#hmmm. i don't know about the 'what do you value' one for sure...

[ask-the-pioneer]

"I sure do! Watch this..."

"I can make explosive spears and throwables, just like my mom did. I can also propel myself in the air by whipping my tail very fast, which sets off the same flammable compound in my tail surface for an explosive boost. Very handy for movement, but also very loud… not great if you're trying to be stealthy. And yeah, my sibling could do that too, but he was always more interested in doing other things. An energetic but very scatterbrained kid that he was."

[She takes aim and throws the spear somewhere far away. It ignites and explodes with a loud dull bang that shakes the ground slightly]

"I can't do that too often, though. Maybe a handful of times in quick succession before my muscles tense up and burn as if scorched by flames. One time it got so bad that I lost consciousness and couldn't move for a couple of minutes after waking up. That was scary, and hurt like hell... since then I've been more careful. That said, I wonder if there are more slugcats with similar abilities to mine out there? I have not met that many scugs in my life to begin with, if I'm honest..."

"Of course I remember my family, how could I not! My sibling's name is… hmmm, right, let me explain this first. Slugcats have very good sense of smell. Usually, we know one another by our unique scents. They are incredibly complex, but can be written down as series of letters, if you map those symbols to the corresponding scent proteins and other chemical compounds. For example, my scent name would be:"

"Addmitely, this notation method is very over-engineered – a slugcat just knows you are you if they smell you. From what I learned, scugs don't really use a coherent writing system.. of any kind. I think the colonies may use pictograms? I uh, I've never been a part of a colony, so I'm missing a lot of info here. Still, what I wrote on the wall – I have used an Ancient script, which I roughly mapped to key compounds that make a scent. As you can see, it's incredibly long, it can also change over time, parts of it can be masked with non-organic aromas to hide your identity, so on and so forth. To simplify even further, these long strings of letters can be shortened to just the last three or two characters, and this is what scugs may choose to use to refer to one another. Here, my scent name is MGV."

"Then, there are names that resemble the form that the Ancients would use. It's considered more refined, and more common in big colonies where people adopt their preferable roles. Those names are viewed as a kind of «gift», because you receive it from your community. It's a symbol of how they see you, what you mean to them. Of course, my closest family was never a part of a colony… but my mom would still give me and my sibling those special names. I was named «Blue», which is the color of the sky above when it's not raining, and the color of clear water. My brother's name is «Bryn» after a very fragrant medicinal plant that relaxes your muscles when consumed. I always found it funny, as my brother was often the one getting in trouble and giving our mom heartaches."

[She pauses for a moment, thinking intensively]

"Hmm, I never thought of asking my mother about her name. I wonder if she had one? To me and it was always just «mom»…"

"My other parent? I never knew him. Must have left just before or right after my mom had me, because there is literally nothing I remember of him… or them… whoever they were."

[She takes some pearls out from her bag, and inspects them one by one just to keep her hands busy]

"Mom would never talk about him, as if he never existed. And I never questioned her, I was too young to understand and simply accepted everything at face value. It was just the way things were. Would I want to meet my other parent? Maybe, but I doubt it'd make a difference. What would I even say to them? «Thanks for abandoning mom and leaving her to fend for herself»? "

"I don't know. Maybe I'm too harsh. Maybe he was a hero who sacrificed themself to save my mother. That could explain why he was never seen or heard of again. But… I have no way of knowing for sure. It's the life I won't be getting back anyway."

// In the second drawing, I've used logographs from @ikayblythe's Standard Hegemonic Dialect

[yoursweetwife]

hmmm what about how ratio and ruan mei would act if they were jealous? a bit of a cliche, ratio being him he would probs shout algebraic equations at the guy making a move, but for ruan mei im not sure..

I have a couple of thoughts about these two.

Veritas Ratio considers jealousy to be something unimaginable and primitive, because intelligent and erudite people should not succumb to such base emotions, besides, he is aware of his attractiveness, you need to be a real fool to leave him (he began to change his mind when he fell in love and entered into a REAL relationship) Ratio will immediately understand that he is jealous, but he will stubbornly deny it, saying to himself something like "jealousy is the lot of fools," but he will still continue to look contemptuously at the cause of his indignation.

However, the Veritas is a double-edged sword, everything can end either well or badly (mainly for the one who is bothering you). At best, everything will be limited to just glances that will be hidden behind a plaster head, and rare remarks in the direction of the "opponent". Fortunately, as soon as you start scolding him, he immediately shuts up.

And in the worst case, if a person does not follow words and actions at all, openly showing interest in you, then even the eons themselves will not.

Ratio will lower the interlocutor's self-esteem below zero, regardless of whether there are other people nearby. Because how dare that idiot touch you! And you act like you don't care, even though he sees your annoyance. Once Veritas almost hit someone with a book out of jealousy, he just wasn't used to such feelings.

After that, he can't get rid of the feeling that he became part of this bunch of idiots, fortunately, you were there to calm him down and show him that it's okay to feel like that.

!In no case do not intentionally try to make him jealous, he will definitely not forgive this!

Ruan Mei gives the impression of a person who has only one partner for life, that is, if she falls in love, then she will never look at another, so you will never have a reason to be jealous of her. However, the hermit lifestyle led to Ruan Mei never feeling jealous.

Despite her detachment from people, she can see when people are flirting with you and when they're just being nice. If she doesn't worry about the second, then the first sometimes makes her feel awkward and angry, especially if it happens when you spend time together (few people know that you are dating, because May values privacy).

Her reaction most of the time will be silence, waiting for the conversation with the uninvited guest to end, or if she sees that you are uncomfortable, Ruan Mei will bluntly say that you are not interested and take you away.

If a very persistent fan comes across, then there is no doubt that Ruan Mei will not stand on ceremony and put the person in his place. Few people will want to deal with a famous scientist.

In any case, you will never understand that Ruan Mei is jealous. For her, jealousy will become a kind of object of study, perhaps she will specifically ask you to flirt with other people to see how far things will go.

[yuri-is-online]

Hi hi so can we have an expansion of middle school Floyd completely being his unfiltered self around yuu (maybe even octotrio going like "Oh please don't believe that merculture is like this" because middle school Floyd is embarrassing them in front of their crush) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

Hmmm

So Floyd says morays are cowards right, but my experiences with little kids tell me that they don't always have the best sense of self-preservation. I picture little Floyd as one of those kids on crack. He thinks this human is cute! Especially because they don't have the sense to be afraid of him at all and are calling him cute, that's real funny. What if he just takes a big chomp outta ya, will you still think he's cute? As for the embarrassment, well...

Azul

It comes from how blunt little Floyd is.

He's got even less patience for Azul's plans than big Floyd does, and the complete inability to see the value of waiting for the pay off. He's actively getting angry at him and throwing temper tantrums every time Azul tries to smooth things over with Yuu.

"No you can't get the ability to breathe underwater from kissing a mermaid Floyd is making that up. And no not all merfolk are obsessed with legs that's just a him thing-"

"Nah Azul really likes your legs and pretty much everything you do with them!" Little Floyd is loud enough that other people than just you are looking at him in confusion (Azul is convinced it is overwhelming judgment) because he's choking on a mixture of spit and air because how did he pick up on that already?!? Azul thinks he's so subtle when he admires you, he's got to be so you don't think he's weird.

He can't wait for this to be over, he can handle being made fun of by the twins now since they've got a good rapport and he can give as good as he gets but little Floyd is like a sea otter with a clam, he just won't let this go because he thinks octopus courtship is boring and he's not above saying that. Outloud. In front of you.

Jade

It's from how willing he is to throw Jade under the bus.

Floyd knows Jade pretty well, even if it's a younger version of him so he knows just how down bad stupid Jade is within 15 seconds and he is determined to "help."

Said help is mostly just humming a very specific song while swimming around you in circles and doing little tricks to "set the mood." Or asking you what you think about Jade when he thinks he's out of earshot, something he's never once been since little Floyd got summoned.

He thought this would be fun, Floyd is always so delightfully unpredictable and now there's two of him! But instead of bothering Azul he's decided to torture Jade and ruin his carefully cultivated image instead. He sort of gets why Azul was so determined to get rid of all his childhood photos now, you're never going to look at him the same after this.

When his efforts don't work because Jade is too much of a coward little Floyd starts just telling you a bunch of stuff they got up to as kids in an effort to embarras him. It clearly works from how quick Jade is to shove him to the side but you're polite enough to keep the laughter to a minimum. For the most part

Floyd

It comes from how much of a coward he is.

Floyd is waiting for the right time to speak with you, when he's extra sure that you feel the same as he does. When he knows you'll accept everything he wants to give you and more.

But no. Little him has to say everything that comes into his mind. "Are your legs soft? Why are you leaking seawater? Do all humans really only have ten toes and can I count them-"

If you find this funny, I think it might depress him somewhat. He wants you to see all the ways he's smart and not brush him off as an unserious joke. If you think it's cute, well that's a mix of emotions. He doesn't want you to see him as cute now, but it's ok if you find morays cute, and even nicer if you find baby morays cute. That thought alone perks him up.

Until little Floyd starts telling Yuu he thinks they're cute. Then he gets possessive and starts competing with himself like a looser. Probably by picking Yuu up and carrying them away since his legs are longer and he can get away faster.

[judesmoonbeauty]

Fairytale Final Assessment 1st Anniversary SE: Jude Jazza's Epilogue ཐིཋྀ

Fan translation only. Not 100% accurate. Please expect grammatical errors. Cybird owns everything. Feel free to re-blog, but please do NOT post my translations elsewhere.

CW: Brief mention of castration. Translation notes are marked with *** Alternate translation is marked with/// Hour Glass Banners Credit: @/natimiles ཐིཋྀ

Kate, your work has reached my ears. Thank you as always.

Therefore, I would like you to evaluate one thing.

I wonder if Jude, who is cursed, is worthy of the Crown.

After reading the letter from Her Majesty several times, I finally understood. 

Just the other day, Jude and I were engaged in a battle over the Fairytale Keeper Continuation Agreement.

(Does that mean I'm going to assess Jude this time?)

(You're giving me the opportunity to make a fair judgment. Her Majesty is indeed very open-minded.)

(If it's an assignment, I have to face Jude properly and submit a report!)

There is no mention in the text that the person should be kept in the dark.

I mean, the quickest way to do that is to ask Jude himself about it, and his intentions to stay at Crown.

Jude: I don't know anything about that. When you ask someone for something, shouldn’t you pay them for the information?

(I can't for the life of me believe that he will tell me honestly….)

(Come to think of it, I never asked Jude in depth why he was at Crown.)

It’s said that he dared to sign a contract with Crown when Victor suspiciously approached him with a tearful face, I’m sure…. I’m not wrong that it was to get information you need.

(I guess I have no choice but to observe Jude...)

Ellis: Your brow’s wrinkled. Thinking?

Kate: Oh, Ellis. 

Kate: Just in time! Do you know where Jude is today?

Ellis: It seems like Jude went on a mission after showing up at work. What's wrong?

Kate: Actually...

When I explained the reason, Ellis smiled.

Ellis: I'm joining Jude after this, so let’s go together.

Ellis led us to a pub with a suspicious atmosphere even though it was daytime.

There, Jude was in the middle of a cruel and merciless judgment.

Jude: Oy, no runnin’ away. The story is your usin’ illegal sleeping pills, messin’ ‘round with girls, and sellin’ ‘em off.

Scoundrels: Guh….!

Ellis: Kate , if bottles start flying, it won’t be safe, so stay here and hide.

Ellis: I’ll be there.

Kate: Ah, yes! Ellis, be careful not to get hurt too.

Ellis: Jude, here you go.

Jude: Tsk, what’re ya waitin’ for?

Ellis: I'm sorry. I'll try a little harder to make up for my tardiness.

I watch Jude and Ellis fight together from the shadows.

Liquor bottles and people lightly fly through the air, and the sound of blows rings out.

(Hmmm...this is what it means to scream.)

(This is supposed to be a Crown assignment.)

Jude does not follow the orders of others unconditionally unless the conditions are acceptable.

Therefore, there must be a reason why Jude accepted this mission.

In the meantime, everyone had fallen to the ground.

Jude: What, ya think I'm gonna kill ya? I’m not gonna to kill ya.

Jude: There's a coal mine at the far end of the country, and I thought it’d be fun doin’ manual labor there.

Scoundrels: ……. A coal mine?

Jude: Before you go to a cold, dark, and fun place, I'll give you a present.

Jude: Ellis, take ‘em to the black market surgeon later. Hand ‘em all over to be castrated.

Ellis: Yeah, okay. If it makes you happy, Jude.

As the thugs screamed in despair, Jude put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

Jude: The prevalence of inferior products is proof that the drugs weren’t distributed sufficiently.

Jude: ……Guess we’ll just have to handle it ourselves.

Jude's company eliminates the value of inferior products by distributing the correct products.

(That’s how Jude tries to eliminate evil at its source.)

Thanks to all the time I've spent, I had unintentionally come to understand Jude's way of doing things.

(The method may be as radical as ever.)

(But, there are somethings you can not protect with a straightforward approach. That’s why…)

Kate: Jude is absolutely essential to Crown…..

Jude: So, how long are you going to be sneaking around in there?

Kate: ….ah.

I was thrown onto a bed in a room at the back of the pub, and his hands restrained me while lying down.

Jude: You’re a real bad princess for peeping without permission. 

Jude: So, what are you up to now?

Kate: That’s…..

Jude: I could torture ya and make ya spit it out. You're a pervert who expects to be tortured, aren't ya?

I could smell the scent of sandalwood wafting from Jude, and my body temperature seemed to rise once.

Jude: Ha. Why’re ya lookin’ so hopeful? Ya really are a pervert who likes things that feel good.

Kate: T-that's wrong! Actually- 

Jude: Hmmm, reverse assessment.

Jude: That's just like that woman who loves fairness. ***

Jude: So, ya followed me ‘round to review me. You've come a long way.

Kate: As for following you around without telling you, I'm sorry.

Kate: But thanks to that, I was able to reaffirm what’s important to me.

Jude: What?

Kate: You are definitely suited for the Crown.

Jude: Ha. Who d’ya think ya are?

Kate: I’m a fairytale keeper. Hehe, I think I can write a good report with this.

Kate: I'll write it perfectly, so you can rest assured, Jude. Well then, I'm -

Jude: Why’re ya tryin’ to go home? There's no way ya could just spy on me and go for free.

Kate: Eh.

Jude: There's another matter to tend to.

Jude: I just need a decoy. You love hide-and-seek, don't ya?

Kate: A decoy!?

Jude: Poor thing. Ya wanna go home, but can’t. Pay the price for sneaking without permission.

Kate: Oh, come on….!

Jude: Those defiant eyes are so temptin’.

Amethyst eyes looked down at me cruelly becoming distorted.

Kate: In the report, you know I can write down all of your actions, Jude.

Jude: Write, write. However…

Jude leaned forward and looked into my face.

Jude: You...wouldn't you be lonely without me?***

Kate: …….

Kate: That’s not true….!

Jude: Huh. What are ya upset ‘bout?

[Master List]

***白々しい This appears to be a nuance: Jude’s being insincere about the Queen’s apparent fairness. It can be rendered white-wash, insincere, bare-faced (lie), shameless, but I felt that this was used just to explain his insincerity or doubtfulness in the Queen. ***Just to clarify, Kate is essentially threatening that what she writes in her report about Jude can cause his dismissal from Crown. So, that's why he tells her to write it, but.....she'll miss him, won't she?

[aduckwithears]

Let's Talk Laudanum - a GO meta

Hey all - I'm gonna preface this one with a tw/cw for opioids, death, suicide, and substance abuse ok? It shouldn't be too heavy (just canon typical), but I don't want anyone surprised.

Ok! I've been watching some of the Good Omens s2 behind the scenes specials, and in the "Grave Danger" clip it mentions that Laudanum is "...a very intense kind of alcohol, or like ethanol, that would kill somebody…" which is not actually true. In the show itself we see the bottle:

Which confirms that laudanum is a combo of Opium (45 and 1/2 grains per ounce) and Alcohol (40%).

It also says Poison and CMOT Dibbler... The poison angle (is it poison? well yes... if you take enough) has been covered in another post by @queerfables who talked about the make up of laudanum as well. CMOT Dibbler is a great nod to Sir Terry of course :)

What do I want to add? That yes, laudanum is in fact an opioid, and was actually an incredibly popular and over-used drug in the 18th and 19th centuries, both in real life and maybe more importantly in novels of the time. Proceed under the cut!

In my non-duck life I work in a field with some familiarity with opioids, so I also want to add that while yes, opioids can make you loopy, they are ultimately a soporific (meaning a sleep aid, a downer, a relaxant), a pain reducer, cough suppressant, and a respiratory depressant. That last bit is why they can be deadly in the case of an overdose.

So let's get back to laudanum. Yes, it was used post-surgically, but quite often would also be prescribed to (predominantly) women with various aches or pains that their doctors couldn't (or wouldn't bother) investigating. Subsequently women would become addicted to the opioid, needing more and more to achieve the desired effect, leading to eventual death or any of the other mental, emotional, or socioeconomic ills of addition.

Given the above and the era's fascination with the "sexiness" of wasting diseases such as consumption (hmmm, cough plus pain, perfect for treatment with laudanum!) laudanum was also a little bit of a romantic drug. It was also popular in novels of the era such as those in the Gothic Romance genre. (A quick peek at Wikipedia turns up lots of examples... though I'm sure a literature expert of the era would have lots more to add.)

All of which to say! The Resurrectionists as a minisode is channeling some pure Gothic Romance (think Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - pub 1818, etc) so laudanum is the PERFECT poison for Elspeth to pick. It dulls pain and at sufficient doses suppresses the respiratory system to the point of death. Without the modern miracle of Narcan or naloxone, death is all but assured. Of course, then, enter Crowley.

You know what laudanum doesn't do? Give you an Alice in Wonderland experience and make you specifically shouty about people not killing themselves. Now, this could be how opioids affect demons (it's possible), or the more entertaining option is that Crowley has no clue what laudanum is or isn't supposed to do, saw the poison and alcohol label, and decided to have a bit of fun while doing some deniable (the laudanum made me do it! honest!) good. It's also handy that he doesn't need to do mundane human things like breathing. So he gets to sing about Scotland, save the human, and get hugged by Aziraphale - pretty good day... until he gets Lightning Sanded to Hell.

I'll just add here that the laudanum plot line works well if we are taking the minisodes at face value... OR if we are reading them as Aziraphale's version of events of the past, especially with the literary aspect.

Bonus: If you've made it this far, maybe you'll come along with me on a little cross-fandom jaunt.

I'm also a massive fan of the Aubrey/Maturin series - Patrick O'Brian's books set in the early 1800s and starring Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Stephen Maturin. If you've read the series or even watched the Master and Commander movie you may know... those two characters have their own odd couple thing going on and quite a collection on AO3 :) . Anyhow. In the books Stephen is hooked on laudanum for a good while, mostly to dull the pain of a love that cannot be acted on. That's actually what got me started thinking about this post since there are certainly some parallels there.

Thanks for sticking with me on this ramble!

[muffinrecord]

Some rambling about the event

Hmm so I'm not taking screenshots but:

Asahi goes out to hunt a witch. As a cover-up she shoots a rabbit and says that it's for the upcoming festival, but her family sees through it as she previously said that they had enough meat for it.

Her father proceeds to slap her (which man I don't have the spoons to go into that discussion) and say something along the lines of "how dare you take this life for no reason." He calls her out for killing a living being for no good reason and then says that he knows she's hiding something and that she must have killed the animal because of internal anxiety / something along the lines of her not valuing life.

It's interesting to me, because the Folklore girls keep getting compared to rabbits. Her killing a rabbit must be directly related then, right? I'm not sure how I feel about the comparison though.

For one, her father is both correct and also wrong. She did kill the rabbit for a bad reason and it's true that she didn't value its life, but the reason for her anxiety is directly because of her complicated feelings towards life right now. She's just found out that magical girls turn into witches, and witches are what she hunts. She watched a pair of magical girls turn into witches right in front of her, and she wasn't able to kill them at first. So to say that she doesn't value life is... I dunno.

Next, a big theme so far (and I'm only like thirty minutes into the video) is loneliness and isolation. The Folklore girls are heavily burdened by the knowledge of what magical girls become and feel like no one will understand them or what they're going through. They're desperate to be understood but afraid that people will fear what they don't understand.

And then you come back to this dad, and it just feels very painful, even excluding the slap. Because Asahi's reaction to this talk is that she hates herself. Which... what if that led her to becoming a witch eventually? I know it doesn't, but what if it led her to isolate herself even further?

The father is angry that she's taking her anxiety out on a rabbit's life, but his actions could lead to her death.

I think it also troubles me that he didn't attempt to reach out before and talk to her, but I think there's subtext that this is a very stoic family that doesn't talk about those kind of feelings.

Back to the rabbit imagery... I dunno how I feel about it yet, but that's also probably because I'm still only thirty minutes into a 3 and a half hour long event. Magical girls are rabbits, magical girls are sustenance. They keep the universe going with their deaths. You need to respect their lives...? Is that what we're going with here? Hmmm.

I'm curious as to what other folks think of this scene and how it relates to the event as a whole. I might just be stupid as fuck right now (insomnia is killing me as per usual and I feel like I'm at 15% battery for my brain) but the whole thing feels a little loose in my head. Again, I probably just need to like. finish watching the event lmao.

Oh hmmm. I do know that eventually magical girls get hunted down in the city later by regular folk. I wonder if that's supposed to be the rabbit comparison? Magical girls being killed uselessly by people because of their anxieties. Oof though, I don't really like that. Kind of hard to explain why... Hmmm...

[skayafair]

Part 41

I finally got to listen to it!

Arthur has a lot of spite left in him sounding so pissed off screaming out Kayne's name, huh

And yet, knowing how he's not shy of swearing, all he can call John is a helpless "villain". Aw.

Oh, YOU GO JOHN! I support all your rights but more importantly your wrongs. I have no idea why John acting on his worst gives me such a kick every time but I properly enjoy and wholeheartedly support it ^_^

Also I liked the echo on "I'm trapped!". Reminded me of previous intances of him eldritching out. Morrrre~

Oh, I like the turn it's taking. John's lack of freedom, of agency is getting broadened in its scale, John doesn't compare it to a human's (who he wanted to be) one - but to a god's (who he was). Seems like the DW rattled quite a few memories and John had to stop running away from his past (I mean considering the supposed atrocities he had to commit there he was basically forced into his old self so it was kind of inevitable). Who you were isn't who you are and doesn't have to be your future self either but it's still in there, it still matters and has its fair share of influence. He had to face this and I'm glad that he seemed to do it.

I don't want to imagine what it should feel like to be in John's metaphorical shoes though. He used to be a god - and then lost all the agency completely and kept failing to regain it, time after time. First he ended up in the DW despite his intentions with no chance to escape on his own accord, then was yeeted into Arthur and failed to take all control, then he had a chance during the ritual but that chance flew out the window, too. In the end of that path he had to lose even the little amount of freedom he had, giving himself back to the King. Frankly I think returning to the King could actually be a chance to take over - John managed to rival him in his will, after all, so who knows - maybe he could win, too. However, Kayne yanked him out and back into the DW, making him basically a slave yet again. Returning to Arthur should have felt heaveny at the very beginning, there even were moments of his own actions and achievements, like with cutting the tendrils. And yet this is still far from being free, being his own, even with the deal out of the picture. It should feel like a torture to have a living, independent mind and be unable to act on its will. No wonder he's a bit drunk on the opportunity to finally have some range of options.

Also now his attempt to kill Oscar that seemed very contradicting to his latter values and behaviour looks actually natural. Just out of the DW, with a reviewed perspective and confused about in what direction to head next, old instincts refreshed and most likely habitual again (if it was even possible - I mean what form did he have in the DW to even be able to do anything?) - no wonder in the moment of intense emotional turmoil he fell back to those old ways without much thinking. Still very bad but at least explainable now. Also it looks like John isn't sure he wants to be human now. Hmmm, I like this direction, too. The experience will stay anyway, he'll have the understanding, and that's important.

"I don’t know. But stop turning that frustration towards me." Wow, Arthur, A+ for the ability to articulate what exactly you want and are discontent with! Communication, yaaay!

I like how they arrived from defensive opposing positions to shedding the defences off and coming to an understanding, still managing to vent the emotions off in the process. Hey I want this level of the skill!

"Why wait? - Nothing. I thought I… it’s nothing. - You’re sure? - Yes." Uuuuugrh. High time to learn that's a bad way of addressing the suspicions, boys *sigh* 

"How did it… feel? - It felt… powerful. - Hm." This whole conversaton of theirs, especially coupled with the overall situation, really reminds me of the very beginning of season two. Fresh of the portal in an unknown surroundings, under the rain, talking about John's bad choices and things Arthur postpones to talk about ("The deal with Kayne… - In a moment."), only the last time John didn't let him. I guess now he feels too rattled himself.

The owl. Ow. I'll get to my eldritch owls AU, I promise! (Also, Alexander?! In what way is it comfortable?.. It means "the defender", so well maybe, but still - ehhh?..)

"This world could be very different than what we expect." - ooohhh, will they meet dragons?! *__* Hardy, I know, but the possibility is still thrilling.

*John describes the surroundings* I've been to just one DnD session but the shift in the perspective cannot be undone. Is that how you guys have been seeing the whole setting all along???

"Look, we can’t afford to be at odds here, John. Not anymore." Oh. I like the place they are at dynamic-wise. By now they've long established they want to be friends - trying to be as best as they can. No one has an upper hand, unlike in previous seasons. Season 1 os obvious, season 2 - John still knew more about the world they found themselves in than Arthur and hid some things, the relationship was still very rocky. In s3 Arthur had an upper hand at the very least emotionally-wise. Season 4 - John's turn again. Now thought they've come to some pretty good communication and know each other well enough, there's trust (despite everyting), and both are about equally in the dark. There's the "John's crimes in the DW" bit still looming over them but both are aware of it, which helps to some degree.

Meaning - more or less (John still has little agency, although it's a bit better now) equal partnership. YAY. I'm excited.

"It is time to grow up, in every sense of the word." Ahhh. There it is. I have to say it's been bugging me the whole time but I couldn't enunciate what exactly and with what grounds. The thing is, I distaste the way a person lacking in one field is being constantly compared to a child overall. This infantilization happens not only in Malevolent. It's often brought into other stories - the most recent one I came across was Resident Alien TV series. Often enough the said field is the emotional and the social one. You know who else is often infantillized the same way with similar issues? Neurodivergent people - I think autistic ones more frequently but I didn't look into the statistics (if they exist), that's just what I've heard of the most. I know I've been referred to in a patronizing way both by some friends and relatives just because I don't get things obvious to them but unseen to me (and half of those things makes no fucking sense even when you learn about them). John is far from being a child, his lack of knowledge and understanding, of experience lays in very concrete fields.

So the constant comparison to a "parent-child" dynamic is irritating to me when it's simply a "more experienced in one or two ways person & a less experienced in said ways person". Yes those fields are very important. Still, there are things John knows of and Arthur doesn't, but I don't recall anyone comparing our dear detective to a child back in Dreamlands, for instance. John knew how dangerous it was out there and was more coutious, had some memories and knowledge about some things existing there and got frustrated with Arthur's attempts to befriend everything around more than once. From this point of view, Arthur behaved "childishly" and lacked crucial experience John sort of had (even though it was mostly forgotten), while social skills and emotional intelligence meant next to nothing (save for once instance).

So can we please cut this tendency of sustainably comparing adults to children because they aren't as well-versed in one or two fields as others.

"There was so much I couldn’t explain, because you weren’t able to know where I had come from. But now… with you knowing, perhaps…" Oh shit THEY CAN FINALLY TALK EVERYTHING OUT clearly yaaaaay! I forgot! Looking forward to this.

Also John's very quiet for the most of the episode, as if he's afraid to say another word, like moving across a mine field. Very uncertain in any way, like he doesn't trust himself.

Aaaaand Arthur confirms his title of a disney princess trying to befriend every creature he meets once again! Thanks for addressing this in canon! =D

I like how the podcast is consistent with the fact that John has sense of smell but it's not as developed as Arthur's.

Damn it's so wierd to hear John at loss of words, and so often, too.

"You really started to master your investigative ways, you know?" I like how John sounds so lost for the majotiry of the episode, but once there's an opportunity to fall into a familiar process of the investigation, his tone immediately changes to a lighter, more confident one. There's comfort in it. And Arthur noticed this and paused to give a friendly praise. It's important after all the forgetfulness in New York, and judging by John's reaction he appreciated this, too. It's something to hold on to, like "I still have it, we've got this, it can still be okay".

Wow Arthur's filling the bingo card starting right from the very 1st episode! Falling yet another ladder are we :D Now there's rather a bad injury, too, and they didn't even meet any monsters yet :DDD Arhtur has certainly stepped up his game!

"No… no, nothing. - Is it the wall?" Arthur is really acing the whole friendship thing the whole episode. He took notice of how unsure John is of everything now and made this extra effort to help, to support.

Yay the glass is back in the game! I llike that they decided to revise the bag contents.

"Kayne’s dagger. - Frustratingly useful." Yay the humor this apisode is certainly humoring! =D

Three black candles, in the 13th century, right. That screams "ritual", guuuuys where is your cautiousness!

I like how this episode took its time and didn't skip over some "mechanics" like the podcast usually does. There are more directions from John (THANKS), more pondering over what to do and which way (the torch, the dagger and tracing the way along the wall), the sense of smell, the way the cloak kept the water from soaking through - these little details are what does the trick to me. What gives more quality to the story and the way it's told.

The membrain, ew. Arthur's been holding exceprionally well, honeslty.

Ah, I finally found the word to how John sounds for the most of the episode. Defeated, even in situations when he would have had other emotions before. "The Undefeated" title considered, this is extra sad.

A recurring thing of the episode is that they find themselves in the darkness and John can't see. I think it adds considerably to his feeling of being powerless. It often sounds like he's giving up.

"No. But we’re close to the surface!" And someone said he's going to be properly done with all the pits like two seasons ago :< (I don't really remember when it was exactly so maybe less but the notion still stands.)

So. The hole in the wall was a mouth with teeth, wasn't it?

[frootloopscos]

Welcome to the Villians' World (6)

Previously

"Well this is partially your responsibility you know! So help me catch the furball! The useless bodyguard here can't use magic so that means it's up to me and you!"  And just like that, the two boys began to chase after Grim.

Now

The two boys managed to chase the monster cat into the Cafeteria. Ace groaned trying to catch the quick cat in his arms, "argh! Stop jumping around like that!" He yelled as Grim avoided him, "heh heh heh! Catch me if you can!" Grim yelled back as he avoided the ginger again. Deuce glared at Grim, "no fair climbing onto the chandelier, you coward!" He yelled at the cat, "I haven't really learned flight magic yet. . . What could I summon to hold onto him...? Hmmm... Oh! That's it!" He yelled suddenly getting an idea.

"Did you come up with somethi- Oi, hey! Stop! What are you doing?! Why are you pointing your pen at the bodyguard?!" Ace yelled, "because I'm going to launch them." Deuce said, (Y/n)'s eyes widen, "what?! No way in hell will this end well! Don't use your magic on me!" They yelled as they began to rise into the air, "seriously, do not launch them! Abort! ABORT!!" Ace yelled at Deuce remembering the punishment he tried to avoid after he had injured the bodyguard.

Deuce shook his head, "just make sure to grab him tight. I've got him in my sights, and... Go!" He yelled before throwing (Y/n) at the chandelier. Grim yells in surprise as (Y/n) reaches out to grab the cat before they end up being thrown into the fragile light figure. The two of them fall to the floor and (Y/n) hisses as they land on their back, holding Grim to their chest. Ace coughs as dust from the debris fill the air. "I cannot believe you just did that!" He yelled at Deuce.

Grim groaned in (Y/n)'s arms, "oh right! I probably should have come up with a way to soften your landing after you caught him..." Deuce said looking at the demon slayer on the ground. "You complete and total moron! We got Grim, but we hurt the bodyguard and broke the chandelier! If the headmage finds out about this—" Ace was interrupted by Crowley appearing, "if I find out about what, dear Ace?" He asked crossing his arms with a glare.

Ace's eyes widen seeing the bird man, "ah! Headmage Crowley!" "YOU. THREE. AGAIN. What have you done this time?!" Crowley yelled at the three teens and the monster cat. Grim groans as he lays on (Y/n)'s chest. "Myaaah... Everything's spinning..." Crowley's widen seeing his bodyguard on the ground with the broken chandelier, "first you attempt to burn them alive, that wasn't enough for you? Now you've injured them again and destroyed a chandelier?! Enough. All of you are expelled." Crowley said as he carefully helped (Y/n) off the ground and using his magic to hold Grim.

Ace and Deuce looked at him in shock, "what?!" They asked in surprise, "headmage, please! Give me a second chance! I can't get expelled from this school! I need to be here!" Deuce said to Crowley, "then blame yourself for your own foolish behavior." The headmage said, "I'll pay for the damages and for the bodyguard's medical bills! However much it costs!" He said in response, clearly desperate to stay in the school, Crowley shook his head.

"That chandelier is no mere light fixture. It is a magical chandelier. Its candles are powered by a magical energy source, enchanted so that they will burn for eternity. It was created for us by a legendary artificer. Possibly their finest creation. It has been here since the school was established, and I imagined it would be here forevermore. Considering its historical value, I would estimate its worth to be no less than a billion thaumarks. And you intend to repay that sum? Not only that but our bodyguard isn't from our world so they can't be while with minor magic, Professor Crewel is the one who helped heal them earlier." He stated glaring at the boys.

"A... A billion marks?!" Deuce asked in surprise and horror. "B-but I'm sure with your magical talent, sir you could snap your fingers and fix it right up!" Ace said trying to help out his dorm mate. "Even magic has its limits. Furthermore, its magestone — the figurative heart of any magical artifact — is cracked. A magestone cannot easily be replaced. I fear the candles of this majestic chandelier will never burn again." He said in fake remorse. (Y/n) groaned quietly in pain.

"This is bad..." Ace said looking to Deuce, "what am I going to do?! How am I going to tell my mother...?" Deuce said sadly, Crowley hummed in thought and then got an idea. "Ah! But there may be one way. One tiny sliver of a chance to repair this chandelier." Both the teens looked at him, "there is?!" They asked and Crowley nods, "the magestone that powered this chandelier was mined from the Dwarfs' Mine. If you can acquire a magestone with the same properties, it may be possible to repair it." He said with another nod as he gently rubbed (Y/n)'s back.

"Then I'll go find a magestone!" Deuce said, "with your permission, sir!" Crowley looked at him, "I should caution you that I cannot promise 5$343 yet remain magestones to find. The mines were closed quite some time ago. It is quite likely that all of the magestones have already been mined." Deuce nods with a determined look, "I will do anything to avoid expulsion, sir!" Crowley nods, "well then. I will suspend your expulsion for a single night. But if you fail to return with a magestone by morning, then all of you are expelled. Well, besides the bodyguard."

"I understand sir. Thank you very much for this opportunity!" Deuce said and Ace sighs, "fine then. Let's hurry down there, find a magestone, and get this whole thing done with." Crowley wraps an arm around (Y/n) as they lean on him. "You should be able to reach the Dwarfs' Mine instantly by using one of the gates in the Mirror Chamber."

——

After (Y/n) was taken care of by Crewel again, but to the adults anger at Crowley. They, Ace, Deuce, and Grim all stood in the Mirror Champer after they had volunteered to help the boys with their punishment. "Man, how did I end up in this mess? I swear, I have the worst luck." Ace said rubbing the nape of his neck. "We don't have time to complain. Let's go," Deuce said before turning to the mirror. "Dark Mirror! Take us to the Dwarfs' Mine!" The mirror lights up and the three of them enter one of the coffins to be transported to the Dwarfs' Mine.

——

Hey y'all! I'm going to try and update this more than I have been before!

Word count: 1155

Published to Wattpad: Nov. 5th, 2023

Published to Tumblr: April 24th, 2024

Edited: n/a

[no-gram]

Jacka:...... Ah! Good morning! I've been waiting for you to wake up…!

Ai:You are ......

Jacka:You don't remember, do you? Well...first of all. Do you know where you are?

Ai: This is... this is a prison.

Jacka:Correct! Yes, I should introduce myself. I'm...I'm Jackalope. Well, you can call me Jacka...? But call me whatever you want!

Ai: Nice to meet you. I'm...Ai. I'm the administrator of this prison.

Jacka: Nice to meet you, Ai. I'm glad to see you're swallowing so quickly! Well, do you remember that much?

Jacka: I'll be quick, but can you get ready to leave the room?

Ai: Where are we going?

Jacka: We're going to go around the prison to where the prisoners are. This is a small prison, so I'm sure you'll be able to figure out the map in no time... but it would be nice to have an explanation, wouldn't it?

Ai: Okay, let's go.

Jacka: Um...do you mind if I hold you?

Ai: Can't you walk by yourself?

Jacka: Well, well, well... look! Your stride is different, isn't it?

Ai:Sigh...I guess we have no choice.

［Footsteps］

Jacka: There's your room now, and my room, and storage and dining room. There's also a shower room.

Ai: Are there any rules?

Jacka: Hmm, why don't you decide...? You are the administrator, right?

Ai: Do you know how it feels to suddenly have power in a strange place?

Jacka: Do you think I can understand other people's feelings?

Ai: ...I lose. Tell me the next room.

［Door opens］

Jacka: The next room is a very special place, so listen carefully. This is the Panopticon. You can look around and keep an eye on all the prisoners too. They're all sleeping now, though.

Ai: Prisoners...

Jacka: Are you worried?Well, it's not comforting, but they are all girls about your age. I'm sure you'll get to know them quickly. Well, they are all called to be evil person.

Yes, let me introduce all of you! I think it will be much easier for you that way, rather than going about your business without knowing anything about them.

Ai:agree.. We need efficiency in our work.

Jacka: You're very motivated, aren't you? You're not even intimidated by the prisoners. That's worth explaining.

Jacka: Okay, first then, prisoner number 001, Tsuguha. She is the youngest girl here, 12 years old. She seems a little cautious, so please be gentle with her.

Ai: An elementary school student, huh? I wonder if I can be gentle.

Jacka: You might be able to force her to disclose information by frightening her, but there are not many prisoners in this prison. We can unravel their information over time. If so, don't you think it's worth being gentle?

Ai: Maybe so. But they are equally bad people here. We will not know until we interact with them.

Jacka: It's good that you are willing to do this, but don't overdo it. I don't want you to miss the truth. Next.

Jacka: Prisoner number 002, Jun. She's the staunchest of them all. She's not very sociable.

Ai: Hmm.Is intimidation sometimes necessary?

Jacka: I'm scared! I may have to make you learn to be nice...

Jacka: Let's move on already!!Prisoner number 003 Kizuna. Hmmm, she seems relatively bright and normal among the prisoners. But she might be the one I don't understand the most.

Ai: What do you mean you don't know her well?

Jacka: She is more ambiguous than the other prisoners. It's like there's something the prison can't detect.

Jacka: You are halfway there. Keep up the good work. Prisoner 004, Tuzuri. Hmmm. She seem calmer than the other prisoners. Maybe too calm, in fact.

Ai: How can he be calm in the presence of potential bad guys? I can say this now that I don't know anything about them, but I find it more suspicious when people are calm.

Jacka: My explanation is only an image, but it may indicate that we should also value our intuition.

Jacka: Alright, well, let's move on. Prisoner number 005, Itoho. Hmmm, she is the oldest one. Perhaps that's why she has a certain amount of leeway.

Ai: Can i stand up to an older opponent?

Jacka: You threaten younger people, but are intimidated by older people?

Ai: Don't drag out the joke...I'm starting to look foolish. I still don't really understand proper communication.

Jacka: I don't think intimidation is allowed, but we are here to record what you feel and what you learn, so it's up to you how you behave.

Jacka: last. Prisoner number 006, Rinne. You can tell at first glance. There is something bizarre about her. Now you are pure and innocent, for better or worse, so be careful not to be consumed by her pressure.

Ai: ...I definitely have a sense of responsibility as an administrator. I don't know if I have the dignity, but I am ready to manage these girls. I will not be defeated so easily. I don't know if I can defeat violence, but...

Jacka: Oh, you will be fine on that point. The prisoners cannot hurt you.

Ai: Wow, that's great.

［The sound of bells］

Jacka: Just in time. Now, your life as an administrator is about to begin. The girls will be waking up soon.

Jacka: Let's review. You are the keeper of this prison. You have to give the prisoners a "Justice" or "Evil" verdict. You can base your decision on whether they are good people or not, whether you like them or not, the law or not, or any other criteria.If I were to give advice, it would be to give justice to the people you want to model your life on.

Ai: I should have thought about how to address everyone. I'll have to improvise and see what I can do.

Jacka: That's it. They can't hear my voice. good luck.

Ai: Nah...that's terrible.

No, I'm an administrator. I am not going to be outdone by girls my age. First impressions count.

Jacka: That's the spirit. I'll be watching from afar. So, Ai, I look forward to seeing what your choice will be.

Ai: Good morning, prisoners. I'm the administrator.Have a good life.

[sunnnfish]

Sunnnfish, my local tashiro expert! This is a question out of left field but you have a deeper understanding of our dear gon-chan so I'd highly value your opinion. What do you think Tashiro likes as far as movie genres? Any in particular he might like? It's for a good cause ☺️

this is a lot of spitballing and its all highly hindered by the fact that i do not know many movies or genres. 👍 there are in fact many Not Movies in here. but im going for vibes/genre mainly.

if you want the tldr, my For Sure Likes list is as follows: •tokusatsu shows/movies (like power rangers/kamen rider) •similarly, magical girl shows/movies (sailor moon/puella magi madoka magica) •kaiju movies (Godzilla) •zombie movies •romcoms (like if lovely complex was a movie) •whatever movies old Japanese folks would recommend to him

explanations and more under the cut!! its mostly kinda stream of thought so just. bear with me

he would sooooo love tokusatsu and also action style shows/movies. this is the most sure thing i know. power rangers and kamen rider etc etc. I think power rangers/equivalent is the thing he has the most merch of because its the thing that everybody knows he likes so he always gets merch as gifts. watched it as a kid, dressed up as them for halloween, etc etc. side note: i dont think he ever asks for/buys things for himself. due to constantly feeling like hes not Into It enough. not a Real Fan like everybody else. love & passion issues.

In a similar vein he soooo likes magical girl anime. secretly though. guilty pleasure and all that. he only watches them with shirahama. his ass was forever changed by puella magi madoka magica. we all know this is because of transgenderism reasons. #gon-chan

importantly! i think he has a taste for older movies because of the old folks at the bathhouse !

just feel like he'd like kaiju movies. Godzilla Mothra etc etc. big monsters go raaahhh

i think horror would be a bit of a guilty pleasure. nobody knows he likes horror movies. maybe advertises liking zombie movies but nobody knows he likes those freaky psychological ones. guy who is morbidly curious about blood and guts and haunting. guy whos probably played until dawn. he doesn't seek them out very often because the impact of just one will stick with him for a While.

think he would like romcoms. if lovely complex (manga/anime) was a movie he'd like it. but i dont think he actually reads/watches shoujo stuff often. I think normal dramatic romance rubs him the wrong way. he doesn't like all the miscommunication shenanigans. sweet fluffy romance is like Fine to him. he'll like it if he watches it but it wont like change his life.

kinda feel like he'd like reality tv ? maybe ? has crazy intuition about what the people are actually thinking. would like the show survivor. yknow who definitely DOES watch reality. hanzawa. dont question me. his ass loves to psychoanalyze people on purpose. Tashiro psychoanalyzes people on accident.

i dont think hes as into anime as shirahama. but shirahama will show him fantasy anime shows/movies and he'll get into it just cause shirahama's into it.

i think the one popular anime hes into is one piece. but like. very casually.

hmmm other genres. think he'd like comedy a normal amount. probably would like dramas but only if he watches them with someone else. don't think he cares for sci-fi…? i honestly dont know enough about sci-fi to have an opinion on this front… would like mystery but not enough to like. seek it out. i think most of it boils down to He likes most genres just fine he just doesn't necessarily seek them out/rewatch them. only thing i think he dislikes is those dramatic ones with tons of miscommunication.

anyways. ive been thinking about this for a couple hours now. hope its somewhat comprehensible. 👍 peace and love on planet tashiro

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

6. [Conceptualization - Godly 16] Present an investment plan that is sure to fail.

-2 Art degree useless.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Godly: Failure] - Congratulations, you've somehow managed to fail at failing, which means, in a strange way, that you've succeeded?

"You should invest in a youth centre."

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "A youth centre, huh? What *kind* of youth centre?"

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Medium: Success] - A place to train *buff kids*.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - A place to teach them practical skills like teamwork and self-discipline.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - Come on. Tell him what he wants to hear.

"One dedicated to instilling liberal economic values in children from low-net-worth families."

"One to inspire the future leaders of tomorrow to public service."

"You know, a regular youth centre, with basketball courts and stuff. To *really* develop their physical proficiency."

"You know, a regular youth centre, with basketball courts and stuff. To teach teamwork and other emotional skills."

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "No, no, no. You've got to think *bigger* than that."

2. "One to inspire the future leaders of tomorrow to public service."

+1 Moralism

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "Hmmm," the man thinks for a moment.

"I like that you're thinking about the future, but couldn't the centre have a more... economic focus?"

"One dedicated to instilling liberal economic values in children from low-net-worth families."

+1 Ultraliberalism

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "Brilliant! Without children who'll be there to buy stuff in the future?"

"Yes. And if it doesn't work out, we can always re-purpose the centre as a shopping mall or private equity firm."

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "When life closes a door, it opens a window, yes? What's the expected return on this?"

"Highly educated, work-ready, human capital ready to be directed toward any number of your vast interests."

"With human beings there's always a risk associated. Which is why we've got to hold onto the centre itself as a fallback."

CONCEPTUALIZATION - You're deep into ultraliberal territory now. Good work.

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "Very impressive. You've got a natural eye for unusual investment opportunities."

"Thank you."

"I know."

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "I don't normally do this without a formal pitch deck, but to hell with it, what's the point of being rich if you have to follow all the rules?"

"Here's a round of seed funding. This should be enough to prove out the concept and get things off the ground."

+100 real

We have already bought basically everything in the game, so on a technical level this is useless to us.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - CHA-CHING. What'll it be? Speed? Vodka? Cigarettes?

HORRIFIC NECKTIE - *Bratan*, now's your chance to take some time off. Spend it with your good buddy, and get absolutely *wrecked* in the process.

"Hmm. Drugs do go well with money, I agree."

"I'm sorry, man, I'm an investor now -- I have to stay sober to calculate risks."

HORRIFIC NECKTIE - What is this shit?!? CALCULATING RISKS? *BRATAN*. THE RISKS YOU CANT CALCULATE ARE THE ONLY ONES WORTH TAKING!

"I'm sorry. I just don't see the ROI in that."

"I'll give it some thought."

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant looks at you with horror. You've been mumbling to your necktie in a daze for several minutes.

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "Ah, yes. Now you're displaying it... the *eccentricity* that becomes a wealthy individual." If the money-saint's visage weren't wrapped in physics-defying light, you would see his approval.

"Thank you for placing your unwavering *trust* in me."

"Thanks for the handout."

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "Remember: it's not a *handout*, it's an investment. And I expect to see returns."

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant stands there, dumbfounded. His mouth opens slightly, then closes again.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - Is he having a stroke?

"What do you think, Kim? Not bad, huh?"

"Kim, are you alright?"

"Kim, are you having a stroke?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "No, I am *not* having a stroke. You're just... still full of surprises. Most of them bad, but some good..."

+1 Reputation

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - The lieutenant has granted you an aura of legitimacy. Bathe in it, but don't let your satisfaction show. Play it cool.

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "Now, was there anything else I could help you gentlemen with?"

There is not.

5. "We should get back to our investigation. Thanks for your time." [Leave.]

MEGA RICH LIGHT BENDING GUY - "The pleasure was mine. Unfortunately, I must be away soon. The next time we meet, I'll be expecting an update on my investment!"

"Farewell, friend, and may your peace of mind guide you to happiness."

A thought is triggered.

SAVOIR FAIRE - Wow, you work *hard*.

I do?

(Discard thought).

SAVOIR FAIRE - Oh, yes. You hustle. You're a provider. It's tough out there, but you keep it real and provide...

I guess I do, yeah.

What hard work do I do exactly?

SAVOIR FAIRE - Oh yeah! Like a horse. A work horse. For hard work.

What hard work do I do exactly?

SAVOIR FAIRE - Look at yourself, you're a human pedometer! You must have walked 200,000 steps down cracked asphalt, mosaic, sand, and linoleum after you re-emerged.

That is the sign of a hustler who never gives up. The world is harsh and people are evil -- you didn't make it that way. And you won't let it break you. You *ride*.

Yeah, I ride. A little.

I fuckin' ride till I die, bitch.

I'm not sure I *ride*...

SAVOIR FAIRE - Oh, you do. You *make* money. You got gills, baby, meaning those black papers with the faces of the innocences on them. You bring in the Franconegros and the Solas.

It ain't easy, but you *do* it. Day in and day out. You didn't make the rules but you won't lose! You're a cop and a sprinter and a money printer.

I mean yeah, I *did* take that bribe from that Joyce woman.

Can't say I didn't make that Siileng guy give some of his money either.

You could say I took some money from that Mañana guy too.

Oh, and then there's pawning stuff off to that suspicious Roy guy.

I guess I've made *some* gills, sure.

SAVOIR FAIRE - Oh yeah, you took that bribe *hard*. You're a killa'.

2. Can't say I didn't make that Siileng guy give some of his money either.

SAVOIR FAIRE - Can't say that -- you *shook* him. You're a killer. A shark.

3. You could say I took some money from that Mañana guy too.

SAVOIR FAIRE - You didn't log that in as a donation either -- you don't log any of that shit in, you're a straight rider.

4. Oh, and then there's pawning stuff off to that suspicious Roy guy.

SAVOIR FAIRE - Yeah, you're in the sales business. Shake 'em for shit and then pawn it off, *law officer*-style.

5. I guess I've made *some* gills, sure.

SAVOIR FAIRE - Sure, sure. And has it been easy? Is life easy? Have you *not* gone into cardiac arrest? Are you *not* about to have an anxiety attack or shoot yourself in the mouth? But you still hustle 24/7, ride or die. Now, ask yourself...

...are you *rich*?

Yes. Quite.

No, I'm actually *not*.

SAVOIR FAIRE - That's right. You work harder than *anyone*, you almost rode yourself to the grave and you're still practically a *hobo* -- why is that?

It's because of that Garte guy riding my ass!

The system is broken!

There's a market for corrupt cops out there, but the immigrant cops have price dumped it.

Fucking taxes, man.

I don't know. Why *am* I so poor?

SAVOIR FAIRE - The Garte-man has set himself up one of those self replicating money-structures. You should *learn* from it. Don't play the victim. Think, hustler. Think with your head.

2. The system is broken!

+1 Communism

SAVOIR FAIRE - Boohoo, *the system is broken*. *The establishment is keeping me down...* That's not the fuck-yeah attitude you're used to, what is this? Why are you so poor?

Skipping the fascist option...

4. Fucking taxes, man.

+1 Ultraliberalism

SAVOIR FAIRE - That's right! One-hundred percent. Fucking G-man's got his jam-covered sticky-fingers in your pocket, stealing from you every time you buy, sell, walk, talk, fart, so much as sneeze!

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - Aren't taxes almost non-existent in the Gossamer State that is Revachol?

I thought there *were* no taxes.

Really? Every time I sneeze?

SAVOIR FAIRE - You and I both, but they got those *indirect modes of taxation*. Sales tax, excise duty, extraction tax, this tax that doesn't even have a name -- plus there's the stuff *people in other countries* pay for, that makes them ask for more money from *you* here! The Gossamer State's a myth. In total the Coalition Government is taking...

NINETY-EIGHT PERCENT OF ALL YOUR MONEY.

NO FUCKING WAY. I guess I'm a free market fundamentalist now. (Opt in.)

Are you sure? That seems like a pretty big number…

This isn't helping me solve my money problem, it's only making me into a free-market type. (Opt out.)

SAVOIR FAIRE - What are you not sure about?! They're *milking* your nipples till they bleed. Can't you see? Aren't you *sick and tired* of having bloody nipples?

[pardi-real]

Judgment by Fallen Angel / Chapter 12 - Encore

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~ A while later ~

After the end of the show… I was congratulating the butlers in the empty theater, when the excited owner came in, smelling like boiled down perfume.

Owner: "Bravo! You did a great job, everyone! I just peeked into the theater's salon… and the audience still looks excited!"

Miyaji: "I see... Well, I had a rough idea of the response…"

Fennesz: "I-I guess that means... our play was well-received?"

Owner: "Fufufu... Well, if you want to know if it was well-received or not…  It's 'Mixed Reception!' There was a lot of criticism, especially from the noblemen in the box seats ♪"

Fennesz: "Huh… Is that so?

> "Despite clapping that much…"

Berrien: "About that… I'm sure that they were relieved to hear the ending… But the problem is the subject that we show in this play. From the perspective of those who originally feel distant with the devil butlers… Some of them may harbor an animosity towards us by the fact that we deal with such a subject."

Miyaji: "There are also some noblemen who come to see the show with the intention of criticizing it from the start… It is difficult to accept whatever they say, because they have always been critical of us."

Fennesz: "Hmmm... How sad, if that's the case. I guess what we wanted to convey… didn't get through to them…"

Owner: "Oh, my. That's not true, you know? I think you did capture the hearts of the general audience....

But above all, this is what I wanted! It's the one that destroys existing values… the cutting-edge art that provokes controversy!

I'm becoming more and more a fan of the devil butlers ♪ Especially you, Fennesz-sweetie…

How did you come up with that script? Is there some kind of source book? I'd like to talk to you alone, if you don't mind…"

Fennesz: "Huh...? Umm…"

Fennesz, who was grabbed by the owner, is asking for help with a puzzled expression.

However, the owner is a nobleman. It would be difficult for the butlers to simply reprimand him. As their lord, I have to stop him.... Just as I was thinking that, Lato walked up to them.

Lato: "............Hmmm..."

Owner: "Ahh… Mr. Lato, great work today...."

The moment Lato approached... the owner reflexively released Fennesz's arm from his hand.

Lato stared at him unblinkingly.

Lato: "Oh, hold on. Please grab his arm, because I almost remember…"

Fennesz: "What… Lato?"

Lato: "Hmm... That clingy and overly familiar behavior... That's right.... When was that… I think there was a nobleman who was doing the same thing… to Flure who is bad with strangers…"

Owner: "Gulp!"

Lato: "Hmm… It is still vague, but I am starting to remember. Could it be you are... The overly familiar pig who scared Flure that time...?"

Owner: "Noooooooo!  D-don't remind me! I want to forget it! I'm sorry... So please forgive me~!!"

Tap, tap, tap…

Muu: "H-he ran away at such an amazing speed…"

Fennesz: "Did he experience something so terrifying...?"

Lato: "Who can say? I do not really remember. Now that the play is over... Shall we get started, everyone?"

Muu: "Huh.... Start what?"

Lato: "What do you mean 'what'... Speaking of after the play... I always do that with Flure. Isn't that right, Prof. Miyaji?"

Miyaji: "Oh, I see. You mean the 'Wrap Party'. Yes, we used to do it all the time whenever the play for the children ended. Hmm...  However, today is the 'opening night', and there are many more performances to come."

Berrien: "Fufu…. That's fine, isn't it? We have been practicing a lot lately.  I don't mind if we have a light wrap party."

Fennesz: "Yes, that's right. I haven't had much time to spend with the lord…"

Berrien: "What do you think, my lord? I was wondering if you would join us for the party."

> "Of course!

Muu: "Yes, yes! I'd like to be there too!"

Fennesz: "Of course. We'd like you to join us too, Muu."

Berrien: "Fufu. We will now go back to the mansion and…"

Buzz —- buzz —--

Berrien: " ! This sound…"

People's voices: "It's an angel...!  Angels are appearing!! Quick, call the 'fallen angels'... No, the 'devil butlers'!"

Lato: "Good grief... Now for an encore, huh? Even though we are about to have a wrap up party… This is why I hate angels."

Fennesz: "Well... That was better than being interrupted in the middle of the play. But this is not the time to say that. Let's head to the location immediately."

Berrien: "Yes. Please take care of the lord, Mr. Miyaji and Muu."

Miyaji: "Yeah… Alright."

Muu: "Leave it to me!"

Berrien: "Then, my lord. Release the power…"

> "Yes, okay."

Release their power and prepare for battle with the angels. This is not a play... This is a real fight with lives on the line. For them, this is reality, their everyday life… I realized it all over again, now that the play was over.

Berrien: "Fufu…  Do not worry, my lord. We will not lose ourselves. Because this battle is to protect mankind and… to protect our lord."

Fennesz: "Th-that's right! I'm not afraid of angels if it's for the lord's sake!"

Lato: "Yes. Let's destroy the angels and go to the wrap party together."

Miyaji: "You too, my lord. There's nothing to be afraid of."

> "I'm not afraid with all of you by my side"

Miyaji: "........! My lord… Yes. Don't leave our side, my lord."

> "Yeah, thank you."

Berrien: "No, it's the same to you... Thank you very much… for always being there for us."

I'm sure they will continue to fight. Even though they will be insulted by those uncaring people, they still fight while risking their lives to protect even such people…

For that reason, … I will not only watch from the audience. I want to stand on the same stage and support them by their side. That's what I thought… through this play.

End

Note: edited

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[skania]

Replies to AquaKane Asks (Part 1)

Tumblr has an image limit so I'll have to split my replies into different posts 😂

The first 30 replies are here under the cut, the rest will follow in a few days or so!

It's kind of crazy that it's been a month since you sent this message and we still don't know what's going to happen with Miyako and Ichigo lol

I think that's the part some people don't get. Aqua didn't need to date Akane to protect her, he could've simply stayed close friends with her. He chose to enter a romantic relationship with her after deciding that it may be okay for him to fall in love. Aqua isn't the self-serving type, he couldn't even bring himself to lead Akane on back when he wanted to use her. Why would he start to do so after he no longer wants to use her?

Yeah some of the comment sections feel like echo-chambers. Doesn't matter though, the entire fandom could be against it and I'd still find Aqua and Akane's dynamic the most compelling in the manga. Not my fault Aka's writing (so far) has been at his best when it comes to them 😂

Lmao you're right, she has been the closest to therapy that he has gotten so far 😂

I'm curious about how Mengo would portray Akane, but I'm keeping my expectations very low. Better to be surprised if it happens than to be disappointed if it doesn't. I wouldn't mind getting a chapter about Himekawa though!

Thanks anon!! I think the characters involved in the movie arc are supposed to be the ones that will be important to the narrative, but we'll have to wait and see. It may take years at this point considering the constant breaks, so if that keeps up I may also just drop it and pick it up again when Akane shows up lol

I'm quite late so I hope you've been having good days, anon!

I'm not sure if Aka would let Mengo write anything that is actually plot-relevant, but I'd love to be wrong! Personally, I think seeing Akane's colleagues react to to the current her would be a nice .5 chapter, but seeing Akane may be too much to ask for at this point lol

Hmmm I think it'd be kind of forced to have Akane find the body, because why would she be looking for Yura in the first place? There's no way for her to know that there's a connection between her and Kamiki. That said, Aka literally had a Crow Child/Deus-ex-machina-in-wait show up when he needed to pull Ruby into the plot, so crazier things have happened 😂 I rolled with that so I'll roll with anything that brings back Akane back to the forefront.

In all honesty anon, I have been trying not to think about it so I can take whatever Aka comes up with in stride.

But the way I see it, Akane can more or less let Aqua have his way when it comes to the movie, but she needs to stop whatever is coming after. The best way to do it would be by finding an alternative way of bringing Kamiki to justice, but that won't take care of Aqua's guilt complex and of the reasons pushing him to sacrifice himself like that. So I'd like to imagine that Akane may recruit the help of the people close to Aqua in order to stand in his way and make him understand that his life has value, but that may just be wishful thinking on my part. It's hard to guess without having more insight into her current mindset.

I definitely do think that she hasn't gone after Kamiki again because Aqua asked her not to though, so Akane must've understood that she was going about things the wrong way. I hope that she has realized just how reckless she was being.

I don't think Frill needs to know the details, just knowing that they dated for that long and broke up recently is enough. Not to mention that the first thing Akane does after saying hi is asking how Aqua is, so I feel like it wasn't very hard to tell that pulling the Aqua card may catch Akane's interest.

I think Akane knows that Aqua is beyond the point where he can simply be talked out of his revenge, so she likely assumed that a conversation would lead them nowhere.

Anon it isn't only your brain, we definitely haven't gotten enough Akane 😢

(So sorry for the image quality of your ask, anon! I originally split it in two but Tumblr's image limit got in my way. I delete asks as I go so it's easier to keep track of what I have replied to, so I had to take a screenshot of my screenshot ;-;)

Personally, I respect that! I totally get why some people wouldn't feel comfortable with it. In my case, I've made my peace with it because it's not like he is an adult that magically found himself in a teenager's body and that is now hooking up with teenagers. He has lived as Aqua from birth, so he is going through puberty, growing-pains, etc. the way any boy his age would. At that point you have to make concessions, because it'd be unfair to expect him to wait until he is physically thirty to date someone. It'd also defeat the entire purpose of reincarnating, since this is supposed to be his chance at living a happier, more fulfilling life.

I think that as long as there isn't a big emotional and/or intellectual gap between him and the person he is dating, then it's all good. Luckily, Akane clears that condition pretty easily!

It'll be lots of fun to see Akane play one of them! I wonder if she will play the girl from Viewpoint B?

Don't Aqua and Goro share a tag? "Hoshino Aquamarine | Goro" is how it appears for me.

No worries anon! I have seen people trying to clearly separate Aqua and Goro but I don't think things necessarily work that way, so I understand why you had a hard time doing so. Do let me know if you had a breakthrough, though!

Thanks for asking anon! I do have Twitter but I rarely use it, so Tumblr is definitely where I go talk fandom :D

Anon I've already written like thirty posts about it lol

Ideally? I'd love for Akane to:

Realize that Aqua is Goro and confront him about it

Team up with Ruby and everyone else in order to accomplish her goal of saving Aqua

Be instrumental in getting Kamiki

Recognize her own worth and to have a heart to heart with Aqua, because if they end up together I'd like it to be after Akane is certain that she isn't sharing his heart

I'd also love for her to continue being recognized for how brilliant she is as an actress and to keep getting all the prizes under the sun, because she deserves all of them.

All in all, I want her to end the manga feeling happy and fulfilled with all aspects of her life!

No can do, anon! I want you all to trust me that if you ask me to keep something private, I will keep it private 😂

Don't remind me anon, I want the answer to all those questions too!! 😭

Thank you so much for your kind words, anon! I think the one carrying the fandom on his back is Aka, so he better feed us something soon 😂

Now that you mention it, I think I don't! I've been trying to stick to their relationship the way it's presented in the manga, so that hasn't left me much room to imagine what they're like when we don't see them. I'll definitely think about it, though!

edit: after reading another anon ask, I'd like to headcanon that Aqua snuck in Akane's graduation ceremony and/or at least watched her from afar lol

I think my issue with that line of thinking are the implications. Because if Aqua was never willing and/or open to the possibility of falling for her, then that means that he was leading her on when he decided to date her for real, which would be incredibly selfish of him and very unfair to Akane. Personally, I would not ship Akane with Aqua if I thought that was the case.

Unless you're talking about something else?

In either case, I do agree that it would be great to get a third kiss with a proper confession!

My thoughts about that are here 1 and here 2!

Thank you so much for dropping by anon, I'm happy you've enjoyed the read!

NOOOOO I didn't think of that! You're right, Akane must have graduated by now :( Okay this calls for a headcanon, hopefully Aqua found a way to sneak in and see her from afar 😭

The stairs leading to the bridge are next to a road while the stairs in ch 116 are surrounded by grass and trees, so I'm afraid they aren't the same anon.

I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the AquaKane bridge makes its grand comeback, though :D

I'd love to say yes anon, I'd have loved to see Akane tell Aqua some of the things Aqua told Ruby 😭 But in truth, I think that Aqua wouldn't be able to move on knowing that Ruby and Ichigo were planning to have revenge. So I think that if Aqua and Akane had been honest to each other during that conversation, the best case scenario would be AquaKane working together and coming up with a less self-destructive plan than the one they came up with on their own.

That would be amazing, anon! I love the way you think and I'm praying Aka will think the same lmao

Thank you for the kind words too, I'm honored!

My advice would be to just mute it/block it, anon! I never joined it because I always avoid joining subreddits for fandoms involving love triangles, but I did check it while the anime was airing because it seemed like an easy way to keep up with news and translations. After that, Reddit wouldn't stop recommending random posts to me, and just like you I sometimes bit the bait as well. So I just muted it. Out of sight, out of mind lol

I think whether or not that works for you would also depend on what you get from checking the subreddit. For example, if you just check it to keep up with Onk news, you may as well follow the OnK Twitter accounts to get the news straight from the source.

Good question, anon! It is entirely possible that feeling like her bond with him was just adding to Aqua's guilt, aka the opposite of what she wanted, brought her to tears.

Personally, I do think that played a part in it but I also think there's another reason to why Akane's demeanor changes. When they talk on the bridge, Akane says that she doesn't quite understand what kind of relationship she has with Aqua and what she feels for him. In Chapter 78, she begins her speech by saying that she can finally put her feelings into words. Not to mention, one thing is thinking about the possibility of parting ways with someone and another thing is actually doing it.

So I think that once the moment of truth comes, Akane finds that parting ways with Aqua is more painful than she thought it would be :(

No, as far as we know Aqua and Akane have never addressed how they feel for each other 😭

Hello there anon!

Hmmm I don't have anything against that take either, if people enjoy their relationship and find that it resonates more with them that way, then good for them!

I personally don't see them that way though, since we have Aqua outright admitting that he feels lust and and that he has "definitely" thought about it. We also have Akane blushing up a storm when she remembers Aqua kissing her, wanting Aqua to see her in that gorgeous dress she wore when she received the award, etc. So I think that Akane is just inexperienced and Aqua on the emotionally-stunted side due to all the trauma he has gone through.

That's just my personal take, though!

I have to agree, anon! The way I see it, there are two possible reasons for why it was skipped: either we're going the AquaKane route (so it's being saved for later because it'd say too much) or we aren't (so it was skipped because it isn't relevant).

So if Aka is going for AquaKane, then I do definitely think we'll see some flashbacks to their time together as we go!

[zhongrin]

if you support your friends' selfships may i know why you said "if you don't want to "share" f/os, you do you, but please dni" in the rules? /genQ

sure! i'll try to put my views into words... hmmm....

you see, i selfship a lot and i support a lot of my friends' selfships, which has a huge varieties of characters involved in them. i'm not gonna stop enjoying my own selfships or stop supporting my friends' selfships if your f/o(s) coincidences with them. hence, i think maintaining a friendship would be an illogical course of action, because this would be unfair to you, yet imposing the opposite would be unfair to me.

plus, if all of your f/o(s) coincides with mine (seeing as they're very popular characters and i know a lot of people like them), what am i supposed to do in this situation? i'd like to respect you and not talk about my selfships when we talk, but you would be free to talk about them? that sounds like the start of a very unbalanced, one-way friendship, and i'd rather not be involved in that.

to be clear, i have nothing against's people who completely don't wish to 'share' their f/os. you can have a multitude of valid reasons for that, and i can respect that. honestly, as long as you're not going around bashing people just because they just so happen to ship themselves with your f/o(s) or something along that line, i personally think you're fine. i just don't want to be in any sort of relationships with anyone like that - because given my circumstances and values, it would just overcomplicate a lot of things, and i can't ever see it going smoothly as it develops.

hope that's a coherent enough explanation!

[lurkingshan]

BL/QL Ask game : The Ugly, the Bad and the Worst

Tagged by @clara-maybe-ontheroad to start some trouble. There are a lot of these, so I'm mostly going to do quick hits and maybe expand on a few that really get me going.

The categories are:

Worst soundtrack / weirdest song choice in a BL

It would be easier to list the BL soundtracks that are not horrible (offense intended).

Most cringe-inducing line (cute)/Most cringe-inducing line (actually bad)

I'm so bad at remembering specific lines of dialogue unless I think they're beautiful/heart-wrenching, so I got nothing.

Most stupid decision made by a character

In a BL?? Baby, I do not have all day.

Worst plot line

Hmmm I'm gonna give in to recency bias and say faking amnesia to get your fiancé to love you again after you iced him out and denied him sex for four years because of your tiger attack-related PTSD (no I am not making that up, never change actually Naughty Babe).

The most problematic show you've watched

Problematic is in the eye of the beholder, so honestly who can say.

A show people love but you find bad

LOLOLOL. There are. So many. Probably the one with the wildest fandom fervor :: Shan personal enjoyment ratio is KinnPorsche.

A show people find bad but you will defend

Theory of Love and y'all stay wrong about this. It is easily one of the best early Thai bls and the writing, character development, and narrative structure are all excellent, but people hate slutty characters so they can't deal with it.

A show that is just objectively bad but you enjoyed it/were horny/because of that one character

Why r u? What can I say, I'm a Fighter/Tutor girlie.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were intrigued/fascinated

Hmmm I usually just drop it if I'm truly not having fun. I guess you could count me finishing Minato's Laundromat 2 despite knowing any hope for it was over at the end of episode 9. I just needed to see how mad I was going to be in the end (pretty damn mad).

A bad show that you would still recommend

There is too much BL nowadays to be trifling with the bad shit.

The character that ruined a show the most/most awful character that you hated

PLERN PLENG (Together With Me). cc: @bengiyo the co-president of the Plern Pleng antis.

Most awful character that you loved

Boston, a beautiful chaos demon (Only Friends).

A character that wasn't awful but that you just don't like

Anyone played by Podd or Jimmy (it's their faces I can't stand them sorry to those men).

A hero that should have been a villain

This is an interesting one! I’m not sure this counts, but I’ll just say I did not love the way The Untamed white washed Wei Wuxian and removed his culpability for all his worst choices (I recognize this was largely due to censorship). I much prefer the more morally complex and deeply flawed version of him we got in MDZS.

A morally bad character you're into/you're not into and you wish people would stop being into

I don't believe in holding fictional characters to real life moral standards. Bad behavior makes for good stories.

The show that disappointed you the most

Let me take this opportunity to drag Plus & Minus again, a show that had all the right ingredients to be a top tier friends to lovers narrative and absolutely blew it to do some beyond clichéd noble idiocy and breakup bs that violated character and undercut the relationship to such a degree that I can never rewatch or enjoy anything about it again.

The Worst Show of Them All Because of Your Own Reasons

Hmm I do not have one. It's rare for me to not be able to find something of value in any media I consume.

Tagging @chickenstrangers @sorry-bonebag @kayatoasted @blmpff @twig-tea in case you want to play!

[i-will-steal-your-intestines]

Hi, you probably don't remember me, but you reblogged my art a few years back! Since the 2nd of September, 2022, I could not stop thinking about the tags you left on this post:

I mean that in a good way! I have no idea who you are, but I promised myself that I would remake my art better and make a pizza combination that would make you proud... (and yes, I have NOT stopped thinking about it in the last 2 years. in fact, I go back to this past just to giggle at the tags you left every so often) So, you can respond to this if you like, but what would YOU think is the best pizza combination if Tom and Harry were to order one? P.S. Asking this since I'm revamping my banner and I so badly want to change their pizza order, who better else than to ask you what would do them justice? (I've also updated the art so if you wanna check that out LMAO)

hiii, I definitely remember your art, and I’m flattered that my very silly comments that I made when I was probably half awake and sleep deprived at a very late hour managed to make you giggle.

“what would YOU think is the best combination if Tom and Harry were to order one?”

Man, I honestly don’t know 🤔…

I saw this ask like a few hours after you sent it, and I was like hmmm, and I spent quite a bit pondering on it, and I’ve been pondering on it since, but i’m still not sure..

Yk, I feel like he (Voldemort, that is, or Tom) probably doesn’t like pizza. idk. he just doesn’t seem the type. if he did, he’d probably like something like Prosciutto e funghi, Margherita, and..maybe a veg pizza? with like, olives and stuff? maybe not?? idk.

thin crust or thick crust? thin.

-

Harry, I think he’d like Caprese, Pepperoni, Margherita, Quattro Formaggi, etc (maybe even pineapple and ham?? 👀)

and thin crust or thick crust? probably both. maybe…I noticed that in the uk, thin crust is more prevalent over thick, thick crust seems to be more of an American thing…i think he’d prob still like it tho, he’d demolish a deep dish pizza anytime.

So if they were to order a combo, maybe it could b a combination of some of these. Anyways yeah.

honoured that u value my opinion enough and thought to ask me.

(Btw, I went to look for the updated art u mentioned, but I couldn’t find it…I bet it’s just as cute and nice as the original though! I rlly like ur artstyle)