#book 1 spoilers

[riddle-rosethorns]

twisted wonderland as textposts 9/?

all heartslabyul this time because i'm biased <3

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(credit to @/alchemivich for the sprite assets!)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey Raven, hope your doing well. I was rewatching book 5 and something struck me. Crowly stills does his thing to get yuu/mc to host the NRC tribe at Ramshackle. But compare to previous chapters hes seems a little nicer, i guess? He offering renovations and upgrades ( a positive), instead of just threatening to cut yuu's food budget or something (a negative).

Where im going with this is, do you think Crowley may have felt a tiny tinge for his (in) action in book 4? Or atleast, realized he actually screwed up. He did give Yuu in case of an emergency.... and promptly ignored it (or just turned it off) when he went on break. He likely had to have heard what happened over the break...an likely saw his missed calls and put 2 and 2 together. Sure he may not feel bad enough to apologize (at least openly), but he does seem to make himself scarce early in b5. That could just be him being, well, the headmage. Maybe he's just not sure how to deal with MC or how they'd react to seeing him? So instead of threatening Yuu, he offers them something instead? Idk, maybe im reaching. Crowley relationship with Yuu is complicated. I do like to believe he has some empathy or regret (or maybe he just has more respect for yuu by b5?) After everything up to that point

Like i said, i may be reaching here. Wanted to get your input. Sorry for the long ask. Have a good one :)

In many fandom depictions of Crowley, he often serves as Yuu's guardian who is incompetent but well-meaning. I'm also guilty of doing this, Crowley is considered my OC's father figure (even if my OC isn't a Yuu). That's how we choose to engage with the characters and the world that we love! However, I don't believe that Crowley has that sort of tenderness for Yuu in canon, whether at the start or as their relationship develops over the course of the main story. Now, that's not to say that I think Crowley is cold or hateful towards Yuu. Far from it! He does care for them, but in the same way that a teacher might care about nurturing their students and preparing them for the world beyond graduation. Crowley demonstrates a similar attitude towards other NRC students, with one very clear example being in his Raven Jacket vignettes. In those stories, he likens his students to apple trees that he raises and nurtures, hoping that one day they might bear fruit. He does not particularly grant Yuu special treatment unless it's a scenario where he wants them to do a favor for him. (Though here I would also argue he does the same for other students when he wants them to resolve an issue in his place, which happens frequently in event stories; in Fairy Gala, he warns the boys they'll be held back if classes cannot proceed due to the wacky weather. In Ghost Marriage, Crowley shames the boys for not expressing interest in rescuing Idia, etc.)

I also want to set the record straight regarding how exactly Crowley gets Yuu to comply with his requests. Reviewing all avaliable books in the main story, Crowley rarely outright threatens Yuu if they refuse to help him:

Prologue — Crowley does not initially ask anything of Yuu, but he does provide them a temporary home and food until they can sort something out. During Yuu's stay, they are meant to do handiwork to earn their keep. However, Crowley tries to expel them after their involvement in breaking what is considered a precious chandelier. In this case, his anger is somewhat justified but it's still the one major example of Crowley leveraging something to force Yuu to act in a way that he desires. The thing is, it's revealed in chapter 19 that Crowley did not believe Yuu could acquire the magestone he asked for and was all set to finalize the expulsion papers. So really, he wasn't serious at all in giving Yuu a chance to redeem themselves and was going to expel Yuu anyway (until they happened to prove their "usefulness"). Whether this counts as an example of Crowley "threatening" Yuu, then, is up to individual interpretation.

Book 1 — Crowley makes no specific request to Yuu. He shows up late in the book and suggests to the frustrated Adeuce that they fight Riddle to claim his seat as dorm leader, but does not tell Yuu to do anything in this situation. Recall that it was Ace that marched up to Ramshackle's front door and demanded that he be allowed to stay overnight; Crowley had no part in that.

Book 2 — In 2-7, Crowley asks Yuu to investigate the strange string of accidents that has befallen the students set to play in the upcoming inter-dorm magift/spelldrive tournament. There is a part where Crowley says he "never promised to cover living expenses". You, as Yuu, have the option to ask him "Is that a threat...?" to which Crowley never properly responds. Interpret that how you wish. He then offers Grim and Yuu a chance to participate in said tournament if they succeed, seeing as they lacked the 7 players needed to form a team. Crowley even says he will find 5 other players to fill in their missing team seats for them.

Book 3 — Here in 3-6, Crowley never actually threatens to cut off food. Instead, he is trying to earn pity from Yuu by guilt tripping them and emphasizing that he, the headmaster, is so busy with his tasks (like finding Yuu a way home) and will provide them with the funds they need regardless because he is so very kind. He's trying to tug at their heartstrings by pointing out the things he selflessly does for them, so they feel obligated to do something for him in return. Once Yuu agrees to help, he lavishes them with praise and says it is "expected" of someone he personally chose.

But!! I want to add that in the Episode of Octavinelle manga, this same scene is depicted as Crowley threatening to cut their food budget. I'm not sure if this is just a different interpretation (since Yuuta seems to prepare more food than is usually implied in the game; this would explain why their food costs go up significantly) or if Crowley truly was also threatening to cut the budget in the game.

Book 4 — Crowley makes a reasonable request in 4-2; he asks Yuu and Grim to tend to the fire fairies over winter break since it's a task no one else will be present to handle. In exchange, he says he will give them a banquet of tasty foods (which is not an empty promise; in 4-39, the Ramshackle Ghosts tell Yuu and Grim that the headmaster has left them with a ton of food as thanks.

Book 5 — Crowley appears in 5-21 asking that Yuu allow the NRC Tribe to stay at Ramshackle for their month-long training camp. He explains that Vil and Rook are willing to give up their share of the prize money if Yuu agrees to these terms. It is then that Crowley adds that he will help with renovation too, most likely to sweeten the deal with his word.

Book 6 — Crowley does not ask anything of Yuu. He does, however, call in STYX in 6-2 because he becomes concerned about the threat that Grim poses after consuming multiple crystallized blots. After Grim is taken, Crowley instructs Yuu in 6-4 to wait until Grim has recovered and been evaluated by a third party to speak with him again.

Book 7 — Crowley makes no specific requests to Yuu.

You can see in almost all instances that Crowley uses a variety of tactics to get his students to do what he wants them to. He bribes, shames/guilts them, points out very real consequences if the problem at hand is not resolved, and, yes, occasionally makes what can be interpreted as a vague threat. Despite this, the fact remains that he was always nice, not just post-book 4 (in fact, Crowley was also nice during book 4). I don't see the circumstances as "anything before or during book 4 is him being negative and threatening to punish Yuu and anything after book 4 is him being kind and positive to Yuu". In most cases with Yuu, he is offering them something they would want. His go-to strategy isn't threats, it tends to be the promise of a reward.

I wouldn't tie any of Crowley's actions to feeling a sense of remorse or guilt on his own part. While it's true we don't really get to see inside of his head, from what we see of him... this man is utterly shameless. He's willing to resort to emotional manipulation to convince literal children to solve problems that he, the powerful mage and adult, should be dealing with. What's more, he praises himself for Yuu's competence and willingness to step up. That's him placing a lot of faith in his students, and I don't think he feels any guilt in doing this. Why else would he send them into dangerous situations over and over again? He must, to some extent, believe they can already handle themselves just fine, otherwise he's creating tons of legal liabilities for himself by purposefully throwing children of tons of affluent families into the line of fire. Besides, he's a highly skilled mage himself--if any true, TRUE danger were to befall them, surely he could save the day himself. My thought is that he has sort of a "tough love" approach where he tosses his students into the fires and sees how they get out of it in one piece, but it's just presented in a "devil-may-care" way because of his lackadaisical attitude.

Regarding book 4, I personally see Crowley giving his cell phone number as just a means to provide reassurance to Grim and Yuu, since they (especially Grim) are protesting about him seemingly leaving on vacation. It's an empty gesture so he can have his getaway without much of a fuss; I totally believe that Crowley did not ever intend to answer his phone. When he returns in book 5, he's already asking another favor of Yuu, so I get the sense he isn't really bothered by what happened. I would even say that Crowley still has several major appearances in book 5, not that he has made himself scarcer. He appears to ask the favor, appears again to evaluate their performance, and then a third time at the cultural festival to speak with the headmaster of RSA. Crowley gets plenty of screen time here, much more then in books 6 and 7. If he truly felt bad or actively wanted to avoid Yuu, he could easily just tell other students (ie Vil) or even school staff (ghosts, teachers, etc.) to relay the deal for him.

Again, I want to be clear: THIS IS NOT CROWLEY BASHING. The only thing I am expressing in this post is that while I do love this bird-brained goober and think he cares for his students, I don't believe it's done in the conventional sense you're thinking of. Crowley can be selfish and callous and throw his students into danger, and that's okay! Sometimes we want to love a useless man who's trying his best, even if his best is pretty lousy/j

Whew, that was a lot of brain dumping! I hope I properly responded to all your thoughts and that you found this read semi-entertaining~

[night-market-if]

General Spoilers

General spoilers for book 1

The amount of individuals I would accidently harm if I was in Milo's position. If someone gave me any sort of power and then didn't explain how to use it, I would take down an entire section of the world while trying to do something mundane like get a coffee. LOL!

But yes, I think a lot of people look at the very surface of emotions and actions and not the deeper meaning or motivations behind it. And that's fine. I know I've done it before while reading. A story is simply what you take out of it.

[fortunatetragedy]

Forch, how do your guys know they are in a time loop in your story?

it's my favorite wax hello! <33333

so it's funny you should ask: until about 2/3 of the way through the novel they don't.

behold! the back of my door! the prologue and hofer are both walking spoilers so i've tried to mitigate the damage a bit.

there aren't a ton of rules bc i am a lazy world-builder but the rules i've identified are as follows and i think are foreshadowed if not all-capsed in the prologue:

sullivan is a fixed point

if sullivan dies before stopping powell from summoning a god-spirit, the loop restarts

anyone who dies has their memory of the previous loop wiped

it's possible to recall the previous loop through physical contact with a fixed point

the first row of post-it notes shows a reset point, which corresponds to flashback chapters in book 1.

(there was a mini-reset in january 1873 but that had nothing to do with them trying to stop dr. powell lol.)

you can see how many times they had to redo each loop based on the number of post-it notes. and it's arranged so you can see how far they got on the timeline each time.

(tangential fun fact in the spirit of #thirsty thursday: i've done the math and by the time we join them in book 1, if you filter out all the time they were separated bc army red tape and royston needing assistance to write a letter, sullivan and royston were together for six years. royston, metaphysically, feels like they've been together for nine years or smth ridiculous like that bc he counts the year they were separated and sullivan doesn't. on paper it's eight months. i have not done the math on sullivan and hofer's friendship bc other than the four months sullivan was in the clink, they were not separated. those two dicks would feel like they've known each other for 25 years if they could remember anything LOL.)

bail out here if you don't want book 1 spoilers:

a couple things happen in this loop:

we learn hofer did something in a previous loop that has caused him to be permanently unable to recall previous loops even if he survives unless condition #3 is active.

royston gains the ability to retain his memory between loops whether he dies or not

we learn who's okay with abusing rules #2 and #4 to stack information for the next loop

sullivan establishes he has an 88% chance of dying and isn't exempt from the memory wiping rule even if he's a fixed point bc he's a human being and i'm a dick

once they figure out in the final 1874 iteration around p. 420 that royston will remember everything that happened, the "flashback" chapters become "flash forward" chapters, as they take place in the locked-in 1873 and haven't happened yet bc we're still down in hell with the boys on a saturday night.

so abstract: they don't lol

summary: well they don't at first but then they figure out the rules and turns out only royston knows they're in a time loop great we're fucked.

[the-nada-thing]

Bree: Nick looked so broken... what does he think of me being Arthur's heir?

Nick:

Nick *taps Bree*

Nick: tag you're it

[pinkass-boots]

did the "his gaze softened" trend w/ my wayhaven oc

[societyslostone]

Straight up gonna throw hands with Riddle's mom. Narcissistic bitch cares more about her legacy than her child's happiness.

I'm his mom now, she can fight me and she will lose

[bananacatmeow]

ah yes, even at 12 percy still messes with frank in spirit.

[hamable]

Ok no I do have to make it it’s own post bc I don’t remember the book’s scene in detail but Annabeth seeing the fates cut a string at the arch is so fascinating. Bc we know that’s Luke’s string. He’s not dying soon, but it’s been decided when he will die.

The moment the fates decide that Luke will die and when is right after Percy sacrifices himself. Right after he shows Annabeth his care and loyalty. That she is worth saving. That she doesn’t deserve the wrath intended for her. A set of dominoes has just been toppled and when they all finally fall, she will stand between Luke and Percy and choose Percy. From this moment, from this early on, Luke’s fate is sealed.

[botlabyrinth]

sally’s “i want him to know who he is, before your family tries to tell him who they want him to be.” and poseidon saying “he will be stronger for it on the other side. his mother raised him well.” and he is. percy is stronger on the other side. we’ve seen it so clearly through his quest. his confusion at how you have to earn the gods’ love, earn their respect. his conversation with annabeth on the train about it. his unwillingness to accept the ways of the gods. him realizing his mother wanted to keep him away from this world, and annabeth being the one to tell him that maybe it was for the better that sally did that. so that he wouldn’t be like them. annabeth’s “he isn’t that way. he’s better than that. maybe i was that way once. but i don’t want to be that way anymore.” the way percy would’ve turned out with a similar worldview to annabeth’s if he had been sent to camp so early on. and annabeth’s worldview changing so quickly after meeting percy. sally jackson raised that kid right. you would think that as a demigod, the half god side of percy is what’s important. but that’s not what makes him the hero. it’s the half mortal side of him that does. his humanity, his mortality, his mother. that is why percy is the hero that he is.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I've been dreaming of the Rose-Red Ruler.

Happy birthday, our most beloved Queen of Hearts.

May your smile be like a never fading flower.

How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die?

A soft knock is at his door.

Riddle tears away from his current textbook--a volume of advanced potions, open to Recipe for Happiness. On the list of ingredients were faith, trust, a little pixie dust, and...

"Come in," he calls, letting the contents of the book fall from his memory.

His mother enters, bearing a tray with a tall pitcher and a glass. As usual, her hair is pulled back into a tight bun and she is dressed impeccably: a scarlet pantsuit, heels, black lace gloves, and a necklace drawn tight across her neck, creating the illusion of beading blood. Mrs. Rosehearts gives her son a stern yet warm smile.

"Happy birthday, Riddle. You're still studying, even on your big day?"

"Yes, mother. This will be the year I apply for internships, so I cannot afford to slack off in my studies. I want to ensure I am the strongest possible candidate for the law and medical internships I'm interested in."

She nods approvingly, setting the tray upon his desk. "It's good to be thinking about your future now--but be sure to take breaks when appropriate. I've brought you some Darjeeling, first flush. Its light and delicate flavor is perfectly refreshing for a sweltering day."

Mrs. Rosehearts starts to pour the chilled tea for him. Right as the aromatic, golden brown stream ceases, she lets out a small gasp. "Ah, yes--your schedule is open tonight, correct? Your father will be fetching a strawberry tart on his way home from work, and I've prepared all your favorite foods. You can eat as much as you like!"

Riddle's stomach flutters.

There are so many things wrong with what she has said, but he exclaims the first question to emerge in his mind.

"We're having a celebration? Together?"

"Of course we are. It's your birthday," his mom replies plainly. "Why wouldn't we celebrate our special little boy?"

"I... I don't know," Riddle confesses. For reasons he cannot explain, his head suddenly feels foggy. "I just can't recall the last time we did something like this as a family."

You've never seemed happy with one another.

He does not dare say it out loud.

Mrs. Rosehearts carefully regards her child.

"Certainly, your father and I have very busy schedules on account of our work at the hospital. You've immersed yourself in your schoolwork. It can be difficult making plans that align with all three of us--but we make time to spend with our loved ones."

Mrs. Rosehearts leans down and plants a feathery kiss on his head, a hand lovingly stroking his hair. So soft, so tender. She smells of roses on a bed of vanilla and amber, the same heady comfort as the exhilaration of collapsing, out of breath, after spinning in circles in the summertime.

The frantic thudding in Riddle's chest slows. He leans into her touch, her fragrance.

"Okay," he says quietly. A slight wetness prickles his vision. "I think... I'd really like that, mom."

He stays there, in her embrace, for longer than he thinks he should. The minutes are slipping away from him, but Riddle cannot bring himself to pull away. The cradle of roses is enchanting, spilling wool over his eyes.

He is completely, utterly, certifiably entranced.

Ding-dong!

Mrs. Rosehearts lifts her head. "Hm? That's strange. That can't be your father. He doesn't get out of work for at least another hour--and he wouldn't need to ring the doorbell, he has his keys."

"It is odd," Riddle agrees.

"Excuse me, it will take just a moment to check. Perhaps it's the mailman."

Mrs. Rosehearts gathers herself and departs. From the study, Riddle can hear the front door swinging open, followed by muffled chatter. Excited, boyish.

His mother's voice, raising.

Dread fills him.

He abruptly stands, his chair harshly skidding back with an unpleasant whine.

Riddle races into the hallway and to the foyer. He's not sure which is faster: his heart, or his feet? His mind struggles to catch up, to process everything--

The front door is ajar.

His mother, on one side. And on the other...

Two young men.

One with short hair in dark green and bright yellow eyes peering out from behind thick frames. He holds a hefty cake in his hands--a shortcake iced in whipped cream frosting. The strawberries piled on top shine like forbidden jewels.

Beside him is a boy with choppy bangs, a pair of feline ears bearing a plethora of earrings pokes out from his head. He has a lazy grin and disheveled clothes, reclining like a sunbathing cat against the first visitor.

His friends spot him before his mom does, and their faces light up.

"Uh-oh, guess the cat's out of the bag now," Che'nya giggles.

"Wh-What are you two doing here?!" Riddle demands. Not angry, but fearful. He nervously glances at Trey--Trey, whom his mother had angrily banished from their home until the end of time.

"We wanted to drop by and surprise you," Trey explains. He's too calm for this situation--especially when Mrs. Rosehearts is standing right there.

Any minute now, Riddle suspects she will explode. She will scream at Trey and Che'nya until she is a darker red than her hair. She will slam the door in their faces. She will threaten to call the police. She will--

"Riddle, you didn't tell me your friends would be joining us this evening!" Mrs. Rosehearts beams, stepping aside and waving for the boys to enter. "Please, come in! You can spend some time together before dinner.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Myaaa-uch appreciated!”

Trey and Che’nya cross the threshold with ease.

Riddle blinks. “But what about my studies…?”

“Studies? At a time like this?” Trey gives a light laugh. “We’re not at school, Riddle. You can relax a little. Just let me put this cake away and then we can all hang out, okay?”

“My father is already going to be bringing a tart later…”

“Oooh, double the desserts? Don’t mind if I do! I’ll swipe two slices of both.”

“Don’t be greedy, Che’nya! You have to save some for the rest of us, especially the birthday boy.”

“Me?” Riddle’s brows crease. “I…”

“It’s fine,” his mother coaxes. “Go and be with your friends.”

“Is that okay? Is that… really, really okay?”

Mrs. Rosehearts steps toward him, taking his hands in hers. Her eyes are dewey, and her face looks more gentle than he has ever seen it.

“Yes. This is your youth, Riddle. You only live once—so live this life to its fullest. If you could promise me that, then nothing would make me happier.”

“Mother…!”

Riddle tugs her into a hug. It is fast, it is fleeting, it is a flicker of light peeking through a keyhole. He opens that locked door and emerges on the other end.

He chokes out his response.

Two simple words, carrying all his hopes and dreams.

“I promise.”

And for the first time in forever, he smiles with all of his heart.

But beyond the happy boy, cheeks streaked with tears, beyond the door that divided him from the world... a shadow hides in the shade of a rose tree.

It looks on, and smiles too.

"... It appears as though Rosehearts has have found his happily ever after at long last, fufu. How wonderful.”

[turtlespancake]

i love seeing out of context posts about long-running stories with deep lore because it's always shit like "MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!! i can't believe that the metallic athenaeum's envoy actually used never-ending dance of the 57th universe on rionne as if she's not LITERALLY the incarnate of august?!?!" it's like buddy boy thank you for the spoiler tag but all of those words are incomprehensible without at least 5 years of foreshadowed knowledge, 7 different fan theories, and 21 wiki entries

[fortunatetragedy]

look out it's a plot summary

the thought occurred to me that i'm over here rambling about a 600-page novel no one has read and it's the first book in a trilogy so if i'm going to be over here rambling about the second novel it might be nice to have a document i can reference during this shit storm. really ramble if i'm going to ramble.

only it started getting long so it's just going to have to be an ongoing project. it'll be like you guys are reading the book, but you're listening to the director's commentary instead.

warning(s): this is an adult series. there is a time loop and a fixed point. main characters die several times. i follow two timelines, one of which is directly affected by said time loop: the 1872-1873 timeline, when sullivan met royston, resets in february 1873 and has "background" reset action happening that is affecting the characters' behavior; the june 1874 timeline is a Bad Ending that takes place when sullivan has about 24 hours left to live. because of all the dying and time looping, none of the three main characters remember the same event the same way ever.

i have had a headache since september 2023. come enjoy a headache with me.

we're going back to september 1872 for this headache.

september 1872

sidenote: the novel starts in june 1874, because i'm a hack who wrote a first draft with one flashback and no recognition of the existence of a time loop. i'm starting the summary when royston met sullivan so i can thoroughly bore you with the intricacies of the looping.

so 1872. september. 38-year-old first sergeant cole sullivan & 39-year-old surgeon-major erik hofer are stationed with the rest of their regiment at fort sarras*, kansas. they are in the u.s. army 10th cavalry, which is historically a pretty cool regiment.

a leavenworth analogue; we are in an alternate-history au where the u.s. has a military presence and settlers west of the mississippi river, but it's been with france's blessing the last few decades [no louisiana purchase] and with a leadership change france no longer wants america in their territory.

i thought it would be fun to base the alt-history setting on a cursed crusader kings 2 game where we lost an entire country and then saw western civilization both barely and completely changing at the same time. it's really lazy world-building and it was initially meant to support a much darker ending, so idk if it's really necessary anymore and it's something i go back and forth on on the regular.

anyway hofer is there with his family--wife clara, an obstetrician-midwife, and their 4.5 children. remember her for later. this novel was originally 200-smth pages, did not exist as part of a trilogy, and hofer didn't exist, i didn't mean for her to have such a small role in book 1 i love her.

sullivan begins the timeline with a mystery on his hands: someone derailed an army train carrying 50 head of horses and stolen eight of said horses. no personnel aboard were injured, and sullivan had orders in his pocket not to pursue the outlaws--this ends up killing him, in a sense, as he would have needed to have immediately gone after the horse thieves to have prevented anything that happened next.

i've run that scene (which isn't in any finished drafts btw i wrote the prelude for my own information NOT EVERYTHING YOU WRITE NEEDS TO BE WRITTEN FOR OTHER PEOPLE) several different ways and even in a world where sullivan would disobey a direct order and either send himself or a scout, the only person who doesn't get sensed and shot in the head at 100 yards by the horse thieves is sullivan. but then he gets in trouble for abandoning his post, since he's supposed to be at the train derailment site, not gallivanting through the prairie.

in town, he finds no one is willing to discuss what happened or who they think might have done it. he ends up in local shithole saloon, the pig & whistle, on the afternoon of thursday, september 5th, and begins talking to buchanan "buck" yeats, a 69-year-old former miner and current gossiphound who knows everything about everyone.

sullivan still wears spurs in this timeline. if you're reading this you probably know more about horses and cavalry history and the entire western genre than i do. if you're on my level and don't know shit about horses, you can learn why this is such a big deal in chapter 1.

then he meets 44-year-old arthur royston, who is not aware of why he does what he does next. we see royston go from chilling with the gamblers in the smoky back corner of the saloon to beelining across the bar to introduce himself to sullivan*.

*this behavior confused the shit out of me for 2.5 drafts. i'm about to reveal how little actual skill i have as a writer. i'm just a monkey banging on a keyboard. royston was intercepting sullivan when i wrote this the first time and it felt purposeful. being as royston was not working with the horse thieves in this version of the story, i did not know why.

well now i know it's bc he and sullivan are seeing each other again after going through a whole other novel. in this particular scene, if my argument is that i'm showing you the route that they're locked into going into book 2, they had to return to this moment bc it was the furthest back they could get thrown and have it matter w/r/t stopping emil powell, who we don't meet until 1874.

whole other novel. they started going together in october 1872, so they were together for eight months when royston pushed him off the train the first time. then they were separated for a year bc of army red tape and royston not knowing how to write, back together for less than 24 hours, half of which sullivan was rightfully pissed off at him. like... royston came to find sullivan, and it may have been for creepy evil obsessive reasons the first time. then he became possessed by a spirit that causes men to pursue the thing they want most in the world and the thing that royston wanted most in the world was sullivan. so everything in draft 1 worked out happy accident style whether or not royston was there out of love or bc he was solely after sullivan in an objectification way.

but it meant something to sullivan that royston made the effort to find him. and then they died LOL.

and that is what is going on with The Vibe at the beginning of the first flashback chapter.

are you still reading? if you're still reading i'm still going.

anyway buck tells sullivan (and by extension royston, who has bought sullivan a drink to force the hand of whoever is planning to attack sullivan and accidentally imbibed the poison himself*) about the huston brothers, led by notorious confederate army officer calvin huston. we learn calvin is rumored to have died during the War, and his bereft widow, delilah, pleaded to whatever god would listen to bring him back to her.

*re: memory retention between loops

according to the post it note map on the back of my door, the first run through the loop resulted in a TPK. nobody remembers doing this the first time, but bc i'm an asshole, physical proximity to sullivan, who is a fixed point, allows anyone who was on the path with him before to recall information with prompting.

royston does not remember that someone poisoned sullivan the first time, but he does know sullivan is important and someone is going to try to hurt him, so he runs over to try and intercept sullivan from buck, who we learn much much later was responsible for sullivan's being poisoned the first time, whether or not buck was complicit.

when they had to do the loop again, they reset in october. so they only did september twice. which is sad for them bc september looked like fun.

according to buck, whatever del did worked, and now she's got a contract out with a spirit--to keep cal alive as a revenant, del has to clothe him in the skins of former northern soldiers.

"Ah, yeah, I always forget that part." Buck took a thoughtful sip of his beer. "Anyway!" -- September 1872

we also learn from buck that cal's middle brother, lon, has a vendetta against royston. back in charleston in 1868, lon purports royston cheated at a game of cards. when royston refuted the allegation, lon insulted him, flipped over a table, and hit himself in the face with a lit oil lamp. he no longer enjoys the use of his right eye.

i cannot tell you how happy it makes royston when sullivan calls him a "scoundrel" and would prob get banned if i attempted to

as if summoned by the sound of his own name, lon arrives with his older brother frank and his 18-year-old baby brother nate. they antagonize royston, who is succumbing to hemlock poisoning, and sullivan won't stand for it. they trade shots, and royston uses a throwing knife to kill the bartender, who was approaching sullivan with a shotgun. sullivan has to carry royston out of the saloon after shooting lon in the shin.

"You saved me," Royston through chattering teeth. Fading, and still running his damned mouth. The man was a wonder. "I didn't do much more than stand with my thumb up my ass and watch you hit Nate Huston in the head with a beer bottle."

i actually can't stand them.

next time i'll be rambling about a chapter one other person on the planet has read, and that's the one i jokingly refer to as "the aftercare scene."

[counting-stars-gayly]

This might be a hot take, but I actually like that Percy figured out Luke was the traitor at the last minute. There were A LOT of clues that would’ve been hard to ignore, and he ignored them for as long as he could. And it’s clear that even after accusing Luke, he’s still surprised and heartbroken at Luke’s confirmation of his suspicions. He was holding out hope, guys!!

Also, the Betrayal Scene flows better as an exchange of dialogue and a swordfight than it did, in the books, as a monologue and a scorpion sting. This also leaves a bigger impact on the viewers and characters because it’s more emotional.

[pien-art]

Remember how at the end of The Dragon Reborn, Ishamael wrapped Moiraine in black lightning and she screamed and Ishy hurled her across the room into a column where she lay unconscious for the whole duration of the book's final confrontation and then that was just never mentioned again and she was completely fine ?? Not on my watch 🤨

[egophiliac]

still absolutely losing my mind over Lilia