#is EXTREMELY concerning not for just the implications of what happens to them and what they see along the way

[heytheredelulu]

I was wondering if you could do maybe a like feral Bucky? Like maybe they trigger the soldat and instead of him fallowing their orders he goes after the shy curvy little intern of Tony’s? They’ve both been too shy to make a move. I’m cool with whatever spin you put on it, I LOVE your writing.

(Love all your normal kinks so feel free to add those too as you see fit! )

Thank you lovely 🥰 Can’t wait to drool over more of your writing lol

I took this and RAN with it.

It ended up becoming much longer than I had anticipated so this one will be broken up into two parts.

I struggled with trying to incorporate Bucky being triggered after the reader already being somewhat aquatinted with him, pining after him, etc. so I went the route I did and I hope it fulfills your request!

Part one will be mostly just plot building with a spicy cliff hanger leading us into a part two of pure smut.

Ready to Comply - Part One - Anon Request

Bucky Barnes x Plus Size Reader

ALL OF MY WORK IS 18+

Word Count: 2.5k

C/W: Language, discussion/implications of violence and murder, choking, blood (Bucky is strugglin’ and bites his own hand), a lil sexual tension in prep for part two, he sniffs her coochie, okay?

“Okay, stop. Stop that.” Tony whispered out of the corner of his mouth. You shot him a glance and tugged at your skirt one more time for good measure. He lets out an exasperated sigh and rolls his eyes. “You look fine, Rookie. Very professional. Is that what you needed to hear?”

You scoff and shake your head. “That’s no- I’m not fishing for compliments, I genuinely hate dressing like a fucking secretary.” You grumble, drawing a laugh out of Tony. “And don’t call me ‘Rookie.’” You add with a prod to his chest. He brushes the front of his suit jacket sarcastically in response to your poke and raises his hands defensively, a soft chuckle rising from his throat.

“A fucking secretary? Really? It’s business professional. Did you think I could let you stand next to me in a press conference wearing an old t-shirt and some torn up jeans? We need to create a semblance of professionalism.” He gestures to his own attire with a grin and there’s a teasing glint in his eye as he continues.

“And what’s wrong with ‘Rookie’? You’re my little protégé.” He jests, reaching like he’s going to pinch your cheek as if you were some adorable little toddler. You frown, swatting his hand away and brings it to his chest, clutching it dramatically. “Wow, you’re going to assault your friend, mentor and extremely rich and handsome boss?” He jokes, feigning offense.

“The only accurate adjective in that sentence is ‘boss’, Sir.” You reply dryly, crossing your arms. The corners of his lips twitch into a sly smile and he nudges you with his elbow. “I’ll accept if you don’t agree with friend and mentor.” He starts, pressing his lips into a pout. “But I might actually get a little offended if you refuse to acknowledge how devastatingly handsome I am.”

You groan in annoyance and roll your eyes, preparing a witty comeback when Pepper Potts rounds the corner with a tablet cradled in her arm, a phone nestled between her ear and shoulder and an expression of concern written across her face.

“Everything alright?” Tony asks, placing a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Don’t tell me.. another offer for People’s ‘sexiest man alive’? I keep telling them, I can’t be on the cover every ye-“ Tony stops mid sentence as Pepper’s manicured forefinger lands on his lips, effectively silencing him.

“Yes. Okay. Understood. Thank you.” She says curtly into the phone before disconnecting the call. “That was Fury. We have an issue. A Barnes issue.”

Your brows furrow at this. “What’s happened with Bucky?” You ask, a sense of dread creeping up your spine. He’d been all but isolated since he’d moved into the Avenger’s tower alongside his best friend Steve Rogers and you couldn’t imagine him being the source of an issue with how reserved this man was. You weren’t at all oblivious to his past- it had been global wide news after all, but in the months since his de-conditioning in Wakanda he had been making great strides towards recovery, working to make amends.

Though your interactions with the ex-assassin had been few, he’d always been polite and kind towards you. You’d felt so out of place among the Avengers, being Tony’s intern. You weren’t on the team, hell, a few of them didn’t even know your name despite you having been trailing behind Tony for the last year. Maybe it was your own fault, considering you hadn’t really made an effort to talk to any of them but aside from the fact that they were all extremely intimidating, you were naturally a shy and quiet person.

You quickly push the self deprecating thoughts from your head. You didn’t care about any of that. You shouldn’t. It wasn’t as if you wanted to be on the team, or were there to make friends, you were here as an engineer, to learn from who was arguably the most intelligent man on the planet. Perhaps that’s why Bucky had always been cordial to you more than some of the others living here. Maybe he gravitated towards you, as someone who constantly felt so out of place, because he felt that way here as well.

Or maybe he thought you were cute.

Oh fuck, if only.

You couldn’t deny your attraction to the man or that you’d been quietly crushing on him practically since you’d started your internship. Every small interaction with Bucky left a blush on your cheeks and a kaleidoscope of butterflies flitting about your belly.

The thought of someone as absurdly good looking as Bucky fucking Barnes finding you attractive was enough to spark a surge of heat straight to your abdomen.

No, get it together. Now’s not the time.

You mentally scold your vagina for having the nerve to throb at the mere mention of Bucky Barnes regardless of the context and turn your attention back to Pepper and Tony as they argued in hushed whispers.

“What’s happened with Bucky?” You repeat, knowing they likely won’t clue you in if it’s related to Avenger’s business.

Tony offers a nervous smile and exchanges a quick glance with his wife before he checks his watch. “Terminator? He’s fine. I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably holed up with security for setting off the metal detector.” He pauses and then snaps his fingers. “Or maybe he walked past the junkyard on fifth and got snatched up by the hydraulic magnet.” He says, lifting a hand and miming a crane.

Pepper lets out a soft sigh and your gaze flicks to her. “Yeah, a big magnet or something.” She mumbles, turning her attention back to her tablet. “I don’t think that’s-“ Your cut off by Tony’s hand on the small of your back, urging you forward. “Enough about Robocop. We’re on, Rookie.” He says, his nervous expression falling away and quickly being replaced with a mask of professionalism. “Let’s go unveil our project to the press.” Pepper moves to open the door for you both and before you can open your mouth to tell Tony that if he calls you ‘rookie’ one more time you were going to strangle him with his overpriced tie, your senses are overwhelmed with an onslaught of overlapping voices and camera shutters.

You toss your blazer over the desk in your quaint office and slump over into the chair, trying not to let your mind run wild with anxious thoughts about the press conference. Despite your best efforts you couldn’t help but worry that you probably looked like a deer in headlights up at the podium alongside Tony.

You huff and rest your chin on the back of your hand, glancing over at the computer screens. Your attention is immediately drawn to security footage from one of the conference rooms when you see movement on the monitor. You lean in with your brows furrowed. It’s late and no one should be in the conference room. You expand the image and can clearly make out Tony and Steve moving about the room with tense body language.

You hover over the footage with your mouse and hesitate. You know that you absolutely should not eavesdrop on the two men but once Tony’s hands begin angrily gesturing around you give in to temptation and turn on the audio.

“What the hell do you mean, ‘back up?’” Tony shouts, beginning to pace the room.

Steve leans forward with his palms on the table and his head bowed slightly. “It’s exactly what I said, Tony.” He replies, his biceps flexing as he grips the table. “HYDRA had a fail safe. They’d planted a back up activation incase he would ever manage to be deprogrammed.” He looks up at Tony with a solemn expression. “They got to him. I should’ve been there, I should’ve-“

Tony holds out a hand, his other resting against his temple as he tries to comprehend what Steve is telling him. “Well you weren’t and they did so know we have to figure out how the fuck we navigate this.” He says firmly, shaking his head. “Do we have eyes on him? Is he in the building?”

Steve sighed and stood upright from the table. “No. He’s in the wind. We lost contact with him a few hours ago.” He admits, running a hand through his hair. “But there’s something you need to know.” He adds, looking at Tony with concern as he begins to pace again.

“Well spit it out, Rogers!” Tony yells, stopping and turning back to Steve.

“Nat received some intel. The hit HYDRA ordered is on you and your intern.” He says so quietly you can barely pick it up on the audio. Fear crawls up your spine and your hand trembles as you increase the volume on the security feed, while your heartbeat in your ears becomes near deafening.

Tony stiffens, slowly approaching Steve. “You wanna tell me why?” He asks, his voice low and dangerous. Steve nods. “The new tech you unveiled today.“ He explains.

Tony sighs, understanding why one of their enemies would be threatened by what the two of you had been working on and reaches to loosen his tie. “I’ll take Pepper and move her to the safe house before I meet you at a rendezvous point. Send someone to get my Rookie and get her off the grid. I don’t want her alone for a single second.” He says in an exasperated tone, reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out his cell phone as he stalks towards the door.

“And Rogers?” He asks, turning around one last time, his hand curled tight around the doorknob. Steve’s head snaps up and he looks at Tony with guilt ridden eyes. “Yeah?”

“Find Barnes.”

Find Barnes.

The statement echoes in your ears, sending your thoughts spinning as if a category five hurricane were waging inside your head.

No. No, no, no.

There’s a hit out on you?

To be carried out by the fucking Winter Soldier.

Oh you were so fucked.

You scoot your chair back, bracing your hands on the desk to stand with wobbly knees.

Bile rises in your throat as you take a slow step backwards, bumping the chair in your state of panic and knocking your jacket off the workbench. You jump at the sound of it slipping to the floor and clutch your chest as a result of inducing your own jumpscare and take slow breaths to steel your nerves before you bend down to pick it up. As you rise back upright, your gaze connects with a pair of vacant, icy blue eyes in the shadows across the room and your entire body seizes in terror.

He’s not in the wind.

He’s been in here with you this entire goddamned time.

“B-Bucky?” You stutter, bringing your jacket to your chest and grasping it until your knuckles turn white. Maybe Steve and Tony were wrong. Maybe Nat’s intel was wrong. Maybe this was all a huge misunderstanding and you weren’t about to die at the hands of the ex-assassin you’ve been pining over for nearly a year.

He takes a step forward from the shadows, his face expressionless and his eyes unblinking without a single trace of emotion behind them.

Okay, yeah. You’re fucked.

“Sergeant Barnes?” You whisper, almost a plea to the man you knew, locked away somewhere in the brain of the cold and calculated killer standing in front of you.

He doesn’t speak, doesn’t register your words, as he crosses the lab in a few quick strides and catches your throat in his cybernetic hand.

Oh god.

The air leaves your lungs, his grip tightening around your windpipe as his face remains blank.

You’re going to die.

So why are you so fucking turned on?

Heat pools low in your abdomen, your core flooding with arousal, coupled with fear and unbridled lust.

Your mouth falls open in a silent cry as you gasp and thrash in his grip, your thick thighs rubbing together with every kick and flail, doing nothing to alleviate the throbbing ache in your cunt.

God this is so wrong.

His brows furrow, the first hint of emotion since he stepped out of the shadows. His head tilts inquisitively and his grip slackens around your throat as he leans in, tracing his nose across your jaw line and inhaling deeply. You still, your face contorting in confusion as you swallow hard against his palm, leaning your body into his hold.

His eyes narrow as he pulls away from you and you take the opportunity to suck in a breath, massaging your neck gently while your gaze drops to observe his hands clenching and unclenching into fists at his sides.

“Bucky?” You ask, wondering what’s caused the sudden shift in his demeanor, wondering if maybe he’s somehow snapped out of the trance he’d been in. He’s still and silent for a long moment, his head bowed as his chest rises and falls heavily with every breath.

“Sergeant Barnes, are yo-“

His head snaps up, effectively silencing you.

Your mouth remains agape, stuck on your last word and as he watches you with predatory eyes, taking menacing steps toward you, you can’t seem to find your voice any longer. You stumble backwards, losing your balance and falling back against the desk, unable to regain your footing before his hands grip the flesh of your bare thighs.

He tilts you backwards, your back colliding hard with the surface of the desk, stealing the breath out of your chest. He drops to his knees, splaying his palms against your thighs, the hem of your dress rising up to expose your panties as he spreads your legs wide before him and drags his nose across the fabric.

He groans.

He fucking groans.

“You’re my mission.” He breathes out, eyes wild and fingers digging into the flesh of your thighs as if he were fighting to physically restrain himself.

“I know.” You whimper, lifting your head to look down at him over the soft curve of your stomach.

“I’ve been ordered to kill you.” He chokes out, pressing his forehead against your inner thigh and drawing in a deep and shuddering breath.

“Then why haven’t you?” You ask in a broken whisper.

He turns his head and mumbles something incoherently, his breath ghosting against the damp fabric of your underwear and sending a wave of arousal crashing through your core. He stiffens, curling his flesh hand into a fist and bringing it to his mouth, biting down on his knuckles as he swallows back a moan.

He shakes his head, his teeth pressing into his skin hard enough to draw blood and you move to sit up, leaning on your palms as you look down at him where he’s slotted between your legs, visibly trembling.

He rises quickly to his feet, his left hand shooting out to curl around your neck again and he drops his bloodied flesh hand to his side.

“Because..” He says through clenched teeth, inhaling sharply as the cool metal of his thumb strokes the column of your throat.

“I can’t fucking focus when all I can smell-“

His free hand roughly cups your pussy over your panties, his voice trailing off as he kneads his palm against the thin, wet fabric.

He growls, tightening his grip around your throat and jerking you up to him, forcing you to meet his threatening gaze.

His expression grows pained and he whimpers, dipping his head to meet your forehead with his own, his breath fanning across your face with every heave of his chest.

“All I can smell is how wet you are.”

Taglist (Taglist is open):

@suz7days @blackbirdwitch22 @truthfulliarr @lilacka

Part two

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

My thoughts on that line

Spoilers below for "Flash Strike"

"I've changed." "Sure you have."

I'm not gonna lie, hearing Rampart's words with the close up and sinister music did unnerve me. Because why frame the shot like that? What's the implication of Rampart's words? Does this mean Crosshair is going to prove Rampart right? Honestly, I don't think so. If anything, he will prove him wrong.

Rampart hasn't seen Crosshair's journey. He didn't watch "The Outpost" or "Tipping Point." He certainly didn't watch the first half of S3. Time and time again, we've seen where Crosshair's loyalty lies. And it's to his family. Rampart has seen Crosshair at his worst and only knows that side to him. Rampart himself is incapable of changing. He went to prison for at least 5-6 months and learned nothing. Crosshair went to prison for 5-6 months and realized just how badly he messed up. My guess, Rampart is projecting on to him.

And maybe there is some truth to Rampart's words about how Crosshair is only loyal to himself. But consider the reason why Crosshair didn't say anything about Rampart knowing a way to get Tantiss' location. Crosshair is traumatized and his hand shakes as a result. He is going to do everything he can to protect himself from reliving that experience. I don't blame him. I'll use myself as an example. I have anxiety. Sometimes, it gets so bad that I'll go to extreme lengths to bring myself back into a state of feeling "safe." Mental health is a very difficult thing to deal with. For Crosshair, this means doing everything he can to keep himself and his family away from Tantiss.

However, when Omega gets taken back, Crosshair puts his own worries aside for her. He might say to Wrecker that he "owes her," but his actions show that their relationship is so much more than that. Crosshair clearly loves Omega, but he's not the kind of person to openly admit things. Heck, he didn't voice his concerns to his brothers til Ep. 12. If Crosshair had no care for Omega whatsoever, he wouldn't have gone back. We wouldn't have had that argument between him and Hunter in "The Return." Crosshair would do anything for her.

In conclusion, Crosshair has changed. He's realized what truly matters to him (his family) and will do anything he can to protect them. He's also become more comfortable being open around them. I said in one BB analysis of mine that he's not guided by some giant moral compass. He's guided by whoever he's loyal to. And that just so happens to be his family. But Rampart isn't like Crosshair; he truly is in it only for himself. Thus, he can't fathom someone going to extreme lengths for others. I have a feeling Rampart will realize that his statement was wrong and it's going to be a satisfying moment.

[the-curious-butterfly]

A Dappling (or was it called Appling?) short.

PLOT TWIST

After word got out that it was her instead of Daring who woke up Apple, Darling half expected to be chased out of Ever After with torches and pitch forks.

Perhaps not exactly to that extreme but at least something to that extent. She expected mad looks, curses (both literal and verbal) being thrown her way, and an angry mob of princes she could definitely beat in a fight if they lined up one by one. If they came at her all at once, however, it could prove just a tad bit more difficult but she’s pretty sure she can still win against that too.

But she digresses, the point is she expected things to get very bad and very awkward. Well they got awkward alright but not in the very bad way, though she couldn’t really call it the good way either. More like they got awkward in the “okay, I guess this is happening” sort of way.

No, once word had reached a certain person in particular that she, a princess no less, woke Apple from her cursed slumber it took no time at all for her to find herself in the office of one Snow White. The mother of said previously cursed princess and also the Queen of Ever After. And by no time at all she meant no time at all, she doesn’t even remember how she got here or when this semi-large packet came to be in her hands.

Darling decided to ignore the concerning implications that thought had and instead looked down to find in big bold fancy red letters the words: ‘So You Want to Marry My Sweet Apple Dumpling do You?’

There was another phrase underneath with the word ‘Daring’ in it but it had been hastily crossed out so Darling couldn’t exactly read it.

‘Wait….marry?!’

“Ummm, your majesty, what is this?”

The Queen places down her mug with the words ‘fairest of them all’ onto her desk before finally addressing Darling.

“Darling please, call me Snow. We are soon to be family after all.”

“Right…Snow.” It felt so weird to call her by her first name. Not just because she was the Queen but also because Darling was a knight and thus was more use to addressing others the way a knight would, with formality and respect. “What do you mean by soon to be?”

“What do you mean by what do I mean? Will you or will you not be proposing to Apple?” The Queen narrowed her eyes at Darling as if telling her to think carefully about her answer.

“Your majest- I mean Snow, I would love to propose to Apple some day it’s just that you know I thought that you, hex that the entire realm would be upset I wasn’t Daring. Plus we’re both still in school and all.”

“Nonsense, Darling, all Apple’s destiny truly calls for is a Charming, and from what I hear you certainly live up to your namesake. Besides, I’ll have you know the first Snow White was married before she even started school.” (I’m so sorry, I hated learning this but the original Snow White apparently was somewhere around 14 and I completely understand if you want to beat me up for bringing it to your attention.)

“I’m not so sure if that’s something to be proud of, your majesty.” The words were out before Darling could even remind herself who she was saying them to.

“Oh I completely agree, that was the one part of my story I thought was utterly ridiculous.” Phew “Which is why I waited until senior year.”

“Wait, you were also poisoned while attending Ever After High?”

“Darling, I’ll let you in on a secret, most stories end up happening at Ever After High. Hex, as soon as the Evil Queen saw me she tried to poison me. Every day was a fight for my life, those were the best four years I could have ever after wished for.”

“…oh….kay” was all Darling could really think to say.

“Now if you will, turn to page seven.”

“Page seven?” Snow gestured to the packet Darling had forgotten was in her hands. “Oh hex, forgive me I-“ she went completely dead silent as soon as she saw the first few words the page contained.

Heirs and You

“Now granted, this was written with Daring in mind so I never thought I needed to add this which is why I’m saying it now. I don’t mind adoption but your first child must be a product of both you and Apple thus I took the liberty of getting in contact with a renown enchantress who I am certain will be able to help you and…Darling?!”

A loud thud reverberated throughout the room as the knight had passed out before Snow could even finish saying her name.

~~~

Apple come quick, your mother is traumatizing your Prince Charming.

[thatgirl4815]

Intimacy (Ep4)

So there is a lot of behind the scenes work happening in this episode, diving into character histories and further developing how they've come to find themselves in the relationships they're in. All of these details will likely play a large role in how each couples' bonds deepen or widen.

RaySand

Ray's behavior gets a lot of context this episode, particularly in regards to Mew, who he is still crushing on. Because this is such a big plot point this episode, it has a lot of subtle implications for Ray's burgeoning relationship with Sand. Forgive me while I go on a tangent about Ray...

It's become clear--and I think Ray himself even realizes this--that Ray's feelings for Mew are more about the role Mew can fulfill rather than the person Mew really is. How many times does Ray say "No one loves me" in that opening scene? Ray needs so desperately to feel that someone loves him, and he's grown accustomed to being called a brat and a burden because he sees himself that way too.

Ray tells Mew that he isn't looking for a real relationship, but he seems to crave one. I think though that if Ray did date Mew, he would find himself in a similar situation as what he is (eventually) going to find with Sand: having someone love him is all he wants, but the threat of that person leaving him is worse than receiving no love at all. The thought of having Mew return his feelings is perfect because it's just a fantasy--a reflection of what he needs to feel whole again.

Ray turns back to Sand to distract himself from Mew, but Ray's relationship with Sand is going to show him what happens when the fantasy of being loved by someone becomes a reality. Being loved means acknowledging all of the hurt and pain that Ray has likely worked so hard to suppress in the years since his mother's death.

Ray and Sand are edging closer and closer to the edge of the "feelings" abyss, and at the moment, Sand is still the only one who seems aware of it. They've already developed an intimate relationship physically, but small gestures like this reflect the emotional intimacy they're working towards. That's what could end up destroying both of them.

TopMew

Top and Mew make more headway as far as physical intimacy this episode, but their emotional intimacy has taken a few steps back from the steady incline it's been on so far...Mew just doesn't know it yet. The trust they have in one another is going to be put to the test again and again as Top tries to conceal the truth about his hookup with Boston.

While I admire how strongly Mew holds to his convictions, particularly where sex is concerned, something still feels missing from their relationship both emotionally and physically. I can't decide if it's intentional or not. If it's intentional, perhaps it's meant to reflect that all is not as it seems between them, that there are still substantial barriers they'll have to overcome to make their relationship work (trust issues, for one). Part of it might also be that we have witnessed Top try again and again to win Mew over, but Mew still seems resistant in any case. Again, I don't blame him given Top's reputation, but even when he opens up, Mew still comes across extremely guarded, almost as if he isn't completely sold on being in a relationship at all.

This might just be my take on it. I'm curious if anyone else feels similarly. I want to be invested in Top and Mew's relationship, but the very obvious cheating and lying going on is making it difficult for me to anticipate a happy ending, and it casts a cloud over their intimate scenes already. (Again, probably intentional. I'm anxious to see where it'll go from here.)

BostonNick

Boston never changes. He plays Nick like a fiddle. The only change we see between them this episode comes from Nick's side, with him finally admitting verbally that he's into Boston (as if we did not already know that). I find it funny that Nick agrees with everyone who tells him that Boston is bad news, yet he's just as down bad as before. I think Nick takes the cake for most pathetic character on the show (*affectionate*)...can't say I condone his obvious spying and breaking into Boston's phone though. At least Nick has flaws too, otherwise Boston would be blowing him out of the water as far as negative traits are concerned.

Boston's ego is also extremely apparent in every scene with Nick. I think Boston likes knowing that Nick is developing feelings, even if he has no intention of returning them. He sees himself as a prize, and Nick's affection just reaffirms that (something he desperately needs while Top is rejecting him).

Boston and Ray both take the cake as far as getting back into Nick and Sand's good graces though. Those cheek kisses and puppy dog eyes haven't failed them yet.

(Not entirely related, but I am not ready for Boston and Nick to crash RaySand's makeout session next week. Let the boys kiss in peace please.)

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Idk if this is interesting but since you brought up the French versions tu/vous situation: in German ganondorf straight up uses the royal "you" for rauru where you refer to a person with the plural pronoun and calls him your majesty and such, while rauru also uses the informal you (du) and his first name for him. Which kinda had me shocked, because in fantasy media kings usually refer to each other with the royal you! It definitely felt disrespectful. But also in the German version ganondorf says, roughly translated: "we ask to be allowed to return (to our place) under the umbrella of the kingdom hyrule, if you'd allow us this grace." So here it's implied the gerudo used to be a vessel state and freed themselves, and STILL he gives them "repeated invitations "??? It's soo off-putting

Hey, thanks for the ask and the absolutely wild input!!

So I did a post a billion years ago detailing my feelings about the french translation of the Show of Fealty scene, its tl;dr being: it's wild they decided to go for the the tu/vous distinction because it just adds 26 layers of subtext to the entire exchange --and I don't know how this works in german, but using "tu" on a fellow adult during a show of power definitively has racist history if the context does apply (and here it's pretty hard not to see colonialist accents to the whole situation).

But it's absolutely buckwild that they gave the gerudos this notion of previously being a vassal state? but like when???? when did it happen, was it all... extremely recent history? like did Zelda just dropped at the end of some sort of unification war, where Ganondorf became a hero of his people for..... very concerning reasons? Like did they need a hero *in that context*?

(cue I need a hero etc my brain will now be haunted for the next day or so)

Like... I don't know I'm sorry if I go a bit insane, but I feel like the implication is either that Hyrule was founded in 10-15 years, given Sonia still looks pretty damn young, mid-thirties at most; or that Rauru/Mineru were trying to handle everything for far longer, and Sonia was a late addition to the picture? And so, in that time, they managed to convince everyone to do a kingdom about it --and that would mean the gerudos had time to either join first/be conquered first, and then revolt, and then join again? Like was Ganondorf forced to submit a first time as a younger king, and then return later with a Molduga army, zero-ing in on the Secret Stones, and then going all Demon King???

Yeah, from what I've seen from literal translations, that seems to be a german exclusive (unless I'm mistaken? let me know!) But it's pretty wild how such small changes in translation literally change the game's fabric and the story it tells.

[magpieinstitute]

Part 39 was absolutely fantastic, a great set-up for a series finale. Arthur is woefully under prepared to go into the Order of the Fallen Star, he's got many things on his mind and it's going to crash and burn and I can't wait to see how exactly that will happen.

Oh Noel... What a fascinating character, what a callback to the early days of the story! Finding out that he's Roland's old partner, and that he's been in the prison pits was a shock and a half! I absolutely love all the implications, the shape of the larger narrative that's emerging, it's so good!

I think it was extremely reckless of Arthur to spill the beans on John so suddenly, but I'm so glad it worked out and John got to have an actual conversation, a human connection with someone other than Arthur. He needed that so badly. To hear Arthur verbally thank John for his input in a conversation was especially great! And then John forgot...

This makes me perfectly sure that something deeper is wrong with John. It's not just pettiness, it's not resistance against Arthur's agency overpowering his own that he misses things or doesn't remember, there is something deeply off. He would not voluntarily forget a special experience like a conversation. Ever. It is deeply concerning and it makes me wonder if it's because he's a fragment and not a full Entity? That the further he drifts from the King, the more tenuous and shaky his grasp on his identity becomes until he can develop an actual self-image and form a new identity, free from the King. He cannot do that while he's so bound to Arthur. Arthur and John are individuals, but they're also one and the same. The one's mistake becomes the other's, they cannot be seen as separate beings. And for John especially, I think this is detrimental.

I think they need more discussions like they had in this episode where they ask each other what they're thinking about, what's on their mind. I think John needs to develop his sense of self so he can stand on his own without the King. And Arthur needs to respect that individuality more. Because John is right, he is a prisoner in there, as much as he's essential to Arthur.

Another thing I wanted to point out is Arthur's story. Meeting Percival again was a nice callback to a seemingly throwaway side point in an earlier episode, but the jury is still out on how important this second meeting will turn out to be. I feel like it's too coincidental, but we'll see where it goes. But the way Arthur told that story, it definitely means a lot to him. It's very introspective, and I think it reflects Arthur's fear that his end goals are going to be meaningless. Whenever John brings up separating them, Arthur glosses over it or dismisses it. I think he's gotten used to a passenger in his mind, and we already know he doesn't cope well with the absence of John. The woman is an interesting figure in that story. Is he hoping that something else will fill the void once he reaches his destination? I can't quite put my finger on the whole meaning yet, but I can't wait to return here in a year or so and cry about the inevitable gut punch it's going to be.

I'm also extremely amused by John asking if he's ever been in a fight (cold, calculating demeanour of someone not to fuck with my ass lol), promptly followed by one of the most violent beatings in a while. John's shock was delicious, but I think Arthur overdid it slightly lol. That aside, it was pretty funny overall.

In general, this was a great, well-paced episode and I am really looking forward to the next one. It's gonna be a doozy, I can feel it.

[survivalist-anon]

Log 13: Concerning Wolves

Sitting in Jame's office is a strange mix between having a candid conversation with an older friend and being in trouble I'm the principal's office.

"Young lady, I trust you know that you're about to embark on a rather tumultuous experience right?", his drawl was a bit more serious than usual. "This ain't like the movies where you know how things will turn out either.....things can go so far down south right into hell now that the Astartes are involved."

Remembering what had happened the night before, the circumstances of Grandpa's murder, and what I've seen, I had no excuses to ignore the dangers. "Yeah, I can see...... listen if it's about Jeff....and Fjord tossing the patrol car, he was trying to protect me. I didn't ask him to throw the car at Jeff a-", Jame's eyebrows arched up.

"He did what?", apparently he hadn't been told about that.

"Fuk. Well anyway....Jeff pulled his gun on me thinking I was someone trying to attack on him or something and Fjord reacted to protect. He was just doing his duty.", I could tell James was already going to reiterate the responsibility. A heavy sigh slide through his lips once more.

"It's ok, however Fjord's going to have to be kept on a tight leash and control himself around folks or he's gonna have to stay home. Do you understand me?", his tone felt like there was something else underneath.

"Ok...I understand sir....also....how....long you've known about all of this?", I ask only of curiosity...if he wasn't willing to tell me than that fine too.

James relaxed his seriousness and mellowed abit, taking out a photo album. "They've been here far longer than I have kid, in fact Aldercon was my great grandfather's Astartes. Way back when folks had come here for free land. He told me that Aldercon had come from the sky, landed squarely in the heart of the Wyoming wilderness. He was shellshocked, covered head to toe in blood and dirt....I remember stories of my grandfather and Aldercon, as wild as the tales of Paul Bunyan and Babe. The two had become folk legends out in the ol' West."

He opened the book to show me the first page, it was a collection of aged, photos from the late 1800's. One of the pictures was of Jame's grandfather, he really did come from an American lineage of cowboys. He was far more rugged than James however... I glanced at the tall, stockier man in a much more humble looking uniform, same black fist on his pauldron too. "Holy shit, this can't be him...for one he's smiling, and second, I thought -", I could see James giving me a look that said 'but you didn't '.

I could see a tiny difference between him from this photo and now. I can tell his hair was darker, I can definitely see that thousand yard stare of a man who's seen war, and his armor was slightly different from the Marines back at the fort.

James turned the page, this was one was a genuine surprise. "Even your great grandfather, had one.", next to him was a man fresh off the boat from Eastern Europe, my Great grandfather, dad for some reason or another was reluctant to tell me his real name...he kept calling him "Big George", after the Butcher Boy George from Hungarian folk lore. Then right next to him, probably helped bag a rather ominous looking bear, was Sten. That white stripe on his head wasn't present, he didn't change as much as Aldercon. This picture was even more older than James's granddad's photo.

"You see Lorey, they've been around for a while now....lord knows for how long though.". He began to reminisce about the past.

The implications of these Marines having been around is giving my inner history buff a massive concern. "Well....it would be extremely stupid to try to bargain the fact I thought they joking, but I'm starting to see...I take it this will be more complicated?".

He looks up at me, "Yes ... because just like with basic folks like us, there are bad folks....that big black one your grandpa wasn't lucky with....is one of them...there seems to be at least five or so kinds out there based on my sources.....one of them is out there right now reeking havoc near highly populated campsites..... Aldercon told me Sten and Toke will be in disposed of for the next week.... meanwhile have Fjord keep a sharp nose out for that one...it's the fastest I've seen of these ones....I'm not too familiar with the either...so I'm giving you a very special assignment. I need you to put your research training to go use."

He handed me a small leather bound journal.

"Keep track of them, now....let's go have some grub.", he gets up from his chair and pats my shoulder.

I sat there feeling something complex in me, I'm....going to catalog them? I open the journal and I SWEAR James has been screwing with me at least to this point....this journal aestheticly looked a DnD character sheet of it focused on identifying and profiling. I place it in my inner jacket pocket. "What the shit....", I still wasn't too sure of my role in all of this....I could understand why now.

I'm just part of a lineage of....marine handlers? I don't know.....

As I leave the room, I see the Fjord was getting a lesson in paper football from one of the volunteers.

James takes the desk bell and rings it to call the attention of everyone in the center. "Ladies, Gentlemen and folks. I would like to make an announcement, as of now. Be on high alert for any unusual activity. Anything and everything in regards to disappearances of livestock and or people, property damage of unexplained or unusual nature, and any purported sightings of creatures of unknown origin...I.e...NOT BIG FOOT.... We'll have to be reported to me, Lorey and Ronnie for the time being.

I figured Ronnie also got the information, I look at him and he was a little more on edge than I was.

Fjord, definitely knew what this whole deal was about.

With a ringing of the doorbell to the nursery, Shelly has brought in some new little guests.

"Oh guys come and see! The babies are opening their eyes!", Shelly, Ronnie and I have been researching the local wolf packs in the area and monitoring their behavior. One of the females under our care have recently gave birth a few days ago.

I check in the box as Shelly laid it on the table, 5 beautiful cubs. In their state, they're roughly two to three weeks old. As helpless as human babies. "Fjord, would you like to see them?"

He was a little curious, he walked over to see the five cubs. ".... they're so....small.... they're...just wee little things...".

I could see he was trying to piece together something....not certain what, but from my perspective he was wonder struck.

As the cubs peeped and whimpered, as all cubs do, one has just opened it's eyes. Showing a pair of smokey blue irises. Than, Fjord did something I wasn't expecting him to do. He gently placed his hand next to one of the cubs. "... interesting...."

"Oh careful please, they're fragile little ones.", Shelly had all the right to worry. These may have been wild animals, but even young wild animals need to be treated carefully.

His finger alone dwarfed the cub, he was so still and so focused. By this point I completely lost in what could he be possibly thinking. A little cub wiggled right on top of his finger, using it as a heated pillow.

Fjord, let out a soft but eerily convincing howl, low enough that it could be considered an indoor voice, but it was very real. All the cubs let out their first howls, right there, all with varying skill and ability. But every single one had howled for the first time in their lives.

The room was quite, understandably, this was extremely weird for everyone.

Anderson decided to break the moment, "ugh...yeah I'd like to report something.".

"Anderson hush.", James to the rescue. "Fjord seems to understand these pups pretty well.

Shelly was mesmerized, "Oh my gosh, they all just did that at the same time. In all my years here, I have never seen something so amazing before."

I kept looking at Fjord, if I could read minds, this would be a great time to use it.

After a few hours of everyone enjoying their food, drink and few games. I sat with Fjord in the back of the room.

I sipped the last of my ginger ale, I still couldn't get his expression out of my mind. "Fjord. That thing you did with the howl ....can...you explain that to me?"

He sat there, lips wrapped around a rib bone. "Oh, that....it just...why are yeh wolves so small? I mean, I seen some out there in the forest and yonder ....I'm use to the wolves back home. Ferocious and mighty beasts, equivalent to Astartes! Strong enough to bare us and ride into battle. The cubs from thosd wolves are just a wee bit smaller than your fully grown ones. They're born with their teeth already out. These ones.... they're.... just wee bairns...".

I still didn't really get it. "Ugh, you mean...you're confused on why they're small.....?", I ask.

He takes out the bone from his mouth, "I mean....why do they remind me of mortal children? Small, helpless.... fragile...".

The tone he took had felt familiar, it was the same tone I used when my expectations would be challenged. "Wait...are you telling me you're disappointed by our wolves?", I satirically question him.

"No lass, it's just.....they remind me of....well....me... before I became an Astartes. The wee one ....it had blue eyes....I ....use to have the same eyes.", that last comment took me a little to figure out he was actually feeling.

It was self reflection. I just gave this guy a massive 'thing' to think about.

"well, all wolf pups have blue eyes when they're born, than as they grow, they change colors... mostly to yellow, amber or green.", looked to the room watching everyone enjoying themselves.

I suddenly felt him gently pull the side of my jaw, making me face him directly.

"Interesting....you have green eyes.", he bluntly stated.

I could feel my heart pounding by this point, we just both intensely looked into each other's eyes. I didn't know what it was, but something about the way he kept looking at me, just burning into my soul, felt strange...yet I liked it...it wasn't human either....

"ugh....this feels a little bit....um.", I didn't want to be mean about the situation by calling it 'cheesy' or 'corny'.

"----Hey you guys want t-", Jonas broke the tension for the both of us. "oooooh you two were?", she gave a cheeky grin.

"Jonas! You scared me.", again I had no idea what to say but hey it was something.

Fjord snapped out of his stare and looked to Jonas, "oh hey lass, to do what?"

Jonas chuckled a little, "it's almost time to close up the station and let the night crew in. We're heading down to the bar tonight actually. Why don't you bring your kegs too, Franky doesn't mind it."

I had completely forgotten about those two kegs, if Fjord sticks to the. He could save me a little of money.

"Ah I could use a drink, I've been parched for some for a little while lass.", he looks to me as a way of asking for approval by this point.

"ok fine.", I lean in to whisper in his ear. "Please behave yourself, Aldercon's orders."

He looks at me was a smoldering look, leans into my ear, "I'll do my best.".

I have no idea why, but the way he whispered into my ear shot the best feeling in the pit of my being.

End of log 13

@kit-williams @barn-anon @egrets-not-regrets

@gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan @walking-natural-disaster

@squishyowl

@starfrost740

[sapphic-agent]

Not sure if I even read the Breaking Point fic. Maybe, maybe not. But I have my own share of fics that "we can fix canon" but make worse.

There one fic I recall (the name slipped from my mind) where ofa somehow shows the class A1 all the abuse Izu endured by BK - it was all thanks to bk and Izu forced team up- and still...people did nothing.

Now think about this premise: ofa shows the abuse and people are just midly concerned.

Why is that? Why make Izu be seen as a victom and get help and support is smth so rare in this fandom?

It is rare see Ochako and his so called friends do stick up for him in fics and not be demonized. Hell, there one where class A1 finds out bk bully Izu(OH MY GOD HE TRIED TO KILL HIM...why fics make them discovery their past as if is a big plot twist?) And proceed to give a taste of his own poison.

And...."this is bad. They shouldnt do this. Poor bk"

You know, some stories talk aboht forgiviness and can be a really touching and well done thing....but those are rare, extremely so. I'm tired of "forgive them bc this is correct" let Izu hold grudges. Let Izu dont forgive bk and be in his right.

A dorama who got this right is The Glory. The mc was horrible abused and got her revenge and in no point people were "forgive them" to mc.

To conclude: this fandom seems to tnink Izu and pain are the OTP when it really isnt nor should be.

Yeah, the fandom can be... Desensitized to this issue so to speak. I think this is for two reasons.

1. So much of Bakugou's behavior is brushed off as a joke. It's easy for people to turn a blind eye to his treatment of Izuku because so much of it is glazed over by cheap laughs.

Honestly I'm pretty sure that's why people think we're so stuck in the suicide baiting in episode 1. Because that's the only moment the series ever really treats Bakugou's behavior as serious as it is. Like, yeah, that was bad, but that's far from the only thing Bakugou's ever done to Izuku. There's attacking him during the Quirk Apprehension Test, hunting him down and seriously injuring him during the Battle Trials, being purposely uncooperative and punching him during the Final Exam, coercing him into a fight after curfew and demanding information that absolutely wasn't his business, throwing his headpiece at him, attempting to forcibly draw Blackwhip out with no consideration of the consequences, etc. Mind you, everything I just listed happened at UA (a few when he was supposed to be "changing"). I would argue that a good number of these things were worse than the suicide baiting.

But they don't register in people's heads the same way because the narrative doesn't treat them the same way. So when fanfiction authors try to write these stories, they're only looking at one aspect of it while turning a blind eye to everything else. They might do a decent job addressing how Bakugou treated Izuku in Aldera, but do a piss poor job of addressing his behavior at UA.

2. Horikoshi doesn't allow Izuku to be looked at as the victim.

This wasn't always the case. We're supposed to feel bad for him in episode one. We're supposed to think that his treatment at Bakugou's hands during the Battle Trials is brutal. He was written to be the sympathetic underdog who's been given a bad hand in life and gets treated like shit because of it.

But that began to change around Deku vs Kacchan Part 2. Hori knew that Izuku had to forgive Bakugou if the viewers were going to. But there was also no way to realistically do this if he actually had a negative response to Bakugou's treatment of him. So he gave us the implication that Izuku wasn't bothered by it at all (which we know isn't true because he was extremely upset when Bakugou said what he said in episode one). He confirms this through All Might of all people, so it has to be true, right?

And most viewers will accept this at face value. Because they're looking for an out for Bakugou. They're looking for a way they can like him while not condoning a bigoted bully.

That's how I see things anyway

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

Stumbled upon your master list of SW meta you wrote, and enjoyed reading through some of them, especially the ones that examined and defended the jedi order. I point to the jedi order in particular because when you pointed out that the number of jedi in the galaxy are proportionally smaller compared to a planet with a population in the trillions, it reminded me of a bad take regarding the order (which is conflated with the whole "the jedi are actually the bad guys" in SW): that the jedi are eugenicists because their adoption of force sensitive children. This never sat right with me given that the jedi never seemed the type to be concerned with propagating their numbers in some form of "purity" (genetic or force sensitivity wise). Any chance you can gleam into the nitty-gritty of this take's unsavory implications?

OOf, that's an old ask, and that reminds me that I really need to update that masterlist 😅 (and me saying that is an even older draft, oops 😂)

Okay, the idea of the Jedi being *eugenicists* is SO out of left field that I feel like it doesn't even deserve to be really addressed so much as mocked, because words mean things.

To be quite fair, I don't think I've ever seen anybody seriously use that word. (It may very well have happened tho, I just can't remember somebody seriously making the claim and sticking to it.) Even the infamous KT rant (see below) doesn't call them that - the extremely weird and frankly absurd take is that they embody supremacist ideas and that people who are into them believe there is such a thing as an inherently superior person. She does use the word "Nazi" (just wow), but I don't think she was going for the eugenics part, just the run of the mill white supremacy theories. People on both sides of the argument may have misquoted/misinterpreted her on that though.

(Seriously woman, why were you even writing for Star Wars?! YOU DIDN'T EVEN LIKE IT!)

Now, eugenics? (This post is so weird to write, I can't even) ⇊

It is LAUGHABLE to use it in relation to the Jedi Order, because as you accurately put it, the Jedi just aren't interested in... making babies.

Do they force their members to procreate, even artificially? Absolutely not.

Are they seeking to improve the Order by only taking in the healthiest, strongest, most powerful children? No. They were ready to reject Anakin, for one thing.

Are they studying how to arrange reproduction in the rest of the galactic population? No.

Is there a ban on non-Jedi Force sensitives having children of their own? No. Are they forced or even strongly encouraged to have children of their own? No.

Do Jedi control who Force-sensitives are allowed to have children with? No.

Do Jedi test for Force-sensitivity and keep records of it? Yes. But they don't seem to keep genealogies - there's nothing that says the list in the Holocron is a permanent one either - rather, the way it's phrased and the way there's only babies on it, names are probably erased eventually. And the purpose of the list has nothing to do with increasing the occurence of Force-sensitivity.

Are non-Jedi Force sensitives forced by law to give up their kids? No.

Do Jedi automatically take in Force-sensitive children anyway? No. Bardotta and Dathomir are right there and nobody's bothering them.

Is the Order ableist? No. We even see plenty of disabled Jedi and nobody is throwing them out. (Amputees like Anakin and elderly people like Yoda and Tera Sinube, for starters. Also Prosset Dibs, or Tahl in Legends).

The Force isn't even proven to be reliably 'transmissible' from one generation to the next - the Force 'being strong' in particular families may just as easily be for more spiritual reasons depending on how you want to look at it. Because, you know, Star Wars isn't all literal.

IT'S JUST SO DUMB.

NOTHING ABOUT HOW THE ORDER WORKS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH WHAT THAT WORD MEANS.

(I'm sorry I'm not dissing you for the ask I just don't get how anybody could ever have said that 😂😭)

[deep-spaghetti]

my undertale act structure analysis post is getting traction all of a sudden and ppl in the tags have all sorts of ideas about what Specific Gamer Behavior undertale’s narrative is condemning and like that is the most lame way to interpret that narrative. if the emotional and thematic core of undertale revolved specifically around some gamer bros who really ground toby fox’s gears it would be a shitty story. if i were to pick A Condemnation or at least a concern undertale expresses it would be entitlement surrounding art and rapid consumption of it. it offers you its story, its compelling world and characters, its happy ending and then it’s done. at least internally, it doesn’t really guide you to anything but true pacifist. a no mercy run is not something flowey eggs you on to do at the end of neutral runs, it’s not an encouraged mode of play in “The RPG where no one has to die!” the entire no mercy run is about how it is your active, conscious decision to have gone out of your way to do harm, even when it is actively more tedious and difficult than any other option. if you engage with its narrative exclusivey through the lens of it being a meta spin video game tropes and mechanics and nothing more, then yeah, it does look like the thesis statement is “completionism is immoral” but i think an extremely critical thing that people miss is that no mercy is not an encouraged mode of play. there is an entire discussion around how implementation functionally is encouragement, “if it’s in the game on purpose, the developer didn’t put it there to keep it out of players’ hands.” but again observing through the lens of narrative and not activity (or activity as a means to communicate narrative) the implication is that feverish unconditional consumption of media is destructive. the player is literally given the agency to suck the life and joy out of a game about quirky characters and big cheesy emotions because that’s what happens when you are dead set on seeing as much as possible instead of appreciating what’s there. althought undertales [FIGHT] and [MERCY] buttons are functionally similar to a dialogue option to be nice or an asshole, undertale’s no mercy differentiates itself from other games’ “evil” routes because it actively discourages engaging with the evil option on a mechanical level. you have to tediously grind away literally every enemy through a small habdful of encounter configurations in every area and the game denies you as much of itself as it can at every turn, long stretches of tedious grinding interrupted by deliberately ludicrous difficulty spikes, trying to act as roadblocks so utterly insurmountable that you just quit. if you do succeed, your reward is a copy-tainting flag that makes a point of ruining your good endings if you every try for them again. it is an actively discouraged mode of play on every level above implementation. you are not supposed to play this way, and the only reason you would (and again this is from like the gameworld’s internal moral perspective, enjoying a challenge or wanting to experience an aspect of the narrative yourself is a perfectly valid reason to want to do it) is if you wanted to exhaust something you enjoyed of every last drop of stimulation it could offer. undertale is a game packed with secrets and even with direct messages to data miners. it was aware from minute one that it was going to be gutted and picked apart and given a million cover to cover skimmings across the world because that’s just what happens to art in the information age. i think it definitely does actively encourage paratextual engagement, everything to do with FUN values and gaster are absurdly rare random chance events that try to foster discussions about mysteries only witnessed by a precious few players, but i think it does resent that to some extent it cant truly have any real mysteries. so quickly was every code cracked and every secret shared to millions, because that’s just what people do to things they love, they shatter them into pieces so they can put them back together a thousand times.

[commander-wame]

☼ - Wame

☾ - Eldrid

☆ - Gixi

years after dreaming up a timeline for the main three i finally made one 👍

+ more context under the cut! anything commander-y in story not mentioned is glued onto Wame

Wame doesn't act on his Slaying a Dragon destiny for a long time. He needs a lot more guidance regaining his strength and working on his social skills than most other saplings before he can leave the Grove. Pale Tree's and Caithe's insistence just leave him feeling more pessimistic about the whole ordeal, he leaves to live in Cathal finding his calling as a ranger training Fern Hounds. His older brother Fehine is teach him in Mender skills.

Pre Personal Story

Wame and Eldrid awoke the same day. Wame first during noon, but his pod was so high up that his first meeting with the ground would've been his last if El hadn't found him slowly bleeding out 12 hours later when she awoke during night. They dreamt of each other, they recognise each other. Wame dreamt of slaying a dragon and saw Eldrid die a firey death. Due to his injuries to his spine and head he ended up Soundless against his will. Eldrid barely remembers anything save for a few glimpses, including Wame's face.

Eldrid is more adventurous and has slowly built a party of friends. Like lots of sylvari, she's obsessed with knighthood and wants to be one herself. She always visits Wame before and after an adventure. She wants a Wyld Hunt of her own, but never gets one. Neither of them admit to romantic feelings, being unable to feel each others emotions due to Wame' soundlessness.

Gixi is having a horrible teenage / young adulthood. School was a terribly rough time and the one college that accepted her booted her out after a few weeks due to 'incompetence'. Slowly cultivating mesmer skills in her spare time, but really wants to be academically succesful like an asura is 'supposed' to be.

Weeks go by and Wame is worried, and finally starts following his Hunt, but only really in hopes of finding El. During his travels he starts appreciating and caring for Tyria more. He's still pretty sure he'll be dead before reaching Zhaitan though. He joins Whispers, thinking their tracking skills and hidden knowledge might help him find El.

Personal Story + Lws1 + Lws2

Eldrid left one day and didn't come back. Unbeknowst to everyone else, her entire party was killed fighting creatures from the Mists. She was sucked into the portal the creatures came from.

Gixi turns out a pretty talented mesmer but still feels useless. Whispers ends up recruiting her, after Tibalts death she ends up becoming Wame's newbie partner. She has 0 confidence in herself. Wame and Gixi become good friends, Gixi gains Some confidence (but not a lot).

With Zhaitan dead, Wame is now fully invested in his, Trahearne's and Caithe's cause. Hasn't lost hope of finding Eldrid yet, but chances of her being alive start feeling more slim.

Gixi is now a very active Whispers agent. Wame is collecting friends (future Dragon's Watch) like pokemon. He doesn't tell them about Eldrid. The lead-up to HoT and its implications has him worrying that Eldrid ended up in the wrong part of the jungle.

Eldrid is ???.

Wame was captured and Mordrem Podded in Tangled Depths. Managed to resist and escape just about, but physically altered halfway through his Mordremisation. Finds his first pet Honeybee (fern hound) dead. Has a terribly hard time convincing Pact members and friends not to kill him on sight.

HoT

Very painful no good time. Gixi was on a crashed airship but survived. Mostly stayed in Verdant Brink scouting out survivors and getting them to camps unnoticed.

Finds a juvenile Smokescale, names her Sparkfly.

Eir's dead. Had to kill Trahearne. Life sucks but we keep trucking for Tyria's sake.

Eldrid meanwhile popped back into Tyria, extremely confused with no memories of what happened in the Mists. All she knows is that she feels angrier than ever and there's creepy voices in her head. It concerns her greatly that they sound like her dead friends, writes this off as grief. She hears about a commander with her dear friend's name, desperately wants to see him again. Follows rumours and murmurs of his presence best she can, but with no way to contact him ends up far behind.

Lws3 + PoF before the Departing

After the events of HoT, Wame 100% thinks Eldrid is long dead. Finds solace in taking care of Aurene's egg and eventually Aurene herself, being the only creature nearby who doesn't have a reference of what he looked like before the jungle, simply looking at him with love and happiness.

Whispers remember El from Wame's description of her. They don't trust her casually popping back into existence just like that and think something's up. Gixi is tasked with tracking and observing her, and if need be to keep her away from Wame if she gets too close. Gixi knows abt Wame's desire to find Eldrid and feels incredibly guilty, but ultimately doesn't fully trust her either.

Eldrid gains a reputation as the Rosewood Knight on her travels. Noble and kind with devastatingly high skill in combat and helping those in need, fighting with a rage and strange new magic people don't want see up close.

While following Eldrid still, Gixi was killed in the desert and promptly got Awakened by Joko's forces. On the grounds of her being asura, she's sent to Rata Primus. She... actually isn't too mad about this. Someone finally thinks she's useful for traditional asura stuff, like portals. It's nice to feel appreciated in the way you've always dreamed of even though you're dead?

PoF after the Departing

Eldrid followed Wame into the desert, FINALLY catches up with him just as he's about to be barbequed by the God of War himself. Heroically gets herself barbequed instead. Wame is now tripple traumatised (Aurene kidnapped + someone he loves who he thought died, now actually dying right in front of him + being horribly burned himself). Oh wow Eldrid dying a firey death in his dream was a prophecy. That Sucks.

Wame wakes up to horrible pain, burn marks, and Eldrid rising from the dead. 1 Tender mutual confession later and they're now dearhearts. Turns out she's still too angry about dying right before properly seeing Wame again and couldn't let that go. Kills God about it (mostly to save people but also out of spite). Wame is stressed about being unable help out, but has to recover manually instead of death-resurrection instantly.

Rytlock keeps his mouth shut about having seen Eldrid in the Mists. He didn't think the rampaging incoherent entity was a person. He awkwardly tries to help her with her new revenant powers she also got in the Mists.

Gixi, after Joko's death, now a free awakened, has a personality freeing and changing breakdown. Fully a mesmer master now that she knows her full abilities and can't get tired because she's a walking corpse. Glamours herself up to look alive. Isn't sure whether she feels happier or acts it.

Lws4

Wame is back on his feet. Eldrid is learning to control her rage and her powers. No time for dates all time for kicking Joko where it hurts.

Bangar shot Wame in the face. Wame lost his eye about, seeing as it was a Dragon Killing Bow and Dragon Killing Arrow. Eldrid, being the only sylvari nearby, tried her best to fix his face while he was recovering. She wasn't very good at it. Wame loses the eye but doesn't mind, just mad at Bangar.

IBS

Wame and Eldrid were having a decently relaxed time getting to know each other again and recovering from the trauma that was. Everything. Before charr civil war broke out. No time for dates again.

Gixi joins everyone in EotN and mostly stays there to help out, fascinated by Aurene and keeping Taimi and Gorrik company. Gixi still glamours herself but finally fully knows who she is. She likes being loud and happy and pranking people where possible. Having lived all her life in anxiety, she now wants to not care about what others think at ALL.

Killing Soo-Won luckily set Eldrid free without needing to kill her, but it nearly got to that point.

EoD

Turns out the voices in Eldrid's head weren't JUST her dead friends and restless spirits. Also the Void! Yippee! She turns into an incoherent powerful corrupted mess (again. but she doesn't remember the Mists). Wame and Gixi are having a no good time trying to not kill Eldrid (who seems the most powerful and clever of those corrupted). She always wanted a powerful destiny, but this isn't what she meant.

After that ordeal it's FINALLY time for some dates.

Eldrid having been the one who died and got better, received the honour of having Peitha in her head. Sometimes Peitha will slip into Wame's mind just to mess with him a bit and freak him out. Eldrid trusts Peitha and they both might feel wlw about it.

SotO

Wame would've liked some more chill time together but they all felt the itch of wanting to do Something. Rumours of strange people and portals sounded like a nice getaway. Ah crap.

Gixi wants IN on being part of a secret wizard society. WHY wasn't she invited. She bonds with Zojja.

[more tba when the story progresses]

[codenamesazanka]

“Took just a little blood from some passerby. Enough to knock them out.”

😭 Toga casually giving a random person severe hemorrhagic/hypovolemic shock.

*

did some research…

It varies depending on the person and their health, but usually to fall unconscious from blood loss, someone needs to have lost 30% of their total blood volume - about 1.5 liters (out of 5 liters in the body) (or, 3 pints of blood out of the 10 pints in the body).

Unfortunately, this also happens to be near lethal! 30% blood loss is about Stage 3 of four stages of hemorrhagic shock classification, and you’ll need to go to the emergency room immediately and also get blood transfusion.

With rapid blood loss, there’s no clear line between ‘fell unconsciousness but is okay’ and ‘death’. Once you lose 30%, you’re knocked out. Once you lose more than 40% of your blood, you will probably die.

*

More thoughts:

If Toga had one of her blood siphoning things (the suck suck mask? (canon name)), the blood loss would be extremely rapid, within minutes, so maybe the poor sap fainted without needing to lose up to 30% of their blood? Still bad, of course.

Toga says one cup (~200 mL) is what she needs for a full day’s transformation. The amount she took above would be a week’s worth.

1.5 liters is 50 fl oz. One average water bottle is 500 mL / 16.9 fl oz. She’s got 3 whole bottles of blood. 😭

But as a strategy to occupy the Heroes’ (and police, and first responders) attention, it works real well. All their focus and concern would definitely be on the victim who suddenly, completely out-of-the-blue dropped cold unconscious from unknown-caused severe blood loss (and without any major visible external injuries? again, assuming Toga siphoned the blood (instead of just stabbing)). Scary incident! Great distraction.

*

Interesting implications of this - does Toga know how close to death ‘took a little blood just enough to knock them out’ is? I’d say she does, since she’s been bloodletting people to death for over a year now. She knows her victim will need medical attention. She’s a practiced hand at this.

But what if Toga might not have know this fact, at first? ‘take enough blood to make them fall unconscious’ sounds okay to her, age 15 middle school dropout, but five minutes later, her victim is dead - without her having taken any more blood.

Before I researched, I knew blood loss is bad, and around 50% blood loss is death, but I couldn’t remember at what point people pass out. 10% is usually what blood donations ask for and people are often still up and awake after that. So maybe 20% is when you pass out but you’ll be okay? Then I googled and I learned, oh, unconscious at any percentage is not okay.

Maybe i’m underestimating her intelligence and knowledge! This stuff can be easily googled, after all.

Anyway, I love Toga.

[vibingvoices]

Rishi Sunak's speech yesterday about the need to "protect democracy" is incredibly rich coming from an unelected PM, and it proves the closeness we are to despotism.

I am speaking from someone who partly grew up under a dictatorship. In some ways, I actually think that we're entering an even scarier era. Where I was growing up, at least officials were open about their regime. Yes, they made their people suffer greatly. But they did it openly. Still very horrible, but fascism under the disguise of democracy is, in my mind, more dangerous. And so very near.

Sunak's speech, filled with falsities, continued what his government have parroted ever since October in reaction to what is happening in Israel and Palestine. And that is the broadening of the definition of extremism to encompass dissenting voices, potentially criminalising those opposing political and financial support for Israel. That's not an exaggeration. Sunak said as much in his rambling speech.

A ceasefire should be the minimum expectation, yet leaders of the 'free world' can't even support that. If we lived in a just world, we'd have sanctions, trials and prosecutions. We'd have an end of diplomatic ties and an end of the occupation. We'd have war reparations, restoration of land and a right of return for all Palestinians.

This week, we've witnessed the extreme act of protest in the form of self-immolation, which saw a US air force airman dousing himself in gasoline outside the Israeli embassy in Washington and lighting himself on fire. Days later, the IDF targeted Palestinians seeking aid and food after killing over 30,000 of them. It's very concerning that 24 hours after the most grotesque image of someone being bulldozed by a clearly labelled IDF tank went viral on social media, that was the statement Sunak chose to make.

And yes, his speech is in reaction to what is happening in the Middle East, but its implications go beyond. His words run deep even if the current situation was magically solved tomorrow. The very act of protesting is under threat, making his lecturing on division exploitation outside Downing Street hypocritical, considering that is the driving force behind his government. He is right. There is a group in the UK fostering extremism and threatening democratic freedoms – the Conservative Party led by him. Sunak's warnings about extremism would carry more weight if his tenure as prime minister hadn't consistently promoted it.

His speech also included an endorsement of Voter ID, disenfranchising thousands. You cannot claim to protect democracy by making it harder for people to vote. The man, who again became PM through clearing and without a public vote, also said that people voting for an MP he disagrees with is an attack on democracy. It's like we're living in a dystopian satire that not even the greatest writers of our time could imagine.

And Sunak's assertion that Britain has never been on the wrong side of history in his concluding remarks is particularly troubling, considering his background and lack of acknowledgement for his ancestors who endured colonial rule for nearly 90 years in British India.

The worst part? Sunak is just one of many. If he goes, there is someone next in line to replace him and crackdown even further.

It's like playing an endless game of whack-a-mole. You get rid of one, but another pops up, and then another and another and another until we all get sicker, poorer, and sadder and die.

[defectivehero]

“You were always far too trusting,” the villain clicks their tongue, staring down at the hero with a plethora of emotions dancing in their eyes. Their hands rest on their hips. The hero takes a shuddering breath in, far too familiar with the uncomfortable feeling of blood dripping down their face to do anything about it. “I am not a good person, contrary to your beliefs.”

“Spare me the monologue,” the hero manages to lift a hand and bat them away weakly. At least, they try to do so. There’s hardly any pressure exerted from the gesture, and the villain only raises an eyebrow at the attempt. “You’re such a bad person, blah, blah. Now, are you going to patch me up, or leave me for dead?”

“What do you think?” The villain lets out a harsh laugh, their boots crunching the gravel beneath their feet. The hero’s heart sinks to their stomach, as they realize that their enemy isn’t going to save them. Why would they? 

“Right, of course,” the hero rolls their eyes, clumsily putting their arms behind them and pushing themselves to their feet. The effort does manage to be successful, although their balance is gone the moment they find a standing position. “Can’t hurt your precious pride-” They stumble forward, letting out a rather embarrassing hiss as they nearly face-plant into the ground.  “I was joking, dumbass,” the villain scoffs, reaching an arm out and grabbing them before they plummet to the ground. Their enemy’s grip is tight, but not unbearably so. If anything, their hold is reassuring. Not that the hero would ever admit it. “Like I’d let you die.”

“You just tried to kill me,” the hero points out, amidst their drunken stumbling. Well, they’re not drunk, but it feels like they are. Their limbs don’t seem to want to work. The world around them looks hazy. Everything feels like it’s happening in slow motion.

“The key word in that sentence is tried,” the villain huffs, irritation clear as day on their face. They offer a hand and the hero stares at it for a moment, wondering why they have seven fingers. Is seven the normal amount? Something tells them it isn’t... The thought quickly fades to the back of their mind as they grasp the villain’s forearm and try to find their balance again. They manage to pivot and sling an arm around the villain’s shoulder. Their enemy is surprisingly secure, as they don’t so much as budge under the added weight. The hero is still standing, but they’re not naive enough to deny the considerable weight they’re leaning on the villain with. 

“Hey,” the hero blurts out. They don’t really know what’s going on, honestly. The only thing they do know is that, when they manage to catch a clear picture of their enemy’s face, they’re wearing an uncharacteristically concerned and pinched expression.

“What?” The villain’s grip around their waist tightens. Their voice sounds strangled, almost bothered. The hero can’t pinpoint what has them so... ruffled. “We’ve been here for twenty minutes. Why are you just now saying that?”

“Ha, I don’t know,” the hero admits, feeling extremely lightheaded all of a sudden. The feeling had been manageable before, but now, the world around them is tilting like a worn ship’s deck on the tumbling waves of the ocean. They dig their fingers into the villain’s shoulder, desperate for support. “You know what? I don’t feel so good...” Their limbs fall slack and their vision swirls in blinding color. They’re given a brief moment’s clarity, just enough for them to transition their fall into their enemy. Somehow, the hero knows their enemy will catch them. Somehow, they trust the villain. The realization is mind boggling, but they’re slipping away too fast to ponder the implications of that realization. Instead, the hero sinks into the darkness pulling at the edges of their figure. 

©2022, @defectivehero All Rights Reserved. 

the villain: “like I’d let you die.”

also the villain: *nearly lets them die*

Contradictory villains>>>>>> Villains that are just so fucking confusing to the heroes... those villains are easily the most fun to write. I think they’re fun from a reader’s perspective, too. You don’t know what they’ll do next. Hell, I don’t even know what they’ll do next. They just do it, and I follow along. 

[stp-au-wthnig]

Well, This Happens Next, I Guess

Chapter 6: A Curious, Convenient Coincidence

Sorry for taking so long to even start this, had a lot weighing on me. Hope you like dialogue-heavy stuff.

content warning: self-harm implications, dialogue relating to a canon chapter, suicide mention

"And... done."

Skeptic had just finished the last part of his article for the newspaper. He'd been up late into the night writing it.

He stared out the window. It was extremely late. Everyone else was asleep by now, and he was starting to get hungry. He did have a bad habit of forgetting to eat while he was working.

He then remembered something. The convenience store near the park was open 24 hours. Getting something from there would be better than attempting to cook for himself, as he admittedly was not very good.

"Shouldn't take too long." He said to himself as he started to head out.

---

The convenience store was devoid of customers at this time. The only other person there was the bored-looking clerk. As Skeptic put a couple of microwave ready meals and snacks into his basket, he glanced over at the clerk.

He couldn't see her face from how she was positioned, but she looked familiar somehow.

He made his way over to pay for his stuff. After she was done scanning them, she raised her head and spoke.

"How will you be paying?"

Skeptic froze. He could see her face now. It was dull and expressionless, and her voice had a similarly flat tone.

But there was no doubt about it. It was her. The prisoner that he helped to rescue back in the construct.

There were small differences. Her shackles were replaced with a choker and wristbands. Her hair was cut shorter.

But more concerningly, she looked much more tired. Even moreso than she looked back then.

"Sir?"

She snapped him out of his thoughts, and he replied.

"I'll pay by card, thank you."

He scanned his card, and was about to leave satisfied with the knowledge of her existence, but she spoke to him again.

"You've been here before. You and that other person."

Skeptic was surprised she wanted to speak to him. She didn't seem like the chatty type. More surprisingly, he was surprised that she was there when he and Hero went there before.

"Yeah, he was low on food so I took him here." Skeptic explained.

"That's unusual." The Prisoner spoke. "I don't usually remember who comes in here. But something about you and him was... different."

So she doesn't remember the events of the construct. But enough of it has shaped her that she finds him and Hero notable. Skeptic became more and more curious.

"I'm curious. Have we met before?" The Prisoner asked.

Skeptic wasn't sure he should tell her the full truth. It's not like she'd believe him in this state.

"I think we might have, some time ago. It's a bit of a long story, though." Skeptic carefully answered.

The Prisoner looked at Skeptic, her face scanning him, before relaxing a little.

"Must've happened a long time ago." She responded, more monotone than usual. Seems she has a feeling he's not telling the full story on purpose.

But why is she playing along?

The conversation abruptly ended there, and Skeptic returned home with his food.

---

After a few days, Skeptic's curiosity got the better of him and he headed to that convenience store again. Sure enough, she was still there, looking just the same as she did before.

That was concerning. It was the middle of the day and she looked just as tired.

"What sort of shifts do you work here anyway? Last time I saw you, it was the middle of the night."

Prisoner paused for a moment before answering.

"I'm here whenever nobody else can be. Not by choice, mind you, it just can't be helped."

That explained it. No wonder she looked so tired all the time.

"How many others work here?" Skeptic asked. "If you're allowed to say, that is."

Prisoner looked down.

"Just me and two others. We used to have a lot more, but they quit."

Skeptic sighed. Clearly this store didn't have the best management.

"And you can't quit because of how little staff there are here, right?"

Prisoner didn't respond, but it was clear her silence was to be taken as a yes.

Even in this life, she was a prisoner by nature. Even if it wasn't in the same way.

Skeptic didn't want to bother her anymore, and he got back to the apartments to talk to the one other person he knew he could.

---

"And that's what happened with her." Skeptic finished explaining this whole thing to Hero.

"That's... I can't believe it... she's clearly hurting and just standing there and taking it?" Hero asked.

"I wouldn't say that. I noticed every time I saw her she had a choker and two wristbands, one on each hand." Skeptic said. "I have the feeling she's hiding something underneath them."

Hero thought for a second, and then looked alarmed. "You're not telling me she..."

Skeptic nodded. "In the construct, she didn't hesitate to cut her own head off to escape. If she does that in this world, it won't be the good kind of escape."

Hero began to cry. He may have been nervous around her, but he'd never wish for her to kill herself.

"I know. I'm scared too. But we can't just sit back and do nothing. We have to stop this from happening. We have to figure out a way to save her." Skeptic said calmly.

There was no way he was going to let her fall into despair. He had to save her.

---

The following day, Prisoner wasn't seen in the convenience store at all.

Skeptic looked and asked around but there was no trace of her.

He felt every inch of his body burn and freeze as he grew more and more desperate.

"Prisoner... please... be alive... please..."

It was late once again. He glanced over at the lake in the park. He shuddered, remembering he couldn't swim from a previous mishap where Stubborn pushed him in.

He then saw a familiar figure at the lake's edge.

"Prisoner!"

He ran towards her. One smell from her and he could tell what happened. She'd gotten out of work and went on a drinking spree..she must've passed out here.

He sat her up and gave her some bottled water.

"Thank you..." Prisoner said, taking the water. "Sorry you had to see me like this..."

Skeptic shook his head. "I'm happy to see you okay. It's better than what I'd feared had happened."

Prisoner looked at Skeptic, and smiled sheepishly.

"I don't usually talk to people. I'm used to being treated like some sort of soulless machine that just does whatever you tell it to. But you were different. You actually saw me as a person. I'm glad I could trust you, even if I didn't know why at first."

"You didn't have to go through that." Skeptic said. "Are you still sure you can't leave your job?"

"I can't, no." Prisoner said, her face looking more visibly upset.

"Then tell me when you're working. If I can, I'll try to pop in. Make your situation a bit more bearable. Is that alright?"

Prisoner looked at Skeptic with genuine awe in her eyes.

"You don't have to..."

"I want to. I don't want you to fall to despair. If there isn't a way out yet, there will be. And until then, I'll be there to help you stay strong." Skeptic said, looking confident.

Prisoner's eyes began to look glossy, until she wiped them and regained her composure.

"Thank you."

And so, the Prisoner of a horrible clerk job and the Voice of the Skeptic began a friendship.

[grellestie]

I have heard the worst take and I need somewhere to talk about it and my Grelle Centered Tumblr is probably the best place for it. 

The take was;

“Grelle is a flat character.”

I should preface this by saying that flat characters aren’t bad one bit! They’re needed for a story to work, actually. I do like some flat characters and it’s fun to think about them. Grelle just isn’t one of them since she just isn’t.

I would have agreed with this take if we were just talking about the anime on a surface level but this is just… not correct? Thinking about it, it could be debated that the anime did make her a flat character but I’ll discuss it later.  

She is definitely more fleshed out and, while she doesn't have a lot of screen-time, a lot of her body language says enough. She heavily follows "show dont tell" which definitely leaves a lot of her to be confusing but it's kind of the point. The series is told with ciel as the protag and he's not exactly trying to understand why she is the way she is so the reader learns about her as he does.

But how do we prove she’s not a flat character? 

Here’s a list I found from Literary Devices and I’ll cover how she’s fundamentally not a flat character according to this list as well as another point I saw from a different website. 

The role of flat characters is to support the main character.

“The role of a flat character is to help the main character in pursuing his ambitions and goals.”

Grelle does not do this at all and actually makes the plot progress against Ciel’s favor. She actually tends to ruin the majority of his plans. Her killing of Madam and making it so Jack the Ripper was never caught by Ciel kickstarts the motivation of other characters to notice that Ciel isn’t what he seems. There’s also Book of Atlantic where Grelle attempts to ward off the kid and his pet demon. She doesn’t fit this role so she’s not a flat character here. 

They do not go through a substantial growth or transformation in the course of the narrative.

“… maintains the same characteristics and outlook throughout the narrative.”  

Grelle does not maintain the same characteristics and outlook throughout the manga. However, I've always been on the side that Grelle's development being entirely off-screen was a horrible idea but that’s a post for a later date. Back on topic, she has other personality traits that aren't stereotypical. She's shown to be diligent with her work yet she also has her moments of being reckless in certain moments (I.E. when she was on the Campania and attacked Sebastian believing she had time), and questioning authority which shows her perspective on said authority (I.E. During the Blue Memory arc when she confronted Othello about the council’s plan concerning the bizarre dolls), she's extremely honest while still lying (I.E. She speaks plainly yet there’s always some kind of double-meaning or… lie in what she says, I’d say she showed this enough in her debut), and she seemingly has low empathy which isn't exactly a personality trait but it's still notable since it is a part of her. There's also the showing of how she could be feeling guilty about Madam's death with the coat as well as that scene with Undertaker. And the inclusion of how reapers are created which can lead to conclusions that Grelle aint the happiest individual like she appears to be or that something happened. While you could argue that her growth shouldn’t count because it was due to criticism rather than something happening but I’d argue that it does count despite it being a little on the lazy end. 

It’s a little hard to figure it out considering that a lot of her personality is through implications but that doesn’t mean she has little personality. She’s as mysterious as death! 

They don’t draw attention away from the important characters.

“A flat character is not necessarily boring, weak, or poorly-written. All it means is that they are one-dimensional and not terribly interesting.”  

Implying Grelle Sutcliff, the first major antagonist of Kuroshitsuji is NOT interesting is a WILD take to me. She is the first other supernatural character we see besides Sebastian (Undertaker doesn't count because he wasn't seen as a reaper yet by the cast), she literally offs the main character's family member (in FRONT of him, no less). There's also Book of Atlantic with that being her big reprise and, while she wasn't a main force in that arc, she was still important with dealing with Undertaker and her non-inclusion would have changed certain parts of the story. While you may not personally find her interesting, she makes an extreme impact on the narrative and she has taken away Ciel’s spotlight for such a long time which would mean that she’s interesting to the audience overall and definitely draws attention away from the “important characters”. 

They have recognizable characteristics that make them appear stereotypical.

I have been going back and forth on this one for a while. Whether we like it or not, Grelle was a stereotype and a harmful one at that. She has seriously grown over the story to be a lot less horrible but I can’t exactly blame someone who reads her debut and thinks she doesn’t have much to offer. She doesn’t have too much personality outside of stereotypes and that’s what holds her back from not being a flat character in the anime. 

However, as I mentioned before, she has grown and she has more of a personality and some of them are not recognizable on your first read through the story. A surface level read of her isn’t exactly doing her character justice and that’s what the anime did. Flanderizing her (and other characters to their core). So, to say this, Anime Grelle and Manga/Canon Grelle are NOT comparable, they’re entirely different people therefore, Canon Grelle is not a stereotype of herself.

Thinking about this harder, there’s something I thought about. Flat characters, if you were to take them out of the story, would only affect the plot in a minor way and would be an easy fix if you were to rewrite it without them. I tried this with Grelle and a lot of things started to fall flat. First things first, Madam would be alive if we are to believe that Ciel would cover it up, the Red Butler arc would have to be completely rewritten in order to make up for Grelle's absence (which is extremely hard considering the route they took with it and how the bodies were found so close to each other). The reader’s first introduction to reapers would be WAY later in Book of Circus with William but then they wouldn't even really have the need to interact since they wouldn't recognize each other nor would Will really be the main concern here since he tends to stay in his own lane. Then, when the bizarre doll plot happens in Book of Atlantic, our introduction to Undertaker would be extremely unsatisfying. She does impact a LOT of things and taking her out would HEAVILY affect things.

TL;DR

Grelle isn't a flat character. Yes, there are bits to her that can be seen as flat but they aren't the focal point of her character (especially not anymore) therefore she isn't a flat character. She's just a character who needs to be read into rather than expecting answers.

Thanks for hearing me ramble and if you'd like to have a conversation, feel free to slid into my inbox or the replies!