#but that one has the 2 posts linked so yay i guess

[smallest-moon]

here it is the master post for all my soul eater!au ideas (here are posts 1 and 2 + vashwood as souls), where I'll be periodically rebloging it whenever i think of something new! feel free to dm if you wanna talk about it and give me more ideas :) or point out any dumb contradictions but anyways lets go:

vash is the meister and wolfwood is the death scythe

wolfwood's original partner was livio but due to events livio is now presumed dead/missing, leaving wolfwood without a partner for a long time

livio is however very much alive and eventually he'll return with his new weapon who is razlo (how does it work? basically imagine razlo as ragnarok)

wolfwood scythe form is his giant machine gun (still thinking if he should be like tsubaki is able to change forms so that when he finally accepts vash as his partner he changes into vash's gun instead of always being a machine gun..... and can later transform into that wicked weapon vash's angel arm changes into)

vash himself is death (i suppose.. though nobody knows... yet) and he still brings chaos wherever he goes. he has been without a partner for a very very long time

due to walking around without a scythe, he has a lot of scars thanks to the fights he cannot avoid and his immense desire to save everyone

meryl and milly are naturally around and they are meister and weapon

they are currently looking for a chaotic meister that leaves a trail of destruction behind

when vash and wolfwood first start working together as partners, wolfwood makes his scythe self heavier just to see vash struggle as much as possible whenever they arent in combat because really what the fuck is up with this dude hating to kill?? you ARE literally death incarnate grow up

completelyyy unrelated to that is that people hear and tell many different versions of the same story: of a great battle many many many years ago that brought great destruction. despite names changing many times most seem to agree that one of the beings was called knives millions and that his heart only knew destruction. the ending differs for a lot of people, most agree there were no survivors but some believe there was only one because how else would the story exist ("ain't nobody surviving that, its just a story" an old man shook his head "but if someone did survive, they are either death or the devil itself")

so thus far no one has found out that vash is that "one" survivor nor have they found out that knives didnt actually die but instead he is trapped as vash refused to kill him then

but how long will he stay trapped? how long until he breaks free again?

[thecapricunt1616]

The Bear & His Honey - Chapter 16

♡ Chapter Inspo: Call It What You Want (Reputation - TS) ; I want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck. Not because he owns me, but 'cause he really knows me. Which is more than they can say, I recall late November holdin' my breath, slowly I said "You don't need to save me, but would you run away with me?"

♡ Summary: Carmy x Winnie are finally calling things what they are after 3 months of beating around the bush, YAY!!!

♡ W/C: 10,775

♡ Posted Date: 04/05/2024

♡ A/N: Here we have chapter 16 - I hope you all like it! I have been stepping back and seeing where I want things to go, & I think I have generally a good idea now, so I was able to finish up the next 2 chapters finally haha. As per usual thank you for reading, remember requests for one shots are open - or even if you want to see WxC doing something specific let me know! I am here to please hahah one shots I've already written are on my masterlist linked below! Also - no one has asked, but I usually see people will read one chapter, then go back and read all of them 1-15, so if you want to be on a tag list so you can keep up w/ the story just tell me in the comments and i'll make one!!

♡ Warnings for BTC: Swearing, Speaking of smoking, Weed, Smut!, Nervous Carmy, Mushy fluff!!!

➵ 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 ♡

➵ 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 ♡

𝒲𝒾𝓃𝓃𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝒫.𝒪.𝒱. 🍯

It was a few weeks later, and the beginning of spring had well arrived. The trees were becoming green again, the flowers were blooming, and Carmy and I were still hanging out nearly every afternoon, and he was staying over nearly every night. 

That Friday evening, around 11pm, after Carmy had gotten off his shift, he came over to mine and had a shower after we ate dinner that he had made us before he came over. Tonight had been a favorite - a true garbage plate per my request. 

It was currently 1 am and we were snuggled up in bed, mostly I was watching a rerun of Criminal Minds, and Carmy was distracted by his phone, texting with someone back and forth. 

“Did y’wanna come w’me to Richie’s Sunday? We do Palm at his usually. He’s been textin’ me about comin’ over a little earlier to help with the lamb.” He said and I looked up at him from my spot snuggled up on his chest, my cheek adorned with lines from his sweatshirt since it had been mushed there while I watched the show, my hands playing with the tie of his sweats absentmindedly so I didn’t pick my nails. 

“Oh- yeah. Sure. I didn’t know you like- did that. Y’re…religious? I mean- I know the chain and everything but..” I gently play with the charm between my fingers. He smiled a bit, forefinger gently rubbing over the dark red marks in my cheek from laying. 

“I mean- nah. Not really it’s more like..tradition I guess? Palm Sunday and Easter were huge when I was growin’ up. I guess it’s just an Italian thing, but it’s like- second Christmas. The whole family gets together and has a meal” he said and I nod. 

“Well of course I’ll be your date baby. Thank you for asking, I assume we’re doing church? Like Christmas Eve if it’s a big thing right?” I ask and he nodded a bit. 

“You don’t…you don’t have to go. I mean- I don’t go unless it’s Christmas Eve or Palm or Easter Sunday. So..but I get it if y’arent comfortable” he bit his lip nervously. 

“No baby- no…I think it’s sweet. I grew up Catholic too, well- Irish Catholic. But- I was baptized, so I’m rightfully Catholic. So we can get married someday and not go to hell” I giggled and he snorts a laugh. 

“Oh thank god y’re baptized baby, how could we ever marry if you haven’t devoted yourself to our lord and savior” he teased, earning a laugh from me. 

“Does this mean I get to crack out my veil again? What do I wear? Well I know I can’t have my tits out - but like, color scheme for your church, still red?” I asked and he rubbed my back gently. 

“Yes still red baby.” He kissed my neck, gently nipping at the sensitive skin. “I didn’t know you wore a veil. You were dedicated, huh? Such a good little Catholic” he teased, pinching my bum playfully. 

I laugh a bit “mmhmm- my mom was serious about it. I used to hate it but since I stopped believing in the Catholic god- er- worshiping him, anyway, I just think it’s hot. D’you think we could sneak away to the bathroom for a quickie during the service? I’ve always fantasized about fucking in a church it sounds really hot.” I said causing him to laugh into my skin. 

“Babe. Holy fuckin blasphemy you trying to get on the big man’s ultimate shit list?” He bites my shoulder playfully. 

“Ohhhh we’re way past it Carm. Plus- since he’s so big and mighty and he’s the one that created my twisted fucked up mind- it’s really him who thinks it’s hot. So if he’s mad it’s not on me” I giggled, poking his cheek. “D’you have a bite kink I’m not aware of sir?” I teased. 

“Mmm no you just taste good, and y’so cute it just makes me wanna fuckin bite you I can’t explain it” he bites down on my neck gently, running his tongue over my skin. 

“Awwww you have cute aggression?” I gently play with his curls and he chuckled into my skin, his breath causing goosebumps to appear. 

“That’s a thing?” He questioned and I nod a bit, a wide smile adorning my features. 

“It’s super sweet. Like…when I was at college studying, I took my first round of psych credits, and I guess that uh…when we see something that’s cute, or makes us really happy we wanna like squeeze it or bite it because we’re so overwhelmed with how cute it is that we’re like…searching for an outlet almost? But yeah, so thank you I guess. I do have the urge to just” I take his forearm, gently biting down and giggling into his skin and he chuckled. 

“Y’can bite me. Maybe not in public so we don’t look like a couple’a freaks, but this is ok” he said and I released his flesh 

“Oh yeah I’m just gonna bite you in front of all the staff at work next time I see you. I’ll do it when you’re really angry” I teased, lacing our fingers together and resting our hands over my tummy. 

“Ugh no work talk right now baby today was fuckin’-” he rubs over his face with his other hand “remind me to never trust Richie with shipment ever again.” He grumbled, grabbing his phone to resume whatever he was doing. I mentally rolled my eyes. 

Really, Richie? The one time. One time, that Carmy decides to let someone else start the day- and sleep until 5 am instead of 4- he fucks it up somehow. 

“ ‘m sorry baby. You want a massage? It’s getting late. Maybe it’ll help you sleep, how’s your back?” I asked gently, rubbing his forearm. 

He sighed a bit, putting his phone on the wireless charging pad on the nightstand that had begun living there since he had been sleeping over. “Hurts..Think I pulled a muscle ‘er somethin’ in my shoulder too, fuckin bags of rice were on the lowest shelf and I didn’t use my knees at all apparently” he said and I sat up, grabbing my massage oil from the nightstand. 

“Alright roll over mister, no more work talk tonight, got it? Were Resting our brains now” I kiss his cheekbone and he nods tiredly, tugging off his sweatshirt and laying on his stomach.

“No more work talk” he agreed with an exhausted sigh. I warmed some of the oil in my hands, kissing the little freckles along his back as I did so and he hums softly. 

“Okay so where should I start on the map baby?” I asked him. I had taught him the system my mom and I used to use when she’d give my brother and I massages as kids, where you tell a state on the map so she could better gauge where it was hurting. 

“Fuckin’… Vegas to the Carolina’s. It hurts so bad babe” he said and I gently felt over his lower back, this was usually where we started, unless Wyoming and Nebraska which were more his mid back was hurting him worse, that only happened when he went too hard at the gym, though. 

“It’s probably Texas. Usually Texas, babe” I said, gently working my thumbs with light pressure from the middle of his lower back outwards and he lets out a groan. 

“Fuck Texas” he muttered into the pillow, causing me to giggle a bit. 

“I’ve never been, I hear they have great Mexican food.” I said, adding a bit of pressure as I got to his hips where he held a lot of his stress. 

“Mmm I’ve been- shit”  he hissed as I work at a knot at the back of his hip. “Fuck- keep going babe- ahhh mmhmm- yes” he grumbles. I added more pressure and he sighed gratefully. “Thank you” he said softly, resting his cheek on his forearm, eyes fluttering shut in bliss.

“You’ve been? Lucky! Did you try the Mexican food?” I asked, dragging the pressure across his lower back and he moans out quietly. 

“Mmhmm…Dallas…ACF conference- went in November. They do have great Mexican food. And the drinks are enormous, crazy strong for how cheap they were.” He said. 

“Ooo that sounds like my kinda place. We should go on a trip sometime, if I could ever afford it that is. But a road trip would be fun” I gently rub up to his mid back. 

“You don’t have t’pay anything baby, I didn’t know you wanna travel- where d’you wanna go? I just have to get the time off. That's the problem, not the money. But what’s y’dream place y’wanna go?” He asked. 

“Anywhere. Well, anywhere with you. I’ve never been on a plane before, I took the train here. Cause my Grammy wouldn’t let me take a plane, since our Grandpa died in one- she says they’re bad luck. But I’ve always wondered what it was like. It seems fun. Are airports fun like they make it look in the movies?” I smile a bit, gently massaging over his ribs. 

“No. Totally not. They don’t really put airports in tv and shit after 9/11 if you’ve noticed because now they’re a fuckin’ nightmare- but I mean…not as shit as being on a train for what- 30 hours babe? Y’not doin’ that t’go do that nanny thing right? I don’t want you sittin for 30 hours with y’hip.” He said and I shrug a bit, continuing to rub over his mid back with the pressure I knew he liked. 

“I set a timer on my phone, and get up and walk around every 20 minutes, So it doesn’t hurt so bad. Also- it’s like…50 bucks cheaper so. 50 bucks toward my next therapy session” I say simply. 

“50 bucks?! Baby. No. I’m buyin’ y’ticket and you can get there in 2 hours, so I can have you for an extra whole day. No arguing. It’s done” he said and I laugh a bit. 

“Oh so you boss me around now?” I said and he smirks, looking at me over his shoulder. 

“Hasn’t that been established? That I only make you do something when y’too stubborn to allow me to help?” He asked and I kiss his lips gently. 

“Control freak” I teased, starting on his shoulders and his eyes flutter shut in bliss. 

“Consider it payment f’r all the massages I’ll need when you get back. I dunno how I’m gonna manage babe it helps so much. Fuck ah- yes. There- there honey” he groaned as I drag my thumb with a good amount of pressure in the dip of his shoulder blade. 

“Y’know you can see a real masseuse, Bear. You don’t have to torture yourself until I’m home again” I said, adding a bit more pressure and he whimpered, burying his face in the pillow. 

“Mmm- don’t wanna” he said into the fabric as I work his other shoulder the same way. “Holy shiiiit. Baby. Fuck- fuuuuck me.” He moaned and I laughed a bit, rubbing my thumbs up to the base of his neck and back down. “Mmm shit- fuckin’ hurts soooo good” 

I laughed at his bear like grumbles “Jesus baby. Thank god I don’t have roommates they’d think we’re sex addicts with the way you moan when I give you your massages” I straddled his hips as I work from the balls of his shoulders in towards his neck. 

“Mm not my fault you have tiny magical hands” he teased and I laughed. 

“Do not make fun of my little hands. I can’t help it, and it makes my life tedious” I joked, gently using the knuckles of my thumbs to release the tension in the sides of his neck. 

“How is me calling your doll hands magical, making fun of them?” He said and I smiled, pinching his arm gently. 

“May I remind you Bear who’s mercy you’re at right now?” I bite down on his neck playfully and he chuckles. 

“My favorite girls” he counters and I smiled big, a blush creeping to my cheeks. 

“You are a big flirt” I sat up, continuing to work at the base of his neck. 

“I am being accused left and right t’night, of crimes f’which you have zero admissible evidence” he teased and I laughed, covering my mouth to not wake up the neighbors. 

“Okay- we’re watching way too much criminal minds and SVU lately, admissible evidence, babe?” I shook my head, working on rubbing his biceps in sections since they were quite large. 

“Not my fault I wake up f’work and it’s still on. That shit can’t be givin’ you good dreams babe. Y’need to turn it off” he said and I smiled a bit at his concern. 

“Oh, and you when you go home, and turn on YouTube cooking videos until you pass out, that’s not giving you bad dreams about work?” I mused and he hums. 

“No. Cause I usually don’t watch the English ones, my italian is spotty, which makes my Spanish shitty. And our French lessons have only gotten me so far. So- if my eyes are closed, nothin but noise” he countered and I roll my eyes with a smirk. 

“And how do you know how much of everything to put in?” I ask curiously, massaging over his biceps. 

“By the look” he replied as if that said anything at all. 

“So, if I right now, gave you my water bottle- you could tell me how much water was in it?” I snort 

“Depends, is there ice?” He asked and I raised my brows. 

“ Carmy you can’t just- I mean you can guess. But you’ll have no form of accuracy.” I said and he hums. 

“Think of it like Cooking is biology, and baking is science babe. 2 different sides of the same coin. I don’t need accuracy, I need flavor and balance. A good chef doesn’t solely stick to a recipe. But a good baker always sticks to a recipe. F’r cookin’ It’s about what the dish wants. F’baking it’s what it needs. So yeah I’m confident I could give you a fairly accurate measurement by look” he explained and I gently massage over his wrists, paying extra attention to them because of all the repetitive motion he did at work with all the chopping and stirring and whisking. 

“Mmm I love it when you get all sexy technical chef on me” I kiss the top of his hand lightly and he smiled a bit. 

“Well I’ll tell y’anythin y’wanna know angel” he said, covering his mouth with his hand as he yawned big. “Mmm. Y’always put me t’sleep” he mumbled. 

I giggle a bit “that was the point. Geez like a colicky baby sometimes, so overtired y’can’t sleep” I said and he snorts. 

“Mmm this is my favorite part” he rolled on his side as I took my place next to him and he lays his forearm over my tummy so I can lightly drag my nails across it for him. 

“Spoiled, spoiled little bear” I teased, obliging him and gently dragging my nail across his skin with a featherlight touch causing goosebumps to appear. 

“Mmhmm, the most spoiled” he said and kisses me sweetly I hummed softly, cupping his cheek and gently rubbing my thumb over his cheekbone. 

“Just one more day”  I said when he pulled away, alluding to his Sunday off. 

“One more.” He said softly and snuggled into my chest as I continued gently caressing his arm, my other hand tangling in his muss of damp curls and scratching his scalp as I usually did to help him fall asleep. 

This had been our routine for the last 2 weeks now, he’d come over after working out, we’d eat dinner, he’d have a shower, then we’d sit on the balcony and smoke together, then come in and get in bed, I’d give him a massage after cuddling for a while, and stroke his arm and give him scratches to help him fall asleep, since the first night I did it for him he was out in less than 10 minutes, (which was an all time record for him) - and he’d be little spoon until he fell asleep. Then when I eventually did as well- we’d wake up in the morning with me having stolen the title of little spoon once more. 

He nuzzled his face in the crook of my neck, his warm breath hitting my collar bone. I focused on the tv and continued stroking his arm gently, a few minutes went by like that before he muttered a half asleep “night honey” bringing a small smile to my lips.  “Night Bear” I said softly, brushing his curls off his forehead and gently kissing it, lingering for a moment before resting back on the pillow and continuing to stroke his arm gently.

I was woken by the sound of Carmy’s first alarm that he’d nearly knocked his phone off the nightstand trying to silence, before groaning tiredly and plopping his arm back around me, pulling me closer to him. 

“Morning” I said softly, my eyes still closed. 

“Mornin’ babe.” He said quietly, planting a soft kiss to my jaw. He’d been setting his alarm for 4:00 instead of 4:30 for the past week or so, so we’d get a little bit of snuggle time before he had to get in the shower. 

“How’d you sleep?” I asked, lacing our fingers together and turning to face him, wrapping my leg between his and hooking them together. 

“Alright. My back feels a lot better, thanks for the massage honey. How’d you sleep?” He rubbed over his face, yawning which caused me to catch it and yawn myself. 

“Course love. I slept okay, had a really weird dream, wanna hear about it?” I ask and he smiled lazily, nuzzling his face into my neck. 

“Mm. Always” he said softly. 

“So-“ I giggle softly at the absolute bizarreness “so, Syd was there- oh I’ll have to send her a voice note about this. But Syd was there, and we were at my middle school? But it was here, in Chicago. And it wasn’t my middle school, it was a hospital? But my teachers were there. Well they weren’t my teachers they were strangers, but I like knew they were my teachers, ya’know?” He chuckled a bit into my skin. 

“Okay, and what were you and Syd doin baby?” He questioned. 

“Literally Carm- playing with a Ouija board? Like?” I laughed a bit, causing him to follow suit. 

“Who were you trying to get ahold of?” He asked. 

“I don’t know! But it was like scary lookin. I don’t even - oh! Yes! That’s how I know it was a hospital cause we were in this dingy like basement, and there was a gurney? Like. I dunno. Oh! And she was like” I laughed, shaking my head. “She was like Winnie- they’ll know the right ingredient. Like- like we’re summoning the dead for recipe advice? But she was so stressed like she was dyyying to find out what they had to say” I said and his chest vibrated with laughter. 

 “And yeah, that was it that’s the dream- dream Syd, and real Syd, both are OCD about recipes to the point of insanity” I said and he shook his head, planting a kiss on my temple. 

“Thanks f’r sharing babe. Y’know, maybe the dead could help us out with recipes- dream Syd could be onto somethin’ ” he joked and I gently play with his sleep tousled hair. 

“Mmm I think the only ghost that would give a shit about food they can’t eat- would be you and Syd baby. I can totally see that. Us hanging out in the afterlife, and you’re like ‘but honey, if I help them and tell them it needs more lemon it’ll be so good’ “ i mimicked him doing my best Carmy impression and he snorts a laugh. 

“I do not sound like that, when did I turn into a fuckin- southside chain smokin’ uncle?” He teased and I laughed, poking his cheek playfully. 

“Not too far off, you’re a north side chain smoking uncle in real life, so I guess the accent was a little off” I said and he rolls his eyes. 

“Yeah yeah. I’m down to half a pack a day now I wouldn’t call that chain smokin anymore” he mused, kissing my neck with open mouth kisses, trailing down to my collarbones. 

“Mmm Bear?” I question and felt him smile into my skin before biting down gently in the fleshy spot between my neck and shoulder. 

“Mmhmm?” He mumbled, his teeth still gently clamped around my flesh. 

“It’s 4:09” I said, gently scratching his scalp with my nails. 

“So that means we have..21 minutes, no?” He questions and I raise my brows with a smirk. 

“And what are we doing with this twenty one minutes, Bear?” I muse and he lifted the covers, crawling underneath, and getting between my thighs. 

“Don’t they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day?” he asked, kissing over my pantyline in the way that made my breath hitch. 

“Real breakfast, baby. Which you refuse most the time” I told him, gently pushing his curls back, watching as he carefully slips my panties to the side. 

He licks a stripe up my heat with the pad of his tongue, stopping at my clit and applying more pressure, open jawed, rubbing his tongue messily back and forth. I whined in pleasure, my head dropping back to the pillow. 

He hooked my knees over his shoulders, pulling me closer by my hips and gently sucks on the sensitive bud that was now getting firmer and more prominent, flicking and smoothing his tongue over it in small circles, earning hot moans of satisfaction from deep in my chest. 

“Oh-“ I breathe out, my voice coming out as more of a squeak then anything and my hips buck involuntarily as a jolt of pleasure cracks through me at his actions. 

“Mmm so fuckin sweet” he grumbled into the slick flesh, the vibrations causing my core to clench around nothing.  

“Holy fuck Carmy” I gasp as I felt his tongue lapping over my enterence, thrusting his tongue inside in one swift motion, humming in satisfaction as he felt me squeeze tightly around his tongue and I tugged his hair between my fingers. 

“Ah- shitholy-fuckingchristCarm” I moaned out as he nudged the bridge of his strong nose against my clit with a pressure that was gonna drive me right over the edge- and fast. 

“Mmhmm- mmhmm” I nod quickly, biting my lip hard as I feel that all too familiar tightening in my stomach, the pool building quickly and the dam walls getting ready to snap, all of my muscles tightening and my thighs quivering. 

“Breathe” he reminded me gently, reaching up and grabbing one of the hands that had taken grip on his hair, lacing our fingers together and squeezing my hand gently. 

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding, “sorry” I mumble sheepishly and he continued, humming happily into my slick when I gasp in a enormous breath as he flicks his tongue wildly over my clit, pressing my hips into the bed to make me remain still with his other forearm. 

“Oh- oh- fuuuck! Ah- ahh! cumming! Yes- yes!!!” I cry out, squeezing his hand tightly, my head thrown back in bliss and spine arched off the bed. 

“mm- shit- fuck- too sensitive” I whine, as he continued the rough assault on my clit, digging my nails into the back of his hand. 

“I think I can get another one babe - cmon be good f’me, please?” he said lowly, his voice coated in thick, honey-like lust. 

“Ah- fuck-fuck- okay- mmmmillbegood” I slur, my thighs pressing against his temples and ankles locked behind his head. 

He removed his forearm from my hips. “Y’gonna be a good girl, mmm? Y’gonna stay still f’me? Er do I need t’keep holdin’ you?” He asks and I shook my head. 

“Ill be still, promise” I said quickly, squeezing his hand gently. 

“That’s my girl” he brought his mouth back to my clit, slipping two fingers in my entrance and curling them expertly into that amazing spongy spot he seemed to have memorized by now, that I could somehow never manage to get to so well on my own. 

“Holyfuck” I groaned, tugging his hair taut and he moans into me, the vibrations on my over sensitive clit dragging me to the edge and leaving me dangling there. 

“Ah- fuck mmm-d’that- keep doin’ that Bear pleeeease” I begged as I tug at his hair harder, earning a deeper moan out of him. My hips snap back into the mattress, twitching and shaking as I mewl and whine through my second orgasm, my back arched and hand leaving his hair to grip the sheets so I wouldn’t hurt him as I held them in a white knuckle grasp. 

His alarm goes off for 4:30 a few moments after my thighs stop quivering in pleasure and hips finally stilled. He messily wiped his wet chin, mouth, and the tip of his nose on my thigh, slick with my arousal, before placing a gentle kiss on my mound, and popping his head out of the sheets, casually hitting the stop button on the alarm. 

“Thanks f’breakfast honey” he joked, getting out of bed and stretching his back, before giving me a peck on the lips and heading off to the bathroom, leaving me fucked absolutely dumb. 

“Anytime” I said tiredly, feeling exhausted once again after only a few hours sleep and being feasted on so intensely, and so early in the morning. 

He left the bathroom door cracked so Persephone wouldn’t scratch the whole time trying to get in and investigate what he was doing, and I heard him start the shower before I rolled back over and fell asleep. 

I was awoken by sweet gentle kisses about 45 minutes later, feeling the icy metal of his chain brush over my chin as he pressed lingering kisses on my forehead. “Hey sleepy” he said softly, rubbing my side. 

The smell of his cologne and minty toothpaste hits my nose and my eyes flutter open. He was sat next to me, backpack and hoodie already on. 

“Already?” I whine, laying over his lap and nuzzling my face in his tummy, breathing in his scent and wrapping my arms around him. 

“Mmhmm. But 3:30 yeah? I’ll come pick y’up from the library we can have lunch in the car?” He gently runs his fingers through my hair in the way that made me sleepy, and my eyes flutter shut once again subconsciously. 

“Can’t you call out sick?” I mumble into his sweatshirt and he chuckled. This was the same conversation we had nearly every morning. 

“And do what princess? Mm? Follow you to the library and sit around while you put away books?” He joked and I huff. 

“Yes. Exactly that.” I said and look up at him, puckering my lips, knowing I wouldn’t win this battle possibly ever unless he was actually sick. 

“Mmhmm I’m sure y’boss would love to just have a chef loitering around all day waiting for her star employee” he teased, leaning down and giving me a sweet, tender goodbye kiss. 

“Be safe.” I said softly when he pulled away, cupping his cheek and rubbing over his cheekbone with my thumb. He leaned into my touch, sighing softly and eyes fluttering shut. 

“Always. We have a big catering order today, so if I don’t text back that’s why. What do you want f’r lunch in case I forget to ask?” He took my hand, gently kissing my palm. 

“Mmm- dunno. Surprise me, nothin’ spicy but you knew that” I said, covering my mouth as I yawn. 

“Surprise it’ll be then baby” he leaned in, kissing me once more before pulling away and rubbing my stomach signaling it was that dreaded time. 

I sigh, sitting up off his lap and giving him a big hug, kissing his cheek with a smooch “have a good day baby” I said softly into his damp hair, kissing his head once more before letting him go. 

“Thank you angel, lock the door behind me please” he said and I nod, following him to the door and see Persephone was sat on top of his shoes in the hallway.  

“See I think Persephone says you should stay home too” I smile and he shook his head with a grin. 

“Not t’day snowball” he picks her up, kissing her head and he licks the tip of his nose, causing him to scrunch it adorably. 

“Ugh fish breath” he mutters and I giggle. 

“She looooooves her Carmy, isn’t that right little baby?” I scratch her chin and he plops her in my arms so he can slip on his sneakers. 

“Mmhmm and I love her too but duty calls, stinky” he tells her in a sweet voice and kisses her head once more before pecking my lips once he had his shoes on and opening the door. 

“And put some panties on Winnie the Pooh” he said in my ear, spanking my bum lightly before heading down the hall. 

I laughed “Sorry- I’ll make sure to put your leftovers away sooner next time” I call after him teasingly, shutting the door behind me and clicking it locked.

I was in the Young Adult section at the library, putting returned books back on the shelf, when I felt my phone start buzzing in my bra. I fished it out, abandoning my cart of books I’d yet to put away, quickly heading to the employee back room once I realized it was Carmy. 

I clicked green answer button. “Hey Bear! How’s the-“ he cuts me off suddenly. 

“Hey- um- hey. I need like- a huge favor baby”  

He said nervously. I put a concerned hand on my hip, nervously pacing the break room. “What is it love? Are you ok? Are you hurt?” I asked, already on edge due to the anxiety lacing his tone. 

“No- no I’m ok- it’s uh. Syd. She’s….fuck I’m sorry - her stomach? Something about her stomach. She’s in the office right now, she can like- barely move but she doesn’t want to go to the hospital and uhh.” I could see him in my mind nervously shaking his hand and pacing. 

“Okay- okay I’m coming. Is it like a girl tummy ache- or something different?” I asked, grabbing my purse and light jacket I’d worn, quickly putting it on as I held my phone pressed to my cheek and shoulder.

“No - no way honey. This is like- she can barely speak - I’ve never…I’m scared baby.” He said, his voice cracking a bit. 

“Shhh. It’s ok, it’s ok, Bear- Syd has had stomach ulcer problems in the past, I need you to get her to try and eat something, ok? Shes gonna say no, but she has to eat- the acid in her stomach is irritating her. I’m coming. I’m grabbing an Uber right now, breathe baby. It’s all gonna be fine” I said and he took a deep trembling breath. 

“Ye’…yeah. Ok. Okay, I’ll see you baby, be safe” he said and I sigh softly. 

“Always” I said softly and hung up. I shoved my phone in my coat pocket, untucking my hair and heading to my bosses office. 

I lightly knocked, waiting for her ‘come in’ before nudging the door open. 

“Hey- Family emergency, I have to head out. Could you let Jessie know I left some returns in the YA section?” I ask and she nods. 

“Hope everything’s ok, call me if you can’t make it in Monday.” She said and I nodded. 

“Thank you” I told her before shutting her office door behind me. 

The Uber ride to The Bear was torturous, I’d texted Syd thrice - to no avail. She was constantly pushing herself so hard- that she was making herself literally burn from the inside out. I’d told her time and time again, from everything I’d learned in my 3 years at college- stress can literally kill you, and that she should really take some time off before she seriously injured herself- but unfortunately she never listened. 

I got out of the car when we’d barely come to a full stop, rushing to the front door, stepping inside and seeing Sugar at the host stand. “Oh- thank god- Carmy is freaked out Winnie- he literally is convinced she’s dying- can you go cool him off? Please?” She begs and I nodded quickly, heading behind the counter and pushing the back door open to the loud kitchen. 

Everytime I was here during the day, I made it a point not to come in this way because the environment made my skin crawl. The noise, the lights, the crashing of pans and pots, the yelling, the sudden bursts of flames while various chefs flambéd dishes that would singe your hair if you weren’t paying attention. 

I swallowed thickly “uh- oops! Sorry” I squeak, quickly getting out of a foodrunners way as he briskly moved past me, shoving the door open with his hip and heading to the front of the restaurant with a large tray of food he held with one hand over his shoulder. 

“Uh- behind you? I’m behind you!” I tried to call over the noise as I pass various people. Usually if I came through the front, Carmy greeted me and people parted for us like Moses and the Red Sea- but without his presence, I was just another body in here and no one seemed to even realize I was there. 

I finally made it back to the hall where the offices were, taking a deep breath to center myself before pushing open the door. 

Carmen was knelt in front of the big comfy couch in Sugars office, offering Syd some water. 

“Winnie- if you don’t get your boyfriend the fuck away from me- I’m gonna peel off his skin and enjoy it” Syd said through gritted teeth. 

“Syd- Syd- eat. Y’have t’eat.” He pleads and I shut the door to silence out all the noise. 

“Carmy” I said softly and he looks up at me, concern and worry written all over his face. “Take a walk, yeah? Go have a cigarette ok?” I said gently and squat next to him, rubbing his shoulder that was hard as a rock with all the tension he was currently holding. 

“No- no. She’s sick Winnie. She’s just bein’ a jagoff because she hates bein’ cared for. Cmon syd” he looks at her and she glared back at me with the fire of 1000 suns, a look that if I was quite honest- scared me slightly. 

“Bear” I gently play with his curls, earning his attention once more. “What Syd needs right now, is the energy in the room to be calm, and you’re literally vibrating with anxiety. Please, f’me? Go relax. Ok?” I said and kiss his temple. 

He huffs and got up, leaving the room with a hard closing of the door, but not quite a slam. I look at Syd, and before I could start, we both hear Carmy going off 

“I’m steppin’ out f’r 5 FUCKIN MINUTES- If that GOD DAMN DIRTY BOWL I ALREADYTOLD SOMEONE TO WASH IS STILL SITTING AT THE EXPO WHEN I GET BACK HEADS WILL ROLL FUCKERS. MOVE. IM NOT FUCKIN’ AROUND T’DAYISN’T THE FUCKIN’ DAY “ he barks before we hear his heavy footsteps stomping off down the hall and a harsh slam of the back door. 

Syd rolls her eyes and I gently sit next to her. “See what I have to deal with? And you wonder why I’m - fffuuuuck oh my gooooddd” she groans, keeling over and laying on my lap as she clutches her stomach. “Fucking kill me. Oh my god- kill me please” she moaned in pain. 

I gently rub her arm, digging through my purse and taking out one of my vials of RSO I kept in there for emergencies. “Here, Y’gonna have to go home- but..it’s gonna make it stop” I told her. 

“Give it. Give it. Whatever it fucking is. I’d literally take heroin right now holy shit Winnie it feels like I’m being stabbed” she said, hands shaking from how much pain she was in. 

“Open.” I told her, tilting her face towards me. “Tongue up” I said when she opened her mouth and I squirt a decent glob of oil under her tongue. 

She closed her mouth, nose scrunching at the taste “what the fuck is that weed?!” She mumbles and I nod. 

“Mmhmm, well kinda- don’t swallow. Let it sit until the pain stops enough that you forget about it and wonder why your mouth is so full of spit” I teased, gently dabbing her sweaty forehead with a napkin from my purse. 

“Thank you” she mumbled, closing her eyes and sighing softly as she waited for it to kick in. 

“He was really worried, Syd.” I said after a few minutes of silence, when I knew the pain had started to dull since her hands had stopped shaking. 

She shook her head in annoyance, unable to speak yet because of the oil and scrunching her nose as if to say ‘he shouldn’t be.’ 

“Y’re his only friend. Other then me, and Richie. But Richie raised him. Of course he’s gonna worry for you. Especially when you’re like- near the point of vomiting blood because of how bad this is getting. You have to do the surgery, Syd.” I said and with that she swallowed, sitting up and looking at me. 

“No- no. Winnie. No! I’m- I can’t. I can’t and I won’t. It’s not even that bad and I’m not vomiting blood miss theatrics- I’m not gonna take 3 weeks off work to do a stupid surgery that isn’t even guaranteed to find anything wrong! What if they go in there and find nothing and I’m back at square one- and out of work for THREE WEEKS?! I can’t leave Tina yet, she- she’s. No. I can’t let her drown. Carmy too- a-and Richie. We can’t-“ I inturrupt her 

“Sydney.” I said in a dead serious tone. “Y’need to get it. This is literally like - this should not even be a discussion at this point! The reason the doctor wants you to have it is because before they can just give you all these medicines to fix your gut bacteria that’s all shot from fucking stress- it’ll hurt you more on the very slim chance you don’t have a stress ulcer, but it is something with your stomach, Syd. It’s an exploratory surgery they don’t do those for no reason.” I said as Carmen came in and his eyes nearly fell out of his head. 

“Surgery?!” He exclaims and slams the door shut behind him. “What? Syd- what’s going on. This isn’t a stomachache you didn’t just eat somethin’ that’s not agreeing with you. What is it, Sydney” she said and I crossed my arms, sitting back and letting her do the talking. 

A slow smile grows on her face, and she covers her mouth with her hands as she begins to giggle. Fair to say the oil has now done its trick. 

“Have I ever told you, when you get mad, there’s this vein in your forehead- and- it’s- it’s so funny” she said, causing me to start laughing with her. 

Carm’s eyes flickered to mine. “What the hell did you give her?” He asks and I shrug with a smirk. 

“Somethin’ t’make her floaty, and” I shield my mouth from Syd so only Carm could see “agreeable” I mouthed and he smiled a bit, shaking his head. 

“Syd.” He looks at her. 

“Caaarrrmeeennnn” she replied in a sing-songy voice “I need to get back to the spice mixture for my cod now- but this was a great chat guys. Winnie- you’re the best” she said and got up, heading towards the door. 

“Noooo ya’ don’t” Carmen stops her, spinning her around by the shoulders and leading her back to the couch. She groaned dramatically, sitting down next to me once more. “What is this about a surgery, Syd?” He asked, pulling up the rolling chair and sitting in front of us. 

“A stuuuuupiiiidd surgery Carmen. Stupid. Doctors wanna slice me open and prod around hoping they find something. And then when they don’t i'll be stuck at home with my dad glued to my bedside, for no fucking reason, and I’ll loose three weeks minimum of work. And that’s if they find nothing. If they do find something, I’ll have to schedule another surgery and I’ll be out for SIX weeks.” She said and Carm nods, rubbing over his face for a moment as he thinks. 

“And how long have they been buggin’ you t’get this surgery, Syd?” He asked finally, brushing his hair back and looking at her seriously. 

“Mmm….” She crossed her arms, averting his gaze “7 months” she mumbles. 

“What?!” Carmen leans forward in disbelief. “Say that- say that again? I know y’didnt just say you’ve been dealin’ w’this f’r a fuckin year” he said and she shrugged. 

“They reccomended it a year ago, they’ve just been hounding me for the past 7 months. It’s really not that bad, Carm.” She said and he shook his head, getting up and going over to the filing cabinet silently. 

“What are you doing?” Sydney sits up as he opens a drawer, thumbing through different file folders before popping out what looked to be a blank information sheet of some kind and plops back down in the chair, rolling over to the desk and beginning to fill it out with a pen. 

“Carmen - what are you” she stood up, looking at the form he was filling out “no” she said, ripping it from under his pen and crumpling it up, throwing it in the wastebasket next to the desk. “Fuck you. No” she seethed. 

“What’s going on?” I sit up. 

“Syd- there’s like 50 million copies, I really don’t want to do it like this, but I know you aren’t gonna do it unless I make you do it.” He said and got up, walking back over to the same filing cabinet. 

She followed him, holding the drawer containing the forms closed with her hand. “No! Carmen are you fucking kidding me?! You aren’t my fucking parent. Stop! We are equals here! You can’t do this” she said and he shook his head, resting his hand atop the cabinet. 

“Sydney. This isn’t a discussion, are you really gonna make me say it, you’re really gonna push me?” He asked lowly. 

She crosses her arms, “say it.” She countered chest quickly moving with rapid angry breaths. 

“As your partner. I’m ordering you, mm? It’s an order, Sydney. Y’gonna go to the back, Y’gonna empty out your locker- because y’not gonna be around here for a while, and you are going to come back to this office, Y’gonna take the short term disability form I give you, Y’gonna call them, file. it. I will be checking, and then, Y’gonna schedule whatever fuckin procedure you need, and when your doctor clears you to come back in the kitchen, then, and only then will you return to work. I’m being more then fair, considering you’re making me force you t’do this, so I’ll be paying you your full wages while you’re out. Even though, im gonna have to train 3 dumb fucks to even-“ he shook his head, sighing deeply. “T’even keep us runnin’ half as well. So there. There. You wanted me to fuckin’ play mean mentor partner there ya go.” He said before opening up the drawer, plucking out another blank form and sitting back at the desk. 

She scoffs, looking to me. “You’re just gonna let him do this?” She narrowed her eyes at me, brows furrowed with anger.  

“Syd- this..this isn’t my restaurant…you only answer to-“ Carmy cuts me off. 

“Do not. No. Sydney, out. Step the fuck out, now. Y’not doin’ this t’her. She fuckin-“ he shakes his head, rubbing his eyes before pointing to the door. 

“Fuckin- go. Go before I say shit I’ll regret. Leave. Now.” He orders her and she left the office with a loud slam of the door. 

I sighed, dropping my head back on the couch and closing my eyes, wanting to melt into a puddle on the floor. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry baby” he sighed, the soft sounds of pen on paper filling the silence. 

“Not your fault” I mumbled, crossing my arms. 

“I-it is. Babe I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be bringin’ you into this shit. It’s not fair, she’s your friend” he said. 

“Exactly- she’s my friend. I love her, Carm. She’s a hard headed fuck at times, but it’s because she loves being here. She just- has this idea that I have some semblance of control over what you do” I took off my shoes before sitting crisscrossed on the couch. 

He snorts a dry laugh, shaking his head. “Well. I mean, not full control- but I listen to you” he gives me a small smirk and I roll my eyes. 

“In our relationship of course. But I can’t honestly give you advice about that. Shes gonna cool off and apologize, to you too babe. Shes gonna realize we just want her better” I sighed softly. 

He nodded, continuing to fill out the form. “I get if you don’t wanna sit around here, want me t’drive you home?” He asked. 

I shook my head “why not? Well if I can stay back here. I don’t like being in the kitchen like at all” I said and he chuckled. 

“Why? Too busy?” He asked

“Too busy, too loud, too bright, to many stabbey things, too many people, too many smells, too much yelling.” I said, pulling my kindle out of my purse. “But back here I have a comfy couch, my books, and my bear. So, I’m ok here” i smile a bit and he rolled over, giving me a peck on the lips. 

“Thank you f’comin, honey. Really” he tucked my hair behind my ear. 

“Baby, any time. If you’re ever scared, or need to talk, or just- I dunno…need a hug? I’m here. That’s what I’m for.” I said and he kissed my nose sweetly. 

“Then I’m the luckiest guy alive” he said softly before kissing my lips in the way that gave me a feeling of a swarm of monarchs being trapped in my chest.  

“Oh you are the mushiest ever” I said and kissed the cute little moles on his cheek.

The door slammed open and Syd comes in “give it.” She snipped, outstretching her hand. 

Carm rolls back over to the desk, handing her the form and she plucks it from his hands. He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and they look at eachother in silence, almost like 2 lions deciding if it was worth it to continue a fight over dominance. 

“Please.” She said quietly after a few moments, her big brown eyes teary. 

“Syd” he said softly, signing to her ‘I’m sorry’ over his chest and i bit my lip, looking out the window, trying to appear uninterested so that they could have some semblance of privacy. 

“Then I want you to get your back checked out. Fair is fair, Carmen.” She said shakily. 

My eyes flicker back over to him and he sits back in his chair, rubbing over his chin for a moment as he thought. “Fine. Fine. I’ll go to the doctor. Back pain is different Syd you know this. But fuckin’ whatever. I’ll go if it’ll make you get Y’r surgery” he said and she nodded once. 

“Fair is fair” she outstretched her hand for him to shake, and he rolled his eyes. 

“Really, we have to seal this with a handshake?” He asked. 

“Fair, is fair.” She replied and he shook her hand firmly. 

“And I’m sorry” she said to me. I nodded 

“It’s okay, I know this is…it’s hard, kid. I get it. But did you have to give me the near impossible task of getting him to the doctor?” I tease with a smile. 

The faintest upturn of a smile replaced her frown and she shrugs. “It’s his deal to go through on. I’ll be checking.” She repeated his words from earlier and he gave her a smug smile. 

“And how will you do that? You don’t know what doctor I see, or if I’ll just go to an urgent care and have some random ass doctor write me a pain pill prescription and that’s it.” He countered. 

“Oh- because I have eyes on you at every angle.” She told him. “I’m always watching.” She teased, closing the office door behind her when she left. 

“What- is she gettin’ daily reports from you ‘er somethin?” He asks and I laughed, shrugging a bit. 

“Mmm. Not reports. I don’t like tell her everything, but- mood reports” I giggle and Richie opens the door. 

“What the fuck are you doing?! How are we gonna run this shit without Syd?!” He shuts the door behind him and looks over to me. “Sorry sweetheart, nice t’see you” he gives me an apologetic smile before turning back to Carm. “You let her go?!” He asks and Carmen looks at him as if he had 3 heads. 

“Let her go?! No, jagoff. I told her to take short term, I’m paying her full wages as long as she needs, and she’s gonna be back when she’s fuckin’ better.” Carmy explained. 

“Short term? Short term termination? Short term what?!” Richie asked frustratedly. 

“You IDIOT. SHORT TERM DISABILITY!” He shouts at him and I flinch. 

“Carmen” I said sharply, he quickly looks over to me. 

“That scares me. Please. You don’t need to yell, Bear- also- you aren’t an idiot, Richie. He’s just…in a mood.” I said softly and Carm’s cheeks flush red.  

“ok” he muttered, turning back to Richie. “It’s-“ he takes a deep breath. “It’s fine. I have it under control. What I need you t’do, is ask Nat for the login shit for the recruiting website she used to find the runners and shit. Can you handle that f’me while I figure out how this shits gonna work while Syds out?” He asked him calmly, but I could still…feel him. His energy. He’s way too wound up. 

I wish I could just tell him to come home, talk it out with him, I knew all of this rage was just him burying his fear. He was so fucking scared. 

“I can. I can do that” Richie nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “So- so what’re we doin’ what’s the fuckin plan?” He asked and I give him a look. 

I knew he had to get out of here or Carm was going to rip in to him just because he could. “Richie, Syd just left- like 5 minutes before you came in here? Carmy is still working that out…can you- can you do me a favor?” I asked and his brows raised in surprise. 

“Yea? Yeah. Wha’dyou need?” He asked. 

“Can you go get that stuff from Nat and then make me a grilled cheese? Eva said you make really good grilled cheese. So Carmy can have some quiet time to figure this out, and you guys can tell everyone what’s going on together.” I look at Carm. 

“Because you don’t have to do everything alone, you’re a team. Breaking difficult news is hard, but when you have the people you love with you, it can make it easier to bare the weight.” I said, looking directly at Carmen. 

Carm nodded, swallowing thickly and biting at the inside of his lip nervously. “Sure- yeah. She uh…she said that?” Richie asked and I smiled, looking over to him once again. 

“She specifically said - ‘My daddy makes the best grilled cheese in the whole wide world’ “ I told him and he smiled a bit, a light blush creeping to his cheeks. 

“Alright well the kid has quite the flare f’dramatics, but I can make a pretty good grilled cheese. Comin’ right up” he said and headed back out to the kitchen, shutting the door behind him. 

Carm got up, locking the door, before coming over to the couch and laying down with his head in my lap. I knew he didn’t have the confidence to ask, so I gently start scratching his head in the way that he liked and his eyes fluttered shut. He let out a deep sigh, like a pressure valve releasing so it wouldn’t explode. 

“So let’s make a plan, baby. I don’t think you need three. I think you know that but you’re planning for someone to drop” I said softly, gently stroking my nails through his hair. 

“Cause someone will drop babe it’s how it fuckin goes. If I hire 2 we’re gonna be left short when one quits because they aren’t as good as the other one.” He said. 

“Well why do you say that, baby?” I asked. 

“Because no one’s gonna fight to be the best when they inevitably find out they’re a temp” he said and I furrow my brows. 

“Carmen. You weren’t planning on hiring someone without telling them right?” I asked and he got quiet. “Carmen. Are you kidding me?! Absolutely not! Oh my god that is so- so mean baby!” I said and his cheeks heat. 

“Well who the fuck is gonna wanna work here when we already have a full fuckin staff?!” He asked annoyed. 

“Because you are the best fucking restaurant in Chicago, are you kidding me baby?! Just like you sent Richie to Ever to gain experience? There are fucking talented chefs Carmy, ones like Richie who don’t have the time to save and go to super nice culinary school like you did and garner that expirience. There would be a line out the door if you were honest and said ‘hey who wants a 2 month opportunity at a luxury fine dining restaurant that’s been nominated for best new restaurant by the JBF in its first year open’ “ I told him. 

He was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. “I guess” he mutters. 

“Babe cmon we can write the posting together. We don’t even have to do all this today. Don’t rush, y’know what would be a good idea?” I ask. He hums in response. “I think, that you should go back out there, work as usual, keep Syd’s stations covered best you can, and we can have a nice Sunday together, relax, recharge, and then we’ll have Palm Sunday dinner with the family, and then on Monday, you can come in fresh and rested with a great plan on what you’ll tell everyone with Richie.” I explain. 

He contemplated for a moment, looking over at the desk in thought before looks up at me, “thank you.” He said softly. I gently caress his cheek with my knuckle. 

“Nothin’ to thank me for, Bear.” I said and he took my hand, placing a gentle kiss to my knuckles. 

“There’s too much to thank you for. We’d be here forever” he mumbled against my fingers with a small smile.  

“You’re getting mushier by the day” I ruffle his hair and the doorknob jiggles. 

“D’you still want this?” Richie calls from outside. 

“Yeah! Sorry” I said getting up when Carmen got off my lap. I opened the door and Richie offers me a plate with 2 grilled cheeses. 

“He hasn’t eaten” he said so only we could hear and I nod. 

“Thank you, best cousin ever” I took the plate. 

“Course, anytime. Oh Carm” he looks to him “user is MBerzatto87 password is fuckin password234.” He said and Carm chuckled a bit. 

“I coulda guessed that shit. But I guess I was hopeful he gave more a shit about cybersecurity” he shook his head. 

“RICHIE. DID YOU TOUCH MY ORANGE ZEST?!” Tina shouts from the kitchen and Richie heads back 

“What the fuck would I need orange zest for?” He yells back as I shut the door, locking it once again. 

“How do things always go missing?” I giggle a bit, sitting next to him and placing the plate on his lap, taking one of the sandwiches and taking a bite. 

“Cause people at the same stations doin’ the same thing will think they already did their orange zest, and just take it.” He said, staring at the plate on his lap. “Also I’m not hungry” he put the plate on the desk. 

I shrugged, putting my sandwich back on the plate. “Okay” I said, brushing off my hands before grabbing my kindle again and continuing to read. 

“What- what’re you doin’ babe. Eat” he said, putting the plate on my lap. 

“I’m not hungry” I said, not looking up from the page. 

“Yes you are, you - you don’t ask for food unless you’re hungry, Winnie.” He said. 

“Mm- I like it when we eat together. I don’t wanna eat by myself so, my appetite is gone.” I lie with a shrug. 

“Y’really gonna be difficult right now?” He asked and in response, I playfully stuck out my tongue before going back to reading. 

“Oh you are a child” he huffs, picking up the untouched sandwich and taking a bite. 

“Oo! I’m hungry again!” I teased, grabbing mine as well and taking another bite. 

He snorts a laugh, rolling his eyes. “Y’re lucky y’cute” he said before taking another bite. 

I smiled, “I love winning you over. It’s my favorite game” I said teasingly. 

“Yeah yeah, I’m just saving myself, you turn into a tiny demon when you’re hungry. Especially on your cycle” he said and I laughed. 

“You’ve learned your lesson though so you don’t have to meet that demon again as long as you keep us fed.” I peel off the crust, setting it on the plate. 

“You don’t like the crust?” He asked. 

“No…well- I don’t know..really. I didn’t as a kid, but Chris did, so I always gave it to him. Never stopped” I said, staring at the crust on the plate as I got lost in memories of sitting in the school cafeteria with Chris over lunch, carefully peeling off the crust after taking my first bite and putting it on the top of the empty ziplock he’d taken his sandwich from. 

“That’s sweet. I’m sure he’s happy you still leave it for him” he said. My heart melts at the sentiment and I gently kissed his cheek before resuming eating my sandwich. 

“I don’t like pickles, so when we were kids- Mikey always picked em off for me.” He says quietly and I looked up at him. It wasn’t often that he brought up stories about Michael, so each one I safely tucked away in my mind where I’d never forget. 

“I love pickles, I could eat a whole jar if you let me. I’ll always take unwanted pickles” I smiled a bit. 

“Ahhh ok. So you’re a sour person not a spicy person. It’s usually one or the other” he said before finishing off his sandwich. 

“Yes- exactly. You like spicy stuff? We haven’t eaten a single spicy thing” I said and he nods. 

“Love spicy shit. But you don’t, so doesn’t really matter” he shrugged. 

“Wha- Carmy. No! No you can eat spicy things, I feel bad. I don’t want it to always be what I like. Just like- make mine less spicy” I said. 

“It’s fine babe, I try spicy stuff here all the time. Plus the food I like with a ton of spice in it is usually Indian and Filipino and shit where the whole profile is about the heat and the spice so-“ I inturrupt him. 

“You like Filipino food?!” I asked and he nods 

“Yeah- why, do you?” He asks and I nod happily 

“My neighbor! Ms.Mendoza! She’s from the Philippines! Before you started bringing me dinner I’d usually stop by her place because she always made too much and asked me if I wanted it, you have to talk to her babe she’s like- amazing! I’m sure you guys will have so much in common she loves cooking- and she has like all these connections back home in the Philippines and they send her spice mixes and stuff for her to try. You have to try this stew- she calls it um..” I think for a moment “inew? Inihaw? Yeah- I think that’s it. Inihaw na leimpo! “ I said excitedly. 

“Oh- the lady- the lady I met?” He asked and I nod. 

“Yeah- I…I never asked- was she there when you got there?” I asked

“She- well” he chuckled. “Almost knocked me out with her cane cause I guess she thought I was trying to break in, cause I heard you screamin’ and I was trying to pick the lock, I told her I was a friend and she didn’t really believe me, but then she saw the flowers and she nearly dropped the keys getting the door open.” He said and my cheeks go pink. 

“I’m…I’m sorry- she’s like….such a grandma. She’s been hounding me about a boyfriend since I moved in don’t mind her pushyness about it. She’s been trying to hook me up with her friends grandsons left and right” I finished off my sandwich. 

“Well, she can stop looking now right?” He asks. 

I brushed my hands off before nervously picking at my nail polish at the question. “What does that mean?” I asked and the room went eerily silent for what felt like minutes. 

“Cause’…” he trails off. “Are you…are you still seeing other people?” He asks and I look over at him. 

“No. No, Carmy. No just you..are you?” I asked and he shook his head. “So…what does that mean?” I asked biting the inside of my lip nervously. 

“I…I dunno…” he looked at the clock. “I uh- I have to get out there, you still wanna hang out here?” He asked. 

I swallowed thickly, realizing that I didn’t want to be here all day if he was just going to run away. 

“So…what Syd said. You’re- you’re my boyfriend now?” I asked and he went pale as a sheet. 

I stare at him, waiting for a response, and he opens his mouth like he was going to say something but he closes it again, nervously rubbing his lips together. 

“Well- are you?” I ask. 

“So- so Y’re like…my girlfriend now?” He asked. 

“That’s my question, am I your girlfriend?” I asked and he shrugged. 

“I guess? I dunno…I’ve never done this I just…kinda assumed?” He said rubbing his neck nervously. 

“Well- I don’t remember you ever asking me…” I nudge his knee with mine gently. 

“You didn’t ask me to be your boyfriend either!!” He said. 

“Because I knew you’d freak out! And like- Y’re a masculine guy Carm I didn’t wanna make you feel insecure!” I exclaim. 

“Okay fine! Will you be my girlfriend?” He asks, a small smile on his lips. 

“Hmmmmm….” I put my finger to my lips, pretending to contemplate. “Of course I will dummy” I pull him into a deep wanting kiss and he hums happily, gently rubbing over my hip with his palm. 

“Y’know y’mine baby I tell you like every day” he said, his breath fanning my lips. 

I look up at him, biting my lip to contain a grin. “I dunno…I thought you said it just t’like..please me when we fool around, I didn’t know you meant it.” I said softly. 

“I’d never say something I don’t mean baby, everything I tell you I really mean” he leans in, kissing me again. But this kiss was sweeter, somehow more intimate then the last. It felt…truthful. 

I gently cup his cheek, humming softly and he pulls away when the doorknob to the office starts to jiggle and someone pounds on it. 

“Chef?! We need more hands out here if we’re gonna be gettin’ this order out on time are you with us?” Tina calls through the door. 

“Duty calls” he sighs softly. “You know where to find me baby” he kissed my forehead sweetly before heading back out to the kitchen.

➵ 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 ♡♡♡

[sleepyowlwrites]

Im...sorry it's not original, but now that you brought all these questions up (https://www.tumblr.com/sleepyowlwrites/752120356487168000/you-lot-should-be-quizzing-me-on-my-stories-and?source=share)

Can you please answer them?

I wanted to ask you to share fun(or sad, or funny etc) facts about your stories but didn't wanna pressure you TT

Have a wonderful day regardless!! ♥️♥️♥️

The post with a working link

And the answers to the questions asked:

1. R stands for Roland. He doesn't like his name, so he started going by R, which is like, so dumb, my guy, but R is dumb, so it fits. Eventually it just sounds like his name, which, to him it is.

2. R and Mark are fighting because *inhales deeply* R has a mortifying ordeal of being known complex while simultaneously having need to be seen and acknowledged complex, and Mark got invited to the friend group by Daniel but then proceeded to kinda ignore R's existence, which is not okay! And he got all dramatic about it, and then Mark, who lowkey has a self-destructive thing going on due to his healing superpower (oh yeah he has that) so he makes it physical and R is lowkey self-destructive due to his middle child pseudo-parent arrogance thing he's got going on and he also makes it physical and then the friend group is like please stop, this is so stupid, and then they stop being physical about it for their friends but they're still being stupid and being verbally abrasive to each other until gradually they can't find any reasons to keep going with that and then they stop fighting. And then it's awkward! Yay.

3. Rune's ex-fianceè was abusive and controlling and he orchestrated her parents' deaths! Jail, jail for Max for ten thousand years or maybe just like, fall off a bridge or something. ☠️@$%!💀%!#☠️?&!#@💀#!?@ (Asterix cursing, lol)

4. The phantom thieves are after a map that leads to a famous treasure, they hope, and stealing the bride will get them closer to securing it. I invented the idea before I knew anything about one piece but now that I know things I realize the vibes are... well they're similar to the live action show, anyway.

5. Rhea does not know who her father truly is, which is an important plot point but also I feel fairly obvious from certain angles. This is the only thing in this list that I don't want to tell you. I don't even have major ambitions about summon story. I just want to keep this spoiler tucked away until I make myself write the actual plot.

And there you go, here are the answers. I guess I do remember some stuff about my stories.

@akindofmagictoo

[karkadette]

The Sims 4 | Ukrainian village house [photo longpost]

A story of this build is more than it seems.

English version of this post, so it can be also educational (sorry for mistakes in advance). [UA ver link / посилання на українську версію]

I finished this house on April 11th, 2022. It was already more than 1 month of russian full-scale invasion on Ukraine. This was one of the first times when I tried to distract a bit from a 24/7 scrolling though terrible scary news. I took my laptop, sit in corridor (note: this is a safe place in a flat if there is full-scale war with bombing, air strikes etc outside) and launched The Sims4. This was the most chill and comfy game that I had back than. No buttles, no difficult quests, just building.

I decided to build old Ukrainian village house, because at that time I was fully into thoughts about my country. I wanted to do something with traditional Ukrainian vibe or simply nostalgic.

I searched for some refs, childhood memories when I was spending summer holidays in the village. But also all of this is from my imagination and game functional.

The whole view to the land area.

Sunflowers in front of the house near the fence is a must! We have a lot of sunflower fields and it always nice to see even single flowers here and there. This is Ukrainian thing.

fun note: on the first months of russian full-scale invasion on Ukraine, brave Ukrainian woman came to the russian soldiers, that wanted to occupied a Ukrainian village, and ask them to put some seeds in their pockets, so they can at least somehow be useful after they pass away on Ukrainian land. This became a well-known meme and also a symbol in Ukraine.

Anyway, back to the house.

A vegetable garden in Ukrainian village household is a must too! I did a little one just for vibes. But usually Ukrainians have a few hectares of gardens. As people of agricultural country it would be strange if we didn't. BTW pumpkins in Sims are super cute, i guess they're not even from debug.

sad note: many of Ukrainian vegetable gardens are destroyed because of russian's bombing. They, in fact, purpously burn and shell fields to left us with no harvest.

Beekeeping is also a thing here. I guess almost every Ukrainian has a nostalgic chilhood memory when local beekeeper inspecting a hive frame and bees don't sting them. Oh, wow!

Hives in the Sims are very cure too!!

Talking about nostalgia. Even though nowadays in vilages we have toilets inside the house I wanted to build an old school one, haha. (one of the reason was me wondering how to buid it in Sims lol).

wtf note: while I was wondering which toilet to build in a game, russian soldiers were stealing flush toilets from Ukrainian houses, to send it to their homes and i guess finally live their dream.

The outdoor summer shower is another old school stuff that I wanted to include. On the left you can see an old bath and a tyre with flowers (just for fun really).

Some other details as a well and outdoor table.

It was so weirdly satisfying to build and to clutter up a shed, lol

Finally interior! Sunflowers on the table, random furniture and bunch of printed stuff on the walls.

Small bedroom with 2 extra beds if someone came to visit. I want you to notice an icon in the courner on the first pic. Small detail that I customised myseft 'cause I couldn't find any to download, ugh.

The basement or cellar. Very useful top tier place in the house. Safe and has a lot of food.

note: nowadays it's not an odd thing for Ukrainians to spend hours in here, waiting for air raid alert to stop. This one better than a corridor

Can you imagine how much time it took me to add all of this single veggies, fruits and other stuff from the debug? I bet you can't. Too long! But is was worth it!

The fun part! Secret exit from the basement, hidden in the bushes, hehe.

You never know when you will need to secretly escape your own house, because of neighbor invaders.

YAY! That's it! Thank you for scrolling down this long post! I wish I never needed to add such notes from my own experience.

And lastly, please,

1) Help and support Ukraine.

2) Don't say "because of Ukraine", say "Because of russia".

[tillman]

Embarrassed asking this bc I've been following for a hot minute now and still don't know anything haha--where would I start if I were to look into reading abt Lancelot and Galehaut?

NO ITS OK LOL medieval lit is fucking insane especially getting into it with no background here is my brief spiel: <- said before i ended up typing 800 words. sorry.

medieval lit is complex and extremely hard to approach. let alone that most translations work under the assumption the only people to ever read them would be academics with a background in medieval lit, getting into and reading it is a challenge. if u have an interest and dont want to have to brave one of the longest and most complex stories written in medieval french and translated by many many people into english, im happy to say the story of galehaut and lancelot has enough influence to have a pretty decent modern english retelling of the main beats in Lancelot and the Lord of the Distant Isles. (my pdf here, tho copies are really easy to find in bookstores and stuff this is only from 2007). It takes the main story of the vulgate and condenses it down to focus on just the love story of galehaut and lancelot. its pretty fun. the liberties it takes are slight and work for telling a coherent story.

Now, if you have read it, or want the real Galehaut experience, heres whats up, medieval texts and modern poems undercut:

Galehaut is in 5. i think maybe 6 medieval stories total. youre in for a treat as this is maybe the shortest "i want to get into arthuriana and i like this character where do i start?!" list possible besides like. drian the gay. or some other fucking nobody.

The main one, again, is the Vulgate Cycle. This is the main old french tale that inspired a looot of other arthurian works all over Europe. Its huge. Im not done scanning it BUT, i am done scanning the section Galehaut appears in, the beginning, because i got depressed after that lol. (Heres my scan of part 1, part 2 is on my website im too lazy to get both links).

From there, you got the most detailed explanation of the story of Galehaut, and can read the more fun shit and whacky shit with him and Lancelot in it YAY. Heres what i got pdfed on me rn:

Biggest one to note is he has a side role in Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. Nothing huge, and they do mix him up with Galahad at one point? but hes there. No one should read the original text its such a slog so heres Keith Baines awesome rendition

In other bad middle english texts, Lancelot of the Laik Book 3 has Galehaut, but its unfinished and also. only in middle english. fun footnote, dont read it. one day ill post my translation of book 3 alone LOL.

Short and sweet Galehaut is in The Old Knight, the greek text we have. he tries to fight for palamides and lancelot and tristan then try to fight for him. its cute. the old knight is an odd little thing just had to bring it up LOL (had to download a pdf for this one the site i read the article on before doesnt seem to be up.... just scroll to the bottom!) <- thisll be up on my website soon i forgot it i guess

Now for the funniest reveal: Galehaut plays more of a role in Tristania than Arthuriana most of the time (well. the arthurian branch of tristania im not getting into this rn). Why is Galehaut and Lancelots relationship expanded upon only here? only god can answer that.

Here is the Tavola Ritonda. Its one of the oddest texts i know of. Medieval italian. Very Very brutal. BUT. has some really interesting Galehaut takes and moments hidden in the . whatever is happening in this fucking text. its long as hell but mentioning for fun. (pdfff)

aand more interestingly. Here is the Belarussian translation of that. Which is even fucking weirder. mostly different plot, still has lots of really cute galehaut moments including the bit he asks tristan to join his and lancelots marriage. oh well i love the povest. (and heres that pdf)

Now. this is the wild card round. Heres the weird shit and the Hovey.

If you can brave French. modern french not old dont worry, Pierre Sala has Tristan et Lancelot. an exceptionally fucking weird story. Galehaut does make a slight appearance but mostly, keyley, funnierly, his evil german cousin is a recurring villain for a few chapters. its weird. its fun. its french. (pdf)

and finally. this one is on its own level, here is my dedication to Richard Hovey. one of the greatest poets of 1885 or whenever he wrote his arthurian stuff. He was gay. he famously called himself the american oscar wilde (and maybe met him at a party? one time we found a source saying they made out at a party.). and he wrote one of the only poems featuring galehaut i know.

well ok its a collection of dramas. and galehaut is not the focus. but he is a main character and he is insane. I recommend reading literally all his works hes a fucking amazing poet, you can even find his other poetry online easily. but heres his list of works on the camelot project. oh my god read richard hovey. please . hes my favorite poet.

[lorillee]

i KNOW its low hanging fruit but u ARE an aa blog and ive never seen u talk abt them directly so. phoenix and edgeworth

IM SORRYYYYYYYYY im sorry but im going to premise this, briefly, with the shocking (not shocking) revelation that i am, in fact, not a narumitsu girlie . sorry everybody new here who wasnt present for my 2 year one piece stint but this is very standard fare for me. the best my relationship with shipping ever gets is me getting absurdly invested in a single canon ship and then everything else is like. well its fine i guess. unless i hate it in which case im like "EUGH this thing again." ok anyways lets get into it

like ok the thing is i get it. i understand why people care so much like phoenix literally went to LAW SCHOOL for a guy he knew for like a year in preschool . but welcome to the wonders of my mind i guess 😎👍 (<- girl who has never had a crush in her life) . also tentative on the "fandom made me hate this one" because ok the thing is. alright sorry we're going to use this as a springboard for me to briefly talk about my relationship with fanon & the Fandom Favorite "i mean like EVERYBODYYYY ships it" ship

as im sure most of the people here are probably relatively aware (save for the new crowd) i am................... usually at odds with the popular fanon. recently ive found myself being drawn to more controversial characters which, as always, leads into me having to wade through whole slew of incredibly awful reductive terrible and wildly un-canon takes. unfortunately, because usually whoever i like has a complicated/actively bad relationship with the fandom favorite babies, the people who have absolutely abysmal takes about my personal favorite characters are also the same people who like to uwu-ify their smol precious beans. and thus the connection between "people who ship the fandom favorite ship" and "people who have terrible takes about my favorite characters" becomes a terrible sort of steel strong. so ive decided to take some preventative measures and have blocked all narumitsu tags before things get too ugly. ok so side tangent explanation on "fandom made me hate them" over !! yay👏👏👏

ANYWAYS . sorry that got too long. i feel the need to justify myself because this is literally The Fandom Favorite Ship and even though i have like a tiny smattering of followers and frankly nobody probably cares that much . its my voltron shipping war trauma or something. anyways. no seriously theyre incredibly funny theres this one. hold on actually im just going to link it. this post. honestly im not sure what more there is to say between everything ever thats already been said a trillion times abt aa1-2 and also that post that nails the wildly hysterical aa3 dynamic so well. yeah 😎👍 theyre great i love them but frankly i dont care terribly much about the ship sorry wrightworth enjoyers welcome to fandom with lorillee 😭🙏

[thepodcasthoard]

The Ultimate Guide to Starting A Podcast [Checklist]

Part 1 l Part 2 l Part 3 l Part 4 l Part 5 l Part 6 l Part 7 l Part 8 l Part 9 l Part 10

The eleventh article Sydney gave me is an actionable list. The writer- Lestraundra Alfred- said she started a podcast in ten days by following it.

Determine your niche.

I know. Some of you who have been reading all the posts in this series are probably groaning right now at the repetition. I admit, as I was reading through them I was starting to almost be able to say the words in my head before I read them, like how I can quote movies I've seen a bunch of times.

But this is important- I mentioned before that it's better to be in the top ten of a smaller niche than top twenty of a broader one. But it's more than that- sites like spotify and apple podcasts use the niches you provide to categorize your show, and that categorization brings your podcast to those who are actually looking for similar things.

The article lists popular categories- comedy, news, TV shows and movies, and sports among them- so you can find inspiration in them and narrow your focus.

2. Identify your ideal listener

The article talks about going super specific with your listener avatar- age, job, education, income, other interests, hobbies, and where they live. This will let you think about what your perfect listener will think about your ideas and help you refine them.

3. Name your podcast and make a launch date

For the name, make sure you look it up a few times with variations so you don't accidentally use the same name as some other brand.

For the launch date, make sure to give yourself some time to do your preparations and recording, but not too much time that it's just procrastinating.

4. Format and schedule

There's a variety of formats, each with their own pros and cons. Interviews, co-hosts, and solo shows are just three.

The most common frequencies of publishing according to this article are weekly, bi-weekly (which I assume in this case means once every two weeks, not twice a week), and monthly. But the article also says consistency is key- don't do weekly for three weeks, and then not upload for two months.

5. Podcast host

Again, this is necessary because of internet jargon. An RSS feed is needed to upload to the actual directories where people can listen. The article lists a few via links which- as you all can probably guess by now- I won't add because I want to preserve their commissions. Plus, you'll probably want to read the article in its entirety to get all the details because I'm glossing over them to keep the big picture in sight.

6. Artwork

This article is linked, and it has a more in-depth guide on how to make artwork with examples. But this article recommends just browsing through your podcast listening site of choice and just looking at artwork, thinking about how yours will fit in.

7. Equipment

This article goes into the topic more in-depth, with specifics about what they personally recommend, but really a microphone, a computer, headphones, and recording and editing software are all you really need.

8. Create a trailer

Ah, finally, I can hear some of you think. A new step.

A trailer gives a new listener a chance to find out what your podcast is all about. So be sure to make it engaging and interesting.

9. Submit to directories

You'll be able to do this through your hosting site.

10. Start with three episodes

Another new step, yay! Not only does this give more content for listeners to really see if your podcast is a good fit for them, but it'll let your podcast get listens and other statistics more quickly. That means that the directory will read that and go 'oh! People really like this show. Let me move it to the front so more people can like it.' Your trailer shouldn't count in those three episodes.

11. Show notes

Yet another new step! Hooray! Show notes are basically really short blog posts that are under each episode and tailored to that specific episode. They're a good place for SEO (search engine optimization), and a way for avid listeners to follow the podcast on different sites, like your social media.

12. Get social media handles

Speaking of social media, you'll want these before you launch. This way you have them and can actually use them to promote yourself and the podcast. Domain names are included in this step.

13. Upload and schedule your three episodes

Once everything is edited and done, it's time to stick to your launch date you chose in step three and schedule through your hosting site to launch.

14. Market and celebrate

Now it's time to get the word out. You've worked so hard on this project, congratulations! An aside from me is to actually take time to celebrate. Don't rush right into more work, take the time to soak in your accomplishment, because it is an accomplishment.

[tau1tvec]

I’ve always been kinda aware it exists, but seeing it happening in something so seemingly anti-capitalist as The Sims cc and modding community, or any modding community is sooo… weird ??? Could be my age showing, I’ve been around since The Sims 2 LJ and Forum scene, where I very vividly remember everyone chastising a creator into exile for using ad-fly links, despite all they’d contributed to the community, which is wild considering how common they are now.

I remember ad-fly resurfacing some probably two or three years into The Sims 3, and although a lot of people were quite vocally against it, many of them being former The Sims 2 players, it didn’t quite have the same effect this time around. Some people would include non-ad-fly links and alternatives, and luckily ad-fly killers mostly worked, but it’d become pretty norm as the years went on, while in the background the way The Sims 3 itself was also rewriting how The Sims can be monetized, by introducing The Sims 3 Store.

Now I think The Sims 2 had one as well, but it was kinda meh… and so was The Sims 3 Store at the start, like the sets were cute, but people weren’t exactly rushing to buy cash cards to get them, esp since as, tale as old as time style, there were plenty of forums and pirate sites out there offering them for free. However as EA began, idk possibly seeing a decline in sales, they started pushing two expansions and one or two stuff packs out a year I think, and even more store sets. Big store sets, and it helped pick up steam, but it also began pushing The Sims further and further into this very, “content, content all the time, so much content, open you wallet now or you’ll miss out” mindset that I think we’ve only seen exacerbated with The Sims 4.

Yes we’re getting less big releases, with only one EP a year, but we’re getting plenty of others between gamepacks, kits, and constant updates, at least 2-3 of which are quite huge changes, that make them a bit difficult to ignore.

I think my point is, that gaming has obviously changed a lot over the years, the products we pay for aren’t quite as fulfilling as they used to be, but we get more of it more often ??? So yay, I guess ??? Still this doesn’t change the fact that we’re still paying for, if not paying more at times for less content ???

Either way I guess we shouldn’t be surprised it’s also affecting the cc/modding community, I think in the bigger picture as well, is we just live in truly different times economically than we did when The Sims 2 dropped, a lot of people trying to find other means or extra means to get money and pay for bills, rising food prices, and constantly bouncing gas prices has changed a lot of how monetization works as well, but at some point the bubble will burst. We can’t keep scamming each other like this, esp since all we’re doing is basically passing off our struggles to someone else when we do, and only for a little bit of relief… which will also likely be as brief and heavily monetized as the games we play to get that relief.

I’ve seen a lotta people become more and more comfortable sharing pirate links openly, even Twitter YouTube, and Instagram, former bastions of typically willing players and participants of paid content are openly sharing that paid content with others, and that behavioral change isn’t unfounded, we’re exhausted, exhausted with having too much and yet too little and still being expected to pay to get ahead of the line, exhausted with the cc community and the game itself, but we’re also exhausted with the world and society and it’s obvious decline in recent years, and so we’re just picking the slightly less exhausting route, lol.

tldr; The Sims cc/modding community will always be anti-capitalist, and complacency doesn’t equal willingness, pirate servers don’t exist without reason, and no, believe it or not, not everything should be monetized, if you’re wondering if everyone is judging you for posting a slightly longer version of an EA hair under early access, it’s bc we are… while we’re also looking to see if it’s on DHM.

[starlitangels]

Cataclysm Plot Summary

Welcome to Imperium | Cataclysm

Aka Imperium Season 2: Electric Boogaloo

Aka Apparently Showing Us the Boys in a Messed Up AU Wasn’t Enough Now We Have to Have A Plot™

A while back I did a rundown of the original Imperium series (click the underlined words if you’re new to Tumblr and don’t know that underlines are links) and told it with a messy, sarcastic, lighthearted, chaotic energy in an attempt to reduce the dark tones.

I’m trying to do the same here, but I don’t know how much I succeeded... my last Imperium summary was 2.8k words. This one is 10.0k

Without further ado, let’s get started

Spoiler Alert if you intend to watch Cataclysm (but if you don’t intend to watch Cataclysm and still want to know what happens in it, then you’re on the right post!)

So! As mentioned above, season 1 of the Imperium was really more of a character study with a lot of world lore showing why the characters were as messed up as they were and only a vague overarching story going on in the background

This season threw that out the window in favor of heavy plot

Read the link above if you don’t want to watch the original Imperium series but need a rundown on why the world is so dark and messed up

Alright! So, the first video is basically Echo coming back and being like, “Boo. Guess who? It’s been a while. We’re going back to Imperium where everything is f^&*ed and y’all can’t do anything about it.” And then he punts us through the mirror to the dark side of it and we’re back in the Imperium... yayyyy -_-...

Before I really get into it, I need to add a bit of information I left off of my last rundown because I either A) forgot or B) didn’t think it’d be important back then

Last time, each episode featured, like, 1 or 2 of the main canon characters and was just kind of showing how this AU affected who they were. There was baby bits of plot going on, but it was mostly about the characters. This year, each episode jumped around with a bunch of characters, so I’m going to try to format this a little better to show what happens when. Kinda similar to how I formatted my Inversion reaction post way back XD

The other bit of information I left off last time (I think), is that Mass-Maker vampires give their power to invoke their new turns to the Imperium. Sam mentions in his video last year that with careful wording of an invocation, he can transfer it so someone else holds the power to invoke his progeny. Hence why the Vampire Pyramid Scheme thing is under the Imperium’s governmental control. But even Mass-Makers are still under invocation to not reveal who that person they tied their invocations to is.

With those bits out of the way, let’s do what I promised and have an actual plot summary!

Light the Match

Episode 1 proper. It has been a year in-universe and out since the last time we saw these characters, and things have Progressed. Magic use hasn’t slowed down and, in fact, has gotten worse. The Meridian doesn’t have long left, but the resistance is still fighting to save it.

We open on Milo and Asher. Being dumb and being out in the woods at night (thankfully they’re driving so I guess it could be worse). Milo is telling Asher that this is a bad idea, and Asher agrees, but doesn’t do anything about it, and they continue on their way. They’re talking about going to meet a Freeborn (was never part of the Mass-Maker/Vampire Pyramid Scheme) vampire. Take a wild frickin’ guess who it is

We also learn that the Shaw Pack has properly joined Starlight and Babe’s resistance, and have gotten most of the other packs in Dahlia on board with it too. As many of us guessed they would Yay!

We find out that Asher and Milo are trying to free all the vampires from the Imperium’s control because the Imperium essentially uses them as soldiers/enforcers and there are so many of them that if the resistance tries to tear down the Imperium while the vamps are still under Imperial control, the resistance cannot win.

Milo calls the city a powder keg ready to blow, and says someone just needs to “light the match” roll credits but Asher says they need the info first

Anyway, they get to their destination after a little more arguing, and we jump perspectives a bit.

To the inside of the house they’ve just pulled up to. And it’s... *drumroll* You guessed it! It’s Vincent’s house! Y’know... Vincent... our favorite flirty vampire... who in this universe is a sadistic monster...

Remember in my last Imperium rundown post where I said Vincent still had some humanity in him? I take it back. I was wrong.

And is, when we see him again, feeding off Lovely in the creepy basement of his house. Lovely’s still there after a year of being held essentially captive and... I guess I’ll say they’re essentially kinda... brainwashed? Vincent says something about, “no thoughts in that empty brain, just how I like it” and then tells them to beg for another bite when he asks if they want another one. I assume this is because the pleasure a vampire feels from a bite reflects back on the person and they’re basically addicted to it?

But, before that actually happens, there’s a knock on the door. It’s Asher and Milo! They’re, uh, early for their meeting time with Vincent and we all wonder “who are you and what have you done with perpetually-late-to-everything Asher?” and Vincent’s a little miffed because they interrupted his feeding session with Lovely

There’s a little disagreement over Milo’s presence and Vincent is a total jerk to Milo for being small and honestly we all wanted to see a little action there but I’m not surprised we didn’t. Because Asher told Milo to stand down because they need the information they’ve come to Vincent for

Asher goes inside to talk to Vincent and leaves Milo outside to stand watch, and Milo is not happy about it. Asher basically tells Vincent he’s a jerk and Vincent brushes it off

Then they get started on the information. Vincent knows who the Imperium binds all the invocations to (William knows and Vincent managed at some point to get that information out of him). Asher wants the name/location of said person so they can get that person to release the invocations so the legions of vampires are no longer under Imperium control and the resistance stands a chance at winning

Vincent’s not convinced to give up the information so easily, and pokes and prods at Asher about David’s death, and the fact that David and Asher used to be romantically involved, pissing off Asher in the process

Vincent tells Asher that he’ll give up the coordinates of The Invoker if Asher...

Kills Alexis.

See, William’s only invocation on Vincent was to never be able to kill her himself even though Alexis is fully allowed to try to kill Vincent whenever she wants

Asher protests, saying Alexis is innocent of all this

And then Vincent explains that she’s not innocent of anything and promptly drops a Major Lore Bomb on us:

Alexis and Quinn were involved with each other (the phrase Vincent uses is “shared a bed” and outright says their relationship was at least, sexual, jury’s out on “romantic”) and Alexis was involved in the torturing of Darlin’s unempowered friend that ultimately resulted in the deaths of David and Darlin’—but Alexis wasn’t actually there that night when David and Darlin’ fought Quinn and his two other vampire companions because she was too busy trying (and failing) to kill Vincent

And that’s what gets Asher to agree

One Misery For Another

We turn our sights from the wolves and vampires, to the Imperial Academy of Dahlia.

Yeeeup! We’re back at f^&*ed up D.A.M.N.! Yay???

Aaand... we get Lasko again. President Lasko Moore. Creep-in-chief who Echo’s intro video this go-around taunts some of the audience members for quietly muttering, “NGL Imperium Lasko can kinda Get It...”

Anyway. Freelancer! They show up to his office because he’s apparently taken a special, personal interest in their education and he’s as condescending and creepy as always and my skin won’t stop crawling

Actually they want to ask him a question but the fact remains that he’s creepy

Lasko asks after Freelancer’s education, and then severely talks down on healing magic when Freelancer tells him they’ve been liking their healing classes the most. Because he wants them to be special and powerful and all that and thinks healing magic is useful, but just a tool for people with real power and wants FL to have “real power”

Side note: he outright confirms that our favorite Freelancer is, in fact, a powerful magic user. Which we all pretty much figured probs but it bears mentioning that It Has Been Confirmed™

Then Freelancer asks if they can go see Vindemiator. And Lasko gets Jealous™ Lasko agrees, and is like, “sometime this week, sure.” And Freelancer’s like, “No. Today.” And Lasko’s like, “Why today?” and Freelancer’s like, “Because then I won’t be thinking about it while I study this week and I can actually focus on school” and Lasko’s like, “A’ight. Lemme call the haven peeps and let them know you’re allowed to see him.”

But he only agrees with the condition that Freelancer comes back later that evening to continue their conversation. Fl agrees to be picked up later that evening and finally gets to leave President Creep’s office

And now we get to see Vindemiator! (I was very excited)

And over this past year he and Fl fell in love again! They are Meant to Be in every universe, Your Honor!

But before they can do any romantic lovey-dovey stuff, Fl has to shut the door because Vindemiator’s bedroom cell? in the haven doesn’t have cameras, but the hallways do, and they’re trying to be subtle

Vind is like, “How’d you get him to agree so fast?” and Fl gives the same answer they gave Lasko I guess, and Vindemiator’s like, “Usually he dangles this over your head before caving” and Fl’s just like, “Don’t worry about it, I’m here. I have to go back to talk to him later tonight, but I’m here now”

And Vind is worried about Fl’s comfort meeting up with Lasko after business hours and Fl shrugs it off but Vind pushes a little more. He hates that Fl keeps playing Lasko’s games in order to see Vind as often as they can and Fl, of course, brushes it off as “worth it” and Vind hates that even more because it means Fl has to put up with Lasko being a bigot and, I quote, “tolerate his touching”

Which, if that doesn’t set off warning alarms and raise red flags, I don’t know what would because yikes. There’s a reason I keep calling Lasko a creep in the Imperium universe y’all and this is it. Ew

Vind is feeling sorry for Fl and himself because Fl knowing Gavin essentially traded “one misery for another” roll credits from hiding their powers as a humanborn to putting up with Lasko with their magic out in the open, even Fl insists he saved them and he did from Kody, to be fair, but Vind is sulky

Also there’s lots of desperate kisses in this scene that break my heart and he calls Fl “my love” softly at least once and you can hear my heart shattering like dropped glass somewhere in the distance because they’re trying to be happy together in a world that stomps happiness out with glee

And then we move on to some juicy plot

Apparently Cam has been pretending to feed on a technician *insert eyes emoji here* it’s not Marcus, don’t worry in order to conspire with him to make a program presumably on a flash drive that can hijack the academy and haven’s security feeds

Vindemiator also briefly mentions Vega has a new way of getting through wards but we’ll come back to that I promise because “new way of getting through wards” is literally all Vind has to say, meaning he doesn’t know what that way is

He reveals that the plan has changed. Originally they were gonna scramble the security feeds and then the daemons were going to escape. Run away. GTFO. Leave Dahlia.

Now they intend to take the Academy as a stronghold. Not-D.A.M.N. is the nearest Imperial safehouse for the monarchs so it’s heavily fortified, and is a good home-base for striking out against the Imperium. And the haven is gonna stage a coup and snatch it out from under the Imperium’s nose as subtly as they can.

Avior gets a mention of Vindemiator believing in him and you hear my heart shatter again because canon universe!Avior has been so thoroughly left alone by all the other voiced characters that hearing the other daemons believe in him makes me wanna cry—look at my boy go! If you follow my blog and somehow aren’t aware that I am the biggest sucker for Avior, are you really following my blog? Anyway

And the other daemons in the haven (mostly Avior, who’s In Charge) want Fl to put the feed-scrambling program in Lasko’s computer because Lasko’s got the highest clearance. Vindemiator, of course, does not want Fl to put it in the computer. He doesn’t want Fl to risk it and he didn’t even want to ask them to do it because he knows they’d say yes, damning the risks, because that’s just the kind of compassionate Fl is

Vindemiator just so happens to have the flash drive with him, and Fl takes it, with the promise that if the opportunity to plug it into Lasko’s computer never presents itself, they won’t try again, and they won’t risk themselves too much

Fl promises and confirms that Anton’s not going to blackout the systems immediately before taking the drive

Then blah blah blah Vind laments that Fl has known too many burdens and deserves some peace and he’s entirely correct but doesn’t seem to remember that this is the Imperium, sucker! There is no peace! and promises to find some way to bring FL peace even if it’s just for a “short, precious while”

They kiss—

And we move on to the next segment, which is after Fl’s visit to the haven when our most loathsome Enforcer, Huxley, comes to pick up Fl to go to Lasko’s and is in general being a bigot and a jerk and my heart breaks but I also want to punch him in the face at the same time and he mocks Freelancer for being in love with Vindemiator because he thinks daemons are all just manipulators to get humans to feel whatever emotion they need to survive and in the distance you can hear me shouting “let me at him!”

Anyway he takes Fl to Lasko’s, like, office reception area or whatever and Lasko has already poured some drinks... because that’s not sus at all and we totally weren’t waiting for Fl to get drugged or poisoned or something while Lasko’s saying, “tonight we don’t have to be president and student, we can just be us!” and we’re all side-eyeing each other like, “that’s a red flag!”

And then they do a “Cheers” and the episode ends... Oof.

Luxury of Morality

Aaaaand we’re back to the wolves! Yay! This one came out while I was in an airport so my notes were really hard to read and understand so I redid this from relistening to the episode in full... r.i.p.

Anyway! Asher comes into the pack den or whatever from being outside in the endlessly pouring rain to Baaabe just kinda hanging out waiting for him and he’s like, “Didn’t you have a meeting with your coordinator friend?” (Starlight) And Babe’s like, “Bruh that was ages ago” and Ash groans that he lost track of time meeting with Vincent when he can’t afford to lose track of time

Ash asks how Babe’s meeting with Starlight went and Babe replies that the daemons are days away from being ready and Ash flips because he and the wolves won’t be ready in days—they need more time to get the vampires neutralized and if these two things don’t happen within a short time of each other, it probably won’t work and Ash thinks the daemons are gonna get themselves killed. Babe tells Ash about the program that hijacks the academy security and Ash is skeptical at best because if Anton misses one of the academy’s many check-ins with the Department, it’s going to arouse a lot of suspicion.

Ash points out that daemons are strong but their magic has limits too and there’s such a thing as being outnumbered, and the Imperium has a lot of vampires and complains that Avior needs to wait until they’re ready and Babe tries to be nice but Ash retorts that Avior most likely doesn’t think Asher and the pack can actually get the Invoker to release all the vampires in time—and he doesn’t blame Avior because he’s not sure he can either

He also mentions that daylight won’t be to their advantage because the Imperium can just order Air and Water Elementals to make a stormcloud to block the sun which is simultaneously kinda awesome and Absolutely Terrifying at the same time. The only way to ensure the vampires can’t be set on the academy is to free them, and the only way to find the person is to do Vincent’s favor and then convincing the Invoker to let the vampires go

And Ash has a bit of an existential monologue about he’d rather die trying to save the world than do nothing and let it end, even if he thinks he and the rest of Elegy are already dead

He tells Babe to keep him posted about the haven and tries to leave but Babe insists on him telling them what Vincent’s favor is. Ash tries to sidestep with the “you don’t want to know” BS but Babe pushes no matter how much Ash tries to dodge

So Asher tells them to sit down and reveals the deal he and Vincent made. The info, for killing Alexis.

Then they get into an argument because Babe thinks killing is always wrong and Asher shoots back that in this situation he doesn’t have the “luxury of morality” roll credits because it’s “Alexis dies now, or everyone dies soon”

Asher tells Babe, too, that he didn’t believe Vincent at face value and therefore verified the story and found out a lot about Alexis, before Babe could keep defending a woman they didn’t actually know anything about.

Alexis has a plot of land out beyond Ferris (the town where the Keaton Pack relocated to in the Prime universe) with high concrete walls that’s like an overgrown maze inside where she trucks in unempowered people and hunts them down, particularly families. 

She’s a Mass-Maker so she gets away with all of it because the Imperium says she’s earned it.

And when she can, she likes hunting shifters too. She already killed the entire Keaton Pack. They got on the wrong side of the Imperium and the Imperium essentially handed the pack over to her.

Asher continues to tell Babe that Alexis is partially responsible for Darlin’ and David’s deaths—and if everything else Alexis had done wasn’t enough to get Asher on board with killing her, that alone would be plenty

Asher also reveals what Vincent teased at before—that Asher and David weren’t just romantically involved, they were mates in this universe. Which I freely admit I didn’t see coming because that seems like something that would have come up last year when Asher was berating Christian, blaming him for David’s death, and saying last year that “his alpha” died not “his mate” and that seems like a pretty radical difference to me but it also certainly explains why Ash “over”reacted the way he did last year so meh makes sense

But anyway. We’re not here for my tangents obsessing over word choice. We’re here for plot and drama!

Ash admits that Babe has given him and the pack something to fight for in a world that he didn’t think he’d want to fight for after everything he’s lost, which he’s grateful for, but despite all that Babe has given him in regards to purpose, it isn’t enough to make him consider the immorality of killing Alexis

He doesn’t care if Babe sees him as a monster for it, either.

And he leaves the room.

While the thunderstorm continues in the background

What You Deserve

Swapping back over to the D.A.M.N. side of the story, we open with—

Wait

Vega?

Yeah. So, on my original Imperium summary I kinda brushed past Vega’s BA because I thought the only relevant bit was that humans could, like, volunteer to let daemons feed off of them at the havens in feeding rooms that had cameras in them

But apparently I was wrong. The other relevant bit was that the human from that BA was supposed to be letting Cam feed off of them and accidentally walked into Vega’s room instead due to a clerical error, and ended up locked in. And found Vega wildly attractive and Vega accused them of being a bit of a masochist and... well... it’s an NSFW Bonus Audio so... you can probably guess what happened back then.

A year later, Vega and that same human are pretty much in love. Huh. Vega as a thoughtful partner wasn’t on my Cataclysm Bingo Card but it’s interesting to explore

Vega’s trying to soothe the human listener character (who he calls Pet so that’s what I’m gonna use to simplify) because they’re worried about the plan and want to hold Vega and Vega’s like, “Sure. If that comforts you. Not what I expected but sure.”

He tells Pet that when the fighting starts, they need to stay in the haven. And if the resistance fails, he makes Pet promise him that they’ll tell the humans he was nothing more than a cruel, sadistic monster who held them captive. Because the humans would expect to hear that and it will keep Pet safe

Vega goes on to say Freelancer is going to try to plant the program in Lasko’s computer tonight (this takes place the same night as the last time we saw them, btw) and everything will permanently change either way. Comforting, Vega. 10/10 good job

Pet is a little scared but Vega gives actual comfort over the changes with a complicated river metaphor, but realizes Pet isn’t just worried about the broad, sweeping changes about to happen. They’re worried for Vega.

And I’ll say it right now: Vega is the only character whose canon universe version would be punched in the face by his Imperium version, rather than the other way around like Huxley or Sam

Vega reassures Pet that they don’t need to worry about him because he’s perfectly capable of handling himself and promises he won’t leave Pet the way others have, and tells them their soft heart is safe with him

Moving back to Freelancer in Lasko’s office area! Who, thank the Sovereigns, is not getting drugged or poisoned by whatever drink Lasko gave them. And they’re having a somewhat pleasant chat but also not really because it’s kinda creepy because Lasko is talking about whether or not Fl left behind a partner in their old life and when FL’s like “nope” Lasko doesn’t believe them and makes a quiet comment about how with “that body?” he can’t imagine they didn’t have someone but Fl insists they didn’t

But guess what? Avior, Vega, Vindemiator, and Anton are monitoring Fl from the haven and Vind is like, “They’re super uncomfortable. If this keeps up I’m going in there”

And Avior, over the radio, is like, “Calm down, Vin. Trust them.” (Vin! Vin! A nickname! From Avior! I about lost it because, I mean, c’mon! That at least means they’re somewhat friendly and all I want is Gavin and Avior in the canon universe to be friends toooooo!)

Then we jump back to Freelancer, who asks where the bathroom is. It’s just past Lasko’s office, but when they get up, they go into Lasko’s office instead and start rummaging around to get the flash drive or whatever plugged into the computer

And Lasko comes to the door (which Fl locked when they slipped inside) and is trying to get inside while Fl keeps running the program and he acts at first like he thinks Fl is joking with him and slowly starts getting more and more vocally aggressive when Fl doesn’t respond

And, in the haven, Vindemiator can’t take it anymore, even as Anton announces that Freelancer was successful in getting the drive into the computer, and he takes off at super speed for Lasko’s office. Avior, on the radio, is like, “No!” but Vind doesn’t listen so Vega’s like, “I’ll go with him and put wards up to hide that we’re there.” And also takes off and Avior mutters, “Assuming Vin doesn’t level the building” and then instructs Anton to do what he can.

Back at Lasko’s office, Lasko is mad that Fl still hasn’t opened the door or even said anything

And negates the air in the room in his office (he can do it through a wall with no problem)

Starting to asphyxiate Freelancer, taunting them through the door when they try to get out but can’t think straight because they’re losing oxygen, saying that he’s trying to teach them a lesson, not kill them—

Then Vin to the rescue!

(After Freelancer passes out on the other side of the door)

Lasko tries the same trick, negating the air, but Vin laughs and is like, “Nice try. Daemons don’t need to breathe.” And promptly mutes Lasko’s powers, so now Lasko does have to breathe, and proceeds to use magic to beat Lasko up, and choke him out. Because Air Elementals apparently don’t need to breathe either when they negate the air in a room until their powers are taken from them and Vindemiator is getting his revenge—

When Vega shows up, holding Freelancer. He and Vin talk about how Lasko deserves more than the broken bones Vindemiator just gave him, and Vindemiator wants to be the one to give Lasko what he deserves, but he admits that he still sees Kody’s broken form on the floor from last year when he tries to go to sleep, and he can’t hurt someone like that again so he drops Lasko from the chokehold—and Lasko gets a chance to catch his breath. Until...

Vega’s like, “You can’t. I can.” And when Vindemiator’s like, “Wait what?” Vega grabs Lasko with his powers, holds him down, starts torturing him, and silences him. Vindemiator protests, but Vega boils it down to, “Your heart is soft, Vindemiator. And that’s fine. That’s why I’m here. To do the things you can’t.”

He tells Vindemiator to take Fl and get out, and after a bit of arguing (because Vega used the term “pet” and Vindemiator snapped back that Fl is not his pet and Vega’s like “different words same concept. Go”), Vindemiator does.

Leaving Lasko alone with Vega.

During which Vega reveals that he’s been faking being half-starved and weakened all the time. Because Lasko, and everyone Lasko’s assigned to the haven, are all hateful and cruel—and Vega’s been feeding on that for a long time. He’s more powerful than Lasko could ever conceive of, and it’s all Lasko’s fault. Vega thanks him for that, and promises that he’s going to use the power Lasko’s enforcers gave him to tear the Imperium apart. And if it fails, come and watch as the Meridian collapsing washes Lasko away, so the last thing Lasko ever sees is Vega’s smile

Then Vega Slices Lasko’s Threads!

Which is terrifying and kinda hot but not entirely undeserved on Lasko’s part either

While the thunderstorms continue in the background

Worth Dying For

Alrighty-doe! Back to Asher!

But! We also get Milo...

And our new second-favorite Incubus: Scorpius! Yay! (I’m not kidding when I say it’s always a delight for me to hear GB)

And after Scorpius and Milo give each other so much attitude and sass that I want to hear more of their interactions for the rest of forever, Asher offers Scorpius a deal:

Overclock Asher’s Core, and the wolves will take Scorpius to the safety of the haven

Scorpius is skeptical because he tried to get into the daemon haven before with no luck, and Ash remarks it’s because he tried to go to the front door, and the wolves have a back way in that is guaranteed to work

And Scorpius is like, “yeah okay, but the Imperium banned overclocking ages ago. You realize it’s a bad idea, right?”

Asher’s like, “I know. But the why isn’t part of the deal.”

So, for context now, “overclocking” is when a daemon pours some of their magic into a human’s Core, supercharging their magic for a short while. But it’s ridiculously risky because the only way to get rid of it once it’s in their bodies is to use it all—and the longer the human holds on to the demon magic, the more it burns their Core to a crisp. (Sound familiar? Inversion, anyone?) Basically, the human is very likely to lose their magic if they Overclock their Core.

So why does Asher want Scorpius to do it to him?

We’re getting to that.

Asher argues with Scorpius that because he’s a shifter and magic isn’t just in his Core like most of the other magical races, he’s more confident that he’ll be able to take it in sound familiar?! and potentially not lose his magic permanently

Scorpius reluctantly agrees after a bit more arguing

We move now to Damien and Royal Consul Jett!

Jett informs Damien that not-D.A.M.N. missed a check-in (they were a little late because Anton is doing those, but the Department doesn’t know that yet) and Damien’s all, “Seriously? You’re bugging me for this? One academy being late?” and Jett’s like, “it’s the nearest safehouse for you though.” and Damien’s like, “It’s beneath my concern right now. I’ll leave it in your capable hands.”

And Jett’s like, “Sire the public hasn’t seen or heard from you in four months, maybe you should stop isolating yourself in your quarters”

And Damien’s like, “Why do you think they haven’t?”

Jett tries to soften his words by saying it had been four months since “the loss” of Damien’s consort (who, remember, is actually Angel)

Damien practically blows a gasket because “loss” makes it sound like an accident, but Angel was speaking out against the Imperium (releasing documents revealing background information) and no matter how Damien’s attempts to stop them escalated, they wouldn’t stop

So they were executed

Yeah. Angel’s dead. We didn’t even get to see them fight Damien before it happened :-(

Y’all I feel a bad for Sal because every time he’s voicing Jett on Redacted’s channel, Jett’s getting yelled at. First by Milo in the Inversion, now by Damien... I don’t care much for Jett but poor Sal XD

And Damien orders Jett out, and he leaves.

Back to Milo and Ash!

They’re on their way to meet Scorpius. Arden is going to come pick him up once they’re done and take him to the haven—which is great for Avior because they’re gonna need all the magic they can get 

And Milo and Ash get into an argument about Ash not risking the pack for this and going to take her out alone, and the overclocking, during which Asher reveals why he needs Scorpius to do it.

The older a vampire gets, the more resistant to magic they are, and Alexis is fifty and was turned by Old Blood. A lot of magic won’t necessarily work on her well when she’s at full strength. So they have to weaken her. And there’s only one way Asher can think of to do that.

See, vampires can’t feed on daemon blood. It’s essentially poison to them because it’s basically magic made physical that would overload their bodies and destroy them. And Asher knows he can’t trick Alexis into feeding on a daemon, so the next best thing is to overclock his Core. The saturation of magic in his blood should, hopefully, poison her and weaken her long enough to kill her if he can get her to feed on him

Milo, of course, freaks out at how bad of an idea it is and basically begs Asher not to do it, and gives the most emotional speech that I can’t even summarize without crying so I’m skipping it for now, and begs Asher to bring Milo with him to kill Alexis, and Asher actually agrees

They go and meet Scorpius and Scorpius double checks that this is what they wanna do and Milo asks for confirmation that once Scorpius gives Asher his magic, he won’t be able to take it back or transfer it—and won’t have enough to do it again

And Milo goes, “That’s what I thought. In that case... Sorry, Ash” and promptly knocks Ash tf out and tells Scorpius to overclock him instead

Scorpius is like, “Wait my deal was with your alpha.” And Milo’s like, “You’re still getting into the haven. Just do it to me, not him.”

Scorpius agrees, and once he gives Milo some of his magic, Milo radioes Arden and tells her to come get Scorpius to take him to the haven and thanks Scorpius

Anyone else experiencing deja vu or is it just me? *glares at Milo for being a brave, dumb, self-sacrificing idiot again*

Truth Will Out

Alright. This one starts

with Sam?

Yep. See, I didn’t think we’d see Sam this year. I thought that once he got his Mass-Maker title he’d f^&* off to the Solaire Clan wherever they are and enjoy his freedom.

But nah. Why should my predictions ever be right?

Anyway. He and a large crowd of vampires are standing outside not-D.A.M.N. in the storm, shaking the chained gates, and Sam seems to be the spokesperson, saying they know the academy has been taken over by the daemons—and tells the “Children of Aria” to come greet their guests.

So Avior goes out. Alone (10/10 fantastic idea, Avior. Good job *eyeroll*) and is like, “how did you know we took the academy?”

And Sam dodges the question. Multiple times. But he’s got his crowd of vampires—

But that they want to help? What the hell?

They’re Mass-Makers and freeborns (ones who were turned but never under the Imperium’s control), all of them. And they hate the Imperium and want to help tear it down

And no matter how many times Avior asks how they know, Sam dodges or avoids the question—and points out that the longer Avior waits with this massive force of vampires outside the gates, the Department’s gonna start noticing soon.

He tells Avior that he can double check the truth of their story if he wants. Which Avior does want to do. So the vampires get locked up in the haven for temporary holding while Anton verifies their stories

The vampires get escorted to the containment rooms and Avior goes somewhere to be alone

Which is where Starlight finds him. And—it’s important for me to note—he calls them Starlight. Meaning they’re in love in this universe too now! Which is a win for me!

And Avior’s telling Starlight that he didn’t have much other choice but to bring them in, and they’re both worrying that the vampires are suspicious which they should be, but all the vamps are who they say they are—and several of them are on the Imperium’s hit list. So yeah. No love there

But the most worrisome is that none of them will explain how they know the daemons took the haven—there’s a leak somewhere, and they refuse to say where. Avior promises that if the vampires turn on them, the vampires won’t survive the event

He goes over the plan with Starlight—even with these vampires, he’s not confident in their forces yet to attack the Imperium outright. They need to deliver one fatal blow to the Imperium or the resistance can’t survive to make a second strike against the might of the Department

Starlight suggests kicking out the vampires but Avior says he can’t. He doesn’t trust the vampires or the convenience of them showing up, but it would be too suspicious—and one of the vamps might tattle to the Department—and he can’t afford to ignore the extra hands

And Avior reveals why it’s always raining in the background in the Imperium

The world is dying as the Meridian keeps wearing thinner and thinner. The storms and the earthquakes are the world’s death throes (“The final movements or sounds, often erratic, of a living being as it dies”). They haven’t seen the sun in ages because of it.

But McKinley’s daemon havens are on the same page and have taken their havens from Imperial control and are on their way—but it’ll take them a few days to get to Dahlia. Borden’s (another city’s) aren’t ready yet but they’re on their way

Starlight asks if they could use magic to pull the truth from the vampires’ minds. Avior admits it’s possible, but unethical and he’s not willing to do it. He says Vega and a few of the others would be willing, but Avior is the one In Charge (the way he said that—I’m not even gonna lie was pretty hot) and he’s not even going to ask because the vampires, technically, haven’t provoked it yet. So it’s the Absolute Last Resort

And we turn to Vega and Pet—

And Vega and Pet have a sweet conversation where Vega expresses how he’s always surprised at how Pet looks at him and treats him

He tells them to prepare for a quick change as the fight breaks out elsewhere. He promises to come back, but they’re gonna be alone for a bit as he leaves. Pet wants to go with him, but he won’t let them. He can’t keep them safe when the fighting starts. Pet, reluctantly, agrees

And they tell him he “holds their heart” and he gives a soft speech about how his hands are better made for crushing, tearing, breaking—destruction and cruelty, and to be trusted to hold Pet’s soft heart was something he never expected. 

He starts to tell Pet his plan. He doesn’t want them to have to lie to the Department should it fail, but he doesn’t want them to misunderstand him, either— 

And Vega tells Pet that he is the reason the vampires are here. He used his magic—Telepathy, I assume—to reach into the minds of the vampires free of the Imperium and most willing to volunteer for something like this, and suggested they gather for this. Any vampire that he sensed would resist, he ignored, rather than try to take over their minds because it wouldn’t be stable. So he just. Offered. And they agreed. But if any of them betray him, he’ll destroy them.

He says he knew Avior would never agree, so he just did it. Avior is a good leader and a worthy voice for daemonkind, but too reserved to make harder decisions. He says Avior should be the leader, but should stay behind the front lines and needs a general willing to take risks and fight and carry the pain so Avior doesn’t. And Vega took that upon himself because the other daemons would never be able to do it.

And he’s going to take the vampires and the other daemons to the Imperium Spire (the palace/governmental seat, essentially) tonight to lead the strike. To kill Damien and the Ruling Council or die trying. Either way, it’ll be over.

And Pet is worried, of course, because they love him. And he asks that they trust him. He promises he’s not gonna be the one dying. He promises to come back and that he was “born of cruelty, but is more than that” and won’t leave Pet alone in this harsh world

I am mildly in love with Imperium!Vega, not gonna lie. But Canon!Vega can take a hike

We move, now, to Fl and Vindemiator. Fl is awake after being suffocated and Vin is trying to convince them to rest and they won’t. Fl is imagining what their and Vin’s lives could be in a world without the Imperium and Vin desperately wants to give that life to them. They deserve to see their canon counterparts, Your Honor!

Then, Freelancer suggests they leave. Apparently they’re fed up with everything they’ve been put through and they want to find some well-deserved peace—finally

And Vin says he can’t. He protests that he can’t abandon the resistance. That Avior’s gonna need all the demons he can get

But Fl argues that one daemon isn’t going to make or break the fight which I disagree with but this universe had no Inversion to prove that to them but ssshhh

So, after a bit of convincing, Vin and Fl decide to run away together. To just have a few days of peace and happiness, before the end of the world.

They run. They don’t even pack a bag. They. They Just Go.

And we literally never hear from them again for the rest of Cataclysm

Tantum Tyrannus

(Which translates, according to Google Translate, to “Only a Tyrant”)(In case you’re curious. I was)

Well, sh!+

Asher wakes up to Sweetheart (Finally showing up) waking him up. Sweetheart can’t find Milo anywhere gee wonder why and Asher realizes what Milo did. He explains it to Sweetheart and Sweetheart’s like “why did you let him do that?” And Asher’s all, “I wouldn’t have—which is why he knocked me tf out and did it anyway!”

Asher is determined to go after him, and Sweetheart convinces Asher to take them with him no matter how much he resists and he finally caves after Sweetheart asks what Asher would have done to be there, fighting at David’s side, the night David died. Asher tells Sweetheart to stay cloaked as long as possible, but lets them join him

And off they go to save Milo! (Assuming he’s alive)

Then we move to Damien!

And Nate Wexler! (Remember him, from Inversion? The Probably-Freelancer who sounds like he’s about 14?) He’s an adjunct to Consul Jett and Jett was called before the Ruling Council and sent Nate in his place

That or he figured Damien would be less pissy with someone with the voice of An Actual Child™ and made up an excuse but that’s none of my business

Damien’s like, “Fine, what’s your report?”

The weather has been getting worse and the planet is experiencing geological instability and Nate Wexler is trying to encourage Damien to make some sort of statement, to which Damien lashes out that he shouldn’t have to be holding the citizens’ hands

Damien asks Nate Wexler what the Elemental Magistrate is doing about the weather (because it’s evidently their job to handle the weather and stuff) and Nate’s like, “They’re doing everything they can but it’s not working.”

And Damien, being Damien, just snaps that they need to work harder or he’s putting them on Blood Supply

So Damien tells Nate to send some vamps to keep an eye on the Elemental Magistrate—in essence, intimidate them into trying harder—and dismisses him. So off the poor bean goes

Anyway back to Asher and Sweetheart where the fun is

They get to Alexis’ house and it’s... too easy. There are no guards. No wards. Just the house. Asher is Very Suspicious™ as he should be

And as he and Sweetheart approach the house, floodlights turn on and a loudspeaker activates.

It’s Alexis. Taunting Asher (remember Sweetheart’s cloaked and Alexis probably can’t detect their Stealth aura because they can pretty much fully mute it for a while) about Milo and beckoning him inside.

They go inside and Alexis has a beaten-up Milo in her grip.

She and Asher argue and she taunts him for not giving the pack his last name, instead hiding behind David’s, and she clenches Milo’s arm in her fist and breaks it. She threatens to turn Milo into a vamp and invoke him to attack Asher before he even takes his first breath as a vampire

Milo, being Milo, dares her to try

She bites him—

And his poisoned blood fills Alexis’ mouth. She recoils like, “What is that?”

And Sweetheart (I assume) hits her with enough magic to hold her still long enough for Asher to tear her head off

Then they get Milo tf out of there to go get healed ‘cause he kinda passed out. Poor guy

And Asher goes to pay a visit to a certain Vincent Solaire...

He brings Alexis’ head with him and Vincent is actually surprised that Asher pulled it off. When Asher explains how, and that the plan didn’t quite happen the way he’d wanted, Vincent laughs, saying Milo is “small and stupid” and keeps mocking Milo for taking it on himself

Vincent warns Asher that the Invoker has held the invocations for the vampires for as long as the Imperium has existed—meaning the Invoker is in some way immortal because the Imperium has been around for centuries

Asher tells him to “go to Hell” and when Vincent just laughs, Asher insists that Vincent gives up the coordinates on the Invoker. Vincent writes them down and hands them over—

And then Asher shifts and tears his head off too and growls, “Save me a seat”

Which was the most badass one-liner I could ever imagine because Imperium Vincent is a di—

Okay moving on

One Last Wish

Second to last, y’all! You’ve almost made it down this trainwreck of a summary!

We’re back with Milo and Asher. Milo’s in bed, recovering though no word is given on if he actually fully burnt out his Core or not but Asher seems confident when he says it’ll come back after Milo expresses doubt, but Sweetheart went to go make some food for him (probably before coming back to give him the Lecture of the Century™—assuming Marie doesn’t get to it first)

Asher tells Milo what happened with Vincent—that he got the info before ripping Vincent’s head off and liberating multiple people being held captive in the basement including Lovely (who had been there the longest by the sound of it) and getting those people to the healers with Miguel and Christian’s help

They have a heartfelt conversation about how Asher is a good alpha and Milo knows he can’t be as good of one, which was why he couldn’t let Ash burn out his Core

Then Milo asks Ash why he hasn’t given the pack his own last name—that the pack would be proud to be named after Asher and we all hold our breath for a potential Last Name Reveal?

Asher says it’s because he’s not the one that needs to be remembered. That it’s Gabe and David who deserve it and we all sigh because we don’t get the Last Name Reveal

Ash takes some time to cry because he can’t feel the magic in the word mate anymore now that David’s dead and says he keeps the pack called the Shaw Pack because it’s one of very few things he has left of David—David hated having his picture taken so there’s only a few pictures of him but Ash has David’s jacket and old wallet... but very little else

He and Asher have a moment of sobbing together and Milo tells Ash to “come here” and Ash gets closer but is like “Why” and Milo’s like, “if I get off this bed you’ll yell at me but I’ll be damned if I don’t do this” and gives Asher a hug

Asher holds onto Milo and they both cry, and as Asher pulls away, Milo figures out immediately that Asher’s leaving and asks if he can convince Ash to take anyone with him to go after the Invoker and Ash is like “nope”

And Milo tells Ash he loves him and tells him to come home. Ash loves Milo too and then Sweetheart comes in and Asher goes out (they exchange a hug and Asher does a *pat pat* on their back and they are family, Your Honor)

And Asher heads off to go confront the Invoker after steadying himself just outside Milo’s closed door.

On to Avior and Starlight! And Vega.

Starlight rushes into the room and Avior’s like “What’s up?” because Starlight is clearly distressed and Starlight saw Vega doing something sus and Avior’s like, “Crap. C’mon. We gotta catch up to him” and they rush off to Vega and find him heading for the courtyard to lead the vampires and daemons to the Imperium Spire.

They catch up to Vega when he’s alone and Avior’s like “what are you doing?” and Vega gives a literal answer that he’s heading for the courtyard and Avior’s like “Don’t play semantics with me” and they start arguing about logistics

And Vega finally gives up his plan to Avior, telling him that Vega was the one who brought the vampires here. And Avior is shocked and Vega tells him the same thing he told Vin—Vega does what the softer hearts can’t. He also says if any of the vampires think about turning on him, he’ll just take control of them

Avior is, understandably, against the notion

The two argue and Vega says he won’t magically fight Avior, and Avior’s like, “You can’t stop me without a fight!”

And Vega says he’s going to remove Avior—by sending him back to Aria. Avior’s like, “No. Only daemons who serve the Chorus are strong enough to rift” and Vega says, “Nope. It’s not power. It’s knowledge. Knowledge the Chorus didn’t share.”

Because yeah—Vega’s known how to rift this whole gatdang time and never did anything with it. Avior is appalled that he never went home and Vega says, “The Sovereigns deserve their fate. Humanity doesn’t.” Literally Vega’s stayed on Elegy this whole time to help humanity and for some reason I fall a little more in love with this version of him

Starlight tries to protest and get close and Vega warns them off, saying if they get too close, the rift will suck them in too and obviously we know humans can’t survive in Aria

Avior pleads with Vega not to do this, but Vega promises he’ll see Avior soon anyway. Either when they succeed and Vega retrieves him, or if they fail and Aria merges into Elegy and all of daemonkind is reunited

He opens a rift—

And Starlight rushes over to try to stop it and gets pulled in too

Vega laments that it was a needless death but that it won’t be in vain

And heads for the courtyard

Say hello once again to Damien and Nate Wexler!

The Imperium Spire is under attack! The daemons and vampires have stormed it and are making massive headway. The legions Damien commands are scattered, all they have are the normal security at the Spire—who are the best, but not enough, numbers-wise. And also they’ve lost contact with almost every daemon haven in the whole Imperium and Damien’s like, “Pull everyone from Dahlia then I don’t care where they’re stationed, we’re not fleeing the Spire like they want but we have to defend the building!”

And Nate’s like, “yes sir” and scampers off

Back to Avior—

And Starlight?

Yup! Starlight’s not actually dead! Yay!

Because guess what?!

The same thing happened here that did in the canon universe

The gatdang rift collapsed again!

So Avior and Starlight are in some barren, dripping landscape where every atom is made of magic that’s shaking bad and surrounded by voids and are like, “Okay... wtf do we do?” and they try and figure out whether the voids are ways out or not and Avior’s like, “we can’t do the first thing we think of without thinking things through!” and then the landscape shakes harder and Avior’s like, “Okay... maybe we don’t have time to think things through.”

And because they are always a mildly reckless idiot, Starlight shoves their hand (or fully jumps through) one of the voids and is pulled in. Just like in canon

And then there’s a background rhythm beating and you hear two voices. One is Erik’s, one is a woman’s.

“Child...

“Of Land...

“You...

“Are needed...”

What the fu—

We’re back to Asher now!

He’s made it to wherever the Imperium holds the Invoker and he fights off what few guards there are. A handful of vampires already trying to flee.

He doesn’t know the door passcode and goads the Invoker, hoping to get him to open the door

And after a moment, he does.

And it’s

Brachium

WHAT THE FU—

All Cruel Things

Last one. The finale. We made it this far, but this video is 51 and a half minutes long so prepare yourselves

We start at the fight at the Spire. It’s mayhem. Camelopardalis radioes Vega saying that the Ruling Council have evacuated and gives their location. Vega, delighted, and happening to be near Sam (because remember Vega brought all the vampires), tells Sam he has to go attend to something and to give the king his regards

And Sam—taking too much pleasure in that instruction—is like “Yes sir”  before Vega blasts off

He wrecks the truck or whatever that the Ruling Council was in and gives a big fancy speech to the Council about the wrongs they’ve done and how his vengeance is basically that they will become dust and it seems like he uses his magic to quite possibly bury them alive and/or crush them to dust? It’s the same sound effect as Huxley’s big earthquakes

We go, quickly, back to Asher

And Brachium

And Ash is so confused

Because Brachium

Is a daemon!

And I was frickin’ right and I frickin’ called it when I guessed that Deathwalkers were daemons and woohoo! I was so excited

Anyway, Ash is like “Why would they bind the invocations to a daemon?”

Brachium’s like “Daemons are immortal as long as we’re fed and can defend ourselves well because we’re so strong compared to humans so it was safer”

And he reveals that he’s been on Elegy for millennia. He was the first daemon exiled from Aria for speaking out against the treatment of the Sovereigns

And he’s a Serenity Daemon

Ash is confused what Brachium gets out of the arrangement and Brachium answers that the Imperium keeps him safe, alive, and fed—

Because he’s afraid of death. He was the first one trapped on Earth, and he was afraid of dying from the beginning because it’s really only in Elegy that daemons can die

Asher’s like “why aren’t you killing me? why are you telling me this?”

And Brachium says Asher’s strength is waning from overuse, and doesn’t see Ash as a threat and asks if Ash wants to kill him. Ash is like, “I just want the invocations released, however that happens”

Ash says he’s not afraid to die—but Brachium contradicts that statement and after a bit of encouragement, Ash breaks down, admitting he doesn’t believe in an afterlife after everything the world has taken from him. His parents, David, Gabe, Milo’s dad, the Keaton Pack—he doesn’t think they’re waiting for him on the other side. That there is no other side. He thinks once someone’s gone, they’re gone. And Ash sobs at how exhausted he is

Brachium wishes he had the answer of whether there was or not because dramatic irony, but he doesn’t. And only being able to feed on peace and serenity has made him blind and complacent to the harm his role has done on the world because they were the only human feelings he ever experienced. He thought he knew that was why the Imperium did that, and that knowing it would help him resist, but after thousands of years, he wasn’t.

And the only way to release the invocations, is by the death of the holder

And Brachium is no longer afraid of death, after thousands of years of being alive on Elegy

Brachium reveals that he’s already dying because of how long he’s been solely on Elegy and the pain that is constantly flowing across Elegy from the cruelty of the Imperium has torn him apart, and the Imperium has been trying to convince him to bind the invocations to someone else, but he’s been refusing to release them. Ash protests that once the Meridian collapses, Brachium can go home, but Brachium’s form has been so worn down by time in Elegy that he won’t be able to withstand the violent merging of the two realities and will die anyway

So he expends all his magic, sacrificing himself, making me cry and releasing all the invocations, freeing the vampires

Or... so he and Asher think

We return to Sam—and Cam hehe that rhymes—right after Brachium’s sacrifice

And... Brachium was wrong.

His death didn’t free the vampires. Freed them from the Imperium, but not truly free.

It just transferred their invocations back to their Makers.

Sam figures it out first before any of the other Mass-Makers. Every person he’s ever turned as a Mass-Maker who’s still alive, anyway is back under his control.

Camelopardalis is like, “How many vampires is that?”

Sam doesn’t have an exact number but he says “More than enough to win”

And we jump cut up to Damien’s quarters

Where Nate Wexler is opening the door—

Only to get torn asunder and/or drained in seconds by Sam, who is still taking waaay too much pleasure in all this for me to consider sane

Sam reveals to Damien that the vampires have been freed from Imperium control and asks if Damien’s gonna defend himself, and Damien says it’s pointless, and if the Imperium dies, his king should die too

Sam’s like “Cute sentiment.” And attacks him.

Now, finally to Avior, Starlight, and the voices in the Meridian

It’s Elaetum and Min’Ara. They are all that’s left of the Meridian, and have been so worn down that they merged into one being in the middle of an identity crisis over that fact and can barely remember any of that from how much they’ve been reduced

They ask Starlight if they can use Starlight’s body in order to speak to Avior, and Starlight agrees

They explain to Avior that they had to speak through Starlight because Starlight, as a physical being instead of a magical one, is separate enough from their energy and the power of the Meridian to hold Starlight’s form. Avior, as a “starchild” (daemon) would have been consumed in an attempt to bind to him the same way. Elaetum/Min’Ara reveal that they stopped the rift before it reached Aria so they could have this conversation

Avior asks what they want, and they want to live, but their magic is too empty, and the tears can’t heal. They tell Avior to bring them a Sovereign

Avior protests that he has no way to get a Sovereign out of Aria, but—

They tell Avior that if he becomes a conduit for their power, they can take one of the Sovereigns out of Aria, they can use that Sovereign’s power to reinforce the Meridian.

Avior confirms that this will save Elegy and they say that’s true

So Avior agrees to become the conduit

He channels their power—sounding like he probably passed out—and we get a brief soundbite of Aria and then hear Elaetum/Min’Ara say the Sovereigns emphasis on the plural will be as one

And they take all of the Sovereigns from Aria into the Meridian

Avior freaks out because they’re leaving all the daemons in Aria to starve that way but Elaetum/Min’Ara assure him that daemons will be fine if they learn to make both Aria and Elegy their home, living the way Avior has for all these years by feeding on humans, and rift back and forth

Avior tries to protest that Elegy’s in chaos and if daemons start crossing over to feed it’s just going to get worse—but it’s too late

Elaetum/Min’Ara promise the Meridian will never fall, and make a rift for Avior to leave with Starlight—

And Echo appears for just a moment to the audience, saying, “But they’re gonna wish it had!” And cackles

Creepy eyeball motherhugger. Go take a hike

Anyway. Back to Sam.

Who did not kill Damien.

Instead, turned him. Into a vampire

Because he hasn’t earned that release yet

And takes way too much pleasure in invoking him to lick what’s left of Nate Wexler off his boot. Which is gross. Sam fully intends to inflict pain and humiliation and suffering on Damien after everything the Imperium put Sam through.

Then Sam opens the Comms channel

Right as Avior and Starlight run into Asher, back in Elegy

There’s a brief moment of reunion where Ash and Avior get caught up on the Meridian becoming stable—

Just in time to hear Sam announcing that he’s turned Damien into a vampire and the Imperium is over. And that he’s taking Dahlia as his territory as King Samuel Collins, but welcomes the other Mass-Makers to fight for land elsewhere with their progenies as little armies. Informing them that their invocations are back in their hands. 

The man is insane, okay?

And Avior, Starlight, and Ash are horrified. Asher says Brachium died believing he’d freed the vampires... not give them back to the Makers.

The last words are Avior saying, “Oh, my God. What have we done?”

—

Then Echo comes back and is like, “LOL the Meridian’s fine but Elegy and Aria might still tear each other apart. Brachium’s gone so the Mass-Makers are warlords now and Aria’s going crazy now that the daemons all know they can and have to rift to Elegy to survive and everything’s F^&*ED! Tootles!” and cackles himself out

Then credits roll—

And we get a post-credits scene?

Yup!

Sam brings Damien a person to feed on, telling him to clean up after himself when he’s done

And...

It’s Huxley

But Damien has an idea

He turns Huxley, rather than draining him, saying he’s got a better idea for what to do with Huxley

So Huxley goes from being one of the most powerful Earth Elementals in the Imperium, to pretty much the weakest vampire.

Fun.

—

Tag list of people who were waiting for this: @princecharmingfrosting @0o-starboy-o0 @cindertooth @angelicaether @lemonxdebaby​ @zozo-01 

[stayconnecteed]

HEY MARS!!! Sorry I've been so inactive😔 My phone is pretty busted (a good chunk of my screen is black😭) so I haven't been able to do much besides reblog every now and again (among other inconveniences in my day to day life) I miss interacting so much💔

I have a phone on standby but it needs a new screen (that's the only thing wrong with that one, this one is hanging on by a wire...literally) which costs like $500. What's the problem with that? I'm. Broke😃 and jobless because every work place wants 2-3 years experience and I graduated last year🙃 so fvck me ig🤷🏽

BUT ANYWAYS! I'd never come empty handed after being gone so long so I've brought you some Gifts <3

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2NP6bjvzDg/?igsh=bHJrMTUyMXdoeXJo

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0HQwrcI3IZ/?igsh=eGxscThqaGQ3YWw0

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0HRmyCIBtA/?igsh=MWg2am53dDY5M2t1ag==

This artist is freaking AMAZING!!! And Minho as Spider-Gwen??? Brain go brrrrrrrrrrr

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz1P7IwIvxW/?igsh=YXhvZm40YzFvcHFy

The black suit the black suit the black suit

All of these are so so cool and just fuel the SpiderHan agenda so YAY!! SpiderHan Supremacy in this establishment 🛐

I also bring....

https://pin.it/4LLQCepoe

https://pin.it/Kq3hG5yoZ

https://pin.it/4nzJRWCnG

DEADPOOL FELIX TO THE TABLE!!! Because he is not discussed as much as he should be😤

instagram: link 1 · link 2 · link 3 · link 4 pinterest: link 1 · link 2 · link 3

CUBBS I MISSED YOU SO MUCH 😭😭 it's awful :(( i don't get why everything costs so much, we're all trying to survive here... maybe if you look for a pretty good second hand phone, while you save some money for a new one? it could be cheaper, and you have something to work with meanwhile. no, but also the thing about experience makes no sense, but that's how the world works i guess. pretty fucked up if you ask me.

I LOVE YOUR GIFTS (as always) spiderhan is a necessity i will write somewhere in the near future, because in my tumblr agenda i have other wips i would like to post first. i can say it will probably come out in february but i don't want to promise anything. i already posted the synopsys here and plus all the inspo you guys send me it's all we have for now :((

i did thought about writing a marvelverse with skz, and felix was my deadpool, so you're not wrong at all hehe he is deadpool coded. like he has that hilarious childish energy and it fits him so much and also both of them curse as sailors i'm sure i will be honoured to develop some deadpool lixie content in the future akjsdhkasjd

[boysplanetrecaps]

Boys Planet Episode 10: Recap/ Guide

Hi there, fellow Star Creator! This post will be a general recap of Episode 10 of Boys Planet. I’ll dive into more in-depth discussion of each team and its performance in separate posts, which will be linked within when they’re ready. So, click “read more” and let’s go!

As usual, all my time stamps are from the Viki version. 

Most of the time when people are talking, their name and current rank shows on screen. So, in case you’re wondering who’s saying what, here is a list of the current trainees in rank order, with their three mission songs to help jog your memory or make connections.

Sung Hanbin Love Me Right - K /Tomboy /Say My Name

Zhang Hao Kill This Love - G/ Tomboy/ Over Me

Han Yu Jin Back Door - K/ Law / Say My Name

Seok Matthew Kill This Love - G/ Love Killa /Say My Name

Kim Ji Woong Back Door - K /Love Killa /Say My Name

Kim Gyu Vin Love Me Right - K / Love Killa/ En Garde

Kim Tae Rae Back Door - K /Man in Love /Switch

Keita Kill This Love - G /Zoom /Switch

Park Gunwook Kill This Love - K /Tomboy/ En Garde

Kum Jun Hyeon Back Door - K /Gang/ En Garde

Hui Love Me Right - K /Tomboy/ En Garde

Jay Love Me Right - G/ Home/ Over Me

Park Hanbin Hot Sauce - K/ Law /Switch

Ricky Back Door - G/ Rush Hour/ Over Me

Yoon Jong Woo Back Door - K/  Home  / Switch

Haruto   Love Me Right - G/ Zoom /Supercharger

Yoo Seung Eon Very Nice - K /Home /Say My Name

Seo Won Very Nice - K /Love Killa/ Supercharger

Wang Zi Hao Kill This Love - G/ Law /Supercharger

Na Kamden Back Door - G /Law /Switch

Lee Seung Hwan Danger - K/Gang /En Garde

Chen Kuan Jui Kill This Love - G /Butterfly /Over Me

Zhang Shuai Bo Back Door - G /Feel Special/ Switch

Lee Jeong Hyeon Love Me Right - K /Gang /Over Me

Takuto Danger - G /Rush Hour /Supercharger

Cha Woong Ki Very Nice - K /Feel Special /Supercharger

Ollie Hot Sauce - G/ Zoom/ Supercharger

Hiroto Very Nice - G /Rush Hour/ En Garde

1:15 Checking In With the Boys

We start off with some “hang out with the boys time.” 

They’re rehearsing until late in the night. They’re so tired they can barely move. They’re eating snacks, they’re putting blankets over each other. There’s a budding bromance between Hui and Gyuvin.  Yoo Seung Eon farts at Keita, which (1) indicates that Keita is, in fact, good friends with the other boys contrary to how he’s been edited in the past and (2) ensuring that Yoo Seung Eon will not make Top9, per my theory about smells. Jay and Yoon Jongwoo compare notes -- Jay is sitting on a bed that has Na Kamden’s nametag on it -- and Jongwoo says he feels like he’s growing from this. He sounds exhausted. We see many of the trainees practicing their weak spots -- Z-Bo is working on his lyrics, Tae Rae is dancing in the stairway. It’s actually pretty interesting insight into their states of mind.

3:38 Back to Showtime

We return to the performance night. The judges are talking about how much better the trainees have gotten in general, and the editors use their conversation as a way to sort of review the first two performances of the night, which we say in the previous episode. They all agree that Supercharger did a great job. Their praise for En Garde seems focused mostly on Gunwook and Gyuvin.

5:41 Time for Some Filler

Star Master Key announces that before we can see more performances, we will be watching a video! Yay…?

The boys get sent somewhere for a secret mission, and someone comes out, already singing -- it’s Jo Kwon, the leader of 2AM and noted high heel enthusiast, I guess. If you’re not familiar with them, 2AM formed at the same time as 2PM. The idea was that 2AM would perform ballads and 2PM would do dance songs.  (You know at least one 2PM song -- “My House.”)  I don’t really know a lot about 2AM, and this is my first time “meeting” Jo Kwon, too. 

Jo Kwon is there to reveal a surprise mission -- the trainees will pair up and perform a scene from musical theater, specifically, a scene from the musical of The Little Prince.  

They have two special guests who will judge: Jung Dong Hwa and Nam WooJu, neither of who I recognized. The stakes are high -- the trainees will be given a rank out of 4 stars, and if they win 4 stars, they get a huge collection of cosmetics and promotion on social media. The best trainee of the day will get big posters of his face hanging in store windows all around Korea. That’s huge.

They pair up and have to hold hands with their partners, which is an opportunity for skinship, and for Matthew and Haruto to speak English, and this weird part where Hui is forced to choose between all the trainees who want to work with him, and he chooses Gyuvin. Relevant side note: Hui has actually acted in musical theater before, because he’s a 30 year old man who shouldn’t be on this show.

They see the scene that they’ll be performing, and it looks really difficult -- tons and tons and tons of lyrics to learn. You, dear reader, are going to learn a bit of Korean in this scene -- swibji ahna (sounds like they’re saying “ship-shee ahna”) -- which means “it’s not easy.” The performances begin at 20:45.

I’ll summarize the pairings and results below, because I don’t want to spend too long on this:

Yoo Seung Eon is with Lee Junghwan, and they both get 2 stars, mainly for not knowing the words. Wow, going last here is a huge advantage if you’re graded based on whether or not you’ve learned the lyrics. 

Park Gunwook and Han Yujin also both get two stars, I think

Yoon Jongwoo and Keita- Jongwoo raps (looking at the lyrics) while Keita beatboxes, and they both get 1 star, I think

Ricky and Ollie - they get 0 stars, probably have lyrics problems

Sung Hanbin is with Zhang Hao, and girls worldwide actually explode watching them hold hands. They do great, so great I almost wonder if the show gave them the lyrics the day or two before, I mean, wow. They both get All Star

Hiroto and Takuto - Takuto is stuck with the Fox role, and really can’t sing it at all, and this is a form of torture for all of us. 

Kim Ji Woong is with Kum Junhyeon - Junhyeon is stuck with the fox part and has trouble memorizing the lyrics, and they kind of go off the rails. 

Hui is with Kim Gyuvin, and of course Hui seems like a professional because he IS one, and shouldn’t be on this show, and they both get All Star

We don’t see: 

Haruto and Matthew  

Park Hanbin and Seo Won

Na Kamden and Jay 

Kim TaeRae and Chen Kuan Jui

Cha Woongki and Lee Seunghwan

Wang Zi Hao and Zhang Shuai Bo

It’s especially weird that we don’t see Kim TaeRae and CKJ because CKJ gets All Star. Also I wanted to see TaeRae doing things. I also especially wanted to see Woongki and Haruto. I get it that they can’t show the same scene 14 times in a row, but they could have put it online, and they didn’t, so screw you, MNET.

The winners get nice beauty products from Olive Young, which is like the Korean Sephora, a big deal kind of store with tons of locations. And Hui wins the top prize, which means he gets to have his photo up in stores all around the country. Fun fact: Olive Young already sells a few albums by Pentagon! So Hui’s photos have probably already been up in Olive Young stores! Because Hui shouldn’t be on this show! Sigh. 

I swear, I’m a Pentagon fan and I like Hui. I just… you know. You get it, right? 

30:00 Switch

The boys come out and introduce themselves as Smushies, here to smush our hearts. Consider my heart fully smushed already, you cuties. 

In the rehearsal footage, the focus is primarily on the trouble that TaeRae is having with the dancing. Yes, of course he is. He’s a main vocal. Main vocals traditionally need to work harder at dancing. Also, it’s hard to “dance powerfully” when hitting the B above middle C, a fact that the psychopath dance teacher seems completely unaware of, since the only things he knows about are (a) dancing and (b) completely destroying the emotional well being of others.

Park Hanbin takes over leadership from Na Kamden and teaches everyone how to dance. 

The performance is super cute and cheery, with a set designed to look like a video game. Their bright pinks and greens are such a nice change from the all black landscape of kpop these days.Even if the song isn't your style, I think the performance is so cute that it deserves a watch. I actually prefer the dance practice to the stage performance, because I feel like you can see the dancing so much more and they’re actually really great. Also, I actually kind of like the song, if you listen to the official audio. The mix in the live version doesn't do the song justice.

Afterwards, we find out that Zhang Shuai Bo got the low score, with an obviously punitive 402 points. Poor Z-Bo -- I think he did a good job in the performance, and it’s a shame that the audience just… hates him. The high score is obviously Park Hanbin, with 741 points.

For a more detailed description of the rehearsal and performance, click here (it’ll be ready soon). 

49:30 Say My Name

It’s time for the show to focus back on Soek Matthew for a while, and the whole Say My Name team. Well, we barely see Han Yujin but maybe that’s good. Keep that boy safe. 

The gist of what’s going on is that Matthew still isn’t handling it well that his team wants him to be Sub Vocal 2 instead of Sub Vocal 1, which they think should go to Yoo Seung Eon. Matthew is really defensive and upset for a while, and makes up some bullshit about wanting to sing in English for his mom (I’m sorry, but it is complete bullshit), but in the end he realizes that the team is what matters most, and he pulls it together, and good for him. I don’t hate the guy or anything, to be clear. It’s just that when something is bullshit, it’s bullshit, you know? 

In the end, they put on a cute performance with no mistakes. It’s not my kind of song, but it’s cute and they do a great job. Matthew is the standout in terms of stage presence, Seung Eon does a fantastic job with the vocals, and Hanbin wins the audience vote with 826 points. (We don’t find out who came in last.)

For a more detailed description of the rehearsal and performance, click here (it’ll be ready soon). 

1:09:45 Over Me

The gist of what’s going on is that Zhang Hao isn’t the best leader because he’s trying too hard to be nice and listen to everyone, so the team is getting frustrated. Also, it seems that they’re a little embarrassed about how sexy the song is. Then Zhang Hao requests a meeting with Solji, who advises him to be firmer and more in control as a leader, which he does, and then things get better. 

The performance goes fine, even if I think most of them hold back a little and don’t really pull off the sexy concept. I think Chen Kuan Jui is the only one who fully commits to what he’s doing, and I think that Jay’s vocals are a highlight when you’re listening to it. 

Then audience puts Jay in last place with 485 votes, which upsets me really deeply, like, I have been stomping around my house swearing I’m going to just stop watching. But of course that’s not really true. Zhang Hao comes in first place with 852 points. 

For a more detailed description of the rehearsal and performance, click here (it’ll be ready soonish). 

1:33:00 The final results

The boys gather to find out which team won the audience vote and will get the benefit. Heartbreakingly, Switch team thinks they have a chance to win, and hope to at least not come in last. But they come in last. 

When the Over Me team finds out they won, they’re, you know, exquisitely happy. Chen Kuan Jui pretty much breaks down.

Ollie, Woongki, and Z-Bo congratulate him.

Remember how I said, over and over again, that people vote with their genitals? People vote for the thing that gives them sparkles in their pants? Well, Switch team was cute and charming and I personally liked it, even if no one else did, but it wasn’t sexy, so it came in dead last. 

Supercharger was a tiny bit sexier, so it came in second. En Garde was trying to be sexy, and had Gyuvin and Gunwook, who people find sexy, so it came in third. Say My Name was “cute sexy”, like NCT’s Touch. But Over Me was overtly sexy, and won. 

Remember, when I say “sexy”, I don’t necessarily mean that I find it sexy. I mean that it supposed to be sexy or is likely to be perceived as sexy. 

Consider, what was the sexiest performance of the following lists: 

Backdoor, Hot Sauce, Kill This Love, Love Me Right, Danger, and Burning Up 

It was Backdoor, specifically the one with Kim JiWoong lifting up his shirt. That’s also the song that won the night.

Tomboy, Man in love, Limousine, and Not Spring? 

Tomboy was the only one that was at all sexy. And it won. 

Love Killa, Home, Feel Special, and Butterfly

It’s pretty obvious which one is the sexiest -- Love Killa -- which, not coincidentally, won. 

Law, Zoom, Gang and Rush Hour  

Law was definitely the sexiest of that group, and it won. 

Before this battle started, I predicted that Over Me or Say My Name would win. I wasn’t totally sure if sexiness could overcome Sung Hanbin, Matthew, Kim JiWoong, and Han Yujin all in one group, but it did. That’s the power of sexiness. 

I don’t know, my friends. I liked Switch best, I guess. Is it because it had Park Hanbin and Kim TaeRae and Keita? Maybe? But I genuinely like the song (the studio version) and it was so cute to see bright happy colors for ONCE. It was never going to win, of course. 

I liked Over Me too, of course. And I’m glad they won, because those 200,000 benefit points will help ensure that Jay makes it into the finale. 

I think at this stage of the show, the trainees are all tired and anxious, and it’s starting to show in their performances. I also think the audience has largely already made up their mind as to who they’re voting for. 

I still like all these trainees as human beings, yes, even Matthew and Z-Bo, and just want all of them to be ok. 

And that’s about it for this recap! We’re at the home stretch -- the finale is on April 20th!  

I’ll see you in the next one! It’ll be another elimination episode, featuring hours and hours of filler! Whee!! (And those individual song posts are drafted and should be up soonish.) 

🥰Thanks as always for reading! 🥰Right now, though you can't see, I'm holding up a handmade sign with your name on it! 🥰Yes, you! 🥰You! 🥰The one reading this! 🥰RIGHT NOW! 🥰

[cru5h-cascades]

Splatoon 3 Side Order Update (Again!)

Wazzup wazzup eveyone! I'm back at it again with some more interesting Side Order-related news! Recently a bunch of stuff for Side Order has been datamined (it seems that the devs have been adding stuff for Side Order ever since launch), so I'd like to go over some of the stuff that was found. No spoilers, but if you'd rather be suprised whenever we actually get Side Order this is your warning. Otherwise, here's some new info regarding Side Order (organized by when they were added, which were during splatfests)!

Rock v Paper v Scissors (testfire fest, August 2022):

nothing too noteworthy over here, just some scenes, whatever those might be.

(nothing for Gear v Grub v Fun in September 2022)

Grass v Fire v Water (November 2022)

wave 2 misc scene added

scene attribute to use for the DLC

Spicy v Sweet v Sour (January 2023)

actor attribute added

added two enemy actors under the names Shell and ZakoStandard

Side note: yay new enemies

Dark Chocolate v Milk Chocolate v White Chocolate (February 2023)

actor attribute added to allow enemies to attack a target (possibly the player)

added object actors under the names PaintTargetArea (splatzones), VictoryBall (8-ball), and VictoryBallGoal (8-ball goal)

Side note: YEP THAT'S RIGHT MATES 8-BALL LEVELS ARE COMING BACK.

added scenes imlying progression on a tower (potentially Deca Tower, duh)

Side note: so what that last addition is basically saying is that Side Order will be kinda like Pizza Tower but scary (and marine life themed, of course). But I mean, I guess we should've known about the tower progression for a while now (the French title of Side Order is Order Tower; I talked about this in a post some time ago). But hey, news is news and we're in dire need for Side Order news. Anyways, moving on (things get real interesting after this)

Nessie v Aliens v Bigfoot (March 2023)

added two bosses under the names BallKing and TowerKing (there's been some speculation that BallKing could be the Octowhirl from Splatoon 1, which would be okay with me as long as they don't bring back the Octostamp.... AGAIN....) (also I have a strong feeling in my gut that TowerKing will be the final boss of Side Order)

added an actor for collectible items

added NPC actors

added lift actors (tower control tower)

added spawner objects

added soaker block actor to Side Order

added person names (most likely belonging to the devs) (you know for the credits)

added scenes for a boss fight and something called creator (level creation?)

Power v Wisdom v Courage (April 2023)

added a lift actor to avoid an 8-ball from going somewhere

added an object actor for both inkrails and grindrails

Vanilla v Strawberry v Mint Chip (July 2023)

all Side Order related strings have been removed :(

And that's all we got up to date! Hopefully we get to see Side Order for Drizzle Season 2023 (AKA the game's first aniversery). I mean with all this data in the game you'd think we'd get news soon, right? We got the rewards and now all of this in the game (or at least until all the SIde Order related strings were removed), maybe even more than that. Anyways if you want a more in-depth look into all of this info, please see Splat Channel's vid (I'll link it to the post right here). But with that being said hopefully, one bright and sunny day we'll get a trailer and release date for Side Order. Someday...

Anyways I'll keep y'all up to date with anything new revolving Side Order, I'll even post an in-depth analysis for the Side Order trailer whenever it does come out (I promise this time; I might've forgotten to do one for Sizzle Season but I assure you I will make one this time). Staaay fresh, everyone!

[rockinlibrarian]

For the writing ask game: 2, 6, & 7 ^_^

Yay! An ask from the actual AUTHOR of The Happy Fic Writer Ask Game reblogged here, who is famous for also once, see question 13, guessing my TUA Masked Author submission by title alone!

So let's start with 2. Talk about a favorite comment you received.

I think the one that jumps out at me is from a "Guest" who I believe I've since come to know as "hc-silver" on the Summerland Discord, on "Two (or Three) Mutant Freaks and the Strictly Scholarly Collaboration":

"Your dedication to the interpersonal relationships shows; I would go as far as to say its your strong suit! The interactions are true to the characters and not contrived. For me it makes your work a pleasure to read."

That just gave me all the warm fuzzies! Such a genuine compliment about something I always try hardest to get right!

Runner-ups to Lovely_Number_7's "Reread this is amazing" on "On Soul Mates and Nemeses" because it's what it says on the tin-- someone is REREADING this because they think it's AMAZING; and to this guy in @destinyandcoins's reply to the aforementioned Masked Author submission "How to Catch Up with your Therapist after a Couple of…Busy Months":

I just like looking at that guy, he makes me laugh.

6. Describe what you do and your feelings after posting a chapter.

Well. I link it in relevant social media locales, and then usually end up clicking through the link and rereading it immediately, just to get the experience of reading it like other people will be reading it. Then I refresh to see if anyone else has found it yet! They inevitably haven't, so I noodle around on the internet for awhile, then keep refreshing and/or checking gmail to see if anyone has commented yet! This probably still hasn't happened! But I keep doing it! Then the next morning at about 6:45 is when AO3 sends the "You've Got Kudos!" email notifications, so I attempt to keep my pants on until then. If no one has Kudoed it by that first morning, I get down, but then immediately start going through my other WIPs to decide which one is closest to being publishable so that I can hurry on to the NEXT source of potential validation!

7. What do you love most about being a fic writer for your fandom?

I don't know, I guess I just love playing with characters. It's like that scene in one of the Anne books, maybe Anne of Avonlea, where she's like "It's just a string of fancies! I enjoy writing such things, but editors insist on PLOTS!" which I have always identified with. It's ACCEPTABLE to write fanfic that's basically just "characters do stuff" without any world-stopping plot-building on my part!

Fandom-specifically, which the question seems to be leaning toward, I don't know, because I'm a multi-fandom writer anyway. Legion I am one of the ONLY writers for, so there I feel a bit, um, knowledgeable I guess? So, confident. But it makes me a little sad that "The Magic Man of Oz," possibly the coolest fic I have ever written, therefore has like no audience. And it also makes me sad that, being pretty much the only person in the fandom writing about the Summerland founders, I always have to write it in order to read it, which is why I requested it on the Yuletide exchange!

My fandom with the second-highest number of fics written (and highest number of fics READ), Umbrella Academy, I still feel kind of like the dork on the sidelines saying, "Hi, I'm here too!" And currently the only other fandom with more than one fic posted at all is the MCU, and two fics in the MCU, one of which is really more of a Wrinkle in Time fic anyway and which I swear has not been abandoned, is like one molecule of salt in the ocean.

I have been enjoying browsing all the requests for Yuletide, because there are so many ITTY BITTY fandoms that make me go wow, I never thought of fanfic for that, I can't wait to read it! One prompt was so brilliant I'm writing it as a Treat even though it's not my official assignment. My official assignment is actually for a fandom I was surprised is even eligible for Yuletide, but I'd better stop talking now. I'm very bad at writing surprises.

[cell-axe]

Ramblings for Qiumibu #2

I might as well begin my second rambling post by linking it to the previous one haha

The next post can be found here.

Time for the next loser to get revealed and talk about as I ramble on about Qiumibu: Prince Naso

Goodness me, this drawing is super old. You can tell from how yellowed the paper background is, but this is also the "latest" drawing of him that I have done in the past couple of years. Such is the curse of having so many characters, hahaha

Anyways, this lad is the Heir to the kingdom of Eulia, found in the southern section of Qiumibu. I imagined the place to be dominantly fire based, cause the Vermillion Bird of the Four Symbols of China is commonly associated with flames. They're not the same as the phoenix from the Middle East, but they are so similar that even I have decided to be lazy and just combine the two ideas into Prince Naso.

Phoenixes in Qiumibu are strange. I've come up with a setting rule that only two Phoenixes can exist simultaneously in this setting (excluding Phoenixes from other peoples' settings). I guess it's my attempt to make Phoenixes feel like a unique species in my setting without looking as if I was condescending towards other peoples' Phoenix characters. I like my Phoenix characters to feel unique, so that's my solution to ensuring that there aren't thousands of almost unkillable birds running amok in this setting.

That said, he and his mother (the other Phoenix in Qiumibu) have the ability to return from the dead. Initially, I thought that they can only do so through their ashes, which appears after a fatal blow has been dealt to them. But you know what? Screw those rules, they are reborn immediately after death, and they can choose where they are reborn. It's not an explosive event. Just a little flame that can't burn stuff, and soon the whole physique and form of the Phoenix prior to their death is made anew. Naso is notorious for doing this, because he can't help himself by throwing his body into the thick of things without hesitation.

So is there a way to actually kill off a Phoenix in Qiumibu for good? There is, but it requires one of the Phoenixes to willingly end themselves. I am not sure how that works, but it's something along the lines of "I have enough of this life. Farewell, for I will not remember everything when I am reborn as a fledgling phoenix." It's a permanent decision, and if there was only one Phoenix remaining, they can't willingly off themselves and leave no Phoenixes around. Though that does create an interesting story prompt... I am going to have to take notes for this haha.

Anyways, the birth of a Phoenix is still dictated by having parents. I kinda want to make it so it only takes two to make a Phoenix as their firstborn after the other had willingly sacrificed themselves to let a new Phoenix be made. It sounds better than just "heterosexual couple make babi" couple. Naso's parents were like that. His father wasn't a Phoenix, but he was still his father. He's dead now, and Naso makes it his personal mission to torment the one who did it. I'll talk about this individual in the next post of this series.

So, what does Naso actually do? All I'd talked about was how Phoenixes worked in Qiumibu. So now we focus on his title: the Heir of Eulia. Which means he's next in line after his dear mother Empress decides to kick the bucket permanently.

He's got his usual duty as Heir of the kingdom: Get up to date with the politics (oh yay), check on the local populace, listen to their concerns and try his best aid them, and hone his skills as a metalsmith.

The Kingdom of Eulia prides itself with its metal works and large furnaces. I hadn't decided how many furnaces are present, but they're proud of their skill with metal and to create pieces of art with them. Aspiring metalsmiths would come here to hone their craft then return to their kingdom with the skills they have learned, but not everyone wants to become a metalsmith when other occupations and roles exist in this setting. I just hadn't thought about what other occupations and roles exist, other than the essential ones like the military, medicine, food and construction.

But what about Prince Naso himself? Well, he's a Prince, and the Heir to Eulia. He has a relaxed approach to life, because he knows he can't die and he can try many things out without pissing off too many people simultaneously. You can't win them all the time.

Speaking of pissing off people, I found another piece that I got wrong. I have to redo the map and this piece, but this is also a first look at the other Heir and Heiresses in Qiumibu.

Prince Naso isn't on good terms with the Heiress of the West (Princess Halene) and the Heir of the (supposed) North (Prince Tore). But he wants to have fun with them. He genuinely believes that it's possible to get to know them better, but uh, they don't like for reasons related to:

Accidentally damaging the ecosystem that belongs to Halene.

Having offed Tore's father in front of him as payback offing Naso's father.

And this guy wonders why he's not on good terms with them. But the two can't do anything about him, given his ability to return to life. They have killed him a few times, but Naso holds no grudge against them.

As for the Heiress of the (supposed) East at the top? That's Princess Spyri, and she's on good terms with Naso because earth and metal need flames to solidify and be malleable, so she holds no ill will towards him. Their kingdoms have helped each other in advancements and aid over the years of their reign.

I make ruling kingdoms sound so easier than it actually is. I'll worry about it when I actually rule a place, which would never happen haha. Alright, end of this rambling.

[barelysanereviews]

2022 Top Hits: We're back! Sort of

Hello, 2023. Hello, same old us. We're hopping back in here to share some life updates and tell you about some movies, series, and books that made our hearts expand in 2022. How have you been, Barely Sane friends? We wish you a year of ease this 2023.

Colleen

2022 was kind of a whirlwind for me. I did this thing at the start of the year where I wrote myself a hopeful letter. It kind of steered me into this path of exploration, of saying yes to new experiences. So naturally, a lot of new things happened and I didn't get to read/watch a lot of things. I also went back to taking my master's, so I died half of the year. I managed to watch 85 films and 38 shows and finish 22 books. Some of my favorites I have already shared in past posts, so the six things I'll share here are those that I haven't yet talked about.

Nobody Knows (2004) - Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda

I always talk about Koreeda because his work always manages to exceed expectations (wellll except for Broker, which was still good! but I don't like it as much as the other Koreeda films). Nobody Knows is one of his most-known films, so I had high expectations, but the film still exceeded that. This was a tender, quiet ache, and—as what Koreeda usually does—delves deep into issues of home and family, and the mundane flawedness of humans. Koreeda captured what it's like to be a child thrust into a harsh, indifferent world, but his characters aren't resentful or full of hatred. Until the end, they choose survival—but they also choose hope. Link to more info here.

2. The Worst Person in the World (2021) - Dir. Joachim Trier

I didn't think much about this film after I saw it, but I guess the fact that I still remember the plot months after having seen it says something. I wouldn't be friends with this girl, and I couldn't relate to some of her struggles, but I felt invested and I wanted her life to turn out fine. I also appreciated how Trier showed his unique style throughout the film, and there's even one sequence that I sometimes still think about to this day due to my curiosity about how it was shot. Not my ultimate favorite, but would recommend. Here is the synopsis.

3. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

There's nothing that hasn't already been said about this book, but I'm adding it to my list because it's one of the few memorable books I read last year. I found this very interesting because I didn't know a lot about the Korean diaspora in Japan. But this also tackles a lot of other things, aside from having a whole cast of characters whose depth made the story feel so real. I get that the TV adaptation changed a couple of things to make it more hopeful, because this one was tragic. It reminded me of Do Not Say We Have Nothing, which I also highly recommend.

4. Not Here to be Liked by Michelle Quach

I usually don't read young adult romance anymore, but the premise of this one reminded me of the type of YA that I liked. The main couple had clear chemistry and I think younger readers would appreciate how it tackles feminism. Looking forward to reading more Michelle Quach!

5. Yellowjackets (Season 1)

This one has a very interesting premise: a high school girl soccer team survives a plane crash in the 90s through (spoiler) a ~smattering~ of cannibalism and shady cult activity (spoiler). (Actually I'm not sure if this is still a spoiler since this is what it's known for). The show follows the girls before and immediately after the crash, and as adults with a dark past. This was thrilling, scary, and unpredictable, and I loved that this was executive produced by Karyn Kusama who directed Jennifer's Body. Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, and Juliette Lewis, and the girl from The Book Thief are part of the main cast. And Frodo is part of season 2, so yay!

6. Street Woman Fighter (Season 1)

I already talked about Our Beloved Summer and My Liberation Notes in another post, so I'm going to talk about a dance competition show instead to lure you into checking out Korea's reality/variety shows. Street Woman Fighter put a spotlight on the street dancers of Korea, and on top of that, the competing groups were really fun to watch. It made me want to try dancing, even though I have zero skills.

[doverstar]

You can't send links through Asks. Just remove the parenthesis around the period, (.), and it should work. vt.tiktok(.)com/ZS89aHC7t/

Yes! I finally got it to work! Thank you for sending it to me, Anon Who Sent It To Me (if this is you, yay, if it's the other anon, hi again!) . So, if you care:

1. That person isn’t responding my post directly.

2. What that person said about the canon lore of the story is correct to a point.

3. At the canonical time of the story Disney+ is trying to adapt to film, there are six boys in the Lost Boys’ group on the island. There's no question about that. My point is still valid, I think, because: if the book says there are six boys on the island, then there are six boys on the island, and there are not any girls there at that time. In fact, Barrie makes a point of having Wendy ask Peter if there are girls in his band, and then of having Peter tell Wendy that no, there aren’t, and that this is because (whether this next part is true or not is irrelevant to me, I’m realizing) “girls are much too clever to fall out of their prams”.

My beef isn’t actually with whether or not girls are too clever to be misplaced/sent to the Neverland. My beef is with the fact that Disney decided to throw girls into the group when, in the story, there are no girls in the group. On purpose. Because that’s a big deal in the story. They’re depicted as a group of wild little boys who definitely need a girl around. That is, for Wendy’s character, a big selling point when it comes to traveling to Neverland.

Putting girls in the group eliminates the boys' perceived all-important need for Wendy. And doing it just to mix in Disney’s bland, irritating “gender equality, but females are superior, if gender is even important, which we’re not saying it is, haha” agenda gets on my nerves, personally.

But Peter Pan has been butchered cinematically for decades. The perfect film adaptation already came out 20 years ago - my complaints are just me venting, and I can go watch PJ Hogan’s adaptation any time and wind up satisfied. And I guess my using the “girls are much too clever” quote to express my vexation with Disney’s inaccuracies was sort of a mistake, too, because not following that precise reasoning isn't what annoyed me in the first place. Having girls as part of the Lost Boys at all - when canonically, importantly, there aren't any before Wendy shows up - was. And to me the whole film looks like just another crappy attempt to "improve" a story that didn't need improving. Like - 90% of that trailer and what it told me about that version of Peter Pan? Was totally inaccurate. The Lost Boys having girls is far from the worst inaccuracy. It was just the first one I cared enough about to comment on. But! That person (in the video) is absolutely right in at least one thing: just because Peter said it doesn’t make it true!