#also the yknow. not being able to be hit

[deoidesign]

.

[possamble]

AHA thank u i was mostly just. frantically pulling the "no hetero" card bc farcille is super super always endgame for me and the "marcille has two hands" thing is absolutely not for me and my personal characterization of marcille

i like. can't find it anymore for some reason but there was a farcille fic set just after the shuro confrontation where laios reaches over to hold marcille's hand and ask her if she likes him or if she's just tolerating him too and it was so. the vulnerability. the puppyness.

that safety and security he must feel in knowing that she wears her heart on her sleeve and he will always know when she's unhappy with him because she will absolutely let it be known. the way that falin's first revival was the turning point for the way he felt about her because, for the first time in his life, protecting falin wasn't something he had to shoulder alone. there was finally someone else who cared about her as much as he did (in his eyes, resenting his parents for failing to protect her) and would stop at nothing to save her. the way it must have been proof for him that, not only was falin not alone anymore, he wasn't alone anymore.

idk why i like rather than dislike the fact that his only framework for parsing how he feels about "the first girl other than his sister that he's ever cared this much about" is a comphet romantic lens. like he would have the autism moment of fully assuming that he's in love with her for a while and just like. not? doing anything about it? because he doesn't feel the urge to, nor is he sad that he knows marcille would mostly likely never "feel the same way" about him?

like. he "figures out" that he's "in love with marcille" with all the passion of printing out a label and sticking it onto a favourite scrapbook for organizational purposes. he's equally happy to be her husband or brother-in-law so long as it means she stays close and is part of his family.

i know logically i should hate it but it's sooo crunchy to me. my comphet besties ever. designated plus one and dance partner to all fancy and formal occasions. having actual real chemistry but the "romantic" part of it is some weird shapeshifter smokescreen. augh

[mwagneto]

yknow posting about gomens 4-5 years ago it never even occured to me that we'd get a season 2 and I'd be forced to read those posts back but now i'm genuinely curious what 3-5-however many years from now me will feel backreading this month(s?)-long post-s2 mental breakdown. hi i hope im doing ok out there

[perilegs]

i'm going to my cousin's bday party tomorrow which is fun and great except that my mom is also going to be there. we don't talk. she literally skipped my other cousin's graduation party just bc i was there.

[gibbearish]

am finally back home and can say without a doubt that i am just fundamentally not built for long distance travel however the train was much nicer than planes

[tittysuckersworld]

once again asking begging for a rival

[canisonicscrewyou]

Listening to Company and feeling Gay

[toasteaa]

Dash forgive me, I'm thinking about them tonight 😔

[trashgoblincreature]

i want to come right out and say i am NOT normally this active, with fanfics or art or. anything really. im just having a lot of fun with this fanfic so far. like, it isnt that im trying to make a routine, its that i genuinely just dont wanna stop writing it. i know i can take breaks if i need to but. i dont feel the need to yet, so like-

[professionalchaoticdumbass]

if it’s not too much trouble, could you share a bit about how to better support closeted/ just-cracked trans women?

Okay this is going to be a fairly long response, be warned. Its also based off personal experience (or lack of positive experience) from how I'm treated irl. also its 4 am some of this may be less coherent than I want but whatever.

The basics: name & pronouns. Ask who its safe to use these in front of!!! Dont out someone to their parents or partner or boss!! Otherwise use these as much as possible. Avoid deadnames and dead-pronouns as much as possible too - I am fine with being they/themed over he/him and prefer a nameless "later, nerd" to "bye, deadname". sometimes its unavoidable but many times its not. this is 101 stuff but I see lots of people forget it.

Going out and about: GO. WITH. HER. A LOT. She fucking needs it. Go clothes shopping together and teach her how to pick out good clothes/outfits and how to at least begin to decipher the mess that is sizing. Find her a "spinny skirt" (pleated mini skirt or skater skirt, forgot the exact one but anything similar to those) if she really wants one, I dont care how cringe you find the memes this is more important than Reddit Bad jokes. IF YOU ARE ABLE TO, TAKE HER TO THE WOMENS WASHROOM WITH YOU. yknow how girls go to the bathroom in groups for safety? yeah trans women need triple that safety and nobody provides it like ever, even other trans women. change that and be that safety. also, if youre like ordering food or at the cashier, always use the correct pronouns even if misgendering happens. if she gets a "what would you like sir" from the waiter, you are going to say something like "she would like a cheeseburger with fries and a fountain drink". this will save her ass from a lot of awkward correcting.

transitioning & hrt: if she needs a space to wear femme clothes safely, invite her over or go out together. try to avoid places where people she's not out to frequently go. for hrt, if you already accessed it HELP HER AS WELL. the amount of people who are like one step removed from pulling the ladder up behind them with regards to hrt is insane. so much "fuck you got mine" attitude in this community. anyways, DESCRIBE THE PROCESS YOU WENT THROUGH, STEP BY STEP. mention specific doctors, clinics, etc. if you do diy, mention the provider, what to look for on blood work, how to take it (injection, gel, etc) and send relevant articles/pages, about each part, not just the hrt wiki home page. if you have a prescription, mention ANY AND ALL procedures you went through to get hrt. psychologist? readiness assessment? any other screening process? DESCRIBE IN DETAIL WHAT YOU WERE ASKED AND HOW YOU ANSWERED. this can literally be a life saving thing. treat that information like the death star plans and she is the rebellion. precise motherfucking details. similar thing for any surgeries like ffs, tracheal shave, various types of bottom surgery. if you and her are going through different systems (say, you got it under 18 as a youth and she's 22 and no longer qualifies for that, or she wants diy while you have a prescription) then look up third party anecdotes as well. reddit is great for this as they often have city specific trans subreddits which lets you look at local doctors/clinics/providers & shipping. if she gets hit with dysphoria, "you are valid" CAN help new girls but as a half closeted girl for the past three years, I know I'm valid already thank you very much. dysphoria is different to each person, just be there to comfort her, help distract if nothing else. Teach her to shave if she wants, offer to do her makeup if you know how (some tutorials are made by and for trans women btw! check those out if you can). if she wants to order things online, anything from a flag to a dress to diy hrt, but can't for fear of outing, OFFER TO BE THE RECEIVING ADDRESS AND PASS IT ON IN PERSON. you can also try setting up a PO box away from home. covering some costs can potentially help lower suspicion but only do this of you have the money. in general just be a safe & informative helpful person who is willing to stand by her side.

Other general tips:

- if you are transfem yourself you will know and experience many of these things. do not withhold information like others do. did you have another trans person in your own life who helped you out when you first cracked? if yes, now its your turn. if no, then dont let her lose out on that too. actually support your sisters for once.

- if you are having sex, she may want to be submissive and/or bottom more as these are often "forbidden" when youre male. if thats compatible with you then try to accommodate that, and throw in some gender affirming stuff like a "good girl". praise kink often works well here, but always ask first. teach her how to bottom if she wants. AFTERCARE holy shit aftercare. yeah that should also be at least skmewhat gender affirming. dont skip out.

- the self doubt spiral: "you are valid" are the three words that get way more use than they really should. "valid" is so vague that its near useless. if you can, find the specific root (e.g. "I feel like a pervert cuz I get euphoria boners when I wear a sexy dress") and respond with counter examples that tell her she belongs, she is a woman, e.g. "youre not a pervert, plenty of cis women feel similar and enjoy dressing sexy as well". this is mainly for self doubt not other types of dyphoria.

- she will probably be really fucking depressed and possibly even suicidal at some point. usually close to egg crack or after a shitty experience. personally, I have a lot of passive suicidal thoughts where I dont wnat to make any attempts but wouldn't mind if I vanished, if it weren't for a few things. try to be there as a rock in the stream for her to hold onto during depression. it is fucking rough and in the words of bill withers, we all need somebody to lean on. eventually we will all stand tall together.

I am sure there's more but I think I covered most of the points I wanna make.

[fae-morrigan]

Someone put a post (where they admit they straight up dont know these characters lol, and also spell damian as 'damien' so like. yknow.) in the tags saying that if you're a fan of Jon & Jay, you shouldn't buy super son. Well, as the crowned CEO of Jay & Jon, I'm here to tell you guys that you absolutely should.

Super Son did the amazing thing of hitting several marks that I predicted while still managing to surprise me in how they hit them. Which is high praise for any story: A great narrative should be able to both meet reasonable audience expectations (i.e, staying in character, setup payoff) WHILE STILL throwing in curveballs that tell you something new.

There's a lot I want to analyze and get into, namely how I think the rooftop conversation between Jon & Nia is really brilliantly done in what it says about both characters, but mainly I've been thinking a lot about how great those last few pages were and how I think Sina absolutely nails how Jon & Jay's specific issues interact with each other.

Jay's always been a blunt person. From their first meeting back in SOKE 2, hes said what he thinks, and rarely does he try and soften himself. More than that, his bluntness is often a shield from vulnerability, which Jay struggles with the whole scene. It makes total sense, after what hes experienced (re-traumatization at the hands of a friend) that he's displaying that trait again.

Jon, however, is immediately vulnerable. This is the most poignant confession of the issue: Not even in the amazing sequence of Nia helping him make a place in the darkness (look, its back, thanks isabel!) do we get this admission of fear.

And Jay, like always, embraces him. Sidenote, LOVE how they got in the thing Jon does where he's constantly tucking his face in people's shoulders during hugs.

But the moment ends, and we get here. First of all, cold af. I could feel the aura before I turned the page.

Second of all: Jay is totally valid in feeling this way. And it makes perfect sense that he would.

Sara was his everything. Getting her back was one of his main motivations in SOKE. Because of Nia's actions, she died horribly (do you know what happens to a person when they fall from that sort of height? I do. Its AWFUL.) for an unjust cause. Of course he's glad she can't hurt anyone else!

And that's when we get to my FAVORITE PART! Oh how I love this bit. Because like. You understand why Jon's angry- Its a harsh thing for Jay to say! Nia was the one who kept him sane while he was trapped in his own mind! But Jay, like always, is RIGHT: Jon DOESN'T get it. How could he?

Jon Kent will NEVER, ever, be put in this position. Out of universe, his parents are Clark Kent and Lois Lane. They'll ALWAYS come back. Hell, the fact they'll always come back is something Ma LITERALLY says to Jon in SOKE. He will never, ever have to know this pain.

In universe, Jon's a white american. Despite being queer, despite being an alien, he'll never know what its like to be this kind of collateral, delegated as pawns in a greater war for 'freedom'. That is what killed Sara at the end of the day: imperialism.

This next bit hurts my heart. Great job, guys!

For one: Jon claims he's not excusing the mistakes Nia made, but by downplaying it like this... yes he is. But did you catch that part? Right at the start of that bubble?

"I'm going to fight every day to make up for my own part in this."

That's where it clicked for me. Something I had been hoping for since Nicole first called them twin flames.

He's projecting.

Of COURSE he's defending Nia. Of COURSE he wants Jay to forgive her. It isn't just about the fact that she gave him support, it isn't just the dreams, its the fact that... well. If Jay can't forgive her... how could he EVER forgive HIM?

THIS is where the fact that Jon and Nia are so similar as character SINGS. They become mirrors to each other, evaluating their own self worth through the other, at the unintentional expense of the people they've hurt.

Jay's right, though. Again. Its almost like he's the embodiment of the truth or something. He doesn't HAVE to do anything.

When he starts crying though, I immediately was RUINED. This is the first time we have EVER seen him cry before during his entire existence of a character. And its not really even because his mom is dead (though yes, that) and its not even because of the argument. Its because Jay fundamentally wants to be understood, and he's not getting that.

Which is important for the next bit:

I want to first backtrack a bit to Son of Kal El again, specifically, issue fourteen, right here.

Hello, two-panel sequence that succinctly describes these two as characters. How convenient you are for me, a guy analyzing a work that isn't written prose.

Jon isn't good at letting go, for better or for worse. The things he cares about stay with him, and when something or someone tries to exit his life, he clings to them with all his might.

Jay however, both selflessly and selfishly, is willing to let go first if he thinks its better for the other person. To me this line so effortlessly summarizes who Jay is- he's a person who's accustomed to not having things, and will leave before it hurts and he gets too attached.

And that thought is ALL over this scene. Jay, who begins to let go, Jon, who both literally and physically CLINGS to jay, practically begging him to stay.

(Sidenote. This is like, the third time Jay mentions breaking up when Jon starts acting up. Good for you king, keep that white boy on his toes, let him know he ain't all that.)

Every little detail of this four panel sequence is killing me. "My worst nightmare is not having a home with you in it." His greatest desire. The thing that kept tipping him off in every fake reality Nia constructed for him- Jay's absence. Him wiping the tear of Jay's cheek. Jay walking away from him.

But what really gets me is how on this page, Jon talks about them as 'we', while Jay is firmly stuck in 'I.'

This is what made me LOSE MY MARBLES at three in the morning. Just utterly fucking off my rocker in a straightjacket talking to myself.

Because this is what JON wants. But is it what JAY wants?

Jon never asks.

What about what Jay fears? What about the life that HE wants? What if he doesn't want San Francisco? What if the life he wants is the life he HAD before everything went wrong? Jon outright says he wants a fresh start. But Jay, Jay's someone with such deep connections to what he just lost, what he likely WANTS to get back. His country. His mother. His sense of self. But. He says yes.

(Sidenote. FIRST I LOVE YOU WOOOOOOOOOO) To quote my buddy Dami: Oh, the drama of needing a future with someone who can't get over the past.

It is left unclear, by the end, whether or not Jay is saying yes to this because he genuinely wants to, or if he's only saying yes because he doesn't want to lose Jon, too. Jon doesn't stop to question whether or not Jay's only reaching after him because Jon's walking away. We, the audience, are left to ponder that for ourselves.

How much of Jay saying yes is him just accepting that this is the best he's going to get? That he's never going to be understood because nobody wants to understand?

He's an afterthought to Nia, an obstacle at best, and to Jon he's a particularly handsome prop in this little fantasy he has of running away and starting new. He's either not thought of at all, or when he is thought about, it's in the context of how he can emotionally fulfill the other person And you get why Jon did this. He's desperate, he's hurting, he just got tangible evidence that the time he has with the people he loves isn't ever guaranteed. He's been needing space from Clark and Lois for MONTHS because god knows they haven't been fulfilling his emotional needs. In a very real sense, Jay is who he has.

But wanting someone to stay with you so much that you'll... Not even ignore, but just not ever consider what they may want. The intentional isolation, moving halfway across the country away from all support systems. The need to cling to someone.

It reminds me of... something. Someone.

Don't tell Jon I made this comparison. He'll kill himself. Jon and Ultraman ARE similar. They're both such deeply lonely people who cling very tightly and even though it manifests in different ways and even though they have different core thoughts about it. The effect at the end of the day is the same, isn't it?

Is loving Jay not a brutal act of destruction?

There's so many more details about this story I love. Jon & Nia's conversation being vague enough that you have no idea how Jon meant what he told her but you KNOW how NIA took it (girl you can do better hes literally ugly!). Jon breaking a pillar by bonking his head against it (LMFAO). The pretty lies vs ugly truth dichotomy of Jay vs Nia here.

But this one scene, man. This one fucking scene takes the cake. STELLAR work all around. Every panel counts.

This better lead into a full Superman & Gossamer run or SOMETHING or I'm going to have WORDS with DC's editorial staff.

[feelo-fick]

WELCOME TO PHIO'S EXTREMELY SELF INDULGENT AU HOUR!!!

"Oh, FINALLY, another visitor! It's so quiet in here, it's unnerving..."

—

This AU was meant to be posted on halloween but eh.... Happy Thanksgiving? HAHAHHA

still dont have a name for it, but basically, back in october i was suddenly hit with the need to have a halloween au, so now we have ghost-ified prismo and vampire/witch-ified scarab :D ( although didnt finish the scarab reference spread in time because uh, school and i lost motivation unfortunately )

au synopsis and rambling below the cut!!

the premise of this au is simple : scarab is a real estate agent whos known for his manners ( never barges in, always waits to be invited! though it is a little weird how he keeps asking to be let inside even if they already agreed that he was going to come over... ) and efficiency at his job - that is, convincing people to buy high-end housing for a good price. although his social skills need some... work, his ability to persuade people isnt something to be laughed at.

unfortunately for him, persuading the higher-ups is a completely different story - which he learned the hard way after flunking something big for the company. they dont choose to fire him, no. instead, they put him through a trial, assigning him to sell their most unprofitable property : the mansion in a small town locally known for being haunted by an "evil spirit". if scarab manages to sell it (for good profit) within six months, he is excused and is able to go on with his job. if not... well, best not to think about it, yes? after all, he'll succeed with ease - all he has to do is dispel any worries about some fake "ghost" that only exists as a result of filthy rumors. maybe clean up the place. not too hard, right?

meanwhile, stuck inside said mansion is an extremely bored prismo. hes been hangin around this place for like... how many years now? forty? a hundred? meh, all the same, lately the place has been quieter than usual. i mean- of course people dont just walk into a creepy mansion every day, but there would usually be at least a few bold kids or vloggers coming in now and then for him to entertain but even then they wouldn't stay long ( for obvious reasons ). and now, just some unbound spirits or dumb animals would pass by and thats about it. a guy can only entertain himself for so long, yknow?

that is, until today. when some posh-looking business man entered the premises and started snooping around ( whats the deal with that, by the way?? ). must be prismo's lucky day!! this is the perfect chance to pull out all the stops and play the FUNNIEST prank ever! hah!

... oh. looks like things've gotten a little out of hand.

—

WOOT WOOT WOOTTTTTTTTTTT!!! im so so happy to finish this because ohhhhh my god this has taken ages for no reason other than the fact that ive been really dragging myself to make presentable art JSNDJSJXNSJX.... i realize that i have never worked in real estate ( or at all ) which means i have probably fucked something up but uhh um ill deal with the backlash later :"D im also realizing how many odd unanswered bits and bobs this au is going to have in the future, which... i am ignoring for the most part for now, but there are SOME things that i DO have figured out like ghost lore... but thats for another time, for now i leave you with this >:)

[lexosaurus]

idk if this is a contreversial take or not but i think that the ideal internet experience is being able to remove specific things (triggers, nsfw, gore) if you truly dont want to see them but overall being also shown things you aren’t interested in. i think one of my fave things about tumblr is seeing like 50% of my dash be about fandoms im not in, bands i dont like and quotes from books i dont want to read rather than this endless feedback loop of tiktok showing me ‘exactly what i want to see’ in a trap to keep me online as long as possible and blind to communities outside of my own. i want a mix of curating my own experience and a healthy dose of content i don’t already know i want to see, yknow?

No I think this is a pretty safe take here on Tumblr. I think stuff like this is why most of us are still here on Tumblr instead of moving to other sites like Twitter (rip) or Tiktok, you know? Because we like that this is the last social media with no algorithm, and we want to keep it that way.

To be clear, this site DOES have an "optional" algorithm that everyone is automatically opted in on, and you have to go to your settings and turn it off manually (recently found out, you have to opt out on your desktop and on your mobile. They're treated as separate settings). But the fact that you can opt out at all is HUGE.

Like, I can just go ahead and turn this thing off, and then that's it! It's off!

I was thinking yesterday about how before Instagram and Facebook had an algorithm, people genuinely just used them to stay in touch with all the happenings from their friends and family. Like, I remember going on Facebook every single day to see what my friends and family that didn't live nearby were up to. It was so fun! And then once the algorithm hit, suddenly I was bombarded with all this stupid bullshit that I didn't care about but Facebook/Instagram thought I cared about. And then only people who I "interacted" with most would be shown to me, aka people that didn't post as often or I didn't message as much wouldn't be shown to me, and it was such a sly, sinister change that I didn't even realize how many of my friends/people I followed weren't being shown to me till I slowly stopped using the app as much because wtf why am I only being shown the same 10 people? Why can't I join a fb group without it invading my entire feed? Where is everyone else? Why does this app feel So Empty?

There's a noticeable decrease of people on this site now compared to the 2010s, but weirdly enough, this is like the only social media for me that still feels like people are on it. That I can genuinely interact with mutuals without some robot deciding, "Oh, you interacted with this one person once? You browsed their blog for 5 minutes? NOW I WILL ONLY SHOW YOU THIS SINGLE PERSON'S CONTENT IN EVERY OTHER POST IN YOUR FEED FOR THE NEXT MONTH."

This has turned into a big long rant from me but like shit, dude, it's so sad how much of our online experience is controlled by algorithms now.

[sen-ya]

You’ve drawn a little of it before, but what do you think Law and Luffy would be like as parents?

HOO BOY AH I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT THIS

First and foremost law is absolutely smitten and takes to parenthood naturally. It’d be a little harder for Luffy I think depending on how young the kid is when said kid is Acquired. I think he’d really hit his stride after toddler-dom

I think both of them would talk to their kid like any adult pretty early, like in an age appropriate way but like if a question is asked it gets a real answer, if something’s going on they get an age appropriate description of it, a lot of the time they talk to them like pals. Idk if that makes sense but yknow

Luffy is fun parent yes but also is Emotionally Intelligent parent and ends up kind of unknowingly giving them a lot of tools early on for how to cope with big feelings. Low key watching Luffy teach a small human how to human helps Law see where and how he can grow emotionally and he becomes a better communicator.

They sing to them before bed every night when they’re little. Luffy is terrible. Law sounds really pretty. It’s a lot of fun.

I know languages in One Piece are like the equivalent of “everyone speaks common” but I like to think most islands have their own language of some sort. That’s all to say Law talks to their kid in Flevian and it just kind of spills out of him. At first it’s only when he’s alone with them, but then it becomes an absent-minded habit. This is how Luffy learns that Law even still knows Flevian. Their kid would end up fluent, and Luffy would try his darndest but really only be able to pick up a few phrases here and there.

Also in a wild turn of events after the initial anxiety of being a new parent evens out Law just kinda…..relaxes. Later in life he’d already been getting on board with Luffy’s antics, but now that there’s also a second person bouncing about with any of Luffy’s sensibilities it really is just easier to let it happen. He gets comfortable with knowing he can plan on the fly, and knowing that is a plan in itself.

When the kid is older and off on their own any time they all come back together as a family it is ON SIGHT with Luffy. This kid’s first order of business is “try to absolutely DEMOLISH my pops.” Law learns to be strategic with where they have their family meet ups, but sometimes it just happens that you’re minding your own business and then these two Monkeys are throwing hands and laughing their asses off

For family name they’d let the kid pick. In the case of the daughter they have in the one lil comic i posted Law swears they asked her when she was too young cuz she couldn’t say “Trafalgar” properly and he never lets it go

Honestly i could keep going but i will shut up and give u some doodles to finish it off

[jazzthatonewriterchick]

Hit ‘Em Up! (18+ Fic)

Pairing: Cowboy!Gojo Satoru x Cowboy!Geto Suguru x Black!Cowgirl!Reader (Slow Burn/Enemies to Lovers)

Synopsis: You get to meet Geto & Gojo the Gunslingers, the notorious outlaws that have every town and law enforcement in a twist, when your bum-ass BF offers you as payment to avoid going to prison. Little do they know that this is only a part of your plan to get what you desire. But when you realize that the infamous gun-slinging, smooth-talking cowboys could be everything you want and more when they offer you a deal to team up with them, will you successfully be able to go through with it? 

Warnings: Smutty Smut; 18+ (MINOS GTFO); poly!SatouSugu; Reader is Black & Fem; Mention of other JJK characters; Porn with Plot; Tragic Backstories; T/W for Childhood Trauma, Parental Death, Violence, Panic Attacks & Torture; Angst/Hurt/Comfort; Hand Kink; Masturbation; Voyeurism; Gay Sex; Polyamorous; Double Deepthroat; Mutual Oral; Fingering; CMNF; Spitroast; Riding; Unprotected PiV Sex; Creampies; Outside/Public Sex; Shotgunning; Multiple Positions; Spit Kink; Facials; MDom/fsub Undertones; Aftercare

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned in this fic. However, as this is my writing, I do not give permission for my work to be reposted on any other sites that are not from my own accounts. Thank you!

Writer's Note: Y'all. Listen to Cowboy Carter. It's gonna be the main soundtrack to this damn fic. Beyoncé has done it AGAIN. -Jazz

Chapters: One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen PT I & II. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-One. Twenty-Two. Twenty-Three. Epilogue. Soundtrack.

********

THREE: PRETTY THANG.

You are quiet as a church mouse walking up the rickety steps, leaving the saloon behind. 

The sounds from the saloon grow more distant the farther you get up the steps, leaving you with some silence to concentrate on your footing. You’ve studied which floorboards make the most noise from so many nights of sneaking out to listen in on Kenzo’s phone conversations. 

You sneak past the many doors where you hear the moans from clients and the creaking of bed springs––all indications of Kenzo’s secret “business”––to a closed door where you hear the sound of Kenzo’s panicked voice.

You crouch down and press your ear to the door, catching a snippet of Kenzo’s words: “....ridiculous!” he exclaims. “There has to be a mistake! I'm just a lowly saloon owner and I’ve never been affiliated with any criminals! I don’t–“ 

“Cut the bullshit, Valentine,” Gojo interrupts, sounding irked though his voice is still soothing and light. “We know that’s you. What, you thought that wack ass haircut and makeup was hidin’ ya? Gotta admit, you did a good job but the game is over.” 

“Kenzo”, or Valentine rather, pauses, weighing his words and if he should still lie. Finally, he sighs, sounding defeated. “What are you here for?” he asks, sounding like he doesn’t want to hear. 

“You know what we’re here for,” Geto replies, also sounding impatient and completely with the bullshit. “It’s been a long time comin’. You left us on that train. We had a deal to just get the money bein’ trafficked on that train and split it, but you turned it into somethin’ else.” 

Your ears perk like a dog’s at this newfound information. “L-Listen, I don’t have any money!” Valentine stutters, sounding scared for his life (and he should be). “I swear it! All the money I got from the heist is gone!” 

You hear Gojo rise from his seat, his boots hitting the floor. “He’s lying,” he growls. “Geto, let’s just smoke this fool. He’s stupid for thinkin’ we wouldn’t come back for his ass after he left us on that train in the middle of his massacre.” Your mouth goes agape at the beans being spilled the more you stay crouched in the dark, your hamstrings burning. 

“Ya got us arrested, yknow,” Gojo laughingly continues. “We’ve been successfully dodgin’ the law for years, but they finally got us…and for somethin’ we had no part in! What a joke!” 

You hear Valentine babble pleas and the thud of him pressing his back against the wall beside the door. You hold your breath, afraid to make a single sound. “Please!” he begs. “You don’t have to do this, guys! I-I’m a changed man!” 

There is a pause, tense and full of anticipation. “Then you’d come with us quietly and let us turn you in to the sheriff of Cherrywood,” Geto sternly replies. Valentine scoffs, disgusted. “So you’re workin’ with law enforcement now? You switched sides ‘cause you got scared?” 

You’re just as shocked as he is. Why are these gunslinging outlaws working with the law when the law wants them behind bars?  

“Oh, quite the contrary, V,” Gojo chuckles. “Ya see, when your yellow-bellied ass and your crew of pussy bandits ran from the scene and we got taken in by the sheriff, we had a 50-year sentence on our hands…until they investigated and realized our guns couldn’t do the damage your and your men’s did.” 

You can almost feel Valentine’s fear penetrate the wall, sinking into your skin. “They let us go on the condition that we’d find you to bring you in. After that, we decided to change our ways and get back to dedicatin’ our “occupation” to helpin’ others who have suffered at the hands of criminals like you.” 

At this, Valentine cackles. “Please. Like you can wipe away all that innocent blood you spilled over the years.”

You suddenly hear a loud thud as if a body is being tossed against a wall. You find out that there is: Valentine with Geto holding him up by some part of his body. You envision his big, hulking frame, his hand holding Valentine up by his throat. “Don’t test me, Valentine,” he growls. “We’ve never killed innocents like you have. All the ones we smoke are evil motherfuckers like you.” 

Valentine begins to choke meaning Geto is strangling him. “But since it’s this or go back to the slammer, we’d figure we’d do this as a peace offering,” Gojo laughingly says. “The sheriff implores there be no killing, but I’m kinda thinkin’ you’d be worth more dead. It would definitely shut that mouth up.” 

You then hear the familiar click of a pistol and your heart skips a beat. “Listen, w-we don’t have to do it like this!” Valentine sobs. “Please! If you let me go, I’ll never tell and just disappear!” 

Once again, there is a pause and then Geto speaks: “Why should we spare you?” he scoffs. “You don’t even have any money. You have nothin’ you can give us despite foolin’ around in launderin’, schemin’, and whorin’.”

And he is right––Valentine is dirt broke. All the money was spent on the saloon and paying back is illegal business partners. 

“I can pay you in another way,” Valentine beggingly protests. “I have so many girls in my stable that you can choose from, free of charge! Any whore or dancer you like! Even the staff girls! You can even have my saloon! Just please, fellas, don’t do this!”

Another pause, this one leaving you with bated breath and a bad feeling in your stomach. “Any girl?” Gojo ponders aloud. 

“Yes, any girl you want!” Valentine nearly screams. Gojo sounds happy with that answer. 

“Well, that beauty with the pretty skin and red lips was a looker.” Geto hums in agreement, followed by a chuckle. It doesn’t take a village idiot to figure out who they mean: you. They want you. 

“Y/N?” Valentine asks. “I-I’ll go get her. She’ll do whatever you want!” 

Like fire lights up under your ass, you quickly gather your skirts and hurry down the steps to the bar. You sit down on a stool and grip the edge of the bar, panting heavily. Sweat has begun to break out along your skin and feel dizzy. That son of a bitch! How could he do this to you? How could he serve you up on a silver platter to them? 

Shoko finds you and leans over the edge of the bar, looking interested. “So what happened?” she pushes. But little does she know that you’re about five seconds from having a mental breakdown. “I-I’ve gotta go,” you huff. “I need to–” 

“Y/N!” Valentine hollers. You jump, looking at him standing at the steps in fear. He crooks his finger at you, his gaze dark.

Shoko looks concerned as you hesitantly rise from the stool and make your way over to them. You have a feeling that he may know that you eavesdropped on him, but you’ll continue to act oblivious until you can’t. You refuse to blow your cover. Valentine leads you upstairs and walks you into an empty bedroom before shutting the door. “So what do they want?” you ask, acting clueless and frazzled. 

He stands by the door, looking beyond stressed. “Me,” he states. “I was in business with them some time ago and now they want their money.” 

“Okay…so why don’t you pay them?” you prompt. “What if they shoot us all up?” 

“They won’t do that,” he hurriedly replies, “because I gave them you.” He turns to you, his expression downtrodden and serious. “Me?” you whisper. “W-What do you mean? Kenzo, what did you do?” 

“Just listen to me, goddammit!” he hisses, finally losing his cool. “I don’t have the funds ‘cause I was too busy tryin’ to keep this place afloat! Now I need your help, Y/N.”

He takes hold of your shoulders, squeezing them tight. “C’mon, suckin’ and fuckin’ are some of your skills, right? It’s what you were doin’ when I met you.” He gives you a smile that is less than friendly. 

You stare at him, picturing you punching him square in the face. “You bastard,” you snap. “I’m not doin’ this. I can’t believe you would do this to me.”

You snatch his hands off of you and step away from him as if he is toxic. “I’m callin’ the sheriff,” you hiss as you stomp by him. 

But he stops you by pushing you into a wall and then squeezing his hand around your throat, pinning you there. You gasp and struggle, wriggling about like a fish, but he keeps on squeezing. 

“Now you listen to me, you little bitch,” he snarls. “You must not be understandin’ what I’m sayin’ here, so I’ll break it down for ya: I’m your boss. I call the shots; not you. That means whatever I say goes.” He squeezes harder, making you wheeze. “So when I tell you to open that slutty mouth and your legs for some cock, you do it. You owe me. I took you out of that whorehouse and I can send you right back there.” 

He then slips into his back pocket and retrieves a gun that he waves in your face, grinning sadistically. “Either that or I’ll send you right to the grave,” he warns. “Makes no difference to me. I’ll find another pretty slut just like you for my bar.” 

Your stomach churns with fear at the sight of the gun. “K-Kenzo,” you cough. “S-Stop!” But he doesn’t, still choking you and putting the gun in your face. “Then do we have a deal?” he prompts, narrowing his eyes at you. Frantically, you nod and he releases you. You sputter and cough, gulping down air. 

“Good,” he grumbles. “Now get out there unless you want a bullet in your back.” He points the gun at you and waves it towards the door.

Having no choice, you obey him and walk out of the bedroom, down the hall, and to the room where the gunslinging duo occupies. With Valentine’s gun pressing into your back, you push the door open, seeing the duo sitting on the couch near the window beside the bed.

“Here she is, fellas!” Valentine announces. “Pretty as can be, ain’t she?” He digs the gun into your back, prompting you to walk into the room. The door shuts behind you. 

The two men sit back against the couch, their long legs and thick thighs spread. You do your absolute best to not look down. Gojo stands and puffs on his cigar, his pink lips forming an O to let the smoke billow from his lips. He then puts the cigar out on an ashtray nearby and lazily walks toward you with a slight smirk playing on his lips. You stand rigidly still, biting your bottom lip to avoid another breakdown.

“Mmm, pretty ain’t even word for her,” he hums. He begins to walk around you slowly, checking you out as if you’re an object up for auction. “Such a gorgeous little doll. A pretty little thang, ain’t she, Suguru?” 

The long-haired cowboy stares you down from his place on the couch, sipping on his glass of whiskey. His pink tongue, glittering with silver (a fucking tongue piercing), juts out to lick his lips, seductively so. “Mmm-hmm,” he agrees. “I bet she’s the one who reels in the most business here.” 

Gojo takes a bit of your dress in his fingers, tugging on your skirts. “Gorgeous skin, hair, eyes, dress…” He releases you, stepping back to admire you fully. “Shame about that gun under your skirts though, doll, but it does give ya some character.” 

As if the world has suddenly tilted on its excess, you gape at him, confused and alarmed. No… there’s no way he knows.

“The what?” Valentine snaps. 

Gojo’s smirk grows the more horrified you become. “I’d expect nothin’ less from the Fatale Femme,” he chuckles. “After all, the infamous gunslingin’ cowgirl herself has to stay strapped in this wild world.”

He walks up to you, nearly closing the tight space between you. “I can’t believe I finally get to see your face under that bandana I’ve seen in your posters,” he dreamily sighs. “You’re beautiful.” 

You can’t even process his compliment properly. You can’t function at all. The world is moving in slow motion. How in the fuck could these two know who you are? 

“Careful now, Satoru,” Geto chuckles, now standing up. “Ya don’t wanna get got too. She’s responsible for killin’ over four different gunslingers in three counties––two in only one. She hides out for a while and then does it again, scarin’ the wits out of every man alive.”

He gives you a lazy, knowing smile that scares you out of your mind. “And we’re no different, are we, little lady?” 

Despite not being in immediate danger, your fight or flight has now kicked into gear like you are. You don’t know who will do what or what will happen, so your body is itching to run and your fingers are tingling, wanting to whip out your pistol.

You’re so glad you’re so in tune with your gut because Valentine explodes instantly to being played. “You…you bitch!” he hollers, his face red with rage. “You lied to me! I’ll fuckin’ kill you!” 

He goes to pull the trigger of his gun, but before his thumb can even press down, you’re already slipping your silver pistol stained with a lipstick print on the handle out of the secret leather holder strapped to your thigh and popping a bullet at his ear.

You make sure to shoot slightly away from his face, not wanting to hit him–just to graze him. You successfully do so, the bullet zooming past Vanji’s ear and taking off a chunk of his lobe before lodging itself into the wall. 

He screams bloody murder as blood spurts from his ear, his hand covering it and causing blood to spurt from between his fingers. But that doesn’t stop him. He goes to tackle you, but Geto stops him by moving between you and backhanding him in the face with his pistol dubbed the 'Rainbow Dragon'.  

As soon as the silver metal object hits his temple, Valentine tumbles like a house of cards and falls out cold on the floor. Gojo tosses his head back and laughs like this is all hilarious. “Damn, that escalated quickly!” he cackles. “You always did a heavy hand, Sugu.” He says this with a wink that comes off as mighty suggestive. 

Geto gives him a smirk, but it quickly fades when his eyes land on you. “You alright?” he asks, actually sounding genuinely worried. 

You don’t buy it for a second. Quickly, you aim your gun at them both, backing away to the door. 

“Don’t move,” you warn. “Neither one of y’all. If you move, you’re dead.” 

Slowly, Geto lowers his gun to the floor before he does so and puts his hands up in defense. “Both of you, put your weapons on the floor,” you order, doing your best to keep the tremble out of your voice. 

“Alright, let’s just calm down,” Gojo soothingly says, taking his guns out of his holster. One in particular is purple, dubbed the 'Hollow Purple'. He also lowers his leather whip which is said to have left scars so deep that its victims will never heal from them. Geto does the same, lowering his other pistol and a knife in his boot to the floor. 

“We’re not here to hurt you,” the snow-haired outlaw says. “We barely even wanted him though he was a bonus point.” He nods down at Valentine unconscious and bleeding on the floor by your feet. 

You scowl at them confusedly, the gun still trained on them. “Then what the fuck are y’all here for?” you demand. 

The duo give each other a look before smirking at you, making your stomach flip. “We’re here for you, little miss,” Gojo says.

[pyromainiacc]

In Defense of Magnificus

A very very long rant by me. Originally from a rant I posted in a discord server in 2022, modified to be a little more concise. I have to apologize if some of this stuff is incredibly outdated, I haven't really bothered to catch up with newer stuff about the game outside of the game itself yknow... Like twitch streams from the dev and such.

I saw a theory that Magnificus was originally intended to be the villain of the original, in lore Inscryption, but through the rush of making the game as a coverup and developers like Kaycee not making much progress on the development because of said rush, he didn't get finished. And I think if you really analyze his character, everything about him FEELS unfinished.

His character design is super simple compared to the other scrybes. His deck is weak; there are not a lot of hard hitting cards aside from the Stim Mage, and the Magiks system itself feels wonky, as if they didn't have enough time to balance it out. His tower feels empty (Specially that damned bathroom. It haunts me.) His letter stops before its completed, he suddenly disappears mid-sentence... He's the only scrybe to not get a proper 3D version, as the game was mostly deleted by the time we got to him in Act 4, and he might've been the only scrybe that never became hegemon. We don't get to finish his battle, and he doesn't even get a handshake.

And going back to originally being a villain? Maybe that's why he was made to be so cruel to his pupils. P03 is also mean to his subordinates, but they're robots, they're not mean to gain as much sympathy from the player. Meanwhile, Magnificus is established to be mean and perhaps downright evil by the dialogue we get through Act 2. Rebecha speaks about him by saying he's mysterious, stating "Some say he wants... No, it's too terrible to say." But we never know what that refers to, and if it's coded dialogue or her own speech.

Outside of the CODED IN lore behind his pupils suffering, we don't see him being evil AT ALL. In Act 1 he is practically our savior; his throughout preparing was able to get us the film roll, and if we take too long he sends the player VISIONS to guide us in the right way. In Act 2 he attempts to warn the player about P03, his paint leads around to secrets to clue in about the OLD_DATA as well as perhaps serving as warnings for it. At the end of the game he is the only one who is distraught about everything being deleted; Grimora and Leshy accept their deaths, but Magnificus REFUSES to.

But wouldn't a villain rejoice about people dying? About, in his own words, an entire world being destroyed? It's like the original plan for his villainy was there, but he doesn't WANT to be one.

Now as to why he seems to continue to treat his pupils badly. I think it's just.. guilt. I believe he didn't have a choice in making them suffer, they were all just coded into what we know of Act 2. They were all created with the pupils being in torturous states and the game code telling them "It's Magnificus' fault". I think he himself believes this. I believe he could have tried to fix it before. But the thing is that, even if he ever did fix it, if he stopped their pain, it would all be for nothing... because the game resets. The only times it doesn't do this is when a scrybe takes over, which is something he has supposedly never been able to do. And if he were to help them outside of being hegemon they'd just go back to their original state once the new game card was used. I think he simply gave up upon realizing this and instead chose to bury his own grief that comes from it by playing into the character he was originally meant to be; the villain. That, and I think he just doesn't want to look at them... It hurts him to. I believe this is why he painted bleach over Goobert's painting.

I think him being originally an unfinished villain plays into him always being prepared. As I stated before, people often forget how helpful he is- it's due to his preparations that we are able to leave Act 1, he warns about The Great Transcendence in Act 2, warns Luke about the OLD_DATA, and warns him about the fate he'd encounter if he looked upon it. I think Magnificus wants to make up for his "villainy" by being the one the other scrybes and npcs can rely on in a time of need, so he spends every hour of everyday getting ready for the worst, and foreseeing what is gonna happen next.

Thing is that, he never stops anything from happening. He prepares a way out of Leshy's hegemony, but he can't stop it from happening in the first place. It's very probable that he was the one that planned how to stop P03 in Act 3, as we see he has been preparing since at least Act 2. But not only does the P03 hegemony happen, but he is ultimately unable to stop the Great Transcendence once it is in progress. Same thing for the game's deletion, which I believe it is at that point he truly panicked, because he couldn't foresee it or plan for it beforehand. It all feels like... An unfinished character arc. He never got to do anything he wanted.

I think he feels powerless.

Magnificus is often regarded as the worst scrybe. But in a sense, there's no real reason why that should be the case, at least not compared to the others. Like... Leshy took over the game and put the other scrybes into cards. He had good intentions, sure, but that doesn't mean his actions were good. Magnificus lost his eye, Grimora lost her memory, P03.... Was having a bad time...

Hell, the reason people hate Magnificus so much so often is because of the treatment of his pupils... But Leshy isn't all innocent there either. He puts Goobert in a bottle (At least, maybe he does. It's not clear whether it was him or Mags), which we know Goobert REALLY doesn't like, and he also put Goobert's description in the rulebook as "Failure". He also threw the bottle into the river as stated by himself in Kaycee's Mod.

P03... I don't gotta explain this one we know it is an asshole.

...And Grimora deleted the game, which basically killed everyone in it. While she had good intentions, it really only led to the discovery of the OLD_DATA and the subsequent assassination of Luke.

Now, what did Magnificus do? Nothing. Like... Really. He didn't GET to do anything. People dislike him because of his treatment of his pupils, but as I talked about before, I really don't think he can do anything about that, even if he wanted to.

So why do people so easily hate him? Circles back to the theory: Because he's unfinished. Everything about him is unfinished. The other scrybes are loved because we got to finish their arcs... We get to know why they each do what they did.

P03 not so much, but... P03 is a villain of sorts, people like villains and don't need them to be "good" to like them, which I agree with cuz villains are fun! P03 does have some sympathy points somewhere, though, which I'm not gonna go into here.

I'm gonna focus on Grimora and Leshy instead. Their farewells were perfect closure:

Grimora spoke about why she chose to delete the game, and we as the player come to understand her. It was right after her doing it in the first place, so we didn't even get to really build anger towards her. She talks about it being a necessary action- perhaps something we can agree with after knowing everything about the OLD_DATA. She laments not being able to play more with us, but she accepts her death and says goodbye.

Leshy talks about just.. wanting to play. That's all he wants, he just wanted to give us a good story. The original Inscryption is rushed and weird- Act 1, his hegemony, was his attempt to make it better and enjoyable (Which, considering it is the Act people love most, he succeeded.)

The player probably misses him by this point- playing cards with him feels somber, sad, and nostalgic. At this point we consider him a friend. And then he gets deleted after complementing our past deck, speaking about how much he enjoyed his time with us, and saying farewell. It's not something that leaves us with any possible anger towards him.

Magnificus though... He doesn't get that. We never get to talk to him properly, he never speaks about how he feels or why he does things. In Act 1 he spends most of the time in the clock, in Act 2 he gets cut off when trying to speak to us, Act 3 he only speaks a few sentences, and in Act 4..

His farewell is different than the other two. Leshy and Grimora accept their deaths... Magnificus doesn't. He doesn't talk about his feelings or justify his actions, because if you have been holding in your feelings, that is something you do when you can no longer do so. You let them go when you know you're going to die soon.

But he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to die, he can't accept it.

The game he played with us wasn't complete- the scales were gone, so we weren't even supposed to play against him. It was his opportunity to just say what he needed to say before he was gone, but he refused to accept his upcoming death. So instead he tried prolonging the process by using unrealistically high numbers instead of scales (The bigger the number, the longer the game will take, right..?). Even as he felt himself getting deleted he refused to end the game, or even talk to the player properly. For once, he couldn't prepare for the worst, and he was in denial- he was completely powerless and he didn't want to accept it. Instead, he speaks to us about the game deleting. He blames the player for it. He tries to guilt us; "You even allowed my goo mage to get deleted... I thought you two were becoming friends!"

And he doesn't get a handshake. He tried to push his deletion away for so long that he ended up not even being able to finish the match or get the same, proper farewell that Grimora and Leshy got.

I think by now I've said what I needed to say, but I wanna add that... Yeah, I think he's one of the most tragic characters in the game. I think he spends a lot of time being anxious- we don't get a clear answer on if he can see the future or if he is just able to predict it, but either way he lives with a lot of anxiety because of it.

I think the worst part is the deletion of the game and his farewell. He isn't able to let go because he's scared to, and because he has spent his whole life trying to prevent bad things from happening; trying to help his friends to get out of bad situations they caused themselves. But this time he's not able to, he can't do ANYTHING about it, and he's terrified because that means his whole existence and work is just... Gone. He spent all his days preparing for the worst scenarios, only for it all to be thrown away. He WASTED his life for nothing. And it hurts me that the fandom never saw that.

Or maybe I'm overthinking all of it. Maybe this has all already been directly disproven. But I still wanted to share this.