#it all goes downhill from here iirc

[melancholiepeufiable]

7 :-)

Ahhh, thank you for your pick - good choice ;) It’s one of my fav chapters in the whole fic!

Did I forget to mention that this is a fake-ish marriage au (without crack)? If you have questions about renaissance, feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer, spoiler-free.

Again, this is very early draft from chapter 7, so pls bear in mind that this may change when actually published. I know the “congrats” part seems out of left-field here, but events that occur prior to chapter 7 explain what that’s about (it’s retirement). One of these days I’ll post the summary and it’ll make sense.

General premise of scene:

Sebastian has been staying in Monaco with Charles. Now it’s time for him to be driven to the airport. Charles has pretty bad trust issues and longs for him to stay.

Tags: sebchal; early draft; this is a bit fluffy, praise, kinda soft actually; ~240 words.

Snippet below the cut:

///

Maybe this is how Sebastian did it. Using words to entice his prey before he let the trap slam shut, swallowing them whole. Was he simply fattening Charles up to make his feast all the more sweeter? 

Seb’s grin broadened, blue growing even softer. “So handsome… my pretty little prince.”

He whimpered, a chill striking down his spine. The hair on the back of his neck rose, the exhilarating pull of want swirling in his belly. Charles gripped Seb’s forearm, pleading with wide-eyes. 

“What is it? Hmm?” Sebastian placed a feather-like peck on the tip of his nose. “What do you want, Charles?”

I ache for someone like you. 

“Please.” A quiet plea, left in the open, where the listener bore power, accepting it from the beggar. 

“Congratulations, liebling. I’m so proud of you.” Sebastian leaned in, pressing supple lips comfortably over his own, moving like they’d done this a thousand times. It was better than the wedding, smooth and less stiff. Charles bended on a whim, an embarrassing noise forced down, escaping only when Sebastian lingered too long, his facial hair rough on Charles’ chin. 

Greedy, Charles made to open his mouth, let Sebastian in – maybe he’ll stay – only for the other to huff in amusement and step back. The corridor seemed so much bigger. 

“Come on, I’m gonna be late.” Sebastian nodded in the direction of the elevator, picking up his duffle bag and carry-on. 

[satanfemme]

do you have any movie recs for people who want to get into horror but are nervous about it? i wanna get into the genre but specific and excessive kinds of gore freaks me out (i esp have a weird thing about throat slitting and stuff like that but yeah sorry ajslgdjlsa)

aaa ok hello! thank u for ur patience, I absolutely have some recs for u if you still want them!!!! btw the first few r gonna be ones I already covered in my freaky movie list, so sorry for repeats if u already looked at that post!

(also, this list is probs gonna be a bit different than most "beginner horror" lists online, cause I'm mostly gonna be thinking of movies I don't remember being very graphic, rather than thinking up "movies for beginners". cause tbh I feel like the best way to get into a genre is to just jump into it and try it out, see what sub-genres and tones u prefer, and go from there. rather than just being like, """omg u NEED to see [over-hyped franchise movie] FIRST or else ur not a Real horror fan uwuw"""". also I'll make sure to give u a good range of horror here, some of these r gonna be lighthearted and some of these r gonna be actually-scary, and some of these r gonna be psychological)

what we do in the shadows - vampire mockumentary, there's some blood but iirc nothing major? some werewolves in wolf form get hurt tho, if animal injury bugs u too. that said, it's a comedy so, like, def an easy watch

the blair witch project - very suspenseful shaky cam found footage horror. has a great build and scary climax, and absolutely no gore at all iirc. I don't think there's even any blood in this one

carrie - supernatural coming of age movie with a very sympathetic lead. there's a fair amount of blood (also pigs blood) in it, and a fair amount of deaths, but I can't recall any actual gore

the addams family - family friendly comedy horror. I think there's some violence in the form of dark humor but this is another one where I really can't even recall any blood (tho it's been a while so I can't prommy for sure)

bram stoker's dracula - there's a fair amount of violence, but surprisingly little gore iirc. a lot of traveling from place to place and exploring a creepy castle and a guy turning into rats and dogs, this is a vampire movie <3

ju-on the grudge - ghost horror movie, where a lot of the violence is implied/off-screen. this one is very freaky and the ghosts have really cool character designs

the lighthouse - this one's weird and not my fav, but if u want to see a horny homoerotic movie about claustrophobic lighthouse keepers, I don't think anyone even dies in this one besides, like, a mermaid.

texas chainsaw massacre - there's some gross on-screen violence towards the end, but for 90% of the movie it's pretty off-screen, and even when it does happen it's not overly bloody/gorey. just violent. and! this is a slasher! so if u want to try out slashers without too much, u know, slashing, I rec this one for sure

get out - this one's a really cool commentary on racism, and I think there's violence towards the end but the majority of the movie is psychological more than anything

the shining - a family goes to a freaky hotel and things go downhill from there. there's a lot of blood in one scene, but outside of that there's like. no actual gore/blood of any kind, just people being scared and getting chased around!

ok that's all I can think of rn, and u might wanna double check the plot summaries or doesthedogdie for ur specific triggers wrt gore, but!!!! I hope I was at least able to give u a starting point here! horror is a really cool and broad genre, so even if none of my recommendations strike u, I suggest checking elsewhere too before giving up on the genre completely <3

[tfw-no-tennis]

One Piece Readthru

heyo ive decided its time for me to catch up on the one piece manga finally!! i last read it uhhh sometime late 2018?? MAYBE early 2019....anyways ill be liveblogging it, basically for myself but if anyone is interested then enjoy lol

so w.out further ado hers 927-931 hya 

uh ok i left off kinda in the middle of the wano arc, so im scanning thru some stuff to see what i remember.....i dont really remember what the deal is with that ginger (?) pompadour guy lmao. theres a lot of new characters and intricate politics in this arc from what i remember. 

i havent really gotten spoiled for anything....i know that something bad happens to kid & killer, somethins up w/sabo (but we dont know what), luffy fights kaido (more than once i think?) uhhhhh we get roger flashbacks and hear the yonkous bounties....thats abt all i really know. so im hype to find out what else has gone on....

im gonna start around 927, i defs read this but i want a refresher 

wow its amazing how sanji can oscillate so fast from being unbearable and annoying to like one of my favs

i loveeee the panels where those dudes start trashing sanjis soba stand and usopps like lol lets back up yall we KNOW sanjis boutta kick some righteous ass....YESSS

franky supplexing a guy....ily franky 

toko!!! i forgot abt her!!! cute kid, whats her deal? iirc she works at the uhhh wherever komurasaki works and she almost gets murderized later

sanji and little kids is so cute ;_; more of that and less stuff of him being gross w/women 

ok exposition....i do remember a lot of this

928, i feel like i remember this stuff so ill kinda blow thru it 

oh yeah i remember luffy n the prison shennanigans....good times

and kidds here too, talkin abt how he lost his arm trying to fight shanks...lol dude 

dude is really like oh i couldnt take down shanks, so ill aim for a different yonkou, im sure this will go much better a second time (and down an arm)

omfg i forgot abt this dude who apparently sold his FAMILY to get money for komurasaki....

i think we’re supposed to feel bad for this dude and think komurasaki is cruel or w/e but man honestly i just respect the hustle. girl knows whats up

HVBJSDKFBDS I FORGOT THE HILARIOUS LINE WHERE SHES LIKE ‘I HATE POOR PEOPLE <3′ IM....its literally like a weird twitter shitpost lmaooo

they cut immediately from komurasaki to tama asking momo if he has a sister....LMAO SUBTLE......

i dont even remember if that twist was spoiled for me, but either way it was my like immediate thought upon komurasakis intro lmao 

ok 929!

omg kanjuro selling some-drawn fish lol

OUGHHH CARROT AND THE OTHER MINKS....i miss carrot sm i hope she shows up more :( i really wish she would join the crew....

lmao that guy calling zoro a pretty boy and saying girls are probably all over him....zoros like uh ew no im gay 

OOOH PLOT SHITTTTT....caesar and doflamingo name drops...

VEGAPUNK HM [eyes emojiey]

orochis defs gonna get fucked up at some point. his design reminds me of wapol and other like corrupt king archetypes 

oguhfdbsjkgjdfbh laws head basket i forgot abt that. also i love when people call him traffy thats weirdly cute 

oh right the other supernovas who became kaidous bitches are here to fight...i recall that fight somewhat 

920 time! 

oh yeah the weird place where all the poor starving people laugh constantly...inch resting

OHH YEAH BIG MOM!!! man i definitely read a lot further than this lmao. w/e i was SO fucking hype when she showed up, imo the whole amnesia thing is pretty lame. we’ll see where it goes tho 

the art here is just so good oh man. the panel of big moms ship charging up the waterfall while she laughs? fantastic 

EPIC arrival. i hope big mom gets to do cool stuff even despite the impending amnesia

i ALSO hope her kids get to do cool shit too. im still holding out for a zoro vs amande battle (if shes even there? i dont see her, but thatd be such a waste)...and smoothie vs robin....

and she wants zeus back....NAMI FIGHT??? PLEASE???

oh its bdsm dinosaur guy....hmm never thought id type that

LMAOOOO law is like Dont You Dare Fucking Snitch On Us and usopp is like uh luffy pls come pick me up this guy is too hardcore

FINAL BATTLE thats so dramatic law please

sanji saying he’ll protect usopp omfg

oooh theyre destorying all the soba shops....here comes sanji to bring the PAIN

OMFG THE RAID SUIT i forgot he busts that out....hilariously quickly all things considered

931! ok but first my obligatory thots on how sad i am abt how the women of op look nowadays lmao revisiting old one piece just makes it all the more obvious how ridiculous its gotten....like nami and robin dont even look human, its insane, and the sameface has gotten so bad...idk i miss when op women used to look normal and could just exist without being Sexy Women bc that was a thing at the beginning and i really loved that...now its just like wow all titty no waist legs are 100x longer than normal....not to mention the writing for women in op has gone way downhill...ugh. ANYWAYS onward 

ofc as soon as i say that theres a rlly cute and p normal looking cover w/nami...i love her sm shes my fav character thats part of the reason this bothers me so much lol 

i miss her short hair tho...the long hair is pretty and i like her different hairstyles but i defs prefer the short spunky look. i wish she wouldve gotten a cool bellmere-esque haircut after the timeskip at least

ok im p sure i didnt read this...? i dont remember hgbvhjaksdfk

GERMA THEME SONG HBVJSDUIFJBSF are you telling me that the raid suit activation process involves a THEME SONG....please i need to hear this. thats so fuckign funny

‘GERMAAAAAAAAAAA’ [sanji doing an unironic magical girl transformation] IT CANT BE OVERSTATED HOW HILARIOUS AND AMAZING THIS IS LMAOOOOOO 

i think we saw this w/his siblings during whole cake but i forget lmao

of course franky and usopp are like OOOH FUCK YEAH 

HHBDSJKFJSB the implications of law knowing Exactly who that is....like i really need to see an omake of a campy power rangers/sentai/whatever-esque show/comic with all these germa personas omfgggggggg

and law having read the comics is SO funny 

also. sanjis hair is SO unfortunate lmaooo

O SOBA MASK HBVHSJDKUFJBDSK

germa was the bad guy group in the comics....good lmao 

law was defs a fan he knows ALL the lore LMAOOO

A BABY SANJI....and then sanji being weird. skip! 

ironic hows theyre like oh shit gotta challenge this dude so he doesnt destroy the town and their fight is gonna level the place anyways lmao 

oh i did read this i think cause i remember all those ninja busting robin for sneaking around

which ok theyre ninja but robin could grow eyes for surveillance so it doesnt make much sense that shed be caught so easily...alas

THAT GUYS HEAD HBVHJFKD LMAO

oh yeah then big mom washes up w/amnesia lmao. i hope that plotline doesnt suck, i dont have too much hope...normally i really like amnesia plotlines and honestly i think itd be cool to explore w/like one of the strawhats but in this case it just seems kinda like a lazy way to take big mom out of the game :/ my prediction is she’ll get her memory back at a certain time thats convenient to the plot, just in time for like an all out war w/kaidou and the straw hats and the yakuza maybe? we shall see (possibly) 

ok its past 6 am so its bedtime. more later! 

[strongfeelingsaboutsalads]

psst! i wanna hear #s 2, 5, 6, 8, 12, 17, 18, and 20 about the humans! all of them B)

My partner is trying to kill me. Do you see this? Anyway, long-ass belated ask response under the cut.

2. what’s their opinion on Logan Thackaray?

Lynette, Amara, Rasheem, Vesh: He exists.Miguel: Who?Galen: So in canon I suspect he doesn’t have any strong feelings. But commander AU… I’m trying and failing to find a more tactful way of saying that he makes Logan his bitch. I hate my brain. Galen would just really enjoy breaking him.

5. describe their childhood.

Lynette’s earlier childhood was pretty unremarkable. Calm, comfortable. Two brothers, one a twin (fraternal, you’d never know it to look at them,) and one several years younger. Then somewhere in her teens, her mother died suddenly and everything went downhill very fast. Her father took it very hard. A couple years of irresponsible living (and spending) later, he died as well, leaving the twins to try to pull things back together. Some extended family was able to help them a bit, but they were never very high up the noble hierarchy, and in his grief their father nearly ruined them. It’s been a slow, long struggle for stability since.

The Landi siblings are odd to talk about, since throughout her childhood, everyone including Amara saw her as a boy. A particularly effeminate boy that exactly no one was surprised to learn wasn’t straight, but still a boy. (Probably the biggest surprise came in learning that “he” had any interest in girls at all.)

Amara grew up distinctly aware of the series of roles she was expected to fill. Her family ran a textile trade, which she was expected to continue. Nobility came with the expectation that she’d continue the family line by some day marrying and having children. And alongside that, the expectation she didn’t even realize bothered her the most until it struck her there might be an alternative, the expectation she’d do so as a man. She learned to handle pressures from all directions. Mesmer magic ended up coming naturally to a mind that was already trained to carefully manage appearances and keep focus on multiple projects at once. And privately, it allowed some release through fantasy. She got very good at convincingly changing her appearance.

Rasheem’s childhood is marked by an inverse kind of frustration. He’s long felt like the extra, the untalented one that no one really expects to do much. The sad thing is, he’s not entirely wrong. He has a complicated blend of resentment and admiration for his sister, whose talents he tried and failed to emulate. (Though at the time he saw it as his brother he was trying to keep up with. He’s still not entirely used to having a sister.) But he does still love her, because when it’s really mattered she’s been quick to support him.

Galen was a farm boy. An awkward, awkward farm boy who spent entirely too much time doing gods-know-what outside on his own, and who took far too much interest when he saw a priest of Grenth perform some minor necromancy. His family situation was pretty normal; hard working parents, a mother who ran a tight and clean household, and siblings he sometimes even managed to get along with. But he was always a bit detached from most people. Adolescence didn’t help. As a teen he was tall and lanky with the vaguest hints of facial hair that refused to grow in more than wisps, and he was still as awkward and nerdy (I’m not sure Tyria even has that word, but the concept applies) as ever. He grew into his looks.

Vesh’s was not good. Some details are still fuzzy to me. I know she grew up in DR, and her name was originally Eliana. She was only raised by one parent, I’m still undecided which, and she’s not even sure whether or not the other is alive. The one she was raised by definitely isn’t, they likely died when she was anywhere from 9-14. She was always desperately poor, and despite her parent’s insistence on Elonian lineage, obviously of very Orrian heritage. By the time she was a teenager, a certain knack for the more abstract, energy-focused aspects of necromancy was manifesting. That’s when she gave up the struggle to not be the creepy Orrian girl entirely. The persona of Parivesh, witch of the Mists was born. It isn’t the only identity she goes by these days, just the easiest for her to fall back on. She’s developed a few different personas to deal with the constant sense of lack of belonging. Not all of them female, I should note.

Miguel was part of a big, reasonably well-off family of half a dozen or so siblings, of which he was one of the younger. He ended up left to his own devices a lot, and got himself into plenty of trouble. Modern diagnostics would say he has a pretty clear case of ADHD that he never outgrew, so “shut up Miguel” is something he heard a lot growing up. From pretty much everyone. But he doesn’t hold any resentment. He’s a big exuberant puppy of a person, and besides, he ended up doing pretty well for himself anyway.

6. do they feel particularly blessed by one of the Six?

Lynette, in-game choice Grenth: This has some canon relevance, as she’s a moderately religious person who’s had a lot of reason to think about death, and had to make peace with it.Amara, Lyssa: There definitely is a sense of appropriateness here. I’m not sure she’s particularly devoted, but it’s difficult not to feel a connection to the dual-faced goddess when she herself has had two very different faces she’s shown the world.Rasheem, Dwayna: Not really.Galen: …I’m not even going to answer that.Vesh, Kormir: She isn’t at all the religious sort, but if any god could earn her genuine respect, it’s the one who was once human. I do think Kormir speaks to her in a way the others can’t.Miguel, Melandru: Um… He likes birds? That’s nature-y, right?

8. do you have an in-game location for their “home?”

Lynette lives in one of the Shaemoor houses. I have a specific one I imagine, but it’s not terribly distinct description-wise, and I like to imagine it a bit bigger and fancier. I figure the whole world would realistically be scaled up a bit, anyway.Amara and Rasheem live somewhere in the Ossan quarter. I know I’ve picked out specific houses at one point, but I don’t quite remember. Pretty sure Rasheem ended up moving in with his boyfriend, but IIRC he’s in the same general area.Galen: There’s a little house in Kweli, one of the few if not the only one with a real interior. And it’s impossible to AFK in because the periodic forged attacks go right by the door and aggro on you.Vesh: …No actually.Miguel has a particular spot in Lion’s Arch, overlooking the harbor.

12. how do they feel about sylvari?

Lynette has had at least one sylvari as a long-term work partner and intimate friend. Generally positive. Occasionally remembers that they don’t have the same concept of class that humans do, and as someone who spends a lot of time worried about class structure, she finds this refreshing.Amara has no strong feelings. She knows some sylvari. They’re nice.Rasheem is much the same.Galen gets the title of resident dendrophile. He’s functionally (perhaps literally by now?) married to one, so… He’s generally had good experiences with them. Though things like the entire race spawning from the same mother and the fact that his husband is technically 14 are still weird if he thinks about them for too long.Vesh strikes me as the one most likely to take an academic interest in how sylvari work, if given the opportunity. The complex magical underpinnings of life as we know it are very much her thing, and she’d probably end up asking a lot of questions about the Dream to any sylvari willing to answer. She’s definitely had some sylvari friends by now, but I’m not sure if she ever got around to pestering them about it.Miguel will likely never get over the weirdness of (theoretically) being able to have conversations with someone who was literally born yesterday. But as people they seem alright.

17. how well does the dance animation fit their personality?

Lynette: Not very.Amara: It could be worse.Rasheem: Ditto.Galen: no

Vesh: Not very.Miguel: In one of his sillier moments, yeah, I could see it.

18. what sort of climates do they prefer, if they care at all?

Lynette is pretty comfy with Krytan weather.Amara is much the same. Though she does like when it’s a bit cooler, because she likes layers of clothing.Rasheem is also comfortable with Krytan weather.Galen likes cold weather. He finds it invigorating. And yet, he ended up living in the desert. Sigh.Vesh has no strong preference, though I think she might favor warmer.Miguel likes it hot. If only because he looks damn good with his shirt open. Or off.

20. what’s your favorite thing about playing them?

Seeing as I don’t actually RP them, answers are skewed toward either the superficial, or just what I generally like most about the characters.Lynette is a power lesbian and makes me cry because I’m gay.Amara is gorgeous and has the best judgmental stares, and I cry because I’m gay.Rasheem has a damn fine ass.Galen “Saltybitch” Blake is the saltiest of bitches, and makes a wonderful avatar for my grumpiest of moods. While somehow managing to be unfairly hot.Vesh’s abs make me cry because I’m gay.Miguel Enrique de Arca Santiago e Pereira is the most extra thing on two legs, and I love having a character like that.

[yume-x-hanabi]

Yeah, I pretty much marathoned the rest of the game, except Elympios.

The party met with the king of Auj Oule, who then promptly started arguing with Milla because of course those two would butt heads. I'm not going to go into detail about that meeting here because I already talked about it in the past. Love Rowen and Elise's little strategy, though I feel sorry for the poor guard who so earnestly vowed to take care of Teepo during the audience. He didn't deserve getting punched :( Oh and also Alvin is a traitor and Jude is maaaaaad about it. Defining Leia moment while they try to flee, where she doubts herself (Elise's words really hurt her, huh). I love how Milla just plainly states she's not useless. I live for Milla plainly stating positive things. They fight Wingul and Presa on the way, where Wingul acts like a disenchanted Rowen fanboy (aaand the booster Long Dau stuff too I guess). No but seriously he spent the fight targeting Rowen, it was hilarious (not for me though cuz I needed the geezer alive to help me cast spells). Back in Xian Du, Alvin strolls in like nothing happened (but Jude is maaaaad and Elise starts sassing him it's the best thing ever) and Yurgen proves to be the most sensible man in the world when he decides he doesn't need to know what happened. Good guy. A pretty animated cutscene later we crash in Kalakh Shal and Driselle is the most precious NPC in the world. I love how she gets the vet to treat the wyverns by telling him they're basically like horses XD Well at least he managed to treat them, so... There's a few Milla Side-exclusive conversations with the party - I especially liked Rowen's and Leia's. Wish Elise's had a bit more consistence though. Then she talks with Jude, who says he wants to protect spirits too, which makes her really happy. She's spent all this time trying to protect both spirits and humans, so it must feel great to have a human want to reciprocate. Those two are really a good pair. I also love how they basically promise to stay together at the end (though we all know how that turns out ;_; ) The time for the confrontation with Nachtigal comes near, but first there's some shenanigans with the Lance of Kresnik and Agria. I'm not too sure whether she actually tried to destroy it (on orders from Gaius?) or just made stuff explode for fun. She's kind of hard to read sometimes. Well, she's completely crazy tbh. It's really sad to see her in that murderous state. I wish she'd been given a chance to heal from her trauma and regain some stability. She's better when she's just with the Chimeriad (and hilariously proper when talking to Gaius), but we barely see any of that in game. What a shame. Talking to Nachtigal goes as well as one would expect, and we beat his ass. Rowen seems to talk some sense into him at the end, but it's far too late, and anyway some mysterious ice attack does him in. Bye Nachty, you were kind of forgettable, wish you'd had a bigger role. But no time to rest, because Gaius is invading from where no one expected him (and this is where my inner Gunshi Kanbee fangirl takes over and gushes about Wingul's clever strategies). But Gilland has a plan and it involves the Lance of Kresnik, which is bad news. To war we go! I spent the whole battlefield map sequence reading the Rieze Maxian writings on the map and laughing my ass off (no but seriously, it contains little gems like "we can fish fish here" and I need to find a video somewhere to take screenshots and translate them all, this needs to be shared). Alvin's acting suspicious again, and again the party just lets him be lol. Anyway, after a very long fight against both Auj Oule and Rashugal forces, we meet three of the Chimeriad blasting off enemies like badasses before deciding to fight us. Honestly I think their deaths were foreshadowed here, with this bit of dialog: Rowen: But it is an unnecessary step, one that could cost your lives. Who would be left to support the king? Presa: His Highness can look after himself. YES HE CAN BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN HE SHOULD YOU DUMBASSES *ahem* Anyway we win, Wingul faints like a Pokémon after revealing his booster is in his brain, Jiao doesn't answer Elise's questions and Jude convinces Alvin to not off Presa (yes Alvin, don't do that, it's rude). So who's left to face now? Why, King Badass of course. He and Milla resume their debate (may I note how much I love how they're actually listening to each other? At first glance it appears they're just butting heads stubbornly, but every time they meet they show they've given some thought to what the other said before, even if they still disagree. Great dynamics. Also the contrast with Nachtigal is interesting. The pre-battle talk was more about how Nachty was not worthy to be king and how they were going to stop him, while with Gaius Milla actually asks him to let her do her thing. She recognizes he's not a bad guy and tries to leave the door open for a conflict-free resolution. He'll do the same later, too. Aah I love them so much). iirc you don't have to win this fight, but I managed to do it (took me 16 minutes and I ran out of Life Bottles orz). The fight gets interrupted by Ivar, who stupidly activates the Lance (Milla's facepalm lmao). Aaaand that's when everything goes downhill. Elympios invades, it's chaos everywhere, Gaius and the Chimeriad are the most badass characters ever, and then Jiao sacrifices himself and I cry. No srsly whyyyyyy T_T let me just pretend he managed to escape somehow and is just taking time off to recover Milla has a weird dream and wakes up all confused and makes a bunch of mistakes, which is really unlike her. She's noticed the contradiction between her mission and her actions and she's really anxious about it. Still, it doesn't prevent her from reassuring Leia when she's the one sharing her own self-doubts. I love their relationship. When they meet up with the rest of the party, there's a new addition: Milla's "sister" Musee. I think it's good she appeared on Jude Side - it leaves the player completely confused about her on Milla Side, which is basically how Milla is feeling about this whole thing hahaha. After listening to Gilland's announcement that he's taken control of KB (and spouting a bunch of bullshit about it too), Wingul invites us in, and Milla then reveals the truth about the world, and Alvin adds some more information and speculation. Of course Gaius is displeased about a lot of things (I would be too if I just learned I was gonna be used for fuel), so while he's no longer antagonistic, he's not being very cooperative lol. Such a shame. With him and the Chimeriad, the party would have been unstoppable. Well, at any rate, we're fighting on the same side now, even if separately. The retaking of the capital shows once again how badass the king and his aides are (they keep stealing the show lately), and we take the castle back and steal an airship rather easily (no thanks to Ivar lol). While resting, Milla witnesses Agria bullying Leia about Jude (and gets the dokidoki when Agria says Jude has the hots for her), and then Alvin trying to hit on Presa (stomp on him Presa). Wish there'd been a scene with Wingul (AND JIAO), but oh well. Anyway, she's starting to realize why she's so anxious and the reason for the contradiction. That's something I totally missed on first playthrough, I thought it was all about her developing feelings for Jude (due to the Agria and Presa scenes), but it's actually about her identity as Maxwell. Though I guess you can't really know that on first playthrough, since the truth only comes up later. But it's interesting to see Milla knew then, way before it's laid out clearly for the players. Also Musee's creepy. Nothing new here. Oh, but I forgot to mention, Alvin's stopped being shady (or has he?). His momma's dead and he hates Gilland, so he's now 100% on our side. Gaius and the party depart for the Zirnitra, where Gilland and the Lance is. On the way, everyone's mana gets sucked up and sent to Elympios, showing Alvin was right about the fuel thing, and Milla almost confesses to Jude, but they get interrupted by Agria. On the Zirnitra, Ivar decides to join the Chimeriad (the actual Chimeriad's glare when he says that is wonderful), and we go our own way. Alvin explains a bit more about Elympios and how Elympions don't have a mana lobe so that's why they need spyrixes. When we confront Gilland he explains about Celsius and spyrites - spyrixes that don't kill spirits. But to them they're just tools (you're the tool Gilland!) and he's an jerk anyway so we kick his ass. He then dies because of the spyrite. Serves you right. Gaius and the others arrive then and this time they're letting Milla destroy the Lance. Hah, looks like we're cooperating more and more... except we get interrupted by Musee's Gravity spell and Milla gets the grand idea to sacrifice herself to save everyone. Milla bby don't do that :'( But the (now freed) Four interfere and save her soul from cleansing, attempting to revive her as herself. Which doesn't really work at first as she's lost her memories (she progressively gets some of them back though). I gotta say I absolutely love the spirit world part. It seems bland if you just go straight for the story part, but it's actually a lot of fun to explore, talk to NPC, listen to the Four's comments, do the little sidequests... I do wish there'd been more to it, especially when you consider how much stuff happened on Jude Side during that time, but what we do have is really fascinating. Also, Spirits interactions. Good good. Even without her memories, Milla is still Milla and doesn't want the Four to die, and they decide to stick with her, even if it angers Musee and the actual Maxwell. I had to change the difficulty back to normal for the Musee fight because I suck at 1-on-1 battles (esp without healer). After that Milla gets her memory data from Maxwell's replica and goes up the Hallowmont while Musee gets mad about Maxwell's lack of answer and flies to the human world to do who knows what. At the summit, the Four get summoned by Maxwell, and Milla follows them. There, she sees Jude and the others fighting against Maxwell, and she finally remembers who she is, making her come back in style. We absolutely destroy Maxwell's ass (yay Gravity Well spam), and then convince him to stop being a grumpy old man and believe in humanity for once. He agrees, but then enter Gaius, who looks pissed for some reason (it's funny to play this from Milla's Side, because last time we saw him he was almost becoming friendly). He then starts spouting nonsense about becoming Maxwell himself since the old one is useless, traps him with the Lance of Kresnik (he got it in the end...), and then there's that gross scene where he pulls a sword out of Musee I'd rather forget. Srsly developers, couldn't you find another way >_> He tries to send the party back to Rieze Maxia (instead of killing them, he's still nice even when he's mad), but Maxwell sends us to Elympios instead, where we conveniently end in the care of Emperor Peony Alvin's cousin Balan. to be continued...