#he has no idea how he works for the record. hes not some clever or conniving villain he sucks at this.

[donut-entendre]

what is your “spaghetti donut AU?” it seems really cool

OUUUUUGH okay the best I can summarize without spoiling too much is basically I looked at Donut's numerous "deaths" and looked at a lot of weird lines from him and said this man is a horror movie monster (the og joke 'theory') And then it spiraled out to an AU where Donut is in fact a weird spaghetti monster that I am... still actively figuring out how he works BUT I can summarize with "what if the Thing and the carrion monster had the personality of Donut" and uh now he's a worm to me. forever. a worm (he is many worms but they all ID as the same guy so?) who's carrying around the world's most mentally ill ex-villains because it's hilarious. they;re all scared of him. he eats cat food and raw yeast and he is a man who will see a mouse and eat it. at some point I decided he was a cat before he got his hands on a human shape because his name is donut. look me in the eyes and tell me that "Franklin Delano Donut" is not the most cat name you have ever heard in your life. anyway hes sooooo normal [donut violence happening loudly in another room but i close the door with my foot]

I have sideblog for it where I mostly rb things that make me go ah yes the worms and I also have an ask blog but I have been a tired little boy lately

[emergency-plan]

DPxDC Idea

I had a little idea an have no time to actually write a fic, so I just wrote a sorta-summary and am posting it like this.

This is inspired by the game Home Safety Hotline and may contain hints to spoilers for that game. It's really clever, I really like it. I recommend you play it if slightly spooky without any "real" horror appeals to you.

Alright, Danny's been Ghost King for a few years and has realized more than just his usual rogues make their way to the living world, and a lot of those ghosts don't stay in Amity. By himself, it'd take forever to track down all those spirits and specters that are out causing mischief. Luckily, not many that escaped his notice are all that powerful and could only cause minor disturbances, just enough to get noticed by the living.

Many people outside Amity don't even recognize the activity as ghosts, so they blame other sources. Scratching in the walls is mistaken as mice, whispers and apparitions are mistaken as hallucinations and carbon monoxide hallucinations, attempted overshadowings mistaken as stokes or migraines. In this day and age, where does everyone turn to when looking for advice or how to solve problems? The internet.

Team Phantom devise a method to try and track down ghosts that are stuck or tormenting the living by building a website meant to look like a help hotline, and with some algorithm trickery make it one of the top options when searching for signs similar to ghost presences. Add some bits and bobs to make it appear as a more normal-looking website on any computer affiliated with government organizations, and you’ve got some protection from the GIW.

Calls start slowly, so the three of them can handle it by themselves. Once more people are calling, they decide to start a call center. They hired some trusted people around Amity and even a few ghosts who want to help. To get around worrying about the ghosts messing with the tech while personally taking a call, they decide to automate the system to record caller’s reports for the employees to listen to, and then send a report back, offering their services to bring the spirit back to the Realms.

It’s been surprisingly lucrative, and Danny hasn’t had to dip into his kingly funds much other than at the start. He still keeps prices low, just enough to not garner suspicions at offering a free service while paying his workers fairly (he doesn’t want to know why some of the ghosts want mortal money). What he’s started having more trouble with is not enough employees to take the calls. Sometimes ghosts lose track of time and don’t show up for their shifts (he doesn’t blame them, time gets weird in the Ghost Zone), and he’s run out of people he trusts who want the job.

Eventually he decides to put out an ad, deciding he’ll slowly trust whoever takes the job with a little more information over time, see how they react, and measure to see if they’re trustworthy.

What he doesn’t think about is how posting it on the website will let more people than just those that live in Amity apply.

Meanwhile, in Gotham, one Cassandra Cain is looking for a job. She doesn’t need the money, B gives her access to way too much, but she wants the experience. She’s at the age she’s heard most kids get a job, and she wants to see what it’s like.

And she quickly found out retail and fast food are NOT for her. She doesn’t think those conditions are fit for anyone, honestly. She’d have to see if she could get Bruce to work on that. But that still leaves her out of a job. She got overwhelmed with a lot of people, so virtual options would probably be best, and something that let her interact with people without having to speak. There weren’t a lot of options out there, and she wasn’t skilled enough with a computer yet to take programming ones.

That’s when she found the listing for the hotline call center. Based in a small Illinois town, but had virtual options, listen to recorded customer calls, diagnose their issue, and send an information packet on potential next steps. It was indirect, could also help her practice her reading, and flexible. It was perfect.

It didn’t take long to hear back after she applied (Danny was freaking out, he didn’t think anyone outside Amity would apply. He’d turn this kid down, but she’d mentioned her difficulties with speaking in her application and SWEETY YOU DONT MENTION STUFF LIKE THAT ON AN APPLICATION. But she said the job would be perfect for her and he just couldn’t…) and she got the job!

Her first day rolls around and she’s given access to the database. A lot has been redacted, but she has descriptions for common problems like mice, carbon monoxide, black mold, etc. she gets her first call recording and carefully reads through the entries before selecting the one that sounds right. She sends it off and waits for the next. The calls come a little too regularly, with too similar intervals between them, so she figures her new employer is testing how well she’s doing (Danny’s giving her previous resolved calls that weren’t anything supernatural. She even got the ants right! He had even gotten that wrong!)

Eventually, her shift ends and she tells her family how well her first day went at dinner. They congratulate her and go on patrol as usual. The next day, things ramp up a little.

She logs into the database at the beginning of her shift and noticed some new entries. She now had access to descriptions of shades, blob ghosts, will o’ wisps, and more minor spirits. She gets a recording reminding her all this info is confidential and that she’s not allowed to share it with anyone. She’s a little confused, but she reads through each just as carefully. The calls come less regularly, so she figures she’s actually connected to the system now (Danny gave her access to the most common ghosts they get calls about and is listening in while he’s handling ghosts to make sure she doesn’t get anything she’s not prepared for).

Her shift ends and over dinner, she mentions that she’s had to diagnose some odd things. They assure her there’s more pests and hazards out there than you’d expect. She doesn’t tell her family about the distraught woman haunted by the Ecto-Echo of her husband’s habit of making her coffee every morning after he passed a few weeks ago. Or the person who had a Shade masquerading as their shadow. Just about one of her caller's cockroach problem.

The next day follows a similar pattern; more entries, slightly more powerful ghosts, reminder that the info she's been given access to is confidential and could get people hurt if it got in the wrong hands, congratulated for her good work, read through carefully and learn signs of each, diagnose calls, before calling it a day (Danny was so proud of her, she'd only confused a blob ghost with a ghost animal once, and it hadn't caused him any trouble when he went to collect them).

She'd used the bat-computer to check up on some of the callers she'd diagnosed, and they seemed to be doing fine. Some had posted about their weird experiences on their social media and how her employer had somehow helped them, but often didn't quite know how (Danny liked to hide his powers, so most of what customers saw was him using ghost tech. When it couldn't be solved with just a quick souping, he had to pull a little ghostly trickery while the customer wasn't watching). She didn't know how her boss was somehow across the world multiple times a day to help clients in different countries, but he seemed to at least be helping people. She started not having any stories she could tell her family at dinner.

At some point, she heard reports that one of the speedsters probably messed with time travel again before clocking into her shift. She had almost all the available entries and had gotten very good at recognizing tricky cases. She answered a recorded call, just like at the beginning of each of her shifts, but this one was a little different. Danny had sent out an announcement to be on the lookout for a specific phenomena that often occurred after shifts in reality, as they were highly dangerous and needed to be dealt with swiftly.

She studied each entry and paused on what she was supposed to keep a careful eye out for. Revenants, corpses that came back to life, often seen shambling around the graveyards they were buried in. Something about that sounded familiar. A section in their entry said the person brought back often had a ghost in the Realms (which she still didn't know what that was) that was in terrible pain from shifts in reality trying to pull them back to their body, but the separation of dimensions preventing them.

Expectedly, she did get a call from someone convinced there was a zombie wandering somewhere along the east coast. She double checked it couldn't be anything else before submitting it and notifying her boss.

Curious, and she knew no one would be in the batcave around this time of day, she brought her laptop with her down to the bat-computer. She found cameras in the area the caller reported, and froze at what she saw. Shambling across an abandoned street was a rotting corpse. It really did look like a zombie. It was covered in dirt, wearing an old-fashioned suit, and had skin sloughing off its bones.

But what Cass could only focus on was how much its movements read that it was in pain. It was suffering in such a horrible way its mindless being didn't even deserve. It was horrible.

Then, there was a flash of green and an area of the cameras were covered in static. The glitched portion somehow read with kindness and pity. It slowly approached the corpse, simple reaching out gently (what was presumably a hand), ignoring the way it lashed out. It suddenly fell, caught and slowly lower to the ground by the strange being she couldn't see. It closed the thing's eyes before carrying it off in the direction the map said a graveyard could be found.

After that, she finished her shift and went to dinner. Her family asked if she was alright, and she only replied it'd been a long day.

She clocked in early the next day and messaged her boss for more information on Revenants. Dinner that night was one of the few times Jason agreed to come by, and if he noticed how she kept glancing at him, he didn't say anything.

A week later, she asked her boss what might happen if a Revenant was exposed to, as it was called in its entry, a "Corrupted Ecto-Spring" ("...an ugly hole in the fabric of reality that connects the world of the living to the Realms. The ectoplasm that leaks through the tear stagnates and festers into toxic pools that kills humans and makes ghosts sick."). Danny requested a video call.

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

VHSCC OH MY GOD

(no spoilers)

Starkid nation, you aren't ready.

So let's start with the obvious. Look, I spent thirteen years growing up with Starkid. That initial Michigan gang are deeply special to me and I will always miss Dylan, Brian R., and Corey in any show they aren't in. And this one's no different. But just as Janaya came in and took over Belle from Britney so flawlessly, Curt, Brian, and AJ were all WONDERFUL in their new roles. The gentle-but-high-energy, truly decent, romantic himbo charm Curt brought to our Springsteen boy Jim (you all are going to LOVE Jim, I promise) perfectly offset the defiant, sneering anger of Young Scrooge in "That Scrooge." Brian's reactions (particularly to the "rather take my own life" line) were so funny and some of my favorite parts of the show. And AJ... this is now my favorite thing AJ has ever done. And that's saying something. The smaller casting shake-up moments (Joey as Fezziwig, other little line re-distributions) were so fun as well!

The new act 1 is PERFECTION. I was actually surprised by how absolutely hysterical it was? Like, I won't tell you what was up with that clip on Instagram of Brian, Lauren, and Joey doing a freak-out dance, but I can tell you that their whole Act 1 deal threatened to steal the show every. Single. Time. I already mentioned Curt as Jim, but you will also love Della, who is so funny and real and truly carries us through the start of the show (Janaya is a STAR and she Curt have brilliant chemistry). Ali did a terrific job of balancing the sadness and hope that are both at the center of the devastating little Match Girl. And Jamie's Grandma... well, honestly I have no idea how to talk about Jamie's song without giving stuff away.

But the real star of the show in Act 1, as he should be, was our man Clark. I can't emphasize enough how much he nailed the writing of this whole new act. I mentioned that the new stuff is hilarious, but it's also deeply heartfelt, and also sad exactly when it needs to be. Like, the transition after Jamie's song? I can't really talk about it yet, but what that moment does with emotion is unreal. And, as expected, every song is a banger! My one complaint about this show, and it IS a big one, is that there is no cast recording of the Act 1 songs. I want to listen to them all the time.

But the good news is, I CAN listen to Christmas Carol as much as I want! The classic that started it all is back, with so many people reprising the hell out of their truly iconic roles (God I love the VHS Cratchits), and better than ever. I traditionally hate change, and I love the version of VHSCC Live! we already have so much, but I think I somehow loved this version even more? The staging is alive and clever and there are some additions and changes, particularly in "Final Ghost"/"Christmas Day," that frankly blew my mind and somehow managed to elevate the material even further. I can't wait for the digital ticket to come out so that I can talk about them. To put it simply, James Tolbert mastered his Starkid directorial debut like you won't believe. I'm so proud of him and grateful for the larger role he's taken in Starkid since they moved base to LA.

Also, the Ghost of Christmas Past is extra unhinged this year? Jaime pulled out all of the impish stops and it was the BEST.

Basically, everyone more than delivered. I haven't talked about Meredith yet but she rocked it in the band and continued to validate the hell out of my opinion that "3 Spirits" is the dark horse best song in the show.

And a special shout-out to June Saito for continuing to be a costuming GENIUS. I always love her work and this production is no exception. I honestly wanted to give the return of the Bob Cratchit costume its own round of applause.

You know, the world is a mess and everything is pretty much terrible. It's been a hard year in an impossible decade. But every once in a while you come across some art that takes all of that, acknowledges the truth of it, and somehow pulls back the curtains to harness the joy and hope that's still there under the rubble. To me, Starkid in particular has always been about finding and holding onto the hope and the beauty and humanity that allows us to endure an existence that can so often feel bleak. And VHSCC is maybe the most perfect encapsulation of that idea.

So thank you Clark, James, Meredith, Brian, and everyone who worked so hard on this little bit of magic. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Let's make a little light.

[sgiandubh]

Mordor says He returned only for Visa reasons. They did some math and understood that Sam had been there for almost 90 days, só It was time for a quick walk home.

Dear Visa Anon,

Which Mordor luminary came with this idea? The MENSA-level CRT Clique or Miss Marple, who thinks I know nothing (the Dimwit from Madrid is still learning how to spell, so I can't believe it's her)?

Regardless. These people should immediately stop watching Ninety-Day Fiancé on their cable network, following a severe overdose on Uzbek midgets and Egyptian gigolos 'looking for true love' stories.

Maybe they could also have checked their facts before solemnly stating bullshit, since they clearly think all the visitors to the wonderful U S of A are tourists and as such, entitled to a maximum 90-day stay at a time (and then a short hike to Tijuana or Canada and back on tracks: not EDI/GLA, FFS!).

Incidentally, may I remind these geniuses that S has been spotted only near EDI, which of course would mean for them he'd be getting his visa there. Unless...

Unless you know the US General Consulate in EDI does not issue any type of visas - LOL, idiots. And unless he'd need to be in LHR for the pre-appointed interview and then another 7 working days delay for processing and 1-3 working days for passport delivery by mail only (never in person, chickadees). Doesn't really click with timelines, Madam Expert.

Because they are all very intelligent, they also forgot everything about/never bothered to look for the new-ish ESTA system (https://www.handyvisas.com/esta-us-visa/british/), especially designed for Visa Waiver countries' citizens. So I insist: if traveling as a tourist, S does not need a visa to enter the US for up to 90 days - that is correct, but by no means applicable to S's reality. And if he knew he'd need to stay more than 90 days, he would have applied for a visa - mandatory - in London before the Summer of Sassenach tour.

But he is not traveling as a tourist and very probably not under another type of non-immigrant visa, simply because he has businesses there and he is also involved in the OL project with *** (d'oh!).

Let's unpack:

As per US current regulations, S cannot apply for a B-1 (business non immigrant visa). To understand why, kindly refer to the US Customs and Border Protection FAQ (https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/B-1%20permissible%20activities.pdf). I already munched it up for you:

He could only apply for a O-1 B immigration visa, for which his agent or employer should mandatorily petition the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. These are special visas designed for the individual who (...) has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements. This is very subjective and a contract with * should be enough - I was in a taxi when I received your ask and immediately checked with a friend from the US Consulate, to indulge you. And all this hassle just because a Tumblr Nobody has flatulent opinions, huh?

According to the USCIS's own regulations, not Dutch fantasy or Belfast sagas, the authorized period of stay and possibility of extension are as follows (https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/o-1-visa-individuals-with-extraordinary-ability-or-achievement):

The good thing about getting this visa (and I think * sorted it out a long time ago for both of them) is that it helps tremendously with the Green Card procedures, something I bet the farm both S & C already have, by now.

So doing the maths was perfectly inane and useless.

Does that answer your question, clever Anon? Can I go back to the Quaich post I must finish (it will be VERY long, beware) today?

Thanks for asking and I am sorry for the length: this fandom being paranoid, I had to include all the tedious details. I hope we can put this idiocy to rest, now. Parochial twits.

[cyn-write]

The Little Cecelia - Chapter 1: Friends

Summary - Every 100 years, the spirit of the Great Seven and their Rival return. Sometimes, they attempt to right the wrongs of the past, get revenge, or relive the same story, but it all is the same - only one spirit gets their Happily Ever After. Azul has always had a fascination with the human world, which only intensified once he met a human girl, Grace Trien. His desires to become a Great Mage of both Land and Sea and to explore the human world and all its wonders with the Tweels and Grace by his side, but Prince Rielle is willing to do what ever it takes to stop the little Cecelia from getting his Happy Ending.

Masterlist - Next

Pairing - Azul Ashengrotto x F!Oc (Grace Trein)

Tags/Warnings - Friends to Lovers; Bullying; Grace is Trein's Daughter; Angst -> Fluff; Self-Deperication

Notes - I have been working on this for a very long time, and I hope you enjoy it! Grace Trein is based off my Oc Grace Wilde so if you want to learn more about her click the link, but you can replace her name when reading if you want to read it as Yuu or another name. This is only the first chapter of 11, so if you enjoy this and want to be tagged or have questions, please let me know! This is also on Ao3 if you want to follow it over there. Comments, likes, and Reblogs are appreciated!

Without Further Ado: Once Upon a Time.....

Every Merchild was told from a young age how dangerous the humans were. Parents, Teachers, Elders all told tales of the vicious humans who slaughtered merfolk by the dozens and the clever traps they would use to ensnare merfolk for prizes. Landfolk were all described as hideous creatures fascinated with lifeless contraptions. They were monsters… or so the stories said.

Despite the fear, some dared to have a fascination with the beings above. Azul has always had a fascination with the landfolk and their contraptions but stayed away from the shore out of fear. But sometimes, greater forces led people to face their fears. Forces named Rielle.

Azul was minding his own business, studying a new trinket he found that morning while the twins were off hunting for lunch. It was a triangle with a rounded bottom and a cone on the top that made things look closer when peered though. It had an engraving on the side of an odd creature with four legs and fins sprouting from its back. As he looked through the cone at some fish, he failed to notice the Merprince and his gang readying their rocks.

“HEY OCTOTWERP! CATCH!” Called the red-haired prince as he signaled the attack. Azul jumped from his spot and felt the first of the rocks hit is tentacles. He accidentally inked as he swam away as fast as his tentacles could propel him. “GET HIM!”

On the princes’ orders, the merchild brigade chased him away from the reef and towards forbidden waters.

“JADE! FLOYD! HELP!!” He called out, but the eel twins were nowhere in sight. He looked for another way out, but he was surrounded. He passed the ship graveyard, the kept forest, the rock grove. He could feel his tentacles strain to keep up the pace and all three of his hearts beating at record speed, but the tyrannical prince would not give in until he saw Azul crying and crippled.

“Come on Azul think.” He grunted as he weaved through jagged rocks. Then he saw the sea floor start to incline and a dangerous idea came to mind. Rumor has it that there is a cave that use to be the home of a long-dead exiled Sea Witch and all rumors had a grain of truth. As the rocks got bigger, he saw the carcasses of sharks and whales and knew he was getting close.

“Rielle! He’s heading towards the shore!” He heard Rielle’s right-hand, a flounder named Florence call out.

“Then hurry up you guppy! Don’t let fatso escape!” Rielle called back; his voice was getting closer.

Azul scanned his surroundings and saw it, a small opening underneath a whale head. He darted for the bones and heard the bullies change direction after him. In a last stitch effort to lose his pursuers, he took a deep breath, concentrated, and squeezed himself into the hole. It was a tight fit, but he made it. As he shimmied through, some of his tentacles loosened rocks that blocked the entrance, stopping his pursuers and trapping him in the process. The hole grew larger, and he let himself stop and hide.

He hid in the larger hole and listened.

“Florence! Get out of the way! I’ll blast my way in!” Rielle called.

Just as Azul prepared to face his death, he heard the distinct voices of his saviors “In where, Princie~”

“TWEEELS!” Florence shrieked in fear.

“We playing a game here?” Jade asked.

“Oooo~ I wanna play!” Floyd retorted and all Azul could hear was chaos.

“Your highness, we need to leave! This place is way too close for comfort.” Another of the prince’s posse, Sebet if Azul was correct, said. “Besides, they’re doomed anyway, let’s leave them for the fishermen. We can play with Azul later. He has to come back sometime.”

“Fine.” Rielle sounded annoyed then decided to shout, “YA HEAR THAT AZUL! SHOW YOUR FAT FACE IN ATLANTICA AGAIN AND WE’LL GETCHA! INKING WILL BE THE LEAST OF YOUR PROBLEMS!”

“YA! WELL NEXT TIME WE SEE YUR FACE OUTTA ALENTICA WELL BE SNACKING ON PRINCIE!” Floyd called back.

Azul heard the group laugh as they swam away.

“Azul, are you in there?” Jade called.

“Yeah, I think I’m stuck…” Azul called back, choking on his words from crying.

“Hold on Zul! We’ll get ya outa there!” Floyd called, “I think there’s another entrance over there!”

“Azul, we’ll be right back!” Jade said before the two swam away.

Azul waited a few minutes before letting himself take a deep breath. A few tears escaped his eyes as he realized his doom. He was stuck in a cave. He couldn’t get out. The twins would get bored of helping him soon enough. And if he went back home, the prince and his school were waiting for him.

‘Would mom look for me?’ He thought as more tears streamed from his blue eyes, ‘She probably thinks I’m dead anyway…she’ll just try again with dad and forget I ever existed.’

His tentacles curled in on themselves as he cried. No wonder the other fry picked on him, he was just a crybaby, that’s all he’ll ever be.

Then one of his tentacles hit something… a vial. He looked up from his spot as his tentacle picked up the object. It was thin, made of glass with a cork keeping some green stuff in it. Then another hit a different object, a rounder, thicker glass container holding a powdery substance. Ever curious, Azul moved forward and saw more vials. Somewhat intact and held different substances while others were broken and had the contents spewed around them. The deeper he went; he saw more things covered in moss with age. Then he entered a larger opening, what must be the main room. In the center was a caldron overturned and around it was different objects.

‘The stories were true… this is the witch’s layer!’ Azul’s mood quickly turned from despair to joy. “I can’t believe it! I’m in The Sea Witch’s layer!”

For once he was thankful for his tentacles as he explored the cavern. He looked into different rooms and saw bedrooms, a kitchen, storerooms and the most wonderful library! In the library there where rows upon rows of spell books. He took some off and skimmed the contents. There where books for beauty potions, translations spells, identification incantations, and even transmutation! He was pulling different books then found a peculiar one titled “Cecelia: A History.” Out of curiosity he pulled it, and the shelf began to move.

A new, hidden tunnel appeared. It was dark and lead straight up, so being the curious creature he is, he went up. His amazement pushed his caution to the side as he began to think about what could be up there: magical artifacts, forbidden spell books, long dead secrets! But instead, it led to the surface. He saw the end of the water and paused. He had never broken to the surface before… but what could be up there? He was already here, might as well take a peek.

He took a deep breath and slowly lifted his head above the water. What he saw amazed him: another living space. It was almost exactly like the one below with a cauldron in the center and a smaller set of shelves behind it filled with things. To the side was a makeshift kitchen, a bedroom, and a sitting room with furniture made from the brown, rough material sunken ships were made of. After determining that the land was also deserted, he rose higher and got the courage to climb onto the land. His tentacles moved on the dry land pretty easily and adjusted to the sudden pressure quickly. After determining it was safe, he let his curiosity take over. He rushed over to the shelves and looked at the different books and objects. He picked them up and read the different titles, some were spell books, but others were books on human society. He made a mental note to read them later after he explored some more. Then he saw a necklace. A beautiful shell necklace that seemed to glow slightly. As his hand brushed the shell, then he heard a noise.

Crying, someone was crying. He darted back to the water out of fear and hid under the waves. ‘Someone’s here… I thought this place was aban- wait… that sounds like its coming from over there…’ He swam towards a second entrance to this place. It was vertical and there was a light coming from the other side. He went through the tunnel and saw the sand make a sharp incline up. ‘The Shore!’

The crying got louder and through the water he saw a small figure. ‘Leave! GO! This is Dangerous!’ part of him screamed in his brain, but the other part recognized that crying. It was a cry of loneliness. He clenched his fist and took another deep breath “Kept it.” He told himself then rose to peer out of the water. He peaked his eyes out of the water but that was all he needed to see the most beautiful being he has ever seen: A human girl.

She looked to be around his age, skin the color of white sand, golden hair like waves fell over her shoulders and hid her face. She had on a cloth thing in a pink color more vibrate than he had ever seen with a matching ribbon in her hair. He could see her legs, thin things that had the oddest fins attached to them with thinner tentacles on the end of them. Her legs were pulled into her chest with her arms keeping them close. He had been in that position many times before. Her sobs echoed in the cavern and made his heart hurt. Next to her was a brown basket made of the same particular material that the furniture was made of. Inside it were books and cloth wrapped objects.

He watched her for a moment and a part of him wanted to swim closer. Subconsciously, a single tentacle stretches close to the girl, and it wasn’t until he saw the black limb creeping up to her legs that he noticed. He wrenched the tentacle back and it caused a splash.

“Who’s there!” The girl looked up quicker than he could sink down. Their eyes locked in that moment, and he was stunned. Vibrant green orbs starred back at him. Filled a familiar sensation that he knew all too well: loneliness.

He has no clue how long they stayed like that. Staring at each other unsure what to do. She was the one to break the silence. “Woah… you’re a.. A mermaid!”

She moved closer and Azul sunk down into the depths, his rational brain telling him to flee.

“Wait! I-I won’t hurt you! Please don’t go!” He heard her call. He saw her legs running towards him in the water and he backed-up terrified. He was about to run, but what she said next would be the words that changed Azul’s life forever: “Please… I-I just want a friend…”

‘Run… Run…’ He thought, then his pesky hearts got in the way, ‘She’s just like me…I’m already dead anyway.’

He turned around and saw her lower half in the water. The fabric moving with the waves and pale legs firmly planted in the sand. He closed his eyes and slowly rose above the water. Her eyes shined and looked over him not in fear and disgust, but amazement and wonder.

“H-hi…” She said and smiled at him. She smiled at him. Then held out her hand, “I’m Grace…Grace Trein, what’s your name?”

She looked so soft and squishy. He reached out his hand tentatively, but his nerves got the best of him and backed away. She could see his hesitation and lifted both of her hands palms out, “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise, see.” She wiggled her fingers and smiled. He was still nervous and didn’t move towards her but did speak up.

“a-azul” he said in a quiet voice.

“Azul? That’s a pretty name!” He could feel her eyes studying him and prepared himself for the hurtful comments on his weight. But she instead pointed to something in the water, “Is that a Sexton!”

He looked down and saw he still had the weird contraption that got him in this mess. He lifted it and repeated the name, “Sex-ton?”

“Yeah! Sailors use it to navigate!” She stepped closer and he moved back. She noticed this and stepped back as well, “May I see it?” She stretched her hand out palm up. He saw a silver bracelet on her arm that caught his eye. She saw this and took it off, “Wanna trade for a bit? I promise i’ll give it back!”

Curiosity won and two black tentacles moved towards her hand, and one held the sexton. He quickly took the silver bracelet and dropped the sexton into her hand before she could comment. He took the bracelet from his tentacle and examined the silver base and blue jewels embedded in it.

“Wow! You’re an Oct-mer!” She said, “That is so cool!”

He was not prepared for the comment and a blue blush crept onto his face. He was shocked to say the least, “Cecelia…”

“huh?” Grace tilted her head and repeated the word, “Cecelia… is that the proper name?”

Azul nodded and kept his head down. “Yeah…”

“Cecelia… That is really pretty, I like it!” Her face glowed as she spoke, all happy and joyful. It was completely different from the face she had when he arrived. She looked at the sexton and moved it around in her hands, then lifted it up and looked through it. The curiosity in her eyes made Azul want to ask her questions like ‘where is she from? Why was she in the cave? How did she find it? Why are you being nice to me? What do you want from me? Are you just being nice to my face or to lure me into a trap?’ but he kept his mouth shut and went back to examining the bracelet. It was very beautiful and simple in design, but even more interesting was the writing on the underside of the bracelet: Grace – Our precious pearl Love Mama and Papa. He ran his hand along the writing and felt the indents swirl with the letters.

Grace broke his concentration, “I was just reading about this!” He looked up and saw her walk to the shore with his trinket.

“h-hey! That’s m-mine!” He swam forward a bit as he feared she would run off with the sexton!

Grace quickly turned around and subdued his nerves “I won’t take it, I’m just grabbing my book!” She took out a green book from her basket and sat on the shore, “come here! I wanna show you something!”

“u-um…” Azul bit his lower lip before gathering his courage. This was going against every bone in his body, but he swam to the shore, “Ok.” The dry sand felt weird on his skin, but he made it over and peered at the book.

On the page was a four-legged creature with wings, the same creature that was on the sexton. “It’s called a Pegasus! They are magical creatures from when the great seven lived.” She said and tilted the book as if telling him to take it. He took it gingerly and felt his hand brush against hers as it transferred. His curiosity took over and he started to read the passage next to the picture. “According to the book, The Hero Hercules had a Pegasus who helped him on his adventures. I was reading about it for lessons today!” She was really close to him, and he could feel her clothes brush against his skin as she held up the Saxton. “Papa says that the Gods rearranged the stars so Hercules and his Pegasus’ could watch over humanity for the rest of time.”

“Stars?” Azul asked and turned his head to look at her, only then realizing that their heads were so close. Their noses almost touched, and she looked into his eyes directly.

“Yeah! The bright dots in the sky at night!” She says and points out to the opening of the cave, then her expression changed to one of confusion and realization, “You have never seen the stars. Have you?”

Azul shook his head and held his breath. ‘She is so close to me. Why is she so close to me. Whyisshesocloseto-’

GRRRRR.

Azul’s train of thought were interrupted by his stomach. His round belly grumbled so loudly that it echoed in the cave and Azul felt his heart sank. He froze in embarrassment. He was making progress with the girl and his stomach is going to ruin every-

“Are you hungry? I have sandwiches!” Grace turned to her basket and pulled out the cloth wrapped thing. She removed the cloth and handed him a dry sandwich. It looked like the sandwiches his mom sold at her restaurant, but instead of kelp it had a sponge, beige looking holding the contents together. He looked at her in surprise and pointed to himself.

“Y-you’re giving it to me?” He said surprised.

“Well yeah,” She took out half of the sandwich, “I have other snacks to if you don’t like sandwiches, Mrs. Hellen aways packs extra so I have chips, apples, juice, and some cookies!” She held out more food and he just looked at her in shock.

“You’re not going to make fun of me?” He asks quietly. This question made her smile fall and eyebrows knit together.

“Why would I do that?” She said, she shoulders slumped a bit and she looked down, “Being made fun of hurts more than being pushed downstairs, I don’t wanna do that to anyone.”

The glint came back. The watery gaze, strained voice, tense body, the pain… it is all too familiar to Azul. “People do that to you too?” Azul asked.

“Worse, brothers.” Grace said, “Anthony and Danny always make fun of me. They say I talk too much, or ask too many questions, or am too ugly to be a girl, or make fun of me for not having magic, or worse…” Tears started to form in her eyes. She hugged herself with the food still in her hand, “Ever since we moved here, its gotten worse. Mama and Papa use to step in and tell them to stop, but Mama isn’t here anymore, Papa is always working, and the servants don’t do anything… probably because they agree with them. Eli tries to step in, but he is too little to understand.” She then shakes her head and wipes her eyes away with her forearm, “I’m sorry, I’m talking too much, its not proper for a lady to talk so much-”

“Nonono! Me too!” Azul gestures to himself, “I mean- I like hearing you talk! People back home bullied me all the time! They say I talk to much a-and call me a nerd too! B-but they also call me fat and ugly, w-which is true for me but not in your case you're really pretty-but anyway! I get it! Bullies hurt…” Azul fidgeted his fingers and tentacles as he spoke and looked down at the ground, scared to look into her eyes.

There was a tense silence for a moment and Azul thought he blew it with his new potential friend, “…you think I’m pretty?” He looked up and her face was red, she was blushing so hard and looked at him in surprise.

“Y-yeah… you are…” He was really nervous as they were still close.

Grace loosened her grip on herself and the poor sandwiches and a small smile graced her lips, “Well… I think your pretty cute,” She looked up and him and their eyes met yet again. “And, I have never seen a mermaid in real life before, but after talking to you, I think Cecelia are cooler than regular mermaids.” She held out half of the sandwich and her smile changed from small to big in a genuine manner. And a weird thing happened, her smiling made Azul want to smile. The only people who have ever made Azul smile just by them smiling were the tweels. He feels a weird draw towards her, like a string pulling them together. It was a similar tug he felt with the tweels, but something about it was different.

Grace handed Azul half of the sandwich and he took it. But before taking a bite, she raised her half. “Friends?”

Azul felt his hearts beat faster. He was in shock; ‘Sh-she wants to be friends with m-me? Th-this never happens! I have a Friend! A new human friend! That means I have THREE friends!!’ “Friends!”

“Friends?” “FRIENDS!!” Two teal heads suddenly leaped out of the water.

In the shallows of the cave water were Jade and Floyd in matching sharp tooth grins.

Azul felt panic rise in his chest as the two swam closer and crawl onto the sand. Grace jumped with half a sandwich hanging out of her mouth. “moareyou?” She said with her mouth full.

Azul’s arms and tentacles were moving frantically, “nononono, please don’t freak out, they are my friends,” Grace took the sandwich out of her mouth and relaxed her shoulders a bit. “T-this is Jade and Floyd, they a-are my friends, and I guess your friends now too since you’re my friend, i-if that’s how this thing works right?” As he spoke his tentacles moved to exclaim his point.

Grace looked back and forth between Azul and the twin’s and her apprehension turned to a smile, “I-I have three friends, I HAVE THREE FRIENDS!” She was as excited as Floyd was. Her hair and bow bounced as she jumped. Her eyes sparkled and she tackled Azul in a hug. “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! YOU’RE THE BEST!!!!”

Azul stood there stunned. Her arms around him and she was thanking him for friends. She moved on to hug the twins, but all Azul could think about was her arms around him and her eyes glowing in excitement.

“YAY!” Grace tackle-hugged Floyd and the two fell in the water. Jade chuckled at the sight and beached himself on the shore.

“Seems like you helped yourself Azul,” Jade commented and plucked some of the treats out of Grace’s basket, “You even found food.”

“Seems so,” Azul replied as Grace and Floyd got out of the water.

Grace squeezed the water out of her dress and hair, Azul couldn’t take his eyes off her and it made Jade’s smile grow sharp, “A human girl… interesting,” He hummed.

Azul turned to Jade and quirked his brow, “What do you mean by that?”

Jade shook his head as Grace came over to hug him, “Nothing, just interesting.”

Azul would not understand what Jade noted until years later. On that summer’s day, Azul’s life changed. He found an abandoned grotto he now called home, he started to seriously study magic alongside the tweels using the books and artifacts now at their disposal, and met Grace Trein, a girl who would help him conquer both land and sea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List: @twistedcece @thisisafish123

Note: Please Like, Reblog, and Follow for more! If you are interested in seeing more characters in this scenario or these characters in different scenarios, please let me know! (Do not Steal)

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (March 10-16, 2024)

"It looks as though its Japanese producers, assisted by a stray American—fellow named Terry Morse, who is an alumnus of Hollywood's Poverty Row—made a close study of the old film, "King Kong," then tried to do substantially the same thing with a miniature of a dinosaur made of gum-shoes and about $20 worth of toy buildings and electric trains." —Bosley Crowther, reviewing Godzilla, King of the Monsters! for The New York Times

"The special effects are hardly special, but hey, what do you expect in a Japanese monster movie?" —Tony Kiss, reviewing Godzilla 1985 for the Asheville Citizen-Times

"Sure it's bad filmmaking. Sure it's a guy—actor Tsutomu Kitagawa—clad in a nearly vintage latex Godzilla getup and stomping through Tokyo, knocking down cardboard mini-buildings and upending toy-sized cars with his gnarly feet. But that's the point." —Bob Longino, reviewing Godzilla 2000 for The Palm Beach Post

Godzilla Minus One won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards, sending a stunned Takashi Yamazaki (VFX supervisor), Kiyoko Shibuya (VFX director), Masaki Takahashi (3D CG director), and Tatsuji Nojima (VFX artist/compositor) to the Dolby Theatre stage. Said Yamazaki, reading from prepared comments in English, "To someone so far from Hollywood, the possibility of standing on this stage seemed out of reach." I could scarcely believe what I was watching myself, despite having given a presentation for a Wikizilla stream mere hours before on Minus One's very real chances of beating more expensive American contenders. Everything I said about its nomination goes triple for its victory; we'll be talking about this one forever. To those of us who remember when Godzilla was basically a joke in the American consciousness (including my Wikizilla colleague Darthlord1997, who had a speech of his own prepared), it's the ultimate vindication.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Takashi Yamazaki directed an ad for Ajinomoto about food waste which released this week. It features the unsubtly-named Foodlosslla attacking Tokyo and facing an Ultraman-esque defense team. As with Minus One, the ad's visuals are a clever combination of high-end (a detailed CG monster) and low-end (dropping plastic fruit on top of fleeing extras).

Last year, the 4Kids Flashback podcast interviewed Mike Pecoriello, producer and writer for the company's renditions of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Ultraman Tiga, and he delivered some major news about the latter. Although only 23 episodes of Tiga aired in the U.S., 4Kids dubbed the whole thing. At the time of the podcast's recording, he thought he made copies of all the episodes, but while that doesn't seem to be the case, he did provide 4Kids Flashback with the series finale. It's a good deal more serious than the episodes which aired, with the quips kept to a minimum. Let the hunt for the rest commence!

SciFi Japan has details on Kaiju Yarrow, a Japanese comedy doubling as a tourism ad for the city of Seki. The premise is very self-aware:

KAIJU YARROW! is set in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture. One day, 30 year old Ichiro Yamada, who works in the tourism department of a government office, is ordered by the mayor to produce a "local film.'' However, Yamada, didn't want to produce the typical "mediocre local movies'' that are everywhere nowadays, so he comes up with the idea of making a "monster movie'', which has been his life-long dream. However, his dreams develops into a major incident involving the city government...! Will Yamada be able to complete his life goal of making a monster movie??

Junichiro Yagi will direct; YouTuber Gunpee will star. Unknown quantities both when it comes to kaiju, so how this will turn out is anyone's guess.

Tickets for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire have gone on sale in the U.S.—and as a reminder, the brief GKIDS theatrical release of The End of Evangelion wraps tomorrow.

[liriostigre]

Hiiii ty for such a great uquiz!! Would it be possible to see the description of all the books you could get matched to? I’m curious what the vibes are for the rest!!

hi 🌷 here you go:

White Teeth by Zadie Smith: Excessive, maximalist and very ambitious multigenerational and multicultural epic novel that starts with the unlikely friendship between Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. It explores themes of race, identity and the intersections of culture, heritage, and modernity. Clever and hilarious dialogue, very creative when it comes to language and style, unique and bold when it comes to narrative. Perhaps a flawed novel due to its ambition, but excellent nonetheless.

Despair by Vladimir Nabokov: Excellent writing; very ambitious and stylish. It is somewhat a twisted novel but you will find a lot of humor despite. The narrator speaks directly to the reader as he writes what he regards as his perfect crime. This novel is one of Nabokov's earliest works in which one can easily identify themes and literary devices that the author explored later in his most known works.

The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño: Brilliant and stunning novel about poets and poetry! Very dense and challenging; it requires patience from the reader. This novel is so infinitely dear to me that i can't even explain its brilliance, but i have to give you at least an idea of the plot so: The story is arranged in three parts and told from multiple points of view. It starts in Mexico City, in the 70s, and continues across decades and continents. It follows the adventures and misadventures of Arturo Belano and Ulises Lima—poets, drug dealers, wanderes, criminals. Now, about the themes, the writing, the style, the narration? Just absolutely perfect even at its most tedious, difficult and anticlimactic parts.

The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington: Unconventional, absurd, imaginative and exuberantly surreal apocalyptic fairytale quest. It follows 92 year old Marian who is sent off to a peculiar old-age home. If you aren't familiar with Leanora Carrington's art you should look at some of her paintings because this wonderful novel feels just like her surrealist paintings!

Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls: This novella tells the story of a love affair between a depressed suburban housewife and an amphibian creature who escaped a scientific research center. It might sound like a quirky fiction story but it actually deals with the most mundane and banal aspects of life and human relationships. Brilliantly written; neat and precise prose, wonderful storytelling. The author knew what she was doing and not a single word she wrote was wasted.

The Borrowers by Mary Norton: Delicately written little adventure about tiny people who live in the secret places of houses. I am enamored (obsessed!!) with miniatures—dollhouses, dioramas, fairies—so imagine how dear this book is to me.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn: The murders of two girls bring reporter Camille Preaker back to her hometown. As she works to uncover the truth about those crimes, Camille finds herself forced to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past. Very entertaining read. It has best seller written all over it (which might not be the biggest compliment lol but i mean for this genre so it is a compliment).

Rage by Sergio Bizzio: Claustrophobic, anxiety inducing, fast-paced psychological thriller that made me think of Bong Joon-ho's Parasite the whole 4 hours it took me to read it. I read it in it's original language, Spanish, and i particularly loved the dialogue; its idiosyncrasies and authenticity (tqm Argentina!)

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby: Rob, an obsessive music fan, reminisces his top five worst break ups to understand his most recent heartbreak. He is a very arrogant and cynical guy who defines his entire life through records, and because he is constantly interacting with music that almost exclusively deals with love—and a very idealistic version of it—he finds himself unsatisfied with the way his life has turned out.

[blocksruinedme]

Not to give you more hope but through some deduction work reddit thinks that the first recording of HCX is today, 7 am Pearl time. Currently, Jimmy is live, and while he may not be live until then, I doubt he would be streaming if he was in it. Martyn is also streaming at this time. Scott, FWhip, and Sausage (and Shelby, but I don't think she was in contention) are also going to be live even later from now.

The new hermit shortlist is pretty narrowed down now... and Joel looks to be free...

(sorry if you aren't okay with me speculating in your inbox haha, just needed to share my excitement with someone and you seem pretty excited as well)

THANK YOU.

Jimmy - I have no idea why people have been discussing Jimmy. (Besides Jimmy is wonderful.) I truly think it would be a bad idea, and they all know it, especially the man himself. He'd get lost in the scope of it. He can't build big, he can't redstone, he can't automate he can't do wild games. It wouldn't be fun, I swear as a Jimmy obsessive freak it wouldn't be fun. (And there might not be enough men openly lusting for him to keep his shorts channel going.)

Martyn - Look at this asshole. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lcivLpAvC5s (him joking that he's on hc10). Martyn would be fun, but I'm not sure what he'd do? But he's a clever lad, he'd find his place. But I never considered it.

Scott - never really considered it, and honestly glad if he's out

fWhip - I'd be really into it, he's got the chops, but 1) someone told me he said he wouldn't 2) I need him running smps that Jimmy is on (he is working on one, yay. i assume Jimmy will be on because he said there's something coming, and also fwhip is obsessed with him /lh)

Sausage - what a fucking DREAM. I'd love it. I'm still going hard on my "it has to be people who did Decked Out, why would they consider or pick people and not have them over for that." People were talking on discord today about Sausage, and him and Keralis being... like that in the crossover, and I pulled out that early in Sausage's mcyt career, 2015, the coolest thing ever in his life was getting accepted to build on Keralis's server. This is a short intro video where he talks about what a sexy bastard Keralis is and how much he inspires him and gay stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjibFC5BRKQ&ab_channel=TheMythicalSausage

Shelby - First off, love Shelby. Second, I haven't seen her mentioned but idk why, is she close with any Hermits? Skill is good but they're inviting their friends, if you bring in someone who people don't jibe with, well, that's a huge fucking drain on your lives and careers

You didn't mention Lizzie, but if anyone is holding out for Lizzie, check how often she uploads. This seems unlikely. I'm told she said on her stream with Oli that she's semi-retired, which really tracks. She has fun.

PRAYER CIRCLE FOR JOEL AND SKIZZ

JOEL AND SKIZZ

JOEL AND SKIZZ

JOEL AND SKIZZ

If it's not Joel, I hope he's fucking delighted how much people want him on hermitcraft!

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Passion

Well, it only took three and a half years, but the writers are finally taking a mulligan with the whole Kwami swap idea after missing the point of it in “Reflekdoll”. Have they learned their lesson when it comes to what kind of stories you could tell by swapping Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous? What do you think?

Let's get into the seventh episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Passion

We start off with Marinette and Alya having a sleepover, where, much like the audience, Alya is confused as to why Marinette is suddenly in love with Cat Noir. Unlike with “Determination”, it's hinted that Marinette is still blaming Monarch getting fifteen Miraculous on her feelings for Adrien, and once again, rather than actually acknowledge how Marinette has a point in this case, the narrative is portraying her focusing more on Cat Noir as a defense mechanism so she doesn't have to confront her feelings for Adrien now. It's pretty stupid, but par for the course this season because the writers refuse to admit that Marinette's crush on Adrien may have inadvertently made things worse.

We then cut to the Agreste Mansion, where Gabriel is busy cooking pancakes for Adrien, asking if he wants bananas on them. Because Adrien isn't B'Elenna Torres, he doesn't actually like bananas on his pancakes, and only said he did to make Gabriel happy, something Nathalie picks up on. You know, I'm not exactly a Michelin star chef, but I'm pretty sure you don't place these huge chunks of bananas on pancakes instead of small slices.

Nathalie comes down to the kitchen, and while she still seems to judge Gabriel, in a clever bit of visual storytelling, Adrien sees one of Emilie's rings on Nathalie's finger (which she's had ever since the end of Season 4), and it's hinted he believes they're engaged. Of course, as soon as Adrien leaves to get ready for school, Nathalie pins Gabriel down to the table and reveals the true reason for her continuing to work for him after the events of “Evolution”.

Nathalie: I came to this house to hunt magical artifacts for you and Emilie. I became your bodyguard, your right hand woman, your friend, and even more. But this is all over. You used to do this out of love for Emilie, but now, you're only doing it out of madness, and the only reason I'm still here is to protect Adrien from you!

Okay, fair point wanting to protect Adrien, there's other ways to do so that don't involve silently judging him and doing nothing else. What's stopping Nathalie from calling the cops on Gabriel? What's stopping Nathalie from sending in an anonymous tip to Ladybug and Cat Noir? What's stopping her from telling literally anyone else she knows that her boss is the most dangerous man in the world right now? What's stopping Nathalie from flat-out running away with Adrien and telling him the truth about his father? Seriously, of all the things you choose to do with the knowledge you have, and continuing to enable this man while occasionally scolding him was what you settled on? And again, it's really weird that Nathalie suddenly thinks Gabriel is insane when the whole reason she needs those robot braces to walk was because she chose to let the broken Peacock Miraculous ruin her body trying to help Gabriel as Mayura.

After a brief scene where Adrien talks with Plagg about how to confess his feelings for Marinette, we then see Nathalie watching several recordings of Emilie that Gabriel supposedly ordered her to delete. We learn that right before she fell into her coma, Emilie made Nathalie promise to find some way to stop Gabriel from trying to find the Miraculous, if only for Adrien's sake. Yeah, real bang-up job you did there, Nathalie. Adrien comes in and asks Nathalie about what to do about the girl he likes, with Nathalie's response all but stating that Emilie had feelings for Gabriel before he and Emilie got married.

Adrien asks Nathalie if what happened to Emilie will happen to her, to which she tells him that's not that the case, even if she coincidentally has the same symptoms Emilie had before her “disappearance”. After Adrien leaves, Nathalie goes down to Gabriel's lair while he's talking to Emilie's body like every other day that ends in a “Y”, telling him to akumatize her.

It's a dramatic scene, as usually, willing accepting an Akuma is seen as the point of no return for an antagonist, just ask Lila and Chloe. So of course, let's break the tension with a scene of Marinette stuttering around Adrien as he tries to confess his love to her. Nice transition, writers. Plagg tries to tell Tikki about the situation, claiming that their holders falling in love with each other could spell the end of the world (and he's not wrong in that case), but Tikki points out that Marinette's crippling anxiety prevents her from making any advances in her love life.

Back with Nathalie, for some reason, she chose to walk back down to her room where she keps a mannequin displaying some explorer clothes of hers, where Monarch akumatizes her into Safari.

Safari's design is pretty cool, even if it is a little too similar to a certain other French sniper with a primarily purple color scheme. I like the classical hunter motif, and the color scheme is pretty appealing. Admittedly, I'm not too sure about her powers, because right from the start, she uses the Goat Miraculous' Genesis to create her hunting gear (which somehow has bullets themed after the Tiger, Dragon, Pig, Fox, and Bee Miraculous), including a crossbow whose bullets who can track their targets.

Safari uses a Mirage bullet to create an illusion of Timetagger, an Akuma who shouldn't even exist in the present day, so she's not exactly not off to a good start. Despite that, Marinette and Adrien transform into Ladybug and Cat Noir respectively and give chase, only to lose “Timetagger”. Of course, Ladybug decides to ask Cat Noir out on a date despite the suspicious situation, only to be immobilized by one of Safari's Venom bullets. After a pretty decent chase sequence, Cat Noir manages to evade the bullet with the stunned Ladybug in hand. Cat Noir tries to escape, but eventually, he's cornered by the bullets in the sewers. For some reason, after Adrien transforms, the bullets just go away, because that's how Monarch designed Safari's powers. Also, Ladybug doesn't see Cat Noir detransform because her eyes were covered when she was stunned. Plot contrivance at its finest, folks.

Adrien has Plagg take Marinette's Miraculous, and he explains the situation, so they come up with a loophole: transform using each other's Miraculous. Before that, Adrien actually thinks about using the Miraculous wish to cure Nathalie and asks “Ladybug” about it, only for Marinette to explain why that can't happen.

Marinette: There's always a balance between creation and destruction. For every one thing we fixed, another would be destroyed. For every sick person we cured, another would become ill. For every villain defeated, something else, just as terrible, would be created somewhere else to replace it.

So I guess we're back to that rule instead of the whole “the world will literally end if the wish is made” crap. Marinette and Adrien take each other's Miraculous and transform into Lady Noire and Mister Bug respectively. While watching over Safari, Lady Noire is just eating the cherry-flavored eye candy that is Mister Bug.

This only adds to the biggest problem I have with Season 5 so far: How it refuses to acknowledge how Marinette's feelings for Adrien/Cat Noir have only been shown to be detrimental to her as a hero. Rather than acknowledge that Marinette's feelings for Adrien were what caused Monarch to get all the other Miraculous, the show constantly says that it wasn't her fault, even when she was blamed for everything going wrong at the end of the last season. There was also the part earlier in the episode where Alya just ignored the point Marinette made about trusting Felix with the Dog Miraculous by just saying that Marinette is deflecting her true feelings for Adrien by focusing on Cat Noir. While you could argue Alya made a good point herself, she didn't acknowledge anything else in Marinette's argument, and just acts like Marinette and Adrien being a couple is more important that Marinette thinking about saving lives. And of course, during the battle, Lady Noire can't stop flirting with Mister Bug, which could potentially get in the way of the fight like we've seen with Cat Noir in the past. You can't just tell the audience to ship Marinette and Adrien together when Marinete's feelings for Adrien have only been shown to get in the way of her superhero life.

Mister Bug and Lady Noire fight off Safari, asking her why she wants their Miraculous.

Lady Noire: What about you, Safari, what do you want?

Safari: The same thing. A wish. Everyone wants to have one, right?

Monarch: Safari, what are you up to?

Safari: Should I tell them the truth?

Monarch: (growls in frustration)

Safari: That's what I thought.

Because Nathalie would rather risk ending the world instead of telling anyone who Monarch really is. Yes, she is that stupid. Mister Bug summons his Lucky Charm, getting a bottle of perfume. This makes him realize the akumatized object is back at the Agreste mansion. While Lady Noire holds off Safari, Mister Bug breaks the mannequin holding the Akuma. Mister Bug de-evilizes the Akuma, uses Miraculous Mister Bug to fix the damage, vows to stop Monarch for akumatizing such a fragile and innocent person.

After giving each other their Miraculous back, Marinette recounts what happened to Alya and Tikki, somehow believing that because Cat Noir/Mister Bug said nothing in response to her asking him out to the movies since he was focused on stopping the Akuma, this must mean he secretly loves her back. Yep, if “Determination” didn't already set off any red flags, we're really doing this, people. And so the episode ends with Adrien apologizing to Nathalie for supposedly getting her akumatized, while Nathalie reassures Adrien that he means a lot to her, even if she's too stupid to rat out Monarch after five seasons.

Yeah, this episode was pretty lousy. A big chunk of it stemmed from the way it handled Nathalie's character. Obviously, she can't tell Ladybug and Cat Noir about Monarch's identity because we still need to finish the season, but the way they go about it by having her passive-aggressively continue to work for him when she's perfectly capable of restraining him, even in her handicapped state, is just a ridiculous leap in logic. I get that it's an attempt to give Nathalie depth, but the writers never really acknowledge how Nathalie's inaction is endangering so many lives.

And of course, there's the stuff with Marinette. Just like with Cat Noir, her flirting on the job made it look like she wasn't taking things seriously while playing it off as a cute little quirk of hers. Again, the show is at least trying to acknowledge how odd the way she displays her feelings is, but it's not in a way that actually leads to any interesting developments.

The Akuma fight was also pretty dumb, as the heroes pretty much won thanks to dumb luck. Not only did Safari's bullets magically stop working as soon as Ladybug and Cat Noir detransformed, not only did she never adjust her system to target Mister Bug and Lady Noire, but the whole reason Mister Bug's Lucky Charm even worked was because he knew who Safari was and where her Akuma was, something that wouldn't have happened if Ladybug and Cat Noir didn't swap Miraculous.

Overall, it was bad, but not as frustrating as “Illusion” or “Determination”.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... NATHALIE

For someone who said she was looking out for Adrien, Nathalie really made a lot of terrible choices doing so this episode. She only considered ratting out Gabriel near the end of the episode as a threat, tried stealing the Miraculous herself, and never considered the fact that her hesitance to tell anyone what she knows is only making things worse, especially for Adrien.

[cleverri]

Apollo Justice x reader. Head cannons for relationship

APOLLO JUSTICE x READER | written by MOD clever

warnings; A few cuss words here and there but that's it-

headcanons for Apollo Justice in a relationship...

Ace Attorney; Apollo Justice

First thing to know about this man- He doesn’t fall in love easily. But when he does? Man, he falls hard. He’s a dedicated and passionate individual, someone who isn’t open to dating someone unless he knows that they’re the right one.

You have to be someone he’s known for a long time. He’s been through a lot, and even though he continues to say that he’s fine, you need to be someone who can actually see through his facade and care for him as a person. Though he’s stubborn, he’ll be practically putty in your hands.

Apollo appreciates intellectual stimulation and enjoys engaging in deep conversations with his partner. (Taxes. /J) He enjoys being able to just have a full conversation with his partner, either it be about a trial coming up, or something random that you enjoy. With that being said, Apollo is also a great listener and a reliable source of emotional support. He genuinely cares about his partner's well-being and will lend a listening ear whenever they need to vent or seek advice. (Even if he's completely awkward at it at first.)

Dates? You mean spending time at a crime scene trying to figure out what the hell happened with Apollo's secret younger sister? Yeah- 

Seriously though, Trucy definitely has third wheeled y'all a lot. So has Phoenix. Phoenix absolutely will tease Apollo in front of you. 

"This is (Y/N), the person I was talking about earlier." "Oh, couldn't you have found anyone better?" "Mr. Wright-!?" "I was talking to (Y/N)-"

Isn’t exactly that big on PDA. He gets flustered easily, face- Hell, entire body going red at any type of affection from his partner. Grab him by the face and pepper his face with kisses. Hold his hand and shout with him that you two are fine. Let him know how much he is valued, admired, and loved so you can make his heart soar.

Leave small hand-written notes for Apollo to find throughout the day- You don’t understand how much that will brighten his mood and make him feel special. These notes could include words of encouragement, affectionate messages, or even playful inside jokes. At some point, he’ll start writing little notes back, and it’ll become a little thing between the two of you. (You two have a little jar of unopened notes for each other for whenever either of you need a pick-me-up.)

Apollo appreciates whenever his partner cheers him on in court. Though, most of the time he’ll miss the sighting of you, and ends up a bit surprised whenever he sees you after court, waiting for him- But just the realization that you had been there, so excited for him to reveal the truth and provide justice has him absolutely melting.

Loves cooking with you. Is he a bit horrible at it? … Yes- BUT HEAR ME OUT- The guy is a romantic at heart, and longs for a domestic life after everything he’s been through. He loves the idea of standing next to you and learning how to make something with you. He knows how to make everyday things, like- he knows how to make eggs and such. But anything past that is stuff he needs help with.

His siblings give him the teasings of his life whenever you’re around. Even if it’s ever so subtle- Or completely obvious- (COUGH COUGH- RAYFA-) Though, prepare to be completely confused when Apollo’s siblings start speaking Khura'inese. (Don’t worry, Apollo’s confused too- He barely knows anything in Khura’In tongue-)

Old-School kid. He has a vintage record player that he… Doesn’t use that much- He just loves it too much to give it away. He loves taking Polaroid photos and putting them into a little scrapbook (Most photos are of you but shh-). 

He tries to surprise you with dates, yet they never really seem to work in his favor due to how chaotic the people are in his life. He wants to be extravagant, yet his work schedule (and wallet-) tells him ‘Absolutely not.’ So dates usually end up with just watching random movies while helping Apollo work on an upcoming case.

You must like Mikeko. Mikeko must like you. I don’t make the rules, he does. Genuinely, he loves his cat so much, and if you aren’t willing to get along with his cat, then there will be a bit of a problem. Of course, if the two of you get along, he’s already getting the wedding ring- /J

Apollo pays attention to the small details and remembers the things that matter to his partner. Whether it's their favorite snack, a specific interest or hobby, or a meaningful memory, he shows that he's invested in their happiness by remembering and incorporating these details into their relationship. Though, he does this absolutely unintentionally. The guy doesn’t even realize he does this. Must be the lawyer in him-

Strong man /J I wouldn’t call him *that* strong, his arms are though- Has pretty buff arms- Strong upper-body strength. This is another thing he doesn’t quite realize? It’s quite funny watching him realize this over-and-over again, to be honest. That being said, he definitely will accidentally pick you up if you hug him. 

Lawyer- Lawyer business- Meaning his schedule is usually filled to the brim with upcoming cases and such. It’s a bit difficult to find some quality time with him- It gets a tad worse after the whole Spirit of Justice arc. Just be there for him, ya’ll.

Isn’t used to having someone be there for him 24/7. He’s lived a tough life, lost many people along the way of becoming an attorney, he’s used to the concept of loss. He’d be so scared of losing you as well, seeing how horrible his luck was around this certain topic. He’ll shout that he’s fine, when in reality, most of the time he isn’t. Hold him, and make sure he knows you’re not going anywhere.

[graywritesoccasionally42]

So I wrote an entire essay comparing Loki from The Bifrost Incident to Loki from the Prose Edda for my Medieval Literature Class, and I figured I'd post it here in case anyone wanted to read my analysis on her character

Essay Under Cut--(my formatting got fucked up by the hellsite but what can you do?)

“Is this truly me? What have I left behind?”

A look into how The Bifrost Incident interacts with its source material

Title from “Losing Track” by The Mechanisms

In the early 1200s, Snorri Sturlson wrote his famous collection of Norse mythology called The Prose Edda. In this compilation, we met many gods, goddesses, and creatures, including one who is arguably the most popular Norse deity--Loki, the god of mischief and general shenanigans. The Prose Edda presents Loki as dishonest, violent, at times incompetent. Recently though, about 800 years later, Loki has attracted the interest of many modern writers who have adapted Loki’s story to explore contemporary problems. One particular adaptation, The Bifrost Incident by English steampunk band The Mechanisms, imagines her to be just,  intelligent, and loving. There are many striking differences between these two versions of Loki, the most significant being gender, mortality, and how their stories end. This is important because this album re-examines and redefines Loki’s identity, and how we view this Norse deity in a modern context.

To fully delve into how The Mechanisms’ adaptation works, I think some context for the band is necessary. The Mechanisms were an English steampunk band, self-described as “Storytelling Musical Cabaret'' that operated from 2010 until 2020. The Band members themselves were in character at all times as the immortal pirate crew of the Starship Aurora. They also took on the roles in the tales they told. So for example, Tim Ledsam was the guitarist for The Mechanisms, but when he was onstage he played Gunpowder Tim, Master at Arms on the Aurora, and when the band performed The Bifrost Incident, he voiced the character of Loki. The Mechanisms were best known for their clever reworking of mythologies, creating queer narratives and telling queer stories, and their love of tragedies. In their last concert (recorded as a live album), Death to The Mechanisms, Jonny D’ville--the band’s first mate/lead vocalist. played by Jonny Sims--and Ashes O'Reilly--the band’s quartermaster/bassist, played by Frank Voss--had a conversation that encapsulates the crew's relationship with unhappy endings: 

[Jonny]

"We happen to stumble across tragic situations where everyone dies. I mean, obviously there are stories where people live but we just choose not to tell them."

[Ashes]

"Yeah, 'cause they're boring."

[Jonny]

"Yeah…”

The fact that this conversation happened during some technical difficulties in the song “Terminus”, the finale of The Bifrost Incident where the entire star system is consumed by a Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror, only adds credence to their claims. 

With that bit of explanation out of the way, let’s discuss the similarities between Sturlson’s work and The Mechanisms’ adaptation of it. Loki from The Prose Edda and Loki from The Bifrost Incident share many important similarities. These similarities are important because they make the character recognizable, giving us a reference point and allowing the audience to connect the new version to the original. The Mechanisms play on the audience’s knowledge of Norse Mythology, creating an insider audience. Listeners feel like they are in on the joke, as they understand what myths or details are being referenced. The Mechanisms also use these similarities to create puns, as they often do in their albums. For example, in The Prose Edda Baldur is killed by Mistletoe, and in The Bifrost Incident Loki kills Baldur with Missile 2 (the second missile).  

Another thing The Mechanisms’ adaptation has in common with Sturlson’s work is how they develop ideas through music. The Bifrost Incident is a musical album, with each song continuing the story, much like the soundtrack to a musical. It alternates between spoken narration and songs, weaving music into the fabric of the tale. The Prose Edda does this as well! We have evidence that the original myths were probably put to music, connecting this modern work to its source. 

This being said, there are significant differences between the Loki of The Prose Edda and the Loki from The Bifrost Incident. I’ve selected just three to discuss at this time, the ones I think are the most important. The first is gender. In The Prose Edda Loki and Odin are firmly male, using exclusively male pronouns. There is a specific instance in the text where Loki turns into a mare and gives birth to Sleipnir, Odin’s eight-legged steed. This is seen in a negative context, as a way to shame or punish Loki. In The Bifrost Incident, however, Loki and Odin are gender-bent, using exclusively female pronouns. Loki’s gender expression in the album is further complicated by how her character is voiced. Gunpowder Tim, who as far as I can tell is a cisgender man, voices this specifically female character. The use of a more masculine-sounding voice actor for a character that not only uses feminine terms and pronouns but also is married to another woman in the album introduces a new, interesting layer of queerness to the narrative. Because of this casting decision, it’s a commonly held belief among fans that Loki is a trans woman in the album. These choices help the audience explore modern queer themes through the lens of Norse mythology. And it creates a contrast to how gender, sexuality, and queerness in general, were talked about in Snorri Sturlson’s time. 

The second difference I’d like to discuss is Loki’s mortality (or lack thereof). In The Prose Edda Loki is a god, an immortal being that could affect the world around him and cause problems on large scales. This allows many myths to happen, most strikingly the ones where Loki transforms into an animal to either cause problems or fix a problem he caused. Now this is complicated by the fact that Snorri Sturlson did not believe the characters in the myths he was compiling were gods. He lived in a Christianized world, trying to compile stories to save them for poets. Either way, Prose Edda Loki is an immortal deity. But in The Bifrost Incident, it is important that all our characters are mortal. It intensifies the tragedy of Loki and Sigyn, their sacrifice and Odin’s demise. It helps us relate to the characters in a way that we don’t get if they’re immortal. In the narration “Cold Case”, we learn that Loki was thought to be dead, and in the song “Sigyn” we get the heartbreaking reunion between Loki and her wife, Sigyn. But the reason I cry every time I listen to “Sigyn” is because of how heartrendingly happy Sigyn is to see her wife, alive and in front of her, and then see that relief ripped away as she realizes that Loki doesn’t recognize her. The humanity, the fear and permanence of death, of losing those you love, is one that we as an audience can easily relate to. 

My final difference, and possibly the most important difference, is the ending to Loki’s story. After killing Baldur in The Prose Edda, Loki is chased down by the Aesir and eternally punished: He is imprisoned below the earth, tied down with the entrails of his sons, and has a snake set above him to drip poison into his eyes. His wife, Sigyn, stays with him by choice, holding a cup above him to catch the venom, but the vessel can only hold so much before it must be emptied. So when Sigyn has to empty the cup the venom gets into his eyes, and his thrashing is the etiological myth for why earthquakes happen. Eventually, Loki is destined to escape and kick off Ragnarok (the end of the world), where he fights against the Aesir--sailing in on Naglfar and fatally injuring Heimdall before dying himself. These all add up to an ultimately evil view of Loki, even if he is a bit sympathetic. He turns against the gods and his children are the cause of much destruction. However, the Loki of The Bifrost Incident has a completely different characterization. After her memories are returned to her, she leaves Odin to her madness and goes to find Sigyn. She tells Sigyn what they must do to delay the eldritch train as long as possible, keeping the end of the world from happening for 80 years-- 

“They uncouple the [train] carriages behind [them] and Loki lays upon the altar. Sigyn pushes a single line into her wife's heart and holds it tight. All she lets through is a drip drip drip, flowing through the glyphs and gears. When Loki's heartsblood is gone, the train will arrive, but until then, they are together.”

Loki chooses to sacrifice herself to stop the end of all life in her star system. This is almost directly opposite of how Loki acts in The Prose Edda. She is noble, in contrast to his cowardice. 

I think it’s important to consider why these changes were made. Some are more obvious--The Mechanisms always committed to the bit at full throttle. It’s evident from their stage presences that they cared about the storytelling more than anything else. So many of the more minor changes are to keep to the aesthetic choices the band made--setting it in space, steampunk and cyberpunk imagery, and the puns we talked about earlier. Some choices were made to turn the original myths into queer stories. Making Loki and Sigyn a lesbian couple, as well as having Loki use feminine terms and pronouns while being voiced by a traditionally masculine voice actor, fall into The Mechanisms’ commitment to telling queer stories. Many of the band members themselves are queer, and the vast majority of their fanbase identifies as LGBTQ+. And finally, The Mechanisms only tell tragedies. We discussed this at a few earlier points, how the change from god to mortal fed into the tragedy of the story they were trying to tell. 

So why does this matter? Why should we care about a Steampunk concept album written in 2017 that no one has ever heard of? The Prose Edda was written to preserve poetry, religion, mythology, and meaning post-Christianization. Why was The Bifrost Incident written? I believe that it’s a commentary on corrupt government systems, as seen with Odin, as well as a cautionary tale about the dangers of pushing too far without the proper safety precautions. It’s also just a fun retelling of myths that most are fairly familiar with in a fun, new setting we never would have expected. The Bifrost Incident takes stories written hundreds of years ago and creates a modern narrative that is as enjoyable as it is thought-provoking. And I hope this paper, if nothing else, convinces you to listen to the Album.

[legendsobsessions]

Well, the Torracat is thoroughly out of the bag now. Let's clarify some things, and I'm very, very sorry for the confusion:

The Cynthia that has been on this blog for the past... week? Something like that, was not actually me. That said, given how concerning the Light of Dusk has been and their allegations of having kidnapped me—which were not true, by the way, they used some clever video editing to make it look like I was in considerably more trouble than I was—I can see why someone pretending to be me was necessary. It likely would have worked, too, if it hadn't been for... well, me. Oops.

The Light of Dusk, it seems, was almost entirely ex-Galactic. Which explained the warp panels. There were too many warp panels. (It also makes the fact that Nova—or as they may be better known offline, Cyrus—never returned from their meeting with them last night considerably more concerning. They have their Pokemon and I suspect Giratina was with them, so I'm going to choose to hope that they're laying low for a bit to protect themself.)

In the interest of transparency (and the fact that, while they did an... alright job of pretending to be me, several of you clearly suspected the truth at least) I'm going to have the individual that was pretending to be me properly introduce themself to you all.

...Must I do this? I already agreed to talk about this with... others... in private.

You decided to turn Pelipper Mail on, and also lied to quite a lot of people no matter how well-intentioned it was, so yes.

............Fine. Though I would like to point out, for the record, that this was Cyrus's idea.

I'm a... relative of Cynthia's. I like history, battling, and making things myself so that I don't have to support Pokemarts. They/them or he/him, it doesn't much matter to me.

And what would you like Rotomblr to call you?

Does it matter? I won't be here for long.

You will be answering the questions of those you lied to, so yes.

If you insist, then... call me Volo.

[discar]

HZD Terraforming Base-001 Text Communications Network

Chapter 46 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

DIVINER: Aloy! Have you saved everyone yet??

FlameHairSavior: What?

FlameHairSavior: Alva, it's early and I had a long night.

DIVINER: Because you saved everyone already??

FlameHairSavior: No, sort of the opposite.

β: wait you killed everyone

DIVINER: [Betrayal.gif]

ADMIN [Zo]: I'm sure she didn't mean it like that.

FlameHairSavior: Yeah, no, just...

FlameHairSavior: Look, I have a headache, can't you just watch my focus recordings?

DIVINER: That would take hours! Even with fast-forward!

HIMBO: YEAH, MOST OF IT IS JUST WATCHING YOU RUN AROUND THE BEACH OPENING BOXES.

FlameHairSavior: ...you already tried to watch me?

HIMBO: KOTALLO THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FASTER.

MARSHAL Kotallo: Specifically, I thought it might be a more effective way of obtaining an after-action report. We watched your arrival to the area, up to destroying the defense tower.

MARSHAL Kotallo: Even with what you had already told us, we could barely follow what was happening.

β: you move fast

HIMBO: DID YOU KNOW YOU MUTTER TO YOURSELF A LOT?

ADMIN [Zo]: Really, that's the only reason I could follow at all.

FlameHairSavior: Fine, just let me eat breakfast first.

DIVINER: Yay!

----

FlameHairSavior: All right, I'm awake.

β: did you stay up too late with your new girlfriend

FlameHairSavior: Sort of.

HIMBO: HA!

FlameHairSavior: Wait. Was that a joke?

β: yes

ADMIN [Zo]: It's good that you are getting some of your own.

HIMBO: YOU'RE OFFICIALLY LESS SHELTERED THAN YOUR SISTER!

β: i think it just means ive watched more stupid romantic comedies and sitcoms

HIMBO: IF I PRETEND TO KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE, CAN WE MOVE ON?

DIVINER: Aloy, PLEASE tell me you found some movie archives!! The context you all lack is killing me!

MARSHAL Kotallo: ...I think she was busy trying to rescue your people?

DIVINER: That's more important, obviously!!

FlameHairSavior: No archives yet. Just...

ADMIN [Zo]: Why don't you start from the beginning?

FlameHairSavior: Right.

FlameHairSavior: Seyka and I found a ruin where all the missing Quen had been working. It was Londra's old headquarters, or at least one of his major bases. He was having the Quen dig it up because he needed something.

FlameHairSavior: A few of them were worked to death.

DIVINER: And none of the Quen objected to this? We have labor laws.

FlameHairSavior: He is literally a Living Ancestor with incredible power come down from the heavens. He's got them all wrapped around his finger. He's promised them...

FlameHairSavior: I'll get to that later. We didn't find out much about his relationship with them in this first ruin.

DIVINER: Still, I can imagine. We're taught that the Ancestors are the font of all knowledge. If an actual Ancestor came down and was just a little clever...

MARSHAL Kotallo: Aloy said all the Diviners were dead. Do you think that things would have been different if there had been any left?

DIVINER: I don't know.

FlameHairSavior: I think Londra would have just recruited the non-Diviners. His little workforce isn't the entire expedition, just a big chunk.

HIMBO: YEAH, THAT'S HOW CULTS WORK. YOU REMEMBER THE ECLIPSE. THEY DIDN'T TRY TO RECRUIT ME, THEY TRIED TO RECRUIT THE ONES WHO WEREN'T LOYAL.

β: i thought they were racist why would they ever recruit you

HIMBO: YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

FlameHairSavior: Anyway. Londra has some sort of AI, Nova, sorting through data for him. We found a security recording. Londra was looking for some project called "MSP" and had it transferred somewhere else.

FlameHairSavior: He also mentioned running from Nemesis. I... might have bungled that part with Seyka.

MARSHAL Kotallo: You explained Nemesis to her? Well done.

MARSHAL Kotallo: A soldier cannot fight an enemy with incomplete information.

ADMIN [Zo]: I do wish we could tell more people. A blight is best fought by all hands working together.

DIVINER: I know we can't tell EVERYONE, but I think it's a good idea to at least tell our closest allies!

HIMBO: I EXPECTED YOU TO TRY TO AVOID THE SUBJECT.

FlameHairSavior: ...

β: you avoided the subject didnt you

FlameHairSavior: Look, there's... Seyka was clearly emotionally compromised, she's looking for her sister and I was annoyed that she was hiding something from me...

FlameHairSavior: I wanted to at least wait until we find her people. So she's not distracted.

DIVINER: That's... maybe a bad idea?

DIVINER: Won't she be mad?

MARSHAL Kotallo: Ultimately, Aloy is the one on the ground. We must trust her judgment.

FlameHairSavior: Anyway.

FlameHairSavior: We found Londra's second facility easily enough. He was siphoning power from a nearby Horus for a shield, but we disabled the siphons and got inside.

ADMIN [Zo]: Wait. A Horus as in a Metal Devil?

FlameHairSavior: Inactive, of course.

MARSHAL Kotallo: Thank the Ten for that.

HIMBO: JUST A HEAD'S UP, IF YOU EVER FIND AN ACTIVE ONE, I THINK WE ALL NEED TO HEAR ABOUT IT.

FlameHairSavior: Noted. So we got inside, found the Quen, but managed to convince them we were there for the... "Ascension Hall" to... "embrace his light."

HIMBO: CULT. CALLED IT.

FlameHairSavior: Yeah. It's basically a museum to Londra, with a "devotion test" to see if you're worthy of "ascending from this world."

β: i think i see where this is going

Icarus: From what little I was able to glean, every single Zenith agreed on fleeing Earth before Nemesis arrives. They just had disagreements on how best to do so.

DIVINER: As horrifying as all this sounds, I have to at least give him credit for thinking to use the locals more! Why didn't more of the Zeniths do some basic politics?

Icarus: Politics take time, even with an overwhelming technological advantage to scare the locals into compliance. They had the keys to the kingdom, why bother talking to the peasants?

Icarus: By the time they might have considered the possibility, they had already antagonized everyone.

ADMIN [Zo]: Speaking from personal experience, I take it?

FlameHairSavior: Anyway, the museum talked about Londra's relationships with his friends and wife, his favorite bodyguard, blah blah.

FlameHairSavior: He's pretty clearly the guy who wants adoring fans who don't disagree with him. That's what he thinks friends are.

HIMBO: AREN'T YOU HAPPY YOU GOT US INSTEAD?

FlameHairSavior: Most of you, at least.

HIMBO: OUCH!

FlameHairSavior: So we got through the door, it was annoying, found what he's doing.

FlameHairSavior: Londra co-opted the printer of the Horus to make himself a spaceship. But it's too small to take all the Quen, or even all the Quen who are following him. He's leaving most of them behind.

FlameHairSavior: Also, the launch will irradiate the land for a thousand miles, killing everything in the region.

HIMBO: BASTARD.

β: you can see the logic

HIMBO: YEAH, WE'RE ALL ALREADY DEAD, SO HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT KILLING US.

HIMBO: HE'S STILL A BASTARD.

β: not disagreeing

FlameHairSavior: The Quen soldiers came in while I was explaining all this to Seyka. They finally realized we were imposters. Still, they started shooting REALLY fast. They didn't even blink at Seyka being Quen.

DIVINER: That's... odd. I know you had a bad first impression, and our soldiers can certainly be xenophobic, but they shouldn't be so quick to attack another Quen! Especially if she was wearing a focus! Surely they would have considered she might be a Diviner!

FlameHairSavior: Yeah, I think something is up with them. I don't know if it's just Londra's cult or something else.

FlameHairSavior: So after the fight, the rest of the Quen found out they're being left behind.

MARSHAL Kotallo: Wait. You fought how many soldiers by yourself?

FlameHairSavior: I don't know. A dozen? Maybe two? Oh, and the boss had this Zenith-tech weapon that makes things explode. I might be able to use it.

MARSHAL Kotallo: And you did this with just yourself and the Quen woman.

HIMBO: THIS SURPRISES YOU?

MARSHAL Kotallo: No, I simply wanted to remind everyone that Aloy is terrifying.

FlameHairSavior: Funny.

FlameHairSavior: Well, I did tell Seyka about Nemesis after all. She... didn't take it well.

β: you get used to the existential angst after a while

FlameHairSavior: Yeah, I was really worried about her for a bit there.

FlameHairSavior: I was afraid she might give up on me after that, which would have been terrible.

β: erend

HIMBO: UPDATING THE ODDS AS WE SPEAK.

FlameHairSavior: What are you even talking about?

DIVINER: We can't tell you! It might foul the results!

FlameHairSavior: Fine. Anyway, we know where Londra's headquarters is, something called "the park." It has another tower, but I'm going to override a waterwing to get there. It can dive into the water, so we should be able to dodge the tower's shots.

β: she called me for help with that part

FlameHairSavior: Yeah, and now I'm just scrounging up the parts for the override.

DIVINER: But what about Seyka??

DIVINER: Did you talk to her?? Is she still on the team??

FlameHairSavior: Yes, yes, I did talk to Seyka. I think we're doing better now.

HIMBO: VERY INTERESTING.

FlameHairSavior: Now you're just doing it on purpose.

HIMBO: YEP!

ADMIN [Zo]: Personally, I find this all fascinating.

HIMBO: ODDS ARE LOOKING LIKE YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE THE POOL, THOUGH.

ADMIN [Zo]: I consider that a small price to pay.

FlameHairSavior: I hate you all.

Chapter 46 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

[sitp-recs]

Hidden Gems: Special Edition

5 7 underrated works by @skeptiquewrites

It’s been ages since I did a Hidden Gems post so I’m probably a bit rusty but I thought this was the perfect way to celebrate our dear Tee. I’ve loved her work ever since the first fic I came across, and I am over the moon that she was the first fandom friend I was lucky to meet in person earlier this month! We immediately hit it off and had the BEST time around - dinner at a cute Vietnamese place, a walk along the canal, ice cream treats while talking fandom & life. A perfect date night that could have been pulled out from one of her fabulous summery fics if you ask me 😌

It was even harder to choose how to celebrate her birthday having met such a lovely person - after many single recs and lists I was like “what else is there???” But after some thinking with the help of my partner in crime @sweet-s0rr0w I came up with the idea of boosting some of my favourite hidden gems by Tee, fics that I don’t see recced often but deserve all the attention and buzz. They will tug at your heartstrings and make you fall even more in love - not only with Drarry but with summer aesthetics, its endless possibilities, and with Tee’s quiet, charming, elegant, wistful and seductive writing.

These are all shorts but each perfectly placed word and well executed plot contain new and unique universes. Each clever line and lush dose of mutual want - either followed by delicious smut or equally sexy doses of quiet intimacy - fill me with different but wonderful emotions. I think the banner pic translates very well one of the best feelings I experience reading her fics: how special it is to celebrate the little things, how powerful yet vulnerable we are when facing the inevitability of falling in love, how one magical second spent on summer nights, as fleeting and removed from our traditional sense of time and space as they might be, can last forever. I hope the fics and quotes I selected below give you a tiny taste of the magic contained in each one of her short, brilliant love stories. Happiest of birthdays, my dear friend! ♥️

⌛️ light that covers us (T, 117 words)

Lovers in dangerous line of work.

"Always on borrowed time," a singer croons in the background. Draco turns up the Wireless. “God, I hate that song."

🗓️ Four Seasons (M, 2k)

A romance in four seasons.

There was something lovely about being out of excuses, Harry thought. Everything was possible. "What are you in it for, then?" Harry asked as they crossed the threshold.

🌊 On The Shore (T, 3k)

Draco takes up wild swimming. Harry joins him.

Harry turns his face towards the sun and he doesn’t quite smile, but there is something content in his expression that makes Draco a little more willing to share this place.

🎸 Lights Down Low (T, 4k)

“Will we ever learn? We’ve been here before.” Recording the Hallows' fifth album with Draco brings up the past in a way Harry’s never expected.

The music’s a little wistful, haunting even with no words, recorded in the middle of the night. Harry has done this dozens of times before and for other people. There is no way he has forgotten how to write a song.

🎇 No Distance (E, 5k)

Harry doesn’t believe in resolutions, because a new year doesn’t mean feeling any different. But something feels possible, meeting Draco again in Zurich. The past is the past, but the future can be different. Sequel to Nothing Left to Burn.

“Poor thing,” Draco responds and presses his lips to the back of Harry’s hand. It's a little mocking, but Harry's heart hasn’t taken the memo.

Bonus 1: fresh out of Bodice Ripper!

🎤 The Real Thing (M, 5k)

Harry only means to cheer Draco up after a terrible breakup. He doesn't mean to fall in love.

“I don’t know that he cared what I wanted. I don’t know if he knew what I wanted.” Harry wanted to ask Draco what he wanted, the exact contours of what might please him and how.

Bonus 2: Femslash!

🧣She Was Pretty (E, 4k) - Lavender/Parvati

In the aftermath of the war, Lavender Brown rediscovers herself in a tiny flat above her Diagon Alley tea shop. Parvati helps.

Her mother offers her pity mostly, raw and cloying. But there is love there too. She clucks at her the second day Lavender is home after a month spent in hospital. “They didn’t braid your hair tight enough, Lavvy. Come here.”

[sgiandubh]

Sunday sounds: Goldberg Variations

“Here are the Bach pieces. They’re fairly old, I haven’t looked at them in several years. Still, I’m almost sure …” She lapsed into silence, flipping quickly through the pages of the Bach scripts on her knee, one at a time, glancing back now and then at the “Lied” on the rack.

“Ha!” she let out a cry of triumph, and held out one of the Bach pieces to me. “See there?”

The paper was titled “Goldberg Variations,” in a crabbed, smeared hand. I touched the paper with some awe, swallowed hard, and looked back at the “Lied.” It took only a moment’s comparison to see what she meant.

“You’re right, it’s the same!” I said. “A note different here and there, but basically it’s exactly the same as the original theme of the Bach piece. How very peculiar!”

“Isn’t it?” she said, in tones of deep satisfaction. “Now, why is this anonymous composer stealing melodies and treating them in such an odd fashion?”

This was clearly a rhetorical question, and I didn’t bother with an answer, but asked one of my own.

“Is Bach’s music much in vogue these days, Mother?” I certainly hadn’t heard any at the musical salons I attended.

“No,” she said, shaking her head as she peered at the music. “Herr Bach is not well known in France; I believe he had some small popularity in Germany and in Austria fifteen or twenty years ago, but even there his music is not performed much publicly. I am afraid his music is not the sort to endure; clever, but no heart. Hmph. Now, see here?” The blunt forefinger tapped here, and here, and here, turning pages rapidly."

(Diana Gabaldon - Dragonfly in Amber)

I could add the whole of the Goldberg Variations, even if only the Aria (above) is relevant to the book. I often listen to them (Bach is God) while working on my reports or posting here - lots of posts written with this as background, actually. There is nothing better to get one's scattered ideas into their best shape and form, and that - to me - is just one of music's mysteries.

If you want to listen to all of them (50 minutes or such), please (I beg you) look no further than Glenn Gould's 1981 recording, when he was half crazed already and humming all over the place. But that should not distract you, it is just a genius in dialogue with another one, nothing else. Lang Lang's recent and over-touted interpretation is absolutely horrendous, don't bother : if you know and love Bach at least as much as I do, you'll find that insulting. Víkingur Ólafsson's is a second best (and an exceptional one, at that).

Phew. Onwards to other chores. Back later in the afternoon for more adventures.

PS: 'Clever but no heart'? Oh, Mother, you are so damn wrong.

[tobiasdrake]

Ace Attorney 4-2, Trial 2. This is it. The thrilling conclusion to the complicated Kitaki family drama that, as of one investigation ago, we're finally in the loop on.

Most of this trial isn't concerned with what's going on with Wocky. After all, we spent most of our last Investigation exploring that matter. Instead, we get right to the point: Who is Alita Tiala, what is the nature of her investment in Wocky, and did she kill Dr. Malpractice?

Interrogating these questions is going to be the focus of Trial 2. After yesterday's investigation, we have an idea for whodunit. The problem is that, as of the facts in evidence, she is not present at the established crime scene.

We can't bring an indictment against Alita without proving the existence of a fourth person that somehow nobody noticed. Fortunately, we're going to get our chance. Ace Attorney cases are like three-way chess matches between defense, prosecution, and killer - And Alita came ready to play.

This is a clever angle to come at it from. Alita isn't saying she saw the murder or anything like that; She's just claiming that the murder was premeditated.

And. Like. Yes? Yes. We all agree Wocky went to the park with a weapon in hand and violence in his heart. So it's an easy angle to play from.

But it doesn't take long to shift the conversation to main focus: Alita's relationship with Meraktis Clinic.

This is where all of the swirling questions around Alita meet. Alita used to work for Malpractice until Wocky's soon-to-be-carcass rolled in and then used him as an escape hatch. Then, for unclear reasons, she returned to his clinic last night.

While Alita was at the clinic, a fight erupted. Somebody used the power cord from a lamp to strangle somebody. And somebody fired a gun, but nobody was hit by the bullet.

When Alita left the clinic, her shoes did not go with her.

When Malpractice left the clinic, he inexplicably stole the noodle stand.

When Malpractice died, he was killed by a shooter that nobody else present on the scene knew was there.

This is the final piece of the puzzle, that only Alita can testify to. There's enough here to make some solid deductions from, but only Alita can provide the connecting thread to complete the image.

It doesn't take long to make sense of why she went to the clinic.

Alita had taken advantage of Wocky's condition to set herself up for life.

Pretty simple plan: Marry a rich person who's going to die soon and leave you everything they have. Alita's plan is super easy and could absolutely work... if the bullet in Wocky's heart hadn't been found.

The (now stolen by us; mob lawyers!) medical records that we and Eldoon used to piece together Alita's deception were a threat to her life. These files proved her ulterior motives. She needed them destroyed. That was the inciting cause of her altercation with Dr. Malpractice.

How did that go? Well. Someone strangled someone with a power cord and someone fired a gun. We can probably guess who had the gun, given that a Kitaki family pistol has been floating around this case with uncertainty as to which family member took it out.

I love how we waited thirty minutes for the forensic analysis on the rifling marks to come back but, in an unusual turn of events, the Judge did not declare recess. Your honor, I have been staring at Gavin's stupid face for the last half hour while Alita subtly flips me off whenever she thinks no one will notice her, and now I have to pee.

In any case, the evidence paints a clear picture of who shot the gun in the clinic. But who strangled who with the power cord?

Hey. Uh. That sure is a distinctive scarf Alita's been wearing this whole time, isn't it?

So now this man has what he's pretty sure is a fresh corpse lying in his office. He can't exactly leave her here or fireman carry her down the streets. He needs to transport the body to somewhere he can safely dispose of it.

And with his car out-of-commission due to last night's crime spree, what does Dr. Malpractice have on-hand that he can use?

His neighbor's. Goddamn. Motherfucking. NOODLE STAND.

Finally. At long last. We know the answer to the weirdest piece of this puzzle. Dr. Malpractice stole Dr. Noodles's burger grill so that he could transport Alita's corpse.

And then he had a really bad couple of minutes there.

Despite being a rough murder to unravel spinning out of a bizarre series of seemingly unrelated events one night, this case really comes together. It keeps the Magical Mystery Bullshit to a minimum by having events and motives that quite reasonably flow from one to another and avoiding the 4-D Chess Frame-Jobs that often accompany mystery plots.

For as weird as this case wound up being in practice, it all amounts to three murderers (and one pervert) tripping over each other while homicidally panicking. The crime-solving equivalent of a Looney Tunes dust-cloud fight packed with flailing limbs. Forget it, Bugs; It's Chinatown.

My favorite part of this whole debacle is Alita's explanation for hiring Wocky's attorneys in the first place.

Ohhhhhhhh okay yeah that makes sense actually. A yakuza family can probably afford better legal representation than a Talent Agency that inexplicably started practicing law yesterday. She came to us because we're two-bit hacks handing out ads on the street.

All of this comes together to form a surprisingly believable tale. The one flaw with this trial is Wocky. Given everything that's been established about his character, he should be freaking out from the moment he catches even a whiff of Alita being maligned. And yet we only get one outburst from him.

To which Alita inexplicably tells him to shut up and she never loved him anyway, even though she should rightly be trying to milk his protectiveness for all it's worth. It's odd how this case just... doesn't want to deal with Wocky for the sake of keeping the focus on Alita.

But once it's done, it's done. And the denouement with Wocky and his father is genuinely heartfelt.

This reunion is pretty much perfect, and leaves us with a bit of hope in our hearts that maybe it isn't too late for Wocky Kitaki.

Like I said in Investigation 2, I'm ehhhh on the Black Widow bit this soon after Dahlia Hawthorne. Dahlia was Black Widow enough to last a while.

But I enjoyed this confrontation, and the unpacking of events on Malpractice and Alita's side of things. Between Investigation 1's meandering and Trial 1's obnoxious witness, Ace Attorney 4-2 "Turnabout Corner" takes a while to get going. But once things kick into gear in its back half, it takes off.