#VERSE.// IRREVERSABLE PAST

[ruddyrose]

.//tag dummmmp

[urfavnegronerd]

right there- alina baraz

summary: lazy day w miles (either 1610 or 42) 

pairing: miles x black coded reader  

w/c: 839

sum slight

warnings: lowk suggestive if you squint, fem (?) reader (miles refers to reader as ma and mama and princesa, but no use of pronouns so idk if it counts as fem reader), grammarly edited, but nothing really lmk if i missed something

published: august 7, 2023

song lyrics are italicized

ven aquí- come here, vení- come here (informal), princesa- princess

s/o @lunarfleur for this concept, luv u babycakes smooches

i get so caught up

The day had effortlessly slipped away, like sand through your fingers in a lazy, syrupy, and euphoric haze.  

“Mama? baby?” Miles mumbles, his face halfway nuzzled into your stomach, his hands absent-mindedly kneading at your hips, listlessly raising his head to meet your half-lidded gaze, lifting your chin to meet his eyes. 

“Mmm?” 

“Ven aquí,” 

might of forgot us, can you remind me? 

His voice is a tired kind of raspy as he’s pressing his lips into yours in a mixture of lenience and hunger, his calloused hands cradling your cheeks, pulling away, and kissing your nose. Returning to his original position on your stomach, nuzzling his face into your stomach once again to watch an older CoryxKenshin video. Confused and blushing, you return to your copy of When Dimple Met Rishi, dreamily running your nails across his durag massaging his hair through the silky fabric. 

His bedroom was a small oasis, far away from the usual Brooklyn noise, a quiet dream far far away from everything you were running away from. The dazey smog of cigarette smoke permanently hanging in the air of your apartment, the smog that got caught in the fibers of your clothes, irreversibly weaving its way into your braids. You’d evolved to the point that it smelled comforting, but at the same time, it was a permanent burden on your shoulders, the scent weighing your shoulders down.   

tell me to come back, i got a lot on my mind

“Ma, come back,” he mumbles, pressing his face into your cheek. “Want another kiss,” 

Laughing and leaning into his mouth, adjusting your face up to him, you comply. The kiss was a warm envelope, encasing the two of you in a heavy and exultant moment of obscurity.  

i know it’s been a while, been a while, but i need you this time 

The two of you pull away and you return to your book as he returns to the animated lull of his video. The two of you stay like that, kissing every couple of minutes and going back to your respective past times. It was moments like this that you savored, the tenderness of his room, the soft scent of peppermint oil mixed with sandalwood, and the delicate warmth of the musky cologne he wore like a second skin. He never wore too much though, enough for you to associate him with that smell and the light menthol of his chapstick. The boy did wonders on you, he and his mother had shown you the kind of love you’d only seen on old reruns of Love and Basketball, Poetic Justice, Love Jones, and The Preachers Wife when it aired during Christmas.  

i’ll be in the city, get dressed don’t keep me waiting

Tender and loving, the kind of love the older woman preaches about on her doorstep, the one that’s like that one bible verse. The love in this boy's heart was patient and kind, comforting. A soft place to land, a small escape from everyday life. The kind that helps you take down your braids, and helps wash your hair. The kind where he’ll let you braid and unbraid his hair, gently raking your hands through his thick and luscious inky curls, half adoring his bed of curls, half detangling them.  

can you be my shotgun? be my all-time, be the right one

His eyes are half-lidded as he glances up at you furtively, warily drinking in your beauty. The ethereal glow to your soft brown skin, the brown eyes that hide under your eyelashes with an alluring light to them. The eyes that never failed to make Miles’ heart skip a beat when he looked deep into them, his eyes pouring into you like hot wax in a candle. 

“Whatchu need, baby?”  

you ready? let me know 

“Vení,” he whispers, eyes set low, drunk on lust, fatigue barely lining his eyes. As per routine, he reconnects the two of you, this time he’s above you one arm resting on the wall behind you. Deeping the kiss as he pulls you upward, he exhales a sharp, ragged, yet blissful breath. The kind that makes you pull back and look up at him quizzically. 

“Everything okay, sueñito?” 

“ ‘s all good ma,” 

“You was just breathing all weird, is all,” 

“ ‘m okay, princesa,” 

“Okay,” you smile and exhale, angling up to him more. 

ima need you right there

The youtube video is long forgotten, the book haphazardly discarded beside you, you softly tug his chain forward as he runs his hands along the side of your hoodie, his right hand finding yours and timidly fusing your hands together. Using your left hand, you gently run your fingers over his eyebrows, in an attempt to unfurrow them as he smiles and leans into you. 

“You’re so beautiful, mama,” he mumbles into your lips, and then the two of you are lost in an enraptured oblivion. 

ima need you right there, right there wimme  

🩷 reblogs are always appreciated for reach <3

taglist: @lunarfleur @hearts4hobie@mayeluvsu@nagi3seastorm @n1cole-ghost@hummusxx@milesmolasses@kombuuuu

xoxo,

rae <3

[pulsar-the-northstar]

Grief as concept in The Gazette's 'Dark Age' - Part 3

Part 1

Part 2

The last three songs from Dark Age represent the fifth stage of the Kübler-Ross and Wright model—acceptance, or as Wright puts it, “the upward turn". This is apparent in the pace and melody of the songs: they revisit previously introduced themes and keywords, but with altered emphasis and arrangement, sometimes changing their significance.

DEUX already starts with a very powerful opening line: 答えは絶望の淵で 不可逆 夢落ち願う, "the answer is irreversibly in the abyss of despair, I wish this were just a bad dream". Grief has entered the "consolidation" phase, and everything that seemed uncontrollable (death) slowly gives way to controlled remembrance. The intensity of physical and mental symptoms of grief decreases, yet an unforeseen circumstance or trigger can still draw the mourner back into emotions they thought they had already dealt with.

This is exactly what happens to the narrator of DEUX: although they would like to wake up from the dream of their life burdened with loss into a happy reality, the opposite happens: they dream of the deceased, then wake up from it (You're my enemy / 逆夢喰らい示す, "you're my enemy / as you tantalize with false dreams"). The lyrics here include the word 逆夢 (sakayume), translated as “reverse dream”, appears in our culture: it's a folk belief that dreaming of someone's death means they will live a long life.

Therefore, the person who appears living in the reversed dream is dead in reality and does not let the living person rest (寡黙と眠る夜が怖いのは誰の所為？, "whose fault is it that the silent night and sleep are frightening?"), the mourner endeavors to navigate through the altered circumstances (行き場断たれ迷い 自我境界破れて 心が壊れてしまった, "I've lost my way, the boundaries of my personality have been torn apart, my heart is broken"), and there is a faint, cautious desire for the shared past to continue in a transformed shared future (君と僕は 底無しの闇に朽ちる - "you and I rot in bottomless darkness", 後は踏み出すだけ/ もう迷わない – "there's nothing left, I have to take a step forward / I can't hesitate anymore").

The second to last song, the slow, the slow, nearly lullaby-esque OMINOUS, reintroduces the notion familiar from DEUX, the "reverse dream": the mourner seeks to drift back into slumber ("Sleep...Count me down...Again") to meet the person they lost (さぁ目を閉じて/ 向かおう – "and (as) I close my eyes / I turn towards you"). However, the deceased person in the dream is restless, struggling with nightmares (悪夢と舞う君を見る – "I see you dancing with nightmares"), and n this instance, it's the mourner attempting to soothe the deceased (忘れないで / 心は死なない / 忘れないで / そう 夢は逆夢, "don't forget / the heart is immortal / don't forget / dreams sometimes lie"), almost implying: don't worry about me, your nightmares about me are not real, I will be fine now, rest peacefully.

The conversation with the departed and their reassurance that life can evolve in a different manner isn't yet tangible reality; it's more of a self-encouragement. The pain and loneliness caused by grief are still part of the present, the constant change—the constant cycle of life and death (流転, ruten)—is conceivable to the mind but not to the heart. The last verse beautifully expresses the pain that, despite the realization, remains in the survivor's soul like a constant, dull presence: 形無き明日を奪う 踏み出す度 / 翳る空で何も見ない / 悲しみに自分を殺し叫ぶ声は / 何も救えない – "every time I take a step forward (to the constant change) it steals the formless tomorrow / I see nothing in the dark sky / I kill myself with loneliness and shout in sadness / but no one can save me".

The final song of Dark Age, also its magnum opus, UNDYING, begins with the same themes with which OMINOUS ended: loneliness, insomnia, and hopelessness ("Sleep, count me down, again / I won't arise from this", 残された唯一 禍いと廻る未来 – "the only thing left, spreading misfortune"). However, as much as it seems like grief has pushed the mourner back to square one, and everything starts anew, the use of the term "Undying" already show signs of a later stage of oscillation. The apparent setbacks or emotions re-emerging due to external influences, as painful as they may be, are just as natural. In the final moments of wakefulness, the mourner seeks the building blocks of their new identity ("不透明な事実指し 何を信じ 何願う – "pointing to uncertain facts, what can I believe, what can I hope for?"), when the dream weighs upon their eyes, and in the countdown, all essential conflicts of grief appear:

After confronting each of the thoughts that appear one after another or simultaneously in the grieving process, each reinforced by the other, in a continuous feedback loop, the mourner remembers the refrain of DOGMA ("I deny all of it"), then the refrain of OMINOUS, but in a new context: “Sleep, count me down 死と踊り” ("dancing with death") / “Count me down, again さぁ終われ” ("come on, let's finish this"), and poses the question: "Have I changed?" (俺は変われたか？)

Indeed, something has changed as the experience of loss has become part of the identity, and this consolidation is reflected in the final lines of the lyrics: 終わりを見ても / 許されぬ願いに夢を見た / この眼は今もまだ / 今もまだ, "even if I see the end / I dreamed of unforgivable hopes / and these eyes still see / even now." The unforgivable desires (wishes, prayers) peak in the two English lines of the song: "Life, don’t change my fate / God, entomb my hate", and despite how ominous these words may seem, they still inspire hope.

The concept of fate in regard of grief was introduced by INCUBUS. The desire for life not to overshadow our destiny —shaped by the life of the departed, their absence, and their continued existence within us —describes the state where the bond with the deceased is redefined. Their absence has become part of life, thus forming a kind of constant, eternal, unchangeable (undying?) presence.

Our second plea to God (with whom our relationship throughout Dark Age has been turbulent, as we've only clashed with him) is a prayer seeking the divine to lay to rest our "hate" (our anger), allowing us to bury all negative emotions aimed at others and ourselves, emotions that only tear down rather than construct. These lines express the yearning for rebuilding, hope, and ultimately, the acceptance of reality.

Final thoughts

It doesn't necessarily imply from the above that grief, as both an event in life and a personal encounter, has been fully dealt with, despite the melodies and lyrics of the subsequent albums, NINTH and MASS, signifying a more positive phase.

What I consider crucial to emphasize, not strictly tied to the examination of Dark Age, is directly linked to the positive phase of grief, known as the consolidation phase: while losses cannot be reversed, one can shape a self-image, a narrative that incorporates the loss into the mourner's identity.

There isn't a definitive "right" or "wrong" way to grieve – grief, as mentioned earlier, is a natural, almost instinctive reaction we have to loss. The mourner inherently understands their needs: whether it's solitude and seclusion, or perhaps companionship, community. Perhaps the only "incorrect" approach to grieving is when the oscillacion process is impeded: if the person who suffered the loss remains fixated solely on it’s negative effects (unable to let go of the deceased and the mourning state, becoming engulfed, unwilling to feel anything but sorrow), or exclusively focuses on restoration (organizing their life, forcefully moving forward, rejecting the memory of the deceased and their connection, merely striving to feel "fine" again).

The compositions of Dark Age can be aligned with both the phased, gradual grief theories and the dual-process model. As dark and distressing as they might seem, these songs actually demonstrate a healthy, evolving grief that eventually leads us out of the darkness.

I trust that those who listen to the melodies of Shikkoku discover solace within them and uncover the concealed, encrypted message: that before dawn, the darkest hour arrives, but from these bleak times (Dark Age), the hope we have lost returns (Blinding Hope, Last Song) and eventually guides us back to the light ("Come back to the light").

Disclaimer

I want to emphasize that I am not an expert in the field of grief, nor am I a therapist or a certified grief counselor (at least not yet). This analysis serves as an overview of how The Gazette's Dogma-era represents grief, and its purpose is to hopefully provide solace to readers by offering support and reassurance that whatever emotions they may be experiencing are entirely normal. It's important to note that the original essay was written in my native language, and while I've used machine translation and AI correction to translate it as close to the original as I can, my proficiency in English may not be perfect (far far away from perfect). If you're interested, I can provide a link to the original essay on my private blog.

Any suggestions, corrections, comments are welcome.

[snoopysfriendwoodstock]

what are your feelings on cassandra? I'm a little indifferent to most of it but I'm so obsessed with the first verse... the crack on the wall might be metaphorical but I love it in the literal sense, like a mundane thing you see everyday reminding you of the moment where you became aware of losing something big, a moment you're always reliving, memories that pull you in and you lose your train of thought. and then she kind of goes back to it with the weaving nightmares part, "what happens if it becomes who you are?". these lines kinda get drowned out by all the other stuff she's saying, but I think they would have given a great short, visually clear song (like "I look in people's windows")

i really like it!! i find it really really interesting and while i think a lot of people are not fans of her self mythologizing i think it’s super intriguing. like she has been a cassandra figure in many ways throughout her career imo and while obviously the moment she’s referencing here is the kim/kanye feud, what i’m drawn to the most is the way that she clearly is still so wounded by what happened in 2016 in a way i don’t think she’ll ever move past, but she knows at this point she’s obsessed to the point of pushing people away. and she knows she can’t move past it and part of her doesn’t want to bc i think there’s still a part of her that’s waiting on a big public apology & i think this really warped her sense of self in irreversible ways. ik a lot of people are so over the 2016 stuff (some people were already over it and complaining about it during lover! one album after rep!) but i still find the whole situation so interesting.

[night-loop]

The Birthday Massacre’s demos uploaded to Patreon (part 2)

First of all, I highly recommend that you support the band by subscribing to their Patreon, so you can listen to and download these for yourself :) But for those without the means to, or those who want a concise list, here we are! Broken into Part 1 and 2.

Part 1 is here

In order of upload (oldest to most recent). Text in quotation marks is copied + pasted directly from the Patreon upload. Unquoted text is my own thoughts. 

Fading. Dreams of You demo. [Rainbow, about sending the demo to Falcore:] "he plays us this song but he's turned it upside down and created this bopping eighties jam with it. Sped up the tempo, modified the key of the song and added some really cool synth production to it." Fading is a slowed down, spooky, "introspective" demo of Dreams of You. Lyrics are slightly different and the sound is more haunting and longing. Length: 1:49. Exact date unknown.

Marionettes (Premix). In This Moment demo. Very similar to the final version, but different vocals/lyrics in the second chorus. Length: 4:44. Exact date unknown.

Outside. A short instrumental demo of Beyond. Length: 1:27. Exact date unknown

Legend. "Building a Song"- synth chord progressions that developed into Precious Hearts. Length: 1:40. Exact date unknown.

Legend. Precious Hearts demo instrumental. "Building a Song"- "Here is the next version of the song. At this point, Falcore has continued to work out the track and added additional synths and some drums to start to form the idea..... This track was actually called "Legend" right up until the final mix!" Length: 1:52. Exact date unknown.

Legend (Bat vocals). Precious Hearts demo with Bat's vocals. "Building a Song" - vocal ideas only in the first verse and pre-chorus. Length: 4:30. Exact date unkown.

Legend (Chibi rough vocals). Precious Hearts demo. "Building a Song" - Two weeks before album needs to be complete: "What's left? Well, now we would dive into Tracking the final vocals now that Chibi knows the song. Over the next couple of weeks, we will record each song a bunch of times with her in different mindsets of performance. Relaxed, aggressive, soft, intimate and then find the perfect combo for the final album! You may notice there are a couple of things missing still! Rainbow's Harmonies and the Bridge idea!" Length: 4:30. Exact date unknown.

Precious Hearts (Final mix, unmastered). "Building a Song". Title switched from Legend to Precious Hearts. Subtle differences from released mastered version- for example, this can clearly be heard in the bridge. Length: 4:24. Exact date unknown.

Crossed. An electronic-driven instrumental "demo from the "Diamonds" sessions that never fully became a song!" Length: 3:38. Dated to 2018. Exact date unknown.

Neon. End of All Stories demo with Rainbow's vocals, only in the first verse. Length: 2:37. Exact date unknown.

Spooky Loop. A higher quality of the instrumental background music that used to feature on the old nothingandnowhere.com website. Length: 2:27. Exact date unknown.

Night Loop. Another higher quality instrumental from the nothingandnowhere.com website. Length: 1:54. Exact date unknown.

Fatality. Like Fear, Like Love demo with Rainbow's rough vocal ideas. Demo created by Falcore. Length: 2:34, Exact date unknown.

Fatality. Like Fear, Like Love demo. Chibi's rough vocals, but not yet complete (e.g. empty chorus). Length: 4:26. Exact date unknown.

Other. Run instrumental demo. Length: 3:24. Exact date unknown.

Soundtrack. A short instrumental demo from the Walking with Strangers era. "Here is an idea that may have blossomed but there were already so many songs on the table!" Length: 0:56. Exact date unknown.

Irreversible. "An unused gem from 2018 "Diamonds" writing sessions." Instrumental demo which *partly* sounds reminiscent of early instrumental work (e.g. Night Loop, Spooky Loop). Length: 1:51. From 2018. Exact date unknown.

Beware Loop. "Here's a sweet little loop made from the "Hide & Seek" era!". Instrumental track that *partly* sounds like Cold Lights. Length: 1:37. Exact date unknown.

Superstition (Rainbow Version). "A version of "Superstition" that Rainbow had created during his Wight Eye's writing sessions." Length: 4:09. Exact date unknown.

Bad Jeans. A heavy electro-driven instrumental demo . "Written pre Hide & Seek." Length: 4:56. Exact date unknown.

Ever. Instrumental demo with guitars, drums and electronic sounds. "Written pre Hide & Seek." Length: 2:11. Exact date unknown.

2 Hearts (OE demo). Rough demo of Two Hearts with OE singing the first verse and chorus. Length: 1:45. Recorded in 2008. Exact date unknown.

GhostTown. Sideways instrumental demo. Length: 2:24. Exact date unknown.

Pale Instrumental demo. More stripped down than the final instrumental- more electro than rock-driven. Some of the synth is more distorted, which sounds really fun! Length: 3:21. Exact date unknown.

Restraint. The Long Way Home demo by OE, featuring different vocals and lyrics from OE. Sounding even scarier and darker than the final version. Length: 1:54. Exact date unknown.

Glamorama. Instrumental demo of Always with electronic notes instead of vocals. Length: 4:13. Exact date unknown.

Control demo. Featuring Falcore's vocals, and some lyrical differences. Length: 3:24. Exact date unknown.

Part 3 will be uploaded in the future!

[sgterso]

over the past few weeks, i've noticed a difference between how i write jyn in her main verse vs modern verse. it was more of an unconscious thing and i hadn't really realized it until recently, where i had a minor Identity Crisis in thinking that i was writing jyn wildly ooc in her modern verse until i realized what was going on

the big difference between these two verses is that, in her main verse, jyn works with the alliance and has a significant amount of freedom and autonomy, especially compared to the six months she spent in wobani. this allows her more independence and she can mostly do what she pleases within the bueaucracy of the alliance. as a result, she's less guarded, more playful, etc.

in contrast, in her modern verse, she works for the fbi. she's a criminal consultant for them and her prison sentence was commuted so she could work for them instead. she's constantly worried that any wrong move or failure will send her back to wobani ( which was some of the worst months of her life ). this makes her more guarded and less willing to create meaningful relations with other people, less they distract her and cause irreversible consequences.

[yesfxckyxu]

J A C K N E V E R B O R E .

NAME: Jack Neverbore. AGE: 18-24. (Verse Dependent) DOB: March 28. NATIONALITY: Japanese American. SPECIES: Human. GENDER: Male. OCCUPATION: Vigilante Gang Leader. HEIGHT: 5'7". HAIR: Pitch Black. EYES: Burnt Umber. FACECLAIM: Izaya Orihara & Ryo Nishikido.

This gang does numerous tasks, on Jack’s side: stopping gang fights, drug wars, drug dealing and intervening with the cop’s tasks when it came to certain homicides; albeit rare. On Caleb’s side, outside their normal attires, they would do errands for the nursing homes, as well as running a homeless shelter labeled ‘The Crow’s Nest’. Both coming up to create this deal to start a ‘business’ in mind.

The members themselves are known to be reckless outside the gang, them being known as delinquents and/or criminals to some. Others, however, don’t even have records as they are not known as such outside of the activities of others. Those others are known to be ‘good kids’, ‘kind souls’, and even more than ‘A+ students’.

Yet, they are seen hanging around each other nonetheless—despite what is commonly known as their friends in their personal social groups, before ever hanging around others as themselves. Causing disdain towards those who are known with the bad rep, which seems to only cause those ‘good kids’ to cling to their friends tighter.

The unknown reason for these people’s change of relationships can only be described as association to the calling of an unknown ad from unknown origin. All thanks to the leader himself and his underground dealings.

Biography:

Jack is part of an American government experiment known as Case 404Nex, to where in his childhood days, he was severely neglected emotionally ( and is ). This caused him to be stunted in some ways to where he can have a hard time relating to people. Jack is known to be unpredictable and somewhat despicable when it comes to his past and present actions accompanied by thoughts.

He has been known to cause chaos in New York just out of pure boredom. As an example, would be pranking random civilians or causing out of the blue arguments, both to psychologically analyze the ‘victim’. As for him, he usually doesn’t see people as ‘human’ right away. This is mainly due to underlying mental illnesses, an almost irreversible consequence. And despite that he does this to get to know the unsuspecting victim of his antics, it can also backfire on him when it comes to those underlying illnesses.

This experiment is to solely analyze, ( ironic with how Jack treats others ), a human’s desire and need for emotional support; where they stand and how it affects their standing in social class, and cognitive empathy development. The question of what makes a human, a human.

Unintentionally, this caused Jack to finalize a delusion disorder called the “Defensive Actor Syndrome”, to where he believes he is somewhat in a “reality show”. Cameras and people watching him, people of the government alongside Actors watching him since he has obtained files on his eighteenth birthday telling him that he was part of the experiment. Which is also part of the experiment itself, which he had soon figured out. This has caused him to be very unkind to certain strangers that heighten his paranoia.

[neodarkdark]

Easiest verses to build some kind of relationship with Svern, Ranked

Alt verse (Black protag AU) - benefits not only from lack of Shadow Crystal but also from Svern having character development squeezed out of him so he's slightly less of a shitty person to know

Any fandom verse, generally - benefits from lack of Shadow (Crystal)

Fandomless verse - slightly less worse version of the main verse where the Shadow (notCrystal) is less prominent of an influence on his brain and therefore not irreversible Yet, and so has not caused him to become Completely Worse, but still very much present and pending if nothing is done about it

Main verse - the Original so sucks verse. Mission impossible to have any kind of functional relationship here due to Svern gleefully erasing any potential for character development from himself And also being generally the shittiest in this verse due to The Everything. You could never compete with the Shadow Crystal (which is a large part responsible for him being the worst here)

*SECRET ANSWER, past verse taking place in the time prior to Svern's exposure to the Shadow Crystal. You could theoretically have more chance of getting through to him (moody teenage Svern) and if you're good enough could even potentially create another preventative timeline branch where he doesn't totally fuck himself over with the Shadow Crystal later

*not to say it's easy to build a functional relationship with him in any verse because this is Svern we're talking about but some definitely have a bit less of an obstacle course to pass through than others

[syn4k]

do your thing, word boy

hell yeah. ok so this one isn't gonna be put under a cut because i hate you all and you WILL read my words, boy

most of our writing style inspo comes from books! wow! words influence words! who woulda thought

the one singular novel that i can say with confidence is the most like our writing style is All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

ATLWCS (god what an ugly abbreviation i'm never using that again) is a story told from two viewpoints- one of a girl living in France, the other a boy in Germany. set pre-and-during-and-post WWII, the two spin ever and ever closer to each other over the course of the war. there's shockingly little romance in it and the focus is on the life of these two children, for children they are, rather than their deaths.

i cannot explain the plot, for it circles back in on itself and everything is connected and gods it's so GOOD. the author according to the information on the inside jacket of the cover spent 10 years researching this and i can tell. houugh.

here's a picture of the 3rd or 4th chapter. we have read this book about 7 or 8 times by now, as you can tell from the dog-eared page

the lilting, rolling pace, the casual insertion of details that make the whole world come alive, and of course the STUNNING descriptions really made an impression on us when we first read this.

i will admit that we did not buy this book, we took it home in our backpack one day in 6th grade after flying through the first few chapters and it never found its way back. we've changed schools three times since then. the book has not.

for me, what really makes this so incredible is just how.. casual the writing is? it effortlessly explains the minutiae of life by outlining a couple key points. we saw that and we were like oh my god that's so good. i HAVE to do that.

-:-

in second place for Books that Irreversibly Changed our Brain Chemistry is The Places beyond the Maps by Douglas Kaine McKelvey.

set in Andrew Peterson's fictional fantasy world of Aerwiar, the story follows the path of a man who lost his daughter to a twisted evil and who had lost himself to grief, resigning himself to the fact that she was beyond all knowledge (to him) dead. swearing an oath to bring her home or bring her justice and failing both, he goes as a wanderer in the long wilderness and eventually finds his way to meet his Maker Himself.

needless to say, we are currently reading this out to a friend and the writing style is *impeccable.*

where Doerr's prose is clear and smooth, utterly graceful and allowing the reader to glimpse clearly the truths that lie deep underneath like the seafloor upon which all else is viewed, McKelvey's is haunting and etched with some undefinable grief through which, occasionally, one can divine the simple truth at the center of all things.

needless to say, being put at the end of a collection of fairly lighthearted short stories matching the tone of the original saga, this novella hit us like a fucking Train and we have been stealing some of his long, rambling, impossibly patient descriptions for our own works for a while now. no you can't get this on its own and without missing out on some massively important context which would require an entire rant about the wingfeather saga on its own but that's another ask entirely and ANYWAYS continuing on

we've actually been leaning heavily on this specific description of loss within the self for our characterization of Pixl in Ashes! if you've read the book and if you look closely enough, you'll see some parallels there :]

-:-

this doesn't have as much influence on our writing as a whole but i'd like to give an honorable mention to anne carson in third place who effortlessly blends the present and the past in glowing verse and- ok. Ok let me share some screenshots from her translation of the play Antigone and one singular picture from her translations of Sappho's poetry and you'll see what i mean

how will i ever be normal about this. spoiler alert i won't and i'm happy about it. like. gestures vaguely. one day we will be able to focus enough on this to make a whole post about it but for now i think that's it, thanks for coming to my ted talk lol

[starsfreckled]

lil amaya thoughts about 6.4 (msq only, waiting for some friends to finish the raid so i can make hcs for our verses !)

...amaya cannot handle spicy food well so the start of the story was highly amusing. they probably just sat there, tail hanging low & looking miserable. the things u do to befriend a stray voidsent.

the middle section of the dungeon just made em go "I wanna live here,,," they love the sheep & greenery.

thanc.red saying to stick close to amaya & one will learn what trust means. amaya furiously turning red because it means so much to them. they know how they behaved in the past, how friendship & trust is something they cannot take for granted... & yet !! & yet !!! people care for them & love them.

look amaya understands the problems in garlem.ald & feels sorry for the people but they aren't a patient person & sometimes they are so close to snapping & going "quote your founding father at me one more time & I am telling you the whole truth about him & his so called love for you & yours" they don't snap tho ( they probably wanna do more to help but are aware that their presence might be. well. a bit of a problem. they are to garl.eans probably what zen.os was to eorzeans ).

amaya sweating bcs sure. friendship is trust & trust is friendship.......... right. totally. ( honestly to them it is more complicated but they won't say smth for now. zero is learning !! )

vrt.ra giving amaya azd.aja's eye is sweet. the eye might react a little to them since amaya's aether is now irreversibly mixed with that of a great wyrm. being near one already affects amaya in the sense that they act a bit more draconic. holding the eye doesn't help. :) people def heard em growl during this patch.

( disclaimer that this hc ofc is not forced on anyone writing those characters ) but considering amaya has been connected to the great wyrms since hw, they kind of see vrt.ra & azd.aja as family so seeing her?? seeing her bound?? does smth to amaya. similarly to how esti.nien seems to sometimes channel nid.hogg's personality when talking to dragons, for amaya it's hraesvel.gr. which is also why they feel vrtr.a's panic so strongly.

anyway hi they need a break after this patch

[tolerateit]

Ohhh, talking about underrated lyrics, I don't think ATW is underrated at all, but I do think this verse (my favorite verse of both the og and the 10min version), is overlooked because of her "i'm a crumpled up piece of paper laying there" verse before it

Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it I'd like to be my old self again But I'm still trying to find it After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone

I especially like the "i'd like to be my old self again, but i'm still trying to find it" part. I haven't been in any relationship or anything, but it's a sentiment I've felt a lot growing up, especially dealing with depression and adolescence in general

that is so well put, that line is often interpreted within the context of the relationship the song is about but not being able to go back to your past life simply because you've changed/grown up/been through something that irreversibly changed you is such a complicated thing to come to terms with. like missing something that you have but can't get back at the same time fkkfksjsjsjsjsjsjjebeb

[lunapaper]

Album Review: 'Midnights' - Taylor Swift

What keeps Taylor Swift up at night? 

A lot, apparently: Past lovers. Romantic nostalgia. Old enemies. Made-up scenarios where her future daughter-in-law kills her for her fortune. 

Or as Taylor herself puts it: ‘[A] momentary glimmer of distraction. The tiniest notion of reminiscent thought that wanders off into wondering, the spark that lights a tinderbox of fixation. And now, it is irreversible. The flame has caught. You’re wide awake.’ 

Shrugging off her cardigan, Swift teams up once again with Jack Antonoff to turn her late night ruminations into yet another surprise release entitled Midnights. 

It’s easy to think of her latest body of work as Taylor’s own Melodrama: indebted to slick electro-pop with a taste for vengeance while riddled with self-loathing and insecurity. But, as the title might suggest, it’s a lot more low-key than Lorde’s critically-acclaimed 2017 album, made up of languorous loops of sound and the singer’s dense storytelling. You can also detect hints of Reputation and its bitter edge. 

Taylor makes a few stark confessions throughout the record. ‘I have this thing where I get older/But just never wiser,’ she admits on ‘Anti-Hero. ‘Midnights become my afternoons.’ And yes, this is the ‘sexy baby’ song. I get the point: She’s starting to feel like she’s being surpassed by younger, more provocative artists. It’s a 30 Rock reference, relax. 

Taylor also says ‘so long’ to that goody two shoes ‘Daisy May’ on ‘You’re on Your Own, Kid.’ which was probably followed by the singer setting fire to her cutesy folklore cardigan (retailing at $75 at the time) in some ritualistic bonfire. 

Insecurities regarding body image also bubble to the fore as Taylor searches a glitzy industry party filled with ‘better bodies,’ while realising that her dreams of stardom aren’t all that rare. The twee ‘Sweet Nothing’ features one of Taylor’s better verses (‘Industry disruptors and soul deconstructors/And smooth-talking hucksters out glad-handing each other/And the voices that implore, "You should be doing more"/To you, I can admit that I’m just too soft for all of it’).  

But just as she begins to show a glimmer of self-awareness, Taylor ends up doubling down hard, every well-spun bit of wordplay surrounded by a sea of clunky, often childish lines. But she knows that they’re bad and she knows everyone’s gonna talk about them, so Taylor wins again. 

Metaphors feel forced (‘Don't put me in the basement/When I want the penthouse of your heart’), while the cliches are out of control. ‘Question...?’ suffers from a serious case of Main Character Syndrome, the whole room cheering Taylor on as she makes out with the most popular boy in school. It’s a scene straight out of a Netflix original, able to envision the crane shot swirling above the two as they tenderly suck face. 

Taylor also swears yet revenge yet again on ‘Vigilante Shit,’ this time with a cat’s eye ‘sharp enough to kill a man.’ She talks as if karma is her own personal pet she can just sic on her enemies at will, which is especially galling as someone who’s cultivated such a rabid fanbase, constantly weaponising them against those who supposedly cross her. Not that long ago, they went after a grown man and his sister over a red scarf that DIDN’T ACTUALLY EXIST.  

Although it sounds like Taylor’s planning to kill Scooter at some point, presumably on a weekend. Remember when she revealed on ‘this is me trying’ that he had a couple of side chicks?  

Even ‘Anti-Hero’ has some pretty flawed logic: You can’t complain that you’re treated like said anti-hero one minute, then act petty and vengeful the next. It’s been almost 15 years – which one are you at this point? 

Naturally, Midnights also comes with its own labyrinth of easter eggs. No, I won’t be going through them all, ‘cos I really don’t give a fuck. I shouldn’t need a guidebook to tell me which song is about John Mayer and which one contains the Knives Out reference. If anything, the album only further proves that Taylor doesn’t need to commit every single thought to tape. Sometimes, it really, really isn’t that deep. 

Final track ‘Mastermind’ offers the most telling glimpse into Taylor’s psyche - ‘No one wanted to play with me as a little kid/So I've been scheming like a criminal ever since/To make them love me and make it seem effortless.’ She even calls herself ‘Machiavellian’ at one point. Whether it’s in jest is kinda hard to tell, but it’s certainly a... choice. 

Musically, Midnights is also a pretty mixed bag. ‘Vigilante Shit’ is a highlight, with bass throbbing its way around dark corners in a way that’s rather Billie-esque, which just makes the ‘sexy baby’ line from ‘Anti-Hero’ feel even more glaring. ‘Lavender Haze’ also utilises those subterranean bass groans, creating a murky, seductive groove beneath metallic gears shifts. ‘You’re On Your Own, Kid,’ meanwhile,’ is a more grown-up ‘Love Story’ from the point of view of a more jaded Juliet. ‘Anti-Hero,’ though, is just a lazy rehash of ‘Blank Space,’ right down to the complaints of feeling misunderstood. 

‘Karma’ is a more stylish and euphoric take on Washed Out’s ‘Feel It All Around.’ ‘Snow on the Beach’ also twinkles; delicate and windswept. But for all of Swift’s excitement to be collaborating with Lana Del Rey, the singer is relegated to backing vocalist. ‘Cos, let’s face it, Taylor would never let herself be upstaged like that. 

And yes, there’s a 3am edition of Midnights, ‘cos Taylor’s gonna milk those late night ruminations for all they’re worth, dammit.  

‘The Great War’ is okay, but not that great. Honour, truth, treaties, poppies, calling off the troops, we get it. ‘Bigger Than the Whole Sky’ has a hypnotic country twang, returning to the lush, cloudy nostalgia of folklore and evermore. ‘Would’ve Could’ve, Should’ve’ is a stormy, Fleetwood Mac-esque riposte at Mayer (found it), reflecting on the power imbalance in their romance while pleading: ‘Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first.’ 

Midnights is a well-produced but rather unnecessary record. Even with its slick, shimmery wash, it’s everything you’ve heard before in some form or another: A song about John, a song about Tom, a song about Calvin. ‘Yes, I know I can be quite a divisive character, but I’m really just like you!’ Revenge. A couple of love songs dedicated to Joe. Probably something about Kanye and Kim. More revenge. Oh, and here’s a dossier full of clues for you to connect together like Charlie Kelly trying to track down the elusive Pepe Silvia. Boom, critical acclaim!  

As cynical as I felt about folklore and evermore, at least those records possessed some growth and a few interesting ideas. But as those albums were to indie folk, Midnights feels late to the party when it comes to brooding noir pop, the kind that’s already been perfected by other artists in every way imaginable. It’s really just a CHVRCHES or Purity Ring record in a quirky jumper.  

But what do I know? The record’s already gone to No.1. Buying presale tickets for her US tour turned into a bloodbath. Taylor could release a full hour of silence, and stans will hail it as an artistic statement and critics will write one in-depth analysis after another. And Stereogum will probably write the most positive negative review of it ever. Taylor’s no longer capturing the zeitgeist at this point, she is the goddamn zeitgeist.  

- Bianca B. 

[valkyrie-of-the-rising-sun]

Exposition Post 3: Aura Wielders

Tagging @fangaminghell​, @alltheoutsinfreeeee​, @lurker-extraordinaire-657645​, @lemonade-juley​ and @kiroons-hyperfixtations​ for their exposition post subscription alerts.

Aura Wielders can be divided into two variants: the Ancients, and the Moderns.

The Ancients are descendants of the original Blessed warriors, and were long-time protectors of the Aevium region up until their extinction approximately 3000 years ago at the hands of the Garufa. For this reason, the Ancients have a far longer history than their present-day counterparts and are therefore more well-versed in the intricacies of their mystical gifts.

Moderns, on the other hand, are a new breed of Aura Wielders. The first generation of Moderns are warriors handpicked by Nymiera to serve as Aevium’s newest protectors, each bestowed a Blessing much like their forebears of the distant past. However, the difference is that instead of gaining and deriving their abilities from their spirit Pokemon, their powers are determined by the Pokemon their souls have bonded with. In their case, it is the Regi familiars that Nymiera had gifted them.

Because of this difference, Moderns generally have a much lower risk of backlash should they overuse their powers.

What is the backlash? It is the gradual but irreversible and unmistakable erosion of the Aura Wielder’s humanity. The more they overuse their powers, the less human and more animalistic they become. This condition is exacerbated by emotional instability.

In the worst case scenario, the Aura Wielder transforms into a grotesque creature resembling a twisted parody of the anthropomorphised form of their bonded or spirit Pokemon. Very often, they lose their minds during the transformation process, becoming mindless beasts who will viciously attack anything that moves in their peripheral - including themselves.

This phenomena is known as “Degeneration”.

For a better visual, a degenerated Aura Wielder’s form would look like Rift Aelita’s appearance. Admittedly, Rift Aelita is considered to be one of the tamer cases of Degeneration at its terminal stage, as most victims are usually so far gone that the only option is to grant them a swift painless death.

In the best case scenario, the Aura Wielder simply assumes the form of their bonded or spirit Pokemon without losing their minds and/or their identities. This transformation is irreversible, as with the case with Degeneration, and once an Aura Wielder undergoes this process they are considered dead. Moreover, the longer they remain in their new Pokemon form, the less they remember of their time as a human and ultimately forgetting that they were ever human once upon a time.

Despite the ever-present risk of Degeneration, being an Aura Wielder its boons. Among many benefits, Aura Wielders are physically superior to humans; not only are they capable of overwhelming most humans with laughable ease in a bout, their bodies are also a lot sturdier and have astonishingly powerful healing factors. What would permanently incapacitate or even kill a human, an Aura Wielder could fully recover from such injuries in a matter of weeks or months. Sometimes they may only sustain minor wounds from such incidents!

Furthermore, Aura Wielders have potent immune systems and very rarely fall victim to illnesses, if at all. And that’s not even covering what they can do with their aura.

In general, all Aura Wielders can generate solid constructs from their aura such as force fields, energy blasts and even weapons! They can also transfer their aura into another being to accelerate their healing process or to invigorate them, though it is rather draining and can be fatal to the Aura Wielder if done improperly or when too much aura is transferred out at once. Moreover, they can sense the auras of other beings within a certain radius and discern their thoughts/emotions in this manner, making it impossible for anyone to lie to an Aura Wielder. This also allows them to see through objects, and allows them to ‘see’ while blinded via a form of echolocation using weak pulses of aura.

For Aura Wielders with a higher level of mastery over their auras, they can even use their own reserves to empower their bonded Pokemon’s attacks. This makes the Pokemon moves significantly more potent and effective than it normally is, and hence could be used as a last resort to defeat/overwhelm their foes when they are on their last legs. They may also utilise their own aura to protect themselves and those around them from mind-control.

In addition, when severely injured, they may enter what is known as a “healing stasis”. Essentially, what it does is that the Aura Wielder falls comatose while their heart and respiration rate slows to a deathlike lull. To the inexperienced, it may seem as though the Aura Wielder had died. In reality, their bodies are simply prioritising its energy towards regeneration and recovery; within a matter of days or perhaps weeks, the Aura Wielder will awaken from their stasis with no worse for wear.

Not only that, they can use their aura to communicate with others telepathically and empathetically should they - for whatever reason - are unable to do so verbally.

However, most - if not all - Ancients would be unwilling to participate in empathetic communication especially if the other party is considered a stranger to them. This is because it is regarded as an extremely intimate gesture (due to it involving both parties exposing their true selves with each other), one that should only be done with close family members and life-partners. Forcing an Aura Wielder to do an empathetic communication is akin to violation, and the offender will face severe repercussions by the victim’s clan for such a transgression.

This is where the similarities between Moderns and Ancients end, other than their unique ability to manipulate Type Energy and their innate ability to understand the language of Pokemon.

For Ancients, they would exhibit attributes and behavioural patterns that are commonly associated with their spirit Pokemon. An example would be that an Aura Wielder with a dragon-type as their spirit Pokemon are likely to be prideful, overprotective to the point of being possessive of what they deem as theirs, having an apparent dislike for colder environments and et cetera.

They also acquire resistances or even immunities to extreme conditions, depending on their type affinity. For instance, one with a fire affinity would be immune to fires and extremely high temperatures.

Moderns have a lesser variant of this, in which they also benefit from their type affinities but not to the same extent as their ancient counterparts. For example, Anju - with her affinity for Ice - would have an inhumanly high tolerance for the cold, but she is not completely immune to it. Should the temperature fall beyond her threshold range, she can no longer ignore the effects the cold has on her body and must rectify it lest it takes a toll on her health.

*Note: these are only the surface of what most Aura Wielders are capable of. Variations may exist between individuals, depending on how they had developed their own gifts. If you want to know more, feel free to drop an ask.

[tearsofanova]

HELLO NEW ME! | CORRUPT VERSE

Tear has lived her life as a cursed child for years, shunned by her peers, with only a few exceptions like Kyle and Velderoth accepting her and become her friend. While her friends were one reason why she didn't give up living, god does the desire to end it or start a double life stay ever so high and it did not diminish.

The story follows mostly how it usually goes, with the real change starting at the infirmary, where Tear just flat out accepted the contract without any hesitation, not thinking about the potential side effects of being contracted to become a magical girl. She was genuinely enjoying the magical girl life and even enjoying the new found fame using her new found singing voice to become an idol like Eskalade wanted. However, what will happen to her in the coming months, years even will forever change her life.

With each time she's using the relic to become Angelic Buster, the relic started to affect her normal self, causing her to gradually become more like her Angelic Buster persona, both in terms of appearance and in terms of personality irreversibly to increase how effective she is with the relic.

The moment her friends started to notice the changes, with concern of her wellbeing in mind, they asked if she feels different from what she used to be.

"Me? Being...Different then before? I look like this all the time, right so what’s the issue?"

The worst thing started to happen to her. What she remembers from her past self slowly has started to dwindle from her mind as well, like such thoughts never were there to begin with, or so it appears. She kept using her new found powers, unknowingly losing more and more what made her the Tear they once knew. The two started to be more distant from her the more her normal form started to resemble Angelic Buster.

A year or two passed once more, the girl Tear, who they were friends with had only a few things left of her past self. Memories of how she looked like before she even became Angelic Buster? Gone. How she got her powers that made her become Angelic Buster? changed to make her think she had such power from the very begining. All that she had of her past were only memories of her friends and her name as her only memories of when she was Tear. Though by then the two boys didn't talk to her ever again.

Day by day, Tear was wondering once where they both are, in a way concerned about her bonds she has-- or had with them, but she couldn't find them. With her not being able to find them anymore, she was in a way alone, with the only company being Eskalade, the one who has contracted her in the first place. So once she realized that she can't find them anymore one thought came to mind.

"They're...Not interested in seeing me again, are they..?"

Looking at her soul shooter, she started to get massive headaches from trying to think what has caused them to leave her. However, all memories except of her knowing that they're her friends are all but either gone or foggy, leaving her with headaches every time she's trying to consciously remember them.

If it was Tear, she would be very sad to even wanting to never do anything with her angelic buster persona and try and find ways to fix this issue. However, the person who's looking at her soul shooter no longer was the same Tear that they knew and care so much for. This person was Tear - The Angelic Buster and she was annoyed that they left her. With her being annoyed that they've left her, she's was thinking.

"...If they want to forget about me, then fine-- I'll forget about them too! Esky, let's leave that memory behind us and forget about them! Just forget every moment I have with them!! Hell, if they miss Tear so much, I’ll forget my own name too!!!"

She aimed her soul shooter to the sky, using every memory of them as fuel for this one big star bubble. Once it was shot in the air and burst like fireworks above the clouds, a sigh escaped from her, before the new Tear-- no, the new person who called herself Angelic Buster started to smile as those memories were removed from her entirely.

"It is done.. Welcome, new me!"

[yesfxckyxu]

Canon & Default Verse || Main Character Sheet

NAME: Jack Neverbore.

AGE: 18-24. (verse dependent)

DOB: March 28.

NATIONALITY: Japanese American.

SPECIES: human.

GENDER: male.

OCCUPATION: vigilante gang leader.

HEIGHT: 5'7".

HAIR: pitch black.

EYES: burnt umber.

FACECLAIM: Izaya Orihara & Ryo Nishikido.

Born and raised in New York, New York—Jack has become a cause behind the gang known as “Manic Rat Mayhem” ( MrM ). He created this gang out of bitterness towards humanity at first, but his childhood best friend, Caleb Shrines, convinced him that for the better he could cause a shift if he truly desired. Causing his gang to have two leaders, Caleb and himself.

Now the gang stands for revelation, purpose, and unresolved justice; also having unintentionally created a fan base alongside it for those who admire the acts the gang showcases to the world.

This gang did numerous tasks, on Jack's side: stopping gang fights, drug wars, drug dealing and intervening with the cop’s tasks when it came to certain homicides. On Caleb’s side, outside their normal attires, they would do errands for the nursing homes, helping elderly people cross the street and so forth. Both coming up to create a deal to start a ‘business’ with the homeless in mind.

The members themselves are known to be reckless outside the gang, them being known as delinquents and/or criminals to some. Others, however, don’t even have records as they are not known as such outside of the activities of others. Those others are known to be ‘good kids’, ‘kind souls’, and even more than ‘A+ students’.

Yet, they are seen hanging around each other nonetheless—despite what is commonly known as their friends in their personal social groups, before ever hanging around others as themselves. Causing disdain towards those who are known with the bad rep, which seem to only cause those ‘good kids’ to cling to their friends tighter.

However, the unknown reason for these people’s change of relationships can only be described as association to the calling of an unknown ad from unknown origin. All thanks to the leader himself and his underground dealings.

Jack is part of an American government experiment known as Case 404Nex, to where in his childhood days, he was severely neglected emotionally ( and is ). This caused him to be stunted in some ways to where he can have a hard time relating to people. Jack is known to be unpredictable and somewhat despicable when it comes to his past and present actions accompanied by thoughts.

He has been known to cause chaos in New York just out of pure boredom. As an example, would be pranking random civilians or causing out of the blue arguments, both to psychologically analyze the ‘victim’. As for him, he usually doesn’t see people as ‘human’ right away. This is mainly due to underlying mental illnesses, an almost irreversible consequence. And despite that, he does this to get to know the unsuspecting victim of his antics, it can also backfire on him when it comes to those underlying illnesses.

This experiment is to solely analyze, ( ironic with how jack treats others ), a human’s desire and need for emotional support; where they stand and how it affects their standing in social class, and cognitive empathy development. The question of what makes a human, a human.

Unintentionally, this caused Jack to finalize a delusion disorder called the “Defensive Actor Syndrome”, to where he believes he is somewhat in a “reality show”. Cameras and people watching him, people of the government alongside actors watching him since he has obtained files on his eighteenth birthday telling him that he was part of the experiment. Which is also part of the experiment itself, which he had soon figured out. This has caused him to be very unkind to certain strangers that heighten his paranoia.

[neodarkdark]

so the two verses where svern is affected by the shadow crystal or an equivalent are his main verse and his fandomless verse

right now, there's not much difference between them, although Ideally it would be much more prominent in the main verse than it is currently, as that's where it's supposed to be Most Important (I just haven't gotten to the point where I can bring this to fruition yet)

I have lore for the main verse shadow crystal comfortably sorted, but integrating this properly into rp and more notably, a functional story role (since I want to one day revive the original old concept of svern having his own little "neo team", that's literally why the blog url is the way it is, but I put it in limbo a long time ago because I genuinely didn't know how I should put it into action in a useful way)

...is something that will take yet more time and thought. thus, main verse svern is currently stuck in an intermediate stage, purely out of necessity, because I don't know how to advance past it yet.

but the end goal is to maintain that first idea where he carries 100% his fixation on the shadow crystal, to whichever end it leads him to: ultimately he will not be able to escape it, because there's no reason for him to. he only faces the full consequence after it becomes irreversible (when he's probably died and is forced to hang around indefinitely after that and he realises this isn't fun anymore)

As for the fandomless version, I'm still working out the lore n stuff which hinders things a little in terms of like... exactly how far I can go into specific details, but it's close enough to what I already decided that I can just fudge through until I work out the rest.

here svern is also in an intermediate stage, or arguably at a little of an earlier stage than the main verse, actually. this svern is flexible and NOT automatically tied to a bad end although it will still be very very easy for him to go down that road without intervention or should something happen to make things Worse.

the shadow influence in fandomless verse is more like in incubation stage. it's still firmly there don't get me wrong but it's more in the background at the moment (at the moment). it also depends on what muses he interacts with, exactly how it will or won't manifest

this post is getting long but I want to write a few more things so I'll attempt to make a loose part 2