#anyway. she described to me in detail one time how she was going to kill me. she was three and i was five

[iron-sides]

ok so on one level i do think tim will hold damian trying to kill him against him like. for years and years if not for EVER. i am nothing if not a believer in tim drakes ability to hold a grudge. how ever it occurred to me today that my little sister used to like. attack me, right. unprompted. she didnt have any way to deal with her feelings other than anger & violence and she couldnt take it out on my parents so it was All directed at me until she was at least 10 and even then we werent close until she hit around 13 or 14 because we (and by we i mostly mean she) learned how to compromise and also because i had started figuring out how to get my Autism Needs met and had more energy to spend on improving that relationship. anyway the point im making is that and it never occurred to me until like today how unreasonable this is but i have never actually held any instance of physical violence (and i do mean physical violence like hitting kicking biting slapping-- i used to have a habit of turning my back to her any time she seemed upset because she Would come at me and it hurt less on my back like. neither of us knew how to fight but i didnt rlly want to hurt her (i did a few times but almost always in the form of like. "oh bee pushed me down the stairs when we were younger" <- girl you were attacking me i needed you out of the room so i could melt down and u were literally attacking me. it wasnt on purpose it was the natural consequence of you attacking me) anyway ive never held the physical violence against her longer than like a few hours (been nervous sure but not mad) because like shes my little sister and i love her and that was the case even when she hated me. its something my parents did an okay job of acknowledging at the time that like any time the lamented that we didnt get along where i could hear it came with a "we know youre trying, she's the problem" (and she was to be clear. i say this with love but she was very much the problem i was the only person she ever attacked and i never hit back except to try and put space between us). anyway. the point is i do think i would react to damian wayne the exact same way dick grayson does if put in a similar situation because if my sister had had assassin training she would have done serious damage and it wouldnt have changed a thing

[funficwriter]

A Wolf and A Snake (Wriothesley x Reader)

Chapter 3: In the Low Gardens

A/N: Thank you all so much for being patient with me! I wanted this chapter to be fun to read, but had so little time to write this week. I just hope I have a little more freedom in the future. Anyways, enjoy!

Synopsis: Being a noble meant that marriage was a chess game, not an affair of love. Unfortunately for the pristine Balthazar family of Fontaine, Y/N has long been enamored with love and sought it out before their priorities. After her grey, boring time of courtesy, she meets Duke Wriothesley, who makes her yearn for the first time in her life, and it's the same for him. Threatened by the idea of losing this first, it seems they'll stop at very little to be together...

Taglist: @yue-caelum, @reyy-chanx, @mis-disaster, @ladyarchiviste, @keigo-hawks-takami-simp

Warnings: Talk of murder/violence/corruption, yandere talk, Wrio gets a lil primal, a few smutty details, does scheming behind the back count as a warning? Lol

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Your parents were not the type to sing, least of all sing to express joy. But whenever they peered at you from the balcony, they looked like they could explode in song any minute. They never looked as jubilant, as proud of their daughter as they saw her, arm linked with the chivalrous and gentle Duke Archandelle.

You supposed any other girl would kill to be in your place. Duke Archandelle hailed from a long and well-respected lineage, and made a fortune for both himself and Fontaine's economy through his commerce. He was rather handsome, had a voice described as 'light honey with mint', and towered over you, the lady he was going to protect with that advantage. Hopefully, for the rest of your lives. On top of that, he was cultured, up-to-date with Fontaine's classical and modern trends, but was no pansy; He was an excellent swordfighter and hunter. You almost heard their voices yelling at you: "You've got the perfect gentleman falling at your feet, and you're not grateful?! How dare you!".

There you two were, in one of your manor's many gardens. This was the highest, prettiest one of all, and had a lovely table among the flowers where you would soon take your tea. Both of you were well-dressed, engaged in conversation (he carried most of it) and took tiny steps to ensure it stayed that way. You looked like the perfect royal Fontainian couple. Add on the fact that Archandelle has decreed himself 'fervently in love' with you, and didn't look like he was going to give up... No wonder your parents were probably even happier than they were on their own wedding day.

'Fervently in love', my ass. If I wasn't so angry, I'd laugh. Maybe with his stupid monologues or my last name's history book... My Wriothesley could teach him a thing or two about love.

"And I say, it was so dastardly for them to write that ending! I mean, to let these filthy 'protagonists' get away with their crimes! I can think of youngsters reading this novel. What will they think? How are we raising them and- My dear, are you with me?".

The funny thing about his tirades was how they can be condensed to the same strand of puritanism, either outrageous or righteous. You barely had to listen and should he feel testy, you had an answer.

"Ah, forgive me, my dear Duke. I was just appalled at the text, to the point where I didn't know what to say. But do know I'm in full agreement!".

He beamed: "Why, of course you are. Your parents raised a fine and virtuous young lady who knows right from wrong.".

Your agreement seemed to have calmed him down. He stopped to take your hand and kiss it.

"One of the countless reasons I fell in love with you.".

Liar!

You wished you could shut him up. As he embodied the peak of your social class, he also had all the ideas you wanted to criticize as loud as you can, but couldn't risk. One of them was this picking on cultural output not based on whether it was good, whether they liked it, but whether it was 'moral' or not. What's more is the power they hold. Should something not be 'moral', that would mean another secret trip to the bookstore for you, before it got fully banned.

Though you couldn't shut him up, you had two tools up your arsenal: The first was thinking of Wriothesley, which made you surprisingly more patient than you imagined. The second was hearing Archandelle be less of a whiner, more of an admirer.

"Say, my Lord, surely you've seen some good plays where this doesn't happen, right? I'm sure we'll all need good recommendations.".

Once again, he beamed, and you could tell he was restricting himself from being too physical. But perhaps he felt a bit more daring, because he put an arm around your waist and carried on walking, while talking about 'good' plays he's seen (which you were sure were total dogshit if it came from him.).

The butler had called you for tea time. It wasn't the day for your favorite dessert, but a quick wink from Agatha, who was passing by, let you know who twisted his arm into bending the unofficial rule. You felt a bit of remorse for not being able to tell her who you really liked, but you decided to do it when you were in a more secure position with Wriothesley.

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Curse whoever decided that falling in love with a half-wolf (or any hybrid, for that matter) was a curse, and bless your own canine lover for using his affinity towards the night to pick this one. The stars shined along with the soft moon, with only a few cloudy wisps passing by. The air was crisp, cooling but not so much that you had to stay in.

The hour struck. Your heart did a leap so brusque, you had to take a deep breath. The clock said it all: It was time.

You picked a simple dress for your rendez-voux; Flattering, but no hassle. Your mother wasn't fond of it, because she thought it didn't 'do justice to your beauty'. Another one of millions of differences between you two, separating her and your father into the loud and showy sun, while you counted the minutes until you could entangle your hand into his under the moon. Though everyone slept, the night was still young... Should you desire it, would more than that happen?

No one could police your desires if you thought of them.

Let him hold me again. Let him hold me securely, claiming me as his under the full moon as his own culture decrees. I'm asking a lot... But please, let him kiss me before Duke Archandelle does and let him scream it out to the world so it could throw me into his arms.

As you made your way down, your reverie was only interrupted when you passed by your elder brother's room. Being married, he split his time between his new villa and your manor. You weren't looking forward to his next visit, especially when he caught wind of your 'engagement' with Duke Archandelle and sent you a long, pompous letter congratulating you as his 'equally prestigious sister, upholding the Balthazar's powerful unions'. Ugh.

In retrospect, perhaps you should have hurried along; Just after you continued, you bumped into a curvaceous figure you knew well (after all, she held you more than your mother) and made an audible "Ow!".

So much for not being caught, least of all by your own hissing governess. Should you be caught, she'd surely get heat for not making sure you were in bed.

"Y/N! What are you doing out of bed? You have lessons tomorrow, don't you?".

As she talked, she pulled you away from your brother's door and the bedrooms of the floor. After all, she was just in as much danger as you were.

"Agatha! Hey, um... I was... I was going down to grab a glass of water. I'm thirsty.".

Forget the fact that you weren't in your sleeping attire and that your voice was racked in nerve. How could you have hoped to lie to her, your true mother figure who knew every inkling of you hiding something on your face? Her quirked-up brows clearly let you know that she didn't buy it, but what really made you want to spill the beans was the slight glimmer in her eyes: She was hurt by you lying to her.

"Really, Y/N? After all those years, you think I'd believe that? I have raised you as my own, yet you act as if I were hired this morning.".

"Agatha, I'm so sorry. Please don't be sad, I'll tell you but...".

You couldn't believe it; You were about to tell someone that you were seeing another man behind your arranged partner's back. It would be one thing if he were some king and your parents were idiots at making their final verdict. But you were seeing Duke Wriothesley of Meropide. You were seeing a wolf-hybrid, a dangerous kind to human beings (even though you'd argue that correlation does not equal causation). You were seeing a prison warden, a polite but hardy, brutish man.

Agatha could sense that your secret was a big one. She ran a hand through your head: "My dear, I've always kept your secrets, haven't I? What is so scary that you would hide it from me of all people?".

"Oh, Agatha, it's not scary at all. It's wonderful and lovely and beautiful. It makes me get out of bed with hope in my heart. it sends me to sleep as the happiest girl of Teyvat.".

Her face broke out into a smile: "By Focalors! What is it then?".

"But I'm the only one who sees it that way! It's not scary to me at all. He brings me all the joy in my life, and yet if anyone found out that would spell the end of me and him! Agatha, why did you have to be up tonight of all nights?".

A moment of silence eclipsed, you wallowing in the realization that you gave her a hint. In both your hearts, you felt that she knew you didn't like Duke Archandelle, as with most royal women. But to go to the lengths of seeing another man... Did she think you had it in you?

"Who is he, Y/N?".

"Duke Wriothesley of Meropide. We snuck by the last two socials, and we were planning to meet up tonight in the low gardens.".

You could see the shock in her face. Anyone would be, pairing you with him of all gentlemen. You couldn't blame her. If anything, you wanted to burst in tears, put your head at her feet and thank her for her tolerance. Rather than alerting even the most insignificant servant in the house, she patted your hand and stayed.

"Does he make you happy?".

"Yes. Happy enough to live.".

"That's a lot of happiness. A level you've always deserved, but if you're honest, only recently acquired. If at last my prayers for your joy are answered and they come in his form, who am I to judge you?".

A small, meek smile made its way on her face. You threw your arms around her shoulders.

"Thank you, Agatha, thank you!".

She helped you up, then looked out of the window. Whether it was at the skies or the gardens below, you couldn't tell nor had the time to ask. She grabbed your hand and continued the way downstairs.

"Let's not keep him waiting.".

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You stepped out, feeling light and relaxed under the cool moon. Then there he was: Your very own prince charming, who was expectantly waiting in front of the garden's backdoor. His ears perked up. Once he saw you, your time of admiration from afar was over. A few loud steps resonated before you felt his embrace engulf you, and at last you were in his arms and everything felt (was) alright.

What made it better was his reciprocation; From the big, dumb smile, to the twitching ears (how cute!) to the feeling of his strong muscles protecting you from whatever misery could strike you right then and there...

"If I told you of how much my heart screamed out for you, you wouldn't hear the end of it.".

He kissed your hand as per usual. You supposed that if you wanted more, you had to catalyze it yourself: "I don't want to hear its end, Wriothesley.".

You didn't have to hear it, for you were still held against him. His heart was beating frenetically, reverberating into your own body.

Only when he looked up and saw Agatha, that wonder dwindled.

"What the... Who are you?".

"Wait, Wrio. She's on our side. She's the only one who supports our romance.".

He let out a small 'oh', trying to relax but with worry clear on his face. Agatha, being ever so talented at soothing, stepped in.

"Greeting, Lord Wriothesley. I am Y/N's governess. Forgive me for being out, I wasn't supposed to know of this. I just caught her by accident, but I promise I won't tell a soul.".

He took a moment before speaking up: "Agatha? Oh, Y/N has mentioned you before. In that case, I'm glad it was you who caught her, and no one else. And thank you for keeping up the secrecy, though it won't be that way forever. I intend to marry her, one way or another.".

"Frankly, anyone who can take care of her and makes her happy is great, in my opinion.".

Her warm, motherly smile has lowered many people's guards. You could tell his worry was fading away, knowing she could be trusted. He nodded one more time, and off you two went. The good thing about the low gardens was the fact that unless someone was close, no one could hear you. It was the 'abandoned' garden per se. While it wasn't as grand as the higher ones, it had many beautiful flowers, a lake, and you could never uncouple your memories of playing hide-and-seek there with Agatha or your friends.

But nevertheless, it didn't stop your displeasure at the fact that you weren't recognized at his yet. You wanted to show all of Teyvat who you really loved, who had the right to call you 'mine'.

"I wish... I wish I could have shown you the higher gardens.".

He squeezed your hand and you looked up to him. You could have died with the beautiful vision in front of you: Did the moon make his piercing eyes glow better, or was that just you?

"My love, there will be a day where we can stroll out in the open, in whatever garden you want. And besides...".

He looked on his surroundings as you kept walking, now linking arms.

"I like the secrecy aspect that comes with this one. It's like... Like our social world doesn't want you to be mine. And yet here and now, you are. Always were, always will be.".

It made you blush. It only got worse when you wanted to tuck a piece of hair, and he caught a glance at the wolf bracelet: "And from the looks of it, you want to be all mine, don't you?".

"Oh, yes. I wear it all the time Father isn't around. I'm sorry if I was morose earlier. It's the fact that I can't stand being someone else's fiancée, especially when I had no say in the matter.".

"Don't beat yourself up. I know well that we're on the same wavelength. I'm already scheming on it, too...".

While you loved talking about being his, you knew that alone wasn't enough. There had to be some sort of plan, some idea as to how he'd get you. And much to your happiness, he wasn't empty-headed to doom you to just keeping your affair, an affair. You leaned close to listen.

"So I'm presuming he wants to marry you because of your family name, yes? Like all other shitty noble marriages...".

You laughed a bit: "That's the one.".

"I already have an investigator to look further into his. Depending on whether he committed serious crime, going above the general corruption that's too often seen and brushed aside, you as his future wife have the right to file for a 'Motion of Marital Worry'. Then the Court could look into how that may affect you, and thus stop you from marrying him even if your father objects.".

This was... Wonderful.

"Why, Wriothesley, I love a man who's proactive! But I have one worry about this plan: Fontaine may be less corrupt than other nations, but there's still crime that's deemed as 'not serious', especially from our class. What if they bribe someone? That's what always happens.".

"Nah, don't worry. I myself am well acquainted with some... Important figures in the judicial system. They'll be sure to look out for such a motion with your name or mine on it. And if the crime is very serious, there's no way they'll turn their head.".

He stopped walking, letting the soft howl of the wind play out before continuing: "And anyways, that's only the first plan. I've got more ideas in case it doesn't work.".

"You really think ahead, eh?".

"If it concerns you? I think about it all the time. Even my sleep is yours.".

All the time. All the time, for me. This union was nothing like the trash your father wanted to force you in. In the other one, you belonged to Archandelle, but contrary to his spiel about love, he didn't belong to you. Maybe not other women if he were 'loyal', but you saw his attitude towards seeing you as a Balthazar, versus seeing you as... You. He really only belonged to himself.

"Don't worry. If he didn't do anything, I'll just make him. If his hand is clean, I'll twist it until it bleeds then yell bloody murder until he's sentenced for life.".

Wriothesley long made it clear, and he kept making it clear to reassure you. His loving gaze, his obsession, his thought of you that went as far as remembering everything you've ever loved or told him (and believe me, it's a lot) said it all: He belonged to you, and you belonged to him, as true love should be.

You stroked his cheek, taking in his eyes as he did yours: "And when you twist him into the wrangled, bloody mess you can make... I'll cheer you on. I'll praise like I'm watching the greatest of theater.".

Perhaps it was the fact that everything has been so dreary, or that the full moon just made people playful, but you broke away from him, your arms brusquely rejecting him and giving you distance. His stunned look hurt you a bit, but the fun you wanted was priceless.

"But Duke Wriothesley, the prince must always fight hard for the one he desires, yes?".

His boot made a quiet crunch as he approached you, and you took a step back. In a way, it was fun, withholding yourself from him as he ached for you. However, he reciprocated your playful smirk, understanding what your intention was. As you stepped back, you did the occasional twirl as your dress flowed with the moon's shine.

Teasing him was so fun: "Aren't I right? Isn't what he desires most, the most guarded and forbidden by everyone else? Shouldn't he be ready to do anything if he loves the princess that much?".

"My... Are you underestimating the limits I'll break to call you my wife? While I try to be calm to avoid prejudice, I have no issue tuning into my violent side if it's for you.".

The string snapped. You turned back and ran off: "We'll see about that, Your Grace!".

How long has it been since you ran? You forgot the freedom, the breeziness it offered.

"I'll make you see, alright!"

But that wasn't where your true excitement laid. It was the quicker, heavier crunching sound right behind you.

Off the wolf went, chasing down his partner. He had the advantage of being fit, and his hybrid blood granting him more speed than the average human. But you were also flighty and you knew the garden better than he did. Whenever he thought he had you, you ran back another corner, and even pulled your tongue at him if he was far enough.

At some point, you hid close to the lake. He had not reached this area yet, so you were safe to catch your breath. If only this could last beyond your couple of hours together! Not even factoring the end yet, you thought of him, smiling and chasing you both literally and figuratively. Only when you looked down to check on your dress, did you notice your legs clenching tight and the sudden warmth, the higher you went...

Perhaps you should have remembered that you were still being chased, ergo had no more time than a few quick breaths. You didn't hear the rustle of the bushes. Before you knew it, large hands grabbed your waist and their owner let out a victorious growl, lifting you up.

"Oh no, the wolf got me!".

"Damn right, he did! Now you're his to devour!".

He wanted to carry on, but a loving state always reduces one to recklessness. He tripped on a pebble, but made sure to switch so he'd take the fall rather than you. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as he expected.

"Wriothesley, my dear! Are you okay?".

He chuckled at your worried face: "Nah, don't worry. It was way softer than I expected. Hah...".

A crimson blush spread upon both of your faces (but especially yours). It just dawned on you: You were on top of him, like on his body, and the chase excited him in the same way it did you. His red cheeks and the hard poke you felt against your thigh said it all.

"Archons, I... I'm so sorry, Y/N. I tend to enjoy that sort of stuff, running around and chasing...".

"It's okay... I enjoyed it, too...".

The time stopped when you (slowly, yet surely) shook off the awkwardness, as you sat up in his lap. How do you proceed from there? How do you deal with feeling so clueless in what you want? You barely processed that, as you ran a hesitant hand through his hair.

"I really like your ears.".

"There it is.".

His arms tightened around your waist as he replayed the phrase in his head: "I really like your ears.". And you liked his dark attire above all the others'. And you liked his voice and his way of comportment, and by Focalors, you were madly in love with the human and wolf halves of him, never conditionally or pretending some part of him did not exist.

In the midst of this prolonged yearning, you two could no longer wait. He leaned down and sealed his promises with the kiss you've long thought of and saved just for him.

The full moon made its appearance on the lake reflection. The wind rustled the plants around you a bit. Unbelieving that this was actually happening, you pulled him in closer, wishing you could merge your bodies together. Even when you were dipping slower, slower into the ground, you knew he wouldn't let you fall harshly. You knew his tight grip was ever present to protect you from that or any other dangers, and its warmth of love and appreciation was only for you.

And you took in his mint breath, each time breathing in more and more. You were starved for your lover, and so was he, keeping you in his arms and away from a world that wanted you two apart. It already did enough of that throughout the day. The night was yours.

You two broke away, panting and looking into each other's diluted pupils. Sometimes, you couldn't believe how being with him was like having your own puppy. He whispered: "I love you with the marrow of my bones.", before dipping his head into your neck to kiss it. If marrying him, sharing the same bed, meant you could nuzzle your face into his fluffy hair, you had another reason to fight away from your other suitor.

Happy with its softness against your running hand and face, and his sweet kisses, you couldn't help but purr out: "I can't wait until... Until we can do this all the time, whenever we want.".

"Hah... And that time will come. I've already handed so much to the world, I'm not handing you out too.".

He looked up at the sky to tell the time, then chuckled in a morose manner: "Time sure flies by when I'm with you. It's like I lose control over it so easily.".

He made a sad, but true point; For one, you had to head back into your chambers, because dawn would emerge soon enough and you needed time to change, actually sleep... There was also the fact that even if he got onto the active part of taking you from your father and Archandelle (funny, you just remembered his name), your parents would probably want to have you married soon. Time was of the essence, and that essence was short-lived and impossible to take back.

As he walked you back to the backdoor, hands squeezed tight, he leaned in: "My dear, can I ask you for a favor?".

"Of course. Anything for you.".

"Next time you have to meet that idiot your parents call 'your fiancé', look at whether he behaves out of the norm. Specifically, if he's nervous or uncomfortable. Or maybe if he talks more about politics.".

"I see...".

"Nobles who feel like they have something to hide always act like that. Depending on what's found against him, he could be called for questioning. That's enough to cause unrest.".

You laughed: "As with every other noble guy. You'll probably find worse skeletons in my father's closet.".

"The question isn't whether there are skeletons. It's how you use them.".

You liked that idea a lot, enough to make you smirk. Now that you thought about it, there were many 'skeletons' around you, especially those belonging to your father. And now, you were growing into a position where you could use them, where you could be as knowledgeable in the law as Wriothesley and use it to your advantage. Sure, that might get you called 'disgraceful', but you'd be ripping yourself away from them faster, ergo into your lover. And if Fontaine was all about fairness, what was happening to you was unfair. You were just rectifying an error.

"Uh-oh. My mischievous darling is smiling like that of all ways. What do you have in mind?".

"I just liked what you said. It feels a lot like how the world works.".

"It's not far off.".

Agatha was sitting down next to the backdoor. She stood up and bowed, but her smile grew bigger when she caught sight of your intertwined hands. You felt very lucky to have her by your side.

Before bidding goodnights, Wriothesley turned you to him, and kissed you one more time, before stroking a strand of hair from your face: "Dream of me. Let us meet in the realm of sleep and continue this, until we won't have to dream anymore.".

"I promise.".

Much to your heavy heart, you headed back in, and he was off to the nearest teleportation waypoint. The ending of your meetings always brought sadness to your heart, but he worked so hard for a reason; He would rather die than you two not be together. His very passion was you, and you knew that if he was yours, some things had to be done. And you were sure that could happen, starting with the favor.

---------------------------------

"Y/N, you said he made you the happiest girl of Teyvat?".

"Yes.".

"Well, you sure look like that right now! How was it?".

[bonebabbles]

Ok. Fun scooby-doo jokes are over. Time for a graphic birthing scene as Star Flower enters premature labor after being starved for days and running to get away from a bunch of stinky, dirty rogues.

The writers will see a woman character and ask, "Is anyone going to describe the pain and viscera in intense, obsessive detail?" and not even wait

*Shrek voice* she doesn't even get the birthing stick

(under a cut because eurgh)

It's gotta be super dramatic, to really tease the audience with the idea that Clear Sky might lose a third pregnant wife for his pain.

Star Flower has been put through such INTENSE torment to make Clear Sky feel bad and rally the cats to come together to help him out that it's taken me out of it completely.

Gray Wing also realizes he's been thinking about Star Flower too much, while she's bleeding out and giving birth several weeks early after escaping Slash's Torment Nexus, so he takes a moment to rotate his brother around in his head for a bit.

"He'd been so panicked about Star Flower that he hadn't thought about his brother," who is apparently going to get set upon by a band of Slash's angry rogues all alone in this fantasy daydream Gray Wing has conjured up in his head.

Like, apparently Clear Sky is going to leave the meeting with Slash, get told about the secret plan to rescue Star Flower which was happening concurrently (already happened; we saw this), then jump up and run from what everyone's told him, bolt towards a camp he doesn't know the location of, and a patrol of Slash's warriors are going to find him?

ok.

Anyway then all the women come together to midwife for Star Flower.

And then Clear Sky and Star Flower cuddle around the new kits and act all cute. The "pure love" in Clear Sky's eyes is focused on, everyone recommends he takes extra good care of his premature kits, etc. He's So Totally Changed Now, through the magic of wife and babies.

All I'm thinking about is how he kills one of these children later, by refusing to allow Acorn Fur to complete her training and throwing a tantrum about how "SkyClan doesn't ask for help unless we have no choice!" when she tells him she can't treat his son's fox-inflicted mauling alone.

One more patented brother moment between Clear Sky and Gray Wing

I'm just gonna be honest, man... I hear from a LOT of people that this tugs at their heartstrings, so maybe I just don't "get it." But this WHOLE series long, Gray Wing has pissed himself over how Clear Sky can't have possibly "changed that much" from when they were children, won't accept that he's a child-beating and woman-slaughtering tyrant, IMMEDIATELY jumps to his defense at every turn even when it's ridiculous, and here's the payoff.

Hugging and sniffing his Dear Brother and having a flashback to them being babies at their mother's breast, secure in the knowledge he was right all along.

That every time he downplayed abuse, shoved people towards a situation where they'd be in danger, or prevented others from recognizing Clear Sky as the threat he was, he was correct that Clear Sky, in contrast to the EEEVIL rogues, was a good boy. Nothing about Clear's behavior has actually changed besides having MORE children to endanger.

This is chapter SIX of the LAST BOOK and we already saw Clear Sky using abuse tactics earlier to try and manipulate Thunder into doing what he wants.

So, I can't sympathize with the "heartwarming" reaction. "Ohh it's so sweet that the dear brothers are having flashbacks to when they were 6" I cannot relate. Idk how you can watch AMVs of this without wanting to set them both on fire. Thunder should get a restraining order.

[electronickingdomfox]

"Uhura's Song" review

Novel from 1985, by Janet Kagan. I have mixed feelings about this book. For starters, if you're looking for a story focused on Uhura, this isn't it. She plays an important role in the very first chapters, but then she goes to the background, and doesn't have more protagonism than, say, Chekov.

Anyway, misleading title and cover aside, there are good things about it. The culture of the Sivaoans (some kind of anthropomorphic cats) is well fleshed and described in detail. Little by little, we learn a lot about this people: their social structure and rites of passage, the importance they place on names and oral tradition, their linguistic quirks, taboos and legends, etc. By the last third of the novel, when the crew goes on a quest along the main Sivaoan characters, we've come to understand and care about them. So yeah, as an exploration of an alien culture, it's alright.

But on the other hand, there's an incredible amount of filler in this novel. It's about twice as long as the average TOS novel of this era, but a great chunk of it is just pages and pages of the Enterprise crew doing cute things and playing with cats. With little development in-between. The narrative has a tendency to overindulge in the most insignificant events. Sometimes, after several pages of this, I'd stop and think "Are they really STILL talking about that!? It wasn't so interesting to begin with!" Granted, the main mystery is engaging enough to keep going: I wanted to know what had happened between the Sivaoans and their distant relatives thousands of years ago; and I wanted to know how they'd find the cure for the plague that's at the core of the mission, and what had songs to do with it. Those things kept me going... but with a lot of struggle to wade through the fluff.

Another problem is the guest character, Dr. Evan Wilson, who's not just a doctor, she's a... (insert anything you can think of here). No, really, whatever you can do, be sure she can do it ten times better: she beats Sulu at fencing and Spock at computers, she's a better engineer than Scotty, she's the best friend of everyone and is impossible not to love her (including the Sivaoans), she will develop a new vaccine and then kill a dangerous beast with a spear in the same breath, all the time being "super funny". Even when she's not present, other characters' conversations tend to gravitate towards her and comment on how awesome she is. (For those that get "The Simpsons" references: she's a Poochie, literally). But it's not just that she's a blatant Mary Sue; after all, a Mary Sue may fulfill an important role in a story, provide the plot or be the key to solve a conflict. The main problem with Dr. Wilson is that I see no reason why she needs to be in the story to begin with. She just steals McCoy's role as chief medical officer, and doesn't offer anything that couldn't have been done by other character (like Uhura, for example). There's some mystery about her identity, but its resolution doesn't explain why she's important for the story either.

To summarize, this novel has an interesting premise, but would have been much better without Dr. Wilson, and cutting corners on the fluff. If you want to read an actual Uhura story, go get "The Tears of the Singers" instead... Unless you absolutely need lots of cats, I don't know.

Spoilers under the cut:

The Eeiauoans (some sort of cat people) are being ravaged by the worst outbreak so far of a deadly disease: ADF syndrome. Sick Eeiauoans start losing all their fur, bend in pain, and in the final stages, enter a coma and die. At first thought to be exclusive to this race, the disease starts propagating among humans, and Chapel is one of the first to fall sick. So while McCoy battles the disease planetside, Uhura tries to find a solution in the Enterprise. She's good friends with Sunfall, an Eeiauoan dancer, and suspects there are clues about a cure, hidden in the ancient songs that Sunfall passed to her.

Thus, Uhura starts working with Spock to analyze the songs. Some of them seem to allude to a different origin for the Eeiauoans, as if they were colonists or exiles from another planet. And Uhura believes the cure is to be found in their planet of origin; one of the songs mentions similar symptoms as ADF, but unfortunately, the part about the cure was cut out. Speculating about some astronomical references in the songs, they narrow down the search to a certain quadrant. But the Eeiauoans refuse to help, or even acknowledge this extra-planetary origin, as if they were hiding something. Finally one of them, desperate about her sickness, confesses that the planet's name is Sivao, which helps Spock and Uhura to pinpoint the place. And considering how difficult was this search, and how vague the references in the songs, they solve this part of the problem with relative ease.

McCoy is left with the medical team in the planet, so Dr. Wilson takes his place in the Enterprise. Once in Sivao, Kirk, Wilson, Spock, Uhura and Chekov beam down to contact the aliens. They're very similar to the Eeiauoans, suggesting a common ancestry, though their language is a bit different. And unlike the Eeiauoans, they still live as nomadic tribes. They're amicable enough at first, but as soon as Kirk mentions the Eeiauoans and the plague, they become really hostile, and refuse to talk about the subject. Just as happened with their relatives, the Sivaoans don't even recognize the existence of the others. Nonetheless, the crew stays with them for several days, in the hope that they reveal something eventually. Uhura trades songs with the local bard, Chekov builds shelters and plays with the kids, Wilson befriends Brightspot (the local chief's young daughter) and Jinx (a kind of outcast among her people). They also discover that the Sivaoans have perfect pitch when singing, and perfect memory of events, so they don't need books. But although some Sivaoans seem to be itching to help them, they still can't acknowledge the existence of the Eeiauoans. Besides, a description of ADF syndrome doesn't ring any bells with the town's doctor.

Meanwhile in Eeiauo, McCoy has contracted ADF too, but a new treatment developed by Wilson before her departure can slow down the symptoms, though it's not a cure. (And there's a big mood whiplash here, since Kirk and co. are having so much fun with the cats, while McCoy is having the shittiest time of his life...).

In the Sivaoan village, the crew finally gets one of the natives to speak, even if she can only confess it to the tricorder: two thousand years ago, their civilization split between a technologically-advanced one, and a tribal one; but technology and urban dwelling brought disease and the extinction of several species, so that part of the Sivaoans was forced to leave the planet, and establish a colony in Eeiauo. The two branches have tried to ignore each other ever since, out of guilt. However, if the crew wishes to learn more, they'll have to undergo a rite of passage to be considered real adults for the Sivaoans. So the crew, together with Brightspot and Jinx (who was ostracized for having failed the rite several times) go out on a quest. They need to traverse a dangerous part of forest to the nearest village.

For the following days, the crew fights against wild animals with primitive weapons, survive a fall into the river, and must take care of Chekov, who has fallen suddenly ill with ADF. It turns out that Chekov was specially sensitive to the disease, and he will die even before reaching the next village. Then Uhura decides to sing again the song about the cure, but this time varying the pitch, in case that makes Brightspot and Jinx recognize it. Effectively, one of the variations matches a Sivaoan song about some mild chidren disease. This way, they find out that this minor disease in Sivao, has evolved into the lethal ADF among other populations. Chekov caught the disease because he was playing a lot with the cat kids. Once they know this, Jinx quickly concocts a cure with local plants, and Chekov starts recovering.

After finishing the quest, the crew is able to confront the local chieftain as adults, and several Sivaoans choose to go with them to Eeiauo, to help with the cure (among them, Brightspot and Jinx). Everyone is cured and vaccinated, and it's time for Dr. Wilson to depart. Spock, who had grown increasingly suspicious about Wilson, starts investigating her records. And he discovers she's not the real Dr. Wilson, but some kind of "space pirate" or benevolent trickster, who goes around impersonating other people and helping here and there... Okaaay. In her last message, Wilson challenges Spock to keep searching for her across the galaxy (but I'm pretty sure Spock will have forgotten everything by the next novel).

Spirk Meter: 2/10*. There's the usual mind-link between Kirk and Spock, so the latter is certain that the Captain's alive after falling into a river. Kirk is often amused by Spock's idiosyncracies. And one night, he wakes up from a nightmare, to find Spock's "reassuring form" next to the fire. Also, Kirk teases Spock saying that "some of my best friends are devious- isn't that right, Mr. Spock?" However, there's only timid examples like these. Compared with other novels, there's not much more.

A bit of McKirk as well. McCoy is reaaally happy to have Kirk back in the end. And Kirk comes to a sleeping, sick McCoy (who's cuddling with the cat kids; you know, the ones that carried the infection... WHY!?), and wakes him gently to tell him everything about their adventure.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

Tagged: @agenderlessrat

[lifmera]

OH MY GOD I TYPED UP A WHOLE THING AND ACCIDENTALLY LOST IT OH MY FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOD I HATE IT HERE- anyways *ahem* attempt no. 2 of me asking you for a Hazbin Hotel match because I have never done this kinda thing before and I'm curious :)

GENDER AND SEXUALITY: I'm non-binary, they/he/she pronouns. I generally don't have a preference between the three tbh but I do appreciate ppl mixing it up! I'm sex-repulsed asexual and gray-biromantic. Again no real preference lmfao

APPEARANCE: White, dark blonde hair, green eyes, just below 5'3, pretty basic looking all things considered. I've got a pretty angular face I think. I'm afab and don't shave cuz it's too much work. I wear pretty much exclusively graphic tees(band shirts, dumb jokes, fandom stuff... that kinda thing) or button ups with funky patterns paired w/ the comfiest pants I can find, but occasionally I'll pull myself together enough to make a dencent(?) outfit, typically reminiscent of shit scene kids in the early 2000s would wear. I also like dying my hair but usually don't bcuz I procrastinate on it for too long.

PERSONALITY: If I had to describe it in one word? Unhinged. I am unhinged. 7/10 people will agree I am a very frightening person to be around. I say out of pocket shit(ranging from vile sex jokes to just straight up threats of violence) pretty regularly. I also like to sneak up on ppl and make very loud noises just to see their reactions... *ahem* anyways, despite all that, most of my friends would also describe me as caring and loyal! I have low empathy, so the only way I ever understand any of my friends emotions is by using my own experiences to compare and contrast until I have a decent idea of what's going on in their head, but I AM very good at psychoanalyzing people and providing objective, unbiased thoughts & advice on their situations. I would also literally go to war for my friends. Like, if you hurt one of them say your goddamn PRAYERS because I am coming to your location with a knife and murderous intent. I'm kinda awkward & shy at first, but at my core I AM an extrovert. I just don't know how to talk to ppl bcuz I am ✨neurodivergent✨(autism & ADHD) and have a hard time approaching ppl bcuz I don't know if they'll like me or not. Typically I make friends by making very loud jokes and waiting for somebody to approach me because they like my sense of humor. Which speaking of, I am very funny! Most people I interact with regularly would agree I am a very funny person!!! I'm also really good at media analysis and making arguments. I don't do well in debates because I choke under the pressure(gotta work on that tbh), but I'm good at writing argumentative essays. Plus, I'm pretty good at just bold face lying to people so overall I can be pretty damn convincing. I like adrenaline rushes and try to actively seek out new experiences as long as I'm confident they won't cause me any significant damage(socially or physically) in the long run. Which is unfortunately not many because I am INCREDIBLY paranoid. Like to the point of accidentally staying up til 3am cuz I'm convinced someone's gonna break into my house and kill me... I also have depression, severe dissociation issues, and existential dread which is. Fun. That's fun. I also have a tendancy to go down random rabbit holes and obsess over inconsequential details in shows I like to the point of making whole ass conspiracy theories :)

LIKES: Cartoons, drawing, writing, acting, singing, reading fanfic, watching YouTube, long drives, listening to music, jumpscaring ppl, being funny, ziplining, problem solving, video essays, ghost hunting shows, supernatural stuff in general, psychology, media analysis, frogs, sharks, ferrets, cats, violence, chocolate, Drawfee(YT channel), glitter, and just. So many fandoms. Just so many.

DISLIKES: Slimey shit, being touched(most of the time, there are occasional exceptions), being touch starved DESPITE not liking being touched, ppl insulting my interests(only I get to do that), media illiteracy, projects I'm not invested in, ppl putting preasure on me, mosquitoes, existential dread, dissociating, being tired all the time, being wrong, taking risks, feeling vulnerable, and stories with a lot of potential that just. Don't do anything with said potential.

PREFERENCES?: Uh. Someone significantly taller than me(shouldn't be hard Hazbin characters are fucking huge) that'll listen to my insane rants and is able to match my energy.

Akdncksmfnsmdsn I rlly hope I did this right again it's my first time doing anything like this-

HEYYYYYY!!! FINALLY GOT TO YOU 😜

Honestly I was debating on like a few different characters BUT!

I’ve decided to pair you with… LUTE!

Honestly I think she’d also be sex repulsed. She’s definitely more of a romantic lover! Though she doesn’t show it.

I think she talked to you at first because your style choices reminded her of Adam- and obviously, she misses him like crazy

If you did dye your hair often with her, she’d probably want to help you! I think she’d apply the color so it doesn’t get messy :)

She LOVES your personality. She thinks you are similar to her in many ways!

She also would need to experience it herself. She’s pretty stoic and doesn’t show her emotions. She’d probably think it’d make herself look weak.

I think you both would definitely fight back to back 24/7! You both would fight to the DEATH for each other.

She loves how caring you are for other people- it gives her a different sense of pace. Someone new!

I think Lute would see a TINY BIT through your lies. Lute is very observant with EVERYTHING.

She’d love if you made jokes. She need’s something less boring in her life than just standing there.

Adrenaline rushes? Totally join the exorcists- and you can be her right hand!!

She’d try to help you through paranoia, but you shouldnt worry much. She’s STRONG asf!

She’d LOVE TO HEAR CONSPIRACIES!! she would think they are SO COOL.

Although she isn’t much taller- I think she’d around 5’8 personally. She just looks small bc shes always next to Adam who’s HUGE!

She may not be able to match your energy, only because she’ll need to come out of her shell more- she’s always listening. She has ears EVERYWHERE.

~~~~

HOPE THIS WAS OKAY ❣️

[venbetta]

This is Tumblr, we're all wild animals with zoomies. Please share your thoughts.

You right... you're so right

Time to vomit all of my thoughts then-

I’m gonna have to be so sparring with the pictures due to the 10 image limit *sob* whatever i'll figure it out,,

Also I'm gonna say this- Freddy isn't possessed by Michael Afton in this. I don't mind Glammike, but I love the idea of Freddy just becoming a “deviant” I guess. Robots becoming human. They should totally make a game or something… wink wink.

I'm gonna just dig into the lyrics and breakdown my thought process for some of the frames… (I'm not doing every lyric, only some that stood out)

So, the meaning of “My Way” is based around self determination, that's the basic gist. I personally interpreted it as individualism, seeing how the lyrics have certain phrases based around it.

I had heard this song at the beginning of this year and immediately thought of Freddy. I also remember hearing the ai cover version at one point… (moving on)

And it was pretty obvious that most people agreed that this was his song.

Let's break it down >:]

And now, the end is near

And so I face the final curtain

I started the scene with Freddy walking on the third floor atrium, and I guess I took “I face the final curtain” literally since he's looking at the main stage lmao

My friend, I'll say it clear

Small side note, it's literally the most miniscule detail, but I felt like he was referring to Bonnie when he said “my friend” … It doesn't help that he's on the same floor as Bonnie Bowl.

I've lived a life that's full

Freddy reflecting about his “life” performing alongside his friends, I specifically added Chica because she's one of the remaining members of the original trio. :)

Regrets I've had a few

But then again, too few to mention

I did what I had to do

And saw it through without exemption

This verse was the best way to describe Freddy's situation. He had to not only escort this kid around the pizzaplex but he had to make sure Gregory wouldn't get hurt. He didn't want to hurt his friends but he couldn't let them hurt Gregory either. While it's shown that the other glamrocks were shattered, him saying he has regrets, I thought about whether or not he did the shattering himself or it was Gregory.

I mean, canonically, it was all Gregory's doing, Freddy was an accomplice… (sort of), but in the back of my mind, a messed up part of me wanted it to be Freddy's doing. Especially when we get to the confrontation scene. Honestly it can be interpreted both ways. I've read a fic where Freddy killed his friends… very gruesome but badass.

Anyways have a Freddy ear wiggle... cutest fucking thing ever.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew

When I bit off more than I could chew

But through it all, when there was doubt

I ate it up and spit it out

I faced it all, and I stood tall

And did it my way

Another one of those verses where I went fucking crazy and said “THAT'S HIM.”

So as it's seen in the animatic, Freddy is trying to keep Gregory safe. Gregory was originally going to be in his stomach hatch during this fight scene, but as I mentioned, Freddy wouldn't have wanted him to be in serious danger, so.. I changed it to him carrying Gregory.

“I'm sure you knew when I bit off more than I could chew” refers to Gregory being aware of how much he was in danger, and Freddy deciding to bite the bullet towards confronting his friends. Even if it meant someone was going to get hurt.

“When there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out.” God, I loved drawing Freddy clenching his fists. The hesitancy before just accepting that he has to protect Gregory at all costs. Maybe I took some of the lyrics and made them slightly literal? Idk. Either way, this scene was powerful, especially when he and Monty clashed together.

“I stood tall” to me shows how Freddy was no longer going to let his soft persona get in the way. This part was just very fun to draw and put together… :3

I've loved, I've laughed and cried

I've had my fill, my share of losing

And now, as tears subside

I find it all so amusing

Once again Freddy is thinking about his friends and life, I found this part kind of hard? Originally I wanted him to be surrounded by his friends, and have it fade to just him standing alone, but I didn't like how it was drawn lol. I improvised and had it be a poster instead.

Also there's something heartbreaking about how he examines his plushie. “I find it all so amusing”, I interpreted that as him being melancholic about the situation, looking between the plushie and Gregory by the exit.

To think I did all that

And may I say, not in a shy way

Ah yes, Freddy setting the plushie on fire. I like to think he makes up his mind at that moment that none of this was worth it anymore. Once again, that interpretation of him being complacent to his friends being shattered kinda fits into this line a little, “I did all that”, as if he's surprised he had it in him to go that far to protect Gregory.

I did it my way

…self explanatory. Freddy said, “Yeah nah I'm done. Burn this bitch to the ground.”

I mean, that's basically the fire escape ending if I'm being honest. Mine's just funnier.

For what is a man, what has he got?

If not himself, then he has naught

To say the things he truly feels

And not the words of one who kneels

The record shows I took the blows

And did it my way

The final stretch. So this verse is pretty heavy, also I had to pace this correctly… I'm surprised I managed to fit the climax in.

“For what is a man” when I heard that line for the first time… fire no pun intended. It's also kinda ironic(?) Freddy says this, since he's an animatronic… but me personally, I saw it as an epiphany for him. He's acknowledging his own individualism, and that's all he has now. He made the decision to protect Gregory, to fight his friends, and now he's making the choice to burn everything down.

“To say the things he truly feels, and not the words of one who kneels” Good shit. He's not taking orders from anyone anymore, he's gone full deviant now.

And with the confrontation with Vanny, he makes the impulsive decision to take her out, going down with her. “I did it my way” the grand climax of the song, where he throws both of them off the building… lowkey my favorite part. I had fun using the tracking tool on the editing program to make them pan across the screen in slow mo…

But yeah, Freddy was gonna go down his own way- even if it was unnecessary.

Yes it was my way

The fall and the brief daze and fear in his eyes…

There's something about the acceptance in his eyes that makes my chest swell.

I'm surprised I haven't cried to this animatic yet.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who doesn't like this ending of SB… it's so weird and confusing. I laughed my ass off watching it due to how whacky it was… also I still believe that Vanessa on the roof was an apparition/ghost. Idk… it makes sense to me.

The fact that I made this ending have more impact makes it more satisfying. I know it was very indulgent but like… that was the point. I know Freddy's characterization in the game is pretty limited, outside of him being a goofball, but he had genuine moments where there was something else there (I'm looking at the true ending scene).

Listen, I headcanon Freddy as someone who's sweet and puts on his best face but has the entire company of FazEnt on his shoulders and all he can do is tolerate it because he was made to entertain. Having him not only have an existential crisis but an epiphany lets Freddy shine a little more.

I say the best part during the animatic process is looking at the lyrics and breaking them down for the story. It helps with pacing :)

I plan to do another fnaf animatic this weekend, so look forward to some wips… if I decide/remember to share

Feel free to ask me anything, I'll try to answer them!

:)

[descaladumidera]

TW for GotG Vol. 3

I watched Guardians of the Galaxy – Vol. 3 last night and while I think it was a good movie (one of the better ones in recent years, like, I think it was genuinely good), I also think it warrants some trigger/content warnings. So. I will do just that to keep y'all safe (please be careful).

With that said, this will obviously contain spoilers. I will put the general trigger/content warning under the cut and then further down will explain what happens in the movie, so you can pick and choose which triggers you want to know about. And if you have any further questions, you can always DM me here or on Discord and ask. I will do my best to answer them.

I don't claim that I will get everything, though, as memories are fickle things and I'm not perfect.

Anyway, onto the trigger/content warnings:

BODY HORROR/BODY MODIFICATION

ANIMAL ABUSE/ANIMAL CRUELTY

ALCOHOL ABUSE

GORE

(There's also some fighting with more or less fatal injuries, but as this is a superhero movie, I won't go into detail about this.)

BODY HORROR/BODY MODIFICATION

To preface this: This is Rocket's story. So this theme is all throughout the movie and it is graphic. There are a bunch of animals other than Rocket that others have been experimenting on (the otter from the trailer for example). And it's way worse with them than with Rocket. The otter has no arms anymore, instead she has rudimentary prostheses, a rabbit has been modified to have some mechanical spider legs and a mask, a walrus has modified eyes and some kind of wheelchair like thing to get around. This is all integrated into their bodies, these are not removable. There are other animals like this.

You have probably also seen the society of anthropomorphic animals in the trailer. There are scenes in which it gets shown how they were made—it's graphic. The first time we see this they use a tortoise and you can see the transformation and it's not pretty.

Then there's Nebula who gets basically killed several times, her limbs and neck and whole body bent and broken in ways no one would survive. And she fixes herself in a horror like way (remember Wanda emerging from the mirror in MoM? Something like that).

Groot gets beheaded once and the head crawls around like some kind of spider for a brief amount of time (until he regrows himself). Not that bad, but I thought I should mention it.

As said, this is the theme of the movie, this is Rocket's story, and it is pretty damn graphic for an MCU movie. This is also the biggest trigger warning imho.

ANIMAL ABUSE/ANIMAL CRUELTY

Several animals (not just Rocket) get experimented on and killed. They get abused and mistreated and kept in cages. Their bodies get mutilated in those experiments and their bodies get modified. It's a bit of a horror show.

(More details in the body horror/body modification part above this one.)

ALCOHOL ABUSE

Peter gets blackout drunk to the point of passing out in the first few minutes of the movie. He is trying to deal with his broken heart this way and, according to his friends, this is not the first time. But it's the only time we see this in the movie.

GORE

Pretty mild case when it comes to gore tbh., but better safe than sorry. A character's face gets taken off and you see the skull, muscles, and blood beneath it. The character is still talking afterwards (it's pretty much at the end of the movie).

I didn't know if I should put it under gore, but I also didn't know where else to put this. But there is a planet/spaceship/whatever like thing that is a living organism. It looks pretty gross and you can actually see it briefly in the trailer when the Guardians jump out of their ship in the colorful spacesuits. Everything in this place is organic and they cut through the skin in one scene and the sounds are just pretty gross imo. Also, the interaction with this organism is … How do I describe this? Like, sometimes they put their hands on the "buttons", but it's like this semi-liquid goo? And this goes on for quite some time.

[lee-hakhyun]

the majority of chapter was a fight scene! i'm not going to describe that. detailing some other things that happened

lee hakhyun is obviously dumbfounded at kdj getting a 10-0 split on the contract. kdj refuses to explain.

jung heewon!! jung heewon!!!!

she goes to deal with the 4th grade dragon, but not before promising that she'll pry a lot out of lee hakhyun later

she's powerful. super powerful. and seeing her fight, she's at a level that matches even 41!yjh... kdj gets distracted watching her, reminiscing about the old days.

the death timer is still there btw. it's at 3 minutes. kdj says he won't die. and does not explain anything. again. no time though, time to hunt a dragon

lhh incites as the kdj who killed the sovereign of eight heads. he has no probability to use sentence reinforcement to get skills, but kdj said to trust him! so he attacks the dragon. the attack was easily blocked. kim dokja???

kdj: give me 20,000 coins

lhh: sure–

lhh: wait how much

kdj:

kdj: [LITERALLY STEALS THE COINS FROM LHH'S PENDING SPONSORSHIPS]

anyway, he spends the coins to lend kdj the 'one who hunted the king of disasters'. stage transformation starts, and the scenery partially changes to veronica's castle. the reproduction is low since he's not fighting the snake, but it's enough

he takes out the the unbroken faith left by han sooyoung. holding the handle of the sword as if praying,

"Help me, Han Sooyoung."

he had come all the way here because of the story she wrote.

borrowing the power of that story once more, he attacks. and he does not doubt that he is kim dokja in that moment.

[freezethunder]

Thanks for liking my posts can I ask you something

You know the serahne girl I responded to

She argues that Chiaki that Chiaki is bad character because she falls under the born sexy yesterday trope that involves a young but attractive ai who is naive and who’s whole purpose is to make the male character feel better about themselves

To me I think you can only reach this by cherry picking details on nanami’s. Character but what do you think

Hey sorry for taking so long to respond. I was busy that week with my work life as well as going through something else that week too…

Anyway, it does seem that on the surface, Chiaki does fall into that trope as well as Chiaki being a “Mary-Sue”/Waifu bait character. With her pastel pink colors, slow and soft spoken voice, and having the talent of “Ultimate Gamer” while playing….y’know, a video game.

But Chiaki in SDR2 has also shown several moments of sassiness and backbone to her. In the very first trial, she blatantly told Nagito to be quiet while others were talking. In Chapter 3, during the investigation, she tried to trick Hajime by saying she was naked in a dark room. And in Chapter 5, she slapped Akane to stop her from killing Nagito, and got a bit annoyed at everyone arguing whether or not the card reader was real and just went and did it first.

While Hajime is the one Chiaki interacts with the most due to being a support character, other characters like Sonia have shown to care for Chiaki as great deal, and being quite distraught at the idea of her being the traitor.

Chiaki in DR3 is a little…more hard to describe. The two are very similar but also very different at times. This Chiaki is an actual human being and thus, unlike her AI counterpart actually knows basic knowledge and holidays. Chiaki does hang out with Hajime a lot, but is also shown to be the glue of Class 77. In DR3 Chiaki is shown to lament just being the Ultimate Gamer that that’s all she’ll ever be, and how hard it is for to make friends because of this setback, before her teacher convinced her that she can make friends with games.

In other words…she’s relatable to a degree… That’s kind of how I was at a young age, I rarely made friends because my interests in video games didn’t align with theirs.

Even then, there’s nothing wrong with a character who is nice for the sole sake of being nice. Other people are totally fine when it’s Makoto or some other guy being like that, but when it’s Chiaki suddenly she’s a “Mary-Sue” or “Waifu Bait material” and it almost sexist…

Long story short; Chiaki may seem a serahne girl on the surface, but there’s more to her than that.

[frontlinebicepsoftheninth]

anastasia and alecto's vow, ninth house mythology, and a 10,000-year-old angry voicemail

alright get ready for a long post because i think i may have figured out something related to anastasia and alecto's vow. but also maybe this is very obvious and everyone else has already been thinking this way and it only just clicked for me. if anyone has said any of this before please direct me to it i'd love to see it!! contains spoilers for the whole series so far.

so rereading the passage in gtn where harrow describes the mythology of the ninth, the house's understanding of what is in the tomb seems very different from how john feels about alecto. now it could totally just be that the original meanings weren't retained over 10,000 years and new interpretations emerged (that's twice the length of recorded human history after all), but i don't think that's the case. i don't think the ninth house has different religious practices from the rest of the houses only because of their isolation, i think their unique understanding of the resurrection was something intentionally communicated by anastasia.

we know the ninth house wasn't meant to exist, that john killed samael during anastasia's ascension and then essentially banished her to die, and that anastasia probably holds a lot of ill will towards him. we also know she cared about alecto. i think there is something to be said for the disconnect between ninth house mythology and how john presents his relationship with alecto; that when anastasia survived she did not pass on the history of how john felt about alecto but how anastasia and/or alecto felt about john.

in the pool scene harrow says: "The Locked Tomb’s meant to house the one true enemy of the King Undying, Nav, something older than time, the cost of the Resurrection; the beast that he defeated once but can’t defeat twice. The abyss of the First. The death of the Lord."

john never saw alecto as his enemy! john never saw her as a beast he had to defeat. he loved her, she was a weird combination mother/daughter/wife figure to him, and he didn't want to put her in the tomb. (this is the part when i'll point out that all of this depends on john not lying about his dynamic with alecto, but based on his chapters in ntn and the way the other lyctors talk to him about her i don't think he is.)

BUT! maybe a furious and vengeful alecto would see herself as his enemy. maybe with the help of anastasia she wanted to preserve a message for john, a warning, something like "get ready because you cannot kill me and i will come back to be your destruction." and this is where we get to the most interesting thing to me about the ninth's mythology around her, it implies knowledge of alecto's perfect lyctorhood with john.

this is the crucial turning point of htn that not even the lyctors knew, they only figured it out when they saw gideon's eyes in harrow's body! but why would the ninth house pray for the thing in the tomb, the death of the lord, to LIVE and SLEEP. why wouldn't they just pray for it to die? why would they say that alecto is a beast that god could not defeat twice? because as we know alecto holds part of john's soul in her and therefore has to live for him to survive. she needs to stay alive locked away because he cannot kill her without killing himself and therefore making the sun go dark and destroying the empire. so here is my theory about the vow:

alecto told anastasia the truth about her and john. i don't know how exactly this relates to the vow alecto made to her, but i think anastasia knew about their lyctorhood. maybe part of it was something like alecto would help avenge samael for anastasia if anastasia preserved some of the truth about john and passed down the threat that alecto was coming for him. i think the overall vow is much more consequential than that but anyways my point is - it's not a coincidence that the ninth managed to get so many subtle details right. it does seem to be implied that the lyctors know alecto is the earth, so the "something older than time" line in harrow's description makes sense, but "the cost of the Resurrection," "the beast he defeated once," to me both of these imply that john is the one who destroyed the earth. the latter example is clear but the former i think is speaking to how the resurrection couldn't happen without john killing and absorbing everyone's souls and then eating part of the earth herself to become powerful enough to bring the solar system back to life. it's not clear how much the lyctors' memories were wiped and if they know about the exact cause of the apocalypse, but if they didn't know it was all john's fault, it's very interesting that ninth house beliefs kind of are implying that it was (even if the people of the ninth don't understand it). maybe alecto told anastasia all of that as well.

finally, the biggest point of disconnect is that the ninth house sees the thing in the tomb as a threat, as something that would destroy god if it got out. john probably knew alecto wouldn't be happy if she woke up, but i don't think he ever tries to frame her as a threat to himself. at the same time i don't think "the death of the Lord" only refers to the fact that if alecto dies john dies, i think it's also a message from alecto that she will be after him. and guess what alecto does the second she wakes up - finds god and stabs him through the heart! (which would have put out dominicus if it had killed him so tbh maybe harrow's parents were kinda correct in their fears.) anastasia sent that threat for her.

so anyways! i think the entire religious beliefs of the ninth house are alecto's "I'm coming to fuck you up I promise you that I promise you I'm coming to fuck you up" moment, and anastasia knew about alecto and john's perfect lyctorhood. (maybe because, as a lot of people have theorized, she almost figured out how to do it herself before john stopped her? but that's another post entirely.) excited to see if alecto carries out this myriad long threat in atn <3

[linagram]

[ 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚘 𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚑𝚒'𝚜 𝚝𝟸 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚊 ] 𝚞𝚗𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍'𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗

ASAHI'S TRIAL.. this is a tough one, in my opinion. again, i feel like his vd shows him as someone who regrets his crime or at least feels bad about it, but his mv still shows him as not the most sympathetic person? but oh well, again, that's just my opinion.

Warnings for Asahi's VD: The first part of the VD is rather tame, except Asahi repeatedly makes fun of Eiji for liking maids (even though Eiji never even said anything about it) and he does so in his usual fashion, but the second part is more dark and Asahi tries to describe how his murder went and there's a mention of him having what sounds like a panic/anxiety attack.

Warnings for Asahi's MV: None, except there's a mention of a character throwing up, but it's not described in detail and the MV is kinda creepy in general (there are also mentions of bones, skulls and some other stuff).

(sounds of footsteps)

Eiji: .. It's his turn now. Are you ready?

Miki: *nods*

Miki: Y-yes, I think I am.

Miki: I promise, I will do anything to save him. I will prove that.. my brother is innocent.

Eiji: *sighs* Well, we'll see. 

Miki: But Eiji-san.. 

Miki: S-sorry for asking this again, but is your arm really okay?

Miki: I don't think it's broken, but judging by your face expression, it looks like it hurts a lot-

Eiji: .. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine?

(the door opens)

Asahi: Ah, Eiji-nii, Miki-nee! 

Asahi: Wow, it took you a while. I was starting to get bored..

Eiji: You're not even eating anything? You really have changed.

Eiji: And it's still so hard for me to get used to the way you talk now-

Asahi: Shut the fuck up and begin the interrogation.

Eiji: .. Yeah, that's better. For some reason, your new self is more creepy.

Miki: ...

Eiji: Guard 002, is everything okay?

Miki: Huh? Y-yes, yes, everything is fine.

Asahi: Miki-nee, this guy is not making you overwork yourself, right? Just say a word and I will-

Miki: No, no, please don't worry about me, Asa-

Miki: I-I mean, Yano-san.

Asahi: Eh, you can call me by my name, if you want. I like you, so..

Miki: ??

Miki: Y-you like me??

Asahi: You're always so nice to me, of course, I like you, dummy.

Eiji: Hey, does that mean that I can also call you by your name?

Asahi: Can you stop wasting my time and start asking me normal questions instead?

Eiji: Fine, fine.

Asahi: Actually, why are we doing all of this again?

Eiji: "Here we go.."

Asahi: Like, why did all of us receive those papers yesterday? 

Asahi: .. Hey, Miki-nee, does that mean it wasn't you and this guy who did it?

Miki: U-um..

Eiji: ...

Miki: .. N-no, no, Asahi-san, it wasn't us.

Asahi: Huh? Really? 

Asahi: But who else would it be? Like, isn't it the guards' job to interrogate us-

Asahi: .. Oh.

Asahi:*starts laughing*

Eiji: Hey! What's so funny about it?

Asahi: It's just.. 

Asahi: So, like.. If it wasn't you and Miki-nee, does that mean that a different guard did it?

Eiji: "T-this guy is smarter than I thought.."

Asahi: Hey, does that mean they're firing you, Eiji-nii?

Miki: F-firing him??

Eiji: WHY ME??

Eiji: U-uh, I just want to know why you thought that they will get rid of me, and not.. um..

Asahi: Because almost all prisoners were saved this time and it's all thanks to Miki-nee?

Asahi: Also Miki-nee is doing her job well and the innocent prisoners are living their best lives thanks to her.

Asahi: And you, Eiji-nii, almost killed a teenager in the process of "punishing" him.

Asahi: Your older brother is basically getting bullied by others and uhhh.. 

Asahi: What was that girl's name?

Asahi: Anyway, yeah, she's this close to killing everyone here, especially your older brother.

Eiji: I'm reminding you that I was the one who saved you when she tried to attack you.

Asahi: Well, maybe you shouldn't have made her do what she always hated doing as her punishment?

Eiji: .. What does that mean?

Asahi: *sighs* 

Asahi: I knew that you had nothing but air in that stupid head of yours, but do I really have to explain to you literally every single damn thing?

Asahi: Listen, we all know that she worked in, like, a maid cafe or something. I don't know much about that stuff, because I'm not a loser like Shun-nii, but those places feel like heaven to creeps.

Asahi: Hey, you look like a guy who's into stuff like that, actually.

Eiji: .. I'm not even gonna ask why you think so-

Asahi: Well, I'm gonna explain it to you anyway, 'cause you're that dumb. I bet you like it when a cute girl says something like "What can I do for you today, Master? &lt;;3", 'cause you're a fucking pervert.

Eiji: .. (to Miki) *whispers* W-why does he know so much about things like that?

Miki: (to Eiji) *whispers* Because of our father, I guess.

Asahi: What, are you asking her "Why does he know so much about me"?

Asahi: Miki-nee, I am so sorry. You don't deserve someone like him as your partner.

Asahi: At least you have me to protect you! 

Miki: .. You want to protect me?

Miki: ... *starts sobbing*

Eiji: Guard 002, this is not the best time for that.

Asahi: It's your fault for making her cry, by the way.

Eiji: HOW IS IT MY FAULT-

Eiji: .. I just realized that we were supposed to interrogate you.

Asahi: Yeah, you're definitely getting fired.

Miki: Um, Eiji-san, is it okay if I ask questions this time?

Eiji: .. Fine.

Asahi: Yay, I get to talk with Miki-nee more!

Miki: So.. Asahi-san, we watched your video and..

Asahi: ...

Asahi: .. Well, uh, what did you think about it?

Miki: I could tell that you have suffered a lot. And that you most likely had a reason to.. you know, do what you did.

Asahi: .. Hehe, at least you get it.

Asahi: I think my mom would like you a lot. Actually, I can ask her about it right now!

Asahi: Mom, what do you think about Miki-nee?

Asahi: .. She looks a lot like you, doesn't she?

Miki: .. But I still don't know what you did, Asahi-san.

Miki: Can you tell me how your crime went? Like, what exactly did you do to.. that woman?

Asahi: ...

Eiji: (to Miki) *whispers* He's never gonna tell you anything.

Asahi: I guess I can tell you about it.

Eiji: ...

Eiji: "It's like I'm her assistant now."

Miki: Please, don't push yourself if you aren't comfortable with it. We're going to watch another video anyway, so-

Asahi: No, I want you to know the truth. 

Asahi: If it wasn't for this guy over here, I would gladly tell you everything, but he's kinda ruining the moment.

Asahi: So, um..

Miki: You keep looking at that plushie, do you want to hug it while you talk about what you did?

Asahi:*nods*

Miki: Here you go. 

Asahi: Thanks. You're nice.

Miki: Hehe.. Okay, are you ready to talk now?

Asahi: So, uh.. 

Asahi: That woman was.. kinda weak.

Miki: Hm? In what way?

Miki: Do you mean she was weak as a person or-

Asahi: That too, but she had, like, lots of health problems.

Asahi: I think she couldn't have kids of her own because of that? I think she also had to quit her job too because of her illnesses or something.

Eiji: Great, and you don't even feel sorry for killing this poor woman?

Asahi: I would gladly kill her again if I was given the chance.

Asahi: And, uh.. I don't know anything about most of her illnesses, but..

Asahi: What I did know is that she couldn't eat certain foods. 

Miki: Is it because of her condition?

Asahi: Again, I don't know anything about most of the problems she had, but I knew that she was allergic to a lot of stuff.

Asahi: Like, deathly allergic.

Eiji: .. I think I know where this is going.

Miki: Me too and I don't like it..

Asahi: T-then, do I even have to explain everything else?

Miki: Yes, please continue, Asahi-san.

Asahi: B-but what's even the point?! You already know what happened next! You already know what I did!

Asahi: SO WHY DO I EVEN HAVE TO TELL YOU ANYTHING?!

Miki: Because I want to know why you did it!

Miki: Even if you made your adoptive mother eat something she was deathly allergic to, I need to know why you did it! Why did you even think it would be okay to do something like that? Why did you think that would be a good idea?

Asahi: SO NOW YOU'RE GOING TO VOTE ME GUILTY, AREN'T YOU?! 

Miki: I JUST WANT TO PROVE THAT YOU DESERVE TO BE FORGIVEN!

Asahi: ...

Asahi: *starts crying*

Eiji: Also, how could someone as young as you come up with all of this? I think she was smart enough and it would be hard to make her eat or drink something that obviously had something she was allergic to.

Miki: Asahi-san was able to guess that we aren't the only guards here. He's smart too.

Asahi: *cries louder* 

Asahi: I just.. I just.. 

Asahi: I-I just had to do it to her!

Eiji: What did that woman even do to you? She adopted you, she gave you everything you wanted, so why did you-

Asahi: I HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN MYSELF AND HER!

Asahi: I JUST DID WHAT I HAD TO DO TO SURVIVE!

(the bell rings, machinery sounds)

Asahi: *continues crying*

Asahi: Please.. Please, just let me go home..

Asahi: This is my only wish. I wanna go home, even if I don't have one anymore.

Miki: Asahi-san, please, calm down..

Asahi: I want to see Mom again.. I miss her so much..

Eiji: We have to extract his video. It's fine, he will calm down soon.

Miki: Eiji-san, I don't think it's just him being scared. 

Miki: Look at him. It's something more than that.

Asahi: W-why is my heart beating so fast?

Asahi: I.. I-I c-can't breathe-

Eiji:*sighs* What do you want to do then? We can't just stand here and wait until he goes back to normal.

Miki: ...

(sounds of footsteps)

Asahi: H-huh?

(sounds of Miki hugging Asahi)

Miki: It's okay. There's nothing you have to be scared of.

Miki: I really hope you will tell me why you did it one day, but for now.. I will trust you.

Asahi: ...

Eiji: Guard 002, I don't have time for this.

Miki: Please, wait, I think he has something to say! 

Eiji: Prisoner 007, Asahi, sing your sins!

Asahi: .. This hug feels familiar for some reason.

42% ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░ 100%

[ MV Description ]

His MV's main colors would be very similar to INMF: lots of white and very bright, basically neon green. 

The video starts with Asahi and his adoptive mother walking into a toy store. 

"Ah, right, this is what my new life looks like

Getting everything I want, no matter how expensive

When I ask you why you're so kind to me, you simply say

"'Cause you deserve it"

It looks like Asahi isn't in the best mood, but his mother still smiles at him and shows him a cute teddy bear, hoping that it will cheer him up. 

"Yeah, but here's the thing: I never get anything else from you

Gifts, food, clothes, all that is fine

But there's more ways to express your love, you know?"

He shakes his head, showing that he doesn't like it. She frowns, but tries to smile again and shows him a different stuffed animal. He doesn't like it either. All the stuffed animals that his mother is showing him have very simple and basic designs, so Asahi doesn't find them that interesting. 

"Oh well, I guess it's okay for me to act greedy then

I know I deserve more, I know I want more

Give me all the best things this world has to offer

'Cause I'm just that cute, okay?"

He decides to explore the place himself and he eventually finds much more unique and fun-looking toys and he grabs one of them and shows it to his mother. She smiles and agrees to buy it, but then Asahi gives her another one. She still smiles, but Asahi just takes it as a sign to get not one, but two more toys. The chorus starts playing and he eventually gets like ten more toys, but when his mother tries to say something, he just looks at her with those cute and innocent eyes of his, so she sighs and agrees to buy all of them. He smiles and hugs her and they go to buy all those toys. 

After that, they keep going to many different stores: the candy store, the clothes store, etc. It looks like Asahi really doesn't know when to stop and just keeps making his mother buy everything he wants. And his mother doesn't know how to say no to him, which is.. the worst combination ever. 

"Come on, come on, I know you want to make me happy

So please, just be more patient with me

I promise I'll act like a good boy from now on

Right after you buy me this brand new toy"

Interestingly, his mother notices that now Asahi doesn't really pay attention to how "good" or "pretty" something is and he's just taking everything that he can see, it doesn't matter if those things are broken, torn or rotten, he just brings them to his mother and asks her to buy them. His mother starts to get worried and for a good reason and she tries to stop him, but when she does that, Asahi just glares at her and.. well, he doesn't look so sane anymore. 

"Haven't you heard? I want literally everything

I won't stop until this world is completely empty

Devouring everything that I see, taking what doesn't belong to me

This is what my new life looks like"

His mother decides to just accept it after that, but right as they're about to buy everything, she sees Asahi stopping and looking at something. She turns around and sees that he's looking at the exact same teddy bear she wanted to buy for him when they came to that toy store, but if back then Asahi found it boring, now he really wants to buy it. Right as he's about to ask his mother to buy it for him, she can't take it anymore and she slaps his hand away so that he won't even think of touching the toy. The chorus  starts playing again, but now it sounds more sad.

"Give me more, you know that it'll never be enough for me

You want me to repay you? That's funny

Why should you give me so much and get nothing in return?

It's obvious, 'cause I deserve it"

Asahi looks at her with a shocked expression and this is the first time we see his mother actually looking angry. Looks like she really had enough. She refuses to buy the toy and she refuses to buy all of the other things for him and walks away, leaving him alone. 

"Now, why did you say that? It hurts so damn much

"You're my everything" Was that just a lie?

Get right back here, you know you can't live without me" 

Asahi has no idea what to do and he looks at the cashier and the other people in line. He freezes and everything around him becomes dark. 

He panics and covers his mouth with his hand and starts feeling sick. He can't take it and he falls on the floor and sees some bright green liquid on his hand. 

"I see now, I guess my greed has side effects

This is what happens when you take too much

This is what happens when you can't stop yourself"

Asahi's face becomes more pale and more neon green liquid keeps coming out of his mouth. As this is happening, all the things that he wanted to buy fall on him and we can see only his hand. 

Asahi tries to free himself and he can even see someone reaching out their hand to him, but right as he's about to take it, he sees that the figure is not his mother, but a man that looks suspiciously like his and Miki's father. As that's happening, the chorus plays for the third time, but it sounds like Asahi is both angry and terrified and he screams the last line. 

Everything becomes white again and now we can see Asahi casually, like nothing happened, standing at the checkout and getting all the things that he wanted. He just smiles and nods the whole time and he even gets the teddy bear that he wanted so bad and he leaves the store with several huge bags and they're full of things like spoiled food, torn clothes, broken toys and we can even see someone's skull and bones in there. Asahi just smiles and we can also see a drop of that neon green liquid from earlier under his mouth. The music stops and we can hear Asahi say "This is enough for today, I think~". The video ends. 

[kurisus]

Noragami reread: Volume 17 & 18 thoughts

Probably the most "I want to throw up and blow up" volumes out of the series.

Tenjin's speech about humans becoming cruel when they have something they want to protect...oh I'm so sad.

These are the volumes where we see shinki acting against their gods' plans--Yukine plans to let Father live to save Yato's life, while Kazuma plots to stop Bishamon to save hers. Kazuma even stings Bishamon over this, a first for him. It was also preceded by him lying to another god that he would let her be subjugated.

Meanwhile, Yukine doesn't sting Yato but he's really not happy about Yato opposing heaven either, because all he wants is to protect him, and here Yato is throwing his life on the line for someone who's trying to cut his. I am once again banging my fists on the ground.

We also have Kiun, who deliberately lets himself get hit to hopefully spur Takemikazuchi to action, but he just gets mad Kiun didn't become a hafuri. However, through Take's tantrum after unlocking his true power, they're able to come to a understanding of sorts.

This is the most intense ceasefire battle ever, lol. Yato basically beats Take into submission because he doesn't want Bishamon to get killed, Yukine wants a ceasefire so Yato doesn't get killed, and Take is just here to have a good time and make Kiun a hafuri.

The art goes insanely hard. All the fighting between Take and Yato is so detailed, the lighting is phenomenal, and the part of me that isn't jaded thinks it would look so cool animated, since Take is basically described to move as quickly as lightning, plus there are all the panels of him and Kiun striking the ground as dragons. Too bad there never was an anime...

Okay so the apology between Kazuma and Yukine didn't happen in a FORMAL sense, but Kazuma tells Hiyori he acknowledges them as allies still, gets her out of danger, and provides an incantation to block Kiun's lightning, for which Yato and Yukine are very grateful.

I think a lot about how Yato was so excited about his Kamuhakari outfit, and it gets progressively more shredded as the fight intensifies. He gets his arm almost ripped off, limbs sliced, neck cut, loses his ponytail, and the entire white covering on the right side, then on both sides, falls away. He truly can never catch a break, but I feel like his injuries get worse every arc.

Although I talked about Yato and Yukine having differing ideals, they both very much protect each other here, and their ideals haven't yet caused them to have a falling-out. Yukine fights like hell against Take and Kiun, while Yato shields Yukine from the lightning strikes despite his own injuries, and of course he reassures him that everything will be okay when the heavens capture them. BLOWING UP!!!!!!!

Shinki are people who wanted to live, so it stands to reason they'd fear death in the afterlife and thus why they're weak to Chiki. Nana is a rare case of someone who wanted to keep living, but doesn't mind if she dies either, so she's satisfied by the knowledge that she died fighting once already.

Anyway Kazubisha. Kazuma dying before he could marry the girl he loved, so he attaches himself to Bishamon without realizing why--a parallel to Daikoku as well, who died before having kids of his own so he now has an urge to parent that won't ever go away. Man, no wonder Kazuma is so unhinged.

Everything about Kazubisha in volume 18 makes me want to blow up. They're so tender yet so ruthless with each other. They're so determined to protect each other that they keep throwing themselves into danger. They want nothing more than to be a husband and wife. These flashbacks are interspersed with present-day pain. I'm crying.

Everything about Yato and Yukine in volume 18 makes me want to blow up even harder. For once in his life Yato thinks he's actually going to protect his loved ones, and then...box. In so much pain he can barely move or speak, as Yukine relives his final, terrible moments. Watching as his friends sacrifice their shinki for his sake, because he failed them again. Begging Amaterasu to let Yukine out, then very nearly attacking her and certainly sealing his fate. Oh my god. Oh my god. I need to take deep breaths. This volume is the absolute pits. Worst for my mental health. Dropping it in a fire. Et cetera.

Discord reactions. There are a lot more I didn't even screenshot. I was really going through it.

[all-at-once-you-are-the-one]

Idk if this is a hot take or not, but IMO loml is one of the most straightforward songs on the album and it actually tells a story in chronological order. Let’s examine:

Who's gonna stop us from waltzing

Back into rekindled flames?

If we know the steps anyway

We embroidered the memories

Of the time I was away

Stitching, "We were just kids, babe"

Yes, I know this very much sounds like it’s about a certain someone but I actually think here she is referring to the breaks between her and Joe that she’s previously alluded to in Hits Different & That’s When TV. She also often describes this relationship as making her feel like a kid in other songs like CIWYW, INTHAF etc.

I said, "I don't mind, it takes time"

I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed

This was the line that really sparked my curiosity. What does she not mind? It seems like she’s changing her mind on something and resigning herself to being stable and settled rather than leaving to find something better. This is the period when we got songs like Lavender Haze. He said he needed more time before marriage and she was like you know what yeah, why do women have to get married anyway?? Can’t we just be together?? Both of them were denying that it was what she truly wanted and he just didn’t.

You and I go from one kiss to gettin married

Still alive, killing time at the cemetery

Never quite buried

In your suit and tie, in the nick of time

You lowdown boy, you stand up guy

Holy Ghost, you told me I'm

The love of your life

You said I'm the love of your life

About a million times

She’s waiting and waiting and waiting for the marriage thing to happen and he just keeps placating her by saying she’s the love of his life. (I can totally just picture him saying “but you’re the love of my life and we’re happy, isn’t that enough?”). She has faith in him because he’s such a good guy with integrity, surely he wouldn’t just lie to her and lead her on. Surely he’ll show up in the nick of time to marry her like he said he would.

Who's gonna tell me the truth

When you blew in with the winds of fate

And told me I reformed you

Here’s what’s his name making his grand entrance!

And all at once, the ink bleeds

He promised her all the same things and then took it away so quickly which released the stopper on all her pent up feelings about being let down in this way. The rest of this verse is pretty clear cut

You talked me under the table

Talking rings and talking cradles

I wish I could un-recall

How we almost had it all

Now it’s about them both! She’s going into detail about the way in which they let her down

Dancing phantoms on the terrace

Are they second-hand embarrassed

That I can't get out of bed?

Cause something counterfeit's dead

It was legendary

It was momentary

It was unnecessary

Should've let it stay buried

This is the saddest part!!! This is also about both of them! What’s his name is obvious, but it’s also about her and Joe. She knew they had issues! She knew he didn’t want what she wanted! That’s why they had their break! Now she feels that when they resumed their relationship it wasn’t real, he just started lying to her and she was also lying to herself, and they should have just broken up for good the first time.

Oh, what a valiant roar

What a bland goodbye

The coward claimed he was a lion

I'm combing through the braids of lies

Again, what’s his name is very obvious here. She’s also upset about her breakup with Joe: she broke up with him remotely! And maybe he just let her! She thought he was brave, that he had integrity, but he lied to her over and over and over again, every time he promised they would have the things she wanted for her future. He was just delaying the inevitable and wasting her time.

If you can get past the Matty of it all and accept the story she’s telling here at face value there is SO MUCH she’s sharing with us here.

[horizon-verizon]

What kills me about Nettles x Daemon fans is that they keep saying how much Nettles is hated by Daemyra fans… Except I've seen more hatred from Nettles x Daemon fans than the opposite. As well as Nettles x Daemon fans coming straight to Daemyra posts to make long explanations about why Nettles is the love of Daemon's life, even when the post doesn't talk about that. Or just tell the Daemyra not to name Nettles, even if you don't say anything bad about the character… Most Daemyra fans who actually talk about Nettles (from what I've seen) just say that They see a platonic bond between Daemon and Nettles, and this is apparently supposed to be proof of racism, because we would like to take away a great romance from a black woman… Besides, this detail amuses me. The fact that Nettles x Daemon fans generally spend their time saying that Nettles' romance with Daemon is crucial to her character (when it's not even confirmed), and that taking it away from her is taking away the Nettles' sense of plot. Which is wrong, the only thing that actually matters to the plot is that Rhaenyra believes in this affair. My point being that Daemyra fans thinking that Nettles and Daemon's relationship was platonic, don't see Nettles as dependent on romance and a man for her place in the plot. She is seen as badass and interesting with a possible cute connection with Daemon who loses his children one by one. But fans of Nettles x Daemon suppose to adore the character… Keep saying that she loses ALL her meaning if she is not Daemon's lover… Which I find very paradoxical. Even Daemyra fans don't say that about Rhaenyra, that her romance with Daemon is necessary to her arc, although yes, they are the main protagonists and it is literally their union that brings Daenerys into the future. main saga…

This part kills me:

Most Daemyra fans who actually talk about Nettles (from what I've seen) just say that They see a platonic bond between Daemon and Nettles, and this is apparently supposed to be proof of racism, because we would like to take away a great romance from a black woman… Besides, this detail amuses me. The fact that Nettles x Daemon fans generally spend their time saying that Nettles' romance with Daemon is crucial to her character (when it's not even confirmed), and that taking it away from her is taking away the Nettles' sense of plot.

There is a difference between characterization-for-the the narrative vs a character's personality traits in terms of separating the person's character from what role they play in the narrative and/or the narrative surrounding that narrative. Up to this point in Fire & Blood, even in all the Targ generations before Daemon and Viserys', we have had events written with a specific lens and language that reveals itself to be just as dependent more on sociopolitical biases as it is facts.

So when reading how Gyldayn describes Nettles (and some others), why do these people think that Nettle's main characterization relies on her sexual/romantic connection to anyone when we've had hints within those descriptions and overt descriptions of her bravery for her bonding w/Sheepstealer as she did, going out to try anyway when several failed and died, crying for Jace's death, her going to battle despite her age? Everything about Nettles's personality and actions before her going to Maidenpool is supposed to also highlight how unlikely it is she ever tries to "consensually"/her own volition get into a relationship w/Daemon.

And narratively, her purpose is first to draw Rhaenyra's ire, and this can't be seen as the narrative favoring Rhaenyra bc the point is, as you said that Rhaenyra sees her as a threat when their marriage has never told to be rocky, he has been respectful of her authority, etc. tells us that she had no true reason to think Daemon would do that. Thus the "witch" quotient Rhaenyra uses as an excuse to shift the problem onto Nettles instead of those around her, who she probably did not want to suspect bc of their proximity and how much she depended on them or had known of them (she at least knows of and is more familiar with Mysaria, for those who will bring Mysaria up, AND Mysaria is the perspn who is giving her the secret information she' needs to even point out and "root" out danger, I don't know if Rhaenyra would be willing--unconsciously and consciously--to allow herself to contemplate this key person as another betrayer). Is this logically flawed? Yes, absolutely. Rhaenyra already was not a perfect person and when you add the anxiety+betrayals+deaths of all that happened to that point that messes up that head more...

[savedpeople]

thoughts on the dead city finale:

sucks that ginny finally tried to talk and didn’t get to

everything i didn’t want to happen, happened lol. it’s revealed that ginny’s dad was one of the five men negan killed, and negan told her this to push her away and get her to go with armstrong, and now their relationship is likely strained if not ruined. she didn’t even want to wear his shirt anymore :( but you can also tell it hurt him to tell her and that he actually cares about her more than he says (confirmed bts later.) it also bugs me bc in ginny’s eyes this most likely confirmed maggie’s “he’s a monster” from last episode

and then i was unfortunately right, in that the dama wanted negan to... lead? help her lead? honestly it’s bizarre that she decided she needed him THAT badly and making him THAT important solely based on the croat’s fanboying, without ever meeting him. and now negan’s being forced into a position where he’ll likely have to be “old negan” again. 

“like mommy and daddy coming together”

i’m glad the croat’s still around i kinda like him lmao

BUT. it’s complete bs that the answer to “how did the croat know about negan and maggie’s history” is “he randomly ran into Jerome The Random Savior (i checked and this is not someone who was seen previously in the saviors, not even as a background character) over ten years later, and jerome told him about the story of The Widow, because for some reason, out of everything negan did, maggie’s story is the only story anyone from the savior era ever talks about.” still doesn’t explain how the croat knew what maggie looked like or managed to find her new community, or how he knows negan worked with her in season 11, since jerome was long gone by then. I really hate “characters absent during important events know intimate details about those events because random character the audience never met told them about it off-screen bc the plot needs it” stuff

negan indirectly/accidentally killing luther ended up having no consequences and was never found out since everyone in luther’s group died. all it did was distract maggie from telling negan about ginny’s dino... which she ended up never telling him about. he realized she wasn’t being truthful about things but the fact that she hid the dino never comes up.

negan got stabbed in the chest/shoulder?? and he just pulled the knife out and there was no blood or tear in his jacket? dude was just entirely unaffected lol

negan also confirmed that he would’ve helped maggie anyway if she’d been honest with him from the get-go

look okay i’ll say it the negan/maggie fight scene was hot idc

armstrong lied and told the marshals he killed negan, which is nice, but will probably backfire on him later

hershel not seeming excited, relieved, grateful, or anything about maggie rescuing him. how long was he with the dama? seeing that he drew a picture of her and mentioned almost feeling safer there than at home, it almost seems like he liked being there or formed some kind of bond with her, despite her chopping one of his toes off.

their relationship makes me sad. i honestly also, sincerely find it a bit weird that they’re writing maggie as being “obsessed” with negan still? like i understand the idea of her having a hard time with looking at hershel and just being reminded of glenn, and that affecting her relationship with hershel and him being bothered by that. but hershel specifically says it feels like she only sees negan when she looks at him, not his dad. and that his whole life she’s just been looking over his shoulder waiting for negan. this feels weird to me, and is different from her being reminded of glenn and thus also what negan did, if that makes sense. she’s spent years and years away from negan, and that on top of how their relationship was at the end of season 11, this obsession being described doesn’t really make sense? you’re saying that throughout those years of finding and building communities, in private she’s still obsessing over him that noticeably? that it’s so bad that hershel thinks 5+ years later that she still cares more about “revenge” and says he felt safer in nyc with the dama? it doesn’t totally seem to line up with what we’re seeing. idk maggie deserves a better storyline than constantly revolving around negan and glenn. and vice versa for that matter. i don’t want hershel to turn out like he did in the comics.

i like that hershel seems to have creative hobbies. he’s great at drawing and i believe we saw him playing the guitar?

i don’t know how i feel about the River People, and the confirmation that there were more groups Negan once ruled over. with the whole “people are a resource” thing and negan being vehemently against simon wiping out entire communities, and all out war presumably being the first time negan got desperate enough to resort to killing everyone, what happened to the River group since they’re clearly not in the picture anymore by the time Rick’s group shows up? if they were truly unable to provide, thus negan killing someone when they fail to deliver, i don’t see negan just continuing to kill someone every week until there was no one left. so like what happened there. this is also another issue with them adding new things to negan’s pre-rick days. they do realize negan was only a leader for likely not even a year and a half? there was not that much time after lucille’s death for negan to find the sanctuary, take over, and go through a whole bunch of communities. I also don’t know whether or not i like negan offering to let the croat use lucille and be the person to “kill one” in order to get the group to submit. especially since it was said that croat was brand new to the group and didn’t even know how things worked yet?? though it’s hilarious he missed the first time. you’re embarrassing dad, dude.

quietly adding “negan is a gin man, not a brandy man” to my box of random info canon has given me, as someone who has never had a sip of alcohol in my life and therefore can do nothing with this information

“i have a funky cramp in my leg, buggin’ the shit out of me” old man (lovingly.) cramp in his leg bothering him but his shoulder that was stabbed is a-ok lol

for dama handing negan the key my notes literally just say “fckn toe in a box” lmao

they need to give us the croat’s and the dama’s real names in season 2 bc i cannot go the rest of my twd days calling them The Croat and The Dama every time they’re mentioned and i refuse to believe negan actually called him “the croat” the entire time he was at the sanctuary

if this doesn’t end in negan offing the dama and getting a second chance to lead and doing it The Right Way this time then i don’t want it

if there was more, i forgot it, and it’s nearly 4:30am so i am o u t bc I have work tomorrow

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Maybe Emily doesn't know all of the details??

@boofy777:

I know over the years TD has wondered about EK’s game face, etc, and how she seems awkward in interviews  whenever TD or a return of Beth is mentioned.  Maybe she really doesn’t know???

I am bringing this up because there is a precedent for this in the Fast and Furious Franchise, which is a huge blockbuster with many followers.  In the 4th film, the character of Letty Ortiz, a main character and the romantic partner of Dominic Turetto, also a bad boy sort like Daryl, is killed in a fiery explosion.  We even see a funeral service and a grave for Letty.

Michelle Rodriguez, the actress who plays Letty, found out of Letty’s impending return from the dead WHEN SHE WENT TO THE MOVIES TO WATCH THE 5TH INSTALLMANT AND SAW HER IMAGE IN A CODA SCENE AFTER THE CREDITS ROLLED.  In true soap opera fashion, Letty had been whisked away to work for another international crime syndicate, secretly hospitalized, and also awoke later with amnesia.

Michelle Rodriguez also WAS NOT INFORMED OF ANY STORY LINES ETC UNTIL SHE ARRIVED ON SET FOR FILMING OF THE 6TH FILM.  She had no clue.

I have often wondered if this is the case with EMILY - she knows a return is very possible but no story lines or a time frame has been specifically shared.  It would make sense, because it would be difficult to keep things under wraps for so long. The fewer people that know and the less they do know, the better.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I just wanted to share this since I think after nearly ten years, anything is possible. :)

@twdmusicboxmystery​:

I get why you would think that, and it’s a valid possibility. 

But for me, I’ve just seen too much evidence that she knows and has known since at least the beginning of S5, as have most of the other major players. 

It’s not something we can prove, of course. But we have evidence that Gimple told her before filming for S5 even began, when he talked to her about where they were going with her character. 

We also have evidence, based on what he said in interviews, that Andy (Andrew Lincoln) knew all about it and her return. He was careful not to actually SAY that, of course. But it was implied.

And we’ve proven beyond doubt that what happened at Grady was planned at least one season before in S4, so they didn’t just decide to kill her off at the last second, which is what she and the writers claimed. True, that doesn’t prove that Emily herself knew, but it proves that they are lying about things. So what else are they lying about? And taken together with everything else, it doesn’t seem likely to me that Emily doesn’t know.

There’s also the fact that Emily hasn’t taken any major roles since leaving the show. The ones she’s done have all been tiny, minor rolls for ABC pilots. I have an entire list of posts about this HERE. 

And we know that ABC and AMC are sort of “sister companies.” That’s really not the correct term, but it’s the easiest way to describe it. They share actors and those under contract to one can work for the other. We’ve seen multiple TWD actors go back and forth this way, many of them returning to work in the TWDU after working on ABC shows. (Lauren Cohen, Michael Cudlitz, Sydney Park, etc). Emily has done the first part where she’s done ABC pilots. We just haven’t seen her actual return to the TWDU yet.

I could go on and on, but I’ll stop there. Like I said, taken as a whole, I just see too much evidence that Emily knows exactly what’s going on. The best we could say is that, especially if the timeline has been pushed back, which I’m sure it has (Covid, if nothing else) then she might not have known the exact dates for WHEN it would happen, but I think she always knew for sure that it eventually would. She was just waiting on a call from Gimple, and working on her music with a few small acting gigs on the side in the meantime.

I really hope when all is said and done, and she’s back, they just come out and explain exactly what happened, what was planned, how it changed, etc., so that we can know for sure. I’m not convinced they’ll do that, but a girl can hope, right?

Thanks so much for your thoughts, Dear! Xoxo!  🍁 🍂 💞