 3rd Life but Martyn has a betrayal arc.

💜Performance Evaluations by glossyblue - “From The Desk Of His Majesty’s Most Private Of Areas: A True And Accurate Evaluation Of Growth Opportunities For The Knights Of The Square Table, The Loyal Court of Ren the King, As Suggested By The HR Department. (Note to self: when did we acquire an HR department? Ask Bdubs.)” Super cute and funny performance evaluations of the knights from the King Ren Hermitcraft arc.

The H.T.G.Y. Files by glossyblue - "Research scientist Cub didn't intend to make a person. He just came up with the plans. But when a competing team looking to make a supersoldier gets hold of the genome he invented, Cub is pulled in to stop them screwing up—and whatever he expected to find, it wasn't someone like Scar." This is part of a series called Lab Escape but the other fic has a ship that's not in this list so I can't put it in. But I really recommend the whole series!

💜The Government Institute for Ghost Supervision (G.I.G.S.) by glossyblue - “HIGHLY SENSITIVE: G.I.G.S CLASSIFIED. Audio logs for a team of supernatural agents investigating reports of a ghost at a local high school.GRIAN: Yeah, Skizz, why did you let Scar set something on fire? Pretty irresponsible.

SKIZZ: [noise of incoherent outrage] You try stopping him, buddy.” Goofy GIGS story

fixed and dilated by iamsolarflare - “Anything waterdwelling knows from bait.

---

Or: xBCrafted deals with the people around him, and a secret he's been keeping for one hell of a long time. Not the ‘old enemies hunting him down’ type, no - this should be fine, as long as nobody pries. It's the way you should deal with secrets like this, really, just don't let people know. No questions, no answers.

Hypno never got that memo, apparently.” An xB and Hypno fic where neither are human and neither wants to talk about it. Even if you don’t watch them I recommend it.

on the getaway mile by Odaigahara - “‘You want me to do what?’ the civilian asked disbelievingly, and Scar’s body language shifted to that of an impatient trainer, one whose fuse was running short. It was a precursor to bad things, like being tased or forced onto a treadmill for hours; Mumbo flinched even knowing it was an act, and the civilian cut off with a squeak, so Mumbo knew he felt the same way.

Or possibly that was the gun. Scar having a gun seemed more likely as an explanation, now that Mumbo thought of it.

Stealing the car would be better, but they had no idea where they were going, and neither of them was familiar with road laws. What if they hit a person while driving? What if there was some sort of kill switch in the car that the owner could flip to blow it up with them inside? Anti-villain tech had to be wild, from what the Foundation had on hand– and they were villains now for sure. Not just for defying the Foundation, but for this. Heroes didn’t take the actions he and Scar were taking.” Heroes Villains Scar and Mumbo take civilian Grian hostage for a road trip! It's not as bad as it sounds

counterclock by scarabies - “When it’s over, Impulse finds him in the throne room.

(or, Bdubs and Impulse chat after a rebellion ends. Can be read as either platonic or romantic.)”

Scarian

💛💜Tangotek Evil Incorporated by onawhimsicot - “As the supervillain Dr. Blaze, Tango has a fondness for oddly named "ificators" and stylistic flair. He spends his days trying to take over the city, shaming superheroes for their basic costume designs, and then sending said heroes home with better equipment that actually matches their aesthetic because clearly, if he wants a cool fight scene to happen, he's got to do everything around here himself.

For some reason, not many people think he’s evil. On the bright side, the superhero Canary, does and has made it his personal mission to bring down Dr. Blaze! But when he suddenly goes missing, Canary's partner, Parrot, is convinced that Tango is at fault. Seeing as this is not true at all (kidnapping is so gauche), Tango is offended that someone is trying to steal his nemesis right from under his nose. If Tango wants to get his nemesis back, he'll have to work together with Parrot to find and rescue Canary from whatever danger he's got himself into this time.

Because, after all, what's a supervillain without a nemesis?” A very fun modified Phineas and Ferb AU with Tango as Doofenshmirtz and Jimmy as Perry the Platypus

Through the Sky-Blue Cracks (In Progress Series) by Amethystfairy1 - “This is a compilation of all the pieces that take place within my Over-City/Under-City AU, which is also a Hot Guy/Cute Guy Superhero AU, though that's not the only thing that'll be going on!”

❤️coliseum by artanogon - "Grian is on a mission: kill the Red King of the Third Precinct. Unfortunately, when he travels to the capital where the king resides, he lands in a spot of trouble with a local merchant when he accidentally destroys the merchant’s shop. After he enters into a contract to help pay off the damages, he discovers that there might be another side to Scar under the silver-tongued salesman— and that he’s not the only one who wants the Red King dead." This one made me cry. Happy ending but it gets worse before it gets better.

Picture Perfect, Trapped in Eternity by CloudySkyFlight - “Grian's an architecture major in college, minoring in art history, and when the largest, and supposedly most haunted, collection of royal portraits in the world is displayed in a museum only a few hours away from his dorm, he gets up early to go see it.

Scar's been dead for centuries, living in a royal portrait he cursed to hold his memories and soul, waiting for the moment his best friend would come back to him. Several centuries later, he wakes up to see a brunette that has the looks and soul of his friend, and Scar knows that he cannot let Grian leave without him.” Starts out with Scar sort of kidnapping Grian? But the mood quickly lifts from there

and everything is you by eastwards - “‘Oh my gosh. I’ve got paint on your face.’

Grian moved to wipe the paint off, but Scar shook his head, ‘No the other side, here let me-’

He held Grian’s head steady with one hand, the other carefully brushing across his jaw. With an affirming noise, Scar nodded and bid Grian farewell, as he wandered back to his station in the studio. Grian held his hand up to where he had touched him, feeling his head begin to warm. How troublesome.

–

artist au w/ scarian wooo”

somewhere between the surface and the seabed by LovesickPrince - "It's a classic tale of love: Grian, a mer from the depths of the sea, makes a deal with a sea witch to exchange his voice for a pair of legs and go visit the human whose life he had saved. Only in this case, Grian is more interested in the sea witch than the human.

(If only someone had bothered to tell Scar, the sea witch in question, about this divergence)."

💜Dead Heat by glossyblue - “Jimmy's having a meltdown, Ren and Martyn are flirting outrageously, Tango gets cruelly betrayed and Grian and Scar are being unrepentantly weird about each other in every shot. It's the nation's favourite no-holds-barred elimination game. It is, of course, the Great British Bake Off.”

A Certain Je Ne Sais What by glossyblue - “Literally any one of Grian’s friends would be a better soulmate than Scar, and Grian is going to prove this scientifically.

Grian’s already felt it, a pinprick in his thumb. He’s familiar—he’s so painfully, unforgettably familiar—with the way Scar sees something and is already reaching out to touch it before he’s asked questions like 'what is this' and 'is it bad news' and 'is it going to hurt me, Scar, and by extension the unwilling bystander my physical sensations are now linked to'. Scar just immediately reaches out.” Grian tries to convince himself that anyone else would be a better soulmate than Scar while proving that Scar is the best soulmate for him.

❤️wait the worst is yet to come by glossyblue - “‘Grian is smirking at him. ‘I know, Grian, I know,’ Scar says. ‘Trade by name and trade by nature–okay, Scar by name but still trade by nature–we are going to be in business, opening soon, special rates for favorite customers of course–’

‘But have you done it yet,’ says Grian.

‘No?’ Scar says. ‘We only just started.’

Grian bounces on the balls of his feet, delighted. ‘Okay. Okay, okay, so. You need to know how it works, then, don’t you? Kiss me.’” Scar centric Last Life AU where you transfer lives by making out. There’s a sex scene but it’s not smut. Angst without a happy ending.

heart under your sleeve by Anonymous - “Scar was easy to love, as mortifying as that was to think. Grian didn’t think he was in love with the artist, it was far too soon for that, but he knew it would be easy for anyone to love him.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if Scar had met his soulmate, then shook his head to dispel the thought before it could fully form.

“Look, we can’t bring in a live panda, but if you want, we can try and connect with a zoo in the area so that they can set up a live stream of their panda exhibits,” Grian compromised and Scar brightened again. He ignored the sweeping feeling of relief in his chest as he opened his laptop, typing in a quick search for nearby panda exhibits. “Maybe we can even get one of their handlers in to give a talk about pandas.”

“Perfect!” Scar agreed, putting on a bright grin. Grian smiled to himself in turn.

—

Soulmate AU: You are born with a birthmark, similar to a tattoo, that is shared by your soulmate. Grian is a curator for an art museum. Scar is an eccentric artist who is just as attractive as he is infuriating to work with. Everything goes sideways when Grian realizes they're soulmates.”

💜If you like it… by GoodTimesWithScar - “‘Hello,’ slurs Scar, ‘you wouldn’t happen to know where a man such as myself… would find… an eligible bachelor to spend a little bit of time with?’

Grian blinks. ‘Oh, you are plastered.’

or, the ‘you got so drunk you asked your husband if he was single’ trope, but with added mumbo being 100% done with this nonsense.”

💜Well It’s Not Quite Narnia, But- by Raichett - “It’s just past seven in the morning when Grian opens his built-in wardrobe door to find a man dressed in something close to a green and gold matador outfit standing inside.

---

Or: Grian is not giving up this dirt-cheap rent flat for anything, not even the strange (if fun) goings on around the place and the elven king coming in through his closet.”

my ever after / is holding you by LovesickPrince - “Grian has been many things.

A servant of a respected noble family. A survivor, with bruises on his skin and hidden wings tied down to his back. A rebel, sneaking away for a night of wonder in the heart of the kingdom - and a curiosity, gawked at by all as the King himself swept him into his arms and spent hours by his side.

When Scar spent days tracking Grian down and helping him escape the cruel grasp of the Watchers, Grian thought his life couldn’t surprise him anymore. Pledging his life to serve Scar was all he could do to thank his King.

Of course, being the personal servant of the King comes with its' own risks - and now Grian could add ‘hostage’ to his list of titles.

Or; someone decides kidnapping King Scar’s beloved servant was a good idea. It really wasn’t.”

i live in a hologram with you by remrose - “‘Anyone in there would be lucky to be graced with your company.’ Scar told him. His face was calm but at his sides, his hands tightened and knuckles went white.

‘Stop trying to sweet talk me, I've already caught you fleeing.’ Grian stalked another pace forward, eyes alight with mischief and excitement. ‘Where are you going?’” Scar’s bad end in the treesekai AU (which you need to have read to understand).

Treebark

💜love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books (In Progress Series) by GoodTimesWithScar - “treebark theatre kids au, with ren as the male lead and martyn as the very distracted spotlight operator!”

Through the Sky-Blue Cracks (In Progress Series) by Amethystfairy1 - “This is a compilation of all the pieces that take place within my Over-City/Under-City AU, which is also a Hot Guy/Cute Guy Superhero AU, though that's not the only thing that'll be going on!” The first treebark fic is quite a ways down (It’s called Dagger and Rose), but I believe in yalls ability to figure out the setting through context clues.

❤️Sgt. Pepper’s Broken Hearts Club Band by harpydora - “The sign next to the door just reads, ‘Support Group,’ which frankly doesn't leave a great impression for the gathering inside. Martyn double-checks the Facebook event on his phone, but he's unfortunately certain he's in the right place: a support group for people whose soulmates are no longer with them.” The double life broken hearts club in a modern AU.

wild things can't get comfortable by donnerstag - "Ren and Martyn steal what small moments of comfort they can get.

Several loosely-connected scenes from Dogwarts as Ren struggles with his feelings towards the Hand of the King."

Scribbling the lines (from you to me) by Siri_Spy - “Martyn and Cleo are soulmates… but what exactly does that mean for them? And with Martyn starting to fall for the over-the-top president of his RPG club, and Cleo starting to realize that they might be a little late to the ‘disgustingly in love’ phase… something needs to change.

What will that something be? Well don’t look at me, I’m the one who wrote it. Look at yourself, and ask yourself: Why don’t I know?

Exactly. That’s what I’ve been wondering. Anyway, what are you still doing here? Go read!” A really sweet modern AU about Cleo and Martyn.

not the ghost by csillagvizsgalo - “Martyn tags along with his friends on a ghost hunting trip (he has seen people who had weirder hobbies anyways) for fun in an old run-down castle museum that has definitely not been kept properly. It's all fun and games, and he definitely doesn't believe in the supernatural, so it's not scary at all, until he starts noticing things lying around in areas that nobody has been to in ages, that remind him of memories of events that he never experienced, hundreds of years ago. The voices aren't helping. Well, the one Voice.

The Not Ghost of the Castle (he is a very dedicated cosplayer, thank you very much) takes a liking, and possibly some recognition, to Martyn, and while he spends the night terrorising Martyn's friends, the two of them build an unlikely bond and friendship.

The Red King just wants to rest, and so does Martyn. But not everything is as easy as it first seems.” Ren pulls out all the stops to try and intimidate Martyn but Martyn is a little rude to him and completely ruins it.

Wild Life: A Conservation Podcast by donnerstag - “Ren and Martyn, hosts of a popular little nature and conservation podcast, go camping together as part of a season finale special; discussions of the future, for both the show and themselves, ensue. Featuring: a campfire! innuendos! and even a little bit of kissy, perhaps?”

💜Dead Heat by glossyblue - “Jimmy's having a meltdown, Ren and Martyn are flirting outrageously, Tango gets cruelly betrayed and Grian and Scar are being unrepentantly weird about each other in every shot. It's the nation's favourite no-holds-barred elimination game. It is, of course, the Great British Bake Off.”

A Romance Route For The Doomed Villain?!? by skelew - “These days, Martyn doesn’t really have a lot going on. This is where the dating sim comes in.

Granted, if Martyn knew he was going to die so soon, he maybe would have tried a little harder at, like, holding down a job. Or maybe not. It's not like he has a lot of time to think about it.

Or, Treebark Isekai Romance Parody Which I Spent Far Too Much Time On.”

❤️I Think I’ve Seen This Film Before by GoodTimesWithScar - “In which Martyn fails to get the guy - but he doesn't let that stop him for long.” Set in the treesekai AU (the fic above), which you need to read to understand.

💜I should’ve known it would be you - water/woods by theorionsound - “Martyn sort of expected to fall in love with Ren eventually.

—

On their bi-annual hiking trip, Ren and Martyn get lost in thought. Mainly about eachother.”

❤️To Sit in Hell With You by dirtybinary - "Ren pulled Martyn close, breathing in the smell of soot and cinders still clinging to his clothes. 'You never kept secrets from me, back at Dogwarts.'

'Sure.' There was something knife-bright in Martyn’s eyes. 'And I’m a good little Southlander now.'

Martyn's playing every side in the death game. He's a loose cannon, he's a wild card, he's a selfish bastard who's going to betray everyone in the end, even Ren. Probably. Most likely. Any minute now."

Solidaritek

💜Red Bandit AU (In Progress Series) by scribblingdragon - “A Empires Season 2 AU with Jimmy as the Sheriff of Tumble Town, and Tango as a local bandit that is slowly, forcefully, being domesticated. Shenanigans ensue from there.”

❤️💜Hels To Pay AU (In Progress Series) by aquaquadrant and lunarcrown - “Angsty Tango-centric Hermitcraft/Double Life SMP AU”

❤️The Highwayman by EnvelopedByOblivion - “Fate walks many paths - but for each person, it only wears one face. Sheriff Jimmy Solidarity’s fate is a handsome red-eyed highwayman who saves Jimmy from a group of bandits. Despite being on opposite sides of the law, something keeps bringing them together, tangible as gravity and inevitable as death.

Which will get to them first? What will win out – a growing relationship between them, or their obligations to the life they’ve chosen for themselves?”

💜Let Me Show You Everything I Know by MassiveWaffle - "Jimmy Solidarity is an ordinary guy. He goes to his grad school classes during the day, works at the campus library in the evenings, and neglects his friendships a little too much. Then, engineering student Tango enters the library for some help, and Jimmy finds his friend group growing, and his life inexplicably changed."

A Nestcommunication by YacintheMorning - “Tango just wants to make the ranch a home for both him and his avian soulmate. Unfortunately, he knows almost nothing about avians. But the least he can do is try, right?” In which Tango is accidentally way too forward.

💜A Lesson in Listening by YacintheMorning - "Grian's brother is moving to town and staying with him while he house hunts. While introducing him to his friend, however, Jimmy and Tango seem to make quite a connection. Determined not to suffer through the pining, Grian and Impulse attempt to play matchmaker."

💜He loves that horse by ThatTallQueerBassist - “Tango uses his horse training knowledge to get Oreo back in shape after all the drama of being stolen back and forth.

Unfortunately, this panicked Jimmy at first.

He quickly calms down once he finds Tango training Oreo just outside the walls of their ranch.

They chat, and everything is well in the world again.”

❤️The Best Soulmate by BlocksRuinedMe - “‘But everyone else didn’t know that - it was possible even Bdubs didn’t know that - and yet he carried on like that, all the time. All about Joel’s soulmate. Bdubs didn’t respect Joel, and fuck that.

SmallEtho

Fuck that.

Joel had been fantasizing about killing Bdubs for weeks.’

—

The Boat Boys have made it to the end of Double Life, standing with Impulse and Bdubs, watching the divorce quartet crumble. Joel has a plan to make Etho win Double Life, whether Etho likes it or not.” Joel being an unreliable narrator because rage clouds his thinking is really something I wish there was more of. You definitely want to read the tags before diving into this one btw.

Holy Father, judge my sins by giddyfenix - "Joel and Etho as the seven deadly sins. After all, what were they if not corrupted?" The lust chapter has a sexual scene, obvs, so skip that if you so wish.

A list of facts and problems by giddyfenix - “Joel had never realized it was possible to feel someone in your bones until Etho came along.”

Amores anacrónicos by giddyfenix - “Don’t be further than 10 blocks from Etho for 10 minutes. One attempt only.”

You held his hands, it felt like flying by Prudent_seer - “Etho doesn't believe in soulmates. Doesn't believe in fate, destiny or an invisible little string tying two people together indefinitely. It was ridiculous, maddening even to think of two people who were made for one another; made perfect for each other by the "universe's almighty will". With that being said, he had someone in mind that was pretty damn close. So when Grian threw them in a world where these soulbounds did in fact exist in a tangible form, where health and pain was shared with someone else, he sought out the person whom he thought was his match. Only to literally fall into the life of his actual soulbound.

It was Joel. And with that Etho cursed the universe for its twisted sense of humour.

//

Creative rewrite of double life through the eyes of Etho, who learns to love his soulmate.” There’s sex but it’s not smut, you know what I mean?

when everything burns, they burn together by TheYesterdayShow - “No one for Joel because he's always been a loner. For as long as he can remember he's been on his own in these games—in the first one he had his cottage on the hill (so long ago that he can barely remember what it looked like, he can only remember it burning and the flames licking up at him and melting his skin and the smell of his hair and he has to put it out—), and in the games since, he's been alone. Alliances that last little more than a week, here and there, and somehow he always ends up at Grian's side at the end of things, but he's never actually teamed up with anyone else.

He doesn't want a soulmate.”

etho has said parkour tag! by panch_owo - “Neither Cyan or Aqua make it to finals, which means the rest of the event is unimportant!

And instead of dwelling on their non-team, they go on another round of tag because it's them.” No smut but a lot of innuendo and tension

More Powerful Than Fear Itself Is The Will To Win by smoothlikebutter - "After a devastating crash ends Etho’s racing career with the McLaren Formula One team, he’s forced to take significant time off to recover. While his fans are eager to see him again soon, what they don’t know is that Etho’s crash was worse than reported; he had to re-learn how to walk and talk before he could even think about racing again. But the desire to get back in a racing car is a strong motivation, so Etho pushes himself to his limits… However, his team couldn’t wait forever. His replacement is talented and the endless competition of motorsports is ruthless. Now Etho has to prove to his old team— and to the whole world— that they were too quick to forget about him. And what better place than the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

ConCorp is eager to snap up a big name like Etho. They’re entering under the Garage 56 innovative category this year, and their CEOs aren’t interested in much more than publicity so the pressure is low. But they’ve also signed Joel, a ruthless pro endurance racer who isn’t about to settle for anything less than the top step of the podium and a champagne shower at the end of the race. And honestly? That’s exactly the kind of teammate that Etho needs." Had me dancing around my room with excitement. Etho's character arc is amazing.

We're a Couple of Freaks by smoothlikebutter - "Joel is a weapon. Etho is also a weapon. They're professional monster hunters, and they've got a job to do tonight: clear out a ton of undead from an abandoned old mansion. Simple, right? This could only possibly go wonderfully well.” Epic Smalletho Souleater AU

❤️Blurring The Lines by FountainPenguin - “Dad always goes overboard with presents. They're never something traditional that a kid would ask for, either. It's always something he had left over in the back of his truck after a project or something stupid he bought after sipping a few too many potions and regretted sober.

One year for Scar's birthday, when he and his cousin Grian were playing in the sandbox out back, Dad and his friends arrived unannounced with four oak saplings. Dad didn't grab his arm or anything (Dad basically never touched him except on rare occasion to brush sand from his hair before loading him in the car; he always said it would make Mom mad), but he used words and praise and empty promises to drag Scar away from his and Grian's game to plant them right away.

Maybe Dad gave so many gifts because he was never around in summer. As early as April, he spent every weekend out fishing with his cousin on his houseboat...

AKA - That Scar-centric standalone piece about the Clocker family in contemporary suburbia.”

And goodness you’re bleeding (What a wonderful feeling) by knightinshiningarmor - “When the relationship burns, Etho feels an intense burst of emotions that leads to a revelation.”

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Migration

You know, for a while, I thought Luka was one of the smartest characters in the show, and the fact that he's hightailing it out of Paris in this episode only continues to prove my point.

Let's get into the thirteenth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Migration

We start off with Marinette running over to the Liberty (with her friends laughing behind her back like the supportive people they are) and tries to talk with Luka about her relationship with Adrien once they're in private. Luka is pretty supportive, and it's a nice scene. Marinette then bumps into Adrien, who also wants to talk with Luka, and while the two try to get unstuck, we get a nice visual of Luka seeing the two as Ladybug and Cat Noir, which is there to remind the audience that he's known who both of them are ever since “Wishmaker”.

Adrien then talks to Luka about how he's worried something is keeping Marinette from being honest about her feelings. Luka gives him some advice on how just because he doesn't know everything about Marinette, it doesn't make her feelings for him less valid, and vice versa.

After Adrien leaves, we get an appearance from everyone's favorite deadbeat dad, Jagged Stone. He asks Luka how he can be a better father like he didn't miss years of child support, but all Luka really says is that he needs to spend time with his damn family. Of course, what I like about this scene is that it avoids the usual narrative pitfall of trying to say that Jagged and Anarka, Luka's mom, should get back together, and instead shows Jagged developing feelings for his agent, Penny.

Speaking of, after Jagged leaves, Penny comes in to come to Luka for advice. Okay, is Luka just the Dr. Phil of this show's universe? Penny talks to Luka about her sudden feelings for Jagged Stone.

Penny: No, I don't know why I'm in love with your father. He's disorganized, childish, selfish, and musically speaking, he's no David Bowie. Truth be told, your dad's a walking disaster. So why do I love him?

Luka: Does he make you happy, Penny?

Penny: Yeah. I just can't figure out why!

It's almost like this show will randomly pair people up at the drop of a hat. But hey, at least Luka hasn't asked if Kagami is single yet.

Before Penny leaves, Bob Roth, Jagged's producer, demands to know where he is, as he needs to record a new album. Bob learns that Jagged had children with Anarka (ignoring the potential scandal it could create), so Anarka promptly throws him out of the boat in a scene that I'm pretty sure is meant to be a reference to that one running gag from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Either way, Jazz's scream was funnier.

Kitty Section then practices their latest song about how you don't have to be rich, because even the songs in this show aren't exactly subtle with their messages. Bob somehow gets back on the Liberty completely dry, and offers the band a contract.

Bob: How would you like to sign a contract with me?

Luka: Actually, Bob, you already offered to sign us... Marinette: And you never followed up. Did you forget?

Bob: Huh? Uh... of course! I remember! I was just waiting for the right reason—uh, I mean, the right time! I was waiting for the right time to have you guys sign the contract!

My God, even the characters in this show want to forget it used to have good episodes.

Anarka throws Bob off again, where she and Luka talk about how everyone deserves a second chance and that change is possible.

Yeah, funny how that message almost never came up with Chloe, Lila, and Felix last season, isn't it? And given that they're going to use Bob as an example of this lesson, I don't think it's going to be a positive one. So right after Luka generously decided to give Bob a second chance, Bob offers them a new contract to sign... and as soon as he does, he screws them all over thanks to a lot of fine print they didn't stop to read.

Ivan: He can fire us whenever he wants?

Bob: Yep, and I just did, by the way.

Rose: The name Kitty Section belongs to him?!

Bob: Yep. It’s ugly, but it’s mine. Marinette: He owns everything you’ve made and will make over the next thousand years!? Bob: Gotta cover all bases.

Zoe: Marinette's costumes, the music video Nino shot, the website Mylene runs...

Bob: All mine!

Adrien: And you can’t even start another band together?

Bob: Course not, that’d be unfair competition! EVERYTHING belongs to me! Everything you are, everything you say, everything that’s in your hearts belongs to me!

See, kids? This is why you should never trust bad people. It doesn't matter if they say they want to improve. They just want to trick you and ruin your life, so if you're ever wronged by anyone, that person is never able to redeem themselves, especially if they're rich. As we all know, rich people are far worse than insane supervillains who want to rewrite reality. Just ask the biggest monster in the show, Chloe Bourgeois.

So yeah, Luka's optimism being taken advantage of is enough to attract the attention of Monarch, who attempts to akumatize him into Silencer again. Monarch realizes that Luka knows Ladybug and Cat Noir's identities (why he didn't think to look into it, given Viperion's powers, is left unanswered), and angrily smashes his guitar to free himself of Monarch's influence.

So not only did he stop himself from getting akumatized, he's also one step closer to becoming a true rock star.

Somehow, Bob thinks only keeping Luka on board would mean he wouldn't hate him, but Luka isn't buying it. Bob is shocked that Luka wouldn't want to work for an asshole like him as Luka tears the contract in half, but Bob has backups. Monarch decides to settle on Bob instead, akumatizing him into Gold Record.

Gold Record's design is... okay. It's still better than Sole Destroyer, and it's definitely better than Moolak. The gold coloring looks nice, and the euro symbol on the record is a nice visual. His powers are pretty much just a combination of Pixelator, the Collector, and Truth's powers, transforming people into records who sing their true feelings while using the Horse Miraculous' Voyage to throw the records into space. Nothing too original there, but it's a good metaphor for sleazy music producers, and it works for this story.

Rose and Anarka are the first of Gold Record's victims, and in a hurry, Luka lets Adrien know he knows he's Cat Noir, giving him a place to hide. Just as Juleka is hit by Gold Record, Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive on the scene. While Cat Noir holds off Gold Record, Ladybug tries to come up with a plan.

Ladybug summons her Lucky Charm, getting a knitting needle. She realizes her plan will need to involve using Luka as bait. Luka is forced to reveal that he knows who Ladybug and Cat Noir are, and what will happen if Gold Record gets him, setting up a tough choice that will force Ladybug to rethink her plan... and then the next scene happens, where Luka lets himself get hit, where Ladybug manages send Gold Record's record flying with a makeshift bow and arrow created from the knitting needle and a nearby fiddle, which Cat Noir immediately Cataclysms.

Ladybug de-evilizes the Akuma, uses Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage, and gives Bob Roth a Magical Charm that even he knows is useless at this point. Ladybug and Cat Noir decide to call it a day and let Anarka throw Bob Roth out again.

Luka reveals that he knows Ladybug and Cat Noir's identities (because once again, sharing that information with your friends is totally fine for some reason), and that he can't stay in Paris. After revealing that he had Fang eat all of Bob's contracts so Luka isn't bound by them anymore, Jagged offers to take Luka around the world to finally make up for years of absence while Luka makes Juleka the new leader of Kitty Section. And so the episode ends with the Couffaine family sharing a hug while Luka gives one last look to his friends Marinette and Adrien.

This episode was just average, all things considered. The plot and the lesson it was setting out to teach, while not terrible, felt a little tacked on. It was if the writers were trying to acknowledge the stuff that happened with Chloe and wanted to show an example of redemption arc done right in the case of Jagged. It falls flat because once again, more focus is given to showing how easy it is to be screwed over trusting someone than showing the benefits to trusting someone, especially since Bob is already an outlandish villain we already have a lot of reasons to hate.

I'm also mixed on the handling of Luka here. While I'm glad Marinette isn't being forced to learn a lesson here, I don't get why Luka had to be the one to be taken advantage of. He's already aware of how easy it is for Monarch to learn his secrets, so it feels weird that he lets himself and his friends get taken advantage of so easily. Outside of the scene with Ladybug's Lucky Charm, I don't get why he needed to tell the others the stuff he knew. I can sort of see why he'd tell Adrien, but why would he think telling his friends he knows who Ladybug and Cat Noir are wouldn't endanger them too?

Speaking of that, despite being established for almost an entire season, we really don't see enough of Marinette and Adrien reacting to Luka revealing that he knows who they are. Marinette only gets a few lines, and Adrien doesn't even get to say anything. While I am glad that Marinette and Adrien aren't dominating the plot for once, it feels weird that we don't get to see their reactions to something so shocking, especially with how often the identity rule has been enforced.

On the other hand, the writing is still handled a lot better than usual. I like how Monarch chooses to change his strategy to focus on Luka halfway through the episode, and the idea of the risk using Luka for Ladybug's plan brings is an interesting one, even if they don't really go anywhere with it. The running gag with Bob constantly getting thrown off the Liberty is a funny one, and it proves you can actually write slapstick that doesn't involve humiliating Marinette. Who knew?

As a whole, while I think this is the best episode of the season so far, this episode still has its fair share of problems.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... LUKA

Not counting the time Marinette got the award in my review of the Shanghai Special, we have the first character this season to get the Biggest Idiot Award twice. For someone who is usually smarter than the other characters, Luka made quite a few bad choices this episode. He decided to trust Bob Roth after he screwed him and his friends over in “Silencer”, he didn't think to read the contract he was offered, and after being endangered by what Monarch knows now, he decided to tell his friends and family that he knows who Ladybug and Cat Noir are, potentially putting them all in danger too. Yeah, the next few episodes will probably just ignore it, but there's always a chance Monarch could try another Optigami, even if he doesn't have the Peacock Miraculous anymore.

And with that, I'm officially done with the first half of Season 5. What do I think of it? Well, I think Immortan Joe said it best:

Yeah, this season was pretty boring, all things considered. To be perfectly honest, I struggled here more than I did last season because I wasn't sure what to say about half of the episodes I watched. There was almost nothing of substance these past thirteen episodes, and I could barely say anything other than “this episode is okay” or “this episode is bad”. Whenever I had ideas, they were usually extensions to things I've already talked about, like the Marinette angst, the historical and cultural inaccuracies, and the villains genuinely being incompetent. If you showed someone a few episodes of Season 1 and this season, outside of Monarch's new appearance, it'd be pretty hard for them to tell the difference.

But hey, maybe things will pick up in the second half of the season. Hell, maybe the next episode will be even better than this one, and... huh. Does anyone else hear an ominous whistling in the background?

[prefect30]

Little Dove

Instead of Lucy Gray, he gets her younger, little sister, Rosalie Jade.

Preivous Chapter

Chapter Two

"Own it."

Own it? How the hell am I supposed to "own it" in this situatiion?!

When he realizied where he was, Coriolanus couldn't believe it. He truly was in a monkey cage. He was being watched like animal. He saw that most people on the other side of the cage were children with their parents. He wondered why they were here.

Shouldn't they been in school?

"Excuse me sir! Yes, you in the red!"

Oh God. Then there was him. Who he even was is a mystery to Coriolanus. What he does know is that he not only is being watched by almost all of the Capitol's children, but by all of Panem because of this stupid reporter and his camera man.

Trying to ignore the man, he discretly looked around trying to find a way out of here. If he was being recorded, he didnt want to look stupid. Well, he already did, but he didn't want everyone watching him have a panic attack. He can already see the paper headlines.

'Snow's disastrous meltdown!'

No. He can't have that, but what else can he do?

Just as he starts to think that the large rock to his far right is looking pretty friendly, he feels a slight pressure on his left hand.

Rosalie Jade had grabbed his hand trying to gain his attention seeing that he was in his own world.

"Relax. If you panic it'll just give em' more sparks and you don't want a fire catching now do you?"

Forgetting that Rosalie Jade was there with him for a second, he looks down at her, giving her a look of confusion.

At first, he doesn't know what she meant. All he knew was that her small, dainty hand made him feel warm, like he was on fire. Like he was alive. Then he realizes what she meant.

They're on a stage.

This is a performance.

And if he wants to win the prize waiting for him at the end of the show, then he was going to have to give his best performance ever.

Coriolanus now understand why Rosalie Jade as able to just brush herself off once she realized where she was. He now understood why she wanted to look presentable.

"Once you decide to move, make sure those cameras get my right side, it's my good side."

She knew this is a show.

Maybe her life in 12 was spent on a stage. Why else would she be able to be so normal about his. Other tributes looked like deers in headlights when they realized what was happening. But when Rosalie Jade realized, she made sure to shine in those headlights.

Then he realized. He realized why she was dressed in such a showy way. He realized why she had the snake in the first place. He finally realized.

She knew she was going to be chosen at the reaping.

What she did to deserve such a doomed fate, he'll never know. But what he does know is that he needs to get his act together. He can't keep standing here like a deer like all the other tributes. No, he needs to be like Rosalie Jade.

Finally doing something, Coriolanus bends down to take the rose, that is now on the ground from the fall, and rip off the stem. Rosalie Jade gives him a funny look at that. Then, he moves her hair back.

Rosalie Jade watches him the whole time. Looking at him with amusement and a small smile.

Coriolanus then puts the rose in her hair, admiring her for a second.

Pretty.

Putting his hand out for her to take, he asks, "Rosalie Jade, would you like to meet my neighbors?"

"I would be delighted to Mr. Snow." She giggles and takes his hand.

Suprised by this, most people gasp and Coriolanus hears the reporter saying, "Well would you look at that. They're holding hands. That's not something you see everyday."

Both ignoring the annoying reporter, Coriolanus guided Rosalie Jade over to the end of the watching spectators, making sure to avoid the reporter, but not the camera.

He then introduced Rosalie Jade. "Hello. This is my tribute Rosalie Jade Baird. She wanted to meet you all. Please remember your manners."

"Hi there." Bending down to the children, Rosalie Jade stuck her handout, but not past the bars. This made the children have to stick their hand in on their own, not Rosalie Jade, which could be seen as a threat of some sort.

Clever girl.

"Hello. My name is Pontius." The little boy eagerly shook her hand, making sure to show off his pearly white teeth and Capitol bred manners.

"Where did you find that snake?" The little boy was so eager to get his answer, he didnt realize that he had started to get closer to the cage. Just like the others.

Giggling, Rosalie Jade answered, "Well, he found me. I was singing one day down in the meadow, and he slithered on up beside me. Must've liked my singing. Both lovers of music I guess. I wish I still had him with me though he was a good friend."

"Oh." The little boy seemed confused by her answer. Confused by her actions. Why would she want a snake as a friend?

Well there something we can relate on kid. This girl is so confusing.

Seeing a little girl close behind the boy, it was time for Rosalie Jade to ask a question.

"And who is this little lady behind you?"

"Oh, that's my little sister, Venus. She's four."

"Well I think that four is a smart age to be."

Stepping forward, the little girl could be seen wearing a worn out polka-dot dress with her small, strawberry icy dripping down her hand, threating to stain her dress.

Shifting her icy from one hand to the next, she asked in a curious, yet nervous voice, "Could I touch your dress?"

"Of course darlin'." Rosalie Jade gently smiled at the little girl, moving her dress for her to reach it easier with her small arms.

The little girl eye's lit up as she reached her hand through the cage and started to smile while petting Rosalie Jade's dress.

"I like your dress too. Polka-dots always make me happy." Rosalie Jade spoke up.

The little girl froze in shock from the complement and blushed, rushing to her mother's leg to hide her face. This earned an "Awww" from the crowd.

As Coriolanus and Rosalie Jade made their way down the line of eager children, he was able to take a minute to study her.

She was quite good with children for just being a child herself. She was kind, polite, and her southern accent seemed to make the kids laugh.

Her golden waves were brightly shining in the sun's light. Her dress had seen better days, but it still looked like the rainbow little kids would try to follow to find a pot of gold at the end. And her sapphire eyes shined just like the true gem itself.

But there was something else about her that Coriolanus couldn't seem to figure it out.

They finally reached the dreadful end of the line where the reporter was impatiently waiting for his chance to talk to Rosalie Jade.

"Hello there. Yes. Hi!"

She sees you, dumbass.

"Oh. Hi there! Is this being recorded?"

"Why of course! Wouldn't want the people of Panem to miss this wonderful event of the tributes coming to the Capitol."

You're so stupid. Why would you say that this is "wonderful" to the kid who is gong to die. God, even I knew not to say that.

"Wonderful indeed," Rosalie Jade forced a smile, "and who might you be?"

"What? You don't know who I am?" The reporter muttered as the camera man laughed at her jab. The reported turned back to him. "Don't laugh, some people don't have t.v.'s in the Districts."

Turning his attention back to Rosalie Jade, the reporter introduced himself, "Lepidus Malmsey, my dear."

My dear?

"Well it's nice to meet you Mr. Mansy." Rosalie Jade smirked.

"A funny one, aren't you." Lepidus mumbled to himself.

He might start crying is she keeps this up. Really shouldn't had called her inevitable death wonderful.

Wanting to get somewhere with Rosalie Jade, Lepidus started to ask some questions.

"Rosalie, your dress has been quite a hit here in the Capitol. Did you make it?"

"It's Rosalie Jade darlin', not just Rosalie. But it was my mama's. Quite the beauty though, don't you think?" Swishing her dress around, she beamed up at Lepidus.

"My apologies dear. But that doesn't seem to be the only beauty here."

Again with the dear! And calling her a beauty? I mean she is. Just stop!

"Aww, thank you." Rosalie Jade blushed from the complement.

"No problem dear. Now you said the dress was your mother's, is she in 12?"

"Just her pearly white bones darlin', just her pearly white bones."

"Oh, well, any other family in back in 12?" Lepidus, shocked by how calm this little girl was easily able to talk about her dead mother, tried to find something to make it a more, happy conversation. Maybe talking about another family member that she would never see again would help.

"Well, there's my big sister, Lucy Gray. But we're both 'part of the Covey, and all of us are family in the Covey."

"Covey?"

"Yep, the Covey! We're just a bunch of musicians who go 'round from District to District, playing for people. Well, we did until a bunch of Peacekeepers rounded us up and made us stay in 12."

"Wait. Rounded you up?"

"Yeah, I'm not from District 12 or any of the other Districts. Neither is anyone else in the Covey."

She's not from 12? She's not District? Well that must suck, being forced to play a game that you shouldn't even qualify for.

Trying to get away from the fact that Rosalie Jade just confirmed that there is a world outside of Panem, which would not sit well with the people of the Capitol, Lepidus asked, "Well, uh, what more can you tell the people of the Capitol about the Covey?"

"Oh, we Covey love color, me more than most!" Rosalie Jade laughed.

After answering, Rosalie Jade started to look around, getting bored by the man. He was fun to mess around with at first, but now she was getting bored. Besides, she's only 12, her attention spans not that big.

Sensing that she was starting to get bored, Lepidus started to grasp at straws. "You mentioned a, uh, a-a sister! Yes, what us she like?"

Not wanting to answer to somewhat personal question, Rosalie Jade looked towards Coriolanus and smirked.

Oh shit, now what is she going to do?

Gripping Coriolanus' arms, Rosalie Jade said, "Have you met my mentor? Says his name is Coriolanus Snow. And clearly I must've gotten the cake with the cream 'cause he seems to be the only mentor here."

Cake with the cream? Must be some sort of backwards talk from the Districts.

"Ah, yes. What are you doing in there Mr. Snow?"

Putting on his best Plinth Prize winning smile, Coriolanus said, "Well after seeing Rosalie Jade here on that stage and hearing her singing, I had no choice but to come see her for myself."

"Just for the record, I didn't have a choice." Rosalie Jade butted in.

"Niether did I." Coriolanus rebuttals.

"And did the Academy tell you to do this?" Lepidus asked wanting to keep the conversation going.

"Well they didn't tell me not to!" Coriolanus joked.

"Oh, so you went in there all on your own?"

"Well they did tell us to get close to our tributes. I wanted a head-start and again, after seeing Rosalie Jade on that screen for the first time, I just knew I had to meet her as soon as possible. I hope the Academy's not to mad at me for that!"

"Well it seems that we're about to find out now."

Just as Lepidus finished saying that, Coriolanus saw two Peacekeepers coming his way.

Shit.

Wanting to meet the Peacekeepers in the middle for it to at least try to seem like this was all planned, Coriolanus turned and started to walk away.

But before he could even move a foot, he felt that same warm hand on his again.

"Hey, do you think you could bring us food or water? We haven't eaten since the reaping."

They didn't feed them on the train? Of course they didn't feel them, they were in a fucking livestock shipping containers.

Before he could anwser, Peacekeepers were right by his side, escorting him out of the cage. Coriolanus watched as Lepidus tried to talk to Rosalie Jade again, but she just looked at him and walked away, going to sit on a rock next to Jessup.

Trying to talk to the other tirbutes, but failing miserably, Lepidus decided it was time for him to go, ending the recording with, "Well I'm Lepidus Malmsey and this was the first look at the tributes for this years Hunger Games."

Dumbass.

Being escorted out of a monkey cage by Peacekeepers is one thing, but being manhandled by them is another.

"I can walk fine myself, thank you." Coriolanus attempted to break free of their strong grips once they were a good distance away from the watchful eyes of the Capitol, but the Peacekeeper on his left brought him closer to her and tightened her grip.

"What do you think you're doing, boy? You can't just go in there because you wanted to!"

Well someone's on their period.

Growing up with two women as his role models, one would think that Coriolanus Snow was taught to respect women. But alas, all of Tigris' teachings were no match for his misogynistic and egotistical mind.

Needing to turn this conversation around in some way to benefit himself and not get him in trouble Coriolanus spoke, "Well for your information, I talked to one of the reporting Peacekeepers at the train station if I could along with the tributes, my tribute, in the truck and he said I could. In no way, shape, or form did I know that we were going to be dropped in a monkey cage."

And just for spite, he added, "And besides, I'm a student at the Academy, it is my project, my job, to get to know my tribute. What other way to get to know her better than going with her?"

The Peacekeeper, taken back with all of this information, started to apologize. But before she could even start, Coriolanus swiftly cut her off with the manipulative words of, "Before you even think to apologize, what were all of you thinking?! Just dropping all of the tributes, a Capitol citizen, into a monkey cage? God, at least have some dignity. With the way you just threw all of them, threw me! Well your no better than the animals themselves."

Both Peacekeepers finally letting go of Coriolanus, he heard the girl respond with, "I'm very sorry sir. We didn't know another Peacekeeper allowed you in. Our apologies."

Smirking in triumph, Coriolanus took a few large strides ahead, making sure that he stayed in the front and the Peacekeepers stayed behind him.

"Just don't let it happen again. Who knows if anyone else would have been as forgiving as me."

"You're late Mr. Snow."

Oh, shut up. You're probably high on morphling right now.

"Yes, I was very bu-"

"Busy with what Mr. Snow? Having a small interview with your little songbird?"

Someone kill this man.

Just wanting to get to his seat while trying to anwser High-as-a-kite-bottom's question, he heard a cackle come from his upper left, stopping his train of thought.

"Hippity, hoppity, how was the zoo? You fell in a cage and your tribute did, too!"

Dr. Gaul.

The mad scientist seemed to have been freed from her lab once more. From having seen and met her at the reaping ceremony, Coriolanus had learned a couple things about her already.

She is incredibly smart. She would be an amazing mentor to have. Stay on her good side if you would like to live. And she is completely and utterly insane.

Wanting to at least acknowledge her question, Coriolanus said, "It was fine."

"Fine! Oh you stumbled into a cage and landed on a..."

Realizing that she wanted him to finish her sentence, Coriolanus mumbled, "Stage."

"Very good! You would make a great gamemaker one day. Have you ever thought of that as a future career?"

No. God no. Not enough power.

"Leave the poor boy alone Volumnia. He's already been through so much today, isn't that right Mr. Snow?"

But before Coriolanus could retaliate to Highbottom's remark, his fellow classmate, Arachne Crane decided that the attention needed to be on her. "Holding her hand Coriolanus, really? You make it seem as if she is one of us. Never thought you would stoop that low."

Do you ever shut you big, fat, fucking mouth Arachne or do you also need Felix to help you with that too?

"They are like one of us. They are still people."

Great. Thanks Arachne, now Sejanus is going to go on a rant about how District people are eqaul and blah blah blah.

"Are they now Mr. Plinth?"

Oh shit. Think it through before you answer Dr. Gaul's question, Sejanus. Please for once in your life. Think. It. Through.

"Yes. They are still people. They still have rights."

"Well we won the war. We get to choose their punishment. That is our right." Dr. Gaul countered.

"No it isn't! I don't care what you say. You've no right to starve people, to punish them for no reason. No right to take away their life and freedom. Those are things everyone is born with, and they're not yours for the taking. Winning a war doesn't give you that right. Having more weapons doesn't give you that right. Being from the Capitol doesn't give you that right. Nothing does."

Why can't you ever think anything through!?

"And that, Mr. Plinth, is where you and everybody else living in the Capitol differ."

Finally reaching his seat, Coriolanus sat down and was rewarded with yet another question.

"Mr. Snow since you have gotten a inside look at the Games, may I ask, what are they for?"

Well this is easy. Even the monkey who can't think anything through knows the anwser to this question.

"To punish the Districts."

Dr. Gaul just smiles, no, more like she bares her teeth to him. No "correct" or "well done" is given to Coriolanus to make him feel confident in his anwser.

Wanting to redeem himself, Coriolanus proposes an idea to Dr. Gaul that could not only help Rosalie Jade inside the arena, but him outside of it. Because, of course the winning tribute would get the Plinth Pirze, right? So if he can get this approved by Dr. Gault then maybe, just maybe, Rosalie Jade could get a fighting chance.

"What if you made the games more interactive? What if you get people to sponsor tributes, to bet on them? In return, tributes would get food or water. It would bring the the number of people watching up. If people have something to win in the end, they are more likely to stick to it."

While Sejanus looked at Coriolanus with utter disgust, Dr. Gaul looked at him, intrigued.

"Hmm. Write me a paper on all of your ideas and get it into my office by tomorrow morning."

Yes!

"Dr. Gaul! You should know that Coriolanus and I do almost all of our work together. We best work on it together if you want the best and most ideas on the paper."

No! Clemensia! What are you doing? Stop!

"Yes, yes. Of course. Anyway, I'm off to see my mutts. Then it will be time for my milk and cookies!"

Again, insane.

Finally leaving, the second Dr. Gaul closes the door, Highbottom speaks up. "Mr. Snow, you will receive one dermit for endangering a student."

What? What is a dermit and who did I endanger?

"Pardon me?"

"If you recieve three dermits, you will be expelled."

"What! But who did I even endanger?!"

"Yourself, Mr. Snow. Now, you will receive and second one for insubordination if you don't start to complete your work."

Forget someone else, I'll do it. I'll kill the fucking bastard.

Next Chapter

[inlocusmads]

Starting Somewhere If Nowhere Tangible ~ nora rose, mafalda ginovesi

wc: 996, teen and up, warnings for drug mentions/usage

Summary: Or how nora scored herself a job at the Ginovesi Agency.

___

Sometime in 2019-20

Nora did not expect to be high when she received a job offer. A friend of hers had told her it “cured anxiety” or something. It made her cough a lot. She didn't have any unexpected laughing fits or a blatant disdain for her life which probably meant what she smoked wasn't even good quality stuff. Maybe she was that immune. Nora wanted to care but a part of her told her it brought no use. 

She felt like a kid when Mafalda Ginovesi or someone came up to the terrace after a conversation with her uncle. Nora knew very little about Tommy's friends. Either she was too young to remember them all or never been introduced ever. Probably he wanted to make a good impression. Nora felt like an unwashed wound on someone's leg. Heck, she'd scrub herself extra hard in the shower just to get rid of the stains on her skin. As if she could only be defined by her stains. What was the point, anyway? College ended so long ago. She quit her job because the job sucked. Might as well check off another number by being a grubby mistake people wanted to hide. 

She tried flipping burgers and helping her uncle run the bar but with no avail. It wasn't going anywhere. Her friends took the money, listened to her talk about the restaurant industry and ran. Who were her friends?

She'd read every self-help book on the market from PirateBay. Everything told her “hey, just fucking commit to it” when her brain never really got it going anyway. Making to-do lists occupied most of her time and she'd cross them off regardless. Journalling felt like a waste of time when she could be using the book to write more to-do lists. Borrowing money from Uncle Tommy to get groceries felt like she'd hit a new low, so she'd gone to find herself a job which only resulted in getting fired on the same day. What was she to do with a criminology degree anyway? The NYPD were corrupt motherfuckers. Aneesa was gone. Nothing to live upto. 

But at the end of the day, she could roll a nice blunt however impure it might be and just stop worrying. Stop reading those books. Stop purchasing motivational keychains she didn't need. Stop cutting her hair. Stop browsing channels and get out of bed. Stop eating so many egg sandwiches after a smoke break. Stop taking breaks and wash up the counter instead. The granite isn't going to get all sparkly on its own. 

Wasn't like she had anyone to get excited about either. She'd take anyone at this point. Friends, romantics - the line started to blur.

Maybe it was just the weed. 

“I talked to your uncle.”

“Right. Uh, sorry --” Nora massaged her head. “Who are you?”

She flicked the cigarette to the trash. 

“Nice aim.”

“Who are you again?”

“A friend of your uncle's.” she crossed her arms. 

“Right okay so -- what do I do? Get you a chair or --”

“I came here with an offer. Your uncle said you needed more time -- is that pot?"

“Yes. Sorry I'm not more presentable.” Nora sniffed, adjusting her hoodie. “Please don't tell Uncle Tommy. He's going to be even more disappointed than he already is.”

“Do you want to sit down?” Mafalda Ginovesi’s voice nurtured her to take a seat. 

“No -- I'm not -- I'm -- fine.” She struggled. “Yeah. I am okay. So what's up with the offer?”

“He says you're in between jobs and you were a homicide detective down in the 53rd precinct.”

“And somehow I find flipping burgers more honourable.” Nora scoffed. “What about it?”

“I've heard of what happened and I want to offer you a job.”

“Wow, you do not beat around the bush."

“No. I am looking for qualified private eyes for my agency. My fourth kid was just born last year and I need to be at home as much as I can. Didn't get a huge response from the papers. Called some old friends. Tommy said you were available and had a decent record. Good education. Recently unemployed.”

“So it's a full time thing?”

“I'm swamped with cases. We don't get a lot but we do get enough to get by.”

“I've seen private eye agencies run to the ground. What's different about yours?” Nora asked. 

“I started it ever since I quit the NYPD myself, ever since they learned I'm gay. Which is enough to say, a long time ago. Ten years afloat. All me. My wife helps with the paperwork. My four kids are going to need some investment.”

“How much are you willing to pay me?”

“This isn't a standard 9-5. You get paid for the work you do. We split it.”

“But I'd still have to call you boss?”

“I don't mind the flattery. It's a small place. Near the bodega that sells egg sandwiches.”

Nora shrugged. “Still going to need a licence though.”

“Can be arranged. I know people. Just have to say yes.” Mafalda said. “You'd have to put in the work. For now it's grunt work. Help with running digital footprints, compile dossiers, write up reports, take notes - essentially an assistant job. Once you get warmed up we move on. I'm giving you a chance. Don't fuck it up.”

“All right, all right, sit down, jeez.”

“I am sitting down.”

“Yeah okay I think the weed’s already kicked in so -- I start Monday right?”

“Tomorrow. Your uncle needs you to get a job and I'm giving you one.”

“I don't need your sympathy.”

“No. You don't. But you need stability whether you like it or not. How long are you going to wallow in the what-ifs, anyway?”

“Yeah okay fair.” Nora said, nonchalantly. 

“Get a blazer. Get a shirt. Trousers. Belt. Watch. I need you in the office by nine sharp.”

“Or don't bother coming?” 

Mafalda stared at her. 

“I’ll show up.” Nora sighed. “Close the door when you leave.”

***

A/n: Aneesa was the reason behind Nora learning about the NYPD's corrupted interiors. She was wrongly accused of a crime she didn't commit - became a scapegoat for an underground crime organisation. Aneesa was also Nora's girlfriend/situationship at that time which made the loss even harder when the former had to flee the country. To this day only a couple people know about the incident and Nora's afraid of making contact due to the fact that the underground crime ring might trail it back to her.

She also suspects this underground ring to be a key player in her dad's death but it's still very circumstantial and disputed.

Tagging @choicesficwriterscreations

[garagepaperback]

squabble

ii.

Something his mind-healer might have been very interested in, if he ever became the kind of person to admit the whole mess to her: he preferred to watch the arguments.

He wasn't looking for insight, he didn't try to make any more sense of it than he had at the time. That wasn't how this worked, anyway; it was a memory, not a recording. There was just Harry's side of things.

Draco: smug, bone-curlingly cruel, bratty, cold. Needy, annoying.

There was the time less than a year in, the first Christmas at the Burrow, lying separated in mismatched sleeping bags. Draco whispered furiously under a shoddy patchwork of silencing charms, making Harry into a bulletin board of all the failures he'd tallied up through drinks, dinner, after-dinner drinks. Harry felt every pin pushed in, missed entirely the curation of the lance, the mangled asking for support, affection, words they didn't have words for at the time. He watched himself on a loop, turning away, shoulders set, hissing back, shut up, I don't care, Jesus, can you let one fucking thing go.

There were vacations and grocery runs, marathon arguments over an ugly pair of flannel shorts, all positions taken up for the sake of the podium - the put-on theme of the battle was irrelevant.

It might have been helpful, having the mind-healer's insight. Not helpful enough that Harry would talk about it, but he occasionally wondered what Carlye would say. Like what it meant, for instance, that Harry wasn't interested in a solution or even witnessing the resolution. He simply wanted to be there again.

Inside, when it was ugly and brutal and tedious and infuriating, it was at least in a suspended state of when. If the quarrel hadn't finished, it meant they were still in something, together.

The fights were worse than he remembered too, which was odd, being that it was his remembering he was watching. He'd gone back to it at first for reassurance - good riddance, fuck it, fuck this.

Instead, worse, he found he missed him even more. Harry watched and missed him horribly, missed him the real way, bitter and fumbled, all the before.

-

There wasn't a last time.

Well, there had been, but Harry kept it in a glass vial at the bottom of a drawer. He slept next to it. The nightstand was an unassuming cherry wood, the memory lay buried under a quick-scrawled necropolis. An entire archive of anachronistic affection.

One from Draco five years ago, running out to pick up an order he'd put in for some rare potion stock, a jotted note just so Harry would know, wouldn't have to hold the weird blur of his absence for more than a moment. Birthday cards, really sappy Christmas letters, Draco a year and a half ago, wishing him goodnight. He'd gone to bed before Harry made it back from work, from the pub, from an elsewhere that hadn't mattered enough to remember.

That was the thing about time - it was impossible to make sense of when it happened. There was only the briefest glimpse of a single object - an emptied ring box, a sand-encrusted shell, the iron latch of an undone gate on the spotlit allotment of a stage. You had to wait for the rest of it to be set, for the curtain to pull back and the dialogue to begin in order to understand the play.

But this way, he could have it unfinished. Choices weren't chosen yet, he could carve out the after. The pensieve filled and memories unwilted, cut flower stalks without roots. Stilled in the before, it could stay just like that.

The bouquet of antecedents was neatly trimmed, the scent overwhelming. Almost alive. Peonies made of promises, lupine grins, days of buttercup yellow and thistle and dried lavender, the nights of unfurled moonflower, thorn-toothed white roses - all the garlands of him, Harry's to hold. To keep holding.

for day 16 of @microficmay

[bella-rose29]

Bright Young Soul

Word count: 2k

Warnings: Campbell Bain has a depressive episode, don't read unless you're up for some unhappy reading times basically, probably way too much italicising but oh well, I am not an expert on bipolar in any way and this is purely from what I saw in tota and research online, so please please please pick me up on anything I have done wrong, I also am not Scottish

based entirely on this post and the notes <3

Tag list: @bugbugboy, @biromanticboba, @heretoboogie

"Campbell, c'mon. Stop mucking about."

"Campbell, could ya keep the noise down?"

"Campbell, I'm busy."

"Not now, Campbell."

"Campbell, be quiet! I cannae hear myself think!"

"Quit fidgeting, Campbell!"

Campbell didn't want to stop mucking about, or keep the noise down, or quit fidgeting, and he had so many questions that needed answers and thoughts that needed sharing he was about to burst, and given he was in St. Jude's he couldn't very well start talking to himself, or they'd lock him up somewhere horrible. The nurses had been telling him those things all day, and when Eddie had turned up for his radio show Campbell had barely raised his head in greeting. He'd hoped that the older man would notice that something was off, and see what he could do to fix it, but when Eddie was only brusque with him and seemingly uncaring that Campbell wasn't wittering in his ear, it made Campbell sink further into himself.

The show went the same as it would on any other day, with the exception of Campbell's usual puppy dog energy, and when they had finished and were packing up, he felt even worse than he had before. Eddie hadn't noticed that anything was off, and Campbell was overthinking, wondering if the man actually cared about him or if it was all an act, like so many people had done before out of pity or the feeling that they were doing something good (they weren't, Campbell could usually see right through it and honestly it was kind of offensive).

"Campbell, can ye pass me that record, please," Eddie asked, arm outstretched. Campbell was so deep in his thoughts and spiralling further and further towards the edge he didn't notice, not really, registering the words but not really listening, and his eyes were focusing on nothing and everything at once, seeing the hand Eddie held out, but not seeing it.

"Campbell, for Christ's sake, what's the matter with ye? Stop acting daft and pass it over!"

The words cut deep, Campbell's brain letting them resonate and echo around his head as previous situations similar to this were remembered. "What?" he whispered, blinking the tears back. "I'm not daft!" His voice rose, practically shouting the last word which sounded so much louder than he'd meant in the tiny studio. "Nothin's the matter with me, Eddie, not to you, is there! Have ye even noticed me, Eddie? Have ye noticed me?"

"Of course I've noticed ye, Campbell, you're very difficult to miss!"

That hurt too, twisting the metaphorical knife deeper into Campbell's gut. He was tired, so fucking tired, and worn out, and exhausted, and every other synonym of the damn word, and his usual limitless energy was used up. He scoffed, all but throwing the record at Eddie and shoving his hands in his trouser pockets, hunching his shoulders.

"Ye know," he said, voice thick from holding back tears. "My dad used to say the same thing about me. I thought you were gonnae be different, Eddie, but you're just like him, aren't ye." The words kept coming after that, tumbling out of his mouth before he even had a chance to think them up, and he couldn't even remember what he was saying. More about his dad, about Eddie, about himself. He kept talking, running his hands through his hair in frustration and tapping his fingers on the desk next to him, just needing something to do, to fiddle with, to let out some of this newfound energy that stemmed from the floodgates opening. This energy hurt, though, and he didn't like it.

He could see that his tapping was annoying Eddie, but he couldn't stop, and he couldn't stop talking, ranting about pointless things, and he hated himself for it. He couldn't stop the tears now either, and they were pouring down his cheeks as he shouted. He vaguely made a note of nurses running down the corridor, and there was Stuart, and there was Eddie, standing watching Campbell and doing nothing, just like his father had done.

He could barely get the words out now, sobs wracking his body and making him choke, and he was so far off the edge that he'd fucking fallen off and was plummeting into nothingness, negative thoughts and memories surrounding him and making him fall faster. He couldn't speak any faster, and yet somehow he wasn't going fast enough, and everything was closing in on him and expanding away all at once, and he realised that he wanted them to sedate him, just so that he didn't have to deal with this anymore.

If they could keep him under forever that would be even better.

They came and grabbed him at some point, although Campbell wasn't sure when; it could have taken them two seconds or they could have been moving towards him for two hundred years. He'd lost all concept of anything other than his thoughts and the look on Eddie's face, and he was still shouting and yelling as they stuck the needle into his leg and wiped him out.

~~~

Eddie had been having a shit day, with MacAteer throwing him under the bus (again) for something he didn't even do, and Griffin making him go out and not letting Eddie come back in the building until he'd made five sales. He'd then discovered that his car had a flat tyre when he'd left for the day, and had to take it to the garage, needing a taxi to get to St. Jude's. The taxi driver had then gotten stuck in traffic, and Eddie was going to be late for his radio show. Somehow he still made it there in time to get set up and start without Campbell stepping in, but he was at the end of his rope and Campbell not listening to him had just pushed that big red button in Eddie, making him explode and shout at the boy. Campbell had flinched slightly, then fallen straight into shouting back at him, tapping and fidgeting, and Eddie could only stare as he went on, unable to speak. His protégée wasn't allowing much room for Eddie to talk, mind you, with his incessant chatter about his father (oh god, Campbell thought that Eddie was like his father), and pretty much anything else that came into his head. Rosalie had fetched the nurses, and now they were taking a hold of the boy and pushing him to lie over the desk so that they could sedate him properly. Campbell kept shouting, clearly unravelling with each second that went by, and Eddie felt awful, knowing that he had ignored the way that Campbell wasn't his normal happy self, and had been the one to cause this episode.

The next few days were absolute agony for him, since they weren't letting anybody see Campbell and Eddie had to live with himself and the lack of knowledge of when he could go and see the young man torturing him.

He was going to make sure that Campbell knew how sorry Eddie was, and that he was nothing like the man that called himself Campbell's father.

~~~

It was dark when Campbell woke up, groggy and both physically and mentally drained, and the only light in the room was the lamp on his bedside table. He accidentally stared at the bulb, blinding himself momentarily as he tried to work out who was sat next to him. The mop of dark curly hair leaned forward, and as Campbell's eyes adjusted and blinked away the last of the drowsiness he recognised the figure as Eddie.

"Whadda you want," he slurred, voice thick from being knocked out and his accent stronger than it normally was. He felt bad about the harsh tone, overwhelming guilt crashing over him like a tidal wave, but the last thing he remembered was Eddie sounding like- no. He couldn't go there again, couldn't think about that or he'd end up the way he was before. He knew he must have been sedated, since he never normally slept that much, but there were no memories in his head of why.

"I'm sorry, Campbell. I was having a shit day at work, and I know it's not an excuse but I am sorry. I was a dick to ye, and I shoulda noticed that ye weren't yerself, and I'm sorry," Eddie said, making tears well up in Campbell's eyes. He pushed them away, stopping them from falling as he heard his father's voice in his head telling him that 'real men dinnae cry, Campbell, so quit yer whining'.

"I'm sorry too, Eddie, I'm sorry." He was struggling against the guilt that wracked him, making him want to cry, and when it felt like he would burst if he didn't stop resisting he turned his head away from Eddie and sobbed into his pillow. Campbell felt Eddie move closer, the bed dip under the older man's weight as he laid a hand on Campbell's shoulder, thumb stroking gently in awkward consolation.

They stayed that way for a while, every now and then exchanging the words "I'm sorry" and "I'm sorry too" with each other, until after what felt like an eternity Campbell's sobs turned to sniffles, and he pushed himself up to sit next to Eddie on the bed.

He wiped his face with his shirtsleeves, cringing at the fabric when it came away soaked and grimacing when, as he sniffed to clear his nose, he got a mouthful of snot and phlegm. "Ugh, gross," he muttered, gladly accepting the tissue Eddie passed him and blowing his nose loudly. They sat side by side, not saying anything for a while. Eddie seemed to be debating where to go from here, what to do, or say. Campbell was kicking his feet, bare soles scuffing the floor, and fiddling with a bit of dead skin on one of his fingers.

"Careful not to pull too much, yeah? You'll end up stripping the thing bare and bleeding everywhere," Eddie joked quietly, trying to do something to raise his friend's spirits. Campbell moved his hands, placing them either side of his body so that he wouldn't be too tempted to start picking again. "I really am sorry, Campbell. I shouldnae have snapped at ye like that."

"I'm sorry too, Eddie. Not quite sure what for, mind, cannae remember most of it now. I know I went manic though, so... sorry, for... that."

"S'alright, Campbell. S'alright. C'mere." Eddie pulled him into an awkward hug, arm around Campbell's shoulders as the boy wrapped an arm around Eddie's waist, the other supporting his weight on the bed behind them. It was nice (if a little uncomfortable, but Campbell wasn't going to complain), being hugged like this, and he was sad when he needed to sit upright again to save his back from protesting against the angle anymore.

"Thanks," he mumbled, wiping away the tears that had snuck out at the knowledge that he was being held by somebody he considered a father.

"Anytime, Campbell. Ye ever need a hug, ye tell me, yeah? Likely that I'll need one too."

Campbell nodded, letting a small smile grace his face. Eddie's own smile appeared.

"There he is, he's coming back now." Campbell let out a wet laugh, nodding again and leaping up from the bed.

"Aye. Campbell Bain is back, people, back to be the 'Bain' of yer existence!" Eddie chuckled, glad to see the boy feeling better. He knew in that moment he'd do everything he could for this boy, this bright young soul, to make sure he knew that he wasn't alone in the world.

"I'll always be here for ye, Campbell. I mean it. The other day willnae happen again, yeah? Not like that. I've got ye."

"Thanks, Eddie. Thank you," Campbell said, sitting down again, expression earnest. "Really. I couldnae... I couldnae ask for a better person to look up to." Eddie smiled, clicking his tongue and tilting his head slightly as he ruffled Campbell's hair.

"Ye want a cocoa? It'll help, I'm sure."

"Please."

"Alright, ye wait here, I'll be back in a minute." Eddie left, heading in the direction of the kitchens. Campbell smiled after him, letting cautious hope enter his heart. Eddie was trying his best to make it up to Campbell, which was something his father had never done. Cocoa would help, definitely. And after cocoa, everything would start looking up.

[piracytheorist]

OKAY

I think it says a lot about my job that I was able to concentrate on it today and completely forget we GOT TRAILER

It was a mistake to check tumblr first thing in the morning, before I even got out of bed, but in my defense, I didn't expect it would drop at such a day and time! But anyway I did jump off of bed, turned on my laptop and recorded my face as I watched it. I needed to have that memorized XD

So, spoilers about the trailer below, and my own predictions about what each scene could be for! Reminder that I'm anime only, but have read the chapter that the first episode (probably) is based on, so for the most part I know what's going on, but for the rest I'm very much NOT aware :D Don't spoil me please :D

FAKE FAMBLY IS BACK

Manipulative Anya at her best! We love our gremlin!

Oh he's looking good :D

I fucking love this image. Look at Twilight pouting in the background. He doesn't understand why a child finds news boring.

WE GOT BLOOD WE GOT THORN PRINCESS IN ACTION LET'S GOOOOO

your honour I love him. Why does he look like he's ready to cry!

Ok from a first hearing the OP song sounds super cool. I feel like it's got "Mixed Nuts" vibes and I love it! I gotta look it up later!

Jeez Loid. Woman just woke up. Is that how he honeypoted all of his other missions?

Yor having a meltdown in the foreground and Anya being cute waking up in the background <3 I love my fake fambly <3

... okay. That's how his honeypots worked.

Yellow roses, if I'm correct, symbolize friendship. Interesting.

This is going to be a disaster and I cannot wait. Also I'm spotting Anya and Franky doing a horrible job at hiding in the left pic XD

My heart skipped a beat when I heard Anya's voice say "Moja-Moja" :')

Very sneaky. Much hiding. Wow. There's no way Franky thought this was working XD

The way all of this could have been solved with a "I tripped down the stairs and fell on my butt and now it hurts to sit" but hey we're getting a funny date how can I ask for more

Also the way Yor says that line my god

I am so ready for more Yor you have no idea

I gotta say, showing this moment is perfect for anime-onlies who haven't actually read this specific chapter. Loid just looks worried and Yor looks enraged. So many feelings for this episode XD

Are those macarons? What were the fucking chances that yesterday I went like "Next morning I'm gonna pass by that bakery that makes macarons". I haven't had macarons in years, yet I see one (1) advertisement about that bakery and its macarons and I go like yeah why not. Macarons. And now this. The fuck.

GREMLIN ANYA IS BACK

Honestly, her face in official merch is always a :D face with an almost unnaturally big smile all the time that I've missed her silly little face.

AH I WAS SENT THAT AS A MANGA SCREENSHOT!

Are those playing cards she's throwing? And is she reading someone's mind? I don't even care if she's cheating, good for you girl

Yeah, buddy, welcome to the real world.

I remember that line from the end of the bullet-in-butt date chapter, and I gotta admit I don't really like it... but the way Eguchi delivers it makes me think he's not like "Women amirite" but more like "All my years of training did not prepare me for how people are like in their day to day lives because spy training has skewed my perception of day to day 'normal'" and that's perfectly valid.

But also what the fuck is happening here. What is that cat. Why is Yor about to Thorn-Princess it. What.

So Anya goes on a studying rampage, fails, and ends up crying on her penguin?

This only made me sad, what the fuck. It looks like Loid and Yor are looking at her failing grades, and Anya is disappointed in herself. I will don my clown wig again and say "If Loid doesn't go and reassure her so help me GOD"

I... don't like the ending theme song. But that's mostly a matter of taste, I guess.

Aw.

They dare throw this to anime onlies when they know we won't get romantic canon twiyor content until three to five business years from now at least

The assassin group... I'm supposing he means the one Yor works for? How long does "for a while now" mean? Wasn't Yor working for them since she was a teenager caring for Yuri?

In any case, wow that's a very intense visual.

omg omg omg

from the colour and the angle this looks like a vision Bond has. Loid and Yor are smiling and blushing but why does it make me feel sad!!

I don't know if it's because of what is said in that moment (they look like unrelated scenes since the line is being said by a woman who I'm guessing is a fellow assassin working with Yor or something) but then there's this

And we just don't see Yor like that often, if at all in the anime so far.

What is Franky wearing? It looks like a military jacket or something. I wonder if that's just stylistic choice or it's something more important.

*snorts laugh*

Gotta admit, from a few tidbits here and there it looks like Twilight is finally gaining some more understanding of himself and his situation... but the way he says that just makes me think that realization makes him more concerned than anything else.

So I can say with conviction this did fix something in me. Though I guess the first episode will be the bullet-in-butt date, so it will take me another week to go into new territory. But! Bullet-in-butt date in 12 days! And new cool stuff to look for later on! I'm so happy!

(Again, I don't want spoilers for any of these. Just let me have my fun speculating :D)

screenshots taken from the unofficially subtitled trailer here!

[sage-nebula]

I always think it's really funny whenever anyone considers Macro Cosmos to be a villainous organization because like, I do get it, it's the company that Rose is CEO of, and he was the main antagonist of Sword/Shield, and Oleana did sic some of the employees on you when you were trying to stop Rose from unleashing the Darkest Day, etc etc. But at the same time, it's a massive corporation and you know that the vast majority of the employees within that corporation had absolutely no clue about anything Rose and Oleana were up to. Even the employees that Oleana sicced on the player probably had very little idea of why they were being told to attack; in fact I think one of them even says they're just doing it because it's their job, or to keep their insurance or something? It's been a long time so I can't fully remember the dialogue, but something like that.

But just imagine being a Macro Cosmos employee and some reporter comes up to you after the events of the main plot and is like, "Do you have anything to say regarding Chairman Rose's attempts to summon Eternatus and the Darkest Day?"

And you just work in like, IT. And not even a high level of IT. You do low-level IT work. But this reporter is shoving a mic and camera in your face and so you have to be like, "I don't know, I just work here."

And then that gets broadcasted on the news as an official quote by an employee of Macro Cosmos, villain grunt. You see it on the news after heating up a TV dinner because you can't really afford fresh ingredients on your employee salary. And then your parents call you and they're all upset about what this means about your future career and how no one else will ever hire you now that you've become a villain, and they raised you better than that.

"I'm not a villain, I just do IT!" you tell them.

"Macro Cosmos is a villain organization, it's all over the news!" they say.

"Mom, Macro Cosmos employs 300,000 people. We supply power for all of Galar and then some. What Chairman Rose was doing was his own personal project, most of us had no--"

"He was going to destroy the entire region and you're just making excuses!"

"I've never even seen the man in person! I just work there! In IT! I barely make enough to pay rent! What do you want from me?!"

And then for the next month your friend roast you about "hey is that your evil boss calling you to do crimes" and "hey do you have to blow up the world for your evil boss" and "hey if you're going to blow up the world for your evil boss can you give me a few days notice first" and so on. They think it's so funny. And through it all you hear on the news that Rose has turned himself into jail, and Oleana is doing community service, and you barely know who is running the company (it's the CFO, you think, whoever that is), and you never once see Oleana in person and you think that's probably for the best --

And then you get laid off four months later because, despite supplying everything in Galar, Macro Cosmos stock has dropped and the CFO thinks that employee layoffs are the best way to make up for the loss in profit and, as a meager IT employee, you are dispensable.

"Your crime spree is finally over," your friends say.

"I only hope your criminal record doesn't stop someone hiring you," your mom says even though you were never charged with anything because, as you've told her a thousand times, you just worked there.

Really, the fact that everyone labels the whole company as a villainous organization . . . is really very funny.

[spoofymcgee]

i'm going to fucking cry.

i've finished watching the doctor falls and just.

augh.

not in any particular order:

- aaaaaaaaaa the way they keep cutting between human!bill and cyberman!bill based on who's looking at her and how she sees herself

- the way the doctor catches alit before she can run away from bill, reassures her that there's nothing wrong with trying to help even if you fail

- the horror of the mondasian cybermen, the rubber suits, this is exactly what was missing from death in heaven–the fact that the cybermen are zombies, they're conscious, they're rotting flesh incased in metal, they're humanity's insistence on dragging their own dead body behind them into the future

- the way the end of bill's arc is that she is not her body, without saying that her appearance doesn't matter, because it does, because she's very particular about how she chooses to express herself but that doesn't mean she can't move on, because she can recognize that who she is is not the body she was born into, which is exactly what the cybermen can't

- the utter tragedy of the fact that she can't even get angry about what's happening to her (and while i do think this was a little clumsy and heavy handed, and i think it can be interpreted as racist, i did think it was less 'oh she's a black woman so her anger is more dangerous' and more 'here is a character who is so very emotional and has been the whole time, who's core character trait is her feelings, who has used those emotions to save the world time and again, and she does not want to exist if she can't be herself')

- i do wish we'd spent more time on heather's appearance and bill's ending, but i'm not going to argue with the fact that doctor who, a show i'm pretty sure holds the record for how quickly they can pull a bury your gays (30 seconds) giving a Black lesbian companion the most permanent happy ending possible

- no because seriously they get to be happy together FOREVER

- AND SHE SAVES THE DOCTOR ONE MORE TIME AND DOESN'T HAVE TO DIE TO DO IT

- to me it felt like the story really wrapped around and closed up in world enough and time, and this episode was just tying off ends and closing corners, but seeing as moffat has a serious problem with open plot threads, i'm not super upset about it

- i know some people think that twelve refusing to regenerate doesn't make sense for his character but i personally disagree with that because the only doctors so far in nuwho (that i have seen) who've had a peaceful regeneration are nine who literally absorbed the time vortex to save rose and didn't have time, and eleven, who took three hundred years of forcibly staying in one place to get tired enough to be alright with it, so i think it is perfectly in character for the doctor

- especially because this is a little bit of a mirror of journey's end, and i am a strong believer that ten didn't want to regenerate largely because the grief he felt for donna was all he had left of her, and he knew he would lose the intensity of that when he changed

- as far as twelve knows, his memories of bill are all that's left of her

- i don't think he knows she's still out there with heather, or even if he does, he's still lost her, she's still chosen to leave him, and the ragged, torn, open wound of missing her is all he has left of her

- the doctor is tired

- he doesn't have anyone left, he's all alone, and he's so sick of always ending up alone

- CLARA

- FUCK

- WITH HOW OBSESSED I AM WITH HER YOU'D THINK I'D'VE NOTICED BEFORE NOW

- he doesn't remember clara, barely knows he misses her, he didn't get to feel the grief of losing her because he couldn't remember it, and he doesn't want to forget bill, doesn't want to let go of the chance he gets to mourn her

- he started this season off with moving on because people needed him, but he was wrong, the only reason he could do that was because he was distanced from the loss he carries around with him

- and bill saved the world because she never let go of losing her mother–she carried it with her and lived with it and didn't let it take her over but didn't let herself forget it either

- she reminded him how to do that and he doesn't want to forget again

- fuck now i'm crying

[flightfoot]

What do you think of the idea that Adrien's classmates don't really trust him or like him that much after what happened in Felix? They saw Felix's recording and assumed it was Adrien. It has come up in a few posts by Adrien stans that the class doesn't really trust Adrien and can't really be called his friends.

I decided to rewatch it and tbf, Nino (and Marinette) did have Adrien's back there. Max doesn't really turn on him either. He evaluates the video with his AI and states that it hasn't been tampered with but he never makes a judgement on Adrien. Rose and Juleka don't say anything. They're just sad. Only Kim and Alya really make the judgements.

Kim says they haven't actually known him that long and Alya points out that he was friends with Chloe and he might be not a great person by association. I don't know if it's enough to say he can't consider most of the class friends...

It's kind of in character for Kim to be this callous occassionally and Alya... she is a journalist and tends to evaluate all evidence/possibilities, even when they are thorny. She chased the idea that Chloe might be Ladybug because of the evidence, despite despising Chloe. She doesn't immediately believe Marinette when Lila frames her because of the lack of evidence. Her only evidence against Adrien in 'Felix' is that the meanest girl in school was his best friend for most of his life and, perhaps reasonably, she submits it as evidence that they may have misjudged him as a nice guy. It's not like her to deny what she sees with her eyes off of blind faith, especially after Markov eliminated tampering as a possiblity. It's not in her nature to judge without evidence, but it's also not in her nature to dismiss evidence without due judgement. She'd perhaps make a good lawyer too.

Anyway, my point is, was this a sign that the class are poor friends to Adrien? I'd say MAYBE Kim isn't so great, but I never thought he and Adrien had all that much potential to be close. Alya did jump the gun a bit with the Chloe comment, but all evidence DID point to Adrien making the comments and she is a truth seeker over being comfortable. The rest seem pretty innocent imo. It seems more telling that Rose and Juleka care about Adrien's friendship that it led to them being akumatized. And Nino and Marinette weren't even about to entertain it.

It's a bit disheartening how most of the class doesn't consider alternate explanations for why Adrien may suddenly have appeared to turn nasty (seriously we've had several mind alteration akumas), but I don't consider the class to be bad for doubting Adrien there. Most of them like him, but don't actually know him all that well - he doesn't get to hang out with everyone after school as often as he'd like to, and they HAVE only known him for a few months.

I still consider Adrien to be friends with most of the class, but it's sadly a more casual friendship, not because the rest of the class doesn't want to be closer, but because he's limited in how much time he gets to spend with them. They do all care for him and try to help him when they can, they're definitely friendly with him, they just don't know him all that well. It mostly just goes to show that they need to spend more time with him, but that's not really been possible due to Gabriel being a dick.

I will say that if Adrien was the focal character, I think "Felix" would have been the equivalent of Chameleon, with thousands of betrayal fics being launched to demonize anyone who hadn't immediately rushed to Adrien's defence. Since Adrien's NOT the focal character though, the people who really like those sorts of fics didn't latch onto the episode, and everyone else just plain wasn't interested. I don't actually remember any Felix episode fics engaging in a betrayal plotline for Adrien's sake.

And yeah, this is another episode where the Derision backstory being retconned in is pretty obvious, though it's still not as bad of a case as Animaestro at least.

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

Before going anywhere else, I stop at Frittte to drop off some more tare.

🎵 Fritte

The yellow roses in the window -- those aren't the flowers that were left for Klaasje.

VISUAL CALCULUS - The tracks are as they have ever been. A bit more worn, perhaps. Fortunately, the street sweeper still hasn't noticed their presence.

"This is where I started off with my motor carriage... before sinking it in the sea."

I think I got it. [Leave.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "No wonder the cafeteria manager seemed frustrated when he was giving us directions to the yard."

"Well," he gestures toward the gaping hole in the fence, "you did provide us with a very convenient access point to the crime scene."

Not sure how else we would get there, to be honest.

🎵 Whirling in Rags, 8 pm

We should be able to deal with the two winning options at once here...

Except we haven't paid for a room today, so we're locked out.

🎵 Miss Oranje Disco Dancer

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "I was just thinking -- what a nice day for questions." She lights a cigarette. "Pertaining to a murder investigation."

"Can I ask more about you? For the record."

"I need to talk to you about your room again."

"Let's talk more about this so-called assault."

[Volition - Legendary 14] Look her in the eye.

"Titus Hardie gave us a recording where the deceased states his intention to commit rape."

"What is this wild flower?" (Show her the flower.)

"Let's return to this later, miss."

Huh, did we... have that check before? I don't remember it.

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - She puts her coffee cup down.

PERCEPTION (HEARING ) [Easy: Success] - With a soft ring, as the porcelain meets the metal table.

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - This does not surprise her.

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Did he?" A smile flits across her face. "I never said he was a good man. Or that he had good intentions -- only that he was never bad to me."

"On this tape he specifically identifies *you* as the target."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Mmm. Where did they get this recording, exactly?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "It's intercepted radio chatter of the deceased -- recorded via a de-encryption station. It's authentic enough."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Does he says he's gonna do it *Soldier of the Apocalypse*-style?" She arches her brow.

"Those are the exact words he used."

"Something to that effect, yes."

"No."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Yeah... That was practically his pick-up line." She picks the cup back up.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - A memory surfaces in her tired neocortex -- it's not entirely unpleasant.

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Did he say *whores* a lot?... Was he pretty much on the verge of *doing it Co Hoi-style*?"

"Yes. The word *whore* was used."

"Co Hoi *was* mentioned."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "He liked the way it *sounded* when he said it. As to Co Hoi..." The young woman lights a new cigarette with the butt of her old one.

"He wasn't *actually* there -- he didn't do a tour, or at least didn't tell me he did. Would've been overkill anyway. He lived his own little Co Hoi. It was in his... *everything*."

"Why say things like that? Machismo?"

"Do you think he was trying to scare people?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Yes -- was he bragging?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Oh no, I'm pretty sure he *did* all those things -- then integrated them into his idea of normalcy. To keep on living. Until they just... sort of turned into his..." She thinks. "What's the word I'm looking for?"

"Coping mechanism?"

"Catch phrase?"

"Persona?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Running joke. I was gonna say running joke -- and it sounds like you didn't even get the good bits. Lely's punchlines got way, way funkier than that."

"He was like the Semenese conflict, the Co Hoi massacre, and the '36 famine in Yeesut all rolled into one person, then cast in Oranjese ceramic armour. Which he wore in bed *and* in the shower..."

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - When he said he was *done* and *done mentally* it didn't sound like a joke. Sounded like a deeply troubled man.

"Hold on, he said he was *mentally done*. That's sounds like a broken man to me."

"Weren't you afraid?"

"You like this kind of stuff?"

"And you spent time with this person? Romantically?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Well..." She smiles. "Maybe I pieced him back together -- with my magical personality?"

"Weren't you afraid?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Afraid of what? That tape the Hardie boys recorded? Your mother probably never told you this, but girls are *evil*."

"Had I the physical robustness and social support I'd be *in* Co Hoi, *I* would be tearing it up *Soldier of the Apocalypse*-style..."

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - She wouldn't, she doesn't have the Full Hoi in her.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Did he tell you he had actually *done* any of those things -- here in Martinaise, I mean?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "No. We were too busy laying waste our own nervous systems to direct any of the *fury* outward. He seemed..." She thinks. "He seemed happy, I guess. At ease. As much as a man like him could be."

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - There is a small measure of pride in her. That she could quell the rage in such a being.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - What kind of man *was* he? Before you go, ask for details. She seems okay to talk about it.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Thank you for clearing that up, miss." He turns to you. "Whenever you're ready -- I'm interested to hear what Titus Hardie has to say now."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - She takes a very small sip of her coffee and smiles.

Before we ask her any more, let's try this Volition check.

4. [Volition - Legendary 14] Look her in the eye.

+1 Slight confusion about bullet.

VOLITION [Legendary: Failure] - She looks back, time moves slowly. The triangles of her face rearranging into a weary smile...

SUGGESTION [Trivial: Success] - Don't worry. We will protect you from her beauty. We will *consult* you through the reefs and sounds of her persona.

DRAMA [Easy: Success] - We will see through deceits. You are shielded. You are wise.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - You are advised. There are muscles on long white bones that line her limbs, just below the silver jumpsuit...

What is... happening?

Avert your eyes.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - Nothing. Just time passing. Don't worry.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Easy: Success] - Anything out of the ordinary and you would be notified.

ENDURANCE [Trivial: Success] - Air moves in your windpipe. Your heart beats. You're a detective -- get back to detecting.

Am I being... beguiled?

Avert your eyes.

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - She presses her elbows against her waist and slowly turns her head.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - Her hair brushes her shoulders, making a small hissing sound, almost imperceptible...

2. Avert your eyes.

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - The strange moment ends. It was brief, no longer than 2.2 seconds.

5. "Now that you've had some time -- can you tell us more about the victim?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Like -- for example -- his name?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Actually, officer, I didn't know his name. I just called him Lely."

KIM KITSURAGI - "A nickname?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "I guess. He came from Lelystad -- it's short for that. And it was his *army name*, apparently. He said his real name wasn't *his*. I tried to pry it out of him, but it was no use."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Lelystad. That's a good start..." The lieutenant writes it down in his notebook...

…then tears out a page and hands it to you. "We have a few questions you can help us with. A few things a field autopsy alone can't answer."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - The young woman cranes her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the page the lieutenant passed to you. On it is a list of autopsy observations, recorded neatly in blue ink.

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - The last missing pieces of a puzzle of flesh.

"Where is Lelystad? The place, I mean?"

"How old was he, miss?"

"His eye colour?"

"He had a tattoo -- what did it mean?"

"Tell me something odd -- did he enjoy his death?"

"Could it be love that *did him in*?"

"We requested a semen screening from Processing."

"I think we're finished with this line of questioning." (Hand the lieutenant back his notes.)

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "In Oranje, officer. It's a... I think *municipality* is the term? A nowhere-town there."

KIM KITSURAGI - "You were *almost* right, officer." The lieutenant shakes his head, like you just missed a shot in darts. "That means his race was Occidental, not Mondial. I'll update the form."

(Look at Klaasje.) "You were both from Oranje?"

(Look at the autopsy paper.) "Moving on..."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Yes. We were compatriots."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Did that bring you together?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "No. He was too old for that -- and from another part of Oranjenrijk. I didn't even understand his accent. What brought us together wasn't Oranje -- it was bad habits."

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - Sex, alcohol...

2. "How old was he, miss?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "He was forty-two."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Forty-two? Are you sure? I would have had him above fifty..."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "He had many scars that made him appear older. But no." The memory makes her smile.

"We even celebrated his birthday, like, some weeks ago… It was a funny two days. He had little reason to lie to me."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Looks like you were right, officer." The lieutenant taps on his notebook once. As though assigning some kind of *point*...

PAIN THRESHOLD [Easy: Success] - Points are good. Have one, you old dog! Before we all die...

+1 Health

"I did not know this was a competition, Kim."

Better not to mention it...

KIM KITSURAGI - "It isn't. Police work is a *cooperative* sport."

3. "His eye colour?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Blue, light blue. They were like..." She stops, her eyes half closed, then continues: "Like little blue galaxies, you know. It was strange, seeing those eyes in his fucked up face..."

"Pardon the swearing." She takes a drag. "I do him an injustice -- he wasn't ugly. And he had a beautiful, soft voice. Very surprising, what with all the scarring. It was quite something, watching him speak."

KIM KITSURAGI - "He had a combat wound -- on his chin and mouth?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Yes. *Severe*." She seems to enjoy the word. "It made him look like half his face was cracking away in some strange smile. That and those eyes..."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Oh yes," the lieutenant suddenly remembers. "His hair -- if you can remember?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "It was light brown, almost blond. He darkened it with brilliantine. Made it oily. Not nice to stroke. I couldn't convince him to leave it alone."

"Interesting -- I too have stroked his hair."

"Kim, I said to put the brilliantine on the form -- do I get a point?"

"Let's get to the rest."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Oily, isn't it..." She says, unfazed. She draws on her cigarette and lets the smoke linger for a moment in her mouth. "We have that in common now."

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - She understands what autopsies entail. It doesn't get her off-balance.

"Kim, I said to put the brilliantine on the form -- do I get a point?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "No," he answers dryly.

"But I put it down, there…" (Point to the red autopsy slip.)

"Okay."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Okay. Sure. Here you go. What else are we missing, officer?" he asks, trying to get the questioning back on track.

+5 XP

4. "He had a tattoo -- what did it mean?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Oh." She smiles. "*That*."

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - It's clear she *liked* it.

"You liked it?"

"It was an Oranjese Map of the Waterways?"

"It was a map of his service history?"

"What did it represent -- do you know?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Quite a lot, yes."

"It was an Oranjese Map of the Waterways?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Sure, waterways... It was mostly for showing off to chicks though."

"For showing off to chicks? How so?"

"Thank you. A few more questions..."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "How?" She leans back. "Imagine him lying in bed, *freakish* musculature laid out on the sheets. Scarred, of course. Tattooed. The sheets are dirty for some reason."

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - Is this Oranjese lit?

"Is this Oranjese lit?"

Don't interrupt.

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Yes. This is the very *essence* of Oranjese lit -- a moment's respite. Dark and hopeless as the struggle itself." She leans even further back to demonstrate.

"He's smoking and drinking, of course. And his chest and shoulders and arms are studded with stars. Tens, hundreds of them. Maybe even thousands."

"And the woman goes like..." She points at the air with her sharp-nailed finger, picking out an imaginary tattoo-star. "'What was *this*, baby?'"

"And he says..." She lowers her voice, comically. "'That was *too* hard core. Don't ask me about that.' So she goes: 'Okay. But what's this, baby?' And he's like: 'Saw some bad shit there, killed some loincloths.'"

"And so it goes -- star after star, port after port, third world country after third world country. And he's done horrible things in every single one of them."

"You were the woman in this?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Oh yeah." She nods.

"Can you tell us precisely what these mean?" (Hand her the photo.)

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "No thank you." She does not take it. "I've seen enough of him dead. I can tell you what they *meant* without looking at them." She pours herself some more coffee.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Go on."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "He was a blue-eyed boy with thick arms. From a small town. He was also *poor*, and the government of Oranje needed some people killed, so they turned him into a grotesque killer -- for money."

"He went to Killer Academy in Vredefort. Then he killed some people on the Semenine islands. And on other islands too -- all of the islands. After this he came to Revachol and got killed himself."

"Not a very fun story."

"Good story. Thanks."

"Thank you for clearing that up."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "It *is* when you're high. It can be very exciting then -- you have the tools to deal with it. It's not a very nice story to remember when you're sober." She smiles faintly. "A change of topic?"

4. "Tell me something odd -- did he enjoy his death?"

VOLITION [Mediium: Success] - Just have her answer the question. Don't give explanations.

"Please answer the question, miss. Did he enjoy the moment of his death?"

"It's just a feeling I have. Indulge me."

"It came to me in an *occult vision*."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "It very well could be, yes."- "I don't think he *enjoyed* dying, officer. He had too much left to do -- too many third world conflicts. Couldn't tap out just yet."

DRAMA [Easy: Success] - Everything checks out here. It's all A-Okay. Good answer.

5. "Could it be love that *did him in*?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "It very well could be, yes."- "It very well could be, yes."

"What do you mean?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "What *do* I mean?" She raises an eyebrow. "I have no idea. I don't even know what *you* mean. Love did him in? What does that mean?"

"He told me -- love did him in."

"Okay then. Another question."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "That's not funny, officer."

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - Her voice is like a slash through the air. Her shoulders tense up.

6. "We requested a semen screening from Processing."

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Good for you."

KIM KITSURAGI - "What do you think it will tell us?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "I don't know how a semen sample works, officers. How many days after intercourse does it have to be -- I don't even know if he had sex with someone else. We didn't *go steady*."

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - Is she avoiding anything? Technically not.

VOLITION [Easy: Success] - See? There's something off here. This one *must* know she's deploying flares and countermeasures.

7. "I think we're finished with this line of questioning." (Hand the lieutenant back his notes.)

KIM KITSURAGI - "Alright." The lieutenant puts the slip back in his notes and observes the young woman for a moment.

Task complete: Question Klaasje about the dead man

+10 XP

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - Coolly, gracefully, she pours herself more coffee.

7. "Let's return to this later, miss." [Leave.]

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Why not? I'll be here until 23.00, drinking coffee most likely..."

VISUAL CALCULUS - Wait, stop -- that man, bloated beyond all recognition, was 42?

It's what she said, yes.

[Discard thought.]

VISUAL CALCULUS - Below the damage, the weeks of decomposition, all the swollen indignity of mortality -- he was 42 years old?

Where is this going?

VISUAL CALCULUS - How old are *you*? That's where this is going. Forty-five thousand litres of raw alcohol has left its disfigurements. What lies beneath, you wonder.

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - You could ask either one of them.

"Kim, how old do you think I am?"

(Turn around.) "Miss, how old do you think I am?"

I got this, I got this... My age -- I think I'm...

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Huh?" She leans in closer. "How old do I think you are?"

"I don't know... 40? I was like 9 when OO peaked. That was, what? Nineteen years ago? I liked them when I was 9. You couldn't have liked it when you were 40..."

"Let's say you were twenty-something. Twenty five. A good disco age. Twenty five plus nineteen is forty four. I'm gonna say you're 44."

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - Wow!

"Wow."

"Forty four? I'm young!"

"Forty four? You think so?"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Yeah. I have a university degree, you know." She flicks ash from her cigarette.

"Forty four? I'm young!"

KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "Absolutely. Age is just a number, man."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Yes miss, but..." The lieutenant disagrees. "For him that number is *56*."

VISUAL CALCULUS - Wait! This requires *scientific* measurements.

Bring it on. I am not afraid of the truth.

I don't want to think about this any more.

VISUAL CALCULUS - To the Laboratorium!

Thought gained: Date of Birth Generator

DATE OF BIRTH GENERATOR

Temporary research bonus: None Research time: 7h 15m

Your face looks like it’s 58 and your body feels like it’s 60. Your mind feels like it’s lived for one day or a hundred. Both longer than they ought to be, the day and the century.... But for how long, then, has this thing attached to your sentience walked the planet’s crust? Time to start racking those brains of yours, Elder One. When and where were you born?

[lucienne-thee-librarian]

Hi! If I am recalling correctly, I remember something about a Desunity rock band AU. I’d love to hear more about that 👀

WELL sorry this took so long lol I have zero excuses, but you have asked and you shall receive!! So.

First off, for the record in this au it's not a traditional romantic relationship, it's more...idk if queerplatonic is the right word? But yeah. Desire is aromantic but not asexual. I just honestly don't care much what sort of bond these two have, the odd couple energy just really appeals to me. Unity has already had relationships and done the whole marriage and kids thing, she values her independence now too much to want to give it up. Also frankly, she cares for them but Desire is too much of a diva for her to want to live together long term. And for their part...yes, the two sleep together on occasion but Desire frankly isn't short of bed partners. Friends...that's something else entirely. (Also honestly I see them having...no idea what to do with kids, and never particularly wanting any. Zorawitch's excellent au is a different beast, this is mine) Unity is sweet and down to earth but so has a wit and tongue that can be as sharp as theirs so honestly, what's not to adore about her?

They both spoil each other in different ways, Unity with genuine affection and connection that allows this prickly diva to maybe even let their walls down sometimes, Desire with attention and gifts and excitement, both of them giving each other great sex. She loves her kids, Miranda Rose and Jed, in this au, but it's hard to get often buried in work and family only, and have less time for yourself. Plus, middle aged women (she's in her 40s that's right; we're doing milf Unity here. Desire's pushing 30) often get treated as undesirable invisible maternal figures. So to have this person sweep into her life and make her feel attractive, and like life is fun again too...it's something she needed even more badly than she realized.

Endless Night, the band, is between tours when Desire happens into the same bar as Unity, and the two hit it off. She didn't know who they were at first, because she's not really a rock fan, which honestly...is for the best because that means the two can really bond as people. (She nearly had an aneurysm when she found some of their videos later) And bond they did...over a trivia quiz game, and fought to a draw. Then they both ended up talking all night and the rest was history.

The rockband part is pretty straightforward, the Endless family are a rock/metal band who are putting out bangers regularly and also constantly on the verge of total collapse because. This family. Nothing can ever be easy with them lol. Desire is the lead singer, Death the guitarist, Morpheus bass guitar and Destruction on drums, Despair is their techie, Del does album art, Destiny is a lawyer and not involved in the band if he can help it xD I will go on about the band part all day if allowed, I've got more to say

Unity in this au also: collects antique dolls, it's something of a passion for her. Her day job is a pastry business she now owns, Kinkaid's Sugartopia.

[fantasyqueen502]

Three

Kane x (female unnamed) oc

Rated: PG-13

"I'm--

"Lomax." She answers. She stiffens furrowing her brows, opening and closing her mouth "I don't even know how I know that." She croaks, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Must have heard someone say it." He reasons. 

"Must have." She echos. 

Taking a seat clearing his throat."This conversation will be recorded and documented. State your name for the record." 

"F/N, L/N."

"Rank and title." 

"C-corporal, combat medic." swallowing the nerves rose in the back of her throat. Dividing her attention between the doctor and camera posted just over his shoulder. Recording light tainting as the only other color in the monochrome room. 

"Wanna talk about your husband?"

She furrows her brows staring off. 

"Who?" 

"Your husband." 

"Oh." She nods, but remains quiet.

"Wanna talk about what happened?"

"No." She answers.

"How did you get home?" 

"I don't know. I was just sitting on the porch swing. He stepped out for his nightly smoke and found me." 

"How did he react?" 

"Surprised. Hugged me too tight." 

"You had the bodycam with you at this time." 

"Yes." 

"How long have you been in the shimmer?" 

"Two…maybe three weeks."  

"What's the last thing you remember?" 

She stares off. "A bright light." She swiftly grabs hold of the fleeting memory. "A house. Two floors succumbed to melancholy."

"Were you alone?" 

His expression spoke to her. 

"Not…at first…then…yes."

Lomax places a picture before her. A group shot. Fingers casting over the grinning faces. Stopping on one. 

Kane

 She points to each face but leaves her own untouched. "The order."

"Order of what?"

She remains silent. 

"What happened to them?" 

"I don't know?" She whispers.

"Your squad?" 

Hesitantly stares. 

"Did they die? Pretty standard yes or no will do."

"We prayed." Breath catches in her throat. "If there was a god." The tears fell. "They would die in peace, but…" she sobs. "It wouldn't let them go." 

"Southern Ranch Deployed into the shimmer six months ago." 

"What…N-No." 

"This must all be very confusing. We're trying to figure this out the best we can. You both will be kept for further evaluation.”

"Both?" She furrows her brows. Lomax clears his throat, his eyes glancing downward. 

She drags her slippers against the floor of the stark white room. Her heart races finding she isn't alone. A head of dark curls turns to her from their place on the couch. 

His brown eyes drank her in. A hint of a smile appears. 

"One." He sounds. 

"Two." She replies. Walking over to him. He lifts his hand, taking hers as she stands in front of him. An airy chuckle leaves his throat. Smoothing the oversized medical short his hand following a noticeable bump of her abdomen. 

"Three." They sound in unison.