#and then the usual someone died and this building is very wrong (both not up to code and foreboding)

[ent-is-indecisive]

Yes there were monsters everywhere and an architecture that wanted me dead but at least i got to use my sword and made some ren fair friends

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Home For Christmas

Warnings: non/dubcon, and other dark elements. Not all kinks or triggers are tagged. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Summary: You get sidetracked on your way home.

Character: Andy Barber

Day Four of the December Daze Challenge.

Prompt - the car broke down and the snow is getting deep 

Note: As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

"It's getting bad," Andy shifts in the passenger seat, as usual, stating the obvious.  

"Yeah, just gotta be careful," you grip the wheel, leaning into it as you try to see through the falling powder. "I've driven through worse." 

"Maybe, but it's not letting up," he sits up, concerned after his cat nap. "Might be a good idea to look for a hotel or something. Even just somewhere we can pull off until it dies down." 

"It's really not that much," you argue. You just want to get home. Just a few more hours and you get to enjoy your holidays. 

"Look, I know you wanna get back for Christmas but--" 

"Shit!" You exclaim as headlights flash through the white flakes and veer away from you with a honk as you twist the wheel to avoid the other car. 

You slam on the breaks as you steer into a heaping bank, sending up puffs of snow all around you. Andy grunts as he reaches over to flip on the hazards. You catch your breath as he sighs. You hate that sound. 

"What were you saying?" He mutters. 

"That guy was in the wrong lane," you argue. "I can't help that." 

"Yeah, but if you can't see them, they can't see you." 

You keep from countering. He always has to be right. Besides, he's your boss, he's supposed to be right. It just irks you how he talks to you like a child. You're almost the same damn age as him. 

"Let me drive," he insists. 

"Andy," you shift into reverse and check the back window, "can you check your phone? See if there's anything close by." 

Your defeat is in your voice. He is right. The snows getting worse by the second. You'll be lucky to get as far as a hotel. 

"Shit," he mutters as he sits back and looks at his phone, "no signal." 

He raises it, angling it around with a tut. You chew your cheeks in agitation. That means you can't even call James to let him know you'll be late. 

"I think I saw a sign back a ways..." you drone uncertainly, once more clamping down on the wheel. "Let me know if you see anything." 

You right the nose of the car, the tires rolling without traction before finally catching. That's not good either. Of course, the snow had to wait. It had to dump in that moment, when you're finally at the end of this stupid work trip. 

You head back down the highway, tense as you feel the tenuous grip of the tires. You’re not sure you’re going to get very far. You don’t. After a sluggish advance, the car swerves as snow builds up in the tire wells and clog the axle. Once more, you barely keep control as you steer back towards the snow-buried apron. 

You roll into the window high drifts and push both feet onto the brake. You hang your head forward and groan. Andy’s hand grips the corner of your seat, his other on the dashboard. You lean back and shake your heads. 

“Well, Happy Holidays,” you huff. “Should we get out and walk.” 

“You think we’ll get far?” He asks, though you can’t tell if it’s rhetorical or not. 

“What else can we do?” You wonder with exasperation. 

“Got an emerge kit in the trunk. Seats fold down.” 

You blink at him. He can’t mean that. 

“Just until it stops. It’s only building and even if we don’t want to, there’s not much choice.” 

“We can call for help,” you suggest. 

“Even if someone could get to us, I don’t have any bars. What about you?” 

You shift into park and take out your phone. A circle with a bar. Nothing. 

“Can’t keep this on forever either. The battery will die. There’s a thermal blanket, a couple of hand warmers, food...” 

“Jesus, how long are we going to be stuck here?” You look at him. 

For the first time in all the years you’ve worked with him, Andy looks uncertain. That adds to your anxiety. He frowns and slides his hand off the seat onto your shoulder. 

“Look, it’s fine. It should be more than tonight. Snow’s supposed to let up after dusk, then we just need to wait for the plows. They usually start up at 3. Before traffic gets heavy.” He assures. 

You nod. For once, you’re happy to have a know-it-all with you. 

“Alright, so, turn off the engine.” 

You do what he says and he reaches for his door. He pushes it open and the wind blows back his hair and dusts snow into the SUV. He goes to the back of the car, disappearing into the white void. You watch nervously, trying to see through the thick flakes. 

The hatch opens and you undo your seat belt so you can crane around. “What are you doing?” 

“Gotta make sure we’re visible. I’ll hang one of the emergency vests on the back.” 

“Oh, right, can I help?” You wonder. 

“If you can get the seats down, we’re going to have to keep as much warmth as we can. Lever’s underneath,” he hollers through the wind. His cheeks are already touched pink by the snowy blast. He pulls out a neon yellow vest and closes the back up. 

You get out of the seat and pull the switch on the side to fold it forward. You climb over it and feel around the front of the backseat. You get those down as the side door opens. And climbs up, crunching himself down to fit in the tight space. 

You operate silently in unison. He gets the blankets out. Two. He suggests one for underneath and the second over you. He has bottles of water, some cold rations, and little packets that heat up for about 15 minutes when you rub them. 

As you sit on the thermal blanket he feels the front of his jacket, “damn it,” you can see the moisture around his shoulders. 

He strips it off and shivers in his dress shirt. His hair is damp too, curling at the ends. He looks at you, his blue eyes bolder as the world is white outside the windows. 

“Uh, we gotta...” 

“Yeah, sure,” you grab the blanket and pull it close. He moves next to you. There isn’t quite enough space to stretch out. You’re scrunched up as your arms touch and you lean on the slight incline of the folded seat. 

“Gonna be a long night,” he mutters. 

“Not exactly the white Christmas I hoped for,” you agree. 

You don’t complain much more. You have someone to get home to eventually. Since the divorce, Andy is rarely eager to leave work. It’s exactly the reason you’re trapped on the side of the highway. The work trip was his reason not to be alone. You feel bad for him, even if he is an ass of a boss. 

❄️ 

Your teeth chatter as you hug yourself under the blanket. Andy’s heat burns at your back but can’t warm you as the wind whistles outside the car. He turns on the car for about ten minutes at a time but hasn’t in at least two hours as the coldness sets in. It’s better to conserve the heat under the blanket. 

His arm is around you, his chin in your shoulder, resting against yours. It’s an innately intimate position, intertwined, snug, but you’re not thinking about that. You’re just thinking about the miracle of modern heating. You just need to make it through tonight. 

He shifts and shivers against you. You put your hand on his to try to warm him. You don’t feel you’re offering much as he radiates with heat. 

He sighs. God, his damn sighs. The sound that make your office days longer. 

You close your eyes but can’t sleep. You’re too anxious to settle down. Your eyes burn with fatigue but your adrenaline keeps you unsettled. 

The silence is as frigid as the weather. Both of you stopped talking a while ago. There’s nothing left to say but the obvious. You can’t wait to be out of there. You try to relax, the tension aching in your neck. 

He shifts and his hand slips from under yours. You move too, searching for comfort. His fingers rustle down your shirt and touch the front of your pants. The awkward brush makes you squirm. He drags his hand back up and presses against the bottom of your shirt. 

You go rigid again. His fingertips trace the waistband of your wool trousers. Your eyes snap open. 

He dips beneath the fabric and you suck in a stunned breath. You flinch as he tickles along your panties. You cough. 

“Andy, what--” 

He hushes you, “it’s cold...” 

Does he know what he’s doing? Maybe he’s just trying to go up your shirt but that’s not better, is it? His cheek presses against your skull as he pulls you flush to him. He delves beneath your underwear and you gasp again. 

“Andy--” 

“No one will know,” he grits. 

“No, Andy,” you grab his forearm. “You can’t-- I know you’ve been going through a lot but no--” 

His other arm snakes up from under your waist and his hand stretches across your throat. You gulp and let out another surprised squeak. He squeezes as you reach to snatch at his grip. 

“And...” 

He chokes the protest from you as he grazes along your pelvis. You wince and as he rocks his hips against you. He purrs. “Mmm, nice and tidy... like you were expecting this.” 

Your skin blazes in humiliation. You spent a little extra time trimming. You missed James terribly and his texts betrayed that the feeling was mutual. 

You croak but can’t speak. He fingertips press behind your jaw until the pain waters in your eyes. He jams his hand between your thighs. He curls against your cunt and glides between your folds. Another spark of humiliation scalds you. It’s been weeks since you had the time of energy to spend with James. You and your husband are just too busy. You’re all too responsive to the rare touch. 

The fear constricts across your ribs as your heart pound, echoing in your temples. You squeeze his wrist which only inspires him to tighten his hold on your throat. Your eyes gloss over with helplessness. You can't stop him. Not in that moment and even if you could speak, there’s no one to hear you scream for help. 

He bends his fingers until they sink past your entrance. He has no patience. He buries himself to his lowest knuckle, gripping tight so the heel of his hand is against your clit. The pressure pulses into your core. 

He tilts his hand, forming a slow rhythm that feeds a different kind of heat. The kind that burns your soul. You flick your lashes as your walls clench him and you twitch. No, no. 

Your breath picks up. You think of your husband, waiting, worried, and you’re there... he can’t ever know. Even if it’s wrong. Even if you don’t want it. 

“I’ve been so lonely,” he rasps against the brim of your ear. “I just... need to touch someone.” His desperation trembles in his voice. “You’re so warm and soft.... and wet.” 

You hear your cunt clinging to him as he rocks his hand faster and faster. The swirl of nerves flurries to a spiral. The coil twists tighter and tighter. You arch your back, pushing your ass back unthinkingly against his crotch. 

He moves in response. Rubbing his hard bulge against you. His own breath hitches as he writhes in tandem with his hand. His palm claps against you as he fucks you harder and harder, pumping himself against your ass. 

You let go of him to bite your finger. You cum in a spasm, your tears overflowing in more than shame. It’s a sense of relief, the release of the tension built of neglect and stress. He puffs furiously as he ruts against you, shaking as his voice gurgles and his rhythm turns spasmodic. 

He growls and grunts until he falls out of motion. He stills and goes slack, his hand trapped beneath your thighs as he heaves. He purrs and nuzzles your ear. 

“I won’t tell him if you don’t,” he grits. 

[shadowreader07]

In the Name of Seventeen | Prologue

Summary: After the death of her father, Jules Bianchi, when she was 8years old, Adelaide Bianchi-Leclerc was taken under the wing of her godfather, Charles Leclerc.

Navigating grief, fame, and the pressures of growing up in the shadow of a racing legend, Adelaide builds a new life, carrying both her father's memory and her own dreams.

Warnings: Mentions of death, a crash, hospitals

Notes: A quick summary of the worst 9 months ever.

🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️

Adelaide Vittoria Ludovica Liisa Bianchi-Leclerc. It's a long name right? Well every single name was given to me for a very specific reason. For example, Vittoria, my mothers name, she died due to complications at birth. My dad thought she would have wanted me to have her name, like a part of her to always have with me.

Adelaide on the other hand was the one name my parents could agree on. It directly translates to meaning "noble kind" my mother heard of it after reading some history about an empress with the name that was intelligent, and apparently made a saint. They thought it would bring me success I guess.

Ludovica and Liisa were both chosen for their meanings alone. Ludovica meaning famous warrior or renowned in battle and Liisa meaning God is my oath.

My parents were very poetic I guess. My name was originally supposed to be Adelaide Vittoria Ludovica Liisa Bianchi. But when my god father took me in at the age of 8 and the reading of the will happened turns out my dad wanted my last name to be hyphenated to make it easier for me or something. All I know is that its just another name for me to have to write out.

Now that the boring explanation is done allow me to tell you how everything went wrong in 43 laps in Suzuka, Japan, and how I lost the most important person in my life.

🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️

I was 7 years old when the crash happened, standing in the paddock with my custom noise cancelling headphones on watching the race through the screen with Charles and Arthur beside me. The race had been going well so far, a little bit sketchy with the track being wet and with a typhoon approaching. Everyone was on high alert. Then it happened.

It happened so fast. On second my papa was having a great race the next there was yelling as his car all but flew off the track. It felt like someone had pressed pause as Charles and Arthur both tried blocking me from what was happening. I didn't understand, was my papa okay?

The next thing I new we were in a hospital with my papa laying still. I asked Arthur why papa wasn't moving, he couldn't even look at me. "Did I do something wrong?" I asked crying, "Why isn't papa moving, is he mad?" A minute later I was taken to my Mamie's house where I would spend the next 9 months.

It was my birthday the last time I saw him, July 17th 2015, the day i turned 8. When I walked in holding my Mamie's hand I could feel something was off, the doctors in the room didn't smile at me like they usually do. I looked up at my Mamie to see tears falling down her face.

"Mamie? Why is everyone crying? It'd my birthday they are supposed to be happy, remember?" I was looking up at her with a frown on my face. She knelt donw to my eye level and cupped my face, "ma douce fille, its time to say goodbye to papa, okay?" she was softly crying while whipping my tears.

The rest of that day is a blur, I don't even remember leaving the hospital.

End of prologue.

[sunsets12]

Vampire knight…

*Obi-Wan voice* now that’s a name I‘ve not heard in a loooong time, a long time

I feel the need to ask an obligatory “team zero” or “team kaname” lol

But seriously, what compels you to it? Despite everything bad about it, I will always feel fondness for this dumb vampire story, my gateway to other anime and other vampire media back in middle school

Well, like you, I watched Vampire Knight back in middle school, and it was the second fandom I ever read fanfiction for! (First was Harry Potter, third was Percy Jackson...)

Re "team zero" or "team kaname" I was always into kaname x zero and nothing else about the show lol so none of the above.

And as a basic "get to know me" thing, I LOVE vampires and have for as long as I can remember (I went and saw the twilight movies in theaters with my sisters and mom) and honestly Vampire Knight has some really interesting vampire lore/world-building. Everything else about it is... a little rough, I'll admit (another ask called it the "double incest show" and... yeah lol). Terrible show, but it's a great hate watch. It's absolutely hilarious and it doesn't mean to be.

For anyone who is unaware and wants a brief summary (with spoilers), Vampire Knight is set in a post-apocalyptic world where literally nothing is different (they all attend a normal boarding school with normal school uniforms and everything).

The main character (Yuki) is in a love triangle with her adopted brother (Zero) who is a vampire hunter and the president of the night class aka the vampires (Kaname). He's a pureblood vampire which means he has no human ancestry (like Harry Potter), a lot of magical powers, and he's also vampire royalty... just go with it.

Anyway Yuki is a human and totally useless and also very dumb. For some reason both Zero and Kaname are absolutely in love with her. But low and behold, Zero was actually turned into a vampire and humans who are turned into vampires go crazy for blood and have to be killed (usually by vampire hunters), so it's all very angsty.

In order to stop Zero from going crazy, he and Kaname have gay sex... um, I mean Kaname gives him some of his blood. But blood-drinking in vampire media is usually a metaphor for sex anyway. So.

Anyway, in season 2 it's revealed that Yuki is actually a pureblood vampire whose mom turned into a human so she could be "safe". And Kaname is her brother. Hence "double-incest". Also Kaname and Yuki's parents are siblings, and the main antagonist of the show is their uncle who was in love with their mother and is now obsessed with Yuki.

And for more of a mindfuck: Kaname actually isn't her brother. He's Yuki's great-great something grandfather who Yuki's brother was sacrificed to resurrect/"awaken". So he's actually her ancestor in her brother's body. Cool.

Also, I've never read the manga, but because it's hilarious I will tell you what I've learned about the manga: Yuki ends up with Kaname and has a kid with him. Then Kaname dies and she gets with Zero and has a kid with him, too. Then Yuki and Zero die (somehow? I think?) and Kaname is resurrected as a human (???) and their kids get together. Triple incest manga!!!

It's absolute garbage, but it has a special spot in my heart. Sorry if I got any of the facts wrong, everything I know about the manga is second-hand and I'm typing this on my phone. Thank you for sending the ask I begged someone to send lol

[reineydraws]

Hey Reiney! i've been following your Renkaza comic for some time now and it's kind of gotten me into the ship. Would you happen to have any fic recs to get me started?

im so honoured my comic got u into the ship! (@sshcomic for those who don't know! 🫶) i love giving out fic recs omg thank u so much for asking!!!! i have 15 for ya haha.

i'll have specific recs under the cut, but first i wanna just say that anything by emilieee @e-milieeee ; dragonsandcryptids @lesbiansanemi ; and tippertupper are great places to start! they're amazing writers with a good body of work and i've definitely gone through a lot--if not all--of their renkaza stuff! please check them out!

word count is rounded to nearest thousand btw! :) smoke and mirrors + demon's choice are big inspirations for my comic, if ur coming from there!

i've also realized these can be pretty lengthy so if u want recs with shorter word counts just lmk and i'll comb through my bookmarks for <15k. but anyways!

Smoke and Mirrors by emilieee (272k)

canon happens in modern times au, where akaza ends up as kyo's apartment neighbour, tho kyo doesn't initially realize akaza's a demon. it's emotional! it's plotty! akaza mentions kokushibo made all the kizuki's fake id's and i still think that's hilarious! it's got one of my fave enemies to besties akaza & shinobu plots ever! please read this!!!

last sunrise by DragonsAndCryptids (182k)

akaza turns kyojuro by accident bc he bleeds too much into kyo's open wounds during the mugen train fight, and neither notice until it's too late. shinobu notices too and decides perhaps that this might be a prime research opportunity... uh-oh! the ethical quandries are good in this, and shinobu while flawed is very well-written. renkaza also end up with a soul bond. another emotional one but god is the journey amazing. tw for some torture scenes that could be graphic.

Small Fire of Winter Stars by phabulousphantom (66k)

modern au where akaza is a tattoo artist and kyo runs a teens program at the local community centre. it's one of my faves bc i just love stories about jaded people opening up and finding love and trust again, and this is exactly that. i also love the ensemble cast in it. the teenagers are adorable, especially inosuke who is a problem kid that finds something aspirational with akaza. thinking abt this fic is making me smile again!

Camp Kasugai by si1verbird77 (20k)

also modern au where renkaza are both counselors at a summer camp. kyo runs a percy jackson program, and he and akaza fall in love over the summer with the help of the deep trust that camp atmospheres usually end up fostering. kyo and sen, and akaza as well, also touch on the grief of losing parents, and the nature of camps as a place to grow into yourself and how time keeps moving. it's nice. i love this one a lot.

Inertia (series) by TipperTupper (23k)

akaza saves kyo from freezing to death, and kyo marvels at the compassion and humanity that akaza seems to hold in his muscle memory. ends up digging a little bit into akaza's trauma both as a human and as a demon controlled by muzan. sanemi gets a little mad about it in the third part and it's funny. overall vibe of the series is warm.

The Neverending Night by apodis (155k - incomplete)

when i say this fic rotates in my brain 24/7!!! akaza gets stuck in a time loop that resets every time kyo dies. it explores akaza's nature as someone who is willing to sacrifice everything for loved ones, and it's interesting bc at first kyo hates him, and then he starts to realize there's something wrong with akaza's memories bc of muzan, and he starts to really see how self-effacing akaza is. it's SO good, and the realizations both kyo and you as the reader have build and layer as the story progresses. akaza and kaname (kyo's crow) also build a friendship that is so important to me.

Demon's Choice by Celeste Gladnick (lairMorbidon) (69k - incomplete)

akaza defects early and joins tamayo, and so many more people are alive as a result. kyo in this one is interesting bc he's bigoted against demons thanks to his upbringing in a slayer family under abusive shinjuro, and refuses to see that akaza is anything other than dangerous, despite literally everyone else sticking up for him. extra fun bc he crushes on butterfly assistant hakuji without realizing that it's akaza in a human guise. akaza himself also has some deeply held trauma he doesnt quite realize he has.

what i wouldn't give by DragonsAndCryptids (59k)

senjuro becomes terminally ill and his end is fast-approaching. akaza, who's been bothering kyo on and off for two years since mugen train, hears about it and offers to help by turning sen into a demon. at first, kyo gives a hard no, but as his baby brother's illness progresses... well, anyone would get a little desperate, wouldn't they? love this bc one of my fave things abt renkaza is pushing kyo to his moral and ethical limit lol.

if you fly (say you won’t come back) by apodis (10k)

siren au! well, akaza's a siren, and kyo is the caretaker of a house that sees many different travelers. akaza's just the latest one. i love this one bc it's fantastical elements are wonderful, and it builds a very interesting world. as the reader, you have a lot of questions and it's an experience getting them answered. it's also prettily written. :)

Little Fighter Boy Comes Marching Home by VTheTrashKing (19k)

akaza gets de-aged by a demon's blood art, and kyo comes upon a little human boy with black hair and blue eyes, a chip on his shoulder and a very implicitly sad past, what with the criminal markings on his wrists and the way he insists he can take care of himself. another one of my fave renkaza things and kyo getting bowled over by hakuji's tragic story so i loved the way he puzzles it together in this one based on the little boy in front of him, and just finds one sad thing after another.

“Don’t die, Kyojuro” by Lenasaurous (24k)

akaza lets kyo live and often tells him not to die. kyo, who's life is often visited by death considering his occupation, begins to rely on akaza's immortality as a demon, and depend on his company as a constant--that is, until akaza passes out from not eating, and stays down for the count. uh-oh. (i also love this fic 'cuz there's this scene where akaza tries so hard to make kyo like him by giving him herbs and helpful plants, even tho kyo doesn't really want him around at that point, and it's so sweet and so sad. i wanna give him a hug!!!)

Memories behind broken glass by GammaRays (58k - incomplete)

this is the akaza whump fic of my dreams lol he gets captured and experimented on by shinobu (and it can be grisly so tw for that). kyo lured him into a trap to get him captured and ends up standing guard and starting to question his morals when it becomes clear that shinobu is being intentionally cruel. as the torture experiments go on, akaza also becomes so delirious that he begins to remember his human past. kyo loses it a little. it's good.

All the things a cup can hold by Liatheus (9k)

akaza takes shinjuro demon hunting lol. this is actually more of a shinjuro character study with side renkaza, but i love it specifically for a scene near the end where they all have tea, and ruka's empty place at the table feels obvious, and kyo and shinjuro are sort of crying about it. i also love that it explores the way shinjuro used to be a hashira, and how akaza investigates his strength in that sense. shinjuro's strength is an important aspect to kyojuro that doesn't often get delved into, and it makes sense to me that akaza sort of looks into it, as someone who loves kyo's strength.

Hello Again (the weight of memories welcome me home) by VTheTrashKing (15k)

this one's more artsy than anything but i love sci-fi as a genre so i'm reccing it lol i'm being self-indulgent. for whatever reason, throughout his life, akaza gets visited by various hashira. it's all very timey-wimey and the renkaza is more implied than anything, but there's this scene where akaza's being held trial at a hashira meeting, and then a future sanemi and future giyuu come out of nowhere to protect him and shock the living daylights out of their past selves, and it's so wild. i love it so much.

the milk incident by lattelesbean (4k)

this is just funny haha! short and fun read. modern soyama twins au where akaza's a café barista and accidentally puts his foot in his mouth in a very embarrassing way, bc he was too busy thirsting over kyo, his latest customer, to double-check what was about to come out of his mouth lol. i am still laughing.

[sufferingink]

the way that TMA has altered my brain chemistry is unreal so here's 911 characters and their fear alignments (without having watched past season four):

Buck: I don't think his would actually be The Lonely. while that's certainly part of it, I think too much of his fear comes from the idea that he's replaceable and filling too much space and needs to hide parts of himself to be loved and if that's not The Stranger, I'm not sure what is.

(I think you could probably make a case for all of them EXCEPT the corruption. when faced with a decomposing dead body he stabs it without gloves to manually drain fluids. when faced with a maggot that had crawled from somewhere I'd prefer not to think about, he goes "maggot :D!" he's kinda chill around killer bees apparently?? I've not gotten that far. but he's not afraid of bugs or sickness or anything so long as it doesn't keep him from his people. tldr: Buck loves bugs too much to be a corruption avatar)

Eddie: that's The Desolation babey. Is terrified of losing everything, so blows up his life before anyone else can. routinely loses things, relationships, people in a dramatic fashion, usually descending into guilt spirals that makes everything so much worse. has yet to end a relationship on even remotely good terms, I think it's fair to say they'd all be better to not have been with him at all

Bobby: I'm actually not too sure about this one but I'll go with The Eye. After the fire that killed his family he talks about how he should have known better, both in doing drugs and in the building's many safety violations. He's a fire captain that takes the injuries of his people very seriously because they happened under his watch and he should have kept a closer eye on them. he's got religious guilt. he even immediately gets sucked into spying on people "just in case" just like one Jonathan Sims circa Magnus Archives season 2

Maddie: The Hunt. do I need to explain this one? her abusive husband LITERALLY HUNTED HER through the woods. not to mention her relationship with her parents. The Hunt is also the fear that the people closest to you would turn on you, and I think trying to erase your brother from existence, leaving you (a ten year old) to raise your OTHER brother, then completely ABANDONING YOU when you get into previously mentioned abusive marriage qualifies as a betrayal, one that has broken her trust in others to help her (Buckley parents when I find you-)

Chim: The Lonely. his mother died when he was young, his father barely speaks to him, one of his brothers died BECAUSE OF HIM (in his mind anyway), he refuses to admit he thinks of his found family as more his family than his blood relatives till his late thirties, and I haven't got to where Tommy gets reintroduced, but Chim's origin episode I'm sorry but he's trying a LOT, TOO MUCH to become friends with someone that's been exclusively a jerk to him, he strikes me as a lonely guy

Athena: The Hunt as well, and I'm not just saying that because she's a cop! that's only part of it- but she's also a black woman working in a police department. she's aware of how easy it is for officers to get away with basically anything, even aware of exactly how unsafe her OWN family is, yet insists on staying and insists that there are more good cops than bad. you can't tell me she doesn't doubt that every single day, and what if they prove her wrong? (remember what I said about the fear of being turned on?)

Hen: I'm feeling The End, but less in a Death™ way and more of "there's nowhere to go from here." Hen prides herself on her ability to learn and grow so naturally that hard stop, you will be exactly as you are now forever, scares her. also people keep telling me she's the only one yet to get a major near death experience soooo

Ravi: Buck

[gethrax]

Updated my AU's firefly's backstory and looks!!! Now he shaves off his hair after some plot things in my fic :)

Under the read more is his backstory (apologies for any typos or grammar mistakes, english is not my first language lol) (its very inspird by both year one and arkham!!)

Raised in an orphanage ever since his parents died in an unfortunate fire while he was out playing, Garfield Lynns's childhood wasn't what most people would consider average.

His life in the orphanage was… eventful. He’d tease the other kids, sometimes even to the point of them crying and he would be disciplined. but he didn’t care. he kept going. He would set small fires in trashcans, or, well, anything, really. Sometimes he’d be able to extinguish it before someone saw, but sometimes he’d just stare at the flames, transfixed. If you asked him, he’d say he had always been interested in fire. The way it consumed, how beautiful and powerful it was… everything about fire seemed to fill him with emotion. Something he would usually hide, But he just couldn’t help the smile forming on his face whenever he spotted fire. The beautiful strength and unpredictability… something he would himself grow to embody.

Despite his unruly behaviour, he did quite good in school - especially with chemistry and maths. He would get into fights a lot. Sometimes he was the one to start them, sometimes not. Whatever the case, He didn’t really take anyone seriously in there. he continued his habit of teasing others, making fun… which eventually resulted in him not having many friends, if not any. He filled his freetime with building various things. The school counselor suggested he go study engineering, welding or something similar, but he had other plans.

After years of studying, Garfield got a job working in pyrotechnics for movies. It seemed natural to him - he loved fire, pyrotechnics, and movies. He would climb up the ladder from being an intern to being fully in charge of pyrotechnics. He was known as… annoying, but he knew how to do his job. He was good. great. until one faithful day.

Instead of putting the safe amount of materials for a scene involving fire and explosives, he put on too much. knowingly. He smiled as he walked back up to his position, as the filming started.

As the scene unfolded, the explosion and fire was… normal. as originally planned. Garfield was disappointed. Or he was, until there was an additional explosion, which managed to catch fire on some of the crew’s clothes, the props… The fire was large, magnificent. Garfields stayed in his spot, smile widening as he watched the flames dance, engulfing the entire set. with people running away to get the extinguishers to help the ones in need.

Much to Garfield’s dismay, there was a third explosion. one very close to him. It knocked him off his feet, and in seconds, he felt this sharp pain and warmth spread through his body. His clothes were on fire, and he screamed. In pain, yes, but also, because he was sort of… happy. If he got to decide how to die, it’d be like this. But he didn’t. Someone extinguished him - probably someone from the firefighters that were hired to make sure nothing went wrong, and he passed out.

Garfield woke up in the hospital, being treated for his quite severe burns. As soon as he was discharged, he went home. He was there for weeks, not returning to work even when his leave was over, knowing he’d be fired if he did.

One night, he decided to set the plan he had been thinking of into action. He went into a few hardware stores, using all his leftover money to buy whatever he needed to build what he had in mind. Anything fire-proof… or something that wouldn’t melt easily. That explosion woke something in him, something that had been asleep ever since that fire in his childhood.

He went into the studio he had been working in, his new self-made flamethrower and explosives in hand and managed to walk inside undetected. He set his own office on fire, which then spread through the building, as he walked through the warm flames in his fireproof uniform, caressed by the fire he loved. There was no going back from this, he started to realize, as Batman stepped in and arrested him, taking him to first Blackgate - And Arkham, after his trial. His life of crime had started.

His life in Arkham was similar to how it was back in school. Fighting a lot with the other patients, trying to cause fires with the limited resources he had. Once he managed to escape during a riot caused by someone else, he went into hiding for weeks. For months. He spent the time building. Building what, exactly? A new flamethrower, a jetpack and an uniform.

And so began the life of the Firefly.

[obsessivejelbear22]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Wanna participate on this silly day.

Just to let all of you know I am not in any way an experienced writer, English is not my first language and I mess up grammar and context sometimes. But i wrote something fun regardless because I am insane about sorvus. Also I don't have a title for this fic, well I did but now it doesn't make sense for it because the original idea is lost to the void now... Anyway if y'all have any ideas for the title and any criticisms for this fic let me know hahahah O_O

The battle is over. . . There is peace all across Xadia. But is there truly peace? Surely this is not over still, the loud party in the distance makes it seem like it is. A few hours ago King Ezran announced a new kingdom named Evrkynd, after the destruction of Katolis and the pain and grief he went through, he wanted to build something new, a place where everyone is welcome, no matter where you come from. And to celebrate they hosted a party, with a bunch of food, drinks, music and cheer, welcoming the people to a new beginning, to the future. Someone didn't feel like celebrating and that person was Soren, he's usually the center of attention during parties, making everyone else laugh and dance, but not this time, it didn't feel right. He was a distance away from the party, sitting next to a tree, he had just talked to Terry about Claudia and how much they both miss her, Terry suggested they go back, but Soren wanted to be alone, he needed to think but that usually never ends well.

Deep in thought about everything that happened, the pain, the hope, the battles, sure they fought hard and stopped Arravos and all that but, this accomplishment also came with losses. For Soren has lost everything, his home is in ashes, his fath- Viren died saving its people, Claudia left, his dear sister hopefully on a less darker path than before, and his mother never came back nor has ever tried to reach out. All of these things were eating Soren up in his chest, it felt heavy and suffocating, his bottled up feelings about to explode. . .

Then he heard a rustle nearby and immediately stood up, hand on his sword and faced in the direction of the sound.

Then his eyes widened, he slowly released the tight grip of his sword because what came out of the shadows was none other than Corvus, holding his hands up, smiling.

"Corvus?"

"Hey" he speaks in a softened tone " I didn't mean to startle you"

Soren sighs and relaxes, he leans on the tree and crosses his arms.

"How did you find me?"

"You should know that finding people is my specialty" He pauses and rubs the nape of his neck "But uh, also, Terry told me where you are."

Soren let's out a little laugh. "I'm not very secretive am I?"

No not really, Corvus thought to himself but Soren's very secretive when it comes to his feelings. Instead of saying that out loud he gets closer to him and says.

"You alright Soren?"

Soren sighs, he doesn't have the words, he's not even sure if he wants to say them, he can barely stand, so he sits down.

"I... don't know"

Something is definitely wrong, Corvus can tell, by the way Soren's eyes drift and wander around the ground, his rugged breathing and the tapping of his fingers. But he doesn't press on the matter, Instead he walks to him and sits down near him.

They just stay quiet in each other's company, breathing in the nights air as they gaze upon the moonlit pond in front of them. They listen to the music in the distance like background noise, the music is medium paced, it's hopeful and courageous in a way. It comforts Corvus.

[missielynne]

CBS Ghosts Review: The Bachelorette Party

Before I go any further, I want to say that I did love this episode and it's a repeat watcher, as Alberta episodes have been so far.

However, like with Isaac's episode last week, I felt the A plot and the B plot for this episode (even though they were both great) were mismatched, with Alberta's plot being overshadowed. Ask me what I got out of it and what I (and probably most watching) will tell you is "Chris the Dino Stripper is a ghost at Woodstone now!"

And for an Alberta episode, where the plots are big and bold and memorable, that's unusual.

Now don't get me wrong. I love seeing Alicia again. I love seeing a more introspective, serious side of Alberta and hearing more serious things from her life. But like in an Alberta episode where her plot is the A plot, it should be allowed to shine, and hearing Alberta talk about her regrets is nothing compared to seeing Chris the Dino Stripper die and be on the same plane of being as Isaac. So I wish they would have put it (or the plot where Chris dies) in its own episode, much like I wish they would have separated finding out why Isaac hates Hamilton from the plot with Elias and given IT its own episode.

Cause I do want to see Alberta's more serious side and be invested in what that has to say about her, much like I would love to see an episode that brings a more serious side of Isaac to light, a meaningful change from the drama and flare that surrounds them both. And I can't do that when Elias and Chris the Dino Stripper are a much more interesting distraction.

Speaking of Chris the Dino Stripper, I had an inkling before the episode that what happened was going to happen to him, but I'd completely forgotten it, so it was a great surprise, much like Carol dying, and I can't wait to see what him being at Woodstone will do to the dynamic in the house, especially with Isaac and the shed ghosts, since he's the first new gay blood in that house since who knows how long? Having him and Isaac come face to face will be very interesting, even though I know it's only a temporary stepping stone for Isaac and Nigel and then what will happen after that is a total mystery. Maybe he'll get sucked off, maybe he'll stick around. Who knows?

I have to applaud Trevor for wanting to pay Jay back for saving his job, but as usual, his methods were a bit suspect and I'm glad Jay was able to get the same review in his own right. (And it was fun to see that Boyle from B99 was the reviewer. Great when actors from other shows I like show up on Ghosts!)

And I am SO glad that I'm not the only one who wants Sass to punch Flower every time she says the word virgin. Please tell me they're building up to some confrontation cause I honestly have no idea why they're making her so one note and annoying and also why that's the particular note they picked. Sigh. She'll get sucked off eventually or get a better plotline, we can all hope.

And I love that Hetty has a new show to watch and how she described it as "Succession mixed with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Definitely something I would watch if it were real. It also reminds me of this eighties miniseries my mom showed me called "Fresno" about a wealthy family who got their money from raisins, and all the chaos that ensues. It has Carol Burnett and Dabney Coleman among other people in it, and it's so funny as a Dallas spoof.

And on that Hetty note, can't wait to find out what her power is next week (and meet someone new from Jay's family, who I hope isn't horrible) along with seeing how Chris assimilates into the house. Reading all the thoughts about what Hetty's power might be has been fun. Until next week!

[storkmuffin]

Towards the Light Seoul 2025

Pregame Post, I guess.

I just had the most modern South Korean conversation of all time, involving Ateez concert tickets.

An unknown number called my mobile phone. I don't answer these, so I sent an automated text message saying, Send Me A Text Message. The answer came back: This is ticket delivery. Please call.

So I called.

The woman sounded like she was in the hallway in front of my apartment (because I could hear my across-the-way neighbor's insane dog yapping). In an extremely agitated tone, she said, There's nobody at your apartment! When will someone be home? I said, Unless you're coming on Sunday morning, there's nobody home. She started to tell me off. Why didn' t you have this delivered to your job?? I said, I work inside an industrial complex with a lot of security measures that make it very difficult to receive personal packages. Please leave it with the delivery receipt service I have in my building downstairs. She snapped back, I know you have building security, I just can't leave it with them. I said, Why not? I'm asking you to. She reverted back to telling me off, YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD THIS DELIVERED TO YOUR JOB. I began to fight back: I JUST TOLD YOU I CAN'T RECEIVE PERSONAL PACKAGES AT WORK. LEAVE IT WITH THE DOORMAN. DO YOU EXPECT ME TO TAKE THE DAY OFF OF WORK SO I CAN RECEIVE CONCERT TICKETS?? Then she said the thing she was really trying to say which was, If this goes missing, WHO WILL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE?

God fucking damn it I hate this conversation. This obsession with not being responsible. The absolute neurosis about never ever being wrong. It's a specific form of brain damage that happens to 100% of the Koreans educated in Korea and I am so glad that I was raised abroad.

So I said the thing that usually entirely solves everything. In a very loud voice I declared, I AM RESPONSIBLE. I WILL BE RESPONSIBLE. IT'S ENTIRELY MY RESPONSIBILITY SINCE I AM THE ONE THAT INSTRUCTED YOU TO LEAVE IT WITH MY DOORMAN. IT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY.

I really said it, like that in one breath. Sang a fucking hymn to personal responsibility. 제 책임이죠. 제가 책임 집니다. 전적으로 제 책임이죠, 제가 경비실에 두라고 요청했으니까요. 제 책임입니다.

The delivery woman finally stopped talking in the voice that was put on, that made it sound like her mother had just died while unsuccessfully performing CPR on her father right in front of her and I was letting my dog pee on both of their faces. She said, suddenly extremely calm, "I will leave the deliverables with your doorman."

So. Uh. Hooray, my Ateez tickets will be given to my doorman for me to pick up when I go home from work!

[zedif-y]

I lovee the shapeshifter au so far :P

I'm curious what would Grian and Pearl's reactions be to finding Jimmy's note that he's gone hunting, then him not returning. Would they go looking for him? Would they have any luck?

The thing you have to know about Jimmy's perspective of all this, him deciding to leave just to prove himself... Is the fact that he was wrong about what his remaining family thought of him. I say this because Jimmy, for the longest time, truly believed that they thought of him as some kind of... Weakling. Other.

When their parents died, Jimmy was the one who kept the house itself. His workshop was there, and Grian and Pearl have their separate places. They're close enough to come visit as much as they like, and the house is more of a common area for the three of them most days. Jimmy kept all the hunting memorabilia, the grainy photos of his parents and his ancestors and all of their achievements. He takes care of them.

The point is that this feeling has been bubbling for a very long time. The point is that Jimmy's never felt more like a failure than when he found out about his father's dreams for him through old letters in the attic, and flipped through pictures in the family album where his mother is grinning, her trusty crossbow in hand. The crossbow she left for him.

The one he'd never properly used.

All this to say, Grian and Pearl did what they could. They knew Jimmy was feeling this way to an extent, but... He never told them how bad it had gotten. Mostly because the last thing he wanted was to give them another reason to worry, another reason to think he couldn't handle himself.

When they knocked on the door and Jimmy didn't answer... The worry came fast. They grabbed their spare keys, called for Jimmy as they entered the house, and--

They find his note.

Neighbors will tell you that they've never seen the two so afraid, before.

They packed as much as they could and basically ran, following Jimmy the only place he could have gone-- their usual hunting trail, though given his headstart he could be deep in the woods--

"We'll find him," Pearl tells Grian, who's grit his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. "We'll find him."

Jimmy's trail is easy enough to follow at first. Clumsy and obvious. But the forest grows dense, and at some point, Jimmy got lost, straying off the main path the two of them know by heart. Off into uncharted territory.

This is when fear turns into choking dread.

They don't find him on that first trip. Nor the second, nor the third. They don't find him, and the thought makes them ache, makes them tremble into each other's embrace as they sit in their childhood home, the damn thing so cold and empty without its owner.

"Some hunters we are," Grian says one day, choked up and shaking. Pearl gathers him up in his arms, "What are we gonna do?"

Eventually, they stumble upon dried blood in the forest. Ripped up dirt, a dried, bloody handprint on a nearby rock. About Jimmy's size.

But no body.

To say that they're in denial is a bit of an understatement. They refuse to think that Jimmy's dead. Not until they have proof. Not until they can see it.

(They both have nightmares where they do.)

And sometimes-- sometimes they think they see him, fleeting ghosts here in town. A hooded man with blonde hair sticking out and catching the sun, gone before they can approach. Someone who looks like they could be Jimmy, same build or height or whatever-- and they turn around and it's not him at all.

Nearly a year passes. They've kept the house clean for him. They still, though less frequently, comb through the forest for him.

Their baby brother isn't dead.

He can't be, there's no proof. They just have to find him.

(And they're right, though it stops feeling like it. They're right, they do see him, on all those times when he goes back to town to buy supplies and brings them back to Joel.)

(They're right. He's alive.)

(He just doesn't know how to face them again.)

[lifestealupdates]

Lifesteal Season 6, Week 11 Recap

There have been... interesting events on Lifesteal this week... As usual, major spoilers under the read-more, Lifesteal members should be blocked but if I've missed someone do not interact with this post :D

Devotions Experiments

Early this week, Mapicc revealed to Zam how he'd been stalking him for months. He claimed the only reason he commissioned the castle was to watch Zam, and one of the three times the castle was blown up it was actually done by Ro at Mapicc's request, so Zam would have to continue building it. (This means there is still one instance where the castle was blown up with no clear perpetrator.) After testing Zam's resolve by withdrawing 4 (?) hearts and telling Zam to kill him, Mapicc logged out and hasn't attempted to prove Zam is evil since.

California Girls

After Bacon decided to join Wemmbu's team along with Kab, things went very wrong very quickly. Bacon and Kaboodle have been Wemmbu-ifying areas of the server in order to annoy people. This includes building Wemmbu heads at Spawn and later turning Zam's flower field into purple alliums.

However, things were soon complicated by Manepear killing Kaboodle, and somehow knowing their spawn point and killing them again. As Bacon should have been the only person to know her spawn point (due to an earlier duel between the pair), Kab assumed Bacon had sold her out to Mane, especially considering Mane likes Bacon and won't kill him. Mane had earlier told Bacon he thought Bacon was teaming with Kaboodle to make Mane jealous.

After Kab's deaths, Hannah logged on and killed Bacon without any warning, saying it was revenge for him killing Kaboodle. In his attempt to get his stuff back, Bacon died again to fall damage, placing him at 2 hearts.

Later that day, Bacon started streaming again in order to speak to Kaboodle, Hannah and Wemmbu. He wanted Hannah to give him the two hearts back, but she refused, and despite this Wemmbu let her join the team. He told Bacon to kill someone like Midmysticx if he wants the hearts back, but Bacon refused.

A few days after this, Kaboodle gave Bacon two hearts back and apologised for not trusting him.

Bacon gave Kab some more advice for escaping fights, and they worked more on changing the flower field to alliums. After a team meeting between Wemmbu, Bacon and Kaboodle the team name was decided to be California Girls (this is due to a chatter gifting subs in order to make Wemmbu sing).

Bacon agreed to try and help Wemmbu get some more fights, as a wish for violence is Wemmbu's main motivator.

Zam and Poafa

Zam made a response to Poafa's book (see Week 10 recap for screenshots), and the two are now semi-allied, with Zam offering Poafa access to his resources.

When Zam was investigating both the cause of the new server lag and whatever is going on with Wemmbu's team, Poafa was killed once by Hannah (at Wemmbu's urging) and once by Wemmbu, and Zam felt incredibly guilty about this, as he was the one to call Poafa to spawn.

Zam failed to convince Hannah that Wemmbu was manipulating her into killing people. He gave Poafa two hearts as an apology then debated his morals.

"I could use my blade for good, if I wanted to, but I shouldn't be the one to dictate what's good and what's not" - Zam

Zam then decided he had to stay committed to pacifism.

The Plushie War

After Pangi blew up one of Midmysticx's Midnight plushies that she has been building around the server, she found his base and built a plushie in it, with a sign saying they are now at war. Pangi has since blown up even more plushies.

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.218 thoughts

[We Have a Title]

(Contents: Immediate reactions - excitement, character analysis - Ruin; thematic analysis - unity; speculation - Ruin/arc progression)

Hype

I think I've made it clear that I'm not a fan of hype. I don't like when expectations are constantly being built up and blown out of proportion, as that can only lead to disappointment. I much prefer a pleasant surprise where I can be proportionally excited with what's happening in the moment rather than allowing the pressure to build beyond what can be reasonably maintained

UU doesn't usually have a spoiler problem, at least not in my personal circles, so I was surprised that there was someone passing around leaks for this chapter. I managed to avoid them, and boy am I glad I did, cus this was the hypest god damn chapter in the whole run so far

Ruin's comeback, Fuuko's brutal display, and of course, Andy's return! I've said a thousand times that Tozuka is a master of iconic panel composition, and not only were there a ton of great panels here, but that final two-pager was just absolutely sick!

Fuuko's hair fluttering in the wind, Andy's blazing descent from the sun, the symbol of Fuuko's Unluck pinned to Ruin's back by the symbol of Juiz's Unjustice, the Sun and Moon both positioned at the top of the page as if watching on as everything unfolds. This is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one - no longer is Fuuko the lone leader of the Union, her right hand is returning to usher in the final phase, and everyone is bearing witness, the heavens themselves shining a spotlight on this momentous occasion

I kid you not, I was shaking when I realized what Fuuko was doing, and it took everything I had not to scream and jump with excitement when Fuuko dropped what will no doubt become her most iconic line in the series (my wife was still asleep, I didn't want to wake her). If I'd seen any spoilers, my realtime reaction would have been split up between knowing what happens out of context and then seeing it in context, and neither would have been nearly as fun, so I'm so glad I got to have the experience I did

Ruin

Onto the chapter itself, I definitely wasn't expecting to see Ruin this soon. I thought for sure we'd get a breather chapter or two to hang out with Tatiana, but I think Ruin is a character we can make an exception for

The first time Ruin showed up during the falling action of an arc, it felt a little like drama for drama's sake at first; I got over it pretty quickly, since it was clearly being used as a narrative device for transitioning into the next phase, but I could understand if people felt like a new character being introduced as a game changer is a bit of an asspull

This time, though, Ruin doing that is a callback to his introduction, an established modus operandi for the character to serve as an explicit agent of the narrative towards...well, ruin. Frankly I would have been disappointed if he'd come back any other way, as this way allows us to see the difference in how the Union responds to him

Before, no one saw him coming, and Fuuko got killed for it. Now, while no one was "ready" for him, Fuuko was able to react in time to make sure that no one died and then even got to retaliate in a way that demonstrated shocking level-headedness in the face of her own killer. Whereas Andy struck in a blind rage without any concern for what kind of ability Ruin might have, Fuuko immediately and brutally removed his head with the intention of inhibiting his regeneration. She was wrong, of course, but she made a conscious effort to win the fight rather than simply reacting on instinct as Andy did

While Chikara and Gina did end up getting hurt, they're not dead and likely not permanently wounded either (corneal damage is perfectly healable, it's retinal damage we'd need to worry about). Ruin is still very much a credible threat, but the Union of today is not the Union of yesterday, and they're definitely fit to overcome the so-called King of Negators

Ruin's Redesign

That said, I am left to wonder if the Ruin of today is the one of yesterday. His design has undergone some interesting changes, all of which completely incongruent with his own ability

Not only is his hair shorter, it's also lost color on one side, and the scar over his left eye has started to spread down his torso and arm, almost like it's metastisizing. Unruin's name implies it's supposed to keep its user perfect and pristine, but Ruin himself has only gotten worse for ware over the course of the loop. I'm wondering if this is a side effect of Unruin, like the more he uses it the more corrupt his body becomes, and it isn't negated by Unruin specifically because it's the cost of the ability and therefore the proper judgment of God or something

The fact that his hair has started to lose color further cements the parallels between him and Andy. Previously he just had the scar over the same eye, but now his hair has become short and slicked back, split between black and white while his scar creates a delineation in his skin tone, not unlike when Andy's personality reemerged from his Remember wound when Victor was in control of their body. The scar moving down the left side of his body also means it now covers the areas of Andy's 1985 and DEAD END tattoos, suggesting that perhaps his personal journey that we haven't been privy to is a parallel to Andy's after waking up from his own grave

Speaking of tattoos...I haven't seen anyone mention that Ruin is missing his Sun tattoo. What this means is unclear, but if I had to guess, it's a sign that Ruin does not currently occupy the role of Regulator. He hasn't been "chosen" by God yet, which I think suggests that this isn't L100 Ruin crossing between loops, it's L101 Ruin, whose life hasn't quite taken the same path as it did before. This might even explain his body - L100 Ruin told us he was sickly, so perhaps L101 Ruin simply got Unruin later this time around. Perhaps that scar is the deterioration of his body from his illness prior to gaining Unruin, and therefore either outside of the ability's purview or, again, seen as God's will and therefore not an imperfection

Ruin's fighting style also seems to be a bit different, as not only does he not seem to be making blood claws or moving through shadows, he also removed his shirt (which was UMA Blood last time) without turning it into some kind of construct first, suggesting that he doesn't have Blood or Shadow with him this time around. Instead, he seems to be fighting more like Andy, using his Soul to fire his own blood as a weapon, as evidenced by the fact that his fingernails were bleeding after attacking the Union

It's definitely possible that I'm misinterpreting it, but I have to imagine that this is a new Ruin being manipulated by Soul rather than the same Ruin going about business as usual. We'll most likely get that answered for us next week, so I wanted to get my speculations out of the way now

Ruin's Future

So if Ruin doesn't have his UMA friends with him and isn't a Regulator, what does that mean for his role going forward?

I don't think any of you will be surprised to hear that my thinking is that he's going to join the Union, as I've been speculating that for a long time and other folks have definitely followed suit since. I am saddened by the idea that he won't have his companions with him, but they could easily serve as an upgrade/character moment for him later, so I'll take it for now

The main crux of my thinking right now is that Ruin is clearly poised to undergo a character arc. As I said, he's starting to resemble Andy more and more and Victor less and less, suggesting that he's going to transition from being the one Negator that serves God and become the final Negator that opposes him

If the Union is a collective of the oppressed rising up against their oppressor, then Ruin is a bootlicker who fell for the propaganda that there was nothing he could do to resist the powers that be and joined them out of a sense of learned helplessness. The idea that Tozuka or Fuuko would see someone so brainwashed that they embrace their own enslavement and just leave them to blissfully suffer their fate runs pretty antithetical to the story we've been told so far, so I think it's far more likely that the coming chapters will be used a way to change Ruin's mind and teach him that he has the agency to live for himself and not live as the cultish servitude of a God he's never met and who clearly is willing to sacrifice him at a moment's notice

When Fuuko said there was still one member left to recruit, obviously she meant Andy, but the timing of that statement immediately preceding her noticing Ruin seems quite deliberate. Andy isn't present, sure, but for all intents and purposes, he's already part of the Union. He doesn't need to be recruited, just retrieved, and that could feasibly happen at any time since Andy could probably just decide to come back on his own. Instead, Ruin is the only Negator that still needs to be shown which side is correct, so while Fuuko may not know it, she was most likely talking about him, not Andy

Even her line about completing the Union with Andy's return can be left open to interpretation, as the act of his returning could either complete the Union with his arrival or with his help in proving the lie that Ruin believes in to be wrong

Of course, I don't think that can happen with just Andy showing up; rather, I think that the most recent additions of Tatiana and Kururu ideally would play a part to help flesh out their inclusions, though I wouldn't object to Julia getting Unjustice here. If absolutely nothing else, I'm banking on Chikara using Unmove, eyes or no eyes. What better time to learn how to use his soul to overcome his weaknesses than when he literally doesn't have eyes?

Unity

Whoever participates in fighting Ruin, I'm kind of hoping it ends up being a Summer or a Sick situation, where the group is so well coordinated that they basically just combo Ruin to hell and back. While the alternative of either Andy soloing Ruin or Andy and Fuuko tag-teaming him would be sick as hell, it wouldn't do much to further the themes of unity overcoming oppression, so it'd be much better for everyone involved to get to participate

Like I said before, the Union serves as a symbol of overcoming oppression through unification, so we can't have one or two members carrying everyone else - they all need to contribute to the whole, at least in some small way. After all, that's what Soul is afraid of, the Union having enough members to overcome anything that's thrown at them

Given the current political climate, Fuuko's retort to Ruin's claim that humanity has no hope of beating God struck a chord with me.

"It's the opposite. They're afraid of the Union being complete. The Ten Superior Rules normally only intervene during Quests. The mere fact that they've sent you here as an assassin is proof that they're panicking."

Union-busting, voter suppression, gerrymandering; those in power make a concerted effort to ensure that the masses believe that opposition is useless by removing every means of opposition available to them, but the message it should send is actually the reverse. Why are they taking away the means of opposition if opposition is useless? If it wouldn't work, why do they care? Why not let us struggle in vain until we learn on our own that it's pointless to try, that we're wasting our time?

Because we're not wasting our time. Our struggles may seem pointless, taking years and years, generation after generation, but change is inevitable. A stone is not split in two by the final blow, but the hundred that had gone before. So long as humanity perseveres, we move ever closer to happiness, even if the path there is arduous

Every loop, the Union has managed to hold back Sun from destroying Ark. And yet, the Regulators were new to Juiz in the 100th. Sun's most direct agents, with the ability to permanently remove players from the game, only became a problem at the end. Why? Because the Union isn't the only one running out of time

If Sun managed to destroy Ark even once in the last 100 loops, the game would be over, just as it would be if Juiz had managed to kill Sun, but neither of them have succeeded. Which is to say, both sides have reason to be desperate, to be feeling the pressure now. And between the two, only one has been getting stronger, by amassing more allies

Meanwhile, Soul's the only one who seems to think of his team as friends. He mourned the loss of Beast and Language, he offered to keep major enemies alive for the sake of Change and War's whims, and he tried to enable his entire team to escape Andy's defenses by rallying them to work together. The rest of the Master Rules, though?

Infighting for who gets which seat, abandoning Soul when he was trying to benefit everyone, insisting on taking glory for themselves. Everything that God designed the Roundtable system to do to the Union, it ended up doing to the Master Rules instead; it divided them, when it should have unified them

Just like Ruin is a demonstration of the Negators falling for God's propaganda, the Master Rules are a demonstration of the Union falling prey to the rigged system. Fortunately, the Union are Negators; the Rules were never going to be a problem for them in the first place, now were they?

Soul

Of course, since Soul is the only one to actually be trying to operate as a team player, naturally he's taken all of this into account already. Sure, the Union's about to be complete, but we all saw him smiling as Andy finally left his post

Soul's plan was never to have Ruin kill off the Union, though it would have been nice if he had; no, his plan was to get Andy's crispy, bare ass off of his goddamn house!

With Ruin attacking, Andy is a must for fending him off, so Fuuko was forced to bring him back. Now that he's gone, the Master Rules aren't restricted by his soul, and can leave the Master Room whenever they please (though they may still be restricted to acting during Quests, it's somewhat unclear). What this means that while the Union is complete, so too is their opposition

Really that's the perfect scenario, though. The Union has to beat back all of the Master Rules sooner or later anyway, so why not just make it a battle royale, huh? A bit more of a traditional shonen battle format, like with the fight against Under during the Spring Arc. And I'm willing to bet Fuuko considered that when deciding to bring back Andy

Speculation

With Andy's return and the Master Rules set free, we're just about to enter what I presume to be the penultimate phase of the story, as all that will be left after defeating the MRs is to face the Gods. I don't know how Tozuka plans to pace this, whether it's going to be a free-for-all like I said or if the MRs are going to have individual arcs with some breather chapters in between, but it's clear that we're moving into the endgame

Personally, I'm hoping for the latter. I shudder to think that that brief moment of Tatiana looking at Chikara's photo of her is the last bit of downtime we'll get before the epilogue, but it's definitely possible. After all, after Spring we had the Final Cherry Blossom Viewing, and then suddenly we were dealing with Revolution and Ragnarok. If we're going to have another high-tension, no-breaks stretch like that, Ruin's return is the most appropriate time for it

That said, I wouldn't hate it. That was a super exciting time, and some of the best story beats in the whole series came up during that storyline, so I have faith Tozuka can handle it just fine. I just want to see some more chill moments, y'know? Especially since Andy's coming back! No one knows him yet! We need him to reestablish his dynamics with everyone!

I want him to be happy to see everyone! I want memories to stir in Yusai's soul of a love long lost! I want Gina to see what her past self saw and angle for a triad with Fuuko! I want Julia to see Victor in Andy and form a bond with him as an altered soul!

Rip, Billy, Shen, Feng, Nico, hell even Void - there's so many opportunities for resolving rivalries and grudges, I need Tozuka to give us at least a couple of them before we hurtle into the endgame and no one has time to say anything fun to each other ever again!

But I suppose I'm looking a little too far ahead. We still need to deal with Ruin right now, and after that we should be seeing how everyone reacts to Remember. Hm, I wonder if maybe we're going to have an entire Remember Arc, actually, like a macro-version of Gina going into Fuuko's book and meeting her past self? I'm not gonna hold my breath for that, but that'd be a neat way to extend the runtime while also finding a perfect excuse to get some more characterization for everyone

Until next time, let's enjoy life!

[goldencuffs]

Okay, first of all, I hope you’re getting some rest!!! Please take care of yourself 🩵

Noooow about the last chapter of yngt… wow there was so much and it was all SO good 😮‍💨

AUGUSTE’S BACKSTORY, however, takes the cake cause, wow that hurt. I realised that somewhere along the line I had throughly assumed and so it was explicit that Auguste had died, and yet this makes so much sense. I had had so many theories about him — without going into details they all revolved around some version of CSA and suicide/murder/car accident — and yet never did it occur to me he had just disappeared like that.

How brilliant and unexpected that was. How much sense it makes, when you see Coach’s behaviour through that lens. How heartbreaking for those left behind. How devastating that not only was Laurent left mourning the traitorous abandonment of his brother but also the gossip and social alienation. How ironic that the suffocating control Coach now exerts over Laurent is what’s most likely to lose him a second son — not that I think Laurent would truly ‘abandon’ his dad.

I absolutely love the abrupt way in which he left with no explanation, no clues, no looking back (for now) and how ambiguous the one note he left was. Because we know Auguste was apparently Coach’s it does make me wonder what his version of the supposedly relaxed (but destroyed by the death of his wife) version of their dad, Auguste got. Juste how bad was it that not only he craved an escape from his current life, but felt the need to completely cut them off like that.

As a sibling, I can’t imagine how horribly difficult it must have been for both of them. As a younger sibling, I can totally relate to wanting him to come back because even if he must have hated him, Laurent also loves and misses his brother ):

Seeing Coach’s controlling behaviour worsen and Laurent realise and resign himself to a life of never been trusted or free is so painful because trauma really messes with a person, and loosing a child like that has to have been terrifying.

Laurent deserves so much better tho, from every. single. man. in his life (except Ancel, Aimeric and Nicaise) cause even uncle Mak could pay more attention to his ballet and try to get his Aleron to be more reasonable 😤

Damen, of course, is clearly one of those men. Now, I don’t believe it’s possible he could’ve gotten back with Jokaste so quickly after their trip, because between coming back home, and then driving back to Ios there doesn’t seem to be enough time. I also think that while Damen is clearly emotionally constipated and has an outstanding track record as THE asshole, things have changed.

He’s spending every minute he possibly can with Laurent — even when he thinks L didn’t want him there

Has befriended Laurent’s friends

Is now taking him out instead of just fucking him whenever they can sneak around

Told him he’s really done with Jokaste now — a while ago

Has hesitated to say something to Laurent at very suspicious times (like he wants to do feelings but he’s a weak man and chickens out each time lol)

Actually accepted to date and asked him officially to be boyfriends (in the most cutely obnoxious way)

Has had so many lovely details that go beyond his usual defending L against Coach (like the fucking ballet stream ;_;)

Not only that, he had always been very clear and dismissive with Laurent’s feeling before and constantly showing him Jokaste was the priority. So he strikes me as a “well I said what I wanted and what I didn’t, not my fault they got hurt” kind of asshole, NOT the “lied to you and build your hopes up only to immediately betray your trust and break your heart” asshole. They’re both bad, but they’re different brands… I could be wrong, ofc, but that’s just my perspective.

My theory is that Laurent found out through some gossip magazine/site/whatever and that’s either an old thing resurfacing or someone seeing Damen with a blond beauty and assuming it’d be her.

That said, I still kinda hope Ancel and Aimeric (my faves 🥰) do their demon-on-the-shoulder job well and get Laurent to show Damen how it feels to be the one to lose and be left behind. Even if it’s a misunderstanding, I think Damen needs to truly realise he can’t just count on Laurent to hang on his every word forever and endlessly wait for him to accept and honour their feelings.

This was such a delight of a chapter with lamen romance, so it feels a lil mean to wish for this now if it was a misunderstanding, but I’ve been wanting Laurent to give Damen real reasons to be jealous and scare for so long xD FUCK HIM (in all ways possible 😌)

Okay this is now kilometric and I truly apologise. I didn’t even say it all but I just LOVE YNGT SO MUCH ❤️‍🔥

OKAY so i truly, truly don't have favourites but i honestly think this might be my most favourite ask EVER???? 😭😭🥹❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

i can't believe you took the time to write such an in-depth review omg!!!! like you literally went through EVERY single that happened i can't thank you enough!!!!

i'm so touched, seriously. thank you so much for loving this chapter!!!

now, with auguste and coach. i purposely kind of left auguste's life vague. i think what he did was completely nonsensical, so that even now, laurent and coach still don't understand it. what really matters is what happened after--which is what we're seeing now, with coach slowly becoming more controlling and possessive and unhealthily obsessed with keeping laurent under his thumb.

and YES damen is definitely changing. and you've 100% nailed the kind of asshole he is.... and that's as much as i want to say about him eheheheheh

ALSO LOOK i know my answer isn't as wonderful as your ask but just know i re read it approximately 1000 times. i'm so appreciative you left this comment. i just.... seriously, thank you SO MUCH. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[elias-the-scribe]

Earthbound Stars part 1 (again)

Author’s note: hiiiii so yeah i’m rewriting this. i had a few better ideas for the world building and story beats so naturally i just rewrote the whole thing. as one does

The stars shone down on the two kids laying on a picnic blanket. Ori, the one with short fluffy hair and a bright smile on their face was talking animatedly to the other, Vera, a young girl with a very short braid that went from dark brown to bright red at the tip. It looked like the stinger of a scorpion at the end.

“Which constellation is that one?” Ori pointed towards the stars while Vera flipped through the book of constellations she had gotten from the library.

“That one’s… um.. I don’t think it’s a constellation.” She studied the stars for a few moments. “It kind of looks like a sword.”

“Oh!” Ori’s grey, almost violet, eyes shined with excitement. “I bet it’s a magic sword! Sent up there to wait until someone worthy takes it and defeats some great evil!” They mimed grabbing something and swished it around.

“Maybe it was a cursed sword, placed in the sky so no one can reach it.”

“Either way, it’s in the stars to protect us.”

"Do you think it’s that way for everything?” Vera questioned. Her dark eyes reflected the stars while tracing their familiar patterns, remembering the stories. “Do you think all the people that got sent there were dangerous?”

Ori glanced at her, head tilted to one side. “I thought it was an honor? You know, get put in the stars and be remembered forever? Isn’t that what everyone says? That if you’re brave enough, you’ll get to be in the stars forever.”

“Would you call it an honor? To be sent away from your home?”

“Where is this coming from? Is something wrong?” Ori’s voice was edged with worry and building panic. Her fingers grazed the small star embedded at the base of her neck before her arm flopped back onto the picnic blanket.

“I don’t know. It just feels weird to me.”

Ori rolled over to face her “It is weird, usually it was because they died right?”

“Sometimes, I don’t think all of them are dead… or want to be up there”

“How do you know?”

“I don’t, it’s just a feeling.” Silence fell between them, warm and full of the promise of laughter, as they stared up at the stars.

Almost an hour later, a voice called from behind them and made the pair yelp in alarm. “Why are you two on the roof? It’s going to storm soon. Come inside.” Selena stood in the open door. She looked like a silhouette against the flickering hallway light.

“We were having a picnic!” Ori sat up, “And also mom, there’s no clouds.” They looked around the sky to prove their point, but saw the dark clouds gathering on the horizon. “Oh nevermind, those clouds are angry.” Both kids got up and started to fold up the blanket.

“Sorry to worry you aunt Lena.” Vera chimed in.

“I wasn’t worried Vera, you don’t need to apologize. I called your parents, Arum is going to pick you up… unless you want to have a sleepover, then he’ll stay the night.”

“Sleepover!” Both children excitedly exclaimed, and Selena just chuckled softly, not surprised in the slightest.

“I’ll meet Arum downstairs then.”

Lena watched the two run off, giggling and talking about… something. A cursed sword? She decided not to question the discussions of twelve year olds. She went to the kitchen to start cooking dinner and get her phone to call Arum. It rang a few times before a breathless “hello?” answered.

“Hey, the kiddos want to have a sleepover. I know you’re busy tomorrow, but want to stay the night?”

A quiet voice responds, “Aunt Lena? Yeah a sleepover sounds great. Is it alright with you if I spend an hour or two talking with Apollo?”

“Of course it is. We all want you to recover. But I thought you were almost recovered?”

“That’s a long story... Mind if we talk about it at your place?”

“Of course not, I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“See you soon.”

Character pronouns:

Ori: they/them, Sasri: she/they Selena: she/her Arum: he/him

[g4ll0wd4nc3r]

school of the viper headcanons

these are not edited and probably not canon compliant but fuck it we ball

they can’t regulate their internal temperature as well as other witchers, so they have to soak up warmth from somewhere else. you’ll often see vipers curled up as close to their campfires as possible when traveling or taking a nap on a nice warm rock.

gorthur gvaed is filled with era-equivalent space heaters

an older viper some centuries back developed hand warmers. it’s a necessity when traveling.

vipers aren’t outwardly affectionate to each other. you’ll know if one trusts you if they offer to make your potions or food (i like you enough to not poison you) or if they turn their back to you

on the rare occasion that they are more affectionate, they will huddle for warmth or wrap around one another. they may also rub their heads/cheeks together, but not often.

on the whole, vipers are loyal and protective of one another, but have difficulty showing it. vipers on the path tend to avoid one another

building immunity to toxins started as soon as you were recruited. trainees (read; children) would be required to drink poison and identify toxic plants, often running the risk of getting severely ill or dying. older witchers were instructed to slip poison onto food or drinks too

you learned pretty quickly to either smell out whatever was on your food or be tough enough to ride it out

vipers will never eat food they haven’t seen prepared. they go hungry more often than not.

vipers who can get away with it conceal their status as a witcher. a lot of people have crossed paths with one and never known

someone made a hc that vipers will wear other schools’ medallions before an assassination and i love that

vipers are smaller than wolves or bears but more built than cats

the cats and vipers are sister schools. they hate each other and need each other. it’s very strange to see. toxic yuri

cats and vipers are known to trade or buy things off one another, with vipers being able to make quality potions and cats being able to procure harder to find ingredients. they also had similar training so on the rare occasion they work together, they mesh really well

however they will most likely attack one another when out in the wild — cats and vipers both take human jobs, and cats especially are known for poaching jobs that vipers may be interested in

a relatively new practice is “getting your teeth”. after a hard hunt, vipers will have a procedure to get retractable fangs in their mouth. they can load poisons and tear through pretty much anything at the cost of being extremely close combat. vipers without fangs are sometimes called “nibbles”.

maybe also split tongues. is that too quirky

best eyesight among all witchers, which makes it even funnier that vipers keep going blind/get eye trauma

like cats but opposite — their mutagens dulled their emotions to an extreme, so young vipers tend to be extremely blunt and rude. older vipers have learned to fake their emotions to “normal” levels, but will drop the mask as soon as they can

expect your viper to be extremely to the point. they expect the same of you. good luck!

cold and mean and weird about affection BUT. but. after ivar and the old guard died people started adopting animals that were left on the base of the mountains / on the path back for winter

gorthur gvaed is filled with animals that are so so loved and spoiled. it’s atonement for the animals that were killed during training and healing for the vipers that are left

vipers can usually whip up their potions and elixirs while on the road, but much prefer the fully outfitted alchemy labs at gorthur gvaed and *will* complain. loudly.

its not winter unless someone explodes something while experimenting

if an experiment goes particularly wrong it’s not unusual to see a viper face down on the floor. floor time. it’s like a reward

all vipers are fucking nerds. they have an extensive library (added on to after ivar’s death) and many of them learn additional skills (languages, math, other sciences, even music) when out on the path.

most horses don’t like vipers

that tweet that’s like i’m probably nonbinary but i have a job so i can’t worry abt that rn. yeah thats the whole school