#them so there's little chance of someone taking these and using them for impersonation.

[absolute-eyesore]

Recent commission for @sickened-things for its personal use. Lots of fun to work on, especially the icon image. <3

-Hollow

[tackytigerfic]

WIP Snip

Nearly finished this fic, final extended scene is a go atm. In this snippet, Harry has just arrived unexpectedly at the Manor where Draco is undercover pretending to be a Death Eater. CW for wandpoint confessions and mild angst.

Draco’s eyes narrowed but he put his hand inside his robe and then, quicker than Harry could have hoped to notice, Draco had his wand out and was holding it to Harry's throat, pressing hard so the wood bit into the tender skin under his jawline. "You are Harry, I suppose? You seem right, of course, but there’s always a chance that someone enterprising might come along with a stash of Polyjuice and a gift for impersonation.” “Oh, fuck off,” Harry managed, and the point of Draco’s wand wormed slowly deeper into flesh. “You knew it was me the second you saw me.” “Mmm, I suppose that’s true,” Draco murmured agreeably, something suggestive about how the sound travelled through the small space between them. His free hand strayed to Harry’s forehead and he brushed his fingers lightly over the dried blood that Harry could feel tightening on the skin there. “But indulge me. Tell me something only you would know.” Harry scoffed, though he was thinking with his throat tight of Arthur knocking at the door of the Burrow in the middle of the night long ago, and Molly blushing, and how they had exposed the long intimacy of their marriage for safety's sake. “There’s a lot I could tell you,” he said tightly. “If you’re really sure you want to hear it.” “By all means,” Draco said, eyes on Harry, searching for something in his face. “You fucked me in that bed and afterwards you asked me not to leave because you wanted to wake up with me? Remember?” Draco wanted to look towards the bed, Harry could tell by the way his eyes flickered, but he resisted, and so Harry went on. “You told me you wanted us to win this war just so you could take me back to London and feed me my favourite ice-cream off your spoon. You told me the only thing you miss about France is how you and your mum really got to know each other properly, and that when she gets back you want to take her for dinner to that little French bistro we went to that time in Edinburgh. I know you remember that, you said the wine was better than anything in the cellar here.” Draco nodded shortly, and almost regretfully pulled his wand away from Harry’s neck. He didn’t move away. “Yes, fair enough, I believe you.” But Harry couldn’t stop, didn’t know how to shut up now he had started. “The last time we were together, you told me that I’m generous with my love. Do you remember that? And I wondered then… because I’d never said it, had I? Not out loud, anyway. Neither of us had. But I thought, maybe— Maybe it meant that you knew.” Draco was staring, his eyes wide and shocked, a blush crawling up his neck, blotchy with heat. Neither of them moved, the silence between them growing until Harry could practically feel it. Draco almost raised his hand to Harry then; Harry sensed the arrested movement, the enforced stillness. He didn’t know what he’d do if Draco touched him. But he didn’t have to find out, because that’s when the knock at the door sounded.

Does anyone have a snippet they'd like to share? Consider yourself tagged and pls tag me so i can see as i've been off tumblr and i miss every single thing on here. And I'll no-pressure-tag @boxboxlewis @citrusses @fluxweeed @maesterchill @moonflower-rose @skeptiquex @sweet-s0rr0w @the-starryknight plus the FrotCotLot.

[tokyo-tower-symbolism]

What does Karen mean when she says "I am Reborn"?

Revue Starlight takes place in a time loop. 

For over 60 years, eight students from Seisho’s acting class continue to audition to be the lead in the Starlight Gatherer, each hoping to use the brilliance awarded to the top star to fulfill their wish to perform on the Stage of Fate. And in each of those loops, very little changes. The same leads are chosen, the same wish is made, and Aijou Karen is at the bottom of the rankings every time. 

Nothing changes until one loop where Kagura Hikari transfers to their school from London and replaces Karen as one of the eight participants in the audition, and suddenly everything is changing.

Hikari’s return lights a spark in Karen. The childhood promise they made to perform on stage together is the closest it’s ever been to happening, and Karen refuses to waste this chance.

In the first episode, we don’t get a very flattering picture of Karen. Her roommate struggles to wake her up to get to morning practice, Karen is stiff as a board while stretching, she’s not taken seriously by her classmates at all, and she can’t even picture herself ever beating Maya or Claudine for the lead roles in the play. Don’t get me wrong, her classmates all like her and honestly she’s really funny to watch, but everyone is here because they want to be the star, not to fool around.

It comes to a head when the giraffe who runs the underground auditions points it out. She’s not desperate like the other girls so she has no chance of winning. He says that there is no place for someone like Karen to have a chance at that dream stage. 

But Karen doesn’t care. She ignores the giraffe entirely and jumps on stage to join Hikari. And as she falls, she undergoes a transformation, going from her school uniform to the revue outfit.

There’s a lot to be said about the transformation sequence, like how quick and mechanical and impersonal everything is. Machines sew the costumes and get everything ready and makeup is briefly applied. It’s all the work that would usually be given to the school’s Class B, which works on all the backstage stuff, like the props and the sets and the costumes. They’re out of focus a lot of the time and we only really focus on two characters from Class B, but they still exist! They’re friends with the main class A actors and in the movie it’s because of a speech the director of the play gives that the main characters decide to stand up on stage again. But they don’t matter to the audition. It only cares about the top star.

There’s also how the uniforms are mass manufactured and the very important star buttons, which signify victory or defeat so basically life or death, are unceremoniously tossed in a box, showing how disposable the rest of the stage girls are in creating the top star. Honestly the whole thing is kind of sinister in hindsight once you understand the true nature of the auditions.

But the part that’s all Karen is when she jumps and in the background it says: I am reborn.

Because Karen completely reinvents herself. She goes from getting sweeped in a low dip by Junna in their daily life to doing the same to her in the revue. In the following episodes, she starts waking up early, taking practice seriously, she changes her classmates' worldviews after defeating them, and she even beats Claudine and Maya to earn a lead role in the Starlight Gatherer. Nana specifically says that all the changes in this loop stemmed from Karen, despite Hikari’s appearance being the first major difference.

And in the climactic final revue of the show, Karen is only able to reach Hikari by stating that she will constantly be reborn if it means she can stand on stage with her. That Karen doesn’t mind getting her brilliance stolen or being trapped in the stage of fate or whatever terrible fate might befall her if she sticks with Hikari since each time she will get back on stage, born anew.

But what exactly does it mean to be reborn as a stage girl?

Well first, in order to be reborn you need to die, so let’s start there. And in the show, we see two dead stage girls.

The first is Hikari after she lost the audition in London and had her brilliance stolen. As a result, she loses all interest in the stage and can hardly remember why she bothered trying so hard to become the lead in her school’s play. But what snaps her out of this is remembering her promise to stand on stage with Karen, and how disgusted she is in herself that she almost forgot it. In a desperate attempt to reclaim what she lost, she goes to participate in the Tokyo audition since the winner will steal the brilliance of all the participants to make the stage of fate and become the untouchable top star. Unfortunately the one flaw in her plan is that Karen is also in the audition, so even if Hikari did win, she would also be stealing Karen’s brilliance, making it so their promise could never be kept regardless.

Hikari continues to be dead as a stage girl despite being a participant in the Tokyo Auditions. Although her technical skills are perfect, Maya in the first episode mentions that her heart’s not in it, which we later find out is because Hikari had lost her brilliance. This can be seen in her revue outfit in London compared to now. Over there, she had a sword and a red cape just like everyone else. But now her blade is shortened to a dagger’s length and her cloak is blue, the color of her promise which is her true desire here instead of the red of the top star that everyone else desires.

But Hikari is eventually reborn. By the time of her revue with Nana, Hikari has changed. She’s no longer pushing everyone away and has actually started to make friends with everyone and told Karen how dear their promise is to her as well. Even though Hikari only came here as a step on her path to become a top star and one day fulfill her promise with Karen, she’s instead inspired by Karen that the two of them could shine as top stars together here. Her entire worldview is completely changed, and in this Revue against someone who is in the audition not for a love of acting, but to instead use it as a stepping stone for her own ambitions, just like Hikari, her brilliance is reborn. Hikari’s weapon transforms, not back into the sword from before, but into a new dagger with a string that Hikari can use to maneuver herself and a star shaped hilt, similar to her hairpin, a symbol of her promise with Karen.

She’s not the same as she was before she died as a stage girl, but she’s reborn as someone new with a brand new outlook on life.

And the next dead stage girl we see in the show is Karen herself.

After Hikari wins the audition, she refuses to use the brilliance of the other participants to create the stage of fate, and instead offers to create it herself. This doesn’t really work and Hikari is trapped there for months in a Sisyphean effort where she attempts to build the Starlight Tower but it is destroyed over and over again because it’s impossible to put on a play alone.

But outside the Stage of Fate, no one knows what happened to her. Life goes on, but Karen is constantly searching for Hikari but has no luck. In the meantime Karen has lost the motivation she had back when Hikari transferred in. Even though she can say her lines perfectly during practice, there is something missing that everyone can tell. Her heart’s just not in it anymore. Karen even wonders why she’s been trying so hard all this time. It’s the spitting image of Hikari in London after she lost her brilliance. Even though no one stole it from her this time, without Hikari out there, Karen has no motivation to stand on stage.

But with no clues left to find where Hikari has gone, Karen instead has to understand Hikari. She reads Hikari’s Starlight Gatherer book in the original English like Hikari did. It’s hard and she needs a dictionary to translate it, but she puts in the effort to understand Hikari and why she left.

And on her way to confront Hikari once more with this new understanding, she is guided by her classmates. In the background the song “Knowledge of a Stage Girl” is played as each of them tells Karen what being on stage means to them.

Karen is reborn and ready to face Hikari after being dead as a stage girl, and it’s only because her worldview changed after understanding everyone else. Karen at the end of episode 10 couldn’t have convinced Hikari, she was absolutely blindsided then and had no idea what Hikari was doing. But now Karen was ready after having understood a variety of perspectives.

Because that’s what being reborn is, to change yourself. You will never be anyone other than yourself. But every time you understand someone, learn from someone, or get inspired by someone, you are reborn. You suddenly see a path someone else took that you hadn’t thought of before. You’re suddenly given a whole new way of life to live. You can be reborn as someone brand new. And even if you choose to stay exactly the same, you’ve still grown since you now know they exist.

When the stage is reborn in the final revue of the show, it’s only because Karen offered a new ending: that after falling, Flora ascended up the tower once more to meet the trapped Claire. Karen couldn’t change the past, she can’t make it so Flora and Claire never ascended the tower in the first place, she can’t make it so the two of them never took part in these auditions, but she can change what's gonna happen next.

This is also seen in the movie. Throughout the movie, Karen is wandering along a train track and reminiscing on how she became a stage girl. We see Hikari and Karen’s first meeting and the first play they saw with each other. We see how Karen had been the lead in her middle school plays and took dancing and singing lessons ever since elementary school. We see how she had to give up video games and hanging out with her friends so she could get into one of the best acting schools in the world. We see how scared she was that Hikari might have forgotten their promise. 

And once Karen arrived at the end of the tracks, she decides to give up on the stage, having realized that she had fulfilled her dream to shine as the lead with Hikari and now there is nothing left for her future on the stage. So Karen dies as a stage girl, for real this time. It’s still a metaphor but it’s real, her body goes limp in front of Hikari and there is tomato juice everywhere.

It’s real bad. Hikari starts crying and cradling Karen in her arms, which is a big departure from how stoic she usually is. But Hikari is finally truthful about why she left, having been symbolically reborn herself, and she tells Karen her true feelings, that she wants Karen to come back to the stage where she is waiting.

Karen falls again, and just like the first time she transformed, it even has the sign behind her that says I am reborn.

Her body rides down the tracks on a train, reliving the memories and burning up everything she already gave up before. But this time when she returns to the end, she is alive and reborn. The circumstances are all the same as before, she still fulfilled her dream and has nothing left. As she later says, she’s the emptiest she’s ever been. But she’s here now, all because Hikari said she was waiting for her, and that’s enough of a reason to stand on stage.

This is just like the first episode, where the only difference from all the other loops was that Hikari was there, and that’s all Karen needed to change and be reborn.

Because Karen can’t redo her whole life. Even within the time loop everything happened more or less the same each time. Karen already gave everything she had into acting and fulfilling her promise. Like the song playing in the background says, “I would be reborn as myself.” 

It’s not like she ever acted differently to try and become the top star, she doesn’t imitate Maya or Claudine or any other top star. She is unabashedly herself, always kind and energetic. The only difference is that she’s just more focused and motivated and understanding with each rebirth because the only thing she can change is what she is going to do right now, and that’s what it means to be reborn. 

Karen is transformed over the course of the revue, her sword snaps and her future is changed. She gains a better understanding of herself and why she stands on stage. And instead of desiring to stand beside Hikari on stage again, or longing for the stage that had already passed, she finds a new ambition, and chooses to stand against her as rivals who won’t lose to each other. And as established in a previous revue (that Karen wasn’t there for), the revue of rivals never ends, no matter how far apart their stages are. So instead of giving up on the stage like she said prior, we see the reborn Karen auditioning for a brand new role during the credits.

Revue Starlight is all about these little transformations. As the stage girls take part in each of the revues, they learn a little bit more about each other, which helps them learn more about themselves. They grow and change because they clash with each other, and become stronger for it. The giraffe changes from the proctor to becoming a bunch of fruits and vegetables, symbolically the fuel they need to ascend to the next stage instead of using each other’s brilliance. The revues themselves change from being part of an audition to being entirely for the girl’s satisfaction, with previous win conditions such as cutting the brooch or claiming position zero becoming worthless as they move on to bigger things.

And all of this was a choice. The first choice was that Hikari didn’t want to give up on her dream with Karen, so she got back on stage. The next choice was that Karen wanted to stand on stage with Hikari, even if she wasn’t part of the auditions. In the movie, everyone else gets the chance to see themselves as a dead stage girl. At first they are in shock, but then they hear a speech from the director about how they are all scared together. And after that, each of them chooses to get back on stage despite the risk, because they aren’t facing it alone.

In the final revue of the show, Karen said that every time she gets on stage, she is reborn. And we saw that! Before every revue, Karen had her “I am Reborn” transformation sequence. And it’s not just her, in the recap movie, the other stage girls didn’t get the full transformation sequence, but they did get an “I am Reborn” card before their revues. Because everytime a stage girl chooses to stand on stage, someone else is there. Someone else is going to be facing them in the revue. Someone else will be acting across from them, or will be supporting them off the stage. And even when they are apart, they are going to be thinking of each other.

Even from the very beginning, the reason that any of them chose to stand on stage was because of someone else. Maybe they were inspired like Karen, Hikari, or Junna. Maybe it was expected of them like Maya, Kaoruko, or Mahiru. Or maybe it was because someone else was already there, like with Futaba, Claudine, or Nana. And sometimes it’s a mix because people are complex and have so many different reasons for doing anything they do. 

But still, they chose to do it, to change and to take a risk and put it all out there and accept whatever comes with it.

And that is what it means to be reborn.

[circyexistforcontent]

IMPOSTER AU! BUT WITH AN OBLIVIOUS GOD READER

✿ trigger warnings: cultish behavior, yandere's, mentions of weaponry, attempted murder, religious themes, god reader being an idiot because they don't know someone is impersonating them

✿ notes: the reader is actually the god of teyvat, this isn't an isekai story. so if you don't like it I suggest you scroll by.

It's been a millennium since you have descended in Teyvat. Mostly for the reason you had other out worldly matters to deal with, so you didn't have time to visit your acolytes or take care of teyvat as a whole. So you decided to create a small extension of yourself, Celestia, to observe Teyvat while you were gone.

After unloading your work you decided that a small vacation wouldn't hurt. After all, a god deserves to rest too. Should you make yourself known to your acolytes? You probably shouldn't, some of them can be really...suffocating *Cough* Morax *Cough* and they might be busy with their own respective nations.

You decided to fuse back with Celestia, feeling some of Celestia's memories flood your mind and- oh my god. What the hell happened?

When did your acolytes start a war???

Most of your acolytes died a few centuries after you left. Some of your acolytes were so unbecoming at the time, and all you could feel is disappointment. They swore to themselves they would be peaceful, why did they decide to turn their back on you?

You decided once you descend to Teyvat, you will give them a lecture about promises and being truthful to your words.

You made sure to be careful when transferring a piece of your consciousness to Teyvat. Transferring a small piece of your power was hard enough without accidentally exploding the vision holder, if you brought even a fourth of yourself to the domain it will collapse. You can feel the familiar sensation of entering a world, feeling the breeze slowly brush past you as the sunlight beams above your form.

Monstadt, what use to be a frozen wasteland now became a city flourishing with people and plant life. Based on what you can remember, Barbatos, your little wisp friend, has now ascended to godhood and has dominion over Monstadt. You can remember how happy your little wind wisp would be every time you come to visit him after a long day of answering prayers and managing the constellations. He always loved head pats, and he fits in your pocket too.

Maybe you should visit him first, just like in the old times. You started walking through the forest, greeting every slime you walked past and every hillichurl that would see run towards you. Some have even offered you trinkets! Though you sadly couldn't wear it since it was on the brink of breaking apart, you promised to cherish it for centuries to come.

Sunlight shines through the end of the forest, but as you made your way to the exit an arrow whizzes through you. Not even getting the chance to make contact with your flesh (it's not like this form even has flesh), you saw a figure above a tree branch before it gracefully landed on the ground. You saw that they were holding a bow.

"Stay where you are, imposter!"

'Imposter?' You thought, what was she talking about? "Excuse me Amber, but who are you referring to?" Amber seem to be tense the moment you said her name. She prepared her bow again, making sure it's pointed to your head.

"How do you know me? And I was referring to you. You're trying to impersonate the Divine Creator." You made an 'aah' sound before waving dismissively, giving her a care free smile.

"You must be mistaken, you see I AM the Divine Creator. I know I haven't descended for a long time and this might be sudden but I promise I will make up for all the time I was go-"

Before you can try and reason more with Amber, an explosive plushie was thrown at you.

[hareofhrair]

However important you think Biden winning the election is, you must surely realise that jerking off into a sock might just do more to make that happen than being annoying about it on tumblr.

Thanks for having the integrity to send this off anon, man. And I more or less agree frankly. My original post was primarily venting and mostly just intended for the people in my immediate circle as, at most, an explanation for why I was unfollowing them and breaking mutuals. I didn’t even tag it as anything but “us politics” for people who don’t want to see that shit. It wouldn’t have gone much further than that, but a sci fi author I follow and respect deeply reblogged it, and they’re pretty popular so here we are. The shit i have got in my inbox the last week you would not believe, dude.

The thing is being annoying about voting for Biden on tumblr is pretty damn ineffective for sure. Unfortunately, doomposting about how he’s no better than trump and it doesn’t make a difference who wins so we should all just give up- does work. Reblogging a million posts about how Biden is a genocidal monster and voting for him means you’re a murderous racist (and exactly zero posts about Trump’s political plans or anything hopeful or which recommends actual action beyond just *not voting*) is incredibly effective at suppressing votes here. The tumblr community is very susceptible to apathy, because we’re all depressed and broke and miserable.

Russia literally used that to their advantage in 2016- this is established, proven fact- in order to get Trump elected the first time by convincing leftist youth that the democratic candidates were just as bad so there was no point in voting (and in fact voting makes you a bad person because you’re endorsing those monsters!) So I’d prefer if people around me did not uncritically reblog that shit. It pisses me off to see it and it does no one any good.

Biden is dogshit man, I know. I’m not a democrat, I just vote that way because, generally speaking, they are the only available candidates who don’t want to make my life actively worse. That doesn’t mean I like it.

But as far as I can tell, the revolution isn’t happening any time soon. I’m doing as much as I can where I am, but generally speaking the American people are uniquely complacent and apathetic and systematically depowered. Most of us are fighting just to stay housed and fed and don’t have the energy to also throw ourselves on the gears of capitalism. Those of us that do have the capacity face the incredible impersonal violence of the police state and a justice system with both political and financial incentive to strip their personhood and sell them into forced labor. Either things have to get a *lot* worse to convince people they have nothing to lose (which as someone else pointed out is a risky gamble that doesn’t always work and results in a lot of suffering regardless) or things need to get *marginally* better, enough that the people who already want change have the stability and resources to fight for it. And when you want incredibly, frustratingly marginal improvements, look no further than the democratic party!

Look, when it comes down to it, you don’t need to agree with me. But at least admit that even if it makes no difference at all, voting doesn’t hurt anything. It’s free, it takes very little effort, and it maybe gives us a slightly better chance of avoiding our country becoming a christofacist dictatorship.

If voting, at worst, makes no difference why not do it?

If voting, at worst, does nothing- why are so many people so invested in convincing you that you shouldn’t do it?

[dark-side-blog3]

How would you rank each yandere Team Bucciarati member from least to most terrifying to be considered a rival marked for death by?

This is based on my opinion, but the top two are definitely tied in terms of how scary it is because it really depends on what you find worse. I personally find it way scarier to think about a sudden violent death than one that's still going to be violent, but has you waiting for the shoe to drop. One of those you at least get to steel yourself for, and prepare mentally to die. The other one just happens. Way scarier, at least to me.

Also some of the guys on this list (MISTA) are the absolute worst to be marked as a rival for, but death itself isn't that bad. So when you asked for death specifically, I just focused on the aspect of dying.

That said, I hope you enjoy~!

++++++++++++++++

Leone is the least dangerous by far. He is still a force to be reckoned with, but he's the least dangerous because he hardly ever feels insecure enough to kill someone else for you. It's like that statistic on how cows kill more people than sharks a year: that number would change drastically if people waded waist-deep in the water with a bunch of sharks and poked them with a stick for hours every day.

Leone will bribe, blackmail, intimidate, and steal from anyone that catches him stalking you and intends to inform you--- If he's doing it right, you'd never know you've been tailed until you die. But if someone catches him watching you, or worse: A stand user discovered him stalking you because he was using Moody Blues, and insisted to do the right thing by telling you, then Leone would have to kill them. Before they can tell you.

The best option for a surprise attack like this would be a gun, but there's no guarantee that will work. And Moody Blues isn't a combat stand. Leone will taunt and beat them up just enough to entice them to chase after him as he runs away instead of telling you about the stalker.

It's cowardly, but so is killing someone after getting caught peeping. Leone takes zero pride in luring them into alleyways; with lower-rank thugs in passione that will gang up on the rival with enough "persuasive" blackmail and bribes Leones gives them in advance. If a group won't overwhelm them, it at least gives Leone enough time to call for backup from a more combat-oriented stand user like Narancia or Mista, and study how his rival's stand works.

They won't be walking out of that alley alive that night. Leone's taken too many precautions to get caught like this.

++++

Mista is scary to be a rival of, but being marked for death is a blessing.

Mista isn't above torturing or kicking the shit out of people who really overstep their boundaries; like if they try to pick on you the same way he does. And he'll make his displeasure known. Dickheads usually back off if a guy who's clearly carrying drapes himself over their target, staking his claim with a little PDA. If they want to press the issue further, Mista will gladly take the time for some entertainment.

Mista likes taking a little time in torturing someone; get a little creative with glass shards shoved under fingernails and into the roof of their mouth-- at an angle so there's no chance of the little shards being plucked out easily. And there's something to be said in using someone's teeth to open beer bottles and stubborn pop can tabs for him, even if it means their teeth chip or they cut their gums. And usually, one night of this means you won't have to worry about them anymore. People rarely come back for seconds of Guido's sadism.

But, under rare circumstances, there comes a time when Mista can't just let someone keep meddling anymore. And kicking their ass three times didn't work... So he's gonna light 'em up.

It's not like he didn't give them a fair warning. Mista won't make it as impersonal as a drive-by, as much as the idea of being the cool guy is, he could be cooler if he delivered a kickass one-liner while breaking their back over his knee. Or said something badass as he shoves his gun's muzzle into their mouth, something Brad Pitt or Nic Cage would say to a low-time villain in an action movie, right before blowing their brains out. If the one-liner ain't cool... Then he'll just say a better one after they've died. No one will know but him, anyways.

+++

Bruno can and will make their death public. He's already been shown to torture people on the bus and no one will say a fucking thing, and he knows that making an example by killing someone will serve as a good warning to others. Granted, Bruno will fudge a bit of the story...

He's not killing them because he likes you and they're someone you're interested in! Bruno is killing them because they stole millions of dollars from the city, acted as a money mule for a more violent organization that doesn't have this town's best interest at heart, and also just so happened to almost kill a civilian who made their payments on time because they wanted to sleep with them! This guy is the scum of the earth, even for a thug!

During their fight, Bruno will spit out these phrases that allow the audience to piece together the (fake) story on their own. Bruno is once again being a good guy doing bad things, and he's selflessly fighting against a more dangerous thug to keep everyone safe-- including that poor victim of molestation and near rape! Which, for his story to work, has to be you.

Bruno knows that he can only get away with so much, however. Torturing someone to death is fine, and he's done so before. But this story needs to have him being the righteous hero for you. Ripping them apart with his stand isn't the way to do this-- at least not in a way anyone can see. He'll use sticky fingers to unzip the internal organs inside of their body, letting them die in a way that mimics being beaten to death. Less blood spray means people won't panic as much, which makes him look better in the eyes of the people while scaring the shit out of future would-be rivals.

The public humiliation aspect of their death is horrifying; imagine being brutally beaten to death in public, and all the people who should be helping you are just watching, some with a sadistic glint in their eyes because you "deserve" this.

++++

Fugo is the scariest member, depending on what you'd find scarier: Certain death that you know is coming, and you just can't tell when it's going to happen... Or just a sudden violent death, like an aneurysm, with no idea what you did wrong. If you're more afraid of the anticipation of dying, knowing it's coming, yet unable to do anything about it but wait... Then Fugo is by far the scariest yandere of the gang to be marked for death.

Pannacotta is possessive, and on a hair trigger for violent outbursts, so he's scary to be around even if you aren't a rival marked for death. It's only worse because even before getting into range, Fugos stares them down with a look that only means whatever he wants to do is premeditated.

He won't bring out purple haze unless he's picked a fight with someone way stronger than him-- his stand could kill him too. Beating the fuck out of them the old-fashioned way is going to have to do. And it's not like he can't fight on his own. Fugo uses anything in reach to bludgeon or stab at them.

It's animalistic. Every hit or scratch Fugo gets back as he's caving their ribs in enrages him, triggering an animalistic need to kill. He tries to sit on top of their broken ribs, hoping his weight is enough to keep them pinned to the ground as he

There's no planning. If he's lucky enough to tail or lure them into somewhere secluded, it's obviously better, but if it's public, then it's public. People know better than to try to pry someone in the middle of a fight off each other-- at least if they're known members of Bruno Bucellatis's gang, and by implication: the mafia. Everyone smart will mind their own fucking business and get the fuck out. The only people stupid enough to intervene are tourists, that quickly get roped into the carnage when they grab Fugo's shoulder to pull him off the other corpse, only to wind up bludgeoned too.

+++++

If we're talking about how scary it is for a guy to just charge at you like a rabid dog with zero regard for his own safety or pain so long as he kills you, then Narancia is definitely up top in terms of fear factor.

The level of certainty in being hunted by Narancia is terrifying. You will not survive. You won't even last an hour-- once he gets it in his head that you're a nuisance to him or his darling, he is going to hunt you down. Using his stand to spray the streets with bullets, going up to random people and slamming them into walls or kicking them to the ground to see if they're who he's looking for, starting fires to smoke them out of buildings or die in the burning rubble.

Narancia at the very least has to be provoked into killing someone, so that does put a damper on how scary he is... And unlike provoking Fugo, its easier to tell if you're going to get yourself killed. Narancia isn't going to kill someone for talking to his darling, or trying to hang out with them when he's not around (because that's easy: He'll just tag along).

But that doesn't make it any less scary because if Narancia decides you're going to die, it's something he does right away. There is no warning, no way to mentally prepare yourself. It just starts. Narancia is hunting them down, screaming and swearing as he pounds himself against any doors or walls in the way, slashing wildly with his switchblade, spraying the streets with bullets, setting fires, and trying to bite them-- and they're probably not going to know why he wants to kill them suddenly, because the inciting incident maybe warrants a punch in the face, not a knife in their kneecaps while Narancia fucking bites their nose off, and slashes across their chest with his other switchblade in front of everyone, promising to slice them small enough to cram down a toilet and piss on.

Narancia is the scariest because there is no restraint. If he's killing you, it's violent and erratic.

[dazai-fan-page]

I’m so glad someone else agrees on Mori picking Tanizaki in the trade. Mori learned all too well that he functions on logic differently than dazai. Of course both of them are ruthless but Mori’s is much more impersonal. Picking tanizaki strategically makes the most sense. Not only because of his ability but his sister. It would be a very beast-like situation where Mori holds one of the siblings as motivation for the other, similar to Dazai with the Akutagawas. Holding Naomi’s life as motivation for Tanizaki, as well as his loyalty to the agency, makes perfect sense for someone like Mori who hopefully learned his lesson on projecting priorities after dazai left.

The other option was Yosano as it was hinted at through Mori’s thoughts of “fukuzawa doesn’t need to know” as well as her past with him. There are countless things that Mori could hold against yosano as manipulation but the agency is more likely to fight to get her back and that defeats the point of an alliance. Everyone, especially those in the agency who know Mori’s treatment firsthand, would lose it. (Not that they wouldn’t be upset with Tanizaki being traded but yosano would be significantly worse)

If Dazai was accepted it would be great potential for all the fanfic writers! But at this point deeply invested fans know that’s not Asagiri’s style to hand it to us straight. It would be painful and much more emotionally based in terms of Mori’s tactics than logical. That empty executive seat may be filled but there’s just as much of a chance Dazai will intentionally cause more inconvenience in return than leaving him in the agency where Dazai has more freedom to be a menace to society. Mori would also lose Chuuya’s trust and would have to rely much more on acquiescence than he should. For Dazai himself it would be disastrous for his character arc in more ways than I would elaborate in one ask. Taking Yosano or Tanizaki makes more sense for Mori even though neither are good options. Taking Dazai would require a moment of silence.

tl;dr- I agree with you on the trade

Sorry for the long ramble you didn’t have to read it all! But it’s nice knowing someone else’s opinions on the trade. Please stay safe and drink water lovely stranger!

Yes. To all of that.

Also personally I love Mori, he's one of my favorites, and people thinking he's just obsessed with Dazai is. Not accurate?? He just cares about him, of course Mori wants Dazai to come back he spent so long keeping that little shit alive he got attached. It happens.

Anyways also from a literary standpoint it'd be. Weird to backtrack a character's development so much. Which is also why it didn't make sense to kill him off.

Now personally I hope Dazai and Chuuya end up in a safehouse for most of the next arc but realistically we'll probably get a corruption scene at best.

-E

[fensherohair]

Until The End (Charlie Weasley x Fem Reader) Oneshot

Words: 2.5K Warning: Mentions of Characters' death, injury, and loss. Also On: Quotev, AO3 and Wattpad Note: Originally written around 2011/12 - Edited 2022

The Battle of Hogwarts was raging on around (Y/N). The once great castle she had called home during her teenage years resembled the ruins the outside muggle world saw it to be on a daily basis. The collapsed areas brought a tear to her eye as she remembered her mischievous antics from when she was a student attending the school, how she used her ability as a Metamorphmagi to impersonate professors and ghosts alike, often ending in detention. Even how, in her final year, she had stood by your best friends and helped them rebel against Umbridge, letting her patrons loose in several areas, scaring most who come into contact with it.

(Y/N) was a brave Gryffindor student and a member of the D.A. (Y/N) Black, the daughter of Sirius Black and his school sweetheart, although she had been raised by Remus after her mother had been killed in the First Wizarding War and her father had been sent to Azkaban for a crime he was innocent of. During the battle, she was stationed in one of the many corridors near the moving staircase; (Y/N) could see Fred and Percy nearby, much as she could hear Fred joking about something. George was also close by at the end of the corridor, although he occasionally disappeared when he had the upper hand on whichever Death Eater he fought against. (Y/N) knew others were around somewhere as well, yet unfortunately, she didn’t have time to scan the area as she had her hands full with another Death Eater. (Y/N) knew he was one of the many to escape Azkaban during the two mass breakouts, much like she knew he was a loyal follower of Voldemort. Rodolphus Lestrange.

“I haven’t heard you joke since …..” was the last thing (Y/N) heard before she was forcefully thrown off her feet towards Rodolphus, who seemed just as shocked about the sudden explosion and rubble as she was. Nonetheless, he instantly got to his feet and ran from the scene. Leaving (Y/N) lying on the floor, she expected he would come back eventually, or at least another Death Eater would see her and take their chance to eliminate another who opposed their master. Through her lack of hearing, (Y/N) could about hear someone shouting for another to wake up, yet she couldn't distinguish who it was she could hear, much like (Y/N) couldn’t see much through her blurry vision. The moment she attempted to sit up, (Y/N) felt excruciating, almost torturous pain in her right shoulder. Making attempts to blink away the blurriness so she could get a better look at what was causing such pain, but it did little to help. Soon enough, her hair had changed from its natural (H/C) to the light lavender color to symbolize being hurt or in pain.

“(Y/N),” came the familiar voice of Percy, as hands wrapped themselves around (Y/N)'s midsection as he attempted to pull her to safety. “I’m gonna get the shards from your shoulder, but it's gonna hurt,” calmly spoke the third Weasley brother, (Y/N), who had almost forgotten what he sounded like when he was caring; his cold and Ministry-loving way had almost completely overshadowed it. Just as he said, (Y/N) felt the pain ripple and rip through her shoulder, arm, and neck. She felt as if her veins were on fire as dizziness returned once more. However, her vision began to return a little bit. (Y/N) couldn’t find the will to form words, instead opting to nod in thanks. She didn’t dare look at the wound she had sustained, suspecting her arm would be mangled if the pain was anything to go by. “Look after Fred for me; I’m going after Rookwood, the one who blew out the wall,” added Percy before running off down the hall. (Y/N) watched him go, unable to ask him where the others both cared for were. The only comfort was knowing she wasn't alone; she had Fred, unaware he had been killed in the explosion.

(Y/N) must have been huddled behind the armor for what seemed like hours. The shouts of spells being cast echoed around the corridor, despite that (Y/N) was able to summon the strength needed to move and help those fighting to defend the castle. She wasn’t able to summon the words to cast the spell; all she could do was sit there with Fred, in pain and hope no Death Eater found them to finish off the job they had been so close to succeeding in. (Y/N) soon lent against Fred, almost finding his green jacket interesting as they waited, the fear taking root and grew with every fast-paced and often thunderous footsteps come down the stone corridor.

“I do not wish this. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a terrible waste. I, therefore, command my forces to retreat. In their absence, dispose of your dead with dignity. Harry Potter. I now speak directly to you. On this night you have allowed your friends to die for you, there is no greater dishonour. Join me in the Forbidden Forest and confront your fate. If you do not do this, I shall kill every last man, woman, and child who tries to conceal you from me.” The words echoed around the ruined castle and the grounds, yet this time, there would be no girls screaming out in terror. Instead, there was only silence for what felt like hours. (Y/N) didn’t hear a soul speak a word or even footsteps to indicate someone else was around. Soon enough, the peacefulness was interrupted by familiar voices. One brought happiness to (Y/N) even.

“Percy said they were hidden behind a suit of armor,” uttered Charlie, his voice filled with concern about what he might find. From Percy’s warning, he knew Fred was already gone, and his love was seriously, perhaps even fatally injured; he hoped he was in time to save her even when he knew the pain it would cause if he weren’t. “(Y/N),” spoke the red-haired dragon tamer she'd called your own for so many years. He had spotted her boots and quickly began to struggle to move the armor. Thankfully, Oliver Wood lent a helping hand. The pair of them and Neville stood there for a few seconds before Charlie regained his senses and leaned down to (Y/N), examining the injury to her shoulder and observing the blood pooling around her, his heart already broken to see his younger brother deathly still, cold and with the last smile from his unfinished joke still etched upon his lips. He couldn’t lose you, too; his already broken heart would be shattered beyond repair if (Y/N) left him, much like George would truly be lost if she were to die.

“It's cold,” (Y/N) uttered, looking up to the second son of Molly and Arthur, no longer having feeling in her likely mangled right arm or anywhere around her shoulder; all of it had gone numb at some time ago, although she couldn’t say when. Charlie soon leaned (Y/N) against the wall, blocking her view of Neville and Oliver as they took Fred’s body away, ever more so upon realizing she was none the wise of his fate. Instead, the dragon tamer took his jacket off, gently placing it around her, watching as she snuggled into the warmth it offered. Appearing completely oblivious as to where she was or the concern etched on his features. “Ow!” (Y/N) yelled when Charlie attempted to pull her to her feet; having assessed her injuries, he knew it was far worse than Percy had originally thought.

“Come on (Y/N). Let's get you to the great hall. See if one of the healers can spare a few minutes,” softly spoke Charlie as if he hoped the words to escape his lips would soothe both his growing concerns and looming fears. His memory soon took him for a trip through past events, how the pair had eloped shortly after going into hiding, the dance they shared at Bill and Fleur’s wedding where he had asked you to marry him, even the Quidditch World Cup a few years prior where he had first professed his love for (Y/N) and the Yule Ball that Christmas serving as a lot of firsts, including first dance and kiss. The whimpers of pain to escape (Y/N) brought him more concern, much like he was beginning to hate the rule that no apparition could happen on school grounds. “The others would be happy to see you. George needs you,” whispered the taller redhead as he attempted to get (Y/N) to the Great Hall with as little pain as possible, eventually opting to carry her there to prevent further pain.

Upon walking through the golden doors, Charlie placed (Y/N) back on her own two feet, quickly noticing her lack of balance and how pale she'd gone in the minutes it had taken to get to the hall. Just by looking, anyone could tell (Y/N) had been through hell and back. Her ever-changing hair stuck to your face, as had the dust and dirt from the explosion, and a few scratches scattered her beautiful features, most notably beneath her left eye. Her focus, however, was on those who had been killed during the battle so far, seeing Collin Creevy and Lavender Brown amongst the dead, yet nothing hurt more than seeing Tonks and Remus next to each other, holding hands as they lay motionless on stretchers. Soon enough, her attention was drawn to the rest of the Weasley Clan, Bill, and Fleur looking down in sorrow; Arthur stood nearby with Percy, who at least looked relieved to see you and Charlie. Ginny stood behind Molly, who was leaning on the floor, stroking the hair of one of her twin sons, your heart sinking upon seeing George in tears at the feet of his twin. However, his attention was soon diverted to (Y/N) when Percy pointed in the general direction. Ron was nowhere to be seen, which only caused worry about his whereabouts and well-being.

“I was with him,” whispered (Y/N); Charlie could only look down, knowing she had been unaware she'd essentially been protecting Fred’s body the entire time they were hidden behind the suit of armor. “When did this happen?” she asked as her heart began to break as she tried so hard rack her memory for the answer. George slowly made his way over while Charlie went to get a healer, hoping for the best as he did so. “I was with Fred; when did this happen?” (Y/N) questioned, her hair going light blue to suggest she was upset, hints of the lavender still in there from the pain constantly tormenting her. George could see the obvious confusion, thankful Percy had told him, yet it still broke his heart further to see some he loved in such a way,.

“The wall explosion,” whispered George in response, not daring to speak any louder, knowing if he did, the pain would only grow and strengthen. “He was killed instantly by the rumble,” added the younger of the Weasley twins, watching as it dawned on (Y/N) she had been stowed away with the body of one of her closest friends, his protector against any further harm. “Percy didn’t want to tell you after he saw the injury you had sustained,” finished George as he caught (Y/N) when her knees gave out, the tears staining her dusty cheeks. George was well aware there was little anyone could do to help outside of being there. Just seconds later, Charlie reappeared, sadness in his eyes as he looked upon the one he called wife, knowing there was so much left to do together. There was so much he still wanted to do with her. He still had all the I love you's left to spend on her and his dragons. George quickly realized what the sadness meant and could only look to (Y/N) with a new sense of brokenness, especially when Charlie shook his head to confirm his suspicions. 

“All we can do is make her comfortable,” whispered the elder Weasley as he once again picked (Y/N) up, holding her bridal style. Despite everything, hearing her sweet echoing giggle somehow gave him and George the false hope they needed to believe she would be okay, that she would survive. The same innocent laugh they knew would haunt them for the rest of their lives. The dragon tamer soon sat on the benches to the side of the hall near his family; (Y/N) was resting in his lap with her head against his muscular chest, his arms wrapped around her with one of her hands securely in his, George hugged Ron when he entered the hall. Not daring to speak about what the pain he knew was to come. Bill soon left Fleur’s side to join the pair of you. You were his family, too, the reason his younger brother broke his own vow of never marrying, the reason he spoke of something else other than his dragons.

“When this is over, can we all be a happy family again?” (Y/N) asked with a dazed look in her glazed eyes, not even noticing Hermione appear with concern. All either brother could do was shake their heads to give her the silent answer to her equally wordless question. “The laughter, mischief, love. The never-ending pranks. No war or threat to everything we know and love,” whispered (Y/N). Charlie could only press a soft kiss to the top of her head, his only wish that she would stay with him, yet he knew it wasn’t to be. So, he pulled out his wand, knowing what he was going to do was likely to be his last show of love and affection for his beloved wife.

“Expecto Patronum,” chanted Charlie as he swished his wand, showing his Patronus had changed to match her own. There were tears in his eyes as he saw her smile upon seeing the silvery dragon fly above before disappearing. “It will always be for you (Y/N) until the end,” added the heartbroken Weasley, confessing he wouldn’t love another as he had allowed himself to love her. There wouldn’t be anyone who could ever replace her as his love or soul mate. “Goodbye (Y/N), I know your love will guide us,” cried Charlie as he watched her tangled hair turn from the blue, it had been back to its natural black color for the last time; her body had already limp in his arms. All he could do was refuse to let her go, just holding her in a tight grip, knowing there was nothing he could do to bring his (Y/N) back. “I’ll see you again,” whimpered Charlie as Bill placed a comforting arm around his shoulder, tears of his own staining his cheeks. The toll of the war had come at a heavy price for the Weasley clan; all they could do was hope (Y/N) and Fred’s deaths weren’t in vain, just as he hoped none of those who defended the castle died for nothing.

With Voldermort’s death came the end of the war. The Weasleys huddle together, yet Charlie soon looked around him when he could have sworn he heard your soft voice. “I love you, Charlie, forever.”

Fen's Masterlist

[undercoverpena]

Hi there! 😊 I came across your comment regarding reblogging while dealing with social anxiety, and it got me thinking. I want to make sure I approach things correctly, especially considering the significance of reblogs for gif makers and writers. I hope it's alright to reach out and ask for some guidance?

omg of courseeee it's okay! (i've actually added a little inbox is open for chats thing to my masterlist so never fear, if that says open, we are gravy). anyway, let's give this a go.

although, firstly, i just want to preface this i am not an expert, this is just how i dealt with the early "reblog" panic.

so, you are right, reblogs are important. not just because of the algorithm, spreading the work etc etc etc, but also because it means you get to interact with the gifmaker/writer! (yay!). and for me, initiating that one-on-one contact is intimidating. but, one of the ways i first began to interact was through reblogs.

so, nowadays, i leave comments as part of the reblog. not just to say that i loved the story, but why. and the why is so important. why?(hehe) because that's personal to you.

you, you wonderful person.

no one can take that from you. not everyone is going to think as beautifully as you. you own that thought. and also you can't be wrong as to why you liked something. because that's your opinion (which is awesome in itself).

now when you're starting out reblogging it can feel super daunting to think up a comment, so when i started, i began in the hashtags (for some reason, this felt less scary? im not sure why, but it works).

i think earlier i said you could always start with "love this", but you could always add more (in my case, i get more and more unhinged).

for example, you could go:

#love this #X was written so well #my favourite trope #reread material ⬆️ btw, these are just examples, you dont have to use them

now the benefits of doing this are, yes, you are reblogging the work, therefore exposing it to others (and showcasing why you loved it to them). but, anon, you're also opening a dialogue with the gifmaker/writer. and they will notice (in my case, i do a little kick when i read them, true story).

while this doesn't mean automatic friendship, you are interacting. and look, there's also a chance they'll interact back. regardless if that happens, you have shared work (yay!) and you've likely made their day (and for us, socially anxious folk, also showed your brain whats what).

then, in time, when you grow more confident, you can experiment with moving from hashtags to comments (if you want). equally, your experience and comfort matter here, you don't have to use the hashtags at all, you could reblog and keep them generic like #frankie morales x reader (for example) at first.

i know from personal experience, sometimes i am staring at my reblog comment of someone else's work and i'm not sure WHAT to say. but then i remember talking to someone about a book and i just began explaining WHY i liked the book, and realised (in one of those weirdly earth-shattering moments) that is all i need to do when i reblog. i am just sharing out loud what it was about the thing that made me grin.

now, i will say, unless specified by the author/maker, do not give constructive criticism or point out things you didn't like in a reblog (especially if you don't know the person). just because without "tone", it can feel really impersonal and hurtful.

but other than that, have fun! fandom is only a beautiful place if those participating are having fun.

i hope this was helpful, in some capacity. love jo 🩷✨

[fox-guardian]

Can we hear more thoughts on Oliver Banks pls

I love him so much he is literally so funny and fascinating like we all talk about how wild his ep 121 statement was with the impersonating and sneaking onto a boat to take a fat nap and how that was hilarious, but see also this bit from his ep 11 statement:

"Even more surprising was that my forward motion brought me over the edge of Canary Wharf’s roof and I fell. I plummeted, I don’t know how far, until I hit the ground with a crack. I would have expected this to wake me but instead I simply lay there, spasmed by dream-pain, you know, the knowledge of pain without the white heat of nerves."

He went splat. He just. Fell and went splat in his dream. And just laid there for a while. That's so fucking funny to me, man.

Also the entire thing with ep 168 like literally what was up with that. Out of every domain Jon Looked At and gave a statement for, Oliver was the only one (that I recall) where someone Gave the statement to Jon. That was Oliver speaking to and through Jon, telepathically beaming his gay little coroner's report into his brain like Why Do We Not Talk About This Why Did Oliver Get To Do That. It is both fascinating and very funny because how exactly did that work. Was it

A) Oliver beaming the formatted report into Jon with his own weird mind powers he has for some reason

B) Jon finding a physically written report with his eye powers and reading off that

C) Oliver just sitting very still in his domain thinking really hard about his gay little report ever since Jon stepped foot into his domain to prepare for Jon's supernatural IBS

Also I just looked over a smidge of the 168 transcript and I just. I wish so badly he could've had a voice appearance. Like if you think about it there wasn't too much reason they couldn't have done it in terms of like. Episode structure, and not much would've changed. The way Oliver talks about his emotional state and state of being tells us he wouldn't have run away like Simon did should Martin be present to start threatening murder, and there's a chance he was also Physically Incapable Of Moving. Like. "I am a fixed point" How Much So, Mr Banks. Are you vibing in your gay little goth treehouse?? Are you tangled in death roots, binding you to a spot in your domain, unable to move?? Are you simply so sleepy and constantly fading in and out of consciousness in a fancy death bed?? Please tell me I would love to know.

And of course the idea of Martin actually meeting Oliver has so much potential to it obviously. Martin getting more jealous because Oliver is Hot(TM), Oliver being basically dead inside apart from being very into Martin once he sees him and Jon fucking with both of them as a result because it's funny, etc. Also I just miss his voice and wish he had more of it. I love him so much. I need more juxtaposition between his statement manner of speaking and his normal one. Give me all the Oliver stutters. I need to hear a yawn.

[willowedwisteria]

Ok so starts out as sagau imposter au, you've been chased out of all of the regions and now end up in snezhnaya, and childe captures you (being that your completely exhausted and just want this all to be over with). For your crime of impersonating the creator, youve been sent to the fighting pits, where fatui would train (and sometimes fight to the death).

Many fighters are eager for the chance to kill you, and whoever deals the final blow will gain a promotion, so you'll have to face multiple of them at once.

You get given some rusted armour and a dull blade to defwnd yourself but the odds are hopeless

This is basically a glorified execution and all of the fatui will come to watch, including the harbingers and the tsaritsa herself.

The fight starts and through your divine powers and teyvat willing you to be alive, you're just scraping by. Luckily, each fighter wants to be the one to kill you, so they begin taking each other out. However your luck doesn't last as when you attempt to block a heavy blow with your sword, it shatters. Desperately sprinting around the arena, looking for any useable weapon, something whisks past your hair. A weapon is lodged into the ground just past you

The arena almost stops as your eyes track where it came from and you find yourself staring at the tsaritsa icy gaze. Completely indecipherable, you dont know if she intended to kill you with it or took pity at how pathetic you looked.

Now the tsaritsa is an archon, and i headcanon her weapon to be huge scythe, that literally no-one can wield due to the immense strength and power required to hold it.

Now picture the entire arenas suprise when you just pick it up

Alarm bells start ringing in everyones heads, and the harbingers go to stop the fight, but the tsaritsa stops them. She wants to see how this goes on.

The fight starts back up, and your still on the back foot, although now you have a chance. You're still heavily outnumbered, and you've never fought before, but maybe you can do this.

But you keep accumulating cuts and bruises, hit after hit. You may have a powerful weapon, but your lack of training shows until you are disarmed.

Your killer has a sadistic grin on their face, and as they bring their sword to your neck, you can't do anything but close your eyes and wait for the end.

But it doesn't come.

Opening them you find your attacker completely frozen in place, the entire arena in fact has been frozen.

Except for you.

The tsaritsa descends to you, and you begin thinking that she wanted the honour of killing you. But there is nothing but kindness in her eyes. She can see your gold blood, the warmth eminating from your chest, the way your eyes hold stars, how could you not be our creator?

The exhaustion catches up with you and you start to collapse, only for cold, soft arms to grasp you and whisper "Don't worry my dear, you are safe now."

Apologies if this was a little long, my brain just kept writing lol, also i am kinda new to writing and genshin, so this cam out as a half-fic half-brainrot lmao

-Rapid anon

It's okay, I'm honored to have such an ask after a long time.

The fact that you can carry such a thing is already a sign that you have to be either, very powerful (which you should have some kind of experience from training that you obviously don't have) or an archon, someone who's a pacifist and has never wielded a scythe.

A scythe is a weapon very hard to master on the spot, so maybe some leverage could be given.

I'm surprised people continued to fight you. Imagine, someone actually WIELDING a blade that is used by an ARCHON. Something so sacred that you, somehow, can control. If I was anyone of the fighters, I would run.

I wonder why the Tsaritsa hadn't stopped the fight. If I had this all mighty powerful weapon and it was in the hands of someone who was supposedly a criminal, I would try and get it back as soon as possible.

The fact that she had dragged this one means that she maybe already had her suspicions. I'm sure some of the harbingers would have noticed as well, maybe even changing their minds about you.

The Tsaritsa owes you a lot for bringing you through such a thing.

[catgirl-catboy]

Danganronpa Blackened plans from best to worst:

(disclaimer: I'm including attempted murders on here, and counting certain double murders separately because it makes sense) I'd love to talk about how you would rank these, so please give your thoughts!

Sakura- since this one is a suicide, I'm not sure it counts. But if Monokuma has to actively interfere to get a case to go to trial, then you did a good job. I can't think of a mistake she made at the top of my head. She wanted to make things as easy as possible for everyone, and she succeeded.

Nagito chapter 5- He didn't plan for the traitor to give herself up, which is a reasonable mistake to make considering the only thing he knew about the traitor was that she WASN'T an ult. despair.

Tsumugi- when you have someone actively confessing to a murder that you committed, you are pretty much scot free. That being said, taking Kaede to the location of your secret passage, even if there weren't any consequences, was needlessly risky. I'd say this is one of those cases where it'd be better to have no alibi at all, since Kiibo and Ryoma didn't have one either.

Gundam- when halfway through the trial you still don't know how the victim died, the murderer did a pretty decent job. His main mistake was that he heard the commotion when he shouldn't have, and that was a calculated risk. He could have easily pushed the "Nagito = lying" agenda more then he did to combat that. He totally gave himself up.

Kiyo's murder of Angie: The locked room murder was a good trick that brought suspicion on the student council. I think that if he stopped here, he likely would have gotten away with it. Even with the duct tape, that doesn't bring suspicion on Kiyo specifically. Since it was nighttime, nobody had an alibi. There is no evidence that incriminates him at all.

Kaito and Kokichi- for attempting to create an unsolvable murder, showing that tape of Kaito being crushed sure did create a lot of problems. I don't think Shuichi would have solved it had that evidence not been handed over by the blackened in the beginning of the trial.

Junko- She made no mistakes during her murder itself. If she took herself to trial in chapter one, there's a 0% chance of her getting caught. Having the victim be impersonating herself means everyone would come to the conclusion it's a suicide. She gets points for trying to destroy the body too, thats not a strategy we see killers use often. She makes a few small mistakes in the body disposal, namely not covering her hand when she attacks Makoto and removing Mukuro's fake nails before placing the bomb. However, her biggest glaring mistake was revealing the true number of students in the first place.

Teruteru- For a rushed plan, this was pretty well thought out. His mistake was trying to attack when the rest of the group were together while he could have attacked someone before the party. That being said, attacking from the floorboards during a blackout he knew would happen is a good plan. I also think he should have destroyed or hid the list of kitchen items, so nobody would notice an iron skewer was missing. He could have easily flushed it down the toilet.

Mondo- in terms of plan he had no plan. However, he didn't make any glaring mistakes at the crime scene. There's not much he could have done about the protein coffee stain and the blood spatter. If you add on Togami's interference, there is no way he would have been caught if he had just kept his mouth shut. For the broken monopad, Taka is equally suspicious. Kyoko was the only one that suspected him, and in chapter two she may not have enough influence over the group to single handedly get him eliminated. The fact that a guy who killed in the heat of the moment places decently shows how little brain cells some of them have.

Gonta and Kokichi- this one is very hard to rank because 90% of the reason Gonta was suspected is Kokichi's testimony, and can you really call the memory error a mistake since it was before Gonta was plotting murder? Either way, I'm putting it here. Gonta made a mistake by being seen in the same area as the toilet paper when he could have easily hidden it on him like Miu did with the phone. However, Kokichi made the majority of mistakes in this case by turning on Gonta for denying he even entered the virtual world. (my dude, its Gonta. This is probably the level of lies you would have gotten had there not been a memory error.)

Kirumi- She made one very big mistake: moving the body. If she had just left Ryoma in his lab, this crime would be near impossible to trace back to her. Depending on if she removed the handcuffs and the severity of his head wound, this could be argued to be a suicide. She couldn't have known that Kokichi or Gonta wouldn't have gone into Ryoma's lab looking for him, but even so that could have been traced back to a lot of different people.

Peko- I think her biggest mistake was agreeing to meet up with the rest of the girls if she suspected Fuyuhiko was going to try something. With a cast this large, not having an alibi is more suspicious than something being weird about your alibi. Her mistake with the gummies is understandable, since we don't know how recently she last say Hiyoko eating them. However, why did she get sparkling justice involved? Fuyuhiko was more suspicious than her throughout most of the case, so people would have likely voted for him. If she wanted him to survive the trial, she should have confessed! Her motives in this case confuse me tbh.

Kaede- her murder is overcomplicated, but in a way that makes sense because she didn't know who she was killing. It also would have been quite difficult to test beforehand due to all of the moving parts and the mastermind possibly being in the library at any time. From a tactical level, her mistake was not taking the first blood perk, but thats due to moral reasons. Since this murder failed, I don't think I can rank it any higher.

Mikan- She shouldn't have tried to record that video for Hajime. She also shouldn't have strangled Ibuki when she just could have hanged her. Why obscure the cause of death? That being said, I think killing Hiyoko was the right choice and was done decently. Still the smartest chapter three killer by a longshot.

Chapter 1 Nagito- Bad plan, which makes sense since he was likely trying to get caught. The bad part of causing a blackout is that whoever was closest to the body would be suspected, since it takes the smallest leap in logic for him to be accused. In the trial, he also caved way too quickly.

Sayaka- Makoto would realistically suspect her, but she was counting on being more charismatic than him for it not to matter. That being said, she made quite a lot of mistakes. She took the murder weapon even though she knew Hina and Sakura were watching and it could be traced back to her. In the au where Makoto gets blamed for killing Leon, that would have been incredibly fishy. She also didn't remove potential weapons from the area before attacking Leon, which is a huge oversight considering he's physically stronger than her. The note she sent was also traced back to her. If she actually made it to the class trial, she would have been caught quite easily.

Miu: The moment Shuichi notices the poison doesn't match the symptoms of the death, she's suspect number one. Her strange behavior before that would have definitely been a clue.

Celeste- Where do I even start. Using Hifumi at all made things needlessly complicated, and he made the majority of mistakes in the murder case. If Hifumi can kill Taka and she can kill Hifumi, than she could have killed Taka easily, especially considering his mental state at the time. I'd go farther and saying having Hifumi alive in the class trial would be an asset, since he'd believe everything she says.

Leon- He removed all of the hair from the crime scene, but didn't bother to... I don't know, go back and look at the body once during that? Did he not bother to clean the bathroom. He also took risks with disposing of the evidence when he could have just as easily hidden it in his room, where nobody would think to look for it.

Kiyo's murder of Tenko- Not only did he make a fuckton of mistakes, this murder was completely pointless. The whole murder was a mistake. I understand he wanted to bolster his kill count, but doing nothing was the best option. If he wanted to axe off someone useful to the group, like Shuichi or Kaito, then this murder might make sense from a strategic perspective. He made horrible choices for seance members, arguably choosing the two smartest in the group to help him. I also think he could have likely found his way to the center of the room based off muscle memory, and those lines he added were unnecessary.

[christiansorrell]

RPG Read-through: Himbos of Myth & Mettle

After my recent read-through of .dungeon//remastered (originally posted to Twitter), someone there was like "I really like your old read-throughs. Have you put those somewhere else for when Twitter inevitably dies?" I hadn't! So here is a read-through I did last year about one of my favorite releases from the last few years Himbos of Myth & Mettle! - Christian

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

Time to read-through one of the most fun games I've played this year: Himbos of Myth & Mettle by Maxwell Lander!

Right out of the gate, this game has such an exuberant, fun energy to it, and I like the voice throughout the writing. The concept could be done much more impersonally/traditionally, but it really wouldn't carry the same feel at all.

Straightforward d20 roll-under system with guidance to create drama and fun over everything else. I've played with the dice chain optional rule and enjoyed it! It's something I love in other games and it's fun to see its inverse here (smaller dice are better).

Interestingly, the system has a mixed success component as well - although you may not expect it with the d20 base. It takes something like your ability modifiers from a traditional game and makes that into a window of error that gets you success with a complication.

The magic system is a lot of fun here. Any himbo can use their Heart stat to attempt superhuman or supernatural things. You answer some quick questions to determine the cost and roll to see if you pull it off. There's an effect table too if things go wrong with some wild results.

The Heart system is a good encapsulation of what I enjoyed about this when I've had the chance to play it. It has this vivacious, positive, and often cartoonish energy to it where things almost always go big, in good and bad ways. It's very heartfelt (no pun intended).

Fun art (by Mary Verhoeven) and quotes throughout this book too. I wonder if these were real player characters from playtesting or maybe in-universe Legends of Himbodom?

One of the most memorable lists of player stats out there. It stresses letting players use most stats for most things. Doing something very courageous in combat? Roll Breast over Thighs. Flirting with an NPC to distract them while you pick their pocket? Roll Lips over Hands.

Death is rare, rather Himbos take Scars when they fall to 0 Heart (acting primarily as health but also "mana" to some extent). Each scar makes them more and more jaded, a bit more negative. After 4 scars, they retire - becoming a hero maybe (yes, heroes are bad here!)

There are special abilities, skills (gained from a lifepath system), and Heat (a bonus pool that reflects how sexy you are in the moment). I had a lot of fun with the special abilities in particular when I played.

D20 tables throughout help build the tone really well. It's clear what kind of characters this game is focused on after looking these over. I really like lifepath systems in games, and this one is surprisingly extensive. It's fun to roll a random character and see who comes out.

Tips section gives some guidance about trying to create a different type of story and different types of conflicts than you typically see in fantasy RPGs. I really like the take on Heroes here. It's a great twist on the genre (and is probably more accurate, honestly).

It's got two adventures in the back, including the 12th Annual Fresh Meat Games which was the adventure I got to play through at EFCon. It's a local festival and competition that the PCs join to test their mettle in front of big crowds. Lots of fun.

Nice little thing: there's a library check-out card holder on the back inside cover with little character sheets in it!

That's the game! It's a lean little book, quick to read and quicker to play. It's got a straightforward central system with fun twists and tables throughout to ramp up the drama and really the entire text just exudes a unique, over-the-top, heartfelt tone I love.

It's available digitally for $10 USD on Itch!

The hardback version is great - really nice quality, it has a ribbon and those cool sheets in the back! I'd recommend picking it up HERE.

Lastly if you'd like to hear more from me, you can do that in my monthly newsletter (includes an article, an RPG freebie, and a list of cool stuff from myself and others over the last month): https://meatcastle.substack.com

[jenyifer]

23.5 ep 2 initial reaction

Yes yes I know I’m late but I think that’s my brand now. Idk how I reacted in time to only friends me doing anything reliably is impossible.

Moving!!! On!!! As your internet lesbian big sister I’m here to react to this gl. So far I’m really enjoying it. Yes it’s slice of life, but it’s beautiful. It’s innocent. It’s so gay.

How many relationships have I had in my head with my friends who are girls? Idk a million. While I’ve never impersonated a man. I have felt getting in too deep and having to quit because A. Their feelings for me got weird B. My feelings for them got weird C. One or both of us started dating real human people. The statement “if you were only a guy we could” haunts me to this day. So Ongsa trying to ghost Sun then staring at her phone was intensely real to me.

Sun is so precious when it comes to her feelings for Ongsa. She’s seeking a real connection something that goes beyond into another world and someone be more accurate? She loves earth because he’s there and funny. She feels safe with him. And that’s exactly what she shows us is how she feels about Ongsa as well it’s so cute.

YES!!! I am so excited for the space obsession!! Was a little worried we’d only get metaphorical references to space and nerdy things. Luna is ready to get some younger students into the cult of science and reason. Did someone see my skeptic and space phase when I was 17-18? Luna is really 20/10 I love her so much. Also I love her name Luna… She has a connection with the earth and sun. The moon reflects the sun and Luna is beautiful, charming like Sun. The moon is part of the earth and has gravitational pull on the earth, Luna is someone Ongsa will look up to and Luna creates a reason for Ongsa and Sun to spend more time together. Idk I just love it.

I love these two besties on a mission to help their fellow outcast succeed it’s the best trope. I screamed when they both bought good luck charms for Ongsa.

Okay Ongsa is definitely living the Teenage dream with Luna and Sun on her arm. Look at June pout if melt and give her all my money immediately. I just want to hug her to pieces.

Send help immediately this side ship has stolen my heart. Luna is so determined for her club and Aylin was made for this club!!!! GAH!!! Would you explore the universe with me? SMOOTH. I would follow Luna into a black hole. Aylin has no chance.

NOOOO I CANT TAKE THAT THE EX BOYFRIEND IS CRINGE!!!!!! Also his name is Ton? I’m just going to be thinking about the man the myth the legend Boston from only friends.

(Side note I love Neo but I did see him shit the bed on live house. While I forgive him cause men are disappointing anyways I do feel like I’m gonna need to see something special for me to say I’m his fan again So I’m a fan of Boston and Up.)

[knowlesian]

I enjoyed your OFMD meta so much, I wondered your opinion on the symbolism of oranges in that show and in Goncharov — I mean, when Katya tries to win over Goncharov by taking him on a tour of the Moscow subways, and sends her gang of thugs to buy oranges from that “babushka” — I’m not imagining the parallel in OFMD, am I?

first off thank you, and second: absolutely! we already know david came in with movies like butch cassidy in mind and imo there is absolutely zero chance david and co didn’t see goncharov, too. the thematic overlap zones and then ultimate subversion on the meaning of the film is way too close to be coincidental.

forgive me for going a little broader before i focus on the katya and goncharov courtship flashbacks, because i really am over the moon about the connections here and how the ofmd writers repurpose old themes and storylines only to steer them in entirely new directions.

in goncharov we’ve got scorsese doing his... i’m gonna call it his best attempt at capturing the feel of russian lit. goncharov’s men are angry, explosive, and ultimately doomed. fated to die, unable to avoid How Things Are; the narrow limitations of their own understanding what is acceptable masculinity and what is not means they stay children, playing at war.

(and while scorsese is always gonna scorsese when it comes to the women in his films, katya and sofia make out better than most. i’m endlessly impressed with the way ofmd improved on that foundation; the vibe between those two isn’t NOT hiding in plain sight between mary and evelyn in ofmd, i’m js)

leaving the somewhat flimsy overall politics of goncharov aside, it does a pretty good job handling the overall ‘these expectations are actually killing more people than ice picks’ thrust. 

i think it’s really interesting how the oranges in ofmd function as sort of... depending on how you look at it, love/family/growth beat, especially when we look at katya’s attempts to reach out and make the best of a marriage of convenience and how that calls back to some of mary’s efforts in the flashbacks we see in e4.

it’s not the same orange, but it IS? somehow?

because like, look: i wouldn’t say this was an intentional creative choice from scorsese, but like every huge interpersonal problem in goncharov could be solved if the narrative just... let people be gay? 

(this is semi-joking oversimplification. i get that letting a scene about eating anchovy or gelato drop the subtext and just be about oral sex does not actually solve world hunger, but also. only semi-joking.)

katya attempts to use her family’s enforcers to obtain sustenance; and by that sustenance, eventually obtain love.

it’s poison fruit/poison tree. 

...you know, in a way i think the emotional equivalent to stede and ed and the orange in goncharov is actually the gelato scene, and the oranges in goncharov are actually an inversion of the orange in ofmd. especially since i totally forgot until now that we get that lingering shot of katya’s oranges sitting out in that weird glass bowl until the housekeeper throws them away, which... probably there’s some class stuff to be said about that bit too, but for now i’m obsessed with how when you keep that in mind, no WONDER we get the petrified orange in ofmd. 

katya didn’t go get those oranges herself; they were obtained impersonally and i think ultimately foreshadow the end of the movie. they’re food that could have been eaten by someone who actually ...you know, wanted oranges at all, wasted on a marriage that was over before it ever began. 

and then we have stede’s orange, impervious to rot and time and representing a family that became a real family for the first time ever on stede’s final departure, because they let go of the old expectations for what family (and love) even means and also stede’s love for ed and the crew, etc etc etc.

ugh. u g h. the 4d chess the ofmd writers play here splitting themes and characters so we get the oranges in a different context and through different food is so amazing. no 1:1′s!!! what a galaxy brained bunch of bastards. hate them.

anyway i’m sure there’s a bunch more here (and i didn’t even yell about how ofmd takes the borderline nihilistic commentary on time in goncharov and spins it into a show that insists no literally: if you’re alive, there’s still time. you can always change which is like... so, so perfect) but yeah!!!! i agree, i think the parallels are unmistakable.

[maripr]

So!! I beat pathologic 2 one more time, this time managing to save everyone who can be saved, and also not die myself once! Granted, I wasn't playing on imago, but it was still a challenge.

I'll make it's own post with screens and a more thorough opinion on it tomorrow.... Or whenever I feel like it.

But this post is about one thing. One little thing I hadn't noticed the first time around, and kinda noticed the second time and needed a third time to see for myself:

WHERE'S CLARA??

i mean, in the endings. Both nocturnal and diurnal. There's two Changeling. Up to this point the game has done this really good thing one may not notice immediately: give them two separate names for their dialogue screen (I can't remember if pathologic classic does the same. I shall have to check... If I feel like replaying that all over again! I just might!)

Changeling is usually the more haughty and abrasive of the two, Clara is more sympathetic and also very much not "Murky's friend". Clara talks in cultist bullshit too but more in the way a groomed teen and not in the impersonal way the Changeling does, imho (but I'm perceiving this as someone who speaks English as a second language, so I might be mistaken in the intention).

But in the two endings there's no Clara, but two Changelings.

One always become a mistress and the other hangs around the Abbatoir or is seemingly dying in the diurnal ending. And in both ending both speak quite the same, at least that's what feels like to me. Even the one that compliments you does so in a less personal way, different than - say - how Clara spoke to you the previous day).

So.... Are there three of them now and Clara is at the front with general Block like in her classic ending? God, I hope not! Did she end up becoming a Changeling too? Was she the plague after all and died? (Thus she was sacrificing herself by encouraging us to take the diurnal ending? 😭 And in nocturnal we don't see her because she's a plague cloud just doing her thing??)

Is she at the theater, rehearsing her lines, or playing with TPTB? Or maybe she's busy raiding the Saburovs' house of all the sweets and candies as a fuck you to them (more on my fuck you Saburovs in the next post).

So yeah. I'm scared for our dear little girl who sometimes kills people with her hands. I care for her so much 😭 I hope her campaign gives her the chance to live as Clara.