#maybe there will be some reveals or twists further on but for now. yeah. we shall see!

[secretsimpleness]

hi, new follower here for the exquisite ME fanart, have you played supergiant games' hades? pretty sure that's something i'd love to see in your style

Thank you for the kindness! Regarding Hades, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that it's not my type of game, gameplay-wise. I usually don't enjoy combat for its own sake. The good news is that I did some research, because in this instance I'm perfectly fine with watching someone else suffer with combat. So, at the very least, I did some scribbles for you based on my findings :)

[ijustwannabecool]

Property of M.V.

Max Verstappen x wife!reader

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Summary... Everyone sees Max as ice-cold and unshakable, but you’re the only one who knows how anxious he gets before the first race of the season. You’ve always been the one to calm him down. And after the win? He makes sure you know just how much he needs you.

TW: Contains explicit sexual content, strong language, and adult themes. Minors DNI.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Everybody thinks Max Verstappen is this unshakable, hyper-focused, stone-cold competitor. The ice king of the grid. Stoic. Calm. Untouchable.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth, not right now.

Not when he’s slumped in the corner of the Red Bull motorhome, his long legs folded awkwardly, and his body curled into the lap of the one person who always knows how to calm him down.

His wife.

Her arms are looped tightly around his waist, fingers dragging slow lines up the inside of his fireproofs, just beneath the hem of his team tee. Her cheek is pressed to the center of his back where she can feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

“It’s just the first race,” he mutters, voice raspy with anxiety. “What if we messed something up in setup? What if the tires fall off early again? What if I get overtaken at turn one?”

“Max,” she says softly, rubbing just beneath his ribs, “you’ve won three world titles. You could run this circuit blindfolded and still make podium.”

“But what if—”

“Hey,” she cuts him off, one hand moving to cup his jaw as he twists to look at her. “You’ve been doing this since you were what, five years old? I’ve been with you since Formula 3. You’ve always figured it out. And you always will.”

He closes his eyes and leans into her, lips brushing the edge of her collarbone. “Can’t believe I still get this nervous.”

“Means you still care,” she shrugs with a smile, nose brushing his temple. “Besides, once you’re in the car, you’re not nervous. You’re unstoppable.”

There’s a knock at the door, followed by a call.

“Max, ten minutes till pitlane. Let’s go, mate.”

He stands up slowly, shakes out his hands, and grabs his balaclava. But before he steps out, he turns to her.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re my lucky charm. You know that, right?”

“Always,” she says, rising to her feet to meet his lips. It’s soft but lingering, full of meaning and a silent promise.

“See you after the win,” he smirks, that signature Verstappen confidence returning as he slips on his helmet and disappears.

—

Of course, he wins.

Because that’s what Max Verstappen does.

After the champagne, the podium interviews, the media storm, he barrels down the paddock halls in search of her. Everyone wants a piece of him: reporters, engineers, even Christian with a proud grin. But he only has eyes for one.

She’s chatting with Kelly and some of the mechanics near the back of the garage, still in her Red Bull jacket and skinny jeans. When she spots him, she knows exactly what that look means.

“Max, I’m talking—”

“Nope,” he says simply, looping an arm around her waist and tugging her flush against him. “Need you. Now.”

“Max! There are photographers—!”

“Let them look,” he growls, already walking her backwards toward the private room behind the garage. “They should know what belongs to me.”

The door slams shut and she’s immediately backed up against it, laughing breathlessly.

“Jesus, Verstappen. You win one race and turn into a caveman.”

He palms her ass roughly, pulling her hips into his. “Wife wore something special for me today?”

“Maybe,” she teases, pulling off her jacket to reveal a tiny Red Bull crop top and low-rise jeans. But it’s what’s underneath that does him in.

When he peels the waistband down just enough, there it is.

A lace thong, deep navy, with the words “Property of M.V.” embroidered in white.

He goes feral.

“Fucking hell,” he mutters, sinking to his knees in front of her, tongue already licking a stripe up the fabric before she can protest.

“Max,” she whimpers, gripping his shoulders for balance, “they’re gonna be looking for you—”

“They’ll find a locked door and an empty garage,” he shrugs, pulling the lace aside and licking into her with all the desperation of a man who just survived a 57-lap war and still had energy to burn.

She’s already trembling when he slips two fingers inside her, crooking them just right. “Fuck ... baby ... oh my god.”

He groans against her clit, eyes dark and wild. “You’re mine. You hear me?”

“Yes, Max...fuck—yes.”

When she comes, it’s with a breathy moan that he swallows against her mouth, rising to kiss her properly.

He undoes his suit belt with one hand, guiding himself into her without hesitation. She’s already so wet it’s effortless.

It’s fast. Frantic. His thrusts have that signature Verstappen aggression; all gas, no brakes, and her leg is wrapped around his hip as her back thuds rhythmically against the door.

“You’re so loud,” she gasps.

“Good. Let them hear,” he pants. “Let them know who’s fucking you.”

Her fingers dig into the base of his neck, moaning his name as she comes again.

He follows a moment later with a groan of her name, biting at her jaw and shuddering as he finishes deep inside her.

They stay there for a beat, catching their breath, foreheads pressed together.

“Welcome back to the season,” she whispers.

He chuckles, kissing her gently this time. “Best start I could ask for.”

—

The first race-day photo upload on Instagram?

MaxVerstappen1: Bahrain GP ✅ 📸 A picture of Max, shirtless in his race suit tied around his waist, sitting on his wife’s lap, head tucked into her neck, her nails dragging along the Red Bull logo on his back.

Caption: Property of M.V. 🔒❤️

----------

A/N:

Listen. Max Verstappen has feral post-win energy and you can’t convince me otherwise. I wanted to give us the image of a Red Bull motorhome, locked door, him all flushed and possessive, and her in that “Property of M.V.” thong. It just felt right. Hope you enjoyed this spicy little scene! 💋💙 If you liked it, reblogs and comments make my whole week. 🫶

☕️ Support me on Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/ijustwannabecool Every little bit helps me keep writing and dreaming of publishing one day. Thank you

[femnoah]

femnoah au where she doesn't do the disguise? Mayhaps alenoah?

I've always really liked the original concept for Noah, that's he's the "brains" of heathers initial alliance season one. Maybe post her elimination she teams up with Izzy and eva

See, the fact that she's a girl and everyone knowing it would change the dynamic of her character in the first season quite a bit.

Cause a boy being snarky, insulting people and not putting in any effort then he's just being a class clown. Like yeah he's rude and kind of an a-hole but at least it's funny and clearly he's self-assured and going somewhere.

But a girl doing that? Then she's just acting like that cause she's jealous and insecure and attention seeking.

And we have my favourite brand of Neha/Noah - incredibly petty

Also, this is considering Heather's season one stunts sooo...

Neha joining Heather's alliance would make her Heather's Scapegoat

After all, Beth and Lindsay are both sweet girls and Heather is pretending to be friendly so Neha, who is very outwardly not, being in their group? It makes her look like the manipulator or even the ringleader. She is the brains of the group after all

She would immediately clock Heather as the snake she is but still agree to work for her for the sake of the competition. Her suspicion is further proved when Heather gets them to eliminate Beth in dodgebrawl. Beth. Her own ally.

Neha and Beth's eliminations get swapped.

In 'if you can't take the heat' Leshawna is on to Heather and arguing with her as Gwen as her back-up and Heather immediately puts all the heat on Neha instead, painting herself and Lindsay out as the victims

Neha was just so horrible to the two of them, calling all the shots. And look how she hasn't been participating in any of the physical stuff, getting everyone else to do the work for her.

Gwen's diary was Neha's fault not Heather's. And oh how Heather wanted to speak out against her but she hit her and threatened to eliminate her like she did with poor Beth who had also caught on to Neha's evil ways.

She just spends all her time insulting everyone and not even focusing on the challenge. Like where was she now? clearly just slacking off and leaving all the hard, hard work for them to do. (She was outside trying to stop Owen from eating the food, he had planned a large heist.)

Oh, and of course she just loves using Lindsay as her metaphorical punching bag, the poor girl probably had such low self esteem by now.

Obviously, neither Leshawna or Gwen are happy about this, more so for their own and Lindsay's sake than Heather's. Because this makes it out as if Neha had been practically abusing their poor teammates. If only she got her comeuppance....

It definitely doesn't help that when she comes back in and notices the girls glaring at her, she makes a quip.

Yeah, Neha gets locked in the refrigerator instead and eliminated for 'manipulating' and insulting everyone there

To rub salt in the wound, when she gets back to the playa she's met with cold glares and falls ill the next day.

Having chronic fatigue syndrome and being locked in a refrigerator does not mix well. At all. So she ends up bed bound.

Everyone else takes her absence as an admission of guilt.

Also, the producers are planning a 'twist villain' so they're purposefully cutting out Heather's worse moments so they can montage them together for a surprise for when Heather is officially revealed. This, of course, paints Neha in a terrible light for those watching until the reveal.

Bear-in-mind that her worst crimes that season was literally just being cold to everyone and barely participating in the physical aspects of the challenges. So everyone is just assuming that she's some kind of pathetic manipulative villainess, sulking that she got caught.

Only Eva goes to visit her but that's because everyone else kept whining on about it and she wanted to tell Neha to stop moping and hiding away and face accountability for her actions

Instead of what she expected though, she comes across an incredibly pissed off Neha with a raging fever

Neha rants to Eva about everything- especially Heather- and they become friends with Eva hiding away from the other eliminated contestants when they get too annoying or self righteous by hanging out with Neha

Cause when you have chronic fatigue and get ill, you're essentially ill for the next couple weeks, months or even year.

Neha was annoyed. She had finally got a grip on her illness, had finally managed to get it so she could go her day to day life only experiencing the typical fatigue and pain. She was lucky enough already that it didn't affect her mental cognition most days- only those that were worse or when she hadn't been careful.

She had been so so so careful. She made sure she didn't physically strain herself too much. She purposefully avoided any situation that could get her ill. All so she could compete on the dumb show and not suffer for months afterwards or sent to hospital.

But it was all for nothing.

Heather and the rest of those imbecilic jerks ruined all of her hard work.

Leshawna, Lindsay, Gwen and Heather. They had made an enemy out of someone who shouldn't be crossed.

Eva goes back for the merge and instead of Bridgette being her main target, it's Heather. Unfortunately, she's still eliminated straight away but at least this time she can go back to her... friend?

Izzy is also outcasted after her elimination cause of her crazy and dangerous behaviour and on her journey to pester everyone, she befriends Eva and then Neha. The three rejects of the group officially become friends.

Then, Heather is officially revealed as being the bad guy all along. Instead of apologising to Neha though, they double down on their views. She had it coming for being such a bitch after all, with nothing to back her attitude up with other than her pitiful abilities.

Total drama drama drama drama island pretty much goes the same

So Neha, who is very much driven by spite, plots away during the second season. She's a very patient person. She can have her revenge in a couple of years, that's fine. As long as she gets her revenge.

Neha gets a little 'training montage' as a treat

She plays to her biggest strength- her brain. Her ability to learn quickly, to notice everything around her, her initial gut feeling on a person's true nature.

She uses this to get a job working for Chris as an intern and subtly strokes his ego until he agrees to give her a promotion to his personal assistant.

And because Chris is such an amazing celebrity, imagine if the only person who could come anywhere near his excellence was someone he personally trained- his own protégé. Why, it'd cement just how respectable and famous he is.

That takes away one of Heather's strengths- the fact that Chris favours her over the other contestants because now Chris is in Neha's pocket.

She gains a bit of muscle mass from her job but mainly because of Izzy's shenanigans and Eva's workouts.

Unlike Heather, she has friends that care about her wellbeing and health and Eva practically harps on her like a personal trainer, making sure to work around her condition.

Thanks to Izzy, she becomes more resilient, more open to using unexpected resources and using other's perspectives of her to her advantage

She learns from Chris, how he acts in public vs private. How he comes up with all of his ideas. How he thinks.

The same goes for Chef. She plays his weak spots to get his respect and uses it to poke and prod at his idea of strategy.

Then Neha gets amazing news. A new season of total drama with more money at risk and even more danger? It's simply perfect.

Getting Eva to stay on the bus was simple enough and with Justin asking for another volunteer to help with any possible physical activity, Owen practically jumped at the chance to spend time with his favourite boy.

World tour is essentially Neha's villain arc. She's set the stage for Heather to have an even worse downfall than the past two seasons. And the best part, she's still underestimated as the weak book girl with a bad attitude. Subtly is an art after all

If only the stupid new charmer would stop getting in her way of perfect victory by throwing the stupid game and stealing her prey.

She and Alejandro are kind of butting heads at each other with both of them having very different strategies and apparently the only people to know how much of an actual threat the other is. All while being on the same team.

Alejandro assumes he has the majority in the team, the upper hand. Tyler is firmly in his pocket, Eva clearly is attracted to him, Izzy as well to a lesser extent and Neha following along with them. He learns very quickly that this is not the case when he missteps and Neha is not happy with him.

Eventually, they agree to work together and form probably the most brutal alliance.

[iamespecter]

Finally watched K-Pop Demon Hunters.

Needless to say, I'm once again kinda disappointed because this movie is too overhyped by the masses. I mean, it's not a bad movie per say, and I appreciate that it did not try to deliver a plot twist in order to be hip and cool and innovative, but I have some things to say about it.

I do like the songs though, the story is good, the first two acts were actually awesome in terms of pacing and dialogue, the main girls were hilarious and I like their characterizations and flaws combined with their goofy antics, and the antagonist/s introduction was pretty hilarious as it was quite intimidating. My favorite joke in the movie is the fucking demon tiger trying to fucking fix the knocked over items. That shit made me laugh so hard everytime 😭 I think the demon tiger is just my favorite character LMFAO

My problem comes with some of the scenes of the third act, where Rumi's big reveal of being a part-demon comes into play. There was actually a decent enough of a build up to let us know that, "yes, Rumi's about to be exposed", and I like that. I like that very much. But the conflict between her friends while Rumi is panicking and explaining shit felt like it could've been done better.

Instead, it's the typical "misunderstanding" trope because the protag tried to explain her side of the story, but the friends misinterpret it as some kind of... betrayal? When Rumi has shown that she is willing to kill demons and protect everyone, using her voice to seal the Honmoon for good. And I get that it's supposed to be their character flaw, and the fact that they're Demon Hunters strengthen that idea (the fact that their oath is literally "Our faults and fears must never be shown" which is just so toxic and it plays into the movie well) but; this is literally the girl they've known for, what? At LEAST a few years of their lives already, if we're going by the fact that yeah, they're synchronized in harmony AND trained to be Demon Hunters. And it's been established by the film that demons only "eat" souls to deliver them to Gwi-ma, which would be unlikely to do anymore once the golden honmoon is released since it's meant to seal Gwi-ma and his demonic minions.

Again, it could've just been done better with better dialogue choices, in my opinion.

The confrontation with Celine and how it had no aftermath between Rumi and Celine's relationship also feels like it didn't deserve a spot in the film. How am I supposed to believe that Celine is a believable adoptive mother and guardian to Rumi who did actually want the best for her but failed, when I've not been shown enough information to consume about their relationship as a whole? Is their relationship ruined now, because Celine couldn't accept all of Rumi? Is there some kind of... rebuilding a strained connection? These are things you just can't leave up into the air for the audience to interpret. I would've liked this choice if it went off as Celine seeing the Prismatic Honmoon shine because of Rumi's desire to no longer hide her "shameful" side and actually rewarding to see the Huntrix girls finally shed her issues and no longer hide their true selves, in the way Golden could not. (which, I love the irony of the song and it's implications)

Then in the epilogue of the movie, her trying to reach out to Rumi while they were talking to their fans, but still struggles and eventually, slips away before Rumi could even notice her presence. I just need a little bit more info about them to really hone in Celine's motherly love, and her internalized prejudice as well. Maybe even build that up for a sequel, it would've been great to see. There's just not enough of it and I need just a little more, something more I could work off of, so I don't feel like I wasted my time when it came to the confrontation because right now, it just felt like a dialogue fodder to further the plot.

I initially had problems with the fact that we don't know shit about how Rumi was even conceived, like; a demon father.... and a hunter mother? (freaky as shit girl damn..... didn't know you were a monsterfucker LMAO) But then I realized; not everything has to be handed to us in a platter. Sometimes, it's better to leave parts up to interpretation, and to make us feel the protagonist's pain, and what it's like to have a glimpse of being in their shoes.

The ultimate final showdown is another one where my problem lies in. Yes, "Your Idol" and "What It Sounds Like" are banger songs. But the fight itself didn't feel as satisfying or 'feel good'-ish as the movie wanted it to come across as, partially because of the fact that they pulled off a "POWER OF FRIENDSHIP" card for this ultimate showdown-- Although I guess that also gets a pass because it's been established early on since the beginning of the movie that all the Hunters need is a strong enough voice and harmonization to make a Honmoon seal that defeats Gwi-ma. But the crowd vocalizing in alongside the Huntrix members to form the Prismatic Honmoon that seals the Demon King? ACTUALLY A GENIUS concept and is by far, my favorite aspect of the movie.

However, I just also prefer the fight scenes like the ones on the train, the plane, and when they were defending the city from a demon outbreak during the second act, because it actually feels like they're fighting against the forces of darkness. And there was high stakes for sure, but... is it wrong to say that even with the crowd being mind controlled and at the verge of being mass consumed by Gwi-ma, there was nothing to really make me say "oh god, we're really in it now" and provide the proper tension for the final act?

THOUGH. I WANNA SAY. I LOVE THAT THEY KILLED OFF JINU. I'm not sure if dying by Gwi-ma's demon blast was the way to go about it; I'd prefer it if he was torn to shreds by his demon peers THEN blasted by Gwi-ma whilst fighting with Huntrix, but rounding off his character arc by sacrificing himself for Rumi when he started off as a selfish prick was a nice way to wrap up his character, and just further establishes that "Jinu's too far gone for even Rumi to save, despite some moments of humanity peering through". Plus, I'm just nitpicking at this point, we do need more reasons to hate Gwi-ma since he's an overarching antagonist so that gets a pass.

Rumi and Jinu's relationship being a red herring disguised as them being "built" up to be romantic partners was also good, when they are just meant to be growing friends who understand what it's like to live in shame of one's self. I do admit that I felt like they had some romantic potential together, but not only is the decision to just make them stay friends a much more rewarding experience for the tone of the movie, but I also feel like that's just crossing Twilight territory and I'd... honestly rather not. And I appreciate that the movie did not push into that further, and actually gave us a slight foreshadowing via the old lady. lol

Overall, I think this movie is a good watch, certainly a very interesting premise to have K-Pop artists being demons/demon hunters to play on the Kpop industry's volatile, toxic and competitive nature-- to the point that they actually gave a compelling reason as to why they needed to fight for fans who are quick to switch up by the blink of an eye; but not really as memorable as I'd hoped it was hyped up to be. Good for introducing people to good storytelling and the songs are banger, the message is spectacular, but I won't say it's a "must watch". It's just an enjoyable movie and might even get you into listening K-pop songs. And sometimes, that's enough.

it's main strength definitely relies on it's visuals and artistic direction, and no one can deny that. And you know what? Not everything has to be a masterpiece, and perfect, down to it's story.

Kpop Demon Hunters delivered, but it's been overhyped.

[lionscion]

HC's // What's in a Name 2 Electric Boogaloo: Godhood, Religion, and the Cultural Significance of their Titles in Jugdral Edition

(( (And I mention Ares in here too dw; he's affected by this because he lives here so shush)

ANYWAY, here comes another long rant that I really hope is comprehensible--

So in the group discord, we were discussing hc's about what your muse would be the god of. And I'll answer that, but due to Jugdral being Jugdral, any thoughts I have about religion tend to spiral into a giant monstrosity of a rant (you are here). So I'll be talking about other religious stuff related to godhood as a whole here too, as well as the significance it creates to society and their titles etc.

Name jokes aside, I have gone into detail how Ares compares to the Greek God Ares he's named after here as a related thing.

And as another related thing, the concept of godhood is neat to discuss with Jugdral muses to me because of what Jugdral's religious system is like. Yeah you have the evil god Loptous vs the 12 gods who blessed the Crusaders, who themselves became gods, but there's actually way more we don't see discussed in game that we only know about via Kaga's notes.

In said notes, Kaga reveals that before Loptous' (and then the 12 Dragon tribe gods') arrival, Jugdral already had tons of other gods in its pantheon -- which was eclipsed by Loptr Church religion when Loptous took over, then came back in modified form post Holy War #1. There's like, tiers to them. Greater gods vs minor gods and that stuff, and primal creator gods in their own category. We know the names of a few, and iirc one of them gets namedropped at some point in game in like a single piece of dialogue, and as a fun fact the highest god in Jugdral's religion is the sky god Yudu/Gran (hence the name Grannvale I assume). But I digress a bit there.

Anyway, one of the other practices of Jugdral's non-Loptous religion, which the notes call the Edda Order, is to enshrine important heroes as minor gods after their deaths. The Crusaders are the most recent example and thus considered minor gods. Bragi for example is considered the god of life and fate, presumably due to his control of the Valkyrie Staff, and he's the most worshipped among Jugdralis atm. Altho idk if Kaga meant "of the 12 Crusaders" or "of the entire extended pantheon"; I assumed the former but ehhhhh. Anyway, the way they enshrine heroes as gods is similar to how Catholicism canonizes people into Sainthood, and in the notes Kaga does refer to Crusaders using similar namings, calling them the 12 Apostles (yes I know the Apostles are different from Saints but the use of that word in Christianity is murky and includes some Saint overlap so shushhhhh). And further Kaga calls Maera a crusader in the vein of a Saint, so maybe the word itself is used for Saintly individuals. I mean I certainly think the word Crusader would make sense to now have religious connotations because, duh.

I'm laying this all out to say that this all becomes very interesting when you look at the use of these words and how the inheritance system in Genealogy comes into play. These Apostles/Crusaders HAD CHILDREN. And then those children inherited the literal blood of the gods that gave them access to special nukes and powers that can flatten armies or manipulate aspects of the world that no regular Jugdral guy could ever dream of. No wonder the social system of Jugdral just turned into a different fucked up version of itself after the caste system of Loptous' reign (cause yeah they had that) got overturned. You got some more children of multiple gods running around now. No duh the Majors are gonna be treated or viewed as essentially being demigods, or having the blood of gods at least. You wanna talk about divine mandates, man you can't beat these ones. (unless you live in Agustria where a pinky promise twisted the way that all works). But then that creates a real fucked up situation for the Minors and nonbloods too in the social hierarchy.

I do go into the way this Major Blood doesn't always translate to the typical kind of worship in another big fat hc post I haven't posted to dash though (so maybe I oughta do that now...), which is also very interesting, but something I forgot to note last time is it's also important to keep in mind that the ruling religion between Gen 1 and 2 is different. That is, most people may follow the Edda system, but the main rulers in Gen 2 (Loptr Church) do not. They probs want the OG Empire system back with Loptous followers on top and all other religions on the bottom (which played into their fucked up caste system that made them the one true elite ruling class). So that affects how ruling powers treat most Majors not named Loptous/Julius. But then you also have non-Loptous connected people like Javarro who couldn't give two shits Ares is a Major beyond how much he can abuse the kid's power to make bank. So there's defs some variance to how the people with blood are treated (which makes sense, surely not everyone is equally religious even in Jugdral, or sees the religion the same way), but there is a unifying thread in how those with Major Blood are at least almost always recognized for the power they hold. And thus those with Minor Blood or no blood are often warped around this core idea at the center and always put against them in comparison. Oftentimes as lessers whose value can chiefly be derived by how close they can be to the Major Bloods that hold the power of the Crusaders, which thus is why Majors would be favored most here. They are the 'closest' to the gods' image at base, and therefore the goal I believe here is to be as close to the Crusaders (and thereby their powers/blessings/respect etc.) as possible.

SO based on all this, Ares is already kinda mired in godhood type issues whether he wants to acknowledge them or not, specifically the kinds that come from being descended from a god and having that god's powers. If you go by FEH's little description (shaker of salt bc FEH I know), then he is also particularly like Hodr in combat. And I can buy this because Ares already has Hodr's epithet (Black Knight; see my etymology meta I linked above) and is the only one to get it. Which when you think about it in terms of gods is insane. How fucking good do you need to be to be given a GOD'S epithet? Ares I hc obviously focuses in on the legacy and familial aspects of it, but the godhood connection is what other people surely see/focus on more. In this way you could say that to be a Major who inherits their related god's epithet is like the highest form of success if the point is to be as close to the Crusaders' image as possible. Especially so in Ares' case because Hodr was a mercenary just like Ares is. By giving Ares the title of Black Knight, the people could further be calling him the epitome (or god?) of mercenaries. Whether he recognizes this aspect vs the familial one or not, no fucking shit Ares would be proud either way.

And so to directly answer the question finally, I think Ares would thus naturally be associated with whatever domain his ancestor Hodr was considered the god of. Idk what that could be tho, but if it's related to their weapons, it could very well still be something like war or destruction or death etc. Especially since Mystletainn itself is called the Demon Sword and has dark associations with bloodlust and slaughter despite it being a Holy Weapon. Personally I'm partial to destruction. It fits the power Hodr bloods hold but can be considered a neutral force to reflect the fact that even a dark weapon like Mystletainn can actually be a force for good. Same vein as how Shiva presides over destruction in Hinduism, where rather than being seen as blanket bad, destruction is an important force you can't divorce yourself from in their system. Makes me wonder what the other Crusader domains are...

Now that's the end of the question but like I said, I want to explore it a bit more. Because as I wrote this I realized there were other threads tied into the idea of epithet associations in relation to godhood in Jugdral. And I think they're neat and still relevant when writing a Jugdral muse. SO:

The only other person we know of to get a similar treatment to Ares wrt Crusader association iirc is Reinhardt, which is itself interesting because he is a nonblood who serves the person who ACTUALLY has the Major Blood of the Crusader he's labeled as a second coming of (Thrud). Absolutely crazy for a nonblood to be treated as so close to a Crusader when the Major Blooded descendant is right there. And what's also interesting about that is that Rein kinda does but doesn't get Thrud's epithet at the same time. That is, as Hodr was known as the Black Knight, Thrud was known as the Mage Knight. Rein doesn't have Mage Knight as his 'epithet', but that is only because it is his class. Mage Knight as of Gen 1 of FE4 is a whole ass class in Jugdral, so multiple people can have it. Azelle can become a Mage Knight, Arthur can become a Mage Knight, Rein IS a Mage Knight (same with Olwen, Ilios, etc.), the Gelben Ritter includes a large unit of Mage Knights, etc.

Is it considered a lesser honor to be named a Mage Knight since multiple can have it vs people like Ares being the only other Black Knight? Idk. Maybe, maybe not. It could come down to lots of variables that influence the people's perception of these titles, like how the different cultures in Jugdral may choose to express their reverence to their territory's respective founding god. Maybe just because so many have the Mage Knight class, it's no less an honor in the people's eyes? Who knows. At the very least, I think it would make sense for it to still be a class that may be harder to achieve than your average mage class, and would thus be a way to distinguish more elite mages. Or maybe it is more to do with the standards of Mage Knights being held to higher levels to better follow Thrud? We dunno if Thrud left any teachings or morals to follow that shaped the way we now see the Mage Knight class appear in FE4 and 5. Or if he inspired the creation of them as a class in his name. Or if the Mage Knight class existed before him and he was just the strongest one whose existence changed the trajectory of their combat style. I am just theorizing here. But regardless of how rare or valuable the name is, the association between the two at the very least cannot be ignored. And I don't think it was happenstance they have the same name as Thrud's epithet no matter how you slice it, or that Reinhardt is thereby elevated further above other Mage Knights by being called Thrud's second coming. Me personally, I'm a believer of the idea Thrud inspired the creation of the Mage Knight class as a way for Jugdralis to model themselves into warriors close to or in the shape of Thrud's image. In that way, much like Ares being the Black Knight is possibly like saying he is the epitome of mercenaries ala Hodr, Reinhardt might be the epitome of Mage Knights ala Thrud in people's eyes? If that's how the significance of these titles works anyway.

But that's not my wheelhouse I know as a non-Friege/non-Reinhardt rp'er, and I'm not trying to step on toes or push this as the end-all be all fact. I am just bringing this all up to discuss as part of the greater scope of potential examples of how godhood/religion influences Jugdral society and their title conventions, which would thereby affect Ares too and the significance of him being called Black Knight. Clearly, there is at least a trend of people trying to find ways to bring themselves closer to these gods in various ways. Cause religion permeating culture (beyond the fucked social hierarchy that leaves folks like Lex and Tailtiu as outcasts) is a thing in Jugdral, we know that much at least. You see this for sure with Ced having the name of the Crusader his country was founded by (and he himself may be descended from depending on who Lewyn marries). Prolly similar to people naming their kids Jesus or Mohammed today.

In Jugdral's case, the multiple instances of these name overlaps suggest it may be considered good (or good fortune) to associate your existence to the Crusaders in any way, which may also further inform the logic behind people who want to attach themselves to the Crusaders and perpetuate them/their significance. Besides the obvious power and money that people like Javarro are most certainly focused on, others may also see it as positioning themselves as close to the gods as possible. And gods are powerful so it may just all root itself back to power but, yknow. I think the religious/divinity-angled idea is still neat to think about. Especially in relation to trying to maybe bless your child via name or be used as a form of compliment or respect. Because Black Knight or Mage Knight or Ced significance aside, what do the kids you save in FE4 always call the playable units when you save them? Crusaders. And that ties back nicely to Ced's discussion with Leif about Crusaders too. That is, what makes a Crusader really in the end?

Recall again that Kaga seems to call Maera a crusader (Saint) in his notes too. So assuming he didn't mean it like a different way when talking about him (as in like just a crusader for human rights vs Crusader in god flavor), or the translation is off, then that is also interesting to me.

It all ties into these greater themes of identity, legacy, heroism, etc. In this case, the feeling I come away from with this is that, in people's pursuit to become like a Crusader in any way they can, be it pursuit of power or reverent worship, they may have lost the greater picture. Like they lose sight of what really made the Crusaders what they are in the first place: heroes! They had to be heroes to even be considered for canonization, and heroes always are those who do amazing acts of heroism. Heroic acts form the core of the Crusaders' identity, not their godhood or powers! Yet Jugdral's people focus only on names and blood and godly power so much that they forget WHO the Crusaders were and what they did before they earned the right to drink that holy blood, and how even nonbloods can emulate those values/actions just as well as the Majors of today. You don't need powers to model yourself into something close to the gods' image! But without a big fancy label and dragon blood, are those values and actions still enough for these same people to respect and remember as much anymore?

Now for Ares, he certainly seems to place a huge importance on actions despite his own pursuits of blood. In his case the latter is primarily to stave off loneliness, not pursue greatness or godhood. It's naive and childlike too in the sense he instantly warms to anyone who is blood related to him (Nanna) or so much as friends with his blood relations (he hesitates when Seliph says Eldigan and Sigurd were friends not enemies, tho that's for other reasons too). It's like he is seemingly hoping or expecting family always will accept him, where he has had issues connecting to anybody else. It's like he automatically assumes they are good people he would want to associate with.

And indeed, beyond just being blood related, I think Ares is proud of his blood because of what those he's related to have done. He adores Eldigan for example and sees him as the perfect knight, he highly respects his mother per the honorifics he uses for her in JP and how he vows to carry her desire for vengeance in her stead. And the primary example: he follows Javarro because of what Javarro did for him as a child (saved his life by adopting him). Javarro's 'good deed' to Ares was in actuality selfishly motivated, and Ares likely also latched on to Javarro because of his grief and loneliness (which was extra fresh at the time). Maybe the latter was even the greater core reason for him instead of Javarro being a model he wanted to follow (and a debt he wanted to repay, but we dunno if this thinking was planted by Javarro's manipulation or not), but I think both are at play. And I think his care for actions is so great that it can override any loyalty or reverence he may have for family and blood.

Case and point: he washes his hands of Javarro when he finds out Javarro is an awful person who betrayed his interests and was a user just like Lene/Laylea warned about. If he cared about blood and family so much that he ignored their actions in the now, then this would not have been enough to break his loyalty to his only family he thought he had left. It's clear that no matter the significance to him, actions make the core of a man to Ares as opposed to even blood or godhood, and he has no love for the ones that are corrupt.

And in a continent where people have this fervent worship of blood and godhood to the point they may not be as caring about the other actions they take to get as close to it as possible (or the actions of the Crusaders outside their role as gods), I think it's notable that Ares still puts actions above that to decide who to be loyal to, even if it will cost him the one thing he constantly searches for to relieve the pain of loneliness. And by placing actions as his primary focus instead of blood or power, maybe he ends up more heroic/Crusader-like for it than his blood could ever make it.

…Orrrrr maybe I've made myself insane again thinking on this too much idk. Would love to hear other TOA Jugdral rp'ers thoughts.))

[kravchikfreak]

i guess it's time for the essay. i don't know what is it if the act 3 was actually way better or if i've just been successfully lowering my expectations all week but um at least i'm not as angry about it as i was for the last two weeks. if there's not much to be disappointed about or if i just don't care anymore

i still have some to say tho. like first of all, maddie. i don't know how i was supposed to react but in the moment it was "ah, so that happened, k. guess that's why the bomb had that screw in it. wasn't it maddie who carried it initially? i see now". and i tried to not either question it further nor get to invested in this twist. i doubted anything would come out of it anyway. and yeah, just died, without any explanation on why when why for what why when etc. cause like correct me if i'm wrong but we have maddie in bed with cait (she says "okay ambessa" and then tell cait "you are our leader. the enforcers, piltover, they follow you. i follow you"), then before the map with cait (ambessa tells her to leave and tells cait to not get involved with coworkers), then i guess before the statue of councils with cait (they say no word to each other, i totally read it as cait just gives honors to her mother while maddie accompanies her and feels sad for her as well). then believe she disappears for almost 5 episodes and then she appears again (suggesting the negotiation, telling cait she can't blame herself, trying to comfort her with a touch just to be pushed away), and i mean she does eavesdrop on their conversation with vi but they mostly talk about how ambessa is bad (witch maddie wasn't opposed to before) and jinx, after that she only appears in the final battle when the big reveal happened. so like… what microexpretions did i miss between "i follow you" and "get this bullet in the back of your head"? canon answers only. i mean i could suggest she's learned about cait cheating, or got tired of her cold attitude and distancing, or got scared ambessa would burn piltover so joining her sounded safer. or she could be working for ambessa from the beginning and lying to cait this whole time (playing some next level mind games with working for ambessa but trying to convince cait do things against ambessa's goals). like these are all equally likely possibilities, still none of them is canon. prove me wrong?

this whole "traitor" thing feels more like "quick! what do we do now? we could make some emotional moral thing out of it, make cait to get her shit together, reflect on her feelings and actions, actually own her wrongdoings for once and get it right with maddie, buuuuut…. what if we just make her traitor instead and then kill her off half a minute later, so no work needs to be done and also it's okay cause maddie - bad and this means cait doesn't need to make amends so it's a win-win"

also jinx's death felt as unnecessary as isha's portraying-wise. but talking about maddie got me tired also i need to go drink a beer so as usual

peace

maybe i'll write an essay on "like sister-mother like sister-daughter, deaths that felt like nothing" sometime later. maybe not. we'll live we'll see

[rainwalker-dragonblade29]

Um Guys....

Are ya all gon a talk about the elephant in the room because we might have a slight side character crisis.

AKIYU IS ALIVE AND WELL. AND AARAVOS IS OUT. He is back, which means, soon enough if he gains full strength and sees back with his time blindness he would see her and she is in terrible terrible danger.

Now, saying that aaravos would go kill her out of spite or revenge is stupid. Because why go after her than the actual big bad star elves who wronged him. She may pose a threat since her magic worked over keeping him locked away for such a long time, so no doubt she is powerful and he may suspect that if he knows.

And this raises a whole lot of questions. And a possible theory.

Does he go after her?

Say, he does find out where and who she is. He could either choose to:

A) go after her. Meaning she is powerful enough to be a threat but not necessarily beat him and he wants to eliminate all competition so he can accomplish his goal. This means if he does end up vapourizing her or ending her like he did khessa, it could mean he is removing the plausible support his opposition could get AKA callum.

B) Continue on and ignore. She isn't the enemy. Not right now anyway. This gives the dragang a chance to contact her if they learn of him returning.

Does he find out about her AT ALL???

1) Yes? Cuz Star primal has got divination under its belt and "you have seen what we have all seen Aaravos" Means Aaravos IS timeblind. And how vast that ability is depends on him but for an archmage, maybe he can wield it at will unlike Cosmo who can only see at intuitive or random moments and not all the time.

2) No. For him to not be able to see the archdragons' meeting with Akiyu and the Jailor some spell must have worked in concealing that event from cosmic eyes. And if this is the Aaravos will never know of who made the prison even if he can reckon how it was done and it will probably drive him nuts. Which means it could be on his radar and he will find a way soon enough.

If he does go to take revenge and/or eliminate a supposed threat... does he do so alone or not?

Now comes the theory part. A simpler version of this question is: Is claudia involved whatsoever. Like sure the mighty Star could disappear/ teleport in the middle of the night or something to go on a solo mission or he could take claudia along. And both possibilities hint at one thing.... there is an important person who could play a role in his downfall.

One rift that perhaps even Aaravos cannot stop.

Terry.

I am not the first person to say terry will leave claudia. But here i just state maybe how he would. If aaravos makes claudia do things and terry sees... well, terry could leave and go seek help from Callum and Co.

If he does it on his own and terry sees it happen by sneaking behind him... his own views on aaravos get affirmed. It will be seen as "Aaravos is doing all this for revenge" and terry will, split from his company as a call for help if only to save claudia. He will do the right thing.

Is this how the dragang finds out he is back??? Could be. Or it could be Astrid, who flied to aid after Kosmo saw it in a vision.

But this leads to one other question.

Does Aaravos foresee it and try to eliminate Terry?

The timeblind thing comes back here and it would be twisted if aaravos tries to stage terry's demise to further break claudia. I mean i dont want terry to die and it would also be a petty thing to do and TDP most certainly won't do that mistake. It would be tropy over petty but i digress. A confrontation is natural if aaravos learns that terry found out his true intentions or something.

But aaravos to try and kill him, though not impossible, feels unlikely because then aaravos is just evil for evils sake and that diminishes the whole master manipulator angle. Like yeah he told them of Leola, but he who never lies is not exempted from omiting key details. He might not have told us the whole story and what is not revealed may withold more motives. This is a very gray zone to speculate because terry has no relations to aaravos yet and all we know is he is sad Claudia gave into releasing him and that he will be wary since he suspects Aaravos to be acting on the basis of revenge.

And killing Terry doesnt make sense also because of one more thing. Aaravos fears no other, he actively brought down and essentially trash talked the dragang in episode 4 of season 4. He will not care if the dragang found out about him returning. It's gonna unstabilize Callum, anger ezran on top of the whole runaan thing, put Rayla in a pin because should she wait to take Runaan home? And if she has already split, then if she learns later she'd feel she shouldn't have left callum because he was then vulnerable. And soren will just be hurt to hear claudia's bit from terry so boy will ge sad.

The dragang destabilise will work in his favour. He will likely confront terry without claudia seeing, teleporting them somewhere else, set him loose and push him to leave, and give him only one option that will give to tell callum and Co. Terry will on hos own account tame the step to leave. Aaravos comes back and says "he left you" yo claudia and it won't be a lie at all! Terry gets a character arc and is far from harm. Claudia is pushed further into aaravos' grasp and callum and Co have information to anticipate and prepare their next action!

(PS: if he had to eliminate somebody he could go for Zubeia first before akiyu or Domina and that terrifies me even more😬)

[howlingday]

He keeps getting good another chaptrr

1ST / 2ND / 3RD / 4TH / PREV

"Honestly, can't you do anything right?!"

"I'm trying, okay?" Ruby whimpered after yet another of Weiss' 'honest criticisms' as she called them. Really, they were just Weiss yelling for about a half an hour. And it ended the same way, too.

"Well stop trying and start doing!" Weiss then stomped away, leaving Ruby alone in the dorm, yet again.

This wasn't what Ruby thought Beacon was going to be like at all. She thought she would be going on adventures, making friends, and having fun while learning how to become a huntress. But all she was learning right now was how out of her depth she truly was.

If only Yang was here, but it seems she had something better to do with Blake today. Just like yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Ruby opened it to find Jaune standing there with sad eyes. "Is... everything okay, Ruby?"

"Yeah, just... me and Weiss are still trying to figure things out." Ruby said, clearly lying to cover for her partner.

"Oh, okay." Jaune said. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Ruby replied.

"Do you wanna... hang out with my team until your team gets back?"

"Yeah." Ruby perked up, making Jaune's tail wag. "Yeah, I'd like that."

--------------------------------------------------

"Oh, hello, Pyrrha~!" Weiss called sweetly, walking up to the more famous student. "How are you this afternoon?"

"I'm fine, Weiss." Pyrrha replied. "I'm just out grabbing medicine for Jaune while he's studying."

"At least your partner studies." Weiss said with a grumble. "My supposed 'leader' would prefer to play video games instead of putting in the effort to learn."

"I... see..."

"Excuse me, I didn't mean to vent." Weiss apologized. "But she can just be... so... frustrating!"

"Well, have you considered how she might be feeling?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she's certainly younger than us, so maybe she's just not sure what direction she should go. You remember being her age, don't you?"

"I do, but she never had it as difficult as I did!" Weiss huffed. "She never had impossible expectations to live up to like I did."

"Really? What her home life like before coming to Becaon?"

"She probably goofed off at her old school, too."

"Probably?" Pyrrha quirked her brow. "Do you know what school she went to?"

"Well... No." Weiss admitted.

"Do you know why she built her weapon the way she did? Or who taught her before she applied to her old school." Weiss was quiet. "Weiss... Aside from her name, what do you know about Ruby?"

Weiss had no answer. She never considered Ruby to really be her partner. Until now, she saw Ruby as just some kid who lucked her way into being her partner, as if it were some cruel twist of fate as punishment for some crime she didn't commit. This was the first time she considered that maybe, just maybe, Ruby was just as unhappy with Weiss as her partner as she was with her.

"I... should probably ask her." Weiss then said.

"I think that would be a good idea."

--------------------------------------------------

"Hello, again~!" Pyrrha chimed as she opened the door to her dorm. "Oh, hello, Ruby."

"Hi, Pyrrha~!" Ruby smiled, sitting on the floor across from Jaune, books out and open between them. "Jaune and I are just studying."

"Oh, really?" Pyrrha stepped aside to reveal the icy glare of Ruby's partner standing behind her.

"Weiss?!"

"Ruby," Weiss took a deep breath before speaking further, "would you like to study with me?"

"Um..." Ruby scratched her head. "I'm kinda already studying with Jaune."

"Oh..." Weiss wanted to say more, but she thought better than to start anything in someone else's dorm. And what Pyrrha said. "Then perhaps I could... study with you, too."

At this, Ruby looked to Jaune, who smiled, and she gave a smile in return. "Yeah, we can do that, too!"

[archersgoon]

some bits & pieces of band au stuff. under the cut because it's stupid long and not put together in any order other than the one i thunk it in. not proofread so. sorry

it is a high school au but only barely. like we fade in right at the end. p&q go to recruit florenza & she's like we have trials in 2 weeks can you be fucking serious rn

he doesn't really come up much but re lucian: i think saro was like a fast food franchisee or something. now he's gone & lucian aged 22 is trying to run a restaurant staffed almost exclusively by his extended family & family friends. & also phaedra in a slightly misjudged attempt at developing some independence (via the sol-saro vector). okay actually maybe it's like an independent family restaurant. either way there's a stupid uniform & those 2 are the only ones who wear it properly.

anyway quintana shows up to recruit her while she's on smoko. the job is badddd bc lucian is dying badly. she does her 'quit your job. join my emo band' routine & phaedra's so twisted up inside on account of the everything that she says yes

i think she plays drums in the school band. she's good but chafes at the limitations of the context. quintana obviously is self-taught

florenza learnt bass aged like 13-14 in a short-lived pop-punk (or something) phase before being quickly peer-pressured into giving the whole thing up. everyone quickly forgot the whole thing. except phaedra of course

florenza & phaedra outvote quintana regarding getting another guitarist because she's alright, but her main focus is pretty clearly the vocals. they find ginny through a friend of a friend of florenza's

my general ginny thesis is that she is as talented as she says she is but is so genuinely unpleasant to be around that it literally does not matter.

anyway for the moment she's fine & they get things going well enough

i think at least the first part of the story is like 90% phaedra pov. a touch of florenza here and there but nothing from quintana

cora's their manager somehow. don't worry about the logistics. jorja drives them & their gear around in her tarago

the lastborns come to every single gig. no matter what

i know what i said earlier today but upon further thought i don't think any of the girls catch the bus regularly. quintana as previously stated, florenza because her parents drive her everywhere, phaedra because she is soso scared. ginny does to get to uni & stuff but she is incredibly resentful of this

once exams are over they get like really into practicing. quintana keeps vanishing at random times & refusing to elaborate & ginny is always late but still. things are fine

anyway she ends up fucking them over before some like big breakthrough gig or comp or whatever. standard plot points for this type of story. so they're out a guitarist with 40 minutes before they're on. quintana sits down. deep sigh i did not want to do this. picks up the phone yeah hi. yeah. yeah. no look i need you to-- yeah i need you to play guitar. do you know any of our son-- oh you know all of them? you've improved them? yeah i'll bet. whatever be here in half an hour or know no peace in this life or the next

& then tippideaux shows up. yippee !!

obviously they rock the house etc. etc.

cut to 3 or 4 months later. this is part 2 & we do start to get the occasional quintana pov. there's probably some sort of florenza/grijio c plot as well but i haven't put much thought into that

after the hit & run death of her father (cameras caught bestiano's car fleeing the scene & quintana's dear cousin, the incredibly reliable tariq, testified that she was with him the whole night) quintana gets an apartment with phaedra, who is trying to keep the independent momentum going.

phaedra's studying. idk. pharmacy or some shit. quintana is taking a gap year of unspecified length

quintana is being fucking weird again. very hands off with phaedra all of a sudden

blah blah blah pregnancy reveal phaedra assumes this is the reason quintana is firmly defining their relationship as a friendship. this is the point in the text in which froi starts to show up occasionally. phaedra also misunderstands his role here (see my previous post regarding the state of f&q & quintana's mindset in this verse). hears him telling quintana she needs to talk to phaedra and thinks oh my god they are going to kick me out!! i interrupt their nuclear family!

you & i know that wasn't what that conversation was about

i'm not super sure but i think it would have to come to a head before tariq is born. phaedra tries to like. gracefully remove herself from the picture like maybe we should just interact in a more professional context for the moment (they are also trying to write their debut album in the middle of all this. you can imagine how it's going. florenza takes a lot of paracetamol) & quintana's like wait fuck no no no

cue conversation in which phaedra is like way emotional & quintana is incredibly monotone. yay happy ending open communication and such

naturally of course album progress is much smoother at this point. it still takes a while because of the loser infant they have to worry about & like uni & work & other commitments

this is about where i stop. does the album do well? i'd like to think so. but i haven't thought that far ahead yet

tippideaux:

elyse's tags on this matter were genuinely incredible. i think tippideaux's like supernanny but for terrible flatmates. helping her move in grijio says tippideaux these people are the devil you have to get out! & she says nah it'll be fine :). he comes back a month later & she's like pavloved them into treating others with respect & doing their share of housework. unfuckwithable

she's a med student taking a summer course for a gen ed & ends up third-wheeling in a group with banyon & celie. they're doing some will-they-won't-they sexually charged shit every tutorial it's so annoying.

anyway i think they befriend each somehow despite this. like celie's funny & t and banyon have some common interests

as previously stated tippideaux is the only one with a car so when they decide on a night out (she's dd or something idk logistics on that sort of thing i don't leave the house) she's the one driving around. for reasons unspecified celie is closer & thus gets picked up first. when they pull up outside banyon & oshie's place celie's like oh allow me & goes in to get banyon. 45 minutes later tippideaux's still waiting in the car. her good friend quintana calls her, in a most dire jam, and what can she do but offer to assist? she just so happens to have the necessary equipment in the car with her and all!

ten minutes later when celie and banyon get back to the car (conspicuously rumpled) tippideaux is like look i gotta reschedule i have to help out my friend in the band, remember i told you about her? & celie says but we've had this planned for weeks! you can't just change things around last minute. which would normally be a fair cop, but she just made tippideaux wait in the car for an hour. sorry!

oh well at least it should be interesting. she and tippideaux run in different circles so there shouldn't be anyone she knows present, might as well go, support her friend. cue froi & celie it's always sunny meme

froi:

we barely fucking see him. to be clear. he gets mentioned once or twice in part 1 & even in part 2 he doesn't show up that often. most of this stuff would never come up in a formal write-up because it is not relevant to the main story. but i'm addicted to thinking about him so it goes here

quintana keeps getting weird oversized event shirts from somewhere. froi opens his drawer one day. where the fuck are all his shirts for messy work. he normally leaves them in the car but they are nottt there

trev & per want him to do an apprenticeship he has a gift with the wires. the priestking wants him to consider studying music (even barring his stance on singing he shreds on the trumpet). finnikin thinks he should take a gap year & come backpacking in europe with him & isaboe. august & abian want him to go to university no matter what he studies. he wants to do a horticulture cert at tafe

august says well maybe you could study ag? i hear une is pretty good. & froi says there's no way in fucking hell i'm moving to armidale. be serious.

everyone gets over it eventually (except maybe finn) because at the end of the day he has a clear goal involving something he enjoys

finn-froi conflict derives from the fact that finnikin when overseas mostly communicates via sc & photos in general whereas isaboe & froi send like weekly emails with deep thoughts or whatever. the argument is mostly froi going 1. we can send emails! i'd actually like that you prick i feel like we don't talk enough anymore! fuck you! 2. you think i'm too close with your girlfriend? your girlfriend who you're travelling with? your girlfriend who is definitely sitting next to you right now? fuck off

when he's happy he listens to moanin by charles mingus. when he's sad he listens to fuck the pain away by peaches

[castlebyersafterdark]

He gets bullied and made fun of for being a weird nerd - I don't think he's getting bullied for being gay.

This really interests me... lots of people think troy's bullying in s1 was also directed at mike, and that becomes part of mike's queercoding. i can see this in a dramatic irony sense, where the audience makes a subconscious connection, but i don't think this was troy's intention. i think he truly was just bullying will for being gay but because will wasnt there he picked on his friends. ofc troy picked on all of them, but it seems like he had his own reasons for each of the boys (frog face etc, established very early in the show) and that will's would have been 'fairy' or 'queer' if he'd been there and not missing.

then cos he was gone, troy found more juice in targeting will and seeing how it riled up his friends cos it was the hot topic of the moment. it also adds to mike's queer invisibility reading. i think i'd be happy with a s5 reveal (the miwi scenes?) of mike being a target of homophobic bullying, but until we see that, i think him being an invisible queer works better for his overall arc. maybe some fans are just trying to find as much evidence as possible for gay mike but quality over quantity, ya know?

Yeah, that's entirely it. All a part of Mike and Will having similar but diverging journies. The difference being visible vs. invisible is so key to that difference. The bullying thing certainly throws people. Because yeah, that was a Will target, specifically. Especially because it's really tied into how the townspeople probably assumed something happened to the kid when he was missing. Hate crime or killed by someone like him. Or taken his own life due to a related reason. Small town rumor and ugliness. It's all so sad when you really think about the implications of things with the supernatural elements removed ☹️

But yeah, its more accurate to assume Troy had his individual reasons for bullying them all, but of course there's gonna be spillover. He's rude and crude, it's not like he's all that refined. And the bigoted bullying of course still happens today but the 80s? A lovely little special flair. Look at how men spoke to each other in any media you watch. So, Troy's probably calling everyone in the Party a fag at some point. The difference being it was/is such a catch all. They're getting called it because they're all nerds and losers to the cruder school population. Will's getting called it because they genuinely think he's queer and that's a terrible thing to be, right? Absolutely contributes to Mike wanting and needing desperately to hide and suppress that part of himself, too.

And imagine the pain in Will everytime his friends hear that stuff said to him. "Don't worry, man. Don't listen to them. We know it's not true." And the knife of the words twists deeper. It's true it's true.

I very much imagine bullying and being targeted is going to be a huge theme in season 5. Maybe even this is where the tides turn and the walls break down further for Mike. Now it's guilty by association. They didn't think it before for him. But something terrible happened and look, that freak Byers kid is back. Maybe Mike will be invisible no longer. We'll have to see. But sadly and realistically for the trajectory of the show - those boys have a big storm coming. 😕

[helenadurazzo]

The Lord of the Underworld And His Lady Of Spring Part 2

In this continuation of ‘The Lord Of The Underworld And His Lady Of Spring,’ a part of me and @princess-of-pearls-and-stars HPHM x Twisted Wonderland AU, the guys and Asteria all come together in the Headmage’s office only to make more discoveries, but still no answers on how to resolve the issues of the invaders. As always, Helena belongs to me and Asteria belongs to @princess-of-pearls-and-stars

Everyone who seemed to be coming finished with Malleus and Lilia teleporting into the Headmage’s office. Asteria had to note Fae magic was quite interesting and they seemed to perform these teleportations just like apparations, albeit with much less stress.

“I hope we didn’t keep you waiting.” Malleus apologized.

“Malleus! Lilia!” Kalim cheered, “You made it!”

“Hmm…” Lilia mumbled to himself in a barely audible tone, “Seems like I was correct about who was abducted for the most part.”

For the most part!? Asteria thought to herself. What was that supposed to mean? She knew Malleus and Lilia were full of secrets yet some bothered and caused more speculation than others.

Trey cleared his throat, “I was just baking some cookies in the dorm when I got word that Riddle had been kidnapped. Then I heard Ace and Deuce were injured and went straight to the infirmary. It was all so sudden it’s hard to wrap my head around it.”

“The stables where Riddle was taken is like a war zone.” Cater added. “Even the grass was burnt to a crisp. What in the world is going on?”

“That’s what I want to know!” Ruggie exclaimed. “Leona surrendered unconditionally, yeah I know, Leona of all people. Then he said ‘Ruggie, you’re in charge of Savanaclaw until I get back, Then again, I can’t be sure I’ll come back at all…’ He was dead serious too!”

“As we understand it.” Jade began smoothly, “Azul was taken during a club meeting.”

“The board game club guys say he left with them peacefully.” Floyd continued for his brother. “And Firefly Squid and Lil’ Clione went along too. I don’t know though, it doesn’t sound like Azul.”

“Asteria’s group and I were originally with Vil and Jamil back at Ramshackle.” Kalim revealed what Asteria knew all too well.

Rook elaborated further, “We tried to fight the intruders with magic, but it had no effect on them. They took Vil and Jamil, along with Grim and Helena.”

Jade pondered for a moment, “There must be a reason then that Leona and Azul didn’t fight back.”

“Yeah…” Ruggie realized, “Now that I think about it, Leona seemed to know what their deal was…”

“…hm” was the only audible sound that escaped Malleus’ lips before more words were spoken at long last, glancing at Lilia. “Kingscholar is from an old royal house. It would stand to reason he has heard of them…”

Asteria raised an eyebrow, “What are you talking about?”

~~~

“I’ll field that question.” Asteria heard the familiar voice of Professor Trein as he entered the room.

“Oh hello Trein.” Lilia spoke casually at the somewhat unexpected visitor, “Where is the headmage?”

“Styx took him into custody as well.” Professor Trein enlightened them. “I’m in charge while he is away.”

“Maybe it’s good the Headmage is gone.” Asteria muttered to herself, “Perhaps we can actually get answers.”

“Hold up what’s Styx?” Floyd asked the Professor with a puzzled look.

Professor Trein folded his arms, “An organization that operates independently of any nation or government. It is an arcane institute that conducts research on blot. They have done so for many years.” A revelation that brought shock to nearly everyone, except the Diasomnia Housewarden and Vice Housewarden.

“They study blot?” Jade broke the silence that was formed.

“I get it now…” Floyd added.

“Get what?” Kalim raised an eyebrow.

“Think about who they took.” Jade pointed out.

“It was Riddle, Leona, Azul, and Jamil.” Cater reminded the group, “So they abducted Jamil, who is a Vice Housewarden, and left Kalim alone. But they didn’t take Rook who is also a Vice Housewarden. So they aren’t targeting just Housewardens or just Vice Housewardens.”

“It’s people who’ve overblotted!” Kalim exclaimed.

“Wait a few questions, one when did Vil overblot!?” Ruggie looked at Rook and Kalim and only received silent nods in response. “And two that doesn’t explain why they targeting Grim and Helena.”

“Nor the fact that Riddle and the others received proper medical treatment.” Trey pointed out. “They have all made a complete recovery. Why would this come up now?”

“Hmm…” Malleus pondered, “There is someone who probably knows their reasons, the Watchman of the Island of Woe.”

“The what?” Asteria was still just as confused as she was before.

“Ah” Rook seemed to have more knowledge of the subject than she did, “I’ve seen mention of them here and there in old history books. Are you acquainted with this dreadful isle and its Watchman, Roi des Dragons?”

Malleus had a confused look on his face, “Are you that clueless Hunt? You are acquainted with him as well.”

“I am?” Rook seemed to regain confusion.

“And not just Rook.” Lilia reminded Malleus, “We all are acquainted with him to some extent at the very least.”

Rook folded his arms, “Are you suggesting what I think you are that Idia is this so called Watchman?”

“Well it’s more of a family title.” Malleus explained, “I believe the current head is…Aidne Shroud?” Looking over at Lilia for confirmation.

Lilia shook is head, “No, she passed away, now it is Aidne’s son, Idia’s father.”

“Human generations pass by so quickly.” Malleus quietly realized.

“True but Styx is a rather recent development.” Lilia reminded him. “Perhaps only a century or so?”

“Wait slow down.” Ruggie pleaded, “I am still confused. Leona mentioned Idia’s family is apart of some megacorp but that’s just a cover for the whole Styx and Watchman of Island of Woe thing!?”

~~~

“While the Watchman has become sort of an urban legend now.” Lilia explained. “You see back in the old days, when mages were called witches and wizards, they were feared across the land. People believed the Island of Woe would punish anyone who abandoned their principles and went mad with power.”

Malleus continued, “One of my family’s history books even claims that the group is so ancient they date back to the age of the Gods. Back then, the relationship between magic and blot wasn’t realized. Instead, people believed, overblots were disasters that occurred without warning. The Jupiter Family sealed those disasters away on the Island of Woe to bring peace. And the Watchman is in place to protect the land from those disasters plaguing everyone once more. The first was one of the Shroud family’s ancestors.”

“Sounds more like a myth than history.” Cater remarked.

Lilia picked up where Malleus left off, “Mind you, humans never stopped researching magic, eager students that they were. Time marched on and eventually magic became safe to practice, with witches and wizards becoming known as mages. In the present, mage licenses are international and are globally recognized for the betterment they bring society. And there have been many laws and acts to help with the necessary discipline and overtime the Watchman began to fade from the history books. But regardless the group continued their research on the disasters, and that is what Styx is.”

“I see.” Professor Trein continued, “We were aware that Idia was the son of the Shroud family. But this is the first I have heard of a connection between his family and Styx. I haven’t even seen any of this discussed and I have read just about every book and work on magical history.”

“Ah but you see you are limited to the texts that survive among humankind.” Lilia pointed out. “Humans and Fae stopped intermingling long ago, and not every truth is written down.”

Trein cleared his throat, “This makes me wonder if the headmage was aware of any of this. And if he was does that mean he was unable to work with the Shroud family to prevent this?”

Malleus only shrugged, “Who can say really. Even if he had known he wouldn’t have been able to stop them.”

“So does that enlighten anyone about the plan they have for the ones who were abducted.” Trey wondered out loud.

Jade spoke strangely casually, “If they are lucky they will only be examined. If they are unlucky they will become test subjects. And if they are REALLY UNLUCKY they-“

“Let’s not finish that sentence.” Kalim requested with a freaked out look.

“But those goons rolled up and blasted half of campus.” Floyd reminded everyone, “There are ton’s of witnesses right? At least someone had to have gotten them on video. Doesn’t seem very sneaky or secretive to me.”

“Perhaps they have a reliable way of clearing the mess they make up?” Jade suggested.

Professor Trein sighed, “Look, we don’t know where the Island of Woe is which means we can’t pursue those who were abducted. I want all of you to return to your dorms and do a roll call, check for any injured students and report back to me.”

“Yes sir!” The remaining housewardens and vice housewardens said in unison except for Rook who had an ever growing scowl on his face.

~~

Around the same time as it would turn out, those who were captured would arrive at the mysterious Island of Woe. More specifically, Styx’s headquarters. The four housewardens and vice housewarden looked at their surroundings, yet soon enough, they spotted a familiar face with hair made of fiery blue flames.

“Uhh hey everyone, welcome to the dark and gloomy Island of Woe.” Idia awkwardly greeted them, “And Styx headquarters.”

“It’s you…” Vil breathed furiously.

“Yep Idia Shroud acting director of Styx.” He added as he was joined by Ortho Shroud, Helena Othonos, and one of the intruders from earlier.

“How did Helena get here before us.” Leona grunted, “Must have gotten special treatment.”

“That’s the only thing that comes to your minds?” Idia raised an eyebrow, “No ‘Say What!!!’ Or ‘No Way!!!’”

Azul sighed, “I’m so shocked I’m actually calm.”

“Granted we already assumed there was some connection.” Vil pointed out. “But you’re the acting director? That’s not some tangential link!”

“Less Chit Chat more answers Radish Sprout.” Leona glared at Idia, “Why did you bring us here and I can’t believe I am saying this, but why does Helena act and look more like a robot with those new glasses and uniform of hers than Ortho? You did jam us in cargo and didn’t bother even giving us an economy seat.”

“Yikes those are some scary fangs.” Idia jumped as Leona growled. “Just cool your jets and this will all be over and we can have a good time.”

Jamil was simply furious, “You attack our school and abduct us. And clearly have done something to Helena as she hasn’t even said a word of recognition. And you still want us to ‘cool our jets’ you are lucky her sister isn’t here or you would already be dead as a doornail.”

“Do you want to lose your head!?” Riddle exclaimed.

The previous intruder starts speaking in a robotic tone, “Detecting a buildup of magic in Subject A. Readying stun-“

“Woah woah!” Idia called out, “Pause that.” He then looked over at the others, “And Helena’s perfectly fine since unlike you all she hasn’t forgotten one itty bitty detail that’s very crucial.

“Huh?” The boys exclaimed in unison, equally confused.

Idia grinned deviously, “Where are you again? And who am I again? I’m the BOSS” words that seemed to frighten the five guys. “Don’t hurt us we won’t hurt you. It’s as simple as that.”

“Injury will decrease by 57% as long as you follow my brother’s instructions.” Ortho gleefully predicted.

“Very well.” Vil sighed, “There aren’t any better options regardless. I’ll comply and behave.” After a bit of silence, Vil’s tone turned more assertive, “Well? Are forcibly detaining us, I trust you at least have the decency to serve us some tea? Surely your girlfriend isn’t the only one who will be treated like a normal person.”

Idia mumbled, “The way you’re acting doesn’t remotely suggest compliance or good behavior… but whatever. Come on everybody follow me.” He then turned to Helena, “Would you mind preparing the tea?”

“Not at all.” Helena mindlessly smiled.

[kellanved-ammanas]

TF2 Drabbles: Scout - His Face

Summary: How about the main nine meeting meeting the emesis blue versions of them cause you said to keep it to the main nine and technically the emesis blue versions are the same characters but in a different universe from the main one like how all the of the main nine from these drabbles are the same as the ones from the main universe but with different personalities

[A/N]

I realized that a couple of the requests already in my inbox were easily justifiable as Halloween appropriate so I decided to do those first.

Also, spoilers for Emesis Blue if you haven't seen it yet. Nothing super major, like what is revealed in this drabble isn't told how it came to be (using careful wording here to not give it away if anyone chooses to skip this one for now to go watch the movie spoiler free). Regardless, I recommend going to go watch it because it's quite good.

~

When Engie had said he’d built a machine that could bring them to alternate realities, Scout had assumed they’d go on a fun little adventure to meet themselves. That alternate him would be different in that maybe he did end up dating Pauling in this universe or had ended up on RED instead of BLU or something else like that. Things that weren’t necessarily small differences but were still neat and recognizable as him.

The latter remained true. He was certainly looking at himself. Even contorted with pain, frozen in death as rigor mortis set in, that was his face. The rest could very will be his body too, just broken and twisted as if it had been writhing in agony at the moment of death. The blood, already congealing, obscured the exact nature of the wounds, especially in the darkness of this wretched basement, which was a mercy but… there so much.

The coppery stench of blood filled the room. It wasn’t just from his own corpse but the other two corpses too and perhaps just the room itself smelled so naturally. Surely it would now as how could this stench ever be fully eradicated?

“Mate, I really think you should look away.” That was probably the third time Sniper had voiced that sentiment. Probably he had a point; what good could looking at one’s own corpse do? But… it was hard to tear his gaze away for good. He kept returning to look some more each time he walked away. It called to him.

They’d also found this world’s BLU Medic. He hadn’t seemed nearly as excited about meeting his alternate self as said alternate was. Scout had tried to pay attention to the conversation everyone else was having with him in the other room but the way he’d looked at Scout had been disconcerting and well… his own self was just over here, broken and dead on a table. Tortured to death.

“I’m fine,” he said, perhaps even managing to sound like he meant it. “I kill people for a living so, you know, death and gore and all that don’t bother me like at all.”

“Yeah but it’s you so… you know.”

That did make it a bit different. Was he destined to die like this too? In pain and agony. Surely not but… it was him. An alternate version of him but still him.

“I’m fine,” he said again anyway though as the tore his gaze away to look at Sniper instead.

Sniper, his head pointedly turned away from the corpse, frowned slightly; he didn’t believe Scout. “Let’s maybe head up stairs, huh?” Instead of just to the other room where the others still were and thus even further away, making it more difficult to come back here to resume staring

“Sure, I guess if you really want to, we can.” He tried to maintain a casual tone but it was hard to when placing the sheet back over his own bent and twisted corpse. Some fresh air would hopefully do some good towards erasing that image from his mind though.

[justnerdy15]

iterum sol oritur (daily writing 1.20.24)

prompt: @isabellebissonrouthier The sun hasn't risen in seven years. Why are people terrified that sunrise has finally returned? wc: 2200 (more under the cut) a/n: thanks for the inspo @isabellebissonrouthier! this really tickled my brain into actually writing for once. content warning: cursing, child death (off page)

The hubris of humanity is unmatched. The gall to deny nature its function, to manipulate the stars in the sky, to exert their control over forces that have existed before humans were even specks in the dirt is a level of egotism that has never been seen before and, god willing, will never be seen again.

***

“What do you mean you can’t come today?” a woman demands, clutching her phone with a white-knuckled grip as she paces a pristine kitchen, her voice shrill and hair-raising. “I need this done. Do you understand me?”

A muffled response.

“I don’t care about a list! Or that you’re busy,” she snaps, lip curling to reveal sharp canine teeth. “I’ll pay triple the rate for you to come out now. Fuck, I’ll install it myself if I have to, just give me the fucking supplies.”

A younger woman watches from the couch, glancing between her irate mother and the giant panes of windows that reveal a starless sky, and sighs. It’s embarrassing to watch as her mother argues, anger undercut by the creeping desperation that pricks Eliana’s ears, going back and forth with some kid on the other end.

He probably isn’t being paid enough to deal with the end of the world.

Well, for some at least.

“You know what? Get me your manager. I want to speak with whoever’s in charge,” her mother says. Oh boy.

Eliana rolls her eyes, pushing herself off of the couch, and makes her way upstairs.

She reaches a pale green door, drawings pinned to the wood in layers and layers of printer paper, and knocks.

“Hey, Luke?” Eliana calls out, hand resting on the door knob. “Can I come in?” She leans in, trying to hear something, and tries again. “Luke?”

The light taps of small feet. A sniffle or two. The knob creaks as it turns underneath her still hand.

The door cracks open just enough for wide brown eyes to look up at her, red-rimmed and watery. “What?”

Eliana offers a small smile. “Can I come in? We can draw for a little bit?”

He sniffs, nose snotty and thick, but he nods and lets her in. He clambers back to his bed, comforter and sheets twisted around into a little nest, and fumbles around until he’s comfortable, pulling a drawing board into his lap.

She follows suit, careful to avoid the soft toys scattered around the floor, and perches on the edge of his bed, picking up a sketchbook from the ground. Eliana flips past pages of crudely drawn mouths, sharp and bloody, and glowing eyes in the dark before coming to a blank page. She takes a pencil from his little pile.

“How you doing, bud?” Eliana asks, using the side of the lead to start shading the corner of the paper. Glancing out the corner of her eye, she sees Luke drag a red crayon down his paper in heavy stripes.

He shrugs.

She brings her pencil further down. “You know you can tell me anything right? I —”

“Momma’s gonna die, isn’t she?” Luke asks, not looking up. “When the sun comes back?”

Well, shit. Eliana takes a sharp breath, pressing a bit harder on the pencil, marks darkening with every swipe. She can’t lie. Not to him.

“Maybe,” she admits, looking at her paper. “She doesn’t want to.”

“But why?” A loaded question. Not that he knows that.

She bites at her lip, wincing at the metallic tang, and tries to figure out where she should begin.

“You know how there’s a lot of special adults around us? Adults like mom?” she asks him, watching blonde curls bounce up and down. “Do you know why they’re special?”

“They don’t grow up,” he answers matter-of-factly. “They drink special juice and they don’t grow up.”

Eliana can’t help the face she makes, a begrudging grimace, because he isn’t exactly wrong.

“Yeah,” she says, nearly done with her page. “That’s pretty much it. And what else is special about them?”

He sniffs again, rubbing his sleeve across his nose. “They made the sun go away.” Luke looks at her. “Why?”

Because they’re selfish assholes. “It hurts them,” Eliana answers, meeting his gaze. “And they thought it would be better for everyone if it just went away.”

“How?”

A noise, a weak excuse for a laugh, escapes her. “I don’t know.”

“What was the sun like?”

Eliana looks down at her paper, filled to the brim with dark gray, and thinks of all the pictures Luke has drawn. How there’s never a bright blue sky with a yellow circle and white fluffy clouds. How he’s lived his entire life in the dark.

“It’s warm,” she says, “Even in winter, it’s always a little warmer in the light. And it’s bright. So bright you can see for miles. Sometimes when it hit the windows just right, there would be rainbows on the walls, on the floors. Even the sky was different colors. Pink and purple and orange and blue all mixed together.”

“That doesn’t sound bad,” Luke says.

Eliana chokes out a laugh. “It —” she cuts herself off and scrubs at her eyes “— It was nice.”

Luke looks away from her, returning to his drawing with another crayon. “So, why did momma become special?”

Eliana huffs. Because dad died and she couldn’t cope. Because she was afraid to leave them too. Because she wanted some sense of control of the chaos they spiraled into. Because she was weak and let those fuckers whisper poison in her ear. Because she never thought through the consequences of her actions.

“I don’t know.”

“How many grown ups are special?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why’s the sun coming back?”

“I don’t know, Luke.”

“You don’t know a lot of things, Eli,” her brother says causing her to roll her eyes.

She pokes him in his foot. “Well, excuse me, mister,” she replies, “I don’t think anyone knows.”

When the reports came, of how the endless blackness was lightening, distant stars once again puncturing empty skies, it sent the world into chaos.

How could this be happening? Why is it happening? They had promised never-ending night, never-ending life for those who accepted the Bargain, in return for servitude.

And hadn’t the people kept their end of the deal? Supplied them, worshiped them, feared them? Why have they turned their back on their chosen devotees?

Eliana remembers catching her mother later that night crying — or, well, trying to — begging to empty air that she would be saved. Now, instead of bartering with would-be gods, she’s wasting hours arguing over useless solutions in one last desperate attempt to delay the inevitable.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Luke asks.

She purses her lips together, a sudden burning in her eyes, and swallows against the knot in her throat. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Luke.”

Her phone vibrates in her back pocket. She doesn’t bother to look at the screen. “Hey, I’ll be back in a second, bud,” Eliana says, clearing her throat as she gets up from the bed. “Won’t be long.”

Ducking out into the hallway, making sure the door closes behind her, Eliana slips out the phone and answers it.

“Hello?” she says, trying to sound a little normal.

“Have you heard?” a voice asks, low and dark. Eliana looks at the screen.

“Heard what, Clara?”

There’s a bitter laugh and a pit grows in Eliana’s stomach. “The Watersons. Fuck, Eliana, they killed their kids. Cops just found them.”

“What?” Eliana looks back at Luke’s door and takes a few steps down the hallway.

“Benny, Lucy, and Willa. They’re all gone. Word is that Chris and Donna put something in their food. They —” some rustling, the slam of a car door “— They fuckin’ drained them, Eliana.”

She blinks, stomach turning, and tries to make sense of it. “Why? I mean, Jesus Christ, what the hell?”

Clara scoffs on the other end. “All this shit with the sun. They didn’t want to leave their kids behind —” sarcasm drips with every word “— and they’re dead anyways so. Why the fuck not I guess.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. I just talked to them a couple days ago. They said they were going to send the kids to an uncle or something up in St. Louis.” They were sad, sure, but they seemed to have reached a level of acceptance. Even told her they were going to be with their families when the time came.

“Guess they changed their mind,” Clara says.

Eliana leans back against the wall, rubbing at her forehead with one hand, listening to quiet breathing.

“Fuck,” she says.

A hum. “There’s going to be more before this is all over,” Clara states. “As the clock starts counting down. When it finally sinks in.”

“Christ. What’s DPD going to do?”

“Fuck, what can they do? Half of them are turned and the other half are getting ready for the shit storm that is going to follow. Besides, it’s not like anyone is going to admit that they plan on killing their families. It’ll be busy for us to, you know, clean up and everything.”

Eliana looks at the floor and imagines her mother pacing underneath, probably still on the phone. Anxiety settles in her chest, heart beating just a tad faster. She takes a deep breath.

“Clara —”

“Eliana —”

Her mouth shuts with a click. She swallows. “Go ahead.”

Clara sighs. “Come to my place. You and Luke. Please? Until this passes?”

Shaking her head, Eliana replies, “You mean until my mom dies.”

“Technically she’s already dead.”

Eliana grits her teeth together. “Try that again,” she bites out.

“I’m sorry, Eliana. I — I’m sorry, okay? I just want you and Luke safe.”

The words tumble out of her mouth before she can stop herself. “We are safe.”

Her mother is a lot of things, but she — She isn’t that.

She’s not. She would never hurt them.

“Barely,” Clara retorts. “How’s she been acting? Erratic? Angry? Aggressive?”

“Christ, Clara, she’s trying figure out a way not to die. I think a little emotional volatileness is understandable.”

“Sure, but she has a habit of taking things too far. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

“Of course I haven’t,” Eliana snaps, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. She wants to pull it out. “What the hell is your problem, Clara?”

“No, Eliana. What is your problem? Jesus, it feels like you’re sticking your head in the goddamn sand. You aren’t safe there and you fucking know it,” Clara bursts out, voice raising enough for Eliana to hold the phone away from her.

Eliana clenches her jaw, teeth aching under the pressure, and smothers the desire to pitch her phone down the hallway. “I don’t need a lecture from you. You have no idea what it’s like —” The words catch in her throat, her mind catching up with her mouth, and shame slams into her like a freight train. God. She didn’t mean —

It’s just —

This is her mother —

But Clara had mothers too.

Dammit.

Eliana closes her eyes, squeezes them shut until the stars reappear behind her eyelids.

Clara breathes out heavily.

“Yeah, well, there’s a reason for that.”

Silence falls between them. She can still hear her mother downstairs, angry and demanding, and the quiet humming from Luke in his room. Her heart thunders in her ears. She wonders how many people can hear it.

“I’m sorry.”

“I think we’re going in circles,” Clara says dryly.

“Yeah, I guess we are.”

Moments pass before Clara speaks again. “Listen, I just want you safe. And I think the best place for you and Luke to be is with me, but clearly, I can’t force you to do anything. So, if you want to stay there, fine — just don’t forget you can always come to me okay? I’m just a call away.”

“I know, Clara,” Eliana quietly replies, scuffing her foot against the wood floor. “And I’m sure there’s something else you want to say, so. Just say it.”

Another sigh. “Your mom made her bed, Eliana. She knew the risks when she took the Bargain. Whatever happens happens. It’s not your fault either way.”

“Maybe she’ll make it,” she offers, not believing her own words for a second, “She’s trying to get ahold of that special glass treatment. Maybe it’ll work.”

“Maybe. For your sake, I hope so.” There’s ruffling, the rumble of the car engine as it turns over. “I gotta go. We have to get hazmat gear for clean-up. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Course. Be safe.”

[slymewizard]

I think its time to make a confession that I’ve been bottling up for a while now. I know that this might get me permanently exiled from the Adventure Time community but I just need to say it. And I’m sorry if I betray anyone with this opinion.

I didn’t like Obsidian.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good episode, I love the music and the flashbacks, and its still better imo than Wizard City (but to be fair that is not a high bar.) but it just didn’t really click with me for a few reasons. Before any of you get mad at me, let me make myself clear, I love Bubblegum and Marceline’s relationship. It’s one of my favorite couples in any series period. But thats precisely one of the reasons that Obsidian underwhelmed me so much. Episodes like Varmints, Sky Witch, and the Stakes arc established them as a badass duo who worked as a team. But during Obsidian, Marceline does most of the heavy lifting while Bubblegum just makes a lot of the problems worse. And I know that was a main plotpoint for the climax of the episode, but it just didn’t sit right with me to see Bubblegum so uncharacteristically inept. The team dynamic between them I had grown to really enjoy just didn’t feel like it was there.

Now this on its own wouldn’t make me not like the episode. It wouldn’t make it a favorite of mine, but I wouldn’t outright dislike it. Even at their worst Bubblegum and Marceline are still a fantastic couple and a joy to watch…

But then we have the glass kingdom.

Hooooooooo boy.

Ok I grew up with Steven Universe so I love Michaela Dietz and I mean no disrespect to her when I say this but GOD IS GLASSBOY ANNOYING.

Ok thats a bit of an overstatement, he has his moments, but unlike Y5 in BMO, he just feels kind of intrusive. And again, I get it, thats a main point of his arc, but I just never really GOT why he needed to be there. I get that theres a whole subplot but I would have enjoyed it a LOT more if Marceline and PB were the sole main characters. Heck maybe even throw a few more Simon moments in there. He just doesn’t really add much to the episode as a whole except an annoying third protagonist who really only exists to further his own subplot rather than the episode plot as a whole. (There were a lot of other ways Marceline and PB could have gotten to the glass kingdom.)

And then theres the subplot itself. I’ve come to have certain expectations for an Adventure Time plot. Call me entitled, but past the midpoint of the series it handled some pretty heavy topics with a lot of nuance, and thats part of why I loved it so much. It wasn’t afraid to talk about certain subjects that other shows tend to shy away from. And Bubblegum and Marceline were two of the most complex characters, so I had high expectations for Obsidian. And their arc, despite my problems mentioned above, delivered it well. The climax with them in the volcano and Marceline using the makeshift guitar to sing a heartfelt song that touched both PB and Larvo was genuinely beautiful and kept the episode from being a complete dud for me. But glassboy’s arc boils down to “Don’t make fun of people who are different than you are.” The second the royal advisors started making fun of him for his crack, I knew EXACTLY, what was going to end up happening. And wouldn’t you know it, by the end of the episode, everyone including the advisors reveal that they all had cracks this entire time because everyone is different and we should all learn to accept that…To quote John Mulaney, just because you’re right, doesn’t mean you’re interesting. This is a topic that any NUMBER of shows could have handled, and even then Adventure Time usually adds a bit of a twist or some nuance to even the most basic lessons, but the entire arc was just so cliche. The royal advisors talk exactly like they crawled out of a stock health class video about bullying. I may sound like a bit of an entitled asshat but am I wrong for feeling a little bit patronized?

So yeah I didn’t really like Obsidian. I’m not gonna make a sarcastic remark mocking people who would disagree I openly encourage you all to tear me asunder. There’s a non zero chance I will become the next Rick and Morty copypasta. I’m still learning about this stuff and if I missed some deeper meanings please let me know. And no matter what, always remember, I still liked this episode way more than Wizard City. That was barely anything for me.

[armesstein]

I am fully aware of the rumors that Square Enix is looking to remake FF9, though haven't seen any sources to confirm this yet. FF9 getting remade would be pretty fuckin sweet, and it's one of my favorite games. BUT, if I'm being completely honest here, I feel like the next remake should go to FF8.

The reason why is because it would greatly benefit from having plot points explained more efficiently, we get better explanations on the GF system and how it gives the SeeD soldiers amnesia, and have a clearer understanding of who Ultimecia is and why she's compressing all of time. (I mean, in Dissidia she explains it, but for some reason her motivations weren't ever brought up in the original game, so it's never clear why she is doing this.)

Squall and friends completely forgetting that they grew up together, yet remembering they all grew up in the orphanage as kids can be done much better. It was a neat twist that fell flat on its face when it contradicted itself.

Like when (i cant fucking remember which character brought it up, since i havn't played the game in well over a decade, i think it was selphie or irvine??? one of them) one of the characters goes, to paraphrase, "hey guys, remember when we grew up here?"

and they're like, "oh yeah, now that you mention it..."

I think this part can be better executed if Square decides to remake the game. The amnesia can still be a byproduct of the GFs, but maybe include build-up to the big reveal that they all knew each other at some point in their lives, and didn't meet for the first time as SeeDs. Squall suspects it and further questions it, as do the rest. Eventually they come to the conclusion that they've forgotten more than they realized, and this can lead to some interesting character interactions!

As much as I loved FF9, i can hold out on it a while longer. I just really want to see what they can do by giving 8's plot a tighter execution. FF8's storytelling has great potential and deserves a remake so much more. I will die on this hill.

[kelcemenow]

Your Voice - Chapter 1.

Pairing Travis Kelce x Reader

Words 1118

Warnings Strong language, that's all.

This Anon request piqued my interest as I used to read a lot of Soulmate AU fanfiction 'back in the day' and I really liked this idea! AU's give me so much creative freedom...and a chance to go back to college Travis!! Now, I wasn't going to make this a series but as I was writing, I realised it is going to have to be as I had a great idea for it! I hope you enjoy! "Can I request a Travis k x soulmate au? pls 😩"

CHAPTER 1

"What did your Soulmate say today?"

You looked up from your lunch, pausing from pushing a piece of lettuce around the plate with your fork.

"Go long, man." You rolled your eyes as you repeated what you had heard earlier that day, "I'm honestly past caring at this point."

Chloe clapped her hands and jumped a little in her seat, "So, he's a sports guy? Maybe we should scope out the teams and see if you recognise anyone's voice?"

You sighed, "Chloe, I really don't care anymore. I've been hearing his voice for 3 months now. This college is huge, it would take me forever to find him here. Plus, some days I can't even make out what he's saying, it's so faint and muffled, I doubt I'd even recognise it."

Chloe twisted her mouth as she thought, "I could get us some invites to the jock parties?"

"You're not listening to me at all are you, are you?" You returned to your salad.

"We'll get you looking super hot, see if the voice gets louder at any of them, get talking to guys and then before you know it, you've found your Soulmate!"

"No, then." You said whilst chewing on your chicken.

Chloe reached across and held your hand, "But this is so exciting. Think of poor me, Y/N. My Soulmates voice was so loud back home, I come here and now I can't hear him at all. You've actually got a chance of meeting yours, he's obviously here! So, let's go and find him."

You stared across the lunch table at her, your face unchanging.

Chloe slowly retreated back into her seat and picked up her Diet Coke can, "Okay. I'll try again later."

______________________________________________________________

You stretched in your seat, rubbing your eyes and looking down at your watch.

10.15pm.

You ran your hands through your hair and closed your study books and files, calling it a night. Looking around the library, you noticed that you were now the only one there. You packed your backpack and slung it over your shoulder. The campus was relatively quiet as you walked back to your dormitory, the night sky quickly darkening with the dusk. Your footsteps rang out into the night, accompanied only occasionally with muffled music coming from the nearby houses. Suddenly, a tall figure appeared ahead. You instinctively grabbed the strap of your backpack, ready to launch the heavy contents if needed. Each step seemed to get louder in your ears and the sky darkened further.

As you got closer, the figure turned to face you and the dim streetlights revealed the stranger.

"Oh, Travis. It's just you." You sighed in relief.

Travis Kelce wasn't a complete stranger to you. He was a pretty big character on campus, but didn't exactly run in your circles. He was holding a bottle of beer and was stood on the steps of one of the sorority houses, presumably having stepped outside from a party.

Travis smiled as he saw you, "Hey, Y/N. You coming in?" He pointed towards the front door with his bottle.

You shook your head quickly, "Oh no, I've been to the library."

"On a Saturday night?" He snorted a laugh, "Man, you know how to party."

You quickly raised your eyebrows, "Yeah, anyway. I'm just heading home."

Travis wrinkled his nose, "On your own? Nah, fuck that."

You held a hand up, "Really, it's fine. It's a short walk, like 2 minutes. I'm okay walking by myself."

"To hell you are. Come on, I'll walk you back, make sure you get there safe." He began to walk away from you.

"Travis, really-"

He stopped and turned back slowly, "Either you walk with me or I follow 20 yards behind you."

You smiled and sighed, "Okay, okay. Fine."

As you caught up to him, you heard the front door of the house open and a high-pitched voice shouted out.

"Travvy, baby? Where are you going?"

Tiffany, Travis' girlfriend was gripping onto the side of the door frame, seemingly to keep herself upright. She had bleached blonde hair, a modelesque figure and the reputation as one of the most popular girls on campus.

You stayed looking ahead to the sidewalk as Travis looked over his shoulder at her, "I'm just walking Y/N back to her dorm."

"Why?" Tiffany squeaked.

"Why? Because she's walking on her own and there's creeps out there." He shouted.

You glanced quickly to see Tiffany pull a face before slamming the door closed.

Travis turned back to you and raised his eyebrows.

"Really Travis, you go back to the party. I don't want to cause any issues with you and Tiffany."

"What issue? I'm just walking you home...to make sure you're safe." He cleared his throat, "Besides, Tiffany has an issue with everything I do."

You walked together in a slightly awkward silence, Travis taking a sip of his beer every now and again.

After a while, Travis turned to you, "Can I ask you a question?"

You nodded.

"Can you hear your Soulmate's voice?"

You smiled softly, "Sometimes yeah. Sometimes it's really loud, but it's mostly muffled so I can't make it out easily. Sometimes it's really quiet and it's impossible to figure out."

He looked down at his feet, "That's weird. I wonder why it's muffled."

You shrugged your shoulders, "No clue. I wish we got more, it would make it so much easier."

"Yeah, one sentence a day sucks."

You walked in silence for a few more steps.

"Is Tiffany your Soulmate?"

Travis laughed, "Nah. She's cool and all...but she's not...no."

"Are you looking for your Soulmate?"

Travis tipped his head to the side, "In a way. I mean, I hear her voice. And I listen for it as much as I can. But I'm so busy with class and football that sometimes I miss it. That's why I was outside of the party, I needed a bit of quiet time to see if I could hear her."

You looked ahead to the tall building, slowly your walking pace slightly, "This is me."

Travis looked up, "Oh, that was fast."

"Yeah, I told you it was two minutes." You giggled.

Travis rocked back on his heels, "Well, goodnight. I'd better get back to..." He trailed off as he looked back in the direction of the party, a slight frown on his face.

"Yeah. Thank you...for walking me back." You awkwardly held your hand out to Travis.

Travis looked at your hand and smirked, grabbing it tightly, "No sweat. I'll see you around?"

You nodded and headed to the front door, turning your key in the lock and stepping in. Travis watched as you disappeared into the lobby, smiling to himself.

______________________________________________________________

I'll warn you now, this fic is going to get real fluffy, real soon. I've had the idea of the chapters alternating between the point of views. So, the next chapter will be from Travis' perspective and then from the readers, and so on. If you want to be on my Taglist, just let me know!

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