#no matter who they are— they're going through the grinder

[gojoest]

sae acts all dignified, cold, and uninterested around you. but when he’s all alone in his room, and his eyes fall closed, a deep sigh escapes his throat as his thoughts turn to you. and all that attitude suddenly shrinks and perishes. your voice is playing in his ears and he likes to imagine how you’re telling him things, whispering what you like. what you want. and he’s perfectly aware that he's never been this low, this pathetic, in his entire life before. yet he keeps shrinking, going lower and lower. grabbing a fistful of the pillow next to him, picturing in his frantic mind it’s part of your flesh, while stroking himself painfully slow, with endless edging. as if he’s atoning for a sin

[audliminal]

It's barely the end of the first day of school, and three faculty members are dead. Nobody knows much yet, but supposedly the six freshman who all managed to get detention on the very first day of school were involved and, if the rumors are to be believed, two of them actually died. In a dumb fight in the cafeteria against some animated corn. Kipperlily rolls her eyes when she hears it. They're clearly a bunch of losers who are going to either drop out or get someone killed before the year is out, but that's not really her problem, is it?

Still, just to be on the safe side, maybe their party should spend some time in the woods behind the school, and get some practice in with rats and things before they find themselves involved in a fight like those dumb detention kids did.

It's a month into the school year, and Kipperlily's starting to get the hang of things. She's feeling comfortable in a fight now, they've been killing rats and twig gremlins in the Far Haven Woods as often as they can manage, and they're getting really good at it. They even have a name now, the High 5 Heroes, chosen by Kipperlily herself, of course.

Meanwhile, Kipperlily's pretty sure the kids from detention actually killed someone, though nobody seems to be talking about it. Kipperlily doesn't care what anyone says, she's heard multiple people say they saw members of their group talking to Penelope Sam and Johnny spells, and then the day after Johnny Spells gets killed in a fucking car chase, the rich kid, who's literally the son of a pirate, has a mysterious new motorcycle? It's all far too suspicious.

It's the week after winter break, and Kipperlily is stuck in the stupid guidance councilor's office, talking about her dumb feelings. Unlike the Bad Kids (and what kind of stupid name is that), who apparently had an adventure dropped in their lap within minutes of the first school day ending, Kipperlily has been waiting months and still nothing has popped up. Plus Oisin and Ivy keep joking about changing their party name to the Rat Grinders.

It's dumb. Who would want a party name that's based on some joke? Besides, she already chose the name. So why on earth would they change it now? At least Lucy seems to agree with her about it.

It's just days after prom, and Kipperlily is sick of everything. The stupid Bad Kids apparently crashed prom and literally defeated Kalvaxus, Emperor of the Red Waste. It's honestly bullshit. A dumb group of kids that couldn't even make it through one day of school without getting one third of their party killed, and they're being credited with saving the entire continent? Kipperlily's been digging into the Bad Kids' history with every moment of her free time, trying to figure out how a bunch of dumb untrained kids managed something so huge. And she thinks she might have cracked it.

Kristen Applebees is literally Helio's Chosen One, and apparently Adaine Abernant is the new Oracle of the Elves. Kipperlily doesn't know what Fig, Fabian, or Gorgug's deals are yet, but if rumors are to be believed, then Riz Gukgak's dad was eaten by the very same Kalvaxus. Clearly the entire reason the Bad Kids are succeeding is because of their personal histories.

And to make matters worse, Oisin and Ivy managed to get the rest of the party to go along with the stupid Rat Grinders name. and Mary Ann didn't even have a reason for it! The only one who voted with her was Lucy. So now they've got a dumb name and no real adventuring prospects, and all the while, a bunch of kids who skip classes and get arrested are somehow getting perfect grades with no effort.

It's sophomore year and everything is terrible. The Rat Grinders meet every day to kill rats in the woods and it's dumb and boring, and not even a little bit difficult anymore, and she has to go to weekly councilor sessions with Jawbone, who's an ally of her rival adventuring party, which. Aguefort already clearly likes them, and even before he was resurrected they had managed to get two of their allies positions in the school. Which has to be an unfair advantage. And now Fig's dad is the vice principal rather than the lunch lad. It's really no wonder they never seem to get in trouble for skipping classes or any of their other bullshit.

At least she can use their connection with Jawbone to her advantage. Every meeting with him, she mines him for new information on the Bad Kids, who have been doing absolutely nothing so far this year.

It's sophomore year and The Rat Grinders are going to finally get their chance! Porter and Jace have approached her with the opportunity of a lifetime! Porter even said she shows a lot of promise! He doesn't even seem to take issue with his anger, and he says that he's going to help her become an amazing adventurer. All she has to do is accept this weird little rage star thing and start worshipping some dead god of rage. Kipperlily honestly isn't that much into religion, but this is the first interesting thing to happen to her all day. She's already working to convince Lucy to change her god.

It's sophomore year and even as Kipperlily is finally making progress, the Bad Kids are still showing her up. Somehow, they ended up fighting the Nightmare King himself, defeating him and somehow in the process, Kristen Applebees managed to ressurect a dead god of her own. It's bullshit and literally the only reason they manage to get back in time for the end of spring break is the direct intervention of the principal again. Plus now Fig has somehow managed to become an Archdevil and start dating Principal Aguefort's daughter. As if she wasn't already a rockstar.

It's sophomore year and Kipperlily's going to make the Rat Grinders the best adventuring party at Aguefort, even if it kills her.

It's junior year and the Bad Kids seemed determined to ruin her life. It's bullshit. They literally didn't even know who she was before this year, and they seem determined to ruin everything she's working towards. On the first day of school, they all collectively decided that Kristen was going to run for school president, seemingly as a bit, the exact second that they find out she's running. And immediately on meeting her they made fun of her fucking name for literally no reason.

It's junior year and everything's going to plan. Kristen's been expelled, and the Bad Kids are taking The Last Stand, and they've got the perfect opportunity to get rid of all the Bad Kids for good. And yet somehow Kristen fucking Applebees manages to ruin their fucking plans perfectly, spotting her out before she can succeed in killing the proctor and Buddy. Instead she has to kill Buddy and let Oisin take her away before the Bad Kids can do anything. So of course the Bad Kids get a literal perfect score on The Last Stand, and now they've all aced their classes for the whole year.

It's junior year and they're summoning a dead god. It's junior year and they find out as they're casting the spell, that the name they'd gotten was fucking wrong. It's junior year and despite all their preparations the Bad Kids have managed to get to the gymnasium with all their stupid fucking votes. It's junior year and Kipperlily is at least going to kill Riz. It's junior year and Riz literally dives into lava.

It's junior year and Kipperlily's going to kill Riz. He thinks he's hiding, but she can see him, and she's going to have to close with him, but this is her opportunity, and then she's in the air, and he's got her in a hold person spell, and she's falling, and she's in the lava, and it's so hot, and it burns, and then it's all gone.

It's junior year and Kipperlily is dead. It's junior year and she's in a world of crystal spines and lava, and in the reflections of the crystals, Kipperlily can see everything. She sees herself in those wretched meetings with jawbone, kicking at the leg of the chair, and she can see Jawbone asking her every fucking time, what can she do to become a better adventurer. As if it was ever in her control. As if she ever could have done anything. As if it wasn't all about her backstory the whole time. As if she weren't the boring daughter of two boring people. As if she had ever had a chance.

"Did you ever try?" She hears a voice ask. And then Ankarna is there. The god that she tried so hard to kill. "Did you ever really try to become a better adventurer, or did you just wait for it to happen to you?"

"I did everything I could!" Kipperlily insists. "It's unfair, why should they get all the advantages?"

"Were they really ever advantages? Or did you just decide they were?"

"You think those idiots deserved their success? All they ever do is screw around!"

"That is not what I have seen of them. Nor have I seen any better of you. Of course, you did your schoolwork and you did it to the letter, but when did you ever challenge yourself? When did you ever take a risk? When did you ever seek out a task that was more than what you felt certain you would succeed at? Would you have even have the courage to take part in Porter's plan if he had not personally trained you, ensured that you were all as powerful as possible? You insist that the Bad Kids are only successful because of their tragic history, but what of Gorgug? There is not one thing in his past that drives him and yet he has succeeded at doing things no one else has ever managed." Ankarna stares long and hard at her, and then she is gone and Kipperlily is alone again. With nothing in her death but her own thoughts to keep her company.

[cloudmancy]

I feel as though the discussion around criticism of the episode wouldn't be so aggravating if anyone on the other side of the argument would actually engage with you and your oomfs on the level that you're trying to discuss... there's a fundamental incompatibility in how everyone is trying to discuss the show when you're trying to analyze your disappointment through a doylist lens (is this finale appropriate with the themes blm has been setting up, is the show succeeding at telling the narrative it's had so far, etc) and all these other people are going all watsonian on it (is this in-character for tbk, should they want revenge on trg, etc). It's like talking to a brick wall because everyone is refusing to actually listen to what you're saying because they're speaking on a completely different level, and the only time i've seen people try is to just go 'well it's a comedy show and their game, so it doesn't matter', as though season 2 of this exact same series wasn't a good display of how great they can make a finale

basically you and your friends are the strongest soldiers in the world. Critiquing the story that's being told is much more appreciative of the art than just going 'it's not that deep there are no themes'

thank you! I feel like the reason the discourse is so inconsistent and incoherent is because there is literally no rationale behind a lot of the pushback besides 'I like this show, I like these actors, I enjoyed the episode and the plotline, I don't like that you have opinions that I dislike about it, so I'm going to make things up and say them until they stick'. like. there is not really a backbone of convictions or beliefs behind people saying the rat grinders all deserved to die because they were mean because they don't apply this logic equally to their own favorite characters. there is no reason someone who likes aelwyn and ragh should absolutely despise and be unable to sympathize with penelope or kipperlilly unless they straight up only like them because the bad kids now do too. anyway aelwyn sank an entire fucking boat!! what had kipperlilly even confirmed to have done up till ep 18 except kill a kid she knew was gonna be revived 20 minutes later. god forbid teenage girls have hobbies!!

[jq37]

FH Junior Year Post-Season Thoughts

With another season of Fantasy High in the books and my recaps all finished, I wanted to do an overview of my thoughts on the season as a whole. Even though I feel generally positive about my experience with the season, there are a few things I think maybe could have been done differently narratively or mechanically. This isn't to criticize the way the season went down or to backseat DM/Play. More my combined ten years of college for textual analysis and storytelling bleeding through, haha. 

I first want to start with the things I thought worked really well.

Fantasy High has "High" right in its title but, in past seasons (and especially Sophomore Year), not as much time as you'd think was spent actually at school and even if it was spent at school, there wasn't much time spent in class or engaging with the realities of being a student. This season really dug into the academic consequences of skipping your classes all the time and the realities of needing to do a ton of extra stuff to try for a scholarship and I think that was a refreshing thing to highlight for a change. Being more scared at flunking out than the dragon that's trying to eat you feels very emotionally resonant. Real "High School Is Killing Me" vibes for anyone who's a fan of NPMD. 

Even though Fantasy High is a show that has some deep emotional beats and strong character arcs, it's first and foremost a comedy show. From the jump, everyone was generating bit after bit that had me cracking up as usual. "Little girly dog collar" is one of the funniest combinations of words I can think of. I think it was Siobhan who said that this was the goofy season and, having seen it, I'd have to agree with her. It never failed to make me laugh and it was always a highlight of my week.  The cast just has great table chemistry that I love to watch no matter what they're doing. 

Watching some of these high level combat encounters is as close as I'll get to understanding people watching sports. Even though combat is generally my least fave part of D&D, I think the cast really killed it this season with how cleverly they played and Brennan came up with some really great combat encounters. Special shout outs to Baron's Game and The Last Stand for their unique mechanics.  

This is going to be one that's on the other list as well because my feelings are mixed, but I genuinely do like the downtime mechanic and how it forces hard choices. I think it's an interesting way to connect a mechanic to the story and cultivate stressful atmosphere for the season.

I have problems with the execution but I love the Rat Grinders in concept. I think as early as season 1 I was hoping that we'd meet a party that was like the Bizarro Bad Kids and the idea of a party that's farming XP instead of going on crazy adventures is a strong concept. Likewise, I think a character that's jealous because of your "cool" (read: tragic) backstory is also a fun trait for an unhinged antagonist in this kind of setting.

This is me absolutely showing my bias but I adored the Abernant Sisters content this season. I dunno if Siobhan specifically asked Brennan to not put her on a bus with the other beloved NPCs or what but I'm so glad she stuck around and we got the development we did. It was almost entirely ancillary to the plot but there was this clear pattern of Aelwyn getting softer and sweeter towards Adaine over the course of the season, from the guarded, "Enjoy the nemesis ward," to, full I love you's and, "I'd take them to get you." It was way more focus than I expected considering that Aelwyn completed the bulk of her arc last season and a lot of the time, a redemption arc basically ends after the big gesture (in this case, Aelwyn taking a magic blast for Adaine in Sophomore Year). So the fact that we got to see all of these sweet moments of them reestablishing their relationship outside of do or die moments was such a pleasant surprise. Again, I fully admit I am extremely biased, but this was my top wishlist item and the season overdelivered so there's a baseline happy I'm always gonna be with Junior Year. 

OK, so moving on to things I things I think could have been tweaked.

Even though I liked the downtime system and the pressures it created, it also squeezed out the chance for more casual PC to NPC interactions that would usually be more common because they were semi-locked behind the relationship track and there wasn't an obvious benefit to roll for Relationships (as opposed to something like Academics which was crucial for not flunking out). Making the mechanical benefit more clear would have helped that (even if it meant Brennan didn't get his reveal--which he ended up just telling them anyway so might as well do it early). The other thing is that the consequence of a rage token was so bad that of course they spent all season avoiding getting one. Things might have gone differently if the consequences had been a bit more obscured, like in Neverafter. And it could have been a nice parallel to the Rat Grinders to take this unknown resource that makes things easier for you but is also having this negative effect. Then it could be like dang we did the same thing they did unknowingly. 

I mentioned this in my recap but I'll talk about it again. It is a little confusing to me that we did the Ankarna subplot right after we did the very similar Cassandra subplot. It took up so much time this season which I don't think is an issue in and of itself, it's just that we literally just went through some extremely similar beats last season. Why double up on this same storyline when there's so much new ground to cover? Or if we're going to raise a god, why not make it a different kind of god? One theory I had early on was that the Rat Grinders were trying to raise their own god to one-up the Bad Kids but instead of raising a chill, misunderstood Cass type, they accidentally raised a god who was erased for a good reason and got in over their heads. 

It's fun for there to be connections between seasons but sometimes it's like, OK that's a *lot* of coincidences. Like the god who your rivals is trying to raise *happens* to be the wife of your cleric's god and also *happens* to be the god of the fiend trapped in your friend's mom's chest and that fiend *happens* to be the relative on your bard's dad's side which is *also* the reason she is randomly cursed? That's a LOT of red string connecting plot points. As unhinged as Kipperlilly is about coveting Riz's backstory if I saw that go down I'd be like you have *got* to be kidding me.  

The mystery elements didn't feel like they clicked as well as they did in other seasons. I think that's partially because Porter's plan was so convoluted (seriously, I made another post about how haphazard his plan was) and had all these moving parts and we didn't get clear answers for a lot of mechanical things like how the rage crystals actually work and when they were implanted and stuff. You had stuff like Devil's Honey which I think is super cool as a thing that exists in the world but ended up being an element that just led the players down the wrong path and had a relatively small payoff (that Porter was using it to lie to Ankarna). I think it's plausible that a forgotten god would be willing to listen to anyone saying the right things without introducing this element. (As opposed to, for instance, Ambrosia which has a very clear connection to what's going on and is a solid clue that someone is flirting with aspirations of godhood.) 

The Porter reveal came so late in the season that even though it was a fun/challenging fight, there wasn't a lot of emotional weight behind killing him. It was basically just dunking on a teacher Fig has always hated who was also mean to Gorgug so screw him. Which, valid of course. But the Bad Kids were never going to react as strongly to Porter as they were to the Rat Grinders so putting Porter in the prime villain spot isn't necessarily what I would have done if I wanted the fight to be more than just a brawl--especially since we've done "School admin with student minions" already in S1. I don't mind the full circle callback but it would have been nice to pick something else for the sake of variety. We haven't had a child mastermind yet and I think Kipperlilly could have been a great candidate for that. My friend suggested that it would have been fun if Kipperlilly was trying to become a god instead of just being Porter's underling and I agree. "I'm not anyone's chosen one so I'll choose myself," is still within her established jealousy and Type A tendencies. If we want to keep Porter involved since that was Brennan's gift to Emily, maybe have it be that instead of Kipperlilly working for him, he's working for her. Like Artemis Fowl vibes! And the Rat Grinders can be varying levels of on board--from true believe to redeemable. I don't think Brennan planned for the Bad Kids to ever redeem her so might as well go full megalomaniacal mastermind with her and make her The Villain if she's not gonna be nuanced anyway. If My Little Pony can do it and send a literal child to Tartarus for pony treason (or whatever Cozy Glow did), Fantasy High can too. 

Continuing from the above, if we have the Porter fight in place of the Grix fight (a la Daybreak) and don't use Ankarna, that gives way more time for the Bad Kids to investigate the Rat Grinders throughout the season and it would mean that they would have their personalities developed a lot more. With the limited downtime, they Bad Kids didn't have a lot of time to spend on these kids who were just hating on them for no good reason (valid). But if you cleared their plate of the god hunt stuff, they'd have more time for this. And if they weren't all rage zombies to varying degrees, it would be easier to see them as characters. Besides Kipperlilly (and, funnily enough, Mary Ann) we don't really have a good read on what these kids are actually like. The little time we spent with them all season was kind of a wash if them breaking out of rage means their personalities got laundered too. Anyway, regardless of how their loyalties ended up shaking out, it would have been fun for them to be more than the minions that they were in canon. As funny as it is for them to just kinda be XP farming losers, they did have the potential to be more interesting in their own right if they weren't just Porter's minions. And again, we've done adults forcing or coercing children into being minions in Freshman and Sophomore Year already. Lemme see some self-created child maniacs! (Or, peer pressured child maniacs. That's cool too. The Lucy/Kipperlilly dynamic is way more interesting to me if it's like girl, I would take a bullet for you but I CANNOT walk this path with you any further in response to *I* will be a god and you can be *MY* champion.)

Anyway, those are my thoughts! Like I said, I have my points that I think could have been tightened, but overall an enjoyable season and I will be glued to my screen if they decide to close out with Senior Year! 

[bloodyshadow1]

there are a lot of ways you could describe the bad kids, chaotic, violent, but I think the best way to describe them is hard working. There's a saying, 'there will always be people who do things the easy way, that shouldn't stop you from doing things the right way,' or that gist. I've heard it a lot of places, but the last I can remember is from the teen titans episode the quest. And it fits the Bad Kids to a tee.

It's shown a lot throughout the series that there will be people who take short cuts and cheats to gain power and go through life. It's shown the best in Junior year since the bad kids have the rat grinders as foils, but it's always been the case. In Sophomore year Kalina had Riz pinned down and constantly offered the Bad Kids deals; for them to go away and give up on the quest and other stuff. but they refused because they know the quest meant more than their grades, as dangerous as it is, as scared as they are, they keep soldiering on. It's the Abernants taking the easy way into the Forest of the Nightmare King while the Bad Kids do things the right way. Yeah they had to face their fears, they had to endure their nightmares big and small, but they came out stronger and wiser.

The Rat Grinders, Jace, and Porter, they took the easy way out. They lie and cheat because they think what matters is the short term gains. The Rat Grinders are fine with the way Porter and Jace power leveled them because it meant that they had access to stuff more powerful adventurers had. But they don't have the hp or the ability to maintain their powerful magic or class features. They are not adventurers, they are powerful people, but they're not strong

But the Bad Kids never take the easy way out. If they did, this year would have been simpler for them. Fig could have just kept being a bard, she could pass the class in her sleep. Instead, she chose to take a path that was harder and became a paladin because she loves her friends and she wants to be a protector, not just an artist. Because of that she is stronger than ever, a real paladin and the reason they were able to find Ankarna and be on the road to redeeming her. Gorgug could have just stayed as a barbarian, he was naturally good at, but he didn't want that. He took on 4 times the class load despite the stress and pain it caused him and became the first Barbificer to exist in Spire. Adaine could have swallowed her pride and talked to Jawbone about money, she could have taken the diamonds from Oisin in the first week of school, but she didn't. She went to Fallinell, to the Court of Stars, the highest form of government in the land and demanded that they treat her like she deserved or leave her alone. Fabian could have been the big man on campus in so many ways, he could have doubled down in romancing Ivy because it would have been easier than forming a real bond. He is the most popular kid in school because he created a place where everyone is welcome and is on his way to a real romance with Mazey instead of just flirtation and lust as he has in the past. Riz could have so many opportunities, he could have been in the society of shadows or taken so many short cuts, but he didn't. He loves his friends, he wants to be with them so he worked hard, took stress tokens for them, and ran Kristen's campaign to keep them all together. Kristen could have pissed off and found any other god and been one of their most powerful clerics. She felt bad for how she treated Cassandra and wanted to be her prophet, not just a prophet or cleric. She stuck by her goddess and who knows if it's going to pay off in the long run, but she has her spells and abilities back even if Cassandra might not be alive

Because the easy way isn't the right way, getting what you want isn't the same thing as working for what you need.

[drwernicke]

I started writing about Miles' feelings in this one-sided camerashipping AU where he's living with the Parks, but then I decided to explore Waylon's side of things as well, and it turned into something like a fic. So uh. I'll just put it down here?

_______________________________________ Miles feels like… what the fuck even is he anymore? Undead? He's a monster, certainly, and that monstrosity is useful, but he feels like a strange warped, mockery of his former self. There's a power in hosting the Walrider, but it comes at the cost of his humanity and he knows he's frightening to Waylon. He's always told himself he doesn't need anyone else, and bringing down Murkoff is what matters, but now that's what he's been locked into, there are no other options /at all/. It's what he's wanted, isn't it? He does want it. But he's also been through something he can't even begin to process, and being the Walrider's host is deeply violating on even the cellular level. But he's not allowed to process that either, because where does that lead? He can't stop it. He shouldn't even want to stop it. He's always been fine alone, he shouldn't want company now.

But still human or not, trauma is a powerful neurochemical. Waylon is the only other man who's been through the same hell, and he's also risked everything he has to bring down Murkoff. They're aligned in their goals and were both willing to risk everything. And Waylon's still human, he has a family who loves him. Miles isn't jealous, but it also drives home how definitively, unchangeably isolated he is now. He's never really been able to connect even with any of the men he'd dated in the past, simply because they weren't ever 100% politically aligned with him, or he found something about them offputting, they were too superficial, etc. Maybe he was making excuses because life was easier alone, and nobody would care about the world like he does. About the things he fucking gives a shit about, like children in third world countries not dying of dehydration. Too bad fucking Brad wanted to talk forever about the shitty coffee at 7/11 instead.

Miles knows he should be grateful for what he's become. But there's so much he misses, now that he can't have it ever -- and he supposes that at least shows he still has a human mind in some way, weak and stupid and flawed. If he's never wanted it, why does he mourn it now? Why does it feel like every time Waylon is kind to him, that his sanity is teetering on the edge of some awful precipice overlooking some awful abyss, at the bottom of which rests a beast known as resentment and violence?

Maybe he's taking everything he can't have, can no longer have, and projecting it on Waylon as a symbol for it all. But there had been a few moments in hell itself, perhaps in the administration block, when he'd wondered what their lives would be like if they survived this nightmare together. There's things you can't go through without it changing you fundamentally from the ground up, and then whether you want it or not, you're entangled with whoever else went through the meat grinder with you, like quantum states. Waylon has more commitment to setting right what he can of the world than any man Miles had ever been with. But Waylon Park is fucking alive, and Miles Upshur is a rotting corpse of a man held upright by a murderous nanohazard.

And the fucking punchline to the whole shitshow: Waylon Park has a wife, and two kids, and there was something comical in that the first crack in Miles' sense of self would be to latch onto a married man. He can tell Waylon's kindness is strained. And why the fuck wouldn't it be? He has a dead man living in his house, and that dead man is a weapon. You show kindness to the weapon, because you don't know if it'll kill you, or worse, make you feel guilty for indirectly killing what it was in the first place.

Most nights, Miles drinks enough coffee it would give him a heart attack if he still had a working heart, because he doesn't trust himself with REM sleep. _______________________________________

Not everyone goes through hell and brings the devil home.

It's not a kind thought, and Waylon hates it, but there's always a kernel of truth at the core of the operating system. Or something like that. Miles Upshur is great company, and most days, Waylon doesn't even think about the fact he's living with the Parks for their own protection. That feels reductive; Miles is far more than that. If it weren't for Miles, Waylon would have never returned to Lisa's arms, bloodied and broken, but whole. But this isn't just about what Miles has done for him, or what he can do for them. If it weren't for Waylon, Miles would have never ended up in Mount Massive. If it weren't for Waylon, Miles would still have his fingers. He does complain about it so often, always in the tones of gallows humor, but Waylon knows there's a deep hurt behind it.

If it weren't for Waylon, Miles would have never become the host.

But this isn't about gratitude or guilt. Miles is genuinely great to have around; he cooks breakfast sometimes. He walks around singing along badly to Madonna, the B-52's. He gets along great with the kids. He's shit at Mario Kart, but so is Waylon. When he, Waylon, and Lisa work together, compile notes and liaise and network with other anti-Murkoff operatives, Miles is efficient and determined on a level that inspires Waylon. He cracks jokes, he rips people to shreds, and it makes Waylon and Lisa laugh. He makes Waylon type up the reports because it takes him forever, and Waylon does so, guilt heavy in his heart.

But this isn't all about guilt.

Miles encourages him through his rehabilitation, as Waylon slowly gains sensation and stability in his leg. Miles likes shitty beer, and Waylon's learned not to complain too much about it. Sometimes--many sometimes--Miles screams in his sleep. The boys have learned to expect it. There's nothing conventional about their childhood, not anymore.

Waylon has learned not to look at Miles through the night vision of a camera.

When Simon Peacock emails them warnings of potential intruders, Miles stays watch like a guard hound, sipping another one of his shitty Pabst Blue Ribbons. On one of those nights, there are terrible screams, but they're not from Miles.

In his dreams, Waylon hears Lisa screaming, his boys, and finally, himself.

They are mutinous dreams. But more mutinous is the waking thought that Miles sometimes lingers in his presence. He always looks away when Waylon looks, and it makes Waylon wonders if he's accidentally fostering something far worse than a monster. But Waylon knows he has his own trauma to work though; he sees attraction where there is none, and wouldn't it make sense to fear something that already elicits fear in most?

Someone. Not something.

There was the time his eldest had cut his hand playing, and Waylon had been so afraid of what in the air could seep into his blood.

He worries himself sick about Lisa. All those phantom pregnancies.

In the early morning, Miles is painstakingly typing away on his laptop, seated at the breakfast table. The sun's rising, warm golden light streaming in through the windows, and Waylon has no doubt Miles has been up all night; the scent of coffee hangs heavy in the air. Waylon wonders if Miles needs, or even wants, to sleep anymore.

Waylon doesn't know what Miles is, aside from on a purely codified level. He doesn't know what Miles wants, aside from on a purely ideological level.

He pours himself a cup of coffee, and wonders what he's breathing in.

[ir0n-moon]

Army of the Doomstar spoilers.

I wrote all this for post-AOTD fanfic purposes. You can totally disagree and go in an entirely different direction for your own, of course. Go nuts.

Been thinking about the klokateers post-AOTD. We don't see any of them during the final battle, iirc. Just regular people, no hoods.

I think it kind of mirrors the season 1 finale where the army of Klokateers battle against Crozier's army while the boys are unconscious. Except this time during AOTD we can clearly see it's a diverse group of people from all walks of life.

Obviously this (+ Nathan's speech at the end) is a representation of the band coming to view their fans and employees as real people with real lives, and not just a matched set of disposable minions.

However I'm curious if 1. There's any Klokateers left in the world at all, 2. Will there be people willing to join the ranks of Dethklok again, and 3. If so, how different life as a Klokateer might be after the Metalocalypse.

So for no. 1, I do think there's still Klokateers out there. Sure, the "official" Army of the Doomstar was killed by Salacia & co., but I don't think Mordhaus was destroyed (the boys return to an intact home after the Aortic Desecration cataclysm, iirc). I'm willing to bet their regular staff must still be there. They might only be a fraction left of the millions they once were, but they remain as loyal as ever. They might have in fact been present during the final battle, simply not in uniform for storytelling purposes.

Number two. It all depends on what Dethklok will do post-Metalocalypse. I like the open world of possibilities the ending left us with. We don't know if they'll continue to make music, we don't know if they'll retire, I think the only thing we can say for sure is that they will remain together. So they could totally return to Mordhaus. Or they could downsize if they see fit. They've reached a... slight level of maturity after the events of AOTD. Perhaps this could mean them realizing that while they like their luxury just fine, they don't actually need that many rooms and fancy gadgets they once demanded on a whim.

So they might still need employees. And I'm sure plenty of people would be willing to work for them. They're the saviors of the entire planet, after all. But life as a post-apocalypse Klokateer might be very different than it was before. Which brings me to number three.

If post-AOTD Dethklok is really willing to continue learning and changing their ways, I doubt they'd continue to enjoy witnessing their employees' inhumane living conditions, no matter how "brutal" they think it is. People *might* be willing to live under such conditions for them, mind you! But I want to have faith in the boys and believe that they'd now fully interiorize how wrong that is.

After Salacia's been defeated, after the apocalypse has been mostly averted, there's no need for their employees to sacrifice their wellbeing, no matter how devoted they might be to their bosses. There's no need for them to go through a deadly hiring process. There's no need for Dethklok to continue being the meat grinder their Klokateers willingly enter into, knowing they won't make it out in one piece.

Post-AOTD Klokateers could just be regular employees, if only the kind to sport a wacky uniform and be proud of it. There'd be no need for them to be as many as there once was. Just enough to keep Dethklok safe (they'd still need bodyguards, after all), do their jobs as roadies and sound technicians, and regular everyday staff who keep the band's home running smoothly. Whether that's Mordhaus or anywhere else.

[thefairfolk]

so... qi rong, huh. a very intriguing little goofball whose most hated actions i've decided to re-analyse for myself.

alright, to summarise this entire post, a character doesn't have to be nice to be interesting. there are a lot of words you can describe some of these guys with, but "nice" is most definitely not one of them.

and that's okay.

jun wu is not a nice or good person. jin guangyao is not a nice or good person. neither is qi rong or the old palace master or whoever "bad guy" made to face off with protags.

but it doesn't mean they're not good characters. it doesn't mean they aren't necessarily badly written or anything of the like. it doesn't mean you can't like them.

it also doesn't mean, that in the off chance that you do like them, you get to correlate them being a good character with them being a "good person" and use this as a reason to like them. you don't need that reason. hell, you don't even need a reason! because people are going to like what they're going to like, and that's okay. the only issue is when you start liking something for all the wrong reasons. (@ qi rong stans because while it's good that you like that blorbo, you also can't overlook everything.)

this isn't to say you mustn't like a character because they've "done bad things!!1!!!1"

no. this is to say that you just can't push their necessarily bad qualities aside when you do it.

this also doesn't mean that you can use a character's trauma as an excuse. while your trauma can shape you into who you are today, you are ultimately your own person and make your own decisions.

"this character needs a hug" and "this character needs to be fucking decked" are statements that can and should coexist!

other characters are allowed to hate your favourite character. you CANNOT say someone who was harmed by another person (no matter whether one of them is good or bad) is obligated to forgive them- even more so when they don't feel sorry. even if we, as the fans, like a character, we can't expect other characters in canon to do the same- especially when they have good reason to do so.

like... look, the point isn't that qi rong didn't want to kill hong-er and didn't do so anyway. the point is that he grievously harmed a child. does that mean you can't like qi rong? of course not. but it also means that hua cheng, a fictional character may i add, is perfectly justified in not liking him.

and, if i may guess, hua cheng dislikes him mainly due to the disrespect towards xie lian. as for that, though? that's not a crime. sure, it's rude, and we, as fans of a work who are seeing it through xie lian's point of view, will naturally dislike it. but it's still not worthy of like, torture. again, unless if you're hua cheng. in which case, sure, beat up whoever you want for being rude to your husband. that's fair. i'd do that too if i actually had a relationship.

however, as fans? we see things in a broader way since we can see everyone here. if we're not judgemental, we're the neutral third party and we should ultimately agree that just because someone is particularly annoying or offensive, doesn't mean you need to put them in a meat grinder or something. what the hell.

"but qi rong is repeatedly humiliated in the books-!" he's the comic relief character. it is his job.

our job? our job is to break him out of it the same way every fandom does with the comic relief character. bro, we live in an era where there are 100k word angst fics about, i don't know, cartoons or something. some screeching dude in a danmei being the source of some much-needed comic relief doesn't make him abused.

if anything, slow clap to qi rong for breaking the cycle of abuse that his father perpetuated with.

[celestialmango]

Ooh, just another thought, but what sort of abilities do you think they would have in a baitm au? Would they be able to absorb or consume ink and grow larger in size, but able to shrink down smaller as well to fit through corridors easily? Would they (particularly Glitch and maybe moon), be eating the other ink creations that are roaming about like the butcher gang or at least the version of the butcher gang? (I guess they'd be the endos or security/ map/ cleaning bots?). ~Shy

Warning for spoilers for The Dark Revival because this is gonna be the plotline for the Au as well which contains as said, some spoilers.

Quick note Sun and Moon are bigger than Eclipse when in demon form.

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Ok so, Sun and Moon are in the place of bendy as a pair of ink demons, earlier the pair were separated, Sun forced into a cartoon form, reader is dragging in to the cartoon world by power hungry dude who wants to use their soul to take over the ink demons world.

Anyways, much like Audrey reader meets the cartoon version of the ink demon first, Sun, but unlike Audrey uses the hand opposite to the one that has the ability to banish and that changes things a bit, the first of many, they travel together a bit every now and then Sun growing to like reader a lot since reader really does act like a friend towards him.

Sun does figure out a way to retake his original form despite the fact he loves his smaller cartoon form that's about as small as bendy despite the annoying fact his power is much weaker, reader however never sees him in his original form so is unable to connect the dots on who the other ink demon is or why they never see him. They do however see Moon who's on a rampage, killing and consuming anyone he encounters in his rage due to being unable to find Sun.

Reader luckily is able to avoid him till the gent building where he drops down and begins to approach with the intent to kill, this is when reader finally gets to see his true form when he drops down in front of them with a growl of his own as he go tackles his brother, reader doesn't realize the other demon is Sun at first. Sun who very much cares about reader and doesn't want to hurt them at all.

Not until the towers activate and start to damage them both, Moon manages to escape but Sun isn't quick enough, ending up forced back into his cute cartoon form looking injured, he glances at a shocked reader with a sad expression and drooping rays before he runs off before reader can snap out of it. Reader can't find him afterwards. They're not angry with him for keeping this secret from them especially since he never attacked them, they're just stunned to find out he was one of the ink demons all along.

Onto another important plot point, The encounter with Glitch who's in the place of the evil Alice, reader is made to play a game which they win and while Glitch isn't happy about it he opens the door, unfortunately he starts trying to force reader into playing another game with him only to be stopped by Eclipse (Who proceeds to start giving the very lonely Glitch therapy, he'll be much nicer when reader meets him again)

Glitch is forced to let reader leave, before reader reaches the lab area they bump into Sun again and manage to catch him before he can run off again, they wipe away his sad inky tears while cupping his cheek and telling him it doesn't matter what he looks like he's still their friend Sunny no matter which form he takes. Just an extremely fluffy moment. Reader has to continue forward alone however .

Reader finds out the truth, evil dude tries to shove them into a grinder to use them in the creation of his character from the machine but reader reverse Uno's him.

Boss fight happens and reader losses their legs like Audrey does in game but is saved from being consumed by the evil creation by the pair of ink demons, while Moon is dragging the fallen beast back into the ink Sun approaches a shaking reader, cups the side of their face and finally reader hears him speak.

He tells them they can not longer run, the time has come for them to give in.... they're broken , there's no escape from this. It's time for this to song and dance to end, it's time for them to be consumed but it will be ok, he will fix them....then he swallows reader whole, he's extremely gentle when he does. Reader wakes up unable to control 'their body' Sun fused them with himself which altered his form a bit. Then Moon becomes agitated when Sun looks at the roll of film labeled 'the end' and picks it up.

Instead of getting rid of it Sun takes it and begins to leave, Moon aggressively questions what he's doing doing at the same time reader questions what's going on, Sun simple says it's time for the end. Moon gets mad and tries to stop him, their followers fight him, Glitch and Eclipse help clear the way once they know what Sun is trying to reset the cycle, only one of the ink demons needs to watch the film for things to restart.

Sun plays the reel and watches it himself, something he never would have done of his own choice before. If reader hadn't been bleeding out leading Sun to consume their body of ink and hold their soul within himself he wouldn't have felt the need to, if he hadn't met reader and was shown how good kindness feels to get and give rather than suffering he would feel the need to, he simply would have continued as they were... This time Sun chooses to end not just the story but their suffering as well because with reader's help.

He can remake everything, remake himself and his brother even but most importantly, he can place his friend reader into a new body, that's what he meant when he said it would be okay and he would fix them. So reader is now in a new body that looks like their old one, Sun made the choice to keep both of his forms to switch between, the demon and the cartoon, only he can keep his abilities now. He gives Moon the same power of switching forms.

But heh, He has to struggle against Moon who's still angry about everything but grudgingly gives up on attacking reader and eventually warms up to them himself. Eventually Sun approaches the topic of 'can I eat you again' with reader who's nervous about it not wanting to ya know, lose their body again but after Sun explains the whole nomming vs eating/consuming thing reader is willing to give it a try.

It becomes a regular thing. Moon gets curious but reader doesn't quite trust him enough yet to agree to noms with him, they don't fully trust him at all, he ended up getting fed up, wants to experience the same thing Sun does with them then ambush noms them trying to prove he has no intention of actual consumption through actions since words weren't working.

It's an upsetting experience but reader at least now knows he was serious that he didn't want to actually consume them anymore when he also asked about eating them. It's still going to take a while before they bond with him as much as they bonded with Sun.

Anyways to boil it down, anything Bendy is able to do, so can they plus the addition of noms, switching forms and that they can nom reader in either form.

Both Moon and Sun are eating other ink creatures, So has Glitch(which he would have done to reader if reader lost). Eclipse can absorb ink and become even bigger which is what helped him stop Glitch. Unfortunately doesn't last more then about half an hour and it really tires him out.

Moon had trouble in corridors till he got his new ability, like bang head on ceiling if you attempt to stand up straight type trouble, Eclipse's and Glitch can basically fast travel and that's all I got.

[noyasboxdye]

Notes: Welcome to the first day of kinktober this doesn't have a lot of knife play bc i don't really know how to write for it but i tried my best :)

Word Count: 2,016

Pairing: Tendou Satori x Male! Reader

Warnings: Yandere themes, home invasion(?), knife play, CNC (?), death threats, praise, oral sex (reader receiving), power bottom tendou.

Tendou Satori loved you. He thought you knew. You obviously didn't thought with the way you were hugging and laughing with Ushijima. To be fair though he hadn't confessed. But you still should've known! After all the things he's done for you he can't believe you would betray him like this.

Going out to coffee with him and alone at that! Something could've happened to you. He could've hurt you and he still could. But you were to naive. He couldn't blame you honestly nor could he get mad. For several reasons the main one being that he cared to much. The other being that you couldn't help it after all you were just cute little y/n.

So when he'd saw you in that coffee shop with Ushijima letting him touch you like that he'd decided to do something. He had to do something bigger to let you know you were his. Obviously being a gentleman along with the occasional flirting wasn't doing that. How could you know though because once again you were naive.

He'd just have to come on a little stronger. He couldn't do that now thought you both had class. And his class was out of your way so he'd just have to wait till you got home. Oh he was so excited! The day dragged on for the both of you. He couldn't stop thinking about how excited you'd be to see him. He'd decided to wait until you got home to coming in.

You'd gotten home from school hanging your coat in the closet setting your bag down on the table and going into your room. Getting undress and wrapping your towel around yourself taking your soaps into the bathroom. Turning the shower water on and putting your shower cap on. Getting in the shower and sitting under the water.

Your muscles relaxing under the hot water. Allowing yourself to calm down. Tendou on the other hand was tense. He was here now! He couldn't figure out how to get in though. He didn't want to set off your alarm and have you possibly hear him. But he couldn't think of another way in. Your window might work but they were usually closed and he couldn't go through the front.

The neighbours could see and call the cops. Your room window should work though. You usually sleep with them open because sleeping in the cold with the heat on is easier. Going to the side of the house and seeing that the window he climbed onto of the patio table. Climbing his way into the window. Peaking into the bathroom to make sure you were in the shower. Seeing that you were in the shower.

"Perfect they're getting all clean for me." he thinks sneaking past the door as quietly as he can before making his way into the kitchen. Grabbing a (bigger) knife. He was hoping he wouldn't have to use it. He was hoping you would be just excited to see him here as he was you. Because he knew you loved him and you knew he loved you. You just didn't think straight sometimes.

A perfect example would be this morning before class. You went on a little coffee date with Ushijima. You loved him he just had to remind you of how much you did. And he would do just that. He would make sure that you never forgot about either of your love ever again. Going back into your bedroom. Taking off all of his outer wear.

Cleaning himself up a bit wiping himself off and fixing his disheveled shirt. Making himself comfortable on the bed patiently waiting for you to come in. Trying to decide what to say, how to say it, and when. He knew you'd be a little startled by him coming unannounced but you'd also be delighted. After all who wouldn't be delighted to see their love surprise them at home.

Especially after a stressful day at school. It was a while before you'd finally got back into your room and when you did you were definitely surprised. He'd just been sitting there trying to explain himself. While you were yelling at him to get out.

He'd sounded like a mad man to you and to make matters worse he had a knife near him! You'd started hitting and kicking after he grabbed you. Pushing him off of you and running to the bed so that you could grab the knife. But he'd gotten a hold of you and the knife first. He never thought he would have to but he pinned you down and pressed the knife to your throat.

Pushing your hands above your head and into the mattress before putting his thigh in between your legs against your groin. You'd whimpered a bit and prayed that he didn't hear you but he did. A smile grew at the noise you let out. You'd sounded so heavenly. Like music to his ears!

He wanted- no needed to hear more. He had to hear more of those pretty little sounds again. And louder. He wanted to hear you say his name in that way. He had to hear it. He'd do anything he could to hear it again. So he did it again. He pressed his knee into your groin. Another whimper falling from your lips as he pressed into you.

You didn't know if it was because of the pressure or the fact that he had a knife to your throat that was making you feel this way and you hated it. But you loved it as well. The thought of your life being in such danger made your stomach curl. It made you crave him. You unconsciously grind into his thigh as you think about the situation more. More whimpers and now moans leaving you.

Leaning down Tendou kissed you lifting the knife from your throat. Setting it down on your bed and kissing his way down to your neck. Sucking and nipping at the skin. You wrap your arms around him as he makes his way down your neck. Taking your shirt off and immediately finding his way back to you lips and neck.

Kissing down towards your chest. Grazing his hand against your nipple testing the waters. His stomach did flips as he heard you whimper his name. He'd dreamed about this on numerous occasions and he always knew what to do when he'd done it with other people. But now that he'd actually had you in his grasp, and was doing these things with you he didn't know what to do.

You were so perfect with the way you grabbed at the nape of his neck toying with the little hairs, softly moaning his name in his ear, and wrapping your legs around his. He needed more though, he needed to be in you. And with the way you grinder your hips against him you were practically begging him to fuck you. And who was he to deny you a good fucking?

If you wanted to be fucked that's what you would get. Kissing his way back up your body he removes his lips sitting up before taking off his shirt and removing his pants. He'd never been more eager for something in his life! "Tendou- baby please." you moan reaching out for him pulling him back down to you stroking his cock through his boxers.

He let out a deep groan at the feeling. Pulling him self away once again to pull your pants down, dragging your boxers down with them. Throwing them in a random corner of the room and forgetting about them as he strokes your cock. "mmm- Tendou- fuck... please." you say your back arching off of the bed slightly. "Nuhuh you got to tell me what you want hun alright...? Use your big boy words baby." he says as he rests his head back into the crook of your neck, sucking and biting on the skin.

He smiled at the sight. His hand moving faster making you stutter out even more nonsense than before. "Fu- fuck me-! Tendou please fuck me." you say getting impatient, humping at the air as if it'll give you the relief you need. "Good boy! Using your big boy words for daddy!" he says smiling at you. You moaned at his words.

Finally he stood up grabbing the lube out of his jacket pocket and pouring a generous amount onto his hand before strolling your dick once again. Making sure that your dick was wet enough. Straddling your lap and lifting his hips he slowly sunk himself down on your length. A series of moans leaving past his lips as he reached the base, slowly grinding against you as he waiting for himself to get used to your length.

Slowly bouncing on you as he pinched and twisted at your nipples. High pitched moans coming from you as you begged him to go faster, trying to thrust your hips up to meet him. You reached over at nothing his head following your hand as he bounced on your dick. "Oh can't have you getting to this now came we darling?" he says tauntingly as he rolling his hips making a point to grind down harder and fit more of you into him.

You felt him squeeze at the base of your cock and it made you go wild. "Fuc- Tendou! Please!" you moan. He rolled his hips as he bent down to kiss you. You were becoming so desperate for him. You'd try and fuck up into him but every time you tried he'd just press the knife into your neck.

"Mm~ I guess I can give you what you want... just use your big boy words for me baby? Please?" he says sucking on your chest. "Fuc- fuck me! Please- please fuck me." you say. A smile pulls at the ends of his lips as he kisses your forehead resuming his previous pace. "Mh-m shit! You feel so good." you moan.

He rested his hand on your chest while the other held onto the knife, applying pressure to your neck with it every few minutes. "Mm- daddy 'm gonna cum~" you say gripping onto the bedsheets your knuckles going white. "No you aren't baby. You're going to hold it for daddy like a good slut aren't you?

Wouldn't want the knife to slip and cut up your throat now would we..?" he says pressing the cold metal further into your warmer skin. Chills going down your spine, and your cock twitching inside of him at the idea. "N- no sir." you whined as he fucked himself onto you again. "Good boy." he says.

Dragging himself up and down on your length as moans fell from his lips. Throwing his head back as he came to a full stop whimpering as his cock twitched beads of precum leaking from the tip. "Fuck~" he moans softly as he starts bouncing again. Not noticing that the knife was starting to pierce your skin tiny beads of blood making their way to the surface of your neck.

The euphoric feeling of your warm thick length in him while he listened to your pretty little whimpers and moans had him on cloud nine. "Mmpf- fuck i'm gonna cum!" you exclaim. "Ye- yeah me too- fUck~!" he moans as you fuck yourself up into him his movements coming to a halt as his hand grips at your skin dragging his nails down your chest as he throws his head back, his warm seed spilling all over your stomach.

"Daddy- daddy please, please let me cum!" you beg tears pricking your eyes. Getting off of you and immediately going down to put your dick in his mouth. Sucking on the tip while he uses his hands to get to the rest of you. "Fuck fuck fuck-" you say cutting yourself off as you cum. Tendou hums softly smiling to himself as he swallows your cum, licking any extra off of you to make sure it doesn't go to waist.