#but she has to live with herself because of course SHE got revived

[lesbiantrish]

im so normal about thalia and jasons relationship (no im not)

[all4yoi]

𝒮ins 𝑜f 𝒯he ℳanor ۰ sjy

𝑔ardener!jake x 𝓁ady!reader ⚹ cw. set in 1880s, angst??, fluff, mentions of arrange marriage, love at first sight??, jake is down bad, sunghoon punches jay lol, heeseung mentioned grahh, theyre just rlly inlove idk, toxic family kinda, not proofread

sypnosis: Y/N L/N, a lively aristocrat, finds herself in love with Sim Jaeyun, the estate gardener. Their secret romance defies societal expectations, jeopardizing both their reputations and family honor as they navigate the treacherous waters and the consequences of cross-class affection.

or in short, wherein Sim Jaeyun finds himself longing for the infamous nobleman's daughter the longer he works for their estate.

notes, word count is like 5.7k haha, i wrote this for 3 nights, anyway i rlly loved writing this! if you like it to, please reblog~

The day you were welcomed to the world, your mother has always told you how your grandmother washed your face with water that had rose petals in the basin with it. She had said that doing so will grant the baby beauty.

You weren't sure if that moment had any connection on your adoration to roses now that you've grown to a fine young lady. Usually, a smile would be adorned on your face whilst you stood admiring the roses in one corner of the huge garden you and your grandmother had built over the years, if it weren't for the fact that the roses were wilting now.

Their usual bold red color has gone darker and its petals drier. You could revive them, obviously, but you didn't know how. Your grandmother died three days ago and throughout your life, she had taught you everything you needed to know in gardening.

Now it looks like she forgot to teach you one thing. She was always quite forgetful.

Two warm hands placed themselves on your shoulders.

"Do not fret, my darling. Your father has already secured the assistance of someone who will restore your roses to their former beauty." came the voice of your mother as she squeezed your shoulders reassuringly.

You stood unresponsive before turning to look at her.

"Thank you, mama."

"He shall arrive by noon tomorrow. Let us return to the manor; it is growing rather dark."

With that, you turned your back on the wilting roses and walked away. Atleast, by tomorrow, one of the two things you loved and lost will be brought back. Hopefully.

-

"You got a job with the L/N's? That's huge! What will you be doing there?" Sunghoon, a friend of Jake's questioned eagerly.

Jake patted his trousers, removing unwanted dust that had clung on to him whilst he prepared everything he needed.

"Well, just some gardening, of course. That's what I was told. That's what I do for a living." he answered briefly before putting his sling bag over his shoulder.

Sunghoon scrunched up his nose, "That sounds a bit dull, even though I've expected it, but good luck! I'll see you around!" he says as he pushes his friend by the shoulders and jogging away from him.

Jake huffed and began his journey to the L/N Manor.

The walk was rather peaceful, greeting acquaintances he meets along the way and helping some when he notices they need one.

Looking up the sky, Jake came to an abrupt stop before coming up in a sprint.

He said he was to arrive at noon, and noon was approaching much sooner than he planned. He supposes it was because of the constant helping hand he had lent towards the people he came across with.

He should really stop doing those at the wrong time.

-

"You are tardy, young man. You should consider yourself fortunate that only Lady Y/N is waiting. The Earl and Countess are presently engaged in their duties elsewhere." An elderly housemaid nags, tutting disapprovingly at the sweating young man infront of her.

"I'm terribly sorry, really am." Jake spoked in between pants, he saw the housemaid's glare soften before he was urged inside as the elderly woman led him towards the back of the manor.

Jake could only gape at the size of the house, oh what he would do to live in a house like this.

His mouth only widened at the sight of a large garden where he was now walking into, the elderly woman still leading him somewhere secluded.

He spun around but continued to walk, admiring the scenery infront of him. There were various of colorful flowers like tulips, pansies, marigolds, lilies.. everything. He could spot a greenhouse in one corner, a pond in another, a fountain in the middle, and a maiden standing over a bush of.. wilting roses.

Guess he found his job.

"Lady Y/N, the gardener has arrived. Should you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to summon me."

And with that, Jake was left alone with the Earl's only child and daughter.

"Pray excuse my tardiness, m'lady. I was detained by.. an unforeseen matter." he spoke softly.

Turning around, you were met with big brown eyes staring right back at you. If you had noticed the way they widened, you didn't mention it.

Eyeing him up and down, you studied his appearance. He was dressed in beige trousers and a white linen shirt with its sleeves folded up until his elbows, he wore a brown sling bag and a small black beret sat on top of his rather long black hair.

Father would've nagged him for that.

"M'lady?" his voice was rather attractive, you noted. It suited his face.

"Pardon me, I was under the impression that you would be somewhat older." you sent a small smile as he scratched his nape.

"Ah well-"

"Please don't misunderstand me! I am delighted to be speaking with someone of my own age... You are of similar age to myself, aren't you?"

Jake broke into a wide smile, biting his lower lip as he chuckled. The heavy load on his shoulders seemed to have been lifted. You weren't like those.. pardon him for saying, brats, that he had worked with from the past.

So far in his life, Jake has encountered two noble families (your family being the third), considered that he was the grandson of the greatest gardener in town.

The Baron's twin daughters spoke in this shrilly voice as they constantly nagged him for cutting the stems of their flowers when he had only wanted the plant to absorb more water properly. He had been sacked the same day.

Meanwhile the Viscount's daughter only flirted with him any chance she got and when he had rejected her politely and respectfully (he didn't want to lose his job and ruin someone's reputation, also because he wasn't intrested), she bawled and at the end, he was fired and was forever banned from their manor. Not like he's planning on coming back anyway.

So seeing you with pure kindness and innocence written all over you, gave him a bit of hope that you'd be better than the previous daughters he had dealt with.

"Yes, I am, m'lady. I am Sim Jaeyun. Please, do call me Jake." he bowed his head lightly before stepping forward, now standing side by side with the pretty maiden. He eyed the roses, some were dying, some were already dead.

"My grandmother passed away four days ago; though you may already be aware of this. She and I planted these roses together, but since her funeral, they have begun to wilt. I am at a loss as to how to restore their former beauty." you spoke softly, brows furrowing as you crouched down and caressed one rose that was still of color and beauty.

Looking up at the attractive boy, you sent him a genuine smile.

"I do hope you can assist me, Sim Jaeyun."

"Do not worry, my lady; it would be the last thing I'd do."

-

The next day, despite the usual bright sky being covered with dark rain clouds, Jake had a small smile on his face as he began his journey to the manor he'd be working in for the next following months.

Not only was he going to take care of the roses, but he was also offered the job of maintaining the garden's beauty, regardless of its heavy responsibility he did not think twice in accepting the offer, maybe it was the pay that made him accept or maybe it was the simple love he had for what he does.

Upon arriving at the manor, he was immediately led towards the garden by a different maid this time.

Jake skipped over towards the rose bushes and began to do his work. He had noticed that you were nowhere to be found, he had atleast expected to see you hanging around in the garden.

An hour has passed and he was now tending on the marigolds, admiring its beauty and sprinkling it with some water.

He felt a drop of water on his eyebrow, then another on his nose. It was starting to rain.

Jake didn't know why his first thought was to run to the greenhouse when he was much more closer to the manor's backdoor. He followed his gut, and now here he was, stuck in the greenhouse as the rain echoed inside.

"Mr. Sim?"

Turning around abruptly, he was met with your wide eyes staring back at him.

You were wearing a custom made dress in a shade of light blue, it fell down until your shoes weren't visible. Your hands were covered in dirt as you stood infront of the tomatoes.

"Lady Y/N! How delightful to see you!" he greeted with a smile before it fell as realization dawned to him.

He walked closer to you, his eyes scanning your form. Now that he was closer, he could see some stains of dirt littered on your neck down to your clothed torso.

"May I ask what brings you here?" he questioned, looking at the tomatoes on a basket before averting his gaze back to you.

"I was simply attending to the tomatoes. This is how I pass the time, as there is little to occupy me within the estate." your soft voice could kill millions, he thinks to himself. He takes a handkerchief from his trousers and held out his hand.

"Do you mind if I..?" you stared at his hand and shook your head, bringing your softer hands against his.

He began wiping away the dirt, trying his hardest not to look up and stare at your face. Jake knew that you were fairly beautiful, but he was already crossing the line of holding your hand and tending to you.

For goodness sake, you have your own personal maid who's job is to do this!

"I did not anticipate the rain today; I came here straight away upon finishing my breakfast." you had explained, looking up at the clear ceiling of the structure and watching the rain drops fall.

Jake dropped your now clean hands gently before walking towards his discarded bag on the ground. "Here, I have a coat in my bag. You may drape it over your head and return to the warmth of the estate. It will be far more comfortable there than it is out here."

"And what of yourself? You're not intending to remain out here, are you?" Jake gaped at you, his mouth opening and closing as he swallowed down the lump in his throat.

Having no response from the young man, you added, "I shall remain here with you until the rain lessens somewhat."

"But-"

"I insist."

So with that, the two of you stayed together sharing stories of your own experiences, sharing laughter, and slowly building a bond.

As the rain slowly calmed down, Jake had thrown his jacket over your head and led you out the greenhouse. His arms were still holding on to the jacket to keep it from slipping off whilst your head was practically shoved in his chest.

The sounds of your laughter were silenced with the pitter patter of the rain as you two ran back to the manor.

"Lady Y/N! I was searching for you—oh dear! We must get you cleaned up before your mother arrives and sees you in such a state. Come along, quickly!" your personal maid whines as she nearly rips you away from the gardener's arm, not sparing him a glance as she took the jacket off your head and on to the floor.

You spared him a glance over the shoulder of your maid, smiling and mouthing 'thank you.' Jake was quite sure that you've brought his heart with you as you walked away from him.

That day, you learned that Jake had a deep connection to nature and craftsmanship. He was undeniably refreshing compared to the suitors your mother would force you to spend time with. He was authentic, extremely kind, and he longed for a life defined by passion and purpose rather than societal expectations. Just like you did.

-

For the past few days, Jake had been visiting the manor to tend on the roses and everything else. Everytime he did, you'd be sitting somewhere far yet near enough to see what he's doing. He would never admit it, but everytime he woke up in the morning, all he'd ever think about is seeing you.

If you weren't in the greenhouse, you'd sometimes be under a tree and have a book with you, maybe a tea, or your white feline friend, and sometimes it was just you and your pretty face.

Occasionally you'd even approach him and crouch down beside him, just watching the way his hands work on your precious roses. Maybe even share hidden caresses of each others hands as you two worked together on some days.

Today was one of those days.

"Do you see what I have done?" Jake spoke, gesturing over the basket filled with dead roses and leaves. "I have removed the roses that were wilting, dying, and drying. These were afflicted with diseases that might spread and endanger the remaining roses."

"I have also removed some of the weeds growing around the bush, as they might be competing for the nutrients that should be going to the roses themselves."

He only received an understanding nod and a small smile in return. During these moments, he had to hide the shake in his hands, not because of fear. He was overwhelmed, you were too pretty to be true.

Pausing in his words, he stared at your face. Memorizing each feature.

Then suddenly, he found his fingers tucking a fallen strand of hair behind your ear. You merely stared back at him, letting him caress you.

He was developing a crush on someone he knows he shouldn't. He'd be banished not only of this job, but possibly his house too. He knows it's impossible for an Earl to do that, but he'd be able to financially ruin him and his grandfather that would cause them to leave their warm abode.

As much as he wanted to pursue you, he could not, and he (somewhat) already accepts that. So, he'd stand firm and do the job he's told to do.

"It appears that you two are finding much pleasure in each other's company."

You immediately stood up and dusted your dress to get rid of the dirt that had clung to it.

"Mama.. I was only-"

"Inside the manor, Y/N, we have guests coming, and your father is seeking your presence." she cooly said, her cold eyes staring straight at the gardener who was now also standing.

The girl simply nodded, sparing a quick glance at Jake before walking back to the manor.

"Your ladyship." Jake bowed his head before meeting the eyes of the tall woman.

"I trust you have not forgotten your duties. You are to attend solely to the flowers; becoming familiar with my daughter is not part of what my husband has entrusted you with, am I correct?" she raised an intimidating brow at him.

"You are absolutely correct, my lady. I assure you it will not happen again."

"I hope so, especially now that she is to be wed to the Duke's son. You are dismissed for today. Good day." and before he could even answer, the tall woman turned her back on him and walked away.

Jake felt his world come crashing down.

As he picked up his gardening tools he couldn't stop the tightening in his chest, he knew he had no right to feel this way. He was a gardener, you were an Earl's daughter.

You'd be better off with the son of a Duke. You won't gain anything from marrying a gardener, someone who cuts plants for a living and lives off of minimum wage.

Closing his eyes briefly, he exhaled and slapped himself in the chest in an attempt to get rid of its tightness.

As he said, he'd stand firm and do the job he's told to do.

And that is to tend to the roses, and not become familiar with the only daughter of the L/N's.

-

"What has you feeling so low?"

"God! I didn't expect to see you awake gramps." the sudden voice of his grandfather surprised him so much that he had accidentally slammed the door of their home so loud.

"And I'm not feeling low, merely fatigued, that's all." he added and dropped his bag on a stool before taking a bread from their kitchen.

His grandfather squinted his eyes at him before clearing his throat, he opened his newspaper before reading out loud.

"Lee Heeseung, son of the Duke, is reported to be betrothed to Y/N L/N, daughter of the Earl."

"Gramps, you should go to bed. You need to rest; why are you out here?"

His grandfather merely tutts, shaking his head and sighing. "Don't tell me you have become enamored with the daughter of an Earl?" his strained voice grumbled out.

Jake clicks his tongue and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I have not. What made you come up with that conclusion?" he asks, now looking at his grandfather.

"Don't look at me like that." he muttered.

"Like what, son?"

"Like you understand how I feel, as though you pity me." he replied, his eyes turning glassy.

His grandfather sighed, taking a sip of his coffee and gasping loudly after. "I would prefer not to have my grandson's head presented to me by the Earl one random morning. You ought to know better, Jaeyun."

Jake huffed in annoyance, chewing aggressively on his bread.

"I cannot help it! And it is not as though I could do anything about it. She is.. after all, to be wed soon." he spoke with his mouth full of bread.

"To a duke's son too.." he silently added before walking away and to his room.

The old man sighs, taking an old photograph he always kept on his chest pocket. He stared longingly at the girl in the picture who was smiling widely, a rose tucked on her ear.

Jake covered himself in his thin blanket, staring at the ceiling. There was no denying that he held affection towards you. You, who was a free spirit that was a stark contrast to the rigid expectations of the society and constraints he had experienced throughout his life. He had never met anyone like you—curious, admiration towards anything, and your willingness to engage with him and his work.

You made him feel seen and valued, something he rarely feels in the society you both lived in. You didn't care about money, you weren't disgusted by him when he touched you, you didn't push him away.

He loved you dearly, yet it was nearly impossible to have you as his.

-

"Papa, I do not wish to marry just yet, I beg you!" you exclaimed as soon as the Duke and his son has left your estate.

Your father merely glared at you over his shoulder before completely facing you. "You will marry! You should be grateful that they insisted on coming here rather than us having to go their estate!"

"But—why? You and Mama promised you would grant me a few more years after my 18th before arranging my marriage!" you argued, nearly in tears.

From behind you, your mother's nose flared in rage.

"Do not think we are unaware of your growing relationship with the gardener! My God, what would people say?" you turned to her, your eyes wide in shock.

"Wha-"

"Everyone in this estate has been observing you both and has not failed to tell us when something prosperous happens between you both. You are marrying the Duke's son, and that is final." your father walks away, leaving you with tear stained eyes as you hear your mother's heels click as she too, walks away.

Ever since that day, Lee Heeseung has begun to make his presence known at L/N Manor by visiting frequently.

Jake still had to work, your mother insisted that he shouldn't be sacked for her own reasons. Although, Jake already knew that she only wanted to rub the reality that he wouldn't be picked over a Duke's son in his face.

Everyday he came over to do his duties on the garden, you'd still be there, but this time with a tall handsome man beside you with your arms linked with him.

You'd still be sat under the tree, but there would be a man beside you with his arm around your waist. He'd still see you in the greenhouse, but instead of gushing over the fruits you've planted recently to him, it would be towards Lee Heeseung now.

Despite all of that, he continued his work until the roses he was tending to were now healthy and beautiful again. His work was now done, he had no more reason to keep coming back on the estate's garden.

Today was his last day. Although the Earl disliked him a lot now, he was paid such high amount for his last paycheck.

Maybe this was their way on telling him to move on and never show his face to them again.

As he was bidding his farewell to the beautiful garden, he was startled by a voice calling out his name. The voice so soft and familiar, his heart beat increased immediately at the sound.

"My lady.. If they were to see me- if they were to witness you conversing with me.." he looked over your shoulder as he stuttered, his heart beating too fast for it to be healthy.

"Come along with me."

"But-"

"I order you." Jake's eyes widened before he nodded.

He followed you, looking over his shoulder in nervousness. He was glad to talk to you and be in your presence once more without the Duke's son beside you, despite the risk of being seen with you- he'd gladly take any consequences (not really) just so he could see you for maybe the last time ever.

You led him inside the greenhouse and when the door closed, you turned to face him. Your former stern face was now worried and in sorrow.

"In three days' time, they are to host my engagement ball with Lord Heeseung." Jake furrowed his brows, he didn't want to know any of this. He had hoped you ordered him to come with you to bid your farewell or throw him a hug.

"My lady, you are aware that it would be most unsuitable for you to extend an invitation to me." he whispered as if someone other than you would hear.

"I am aware, let me talk." he shut his mouth real quick.

"I have little affection for this marriage; I intend to escape on the day of my engagement party." Jake wanted to jump in the air and scream in joy when the words processed in his mind.

He held back and tilted his head, looking to his side. "I understand, my lady, but surely you recognize that it is impossible? With everyone in attendance at the party, there is no way..."

Your frustrated sigh made cut him off. He gulped, he could already see where this is leading, and he doesn't know whether he's up to it or not.

"That is where you come in," you say, stepping closer. "I beg for your help. I am sure.. you would like to, would you not?" his face softened as he felt the warmth of your hand upon his cheek.

He inhaled sharply, his hand coming on top of yours as he too stepped closer. "I do, trust me. However, do not expect success from me."

The nod you responded with filled him with warmth all over, and with his heart controlling him, he pressed his lips to yours. Your lips was what he expected it to feel, soft and warm against him as you both moved in sync. It was full of passion, love, and comfort.

Pulling away, he rested his forehead against yours, his hands now on your waist.

"In three days time." he whispered.

"I shall wait for you." and just like he did a while ago, you pressed your lips against his once again.

-

Sunghoon stared at his friend as if he had grew two more heads. He was crouched down on the ground with Samuel (their small pig) who was drinking his water on a steel bowl beside him.

Meanwhile, Jongseong rested his dirty hands on his hips, looking at Jake with an amused expression.

"Allow me to reiterate your words," Jongseong said with amusement. "You wish for us to assist you in arranging Lady Y/N's escape in two days' time? How amusing." He scoffed and laughed.

Jake groaned, kicking the grass on his feet. "Do not jest! I am incredibly serious." he furrowed his brows.

"You can not be serious. And then what? She escapes and we face imprisonment? Are you listening to yourself, Jaeyun?" Sunghoon finally spoke, standing up from his position.

“I assure you, I am quite earnest in this matter,” Jake said with a gentle, resolute tone, his voice betraying his weariness at trying to persuade his friends. “I am relocating at her behest, and I would go to any lengths for her.”

He paused, casting a resigned glance at his friends. "Yesterday, we shared a kiss. Is that not sufficient evidence of my intent? Must I then demonstrate my affection before you in a more explicit manner?”

The three of them fell into a moment of silence. Sunghoon, visibly distressed, ran his fingers through his hair, while Jongseong, deep in thought, chewed his lip in quiet deliberation.

Sunghoon scratched his head aggressively before speaking. “Doesn’t your grandfather have a secluded cabin tucked away somewhere? You could take her there—no one would be able to find you.”

Jake looked up, his eyes lightening up before shaking his head.

“Yes, he does, but getting there requires a thirty-minute boat ride. Unfortunately, we no longer have a boat, which is why gramps no longer insists we live there.” he responded, obviously crestfallen.

Sunghoon looked down, muttering a small 'oh.'

Jongseong looked at both his companions, inhaling and looked at Jake straight in the eye. “Actually.. my late father had a boat. Mother no longer values it, so you could make use of it.”

Jake smiled widely, thanking both of his friends. Now all he had to do was tell his grandfather.. and make sure your escape would be successful.

To say that he was nervous was an understatement, he knew that the moment he utters the words "help" and "escape" his grandfather would deny immediately.

So here he was, eating supper across his grandfather who looked like he was getting chased down by a bear with how fast he was devouring his food.

"Whacha staring at for kid? Eat." the old man grumbled, pointing at his untouched plate.

Jake cleared his throat, “Gramps, the cabin you have—would it still be livable?”

His grandfather looked up from his plate, raising a brow. "'Course it is, I expect so. Left that ruddy cabin clean before I had to move here to take care of 'ya." the younger merely nodded.

The old man leaned back on his chair, exhaling. "What are you planning on, Jaeyun?" he asked, squinting his eyes at him.

"Lady Y/N requires my assistance in.. escaping her engagement ball in two days' time." Jake whispered, playing with the soup infront of him. He shut his eyes, ready for a lecture when he heard the seat of his grandfather moan against the floorboard.

Jake sighed in defeat. Even though he would have Jongseong's father's boat, he would not have the key to the cabin. It's not like he could keep the lady cold outside or in a middle of a river.

Before he could stand up and retreat to his room to come up with a new plan, his grandfather dragged a chair beside his and sat down. The older man's wrinkle filled hands dropped a key and an old photograph on the table.

“I admire your bravery, son. Had I been less cowardly, I would have done exactly as you have in the past.” he looked at his grandfather, who merely gestured towards the photograph.

Jake's nimble fingers took the old and worn out paper, staring directly at a woman who had a rose tucked in her ear. She looked oddly like the woman who has his heart in her hand, he thinks.

"That is Adelaide L/N. Lady Y/N's late grandmother." his grandfather whispered longingly, smiling slightly at the sight.

“What we had… was something society would not view in a favorable light. Thus, I let her go, despite her pleas for me to take her far away so we could live the life we desired together.” His grandfather sighed deeply. “I was overwhelmed by fear of scandal, and it overshadowed my love for her.”

"Gramps.."

“So, I will not tell you to stop. But I will urge you to be cautious. I have told you once, and I tell you again: I do not wish to receive my grandson’s head on a platter,” the old man said sternly, then patted his grandson’s shoulder and gave him a firm side hug.

Smiling gratefully at his grandfather, he leaned on to his side as he looked at the photograph still before taking the key.

Now all he had to do was take you away.

-

The day has finally come and so far it was going pleasantly, for your parents atleast. Everyone in the ballroom was dressed beautifully, congratulating you and Heeseung for your engagement. They were all convinced that you both were inlove, which was far from the truth.

You had been at it for hours, greeting guests and dancing. You had started to lose hope, maybe Jake realized that what you asked for was incredibly stupid and risky.

Just as you had fully lost all your hope, a sudden shout from outside took everyone's attention. It continued until everyone was now crowding over the entrance of the venue.

You gulped, it was now or never.

"Excuse me." you had tried to pry Heeseung's arm away from you, but he held on to you tightly. With furrowed brows, he looked down on you. "Where are you going? It is dangerous to go wandering around alone."

"I truly only wish to retire to the powder room."

"If you insist. Please, be careful." you only nodded as he finally let you go. You practically rushed to the comfort room, gathering your dress in your hands so that you would not trip.

Yesterday, you received a letter from Jake. Explaining what he had planned for today. You could nearly recite the whole letter if someone would ask you to for the many times you've reread the letter.

Dear Y/N,

Everything is set. I will not disclose in this letter what I have planned entirely in case this letter falls on the wrong hands. On the day of your engagement ball, my friends will create a disturbance outside the venue to draw attention away from you so that you could flee without anyone's watchful eyes. I understand your concerns, but please know I did not coerce them into this; they insisted, saying it was something they had long wished to do. Should this distraction fail, simply excuse yourself to the powder room, but enter the men's; there is a large window there through which I will be waiting. Once you are out, we will escape together to a place where no one will find us.

I know it is not yet appropriate to express such sentiments, but I must tell you in advance. If all fails, remember that my love for you is unwavering, I would give up my life for you if I had to. I am deeply grateful for your trust.

Yours forever,

SJY

Entering the men’s powder room, you felt a sense of relief when you found it empty; any unwanted company would have made the situation quite awkward.

Just as he said in the letter, there was a huge window and through it, you could see Jake who's worried eyes widened at the sight of you. You rushed towards the pane of glass, unlocking it and sliding it up.

Jake helped you climb over the window, and once your feet touched the ground the door of the powder room burst open. There stood Lee Heeseung, his brows furrowed as he looked between you and Jake.

Grabbing Jake's hand, you made a run for it as you both ignored Heeseung scream for you to come back.

You both continued to run, repeatedly tripping and looking over your shoulders every few seconds. The grip you had on each other was tight, no intentions on letting go.

Finally, you reached a huge lake and a figure waved you both over. “It’s all set up. You two should hurry; Sunghoon just got escorted out. The fool actually punched me in the face,” said the taller man, gesturing towards the boat and indicating his eye, which was beginning to swell with a bruise.

Jake nodded, patting the unfamiliar man's shoulder before guiding you to sit on the boat. He boarded with you and pushed the boat away with a canoe. Before the boat could go far, Jake spoke.

“Thank you so much, Jongseong, really. Please tell Sunghoon that I owe him my life!” he shouted, which earned a stern glare from Jongseong.

He merely sent a thumbs up at his friend and a salute to you before running away to avoid getting you two caught.

Jake now faced you, a smile on his face.

“I scarcely believed you would truly follow through.” you whispered, bringing your knees closer to your chest. The boy across you chuckled, biting his lip, overwhelmed with nerves and joy.

“I told you, I would do anything for you. Even if its the last thing I’d ever do."

[haunted-xander]

One thing I really love about Marcille is that despite her deep fear of outliving her loved ones, she never, never let's it get in the way of her making bonds and getting close to people. She loves deeply and strongly and she doesn't try to supress that! She embraces it wholeheartedly! Her friends are so important to her and she's not ashamed or scared of it!

Actually, out of all the characters, I'd say Marcille is one of the ones who care the most about bonds of friendship. She's angry at Namari for leaving after Falin got eaten and holds that grudge up until Namari helps defeat the Undine (and therefore having 'proven' herself). She's shocked and upset when Chilchuck explains his policy of payment and that he's not really here bc of friendship. She puts a lot of focus on the party being a Group Of Friends rather than a team of hired hands dedicated to the specific role(s) they are paid for. Which of course makes sense since she joined the party to begin with because of her friend! To her, the party has always been 'Falin and her brothers' friend group' rather than a hired party. (A little reminder: Marcille was the most recent member when the story starts. She never met the previous members who left so the team of Laios, Falin, Chilchuck, Namari and 'Shuro' is what she's always known it as.)

When she becomes dungeon lord, the thing that manages to snap her out of the Winged Lions grasp is the earnest care and love her party is showing her. Literally 'power of friendship'ed their way through the Lions hold and gave her her clarity of mind back.

And!!!! At the end of the feast right before they're about to attempt to revive Falin again, she says!!! this!!!!

She's ready to accept that Falin might not come back, even after everything. The entire story she's been running away from death, from having to outlive her loved ones (in this case: Falin). But here she is, ready to let her stay dead if this last attempt doesn't work.

And it's not giving up. It's realizing that she did all she could, and that it's okay. Because she still got to meet and be friends with Falin. That time with her might be just a speck in the length of life Marcille will have to live still, but it still happened and that's what matters.

It's not about escaping death; it's about cherising the moments before it.

[mixelation]

reborn au plot.... stuff. has plasticity spoilers. also canon characters die!

i said this recently, but i don't have much in the way of an overarching story after tori's, like, 17. part of this is just that i haven't made some major decisions about the premise (like what orochimaru is up to) and part of it is that...... what problems would even challenge these characters. like we have a bunch of weird interpersonal shenanigans but like obviously one appeal of this au is giving tori opportunities for Feats.

so i decided on a Feat.

i think as an ongoing looming threat, i might have some petty proxy war stuff going on. no one wants to reignite a multi-nation shinobi war, but everyone is scrambling to grab things for themselves, especially since konoha just like.... stole from iwa??? ame burned down half of kusa? oto-nin are just? in the wind???? someone probably hires orochimaru. people are out trying to snatch jinchuriki left and right.

so i was thinking thusly: one of the bigger nations captures fuu for the seven tails. ame sends an akatsuki pair which includes tori. somehow, the situation goes completely to shit. multiple nations are involved. the seven tails is released, killing fuu. everyone wants this weapon and they don't care if they had to kill a young girl to get it.

akatsuki's solution is that they should simply control all weapons. tori knows this will fall apart. she also knows that, even if she wrestles the raging seven-tails into a container and gets around the multiple nation's people ALSO vying to capture it for themselves, and she takes it back to konoha, this also solves nothing. and so she thinks: if no one can resist the temptation of a weapon, then i will remove the weapon.

this is the part that's a pretty big plasticity spoiler, but also a few people guessed it so i don't mind sharing. basically, the shinigami doesn't like tori because he can't have her. she's a weird, foreign thing that shouldn't be there. functionally, she can't die. she can be irreparably maimed, so she still has a healthy fear of most life-and-death situations, but she technically can't die. (she's unsure if this still applies in this universe in the earlier parts, but we'll let her figure it out eventually.)

the side-effect of this is that she has more bullshitty leeway with summoning the shinigami than other people. it can't take her soul so it will take things around her more indiscriminately, so she's not going to use it if her allies are around. but if she's fed up and doesn't care if everyone dies? fuck it, we're going to kill the tailed beast itself.

i want how this to be accomplished to be kind of metal and/or gross. you know that scene in plasticity where tori is simultaneously herself AND the shinigami and she's confused? like that but they're eating the seven-tails.

tori comes to later and the whole battlefield is dead, from the shinobi to the plants and wildlife. whatever other akatsuki was with her is either some probationary schmuck, a canon character who got separated, or hidan-but-he's-not-revived-yet (i'm leaning towards this last one). at first i was like "how does she explain she killed a tailed beast" to other people but THEN i decided

tori realizes she's done something she should not have been able to do. she's just created another weapon people will want to use. so she gets up and goes home, and she lies.

the seven tails killed everyone and ran off. yes, even the forest. even the little bugs in the trees. the soil is irradiated. i guess it was pissed off. how did i live? aren't i a barrier specialist..........?

and then of course everyone goes out looking for the tailed beast. like, you can't just have a wild bijuu running around!! but they can't find it. it's nowhere. it will never be found because it no longer exists.

probably at some point she'll tell someone, most likely itachi and/or deidara. hidan might confront her about it. but i just love the idea of her getting a major feat and then immediately denying it.

also she may or may not decide to repeat the experiment

[generalissimomayhem]

(oh god I gotta tag these mfers again don't I?)

Uuuuuhhhh pretty self explainatory board but I do got l o r e to share:

USED TO BE HUMAN (AND HOW THEY BECAME WHAT THEY ARE NOW)

-Abducius and Exael share a relatively similar story of origin (almost the same as Pinhead, the character that Exael was based of). Unlike Abducius, Exael never came to terms or a developed a sense of enjoyment over what happened to him and what he does for a living.

-Izanami was the camarographer of a modeling agency. She used to be constantly abused by her peers due to her appearence. Was the victim of an accidental death. One day they went too far with their tasteless pranks and while these people didn't kill her immediately, she did die from he injuries and so she swore she would get them and make them look as ugly as they considered her.

-Yog used to be a normal, regular child with a human mother. That was until her mother was brutalized by a vampire. The vampire, seeing the child, decided to spare him by turning him into one of his kind. Of course, Yog doesn't remember any of this as he was just in that age of barely being able to speak. He has these mysterious glimpses and memories that he finds no explanation for.

-Lilith and Nyogtha were victims of murder by horde for different reasons. Nyogtha, was killed under suspicion of witchcraft/voodoo, she didn't only get killed but also got cut in many parts. To add insult to injury, her corpse got robbed by a scientist and was revived through unethical methods (as if exhuming and stealing her body wasn't bad enough), turning her into a flesh golem. Lilith does come from a lineage of witches, her mom is one. After being swindled and left in disgrace by an ex, she set herself on her mind to hex the guy (but didn't quite bring herself to do it). The guy started to experience bad luck and blamed it on Lilith. One day, while visiting her mother, along with Anazareth (they were already living in the apartment) a furious crowd came for her and her mother and the two got killed while Anazareth was out buying something. Anazareth, as a last resource, came to Yog and asked him to turn her into a vampire, which worked and now Lilith is a vampiress witch.

-Drugia used to be human a very, VERY long time ago, she was interested in the oniric world and the human mind, an intellectual that secretly feasted on these topics (secretly, because god forbid she, a lower class woman was ever literate). Eventually, she created a method that could allow her to really get into this metaphysical dream world, and it worked! It worked too well... She doesn't even remember when she started or stopped being a human, but that doesn't matter anymore, she trascended her body/humanity and was out of bounds with the human world, she could do whatever.

IMITATES HUMANS

Ah Puch has a very human looking body, but then you realize that he is more solid and way more heavy than a human, this is why he's such brickwall. It doesn't affect him, more than it, it helps him with his job.

Teutates, aside from his sharp teeth, green-ish skin and generally reptiloid appearence he has a very normal human anatomy, at least externally.

Yan Luo can adopt almost any shape that she wants, but she sticks to the usual. Anatomically speaking, she's very much conventionally human, except for the fact that she is very light and solid (no organs, no bones, nothing).

Anazareth is half human half demon. Got her demon side from her father while her mother was a regular human. She is way stronger than the average human, has more stamina too. Also, needs less sustenance, she doesn't eat a lot or as often but a complete meal can keep her going for a long while and sleep is reduced.

WERE NEVER HUMAN

Quachil is an angel but even then, the form she has now is not her final form.

Xezbet is a vague, evil entity that decided to steal the appearence of a medieval french monk during the 15th century.

Shub and Ishtar are corrupt godly figures more than anything, used to be nicer and ONLY caused famine/brought plagues when they were displeased or disrespected. Now, they just... do it because they can.

Chaugnar is a mysterious figure, an entity forgotten by time. Possibly came as a mockery to certain other figures throughout history, leading people astray with the premises of his cult and yet, humans still come to him.

Barbatos is a species of demon. Like Anazareth, displays superhuman strenght and stamina, but unlike her, he needs A LOT of food to keep going (since he burns it off constantly) and needs regular sleep.

Dagda is a scarecrow, a doll, looks vaguely human. Is only alive because of grieveous energy leftovers.

UNKNOWN

Orcus and Zoth... Both were speculated to be humans in the past but also, they don't truly possess any... indicatives that this might be the case. Maybe there could be a possibility Orcus was a human, but Zoth? They are blank, and Zoth doesn't even seem to remember much. Where could he come from?

[likeabxrdinflight]

I'm absolutely deranged over this sweeney revival and so sad it's closing because I think this might be the only iteration of the show where it's like. very obvious that this version of sweeney and mrs lovett are fucking. like that's pretty clear, right? in most renditions it's played like a largely unrequited thing, with mrs lovett attempting over the course of the show to get sweeney to love her despite the fact that he's utterly uninterested.

that was...that was not the case in this version. and the place where I think that becomes most apparent is actually in "a little priest," because I think this is where the transition takes place. prior to this the 2023 show is playing out broadly the same as usual, with mrs lovett focused primarily on getting sweeney to look at her for more than five seconds while sweeney is plotting his revenge. I'm not sure how annaleigh played it live, since I didn't get to see her take and haven't found any decent (publicly available) clips of her, but sutton made some interesting choices here where she's always got her hands hovering over sweeney but rarely does she actually touch him (this was most apparent to me during "my friends" and "wait"). it was like he was something she desperately wanted to hold but couldn't bring herself to yet. like he (or the tenuous bond between them) was made of glass and she was afraid to break him (and it).

that changes after "a little priest." because for the whole show up to that point, sweeney is, as in every production, completely uninterested in her. he seems to reject her advances, doesn't initiate much if any contact with her, and at most treats her as a business partner. but the second mrs lovett suggests her whole baking-people-into-pies scheme, that seems to change. suddenly he's holding her arms, pulling her into a dance, he grabs her face at one point- it was like this little flash of genuinely visible evil from her (which she normally tries to cover more than he does) suddenly attracts him in a way nothing she'd tried up 'til then had. and sutton as mrs lovett responds to this, and that seemed to be the motive behind her iteration of the character playing up the cannibalism humor and making all these jokes about who they could bake into pies. it's like she's suddenly gotten a dash of the affection from him she's been craving and now she's going to do everything possible to keep him laughing, to keep him focused on her and not the judge.

from that point on in this version of the show, I think they're sleeping together. do I think sweeney ever truly falls in love with her? no of course not, that's entirely against the point of his character. but I do think this version of sweeney has more affection for her than other iterations have. more than any other production I've personally seen, this one presented them as a couple, a real partnership, to the point that "by the sea" reads less as another attempt at seduction and more as a legitimate proposal made from one established sexual partner to the other. (the acting choices here also make it.......................almost impossible that they're not fucking I mean she...there's this whole thing with her feet and his suspenders and it's so funny but there's no way. there's no way they weren't sleeping together, just trust me.) and all throughout that song he reacts with the usual sort of annoyance that you'd expect for the character, but there were a few times I'm sure he smiled a little, I was close enough to see it- and whether that was aaron breaking character a bit or a legitimate acting choice I have no idea- but either way it made him seem a little bit fond of her, even when he was irritated.

some people might not like this, since it does sort of go against what was the original intention in the script, but I think it adds another layer of tragedy to the ending if they were genuinely together. because they were so close. they were so close to having some kind of life together, some kind of happiness that wouldn't ever replace the life sweeney had lost, that wouldn't ever replace lucy or johanna, but it could have been a life. maybe even a nice one (minus the whole murdering-and-baking-people-into-pies thing). but it can't ever be because it was only ever happening under false pretenses. because mrs lovett lied. she almost had everything she wanted, she almost had him, but she could only get it because of that one lie, and she loses it all because of that lie too. and that's ultimately her tragedy.

[gonetoforks]

Introducing; my version of Rise’s Venus de Milo! (OUTDATED; adding the canon design for BM’s assistant!)

(she/her/thon/thons) She’s about 9 ft tall since she’s equally based off of Frankenstein, IDW Venus and the OG Venus de Milo. more info about her and her life under the cut! (Like, a lot more info, she’s been living in my head since last April) (She’s a year old and I’m only now revealing her info!) (HBD Venus!!)

Her Family in the Hidden City

Big Mama had her made by a scientist/patron of hers during the first 2 seasons as a synthetic competitor for her Battle Nexus, but after her change of heart in the S2 finale, she took thon in as her heiress and daughter to try and do something right for a change. It’s very hard for her. Her parenting style is a good balance of gentle and stern but she thinks praise is a good replacement for emotional vulnerability and it’s turned Venus into quite a megalomaniac. Venus just calls her “Mama” and BM calls her “Veedee” (If she calls thon “Venus,” thon’s in deep shit)

Time wise, after the movie she’s physically at age 1.5, 2 years old, though mentally thon’s about where Leo and Donnie are, 16. (Still very young, please keep in mind she is a child and has big eyes like the teenagers in the show, she’s just tall. If you sexualize her I will send you to the shadow realm. BEHAVE.)

Venus also sees the doctor that made her, Dr Shelly, as her father, and they’re quite close. She spent the first few weeks of her life in his home, mostly in his library where she filled her head with everything most people know intuitively. She often can recite information she has no memory of learning, these first few weeks were less like learning and more like remembering information but from no memories.

Venus’s closest friend & surrogate older sister is Jennika, who works as Big Mama’s assistant (and a fine artist!) under the codename “Frida.” The 2 spend most of their days on diplomatic missions in the Hidden City mafia underworld and managing/restructuring the Battle Nexus to be more ethical. Venus is a naturally studious academic who loves philosophy, literature, and of course, renaissance art, so adults tend to think she’s mature, but only Jennika really knows how naive she can be. Jennika misses her human family, so they’ve really latched onto each other.

She picked her name out herself. When thon was first revived, Shelly rushed up to her and almost addressed her with a name starting with V but stopped himself before he could say it in full. Changed his mind and said that he supposed that name probably wouldn’t fit right now. So she had a preference for a V name.

Thon’s Physiology

It’s quite the mystery how he did it, but the secret to Venus’s sentience is a machine that manages to convert any matter she digests into energy in the form of empyrean. This is why she was mostly kept a rapunzel-like secret for the first few months of her life before she had Jennika as a bodyguard. Nobody knows about her heart except herself, Jennika, Shelly and Big Mama.

If she bleeds or cries, it glows bright green, so she hates both because thon feels like she’s drawing attention to herself. She’s insecure about most of her organic parts anyway and pushes herself to appear stoney, inorganic and perfect. (The consequences of idolizing and wanting to emulate a literal goddess statue, skill issue) It’s not like her fears are completely unfounded though, she has no idea where Shelly got her dead body parts.

If she’s too stressed, the seams on her upper arms bleed and they fall off like a gecko tail. She kinda looks like the og Venus do Milo statue when that happens, it’s a bit gruesome.

To represent her need to balance the organic/inorganic parts of herself, thon’s biggest dreams vs realistic expectations for herself, her right hand is organic (and based off the 2012 turtles) while her left is robotic. (& made to look like big mama’s claws in her spider form)

Goals & wants

She wants to overthrow the council of heads and rule the Hidden City as president. (Through a democracy of course!) She sees them as ineffective and useless, she went to them during the Kraang invasion to tell them something needed to be done about the alien invaders but they did nothing and said to let the turtles handle it. She’s grateful everything turned out well but she still has a grudge against them and the way they run things. Big Mama thinks she’s silly and Jennika thinks she’s a mentally unwell, workaholic, megalomaniac but pizza supreme as her witness, thon’s gonna do it.

Thon wants to be a good, ethical leader/politician (oxymoronic, I know lmao) and sees the increasing amount of Battle Nexus estate Big Mama entrusts her with as practice for managing yokai society. She would love “the Good Place.”

She also wants to know more about Jennika and for her to reconcile with her father.

Venus’s arc

“Your life is your own, ok?!” She struggles with dehumanizing (de-turtle-izing?) herself because she believes it makes her greater, more fit to achieve her goals. When the fact that she’s a mortal, breathing, living being, that can’t possibly be anywhere near divine like thon thinks she needs to be hits her, she spirals. Thon desperately needs to learn that being imperfect is a necessary gift, that she is “the protagonist of her own life” and that you don’t need to be a great person to do great things, you just need to be a person.

She’s very studious and seen as intelligent and mature for her age, but when she’s put in real life situations after meeting her cousins, the turtles, she has to learn to to manage imperfections and embrace them.

She’s quite based off of MP100 and Barbie haha.

For this internal conflict I was inspired by how the original character’s depiction back in the 80’s was really,, dehumanizing? if that’s the right word? Misogynistic very much too. I find the message that; “no matter what other people think of you or what you think of yourself, you will never be anything more or less than a regular being” both comforting in itself and a neat subversion of the original VdM since one of my favorite aspects of Rise’s writing is how subversive it is.

I can’t wait to show you more of her! Esp how she interacts with the Mad Dogs!

Bonus; Design Details!

All the turtles have shape motifs; square, rectangle, circle, triangle, her’s is a Raindrop shape! Combined with her electric motifs she’s a bit of a storm cloud lol

The Turtles’s shells are s-shaped and follow the curvature of a human spine, I draw Venus’s shell really distorted and disproportionate to this since she’s inorganic.

Similarly, while the other turtles shells and plastrons are like boxes that contain their whole torsos, thon’s kinda just sits on top of her torso, where her plastron ends and her legs begin don’t line up. It started out as an anatomical error but i liked how it made her look distorted and off somehow. (Kinda gruesome, but it kinda helps her look like a bloated corpse, which is what she is aksjks) To be clearer, the difference between how the mad dogs’ shells/plastrons/bridges(sides) are attached to their bodies vs Venus’s is like the difference between a bodysuit and a t-shirt.

[lol-jackles]

Walker "The Quiet" review

The episode opens with Cordell and Geri happily bumping into walls while making out before Cordell leaves for work where he ends up bumping inside a runaway tractor trailer driven by a thief the rangers have been tracking for weeks.  James and Trey are also in the trailer though they're only there because Cordell had jumped into the moving trailer, which he claims was inspired by Trey's first case.  Trey doesn't want credit for Cordell's latest impulsive antic, but it all ends well when Cordell does a homerun slide into the baddie's face and just like that, we’re off to a good start.

5 months have passed to explain August’s growth spurt during the real world’s Hollywood strike that delayed Walker’s return by 11 months.  August now looks like a younger clone of the actor that played Sam Winchester’s adult son in the Supernatural finale, which means he has to be hired for the Supernatural revival as young Dean Winchester II. 

The Walker clan pus Geri and Ben are planning Cordell’s birthday with a party bus to a steak eating contest.  That of course gets jettisoned when Cassie Perez, a temp with the FBI, arrives at Ranger HQ to recruit Cordell, James , and Trey s help to help the FBI nab drug operatives.  August suggested moving the steak eating contest to the Walker ranch and just like that, birthday party back on.

But first, Cassie gifts Cordell a pair of alligator cowboy boots that I'm sure she clobbered the alligator herself during her 5-month stint in Florida, and brings Cordell back to Walker ranch for a surprise birthday lunch.   August yeets out of the birthday party early to go to high school senior parties, much to Cordell disappointment who then sneaks away from his own birthday party to look over the latest development of the serial killer Jackal case with Trey.  Hey, like father like son!   

Cordell and Trey gets busted by James' wife Kelly who immediately recognizes the killer's calling card, a set of jackal teeth.  She is upset to learn that the Jackal re-emerged during her re-wedding to James and demands Cordell and Trey to not tell James who is still haunted by the unsolved case.  Speaking of being haunted by the past, Stella and Liam commiserate over being forced to take another human life; Liam killing Clint when he invaded the ranch, Stella killing Witt when he invaded Geri’s house.  Liam assures Stella she will be fine with time. We learn that Witt initially survived the gunshot wound and escaped the house, only to die 2 miles away on the roadside.  The police consider the case closed, but we know it's unsolved as we never found out why he broke into Geri's house.

After a very busy day of taking down thieves, drug dealers, and a steak eating contest, it comes to a screeching halt into “the quiet”. Cordell and Geri spend some quiet quality time and Cordell admits fearing “the quiet” with a daughter at college living away from home and August looking forward to flying the coop.

Trey arrives to update Cordell on the Jackal case and asked him if it was really that bad when James worked on the case.  Flashback showing an unhinged James obsessing over the case, avoiding his family and to the horror of his wife, physically taking out his frustration on Cordell (third time we see Cordell being bumped against walls).  Trey asked if it was the depravity that got to James.  No, Cordell says, it was "the quiet" when the Jackal eluded James.

Besides the normal empty-nest angst by parents, Cordell is also a military veteran who operates at a different level than everyone else.  Veterans’ lows are civilians’ highs so veterans get bored very quickly and seek high risk hobbies or jobs.  Cordell’s job as a Texas Ranger helped fulfill that high risk need and serves as a distraction until a new reality threatens to bring back “the quiet” resulting from absences: his wife’s death and now his children leaving the nest.  Both Cordell and James hated “the quiet '' and Cordell vowed to catch the Jackel before “the quiet” comes back for James again.

Speculation #1: The Jackal heard about the James wedding and wants to mess with James by killing again. 

Side note: Cordell and Cassie discussing the Hawkshadow reboot sounds like the Walker Texas Ranger reboot i.e. "more grounded and focus on the family". I really need Cassie and Cordell to go undercover in a Hawkshadow convention.

My score: 8 out of 10, a solid start to the season with the quiet before the storm.

[androgynousblackbox]

Welcome to Hazbin Vale. 1 [Appleradio]

"Hello, hello, my dear listeners! Your dear radio host Alastor is here to give you, once again, the most warming welcome to your favorite station here in our splendid town of Hazbin Vale. It's truly quite a pleasure to being back on the air after that rather unfortunate murder that happened near the studio.

Yes, indeed, truly unfortunate that an unruly teenager didn't pick a better target to pick on late at night when some individuals want to just grab some milk at the gas station and had to live the consequences. But is exactly as they say, my friends; you reap what you saw and that night the scythe of death must have felt a little bit… impatient than usual.

But there's no need to worry about that! I am sure that the thirst for death has been quench for now and there won't be any other danger on the horizon. You see, I am just cursed with an unbearable optimism, dear listener, so I am sure that you will be going home without no worry or concern in your tender, warm, little hearts tonight. Back to your lovely families who all can let a sigh of relief because there is nobody outside watching through the window. Or are there? I would close the windows and keep the lights out, just to be safe.

Back again to our waste of youth, I mean, our dearly departed young delinquent, I think I saw their foot sticking out from behind the counter at the gas station when I pased this morning. The police must have been too busy picking up all the other pieces that they missed it! If any of our valiant police officers could take care of that so the whole body could be put underground that would be lovely. For the family, of course!

I actually tried to get some comment from the police chief Husk to give you all, but someone must have skipped on their greasy filled donuts breakfast this morning because the old man Husk just shush me away, insisting that they were already taking care of everything.

Truly, how rude is that? Has the police never heard about such a thing as freedom of press? Outrageous, I tell you that! But even though I could stay and argue for my civil rights, as I had every right to do, dear listener, I instead walked away to my radio tower while humming to myself our last hit of yesterday, "Murder on the dance floor!" I don't know why I got that particularly melody stuck in my head so much.

Oh, nevermind that. For whoever may care, or be morbidly curious about it, the service for the body will be tomorrow at 9 AM in our local church. Despite the many flaws of her offpring, his mother is a nice lady that knows to stay quiet when it's convenient for her, so please, send her my most sincere condolecencies if you happened to see her. I believe she was planning to move out of town right after putting her son to rest, as she told me herself this morning on my way here. Since of course I had to make sure that she was in a good state of mind and wasn't causing a ruckus trying to say to the police things she shouldn't have.

Poor woman. I can't imagine what it must feel like to have such a loss. The sense of relief to have one less mouth to feed can be overwhelming. She will surely be missed, whatever her name was!

In other less satisfying news, the universe truly has it's own way to balance everything because as soon someone was out, someone else is comming in. That is right, dear listener, while I was having my morning stroll I happened to hear all about our new resident in town that moved to the old abandoned house at the outskirt of everything. From what I could gather by the power of people's gossip, this man is a inventor who primarly makes toys and has made a considerable fortune out of it. How nice.

He plans to revive the toy store that had to shut down two years ago when that whatisherface rude clerk was slaughtered in a particularly hilarious manner there and the cowardly owners ran away. We all remember that incident. They never did find her delicious soft hands, did they?

Another tragedy that we all mourned together, indeed. The closing of the toy store, that is. The youth does really need space to entertain themselves in a safe and controlled environment. Maybe if some teenagers had something like that growing up, they wouldn't have ended up on the ground, ha ha!

Who knows, it could even revitalize a little bit of the spark this town used to have. Now everyone is so afraid and paranoid, talking about all these sudden and inexplicable attacks as if they were worth mulling over rather than an inevitability of life. As if thinking about it is ever going to stop a knife directed to the throat. A waste of time if you ask me.

So a nice change of pace might be exactly what we all need! I heard that this inventor even brought along his own daughter, that should be starting in preschool for the next week if I am not mistaken. I haven't been able to meet the man yet, but it sounds like at the very least could be interesting for three whole minutes if I am lucky. Five if a miracle happens. Oh, along with my optimism, I have also been cursed with too high expectations, it seems.

What I can say? I am a dreamer at heart.

Ah, new blood is always rather exciting, don't you think, listener? Me, I am not particularly fond of children, especially the rude ones, but I am nothing if not flexible to whatever changes may come our way and my curiosity is always killing. That is how the saying goes, isn't it? Ha ha, we have a lot of fun here, don't we?

I think great things are about to happen here, in this lovely quaint town of ours, listener. I can feel it on the air. It's crinkling and static with energy, after so, so long. It's finally waking up. I know you feel it too.

Be sure to give the toy maker a welcome only worthy of Hazbin Vale when you have the chance. Tell him that Alastor will always be reporting the news of this town and to tune in with the rest of us whenever he wants. Remember: I am always here. I will be here to delight your ears for as long you breath and long after you are done breathing. I can never stop or be stopped. That is a promise.

Now, for the weather…"

[kratioed]

GOD OF WAR | ELPIS LOKIDOTTIR HEADCANONS QUICK NOTE: in my take, "Hel" is Pandora's reincarnation known as Elpis, the Spirit of Hope from Greek Mythology! (with link provided in bold text for my self-validation 🤭).

ANIMAL: her animal is a bluebird! Not only does it aligns with Faye’s bird motif, it also matches the significance in both of her Norse and Greek equivalents for GOW (according to my research): “Bluebirds of happiness,” associated with the concepts of joy, happiness, and harmony. Symbol of hope, love, positivity, and renewal. Symbolize the essence of life and beauty. Some believe that bluebirds represent a connection between those who have passed away and the living.

FAMILY FEELS

Family outing! Elpis loves it when she and her parents rides on top of Fenrir while they visit Jörmungandr!

All wolves from Ironwood, Jörmungandr, and especially Fenrir are very protective of Elpis! Make her cry and you answer to their wrath.

Fenrir gets slightly jealous whenever Elpis pays attention to other wolves/animals besides himself...he's her best friend, of course he's gonna whine (her parents finds it absolutely adorable)!

Angrboða (and maybe Atreus) taught Elpis how to bake, especially blueberry bread!

Freya's top (and beloved) pupil! Elpis' a prodigy so she's a quick learner whenever Freya teaches her Seiðr magic (the reviving spell from 2018 is one of her favorites). They also bonded over flowers and their shared love for Chaurli!

Despite's Freya's (and Angrboða's) teachings, Elpis would have been more interested in dark magic, particularly necromancy. Her family forbids her…but she learned it in secret despite their disapproval (curious and mischievous just like her father. And definitely not planning to resurrect dead animals and keep them as pets don't worry Fenrir you're still her favorite).

Kratos’ very favorite grandbaby! The moment she's born, he refuses to let anyone hold her...not even his own daughter-in-law. Even Elpis prefers her grandfather (and grunkle Mimir) over her parents (sorry Atreboða fans). They occasionally drop her off at Kratos’ cabin because Elpis kept begging them to see her grandpa!

Loves Mimir and is fascinated by his ability to speak despite being a head. She adores listening to his stories and often pleads him (or Kratos) to tell her a bedtime story whenever she spent the night at her grandpa's!

Kratos carved her a flute made from Ironwood barks on her 11th birthday, which she absolutely loved! He also taught her how to play it, and together they become a musical duo with Kratos playing a lyre (just like when he’s with Calliope). Even animals are drawn by her melodies!

Elpis found it strange by the sense of familiarity she felt towards her grandfather...as if she had known him from a past life.

Because in rare occurrences, Elpis caught a glimpse of herself in some reflections; a fair woman with lighter hair and blue eyes (definitely not Pandora). she never told anyone about this, not even her own parents until she confides this to Mimir...

Some nights, she even dreamed about the same woman (DEFINITELY NOT PANDORA), sometimes from the woman's perspective with Kratos in a different time...

JÖTNAR HERITAGE

Has a keen interest in vulture culture (she got that weird girl energy from her mother)! Angrboða taught her to paint, so Elpis adorn her collection of animal skulls with vibrant patterns. She even wore one as a mask!

Due of her fascination with vulture culture, she started to take up ivory carving! Atreus taught her to carve, so Elpis can wore them as jewelry! She even gave one to her mother as a lucky charm on mother's day!

Has a habit of cleaning/redefining gravestones, especially to those that are unmarked since she always have a deep respect for the dead! If a grave lacks a tombstone, she'll just make one for them! Besides vulture culture and ivory carving, she would take up headstone carving! She gained this experience whenever her family buried one of their wolves or other pets on their own cemetery in Ironwood.

GODHOOD

Has a strong connection with fylgjur in Norse Mythology. She can perceive any spirit animals in every individual through their fylgjur they represent- even herself!

Since the fandom headcanon that Hel would excel in soul magic, even surpassing the most powerful Giants from her Jötnar heritage (and you know damn well she's going to help Sindri found the last fragment of Brok's soul to the afterlife as he deserved), Elpis can also communicate (emotionally and telepathically) with any souls from Gaints' marbles to plants (a "soul language" trait she inherited from her father, but in higher-level)! It's also how she was able to found Andvari whom Sindri had lost, much to Atreus' relief when Elpis asks if they can keep him; and now she keeps Andvari with her at all times whenever she travels alone!

And since the fandom also agreed that Hel can see and communicate with the dead, as well as summon Hel-Walkers, Elpis can also interact (and connect) with deceased animals (especially wolves) due to her parents’ affinity towards them.

Just overall soul/astral manipulation manifested from her godhood (and from what I've seen, everyone seems to agreed that Hel's god powers would likey have to do with death/decay character-wise in Norse Mythology, which I'm also inboard with it).

Because there are times where she caught a quick glimpses of a certain Greek Goddess just around the corner...

[asknarashikari]

I know you hate talking about Geats. But could you imagine if to torment Neon even further, Beroba found a way to bring Kurama Akari back from the dead (during the events of Geats. Most likely on Neon's birthday/Akari's desth day) and just fed the poor girl lies saying that her parents replaced her with Neon. Tormenting both of them as Neon not only has to face the reality that she isn't a real person, but also that she robbed a little girl of her life by being created, made from the selfish wish of a grieving man who only wanted his daughter back, but got Neon as a replacement. Of course, the only happy way this can end is if Ace and Keiwa manage to get Akari away from Beroba and get her to safety while Neon gets her moment to shine with Kyuun helping her. Then we get a mini arc with Neon and Akari slowly growing closer and understanding that while Neon was born to fill in the void that Akari left, they are their own people who don't need to live off why or how they were born. Neon is her own person, and Akari's a girl who was taken from the world way too soon. So now I present to you Big Sis Neon Au, featuring Sarah helping out as she understands the whole situation once it's explained to her. Keiwa who wants the best for his friends and is always willing to help. And Ace, who tries to help but is ultimately ignored because his advice is not great.

Also, mini shipper Akari, trying to get Neon and Keiwa together once she becomes more accustomed to everyone. Because her big sister deserves a happy ending after all she's gone through

I honestly think this would be a great idea 😊

I would also wonder how one would handle Akari having to grapple with the realization that her sperm donor didn't actually choose to bring her back, even if he could've. Niram actually offered to just straight up revive Akari, but instead he chose to have him create this idealized version of an heir in his daughter's image.

Not to mention, because Irumi was unaware of the Akari/Neon switch, everything that happened to Neon post the kidnapping was what would've happened to Akari herself had she survived. Neon endured her abuse in Akari's place. Again, that's something she'd have to come to terms with.

You know if Berobitch did bring her back, she'll 100% be sadistic enough to tell Akari this, no matter how old she was when she got revived, just to make her more miserable.

I also wonder if maybe Neon would be more hesitant to make up with her genetic material donors if Akari was in the equation.

[eljeebee]

Two Lonely Vampires in a Penthouse

For the first time in my life, I feel uncomfortable doing nothing. When I was still under the contract, all I could hear were the whispers, and all I could do was to follow it. Kill something, be on a rampage. Now? Everything’s calm. It’s unnerving.

This penthouse is making me feel out of place. My sisters and I lived in warehouses, abandoned buildings, any place where there’s no other people. We had to hide after all, and poor vampires doesn’t have the means to hide well. If my sisters are still alive, they’d love it here, especially if they saw Valentina. They’d adore her, follow her in a heartbeat. If we have a heartbeat of course.

Today, the penthouse is silent. Lady Lana and Valentina are at the Strauds. Val wanted to help Helen or keep an eye on her, making sure that she’s not violent against me or something. As for the Lady, I had no idea why. I heard they had to go somewhere else after that. Heard they need to retrieve something back.

That Helen. Poor woman. I’d be crazy too if I can’t kill the person who killed my family. But I’m not crazy. Maybe her brain’s just weak. At least they wiped her memory clean. I think.

I’m alone with Lenora today. This chick’s weird. She’s a vampire, but she’s very interested in human customs. She cooks food, she eats it, she drinks other stuff that isn’t blood.

“Hey Lenora, what’s on the menu?” I teased.

“Apple pie. We’re running out of apples; do you mind telling Valentina to get some?”

“Why not your sister?”

“My sister is the Head of House. She has things to attend to.”

Her tone changed, as if I offended her.

“And Valentina’s busy too? She’s not your maid. Isn’t she a Head of House too?”

It took her a minute to reply.

“Then why don’t you fetch me some?”

I took a deep breath.

When I got back, I saw her reading a book quietly in the dining room. She’d already served herself a slice of pie.

“I got your apples. I’ll put it away.”

“Thank you, Percival. Come join me, have a piece of pie.”

After putting the apples away, I joined her, and she gave me a slice. I’ve never tasted human food, only human blood, so I prepared myself to take a bite.

It was sweet like a virgin’s blood.

“Shiiiit, this is tasty!”

“Language, Percival,” she said, without looking at me, voice lilting.

“I don’t know what other human food taste like, but I think you got it. How do you know how to cook?”

She closed her book. She looked like she’s trying to process what I said. It seemed like she couldn’t, because blankly, she said, “I just know.”

“Nah, maybe you do that even before you reawakened?”

“I don’t remember that. What I remember last were my sister and I teacher Valentina how to fight. Oh, you should’ve seen her before, Percival. Hearing her screams, and shouts, and cries, it was beautiful. I’m glad she grew strong. Only she evolved, the rest of her clan degraded. How disappointing.”

This chick’s really weird.

“Hey, I evolved too, I think. It’s why your sister wanted me to be sacrificed and shit to your revival!”

“Really? But the Overlord, my sister, and my cousin did that.”

“Yeah, because Valentina didn’t want me dying. They said something about letting you heal naturally. Heal from what, I don’t know.”

She looked at me, face blank.

“But I am not hurt.”

Silence hung in the air. Valentina warned me not to mention anything about healing. She never told me why, but she doesn’t want Lenora to remember anything from before. Lady Lana seems like she wanted to, always asking stuff like “do you remember Lorraine and I used to watch the Zetts and the Asvangs fight each other to death?” or “do you remember dragging Valentina to our manor after a match so we can fight with her?”.

Horrifying stuff, I tell you.

“I misheard. Sorry. They probably meant me. I was really beaten-up last time. Haha, Vlad’s quite strong.”

“He is not the Overlord for nothing.”

She smiled.

“More pie?”

I declined.

She returned to her book. Smile dropping into a blank expression. She continued reading, like I wasn’t there. As if we never had any conversation. I left her alone.

I’m starting to wonder, what does their life look like from their time? I would always ask Valentina, but she despised it so much that she told me not to ask again.

With how the sisters retells their old life, I’m starting to think Valentina’s abused. And not just her. My whole clan.

Are all vampires like that? No wonder everyone’s afraid of us.

[arleniansdoodles]

(Warning this is super long I'm so sorry) Absolutely mcfreaking reeling from that charged backfist of a chapter. I have no words. Yang what. What is wrong with you. He really slaughtered five schools' worth of students and masters, killed his adoptive father, orchestrated the murder of his little sister, secretly went back and raised said little sister from the dead, decided to let her wake up ALONE IN A POOL OF HER OWN BLOOD SURROUNDED BY THE BODIES OF HER FAMILY, left her to fend for herself at the ripe age of 11, and then fucked off to the mountains to be a super-doctor. BROTHER. Like yes Yang, it was really cold of Sifu to not let you save your family with the talisman, and your feelings of heartbreak and betrayal are absolutely valid (I would even excuse the attempted theft of the talisman honestly, he was just trying to save them!) especially when he saw you as a son, BUT HOLY SHIT YOUR RESPONSE WAS TO BECOME A MASS-MURDERER! Yin and all those disciples didn't know anything about the talismans, you could have just killed the masters in a slightly less public way and have been basically fine! Jinfeng literally has Infinite Money Glitch: The Talisman, you guys can pay off anyone! I'm so flabbergasted at Yang I can't even express it fully. How do we come back from this bro 😭 I know Fajar actually did kill Yin and now they're besties, but Yang literally left her in a wuguan full of bodies!!!! She could've died or gone insane and Yang just allowed it! How tf was she supposed to turn away from vengeance when that's literally all you left her with! And the fact that she managed to do that anyway and you're just???? Punishing her for it in every way besides physically attacking her????

You know what? I'm gonna go fight Yang a bunch until I get an achievement or something, he deserves it!

Hehehehehehhh XDDD This was me while reading through your message lmaooo:

That said, I think you're probably the first person I've seen who's gotten this angry at Yang (aside from a few other characters in the fic)! 😂 Game-wise, him reviving Yin in the prologue made the most sense to me out of all the other theories (not that there are a lot imo), and it also works with the implications of the post-credits scene, so I was more than ready to add it to the fic with maximum angst! XDD

Of course, this all means Yang is an even bigger douche than before 😅 There were a million other ways he could've gone about stealing the talismans without ruining Yin's life, but ah well, I had to stick to that part of canon for this fic 😂 I personally think he didn't have this mindset eight years ago; like, how much of his current thinking is actually him and how much is part of the talisman's influence? But even then, it was still a horrible move to make, especially where Yin was concerned (hence why I came up with the Dawn!AU where she lives! hehe). And his entire arc overall was one of my struggling points while writing, because how DO you come back from this? How do you have the happy ending with all the fluffy rainbow and unicorn feels?? Would a happy ending for this even be happy for Yin and Yang's relationship after all he's done to her? So that was quite interesting and tricky to work with XDD

All in all, I'm happy you enjoyed this chapter!! Though I'm sorry it got you worked up loll 😅 Hopefully beating Yang to a pulp helps! 😁 And no worries at all about the long messages; I really appreciate you taking the time to write all this!! Thanks again! 💗💗

[victoriously-wicked]

ROBIN HOOD S5 RANT

Would you consider me mentally unstable if I told you that during my first watch of OUAT, I cried for 30 minutes straight after watching Robin Hood get killed?

Y-You would?

*coughs* well then, it’s a good thing I definitely didn’t do that . . . 😳

. . . okay maybe I did, BUT in all fairness, while I was of course crying because Robin was dead, a large part was over the fact that Regina’s happiness was once again stripped away from her, AND FOR WHAT REASON?!

I mean c’mon, she had redeemed herself countless times up until this point, I’d say she’d more than earned it. And honestly, Robin made her SO much better, he was one of the best things that ever happened to her and yet, look at how his story ended.

He did not deserve this at all.

Seriously, who was Robin’s living affecting? nobody.

Hell, the reason he died was because he threw himself infront of Regina, saving her from dying at Hades’ hand. And you’re telling me that’s NOT someone who deserves to be revived from the underworld?!

(yes I know Hades said the crystal that killed Robin blinked him from existence, but for some reason a part of me thinks Hades was bluffing, just to screw with Regina even more. There has to be some world where Robin’s soul is currently at. And in my mind, Robin’s at peace in this other world and watching over the Swan-Mills-Charming-Stilskin Squad and their adventures while also just waiting for the day that Regina, Henry, Roland, Nobin and the others will eventually join him.)

What makes his death a hundred times worse is that, like Regina said to Emma, it’s not fair that Hook got to come back from the dead, but Robin didn’t.

Look at it this way, before their redemptions, Hook was a pirate that would sail the seas, pillaging and killing hundreds of people with zero remorse, but Robin? He was just a common pickpocket. Not trying to hate on Killian because he did end up redeeming himself after coming to Storybrooke, but looking at it from the angle of Robin and Hook's wrongdoings, Killian seems to deserve a fate of death more than Robin. I feel like if anything, Robin has probably only killed one or two people ever, and it was most likely in self defence or something.

Oh, and another thing- Hook mentions that he was revived as a reward for helping defeat Hades. Uhhhh . . .

. . . WHAT THE HELL WAS ROBIN DOING WITH THE GROUP IN THE UNDERWORLD THEN? WHAT, HE JUST TAGGED ALONG FOR THE FUN OF IT? NO, HE HELPED THE SQUAD DEFEAT HADES.

And he helped just as much as Hook did, even more so, in my opinion. If Robin hadn’t sacrificed himself, Regina wouldn’t have had the time to knock the crystal away from Hades. And if Regina hadn't knocked it away from Hades then Zelena wouldn’t have been able to grab it and use it to kill him. Hook, he got the missing book pages to Emma, who was outside the building when Zelena killed Hades. Even if the pages hadn’t reached Emma, Robin and Regina would’ve still been in the office with Hades and the crystal. But, I’ll give Killian credit; if he hadn’t gotten the pages to Emma, she wouldn’t have tried breaking the protection spell on the building, and then Robin and Regina probably wouldn’t have had a diversion to sneak in the office.

Just another little note, I HATE how they gloss over the funeral and his death in general. I don’t feel as though everybody’s reaction to it were really touched upon in the following episodes.

All in all, I’m just so upset at how badly they screwed up this epic couple and storyline. Robin didn’t deserve to die. Regina didn’t deserve to watch another True Love die in her arms.

They both deserved better.

Sorry for the rant, I’m just REALLY passionate about this topic

[the-haunted-office]

I was thinking about how Doomsday got her living body back after her original was killed by the Dampening mist and then (off screen) eaten by the Adventure Line™.

Doom made an arrangement with one of my other muses, Dr. Horrible from Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, to let him use whatever Dampening energy he harvested from her, so long as he could actually harvest it from her and help her understand how to utilize it better. She really wanted help figuring out what to do with her energy. She was very bored with her existence at that point.

What he did was create a piece of machinery called a Dehumidifier (Get it? Dampening energy, Dehumidifier, har har), that would leech the energy from her ghostly body and deposit it into jars, where the idea was for him to figure out how to harness it into... whatever he wanted to do with it. Dampening energy isn't something that is well-studied, or indeed much known about throughout the universe, much less on Earth. So Horrible of course was horribly interested in studying it.

Things went wrong pretty quickly when Doom climbed into that machine, as things usually do with Horrible's inventions. It ended up leeching too much too quickly, so much that it pulled her own body back out of her by recreating it from her memory of ghostly self. It did something that was supposed to be impossible and pulled her own living body out of herself.

This was extraordinarily painful as you can imagine.

Dampening energy isn't supposed to be able to create living things. It can create things like food and objects that used to be alive, like apples that have been harvested and butchered meat, but it can't create things like living trees or living cows. It also can't create things like planets or universes. So for it to pull Doom's own living body out of her ghostly body is... something it has never done before. There remains the question as to whether or not the body she is walking around in now is actually alive or not. It certainly seems to be, as it looks and feels alive, and acts and reacts the way a living body would.

The trouble is, her soul remains in the same state it was in before she got revived. It is still a "soul soup", so to speak - basically digested soul remains mixed with Dampening energy. If something were to fully kill her body again (which is very difficult to do, because the Dampening energy inside her heals it extremely quickly), she would be right back to the way she was before, as the Reaper Doom we all know and love/hate. Her energy isn't something that can be killed. It is just a property of Dampening energy and the way it works. It's perpetual, and as long as her soul is mixed in with it, so is she.

[well-dressedwords]

Notes from Re-watch #?

The scriptwriters continue to amaze me as I dig deeper into things that are set up and referred back to:

I find it interesting that Xiao Lanhua’s conversation with Changheng - when he tries to call her to her responsibilities as the Goddess while she is still XLH – ends up foreshadowing her choice when she does have to be the Goddess.

“I am (Orchid), not the Goddess of Xishan. It’s like when you are Xiao Run, not Changheng. Xiao Run doesn’t need to bear the burden of Changheng, because they are not the same person.”

Because the way she handles actually becoming the Goddess of Xishan is a reflection of that conversation. She didn’t need to bear the Goddess’s burden while she was still (only) XLH, but as soon as they revive her with all of her memories, she takes responsibility for who she is.

As she told Tuanwu, she “saw what she needed to see: the three realms, her love with DFQC, her friendships with people in all three realms (I’d say Xiao Run and Xie Wanqing can count as mortal friends) and lost what she needed to lose – the fulfillment of her love. Because she got to live her dream of being DFQC’s wife, even if it wasn’t in “reality” – at the end of the day, it was real enough for her. And now that DFQC has chosen to leave their dream, she has to also accept his choice and become her Goddess self with the inherent responsibilities of protecting the three realms from Tai Sui.

Ironically, Changheng is just as offended by how she acts as the Goddess as he was by XLH not immediately accepting her responsibilities as part of the Xilan tribe. And yet he is also able to make the choice to be Xiao Run later on so that he can be happier as well.

Second, when DFQC is being yanked around by XLH at Simingdian at the beginning, he rages to Shangque that he’ll become her servant for real if she realizes the power the curse gives her over him. Of course, later on, he desperately wants to be her servant both for the reason of staying by her side, and because he actually DOES want to care for her in every way he can. Instead of furious at his servitude, he actually wants to serve his beloved. The contrast is just *chef’s kiss*

Slight crack thoughts:

Can we talk about Changheng’s sucky choices in friends? Through no fault of his own!! Ronghao’s been lying to him for as long as they’ve been friends (when they met at Chidi’s memorial) and tries to kill the girl he’s in love with. Dongfang is deceiving him in regards to why they’re hanging out in the mortal realm (though there were definitely times of true friendship between them), and though I wouldn’t count him as a friend, his servant Qingchun is constantly interrupting his chances of getting somewhere with Xiao Lan Hua and recalling him to his duties.

Honestly, his friendship with Danyin as both Cricket and herself when she gets over him is probably going to be the most healthy relationship he’s had, which should give him a good balance for when DFCQ comes back (and is going to be mostly occupied with his wife).

As terrible as Yun Zhong is as a leader, I’ve got to laugh at how many prisoners escaped in a three month period. I would guess the last 30,000 years were pretty peaceful if you were just living in Shui Yun Tian and not experiencing the constant attacks that Changheng was leading against the Moon Tribe, but you’ve got:

Dongfang Qingcang (though it takes a while for them to realize this)

The other nameless criminals who escaped when he destroyed Haotian Tower

Changheng

Ronghao

Ronghao again

Technically Chidi was under house arrest, pending execution? And Ronghao absconded with her

I would hope the trend would continue with Li Yuan being broken out, maybe by Changheng to repay Danyin for helping him out twice? I’d hate for that guy to be dead when less worthy people are still alive and free (*ahem* Yun Zhong)

The only person who doesn’t escape their punishment is Yulin, because she doesn’t have any real friends to either help her or blackmail someone who can help her. I wonder if her mother even had time to try and save her; she seemed to be taken straight from Fairy Court to her execution/immortal bones being removed. Which, eugh, just trying to think of what that would entail is terrible.

One of XLH and DFQC’s first conversations is about how stealing someone’s job is like killing one’s mother.

So when she sacrifices herself for his people, when it was his job, I think beyond the agony of losing her, he’s also frustrated that he couldn’t fulfill his duty by himself. On the other hand, I think XLH could’ve seen it as fulfilling her duty as the Moon Supreme’s wife & partner – saving the people she chose as her own.

And then finally he goes and steals “her job” – her destiny - as both an act of love to save her, and (tongue in cheek) either stealing her job as revenge OR taking her burden on as her husband.

Without intentionally trying to stay balanced, they nevertheless do balance out their sacrifices for each other because their love is just that all-encompassing.