#but i’ve had the head cannon of him giving you a annotated book for a while

[internetb3by]

i want jason todd to read to me. i want him to lay next to me in bed and read me his favorite novels. his calming voice lulling me to sleep as he reads me lines from his favorite jane austen novel. and when he senses i’m asleep he places a soft kiss to my temple.

he’s the type to only be able to sleep after you fall asleep. after he senses you’re sleep he shuts the book (bookmarking where he left off ofc), sets it aside, and pulls the string of the lamp on your bedside table before cuddling up to you.

bonus points after he finishes reading you his favorite book he gives you a personalized copy of the book as a gift. By personalized I mean he annotates the book and highlighted the parts you really seemed to enjoy.

[misc-obeyme]

Do you think Satan annotates his books? On one hand I can kind of see it… yet I’ve heard multiple people talk about giving him bookmarks or him also having way too many of them which suggests that he doesn’t dog-ear the pages... which can lead to (in general) less ‘vandalism’ of books. There is also the fact that his books are probably cursed, ancient relics, one really really really rare copy for a certain reason which are going to be kept in as pristine condition as possible.

Ok—well, the real question here is whether Satan thinks that books are shrine that has to be preserved and or a shrine that is to be lived in. I honestly can’t make up my mind on this answer and I feel like it can go both ways.

Yet I feel like it can be really funny to mess around with both these head cannons. I would love to just mess around with a Satan that makes sure that not a bit of ink gets spilled on his pages, and then just opening one of my own books and then highlighting or underlining a passage while looking him straight in the eye and giggling maniacally just to annoy him.

Or if he is for annotation, I can just imagine MC and him both starting a book at the same time. They are both too busy/impatient to wait until the end/ have different reading paces so they don’t want to spoil. So instead they annotate their notes and ideas in the margins, highlight passages and leave little notes for each other. Then in the middle of the day or whenever they pass by each other they just swap books and look at the other’s annotations and add comments to those annotations while still continuing to read from the page where they left off. So that means that in each book there’s one conversation going on…

Soon enough there’s not enough space in the margins so post-it notes start appearing in the books, and by the end of it all both books would have gotten thicker from the amount of post-it notes, the sides of the pages would’ve also started to turn neon from the amount of highlights.

And can you imagine how this would look to other students at RAD or the brothers? Like it’s a really busy week for some reason yet they can’t help but watch whenever MC passes Satan. They don’t even need to stop to swap books, they just do it like a fly-by and no words are exchanged because they’re already in the book.

OH! IMAGINE IF EITHER INE OF THEM GOES A CERTAIN STREET OR HALLWAY JUST TO CROSS THE OTHER AGAIN BECAUSE THEY REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE OTHER THINKS OF A CERTAIN PART THEY JUST READ.

AND IF IT’S A SPICY BOOK????

THEN THEY START TEASING EACHOTHER AND LITERALLY FLIRTING IN THE MARGINS AND SOON THE TENSION RISES AND THEIR HANDS START BRUSHING WHENEVER THEY SWAP BOOKS AND THEY CANT EVEN LOOK EACH OTHER AT A TABLE WITHOUT BLUSHING LIKE AHAJAHAAHHAJAMSMDFJFJR. AND WHEN THEY FINALLY GET HOME AND HAVE TIME TO TALK ABOUT IT NORMALLY AGAIN!?

I SERIOUSLY CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS.

HAVE A NICE DAY.

-Anon (I am so tempted to have an anon name yet I’m still thinking about it lol)

Anon, you don't even need me. All of these ideas are perfection and I LOVE THEM. (Please feel free to choose a name if you like, but no pressure!)

Turns out I myself am a book person. I collect books to such a degree that I had to build a library in my house just to hold them all. And before I had the library, I kept them in stacks around the house, frighteningly similar to the stacks we see in the art for Satan's bedroom. Some of his stacks are taller and I certainly have never had any magical floating books, but man if it isn't reminiscent of my own book habits.

So I can tell you that I have opinions on annotation in general.

The thing about books is that most of them are worthless. Even really old books that you find at a used book store usually aren't worth anything, which is why they sell them for like five bucks. This means that their value exists solely in the writing they hold. It's the content that makes books special.

Now this isn't to say that expensive first editions or signed first copies or whatever don't exist. And certainly ancient books become more valuable due to their age and rarity. But that's like museum quality stuff. And since Satan likely does have magical books, that might change the value part as well. Since I would think magical books, especially rare ones, might be worth more.

However, considering how many books Satan has, I'm thinking the majority of them aren't super valuable. He probably has a different way of handling the books that are rare. He seems like the kind of demon who would preserve those types of books and I don't think he would annotate them. He might keep a separate notebook of notes, especially if they're like... scholarly tomes or something.

But novels? Or books that are pretty common that he could buy another copy of at any time?

I do think Satan could go either way with the annotation of those kinds of books. I think he would consider the content to be just as important as the monetary value, so he might see a book as a shrine to preserve, as you put it. (I love that, by the way.) However, I also think that Satan often has lots of thoughts about what he reads. He's also said in canon that he doesn't use bookmarks - not because he dog ears pages, but because he just remembers where he left off.

Solomon, on the other hand, strikes me entirely as the kind of guy who writes all over his books. And we know that Satan and Solomon have had discussions about books in the past.

So I kinda have a headcanon that Satan didn't annotate books before, but he does now because Solomon introduced him to it. Or somehow talked him into it. Convinced him of the benefits of doing it. Reminding him that these cheaper books don't need to be preserved, they're made to be lived in.

Now I love the idea of MC and Satan sharing books and writing back and forth to each other. I think a lot about the concept of people falling in love with each other through some form of writing and reading. Whether that's a letter exchange or a writer and their reader or through book annotations...

Even if you're dealing with a platonic relationship between Satan and MC, I think it's a fun idea. Like if they're reading a mystery together and MC writes something in the margins about who they think did it and Satan writes back with something like you're insane it's clearly this other character and the margins just devolve into argument.

Of course, the spicy book option is also a fantastic idea. Would they discuss it when they're finally alone? Or would they just pretend nothing was going on? Either way, the tension!

I kinda think if MC indicated that they wanted to discuss spicy stuff, Satan would be ready with a thorough analysis of it. Like if it was badly written, you can expect a scathing review lol. (I'm just imagining Satan's opinion of lines like "She breasted boobily down the stairs.") But if it was good well... that could very easily lead to a suggestion of attempting to recreate the scene, don't you think?

[land-of-enchanted]

The Wicked King By Holly Black

Right before Queen of Nothing (QON) came out, I started reading/listening to Th Wicked King by Holly Black since I had her next book on pre-order. I actually had a really good experience with the audiobook because the issue I had with the reading the physical copy of The Cruel Prince was that at a certain point It got slow for me. 

I ended up giving the The Cruel Prince 4 out of 5 stars, however the The Wicked King from was a 5 out of 5 stars. I think that has to be the fact that I listen to the audiobook instead of reading. I had a friend that had the issue of It getting slow and she read the physical book

******************Spoilers Ahead **********************

While listen to the audiobook I did annotate my copy a little bit since I had It front of me for the most part.

One of my favorite quotes was from Madoc (which I never thought that would happen) and It was “We get power by taking It.”

I just thought It was such a powerful quote, because It shows how he thinks. I don’t think we get a lot how Madoc’s head works, but when we do I just think it’s really interesting.

Another thing I really enjoyed was Jude in this book. She was just a badass while she pretended Queen of the Undersea could control her and then betraying her. When she killed Balkin that was awesome. 

Carden and Jude were literally everything. I have no idea how Holly is going to get them together since those two can barely be 10 minutes together without trying to either kill each other. I really hope they end up together somehow because I really liked them. Their whole relationship is really confusing. One minute I think they are going to start being together and then the next minute they hate each other.  Can they seriously just pick one? 

I usually don’t really like this will they or won't they be together, but Carden and Jude reasons for not being together is just as important as the reasons why they should be together. Which makes It interest.

Plot wise I enjoyed the book as well. I like how she could have control out of Carden. I found that interesting and she would be an amazing ruler. I like how she used Carden’s mother to trick Balkin to believe the things that were going on.

Jude and Carden finally kiss again in the book (They kissed in book one right? please let me know I can’t remember). I loved that scene so much. I loved how he asked her to keep telling him that she hated him. It was not  a steamy sex scene like the ones I have read in A Court of Mist and Fury, however I liked It. I felt like It fix those characters better. 

In that scene in chapter 15 was my favorite quote from Jude.

“...That I like him better than I’ve ever liked anyone and that of all the things he's ever done to me, making me like him so much is by far the worst.”

That quote hit me so hard. Like I was like

It’s was too relatable.

At the beginning of the book, Jude learned that someone had betrayed her and she didn’t know who. I actually predicted It would have been The Ghost. I knew It would behind from the moment I read that quote. He was always the one right next to her, and helping her. That was kind of obvious to me but I didn’t bother me that I guessed It right.

The last thing I actually liked and hated about the book was the fact that Carden and Jude are married. 

I liked It because my ship becoming cannon... kind of.

However, what I didn't like was the fact that she lost the ability to control him because fo that she was unable to to stop him from exiling her from fairy land. 

If you are still here to the end of this long post. 

Thank you.

I’m going to be be posting more reviews and book related content. Hope you enjoy.

-H

[ruffsficstuffplace]

The Viridian Vanguard (Part 32)

Elsewhere in the Grove during the duels, Weiss was in her nest, Penny snuggled up to her chest, Cheese and Winter’s summons around her for company, menial tasks, and/or food as she watched holos through Penny’s projector. (The quality was far superior than her comm-crystal’s.)

“I feel it… the purity of their love…!” screamed the monster of the week. “This is it… the power, of YURI!”

A wave of purple-black miasma shot out of the monster, washing over the convention floor, reality itself beginning to warp and change as bright, prismatic energy was sucked out of them.

Hina gasped. “Akane, Aoi, look! All the couples, the anime and manga, even the doujins and the fan art—they’re all losing their gayness!”

“You monster!” Aoi screamed. “Do you know how long that slow-burn was between Diya and Nene?! This is an affront to all of Girls Love!”

“You’re going down, Yarama!” Akane screamed as she whipped out her spear, Hina and Aoi doing the same with their weapons.

“Piper, this show is so fucking stupid...” Weiss muttered.

“Would you like to change to something else?” Penny asked through an annotation on the holo.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t enjoying it!” Weiss said.

A fight sequence began, the tables and displays being torn up and destroyed from the empowered monster, the heroes trying their best to spare the panicked, confused convention goers, and the merchandise, too, if they could help it.

“Face it, Spiral Hearts!” the Yarama cried. “The power of women loving women is just too strong!”

“That is true…” Hina replied “… but it’s not as strong as the true fans of yuri, those who make and support new content for fans everywhere, not filthy parasites like you! Akane! Aoi!”

“On it!” they both cried, before they all joined their weapons into one giant cannon. “For the love of all that makes our lives worth living… SPIRAL PIERCER…!”

The projection suddenly stopped, Penny’s eyes flashing green.

“What happened?” Weiss asked amid the disappointed growls and groans of the summons.

“It seems there was a serious accident during Jaune and Pyrrha’s training!” Penny replied, untangling herself from Weiss’ arm, then hovering towards the window. “I’m afraid my medical expertise is needed on-site, apologies, Weiss.”

“Don’t you just have first-aid equipment right now?” Weiss asked as she sat up.

“Yes, but I still have my treatment database, patient history, and high-precision scanners,” Penny replied. “I’ll inform you of any new developments as soon as I can!”

Weiss sighed, frowning as she watched Penny fly out the window and out of sight. One of Winter’s summons gently prodded her on the side, and gestured to her comm-crystal charging on a dock in the corner; she turned to them and shook her head. “You’ll have to find out what happens next later, I’ve got a hunch I need to investigate,” she said as she stood up. “Help me get dressed, everyone!”

The summon sighed, before everyone available either fetched Weiss’ garments from the closet, or helped her put it on. “Cheese, you’re coming with me,” Weiss said as she scooped what remained of him from his plate, now just a small blob no bigger than her hand.

c:

“I’m heading out to the training grounds!” Weiss said as she passed by Winter in the living room.

“Don’t try to squeeze in more exercise when you’re supposed to be recovering, I really did mean that was the only time I’d carry you back!” Winter replied, not looking up from the Nivian-Actaeon book she was reading.

“I won’t, sheesh! It’s been what, four years since that happened?” Weiss said as she opened the door.

“I know you, Weiss, it takes a long while for you to give up on something you’ve put your mind to,” Winter replied as she turned the page.

Weiss shook her head as she shut the door behind her, called for the elevator before taking a bite out of Cheese.

He was down to just his soulstone by the time she arrived, by which point Jaune was securely strapped to a spine board and being carried away by Taiyang and Nora, Ren and Penny following them with medical supplies.

Futher away, Yang was on a bench, comforting the rather glum looking Pyrrha sitting beside her. After a few moment’s consideration, Weiss stepped over and asked, “May I ask what the hell happened to Jaune this time?”

“We were dueling, and I accidentally threw him far harder and further than I intended,” Pyrrha replied. “His landing was… ugly.”

“Should I…?” Weiss asked uneasily.

“In short: he looked a human pretzel,” Yang said. “Just so you know, the un-pretzeling process wasn’t pretty, either.”

“Uh... huh...” Weiss mumbled. “Do you need me to stay, or should I just leave…?” she asked, thumbing behind her.

“If your brain is functioning enough again for Pit Fighter business, sure!” Yang said.

“I’ve made quite a lot of progress on the weapon choice front, it’d be a shame to waste this time,” Pyrrha added.

Weiss nodded, and sat down with them. “So how’s it going, exactly?”

“If we’re being thorough about it, I’m halfway through the process,” Pyrrha replied. “I still haven’t explored any of the Fae firearms that weren’t almost-complete replicas of AFA armaments, but now I know for sure that I have a solid idea of what I’m looking for in melee weapons.”

“And what would that be?” Weiss asked.

“Something versatile with reach, coupled with a shield and elemental mediums for an all-rounded offense or defense,” Pyrrha replied. “Weiss’ temporarily limited powers aside, both of you are highly specialized fighters, and I’d rather not lose a good chunk of our effectiveness, or expose glaring weaknesses in our defenses should one of you be downed, or otherwise indisposed. Whether it’s defending against attacks from any range, leading a charge into our enemies, or wreaking some elemental havoc, I’ll be ready for it.

“That being said, I haven’t seen what Fae ranged weapons can bring to the table, and if the melee weapons were any indication, they should be quite the learning experience.”

“You should probably join us at the firing range later, Weiss!” Yang said. “Get a feel for how the Fae deal death from a distance.”

“I’d rather not,” Weiss replied. “After all that training at the Terrace, my arms will definitely become too sore to even hold a gun as soon as I’m hit the recoil.”

“I meant in a mental, tactical sense, see what you might go up against in person!” Yang replied. “You’ve barely seen anyone really use a ranged weapon outside of all-out war where tracking who fired what was the least of your worries. Plus, the special ammo will give you a great idea of what happens when you mix elements up—nothing wrong with your using pure, but you miss out on useful things like Melty Wash that way.”

“’Melty Wash…?’” Weiss asked.

“Melty Wash,” Yang repeated, nodding. “It sounds just as stupid in Actaeon, don’t worry.” She winced as her stomach growled. “Ugh, all this drama made me forget how hungry I am—come on, let’s go get some grub and a nap, then on to lighting shit up!” she said, getting up.

Weiss shrugged. “Alright, fine, I’ll go!” she said as she hopped up. “I figured I needed to get out of bed and do something productive today, anyway...”

Jaune was left in the cabin he bunked in, Taiyang and Penny stayed behind to take care of him and keep him company. Everyone else had lunch and rested a while, before discussing Pyrrha’s firearms training.

As elementally-infused ammo, alchemical grenades, chemical weapons and the like needed to be specially ordered by and used under the supervision of a senior watcher or other qualified individual, and Qrow was far too drunk at the moment, they started out with the standard Fae firearms.

In contrast to the practical, sleek, and streamlined AFA guns Pyrrha was used to, the Fae practically made it a point to have their guns as flashy and embellished as possible. Every one of them seemed to have as many engravings, stylized components, and decorations as they could possibly add without compromising function too much, like an iron sight made out of some long-dead predator’s skull, the gun barrel coming out of its jaws

Metal and wood were the materials of choice for most of them, all manner of colours, grains, and sheen from the varieties, mixtures, and treatments, with the rest of the parts made from bone, rock, crystal, plant fibers, and whatever else the Fae could get their hands or hand-equivalents on. There was barely any built-in magitech to be seen, no small-form targeting systems, recoil adjusters, or ammo management systems, just physical springs, levers, hammers, revolvers, and whatever else.

And almost all of them were powerful, even the quietest guns having massive impact.

Thip. Crack. Thip. Crack. Thip. Crack.

Pyrrha fired her “Fang Gun” into a log target, each bone projectile lodging an inch or two deep into the wood, splinters flying out from the holes, the cracks clearly audible to Weiss even as she watched from well away to the side.

She stopped after six shots, putting her rifle down and massaging her arms. “Not the kind of gun you fire just for fun, is this?” she asked Ren.

“Not unless your idea of ‘fun’ is accuracy competitions, or clean hunting kills,” Ren replied calmly. “Shall we focus on lower-caliber weapons that are easier to fire for sustained periods, such as repeaters? Most every Fae firearm hits the user almost as hard as they do the target.”

“No,” Pyrrha replied, picking the gun back up, and aiming for a farther target. “I suppose I’ll just have to learn to make every single shot a hit from here on out!”

Ren nodded. “One well-placed bullet’s all you really need, most of the time.”

“And the rest?” Pyrrha asked.

Ren smiled. “Two bullets.”

After Pyrrha started getting used to the intense recoil, and firing far less frequently than she would have with human guns, they started planning which weapons she was to try out, how she was going to test them out, and who would be involved.

Everyone except Weiss donned a set of armour; a small arena was built by a copse of smaller trees with the help of deployable cover, ballistic shields, and the foliage; and several dozen crates of ammo were carted out of storage, their contents transferred to smaller boxes set around the area, or to loaded into all manner of belts, bags, and quivers just waiting to be strapped on.

Before Pyrrha’s first live-fire exercise, however, Ren wanted to demonstrate how Fae opponents would be using firearms themselves, exchanging his usual sickles for two “Shredders,” Fae-style SMGs.

“The first thing you need know is, except for heavy weapons like Hailstorm cannons or extreme long-distance weapons like Shardslingers and Farslingers, Fae tend to prefer shooting on the move, and most can shoot quite accurately and survive getting shot at also,” Ren said as he loaded one of his guns with a clip.

He dashed towards some training dummies, shredding their canvas coverings with short, accurate burts. He maneuvered around their cover and shot them from behind, slid on the ground to slip through tiny gaps and holes in defenses, even leaped off a ledge and fired the last of his clip in mid-air.

“Predicting your enemies movements and firing where they will be in a second is a helpful skill in lower ranks, and absolutely vital as you move up,” he said as landed, pulled out his second shredder and loaded them both.

“The second is that, thanks to our biology and engineering advancements, dual-wielding guns isn’t as stupid and dangerous idea to us Fae as it is to you humans,” Ren said as he adjusted the stocks, shortening them and fitting them over his forearms. “In fact, it’s actually quite popular inside the Pits, both as a stylistic choice and a significant combat advantage.”

He calmly crossed a bridge lined with target dummies, both guns blazing and ripping apart targets on both sides, casually bending his arms further and more dramatically than any human could to shoot behind his back, over his shoulders, and even under his leg.

“And the third and arguably the most important is: we Fae are far, far more mobile and agile than any of you are right now, or will be in the immediate future, so do consider any way your enemies can outmaneuver and flank you,” Ren said as he holstered one gun, replaced the empty clip with a drum magazine.

He moved towards one of the “bases” in the arena, a tight cluster of trees with platforms rising up two stories above him, a small sniper’s nest on the third. Several dummies stood behind cover, well-protected from any shots angled upwards, free to pump Ren full of bullets if they were actually armed and alive.

Then Ren started jumping from branch to branch, running up and along the trunk and the walls, swinging from the ropes or running on top of the ziplines, raining metal hell down on all of them from above and behind.

Ren zipped down from the base, gracefully landing back down to the ground. He unloaded the empty drum, turned over to Pyrrha and Weiss said, “Generally speaking, never forget to look up. Now, any questions or concerns?”

“None,” Pyrrha said, smiling as she put on her helmet. “Let’s get shooting.”

“Oh yeah!” Nora cried as she shot out of her seat. “We about to get all John Woo up in here!”

Note: Aside from the tendency for special ammo and the like to deteriorate over time, to the point of being unusable or dangerous to use, it’s also expensive to produce, and capable of causing severe injuries to folks and damage to property that oftentimes require urgent, specialized treatment, thus the many hurdles to legally acquiring and using them. Due to the nature of the Keeper and her team, restrictions are a bit looser and relatively easier, but not by much.

The shardslinger is the non-elemental version of the farslinger. Though they use many similar designs, the key difference is in the loading mechanism and the insides of the barrels, with the latter being specially treated and much, much, MUCH more expensive, to be able to handle the severe wear of high-power elemental mediums. It’s not unknown for substandard barrels to simply explode or melt during stress testing.

This chapter was coded “Shooty Shooty Bang Bang.” The next chapter is coded “John Woo-ing It Up In Here.”