#which I thought to be like. a standard reaction. but apparently not really??

[venus-is-thinking]

DRDT Chapter 2 Episode 14: Initial Thoughts

What an episode! I can't believe that we're probably starting to near the end of the Trial. But, considering we're almost there, we DEFINITELY have a lot to talk about. It's a longer episode, and there's a LOT to go over, so buckle in!

SPOILER WARNING FOR DRDT CH 2 PART 2!

T/W: Murder, hanging (with depictions)

The Reactions

Hu is literally so pretty.

I wasn't expecting her to get a whole mechanic defending Nico, but it makes sense. Letting other students cut in during the Class Trial is a great way to draw specific attention to a character point, and it's very clear that Hu's over-defense of Nico is going to be important moving forwards.

RIP to my "using the weight rack as the carousel" theory. The fan probably makes more sense. I just still have no idea how the 300-ish pound or whatever weight rack managed to get knocked over in the struggle.

I'm glad they directly pointed this out. Trying to kill everyone in the Class Trial was the EXACT thing Hu was so pressed about David doing. It's a weird double standard to be so forgiving of Nico when they tried to do the same thing.

Insane thing to say if Eden is the culprit and killed Arei because she didn't believe her. Then again, if my explanation for a lot of Eden Trial dialogue is "she's speaking out of regret for killing Arei now that she knows Arei was being legit," maybe she's just calling herself cruel as well.

This is honestly very valid.

Do you think "here" implies Nico trusts someone in the outside world? Based on their secret, it seems like they probably didn't have many friends. Could also be referring to animals? Or Mai Akasaki?

Big psychic damage to Hu though, considering we know she thrives on other people relying on her. She wants Nico to be someone who relies on her sooo bad, but they just... don't.

Like, girl. They literally JUST said that they don't trust anyone. That includes you.

She's clearly projecting in some way, though, which is definitely an oof. I wonder if Hu wishes she had someone who was undeniably on her side in the past...?

(To be clear: I think Hu is a very well written and interesting character. She fits the fucked up vibes of Despair Time, but coming from a more surprising angle of "that really nice and caring person can also be fucked up." She's just clearly in the wrong here, so I get to clown on her as I clown on everyone else.)

Ace is honestly so valid for this. Like, yeah he's kind of a bully and he sucks sometimes, but. Like. He did almost get murdered and people are, like, mad at him for it? Huh???

If Ace does end up being the Chapter 2 killer because he snapped, I honestly think he's so valid for that.

It is my personal agenda to record every instance of J being notably anti-murder. I don't know where it's going but if it does go somewhere I want my credit because it is Apparent.

(The entire fanbase nods in agreement.)

I know some people definitely still think/thought that Hu and/or Nico was responsible for the crime, so we've all DEFINITELY been squinting at that alibi. I fully believe it's true, but that doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't put it past Hu to make a fake alibi to protect Nico. Idk if Nico would go along with it, though.

I got so jumpscared by the Closing Argument-style CG.

I'm so glad we did get a definitive answer on how this thing worked. I was so afraid that we were just gonna solve the Arei murder method and the exact solution of Ace's would be a "left to audience interpretation" kind of thing.

I'm not exactly sure where the blood on Ace's fingertips comes from? Maybe he cut his hand on the wire when he was trying to struggle after he woke up or something.

This makes so much more sense than anything I saw theorized though, lol. The fan falling from drop hanging totally checks out as a way that the murder mechanism could fail.

I have NO fucking clue why Nico opted for this as the murder mechanism, though. I get wanting to use Hu's wire to frame her, but why didn't you just cut Ace's throat with the wire in the first place???

where did their cape go :(

Potentially suspicious line from Ace? I don't know what he's referring to as "go through all this." Like, maybe just reliving the murder attempt, I guess...? Could also be going through the Class Trial, though, if Ace killed as a result of Nico trying to kill him.

*Levi's secret quote looms*

Things that make me think Nico is either a victim or a survivor. Like, are you really gonna say this and then go try to kill someone else? ...Or Ace again, I guess??

Fun fact: this was actually what guided me to my initial killer picks, before I discussed with anyone else or read any theories! I thought the killer was trying to frame Nico, so it had to be Eden or Ace. The tape and everything else was just what locked it in for me. It's fun to see Teruko follow more or less the same path that I did when I was trying to solve the mystery :)

TAPE TIME :D

The use of the Bound Wrists truth bullet actually really confused me at first bc I didn't realize we were just talking about the tape. I was like, were Arei's wrists bound because Ace's were and it was intended to be another similarity???

Maybe Eden's just being nice, but I find it really suspicious that her instinct after all this time is "didn't MonoTV take it" and not "oh I guess Ace is probably the murderer."

Teruko has now outlined two different ways that it makes sense if the killer was in the gym that night. If I were Eden, and I were innocent, I would be realizing that there's a very small suspect pool left, and I know that I'm not the killer, giving me additional information. Instead, she's questioning the validity of the tape argument, which isn't useful for narrowing down the killer-- it's useful for keeping the suspect pool wider and not leaving herself as one of three (but basically two) options.

I kinda get why people are upset with Rose here, but it's also kind of an oof because they're only mad because Rose is really smart. Like, no one's out here like "oh my god Ace you didn't recognize the tape??" Y'know, because they think he's stupid. Rose has a really good memory, which raises the standards really high, which sets Rose up for failure.

In Rose's defense, she also never saw the tape in Nico's gym murder OR on the carousel for Arei's murder. She only saw the pieces in the trash can, which seemed to be inside out. Against Rose's defense, it would probably have been for the best if she'd gone in to look at the crime scene.

Am I tripping, or is "fish misunderstanding" a weird way for David to phrase this? The misunderstanding with Teruko was assuming that the murder happened last night, which was in fact because of the fish-- but the thing Teruko should have noticed, which makes it Teruko's mistake specifically, was the body swinging.

I'm probably reading into things too hard, but it's so hard with David. What do you know!!!

Damn, Teruko is SPEEDRUNNING this character arc. Considering we basically know she's locked in for all 6 chapters, I'm really surprised to see her making this much progress this fast.

I'm guessing that this means that Teruko is probably due for a major setback sometime sooner or later. But, interestingly, this makes me feel like Teruko realizing that working alone doesn't work isn't her character arc's end destination; it's the willingness to open herself up to caring about others even in the face of the consequences of losing someone you love. Teruko is closing herself off from everyone because she knows she's going to lose them. Maybe her end destination is allowing herself to love people, even if she might lose them someday.

This was fruity as hell btw. I'm starting to think Rose may be our replacement support if Charles does die in Chapter 3.

It's so funny that this is basically Teruko claiming in-universe protag privilege. Go off, queen.

I also said something along the lines of "Hu are we really doing this again." Totally forgot that the BDA is still relevant, lol.

I personally find the way Veronika phrased this to be very telling from an author's POV. Veronika doesn't say "she must not have committed the murder," she says "she must not have witnessed the murder." It would be totally reasonable for any of the students to forget that the rule is written in a way where a killer could fail to see the moment of murder, but DRDTdev wanted to draw attention to the rule's exact phrasing again, which is a deviation from the phrasing in the canon games.

To be clear here, I stand by this even if Eden isn't the killer and the BDA group really is Eden/Whit/Teruko. I still think it could be a reminder for a future chapter when it comes up. But, I don't think it makes sense to change the phrasing of a base rule unless there's a specific reason you want it to be different. Whether now or later, this feels like a reminder that it IS possible for the blackened to trigger the BDA.

I don't necessarily "believe David," per se, but I do think it's interesting that we're drawing attention to this. I don't really think it matters, especially because I doubt the characters remember, but I'd place my bets on Eden being the last one because of that, "Teruko, wait!" thing.

It doesn't matter because, if David or anyone else saw the body, no one can confirm which two of Teruko, Whit and Eden set off the BDA, but it's an interesting note.

It's so funny how no one, fanbase or in-universe, can tell if David is lying though. Like, he COULD have seen it, but he also easily could just be making shit up to try to throw the Trial again.

will I EVER understand what the fuck this man is cooking

Why. I thought you wanted to end the killing game to finish what Xander started. I don't know what's happening :( /pos

My guess for now is just that he's still trying to kill Teruko, in keeping with Xander's plans?? Idk how making her more distrustful makes her more likely to die, though.

I do find it very interesting that Eden's approach/reaction has been to be very quiet and freaked out whereas Ace's approach/reaction is to freak out VERY loudly. Ace's is fitting because what does he do other than freak out loudly, but I might have expected Eden to do... idk, something else? It makes enough sense though, considering either the group is right to suspect her, or she's still coping with losing Arei a little bit ago.

...*squints REALLY fucking hard*

The music and voice acting in this section is REALLY fucking good. It's sad/charming/soft enough that it feels like it could be genuine, but there's still a little something that makes you have to question whether or not it's real. You WANT to believe Eden, but it's so hard to do so fully.

Y'all think Eden's crying is reminding Teruko of whatever Arei's crying reminded her of?

i'm out of images :(

I really like Teruko assuming that Eden is innocent first. She's too distrusting and also reasonable (it is life or death after all) to just hard clear Eden based on nothing, but she's offering a bit of a reprieve to Eden. Eden's friendship means that she isn't going to get immediately targeted in her most down moment, and that's it. It's a small way to show Eden she does care.

On another note, the fact that Eden got to hug Teruko and that Teruko said the "let go of me" NOW is honestly one of the main reasons I trust Eden more. I felt like that was obviously going to happen, but I was expecting the post-Trial. Putting it here is wild.

Theory Update/Analysis

Oh boy, it's accusing time! It makes sense that we're going to start with Ace. At this point, I can honestly see it going either way. Major props to DRDTdev either way, but ESPECIALLY if Eden really is the culprit. I was so confident in it, but they're really making me question my assumptions.

I think that both Ace and Eden have good reasons to be the blackened or not to be, and good reasons to die here or to not. I'm going to do my best to make a list of reasons for both characters and give a bit of my thoughts on them. They're roughly ranked in most to least important order imo, but I didn't think too hard about it.

EDEN

Reasons Eden Would Be The Blackened:

THE TAPE: It would be easier for her to take the tape than Ace, as attention was on Ace in the gym. The tape's disappearance from the background also happens to coincide with Ace knocking her over and her standing back up.

THE NOTE: Eden already knows all the info she would need to know to write that note. She could have put the note back together to give herself a defense, to try to disprove herself as the culprit with her handwriting, because Rose was going to do it anyways, and/or to frame Arturo if she didn't know he had an alibi. I think any of these reasons, or a combination of these reasons, are enough to make it possible, and while Ace could've overheard, it's definitely less easy for him.

NOT BELIEVING AREI: Both Arei and Charles have, in this trial, been shown to question whether or not Eden believed Arei wanted to be Eden's friend. If Eden simply did, this plot point goes nowhere.

A GOOD PERSON: Eden has been called a good person, but other than that freaky CG, nothing has really come of it. Is the plot relevance of Eden being a good person really going to resolve by saying "Eden is a good person, she'd never kill her friend!"? If a good person isn't gold, Eden still feels like a missing piece of that puzzle.

INCENTIVE TO FRAME NICO: This one's a bit more of a reach, but I don't really understand the point of framing Nico if you're Ace. Of course Ace is going to insist Nico is the murderer no matter what. If you're Eden, you have a direct audience to setting it up similarly: Ace. If you can get Ace to go all in on Nico, that's one less person who was in the Gym who suspects you. Eden and Teruko feel less likely to say "oh well it looks like Nico's murder so it MUST be Nico."

HEAVY FOCUS IN CH 2: DRDTdev seems to give the chapter death's important content shortly before their deaths. Eden has been one of the most prominent characters this chapter, which could be a bad sign.

Reasons Eden Wouldn't Be the Blackened

HER EMOTIONAL REACTIONS: I think I stand with everyone else when I say that the thing giving me pause with Eden!Culprit is how devastated she truly seems to be. I do still think it could be a combo of guilt and panic over the prospect of dying, but it's hard to justify everything.

HER FRIENDSHIP WITH AREI: Sort of a spinoff of the last one, but Arei was at least offering to Eden to be friends and to protect her. If Eden did believe that, to any extent at all, it's hard to imagine her killing Arei in cold blood.

THE FISH: The biggest question when it comes to evidence as to how Eden could be the killer. If Nico fed the fish and they were all still there last night, and Eden had an alibi until after the Relax Room closed, how would she have gotten the fish to add to the crime scene?

THE BDA: Easy to ignore imo considering we've already called it into question within the series proper, but still worth talking about. For Eden to be the culprit, either someone else saw the body first and isn't claiming to have (or it's David), or we're burning the "Eden didn't witness the crime and thus could still trigger the BDA" card here.

GENDER BALANCE: Possibly an irrelevant point, but it is true that we've had 2 women and 1 man die so far. If a man was the killer, it'd keep it even. Unlikely to be relevant as any disparity could be easily balanced out in Chapter 3 with (presumably) 3 death slots.

Points About Eden That Could Go Either Way

THE FORK CG: I firmly believe that this could be setting up for Eden being a more important character throughout the series or to die after a moment of intrigue, possibly letting us explore/imply more in her post-death bonus episode.

RELATIONSHIP WITH HU: Hu has lost David as a sane ally. Nico is telling her that they don't want her speaking for them and that they don't trust her. Would DRDTdev prefer to fully isolate Hu moving into Chapter 3 by getting rid of Eden, or to leave Hu with one friend who still believes in her.

CHARLES HAVING EDEN'S SECRET: By telling us Eden's secret ahead of time by Charles revealing it to Teruko, extra focus was given to Eden's secret. Was this just the easiest way to get everyone's secrets revealed based on character dynamics, or was it meant to imply that Eden's secret is extra important? Is that because she's the killer? Is it a #ArEden sweep???

ACE

(why are they both orange)

Reasons Ace Would Be The Blackened:

NO EVIDENCE-BASED ISSUES: This is the biggest and strongest point across the whole board imo. There is no tangible, evidence-based reason why Ace COULDN'T have done the crime. Out of all 13 currently surviving students, he's the only one who that's true for. That obviously makes him a viable suspect.

WOULD ABSOLUTELY FUCKING DO IT: Ace has been Freaking The Fuck Out this chapter. I could VERY easily see him deciding to kill here. I don't think anyone is trying to argue that Ace is too emotionally attached to the cast to try to kill all of them, because he clearly isn't.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?: I'm not really sure where Ace's character is going to go from here. I'd be interested in seeing more from him, but, like, where is his character arching to if not a killer? Ace is so disliked and intense that it's hard to imagine him really, fully pivoting and caring about others, but if he can't do that, is he destined to be a killer eventually?

HEAVY FOCUS IN CH 2: DRDTdev seems to give the chapter's death important content shortly before their deaths. Ace has been one of the most prominent characters this chapter, which could be a bad sign.

Reasons Ace Wouldn't Be the Blackened

OBVIOUSNESS & POINT OF CHARACTER: Of course Ace would be willing to kill Arei or whoever and the rest of the students. This is kind of the inverse of my "would absolutely fucking do it" point-- I don't know exactly how much surprise it would carry if Ace were to be the culprit. And, more than that, I feel like the point of Ace is that he is a victim here, but he's so unlikable that no one wants to acknowledge that or believe in him. I think it'd be an interesting comparison, if everyone really wants Ace to be the killer, but he just isn't. To everyone's dismay, Ace is still here. Now what?

SECRET LARGELY UNRESOLVED: Ace's secret hasn't really had any plot relevance yet. It seems like most people's do. I'm like lowkey expecting them to bring back the starvation motive from SDR2 in Chapter 4 and have SOMETHING happen with Ace there. Either way, while it could be reserved for his bonus episode (a la Min and Xander), I'd expect that his secret would have more main-story impact before he dies.

EXISTENCE OF SCRUM DEBATE: We're suspecting Ace first, but we still haven't done the scrum debate for this trial. Unless the scrum debate is "do we just vote for Ace without ever really pursuing Eden" and the answer is "yes," I don't see how we get out of this suspecting Ace period with a scrum debate without at least entertaining the idea of Ace's innocence.

STRONG CONNECTIONS TO OTHER CAST MEMBERS: Ace is very relevant to the Levi, Nico and Hu plotlines right now. Are they really going to just... get rid of him, when that's what both Nico and Hu would want?

ABILITY TO FIGURE OUT THE CONTRAPTION: Ace would not only have to recognize the way in which Nico was trying to kill him (which, to be fair is easier if he did wake up partway through), he would also have to conceptualize and figure out how to make the playground contraption successfully. I think Eden's clockmaking skills and... generally higher intelligence imo would be better suited to that.

COWARDICE: Ace is so fucking scared of everything. Would he want to put himself into harm's way by becoming the killer and having a do or die moment in the Trial? But, is he more scared of dying as a victim in the killing game, after seeing how close Nico came to killing him?

Points About Ace That Could Go Either Way

TAYLOR LORE DROP: Ace's friend, named Taylor per a Q&A with the dev, got vagued about in this Trial. Is that something to be pursued in a later Ace free time (following the one with Levi), or is that something that's going to be explained further in Ace's bonus episode (which could VERY easily be about friendship, considering it's Mai fucking Akasaki as the other person in the convo).

ACE'S BREAKDOWN @ LEVI: When Ace said he didn't fall for Levi caring about him at all, was that him affirming himself that it was the correct decision to try to kill, even if it'd put Levi's life at stake, who he previously kinda liked? Or was he lying to himself, and, at least previously, he wouldn't have wanted to kill Levi, no matter how harsh he seemed on the surface?

Well, that's all I got! Please let me know if you can come up with any more points for any of the 6 categories, because I'm very very curious to hear them! I'm thinking I might try to do an expansion on this in a separate post before next episode if I have time, exploring the ins and outs of each point with more textual evidence to back it up. I'd love to discuss any reader-suggested points too, if y'all have some in mind!

For now, I'm still personally leaning towards Eden as the culprit over Ace, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it be either of them. Well, other than the fact that my reaction to the killer being revealed is going to be :O no matter what.

[misskamelie]

Having a cousin with a newborn child really makes you realize how out of touch you are with societal expectations

[6esiree]

How They React to Your Thong Straps Showing

Imagine you wear a Y2K inspired outfit, thong and all, and you decide to show it off to Alastor, Lucifer, Husk, Vox, and Adam?

Alastor:

Who doesn’t love some Y2K inspired clothing, baby tee, low-rise jeans, thong straps and all? Apparently Alastor. For someone who dressed so conservatively, you should have anticipated his reaction, his head snapping at an unnatural speed as you excitedly descended the stairs in an outfit that was absolutely scandalous to his standards. Before you could even think about approaching the man, Alastor manifested in front of you with a tight smile on his face.

“My dear, what are you,” Alastor coughed in between his question, his eyes frantically scouring your lower half, “…wearing?”

Your breath hitched as Alastor planted his chest against your back, his hands running tentatively down your sides, assessing the thin, lacey strap’s that clung over your hipbones between his thumb and his forefinger. He lifted the material, clicking his teeth in what you believed to be disapproval when he traced it to your backside.

“It’s just a new style—” You started, but then Alastor let go of the straps, interrupting yourself with a squeak as it snapped at your skin.

“How dare you showcase my favorite pair of lingerie in such a crude, outward display?” Alastor whispered to you, his breath tickling your ear. “What did I do to deserve such a punishment, hm?”

Alastor had interpreted your excitement to follow along a harmless trend as a strange form of punishment, and there was nothing you could say or do to convince him otherwise. You sighed in defeat, reaching behind you to unfasten his coat, too lazy to go upstairs and change. To say that Alastor was pleased was an understatement, unable to handle the thought of anybody else seeing you in such an outfit.

Lucifer:

When Lucifer’s immersed in something, he tends to lock himself away in his office and ignore you. So, in an effort to get his attention, you decided to go out and buy some Y2K inspired clothing, which consisted of a tank top, a push-up bra, low-rise shorts, and of course, a cute thong. As soon as you got home, you put them on, barging into the man’s office and scaring him as the door slammed behind you.

“Damnit, I just—honey, I’m so sorry, but unless you have something important to say,” Lucifer started as he turned around, a deformed rubber duck in his hand, “You’re going to have to—oh my fuck.”

The rubber duck in Lucifer’s hand ceased to exist the moment his eyes landed on your form. Feeling rather triumphant, you did a little spin, allowing him to see your outfit from every angle. The man was practically frozen in his chair, but his stare never abandoned the swell of your breasts, or the way the thong straps tightly clung over your hipbones, squeezing your soft, supple skin.

“Are you…going somewhere?” Lucifer asked you when he finally snapped out of the trance you had put him in.

“No, I’m not,” You said, a sigh of relief escaping his throat. “But maybe I should, huh? You’re so busy and I’d love to try out my new—“

“Wait, what? No!” Lucifer shot up from his chair, panicking. “I mean, how about we go out together? Don’t want you going out all alone dressed like…this.”

You arched a brow at Lucifer, his arms wrapping around you as he planted his chin on your chest, looking up at you with a nervous expression. “Hm, yeah, I’d like that,” You said, chuckling as his grip on you loosened, hands falling down to unashamedly caress your hips. Lucifer’s thumbs moved underneath your thong straps, goosebumps littering your skin at the act. Yeah, you’d definitely be doing that more often.

Husk:

You never really got into the Y2K clothing trend, but tonight you were going to go out to a club. Besides the thong, Angel decided to lend you something nice to wear, nervousness blooming in your chest as you wondered how Husk would react to you in a tube top and torn, low-rise jeans, the elastic straps of your thong tightly clinging to your hipbones. It was just so…revealing, and you quickly figured out that the old man felt the same way when you stopped by the parlor to show him.

“Hey, doll, I don’t mean to state the obvious but…” Husk stuttered from his seat on the couch, his eyes looking everywhere but at you. “Your, uh, underwear is kinda showin’.”

“Oh! Yeah, I know. It’s the style,” You said, turning around and showing him your backside. “Do you like it?”

Apparently, the straps on the side were fine, but the whale tail? Nope. Husk immediately stood up from the couch, a gasp escaping your throat as he wrapped his wings around your body, all while his fingers hooked onto the belt loops of your jeans. “Husk, they can’t go up any higher!” You squeaked, your crotch screaming for help as he tried to pull them up, the denim unforgiving.

“Well, ya can’t go out like this,” Husk practically whined, his hands moving up to your sides. “Christ, I won’t be able to focus on anythin’ else but this skimpy lil’ thing ya got on.”

Husk proceeded to grab your thong straps, tucking them into the safe confines of your jeans. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment when you turned around to glare at him. “Come on, babydoll, I’m beggin’ ya,” He said, tucking his cold nose into the crook of your neck, looking up at you with those big yellow eyes of his. You had never seen Husk act like this, so you muttered, ‘Fine,’ chuckling when he purred in response.

Vox:

While Vox worked away in his office for most of the day, you found creative ways to distract yourself. This time around, you sought out Velvette, asking her to dress you like one of her models in the latest trend: the Y2K style. She rolled her eyes before snapping her fingers, only stopping when she said, ‘Ah, there’s the one!’ You were so excited with the outcome that you decided to bother Vox for once—that and the fact that Velvette had shooed you away.

“Sweetheart, I have to attend a meeting in exactly 10 minutes,” Vox said as he let you in, the smoothness of his voice allowing him to mask his annoyance. “What is it that you need that couldn’t wait until later?”

The man casually set down his coffee mug on his desk, unprepared for the sight of you in an off the shoulder top, low-rise shorts, and—wait, what was the thin material clinging onto your sides? You patiently stood before Vox as he leaned forward in his chair, his eyes widening when he figured out that it was your thong straps. A wicked smile slowly took over his face, glad that you had interrupted him in such a pleasant way.

“Why won’t you let me get a closer look, hm?” Vox hummed, leaning back into his chair and patting his thigh, inviting you to sit on his lap.

“Sorry for coming into your office during work hours,” You said as you lowered yourself on his lap, giggling as his hands immediately went to your sides.

“No, no—I’m glad you did,” Vox said, placing a tender kiss on your shoulder. “You look absolutely ravishing, sweetheart.”

You sighed as he toyed with the straps on your hips, his fingers moving underneath the thin material, admiring the lacey fabric. Vox didn’t do anything past that, however, the meeting he had to attend less than 5 minutes away now. “Fuck, I have to get going,” He told you, but he promised to see you as soon as it was over with, leaving the rest of his workload to his assistants. A small part of you felt bad for them, but you couldn’t wait to see Vox earlier than usual.

Adam:

If anybody appreciated skimpy clothing, it was Adam. While the way you dressed around him was more casual and therefore less revealing, you decided to surprise him during one of your little meetings, sitting patiently on the edge of your bed wearing a halter top and low-rise skirt, the straps of your thong obscured by your hands. When Adam welcomed himself through your window, that was when you stood up, moving your arms to your sides.

“Hey, babe, how’s it—holy shit, what are you wearing?” Adam asked, reaching up to remove his mask to see you better. “Fuck me, is that…? No—yes?”

You bit your lip as Adam seized your hips, maneuvering you with little to no effort, his eyes frantically taking in the sight of you. You looked up at him through your lashes, observing how his throat bobbed in anticipation, especially as he rolled the thin straps between his thumb and his forefinger. To say that you were delighted by Adam’s reaction was an understatement.

“Do you like it?” You asked him, gasping when you were suddenly tossed onto the mattress. “It’s—oof—Y2K inspired, new trend of clothing down here in Hell.”

“Like it? I fucking love it, baby,” Adam said, leaning down to capture your lips in a searing kiss, his hands fixing to remove your skirt. “Everything else can come off—except for the thong, I gotta fuck you in it.”

Adam’s wings excitedly flapped behind him as you lifted your hips, allowing him to remove your skirt with ease. Hearing the way he groaned was music to your ears. “Mind if I spend the night?” He suddenly asked, your breath hitching in surprise. “You can do that?” Adam shrugged, mumbling his classic, ‘I’m the first man alive,’ basically telling you that he’d find a way to explain his absence from Heaven. You rolled your eyes before nodding, already thinking about what to wear next month.

[haikyu-mp4]

Emergency contact

word count; 1047 – f!reader

“I don’t mean to be rude but, why are you here?” Semi asked you, one hand clutching his head and the other rubbing his eyes. He couldn’t quite believe his eyes right now.

“I could ask you the same thing. Apparently, I’m your emergency contact.”

The cogs were slowly turning in his head with the help of that single brain cell he always seemed to rely on. “Ohh... the drinking game.”

“You played a drinking game with emergency contacts? Do you know how serious that is?” you scolded him. That’s the y/n he remembered from high school. Diligent y/n, student president and his seemingly hopeless crush. Too different to hang out in high school, when everyone had their circles and stuck to them. He even dramatically told his friends you were the one that got away when there was liquor in his system, yet here you were. Back in his life as his emergency contact after he fell off stage.

When he went out for drinks with some old teammates from Shiratorizawa to catch up, they asked if he ever got your number before graduation. He proudly presented the contact like it was a treasure, which led to someone daring him to put you as his emergency contact. Crazy, right?

He ignored your concern, waving his hand in hopes you’d drop it. “Remind me what happened, please. Was it cool?”

“A light fixture fell on your thick head and then you fell off stage.”

He smiled sheepishly but held up a rock sign with his hand. “I’m a rockstar.” The small laugh under your breath made him happy, but happiness made his head hurt again so he winced instead. You carefully sat on the edge of the hospital bed.

“Why wouldn’t they call your parents?”

“I’m not in contact with them anymore.” A silence fell over you and you looked at him sympathetically, but still managed a small smile. He seemed to be getting tired again already, you couldn’t even imagine how much his head must hurt. The doctor said he was lucky it didn’t hit him harder, or with a sharp edge. No broken bones either, so he just had to stay until the concussion was under control.

“Because you’re a rockstar?” you whispered, making him smile again and nod. You hummed at his confirmation, watching as his eyes fell closed and he went back to sleep again.

He’s still so pretty, you thought. His hair was a bit messier and his face a bit more lived in but still the pretty setter you remember. Some sweet pick-up line would leave his lips every time he passed you back then, and you would frown and tell him to focus on school. You never figured out if he knew how flustered he made you. Surely, he must have known with that stupid smirk on his face.

When Semi woke up again, he wondered if you had actually been there or if it was all some weird dream. He slowly opened his eyes, nervous to see who he heard shuffling around. Someone was there, but it wasn’t you, and his face fell along with his chest as he let out the breath he held in anticipation.

“Hello, love,” the older nurse said, coming over to check his reaction time and other standard things. Semi let her, not really conversing while she checked him. Maybe she was never here…

He cleared his throat, looking up at the woman. “Was there a girl, uh sorry, a woman here earlier?”

“Right!” she said and Semi could swear he felt anticipation clutching onto his heart. “She had to make some calls so she’s in the cafeteria waiting for you. When you feel stable enough to get up, please have two painkillers with this glass of water and then you are free to leave as you wish.”

Semi smiled. He smiled so brightly like the nurse had told him she cured some terrible sickness. “Thank you,” he said, bowing as well as he could from where he lay in the hospital bed. After she left, he slowly started sitting up, clutching the edge of the bed to stabilise himself. You’re waiting for him.

Semi walked into the cafeteria after signing out and getting a prescription for painkillers from the main desk. He had his concert clothes back on, looking around for a familiar face. And he found you, rigged up with your computer and notepad with a phone resting between your shoulder and ear. You were frowning while talking to someone on the phone and Semi shouldn’t think it’s so hot, but he did.

He walked over and sat across from you, leaning his chin on the top of the screen. You made eye contact and huffed, telling whoever was on the line that you would get back to them tomorrow. “Hey there, rockstar,” you cooed, leaning on your hand with your elbow resting on the table.

“You stayed,” was all he answered.

“Someone needs to drive you home,” you sighed. You leaned forward and held out your hand, planting your pointer finger under his chin. He was high on painkillers and could swear the two of you were about to kiss despite not seeing each other for years, but then you just flicked his chin up a bit to close the computer. “Let’s go, pretty boy.”

If Semi liked you before, this new confidence you grew into had him on his knees. Not literally, but he was watching your every move as you packed up your stuff and finally stood up. Semi got up with you, quickly reaching out and grabbing the strap of your bag so he could hoist it up on his shoulder with a cheeky smile. There was still a low beat playing in his head from the earlier headache, but he did his best to ignore it. You huffed and turned around, leading him to the car while repeating everything the nurse told him to remember earlier while he just pretended to listen. Again, you wondered if he knew you were flustered.

Surely, he knew with a smirk like that. Maybe you should make sure he gets safely into his apartment and then kiss the stupid smirk off his face. That sounds like a good plan.

masterlist

/for Semi-lover @cosmiicdust <3

[narwhalsarefalling]

rey i need ya gen fic bnha recs

congratulations, i have a whole ass collection. but here's some faves. A collection of both oneshot and multichap!

Gauntlet Thrown - pikahlua

Pro hero Katsuki Bakugou has deigned to apply for a teaching position at UA, and the lucky bastard who gets to conduct the job interview is none other than Shouta Aizawa.

Second Chances - amarisllis

Aizawa’s heartbeat is pounding against Katsuki’s ear, so loud and fast that it blocks out everything else. Katsuki’s arms flail, unsure what to do now that he’s being hugged by his teacher who’s never really cracked more than a tiny smile in their presence before. Wha— Oh. Oh, oh shit. Aizawa is crying. “Sensei—” “You were dead.” His voice breaks on the last word. Oh. Shit.

candid - OwlF45

The Commission passes a new requirement for hero licenses: pass a mental simulation. For Izuku, a holder of One For All, this idea ends in catastrophe. A series focused on the simulation, and everything that comes after.

Switchblade - Cacid

"I’m only two minutes late!” Izuku protested. Had he missed the start of an important test? None of the national, standardized tests were supposed to happen this month and even being two minutes late to one of those wouldn’t elicit this sort of reaction. They were discussing their career interest forms today, but that was it. Nothing time-critical was supposed to be happening. “Midoriya, you were reported missing a week ago. No one has seen you for eight days. The police have been combing the city for you.” "I’m sorry. What?” Midoriya Izuku went missing for a week and turned up in a back alleyway with skills he's never even heard of and no memory of how he came by them. He resigns himself to never learning the truth of what happened to him, but he shouldn't waste this chance should he? He could become a hero with reflexes like these. (Russian Translation available)

Razzmatazz - xylophones

Izuku has plans for everything. He plans out what to say to the cashier when ordering coffee, he plans out his homework before even opening his textbook. He has a whole ten-year plan for how he’s going to get into UA’s hero course and get his hero license fully quirkless. He plans for every wild, unlikely scenario he can think of because his anxiety gets so bad if he doesn’t go through every possible outcome, every way his life could landslide into disaster–– but Izuku never planned for this. For once, he doesn’t have a plan and he doesn’t have time to think of one. All he can see is Yagi-san’s lined, kind face looking resigned as he stares down the villain in his shop. Yagi-san, who is the closest thing to a father figure Izuku has ever had. Izuku doesn’t think. He just moves. (Or: Izuku saves the number one hero, gets a hero license way earlier than anyone wanted, realizes that maybe hero society isn’t as great as he thought it was, and everything just kind of falls apart from there.)

third couch is the charm - laurenshappenstobemyhusband

Shouto trained for years to control his ice. Encasing everything in ice whenever he sneezed, got angry or startled, or just whenever he wasn't paying attention always got him into trouble, and he's glad he finally has complete control over his right side. Unfortunately, he can't say the same about his flames. OR: Todoroki sets three couches on fire, which apparently is too many, so now he has to take quirk control classes with Kaminari and they bond over mutual destruction

All's Well - Vexfulfolly

Trigger + Katsuki Bakugou = One hell of a precarious situation OR What it's like to be a walking bomb.

El Manisero - Lila17

"that fic where Sero runs a peanut cartel at UA"

see it all in bloom - aloneintherain

Todoroki said, “It feels like a family reunion.” (Social media fic, counting down the five months to Class 1-A's ten year reunion.)

and i know these don't REALLY count because they're mine, but here's my OWN gen fics that I had a GREAT time writing

And in the forest, I can be free

His prosthetic leg was covered in stickers. Her hands were stained with marker ink in wonderful multicolor. She could color outside the lines. She could color inside the lines. She could color the skin pink or the hair black or whatever color she wished. She could ignore the lines entirely and just draw whatever she wanted. Chiasaki would have never allowed any of this. She doesn’t freeze or feel that horrible feeling in her chest at the thought of him anymore. Instead she only felt... Something else. It was a warmer feeling, one that settled in her gut. It took a few days of this new feeling to be recognized and named- anger. She wasn’t as afraid anymore, that had grown into anger. How could anything in this so-called “sick” place ever be bad? She admires her color-stained hands, the shoes that were allowed to remain dirty, the softness of fresh mud during a rainstorm under her hands. Sand between her fingers, dust wiped away from glass to reveal a view of the forest. Eri doesn’t care if she’s cursed. She doesn’t care if this entire world is covered in little germs that would make her sick. Eri loves it so much. - A look at Eri and her relationship with cleanliness

Within Rime and Reason

1. He reached up to touch the base of his scar. Somehow, without the red hair framing it, it looked almost like a birthmark. Less of a harsh, angry burn scar and more of a memory. He didn’t look like a man with a tragic past, he looked like a boy. If he wasn’t completely blind in that eye, he would almost believe it was one. “You look so manly,” Kirishima breathes. “No,” Todoroki says with a smile. “I look like my mother. I look womanly.” 2. And suddenly so many pieces of the puzzle drop into place. His eye is unseeing. White pupil. Milky iris. With the skin around it poreless and hairless. Easy to cover up with makeup. Oil-less and unmoisturized. Like a scar. Like a burn. “Todoroki,” Mina says softly. The brush she’s holding drops to her lap. “This isn’t a birthmark I’m covering up, is it?” - Todoroki gets a makeover. Emotional conversations happen.

have fun and enjoy!

[shadowtraveled]

would love to know your thoughts on rinsha dunmeshi. or on rin and kabru :-)

OH!! i love rin honestly lightning damage and unaffiliated spellcasters will get me every time.

i would have loved to see more of her, but i do really enjoy kui's style of storytelling where she gives us the information about a character that will tell us exactly what she wants us to know. it reminds me of the way someone described suzanne collins' writing as surgically precise—she has more information about characters and the world, but she included what would get her story across most effectively. kui gives off a similar impression, and i think rin is a good example of that.

sorry readmore because that was getting long already.

rin's backstory is really interesting to me because it helps us to extrapolate so much more about the world and the other characters in it.

for what it's worth, i don't think it's terribly likely that her parents were practicing ancient magic. they were immigrants of a visibly different ethnicity, though, and they were magic users, which othered them doubly in the northern continent, and that otherness cost them their lives. this is sort of a running theme in dungeon meshi overall ofc, but i think a lot of discussion surrounding dungeon meshi discrimination focuses on the elves. which is fair, since they seem to be the most significant world power and they're weird race elitists as elves in fantasy frequently are, but the story does not want us to forget that discrimination is complex and so is otherness. tallmen may not be respected by long-lived races, but in communities where they do have power, they're still perfectly capable of leveraging it against others. they seem to have a particular bias against magic, but really anything people deem weird or creepy is enough to land you in trouble: laios faced constant rejection and, in some cases, severe harassment just for being autistic; kabru's eye color was enough to push his mother to the fringes of society and get her accused of witchcraft, suggesting that "weird or creepy" is regularly conflated with "magic" in tallman societies; and falin's affinity for magic led to her isolation and ostracism as her mother frantically tried to suppress it. rin's parents, meanwhile, were outright executed. the nature of these reactions to anything unfamiliar or non-standard are definitely meant to convey something about tallman societies in the world, but i think rin and kabru's situations specifically lend some explanation as to why falin is so forgiving of her parents. they didn't really know what to do with her, and some of the things they did to her were harmful, but she seems to see them as trying their best to protect her, perhaps because she knows the emergence of her magic could have put her in immediate physical danger but didn't.

with that being said, i'm surprised rin doesn't have more of an aversion to tallmen, but maybe kabru made enough of an impression on her that she developed some hope for them.

her dislike of elves, meanwhile, is entirely understandable—her interactions with them seem to be framed as emblematic of how they treat short-lived races in a way we don't really see with the others. milsiril objectifies short-lived races but does seem to... kind of care, otta fetishizes them but seems to... kind of care, mithrun's squad only get to be patronizing for a bit before it becomes apparent they bit off way more than they could chew, and mithrun isn't invested in these designations anymore. but the elves that found rin treated her like evidence, then like a toy, and then they got bored and ignored her, and then she was evidence again, and then she got adopted out to elves who kept her like they would a pet. miserable fucking experience, and a very thorough and efficient way of expressing just how little the elves are socialized to consider the humanity of the other races.

as for her relationship with kabru... i'm glad they had each other around. it's impossible to be surprised that she latched onto him in her circumstances, and i think it's sweet that she was the one he stuck with (despite the implication that milsiril was raising other children alongside him that he ostensibly would have spent more time with).

i also love how apparent their closeness is! rin gravitates to kabru, and if i'm remembering right, most of the time she speaks it's to him. that immediately established to me that she is uniquely comfortable with him, and interestingly it goes both ways! it's less apparent with kabru, because he's a lot more social than she is, but vitally, he lets the mask slip with her. she's the only character he goes out of his way to tease, and sometimes he takes it a little bit into "alright that was kind of mean" territory, which sucks of him but is kind of the point. kabru's interactions with rin are the earliest ones where we see him fuck up or be a little bit of an asshole, and that's almost certainly because she is a person he feels comfortable enough with to not try to game every conversation. kabru being a little bit of a bitch is the first time we see him not trying to be charismatic. and she gives it RIGHT BACK lmfao it really conveys the feeling that these two are kind of "safe people" for each other, even if they're bantering a little meanly. very charming, top-tier childhood friend dynamic, no notes.

editing to add:

^ YEAH THIS IS IT thank you @gerrykeay i think this really captures the spirit of her revulsion with regard to things like magic school (and its graduates), etc... she seems to think of magic school as this sort of lofty opportunity only people with a certain level of social standing are able to access (which seems to hold a level of truth) and reject it on the basis that something like that is fundamentally incompatible with who she is as a person, and that's probably the same reason she remains unaffiliated despite knowing practicing magic without organization ties is potentially dangerous for her. these systems rejected and failed her family and her, so she rejects them in kind.... god i'm so obsessed with the way practically every character has a main character backstory and motivations this really is like a ttrpg lol

[le-trash-prince]

Dean & Kenta

So I am obsessed with the parallels between these two scenes in Episode 10, and I’d like to break it down a bit.

Here we have two characters who have failed their father figures due to their involvement with Charlie's accident. These conversations both begin with physical blows.

Both Kenta and Dean deny that they intended for Charlie to die.

Tony tells Kenta not to bother coming back if he messes up again (I interpret this as a veiled death threat—does Tony ever let people just walk away?). And Alan asks North to call the police on Dean. Both Kenta and Dean are each facing exile from their families.

There is, however, a contrast in the setting for these conversations. Tony and Kenta are at Tony's house, which we know is full of people. They are even out in the open, rather than in Tony's office. But they are completely isolated, as is the standard for this home. They are standing on a black walkway with a black doorway behind them.

Alan and Dean, on the other hand, are surrounded by the X-Hunter team, by people who are directly affected by what is happening. Even though it is just the two of them talking to each other, North is literally right there with them. They are standing in a beam of light with a bright window behind them.

I think there is a lot to be said about the connection these scenes draw between Tony and Alan, although I'm not equipped to comment on parenting styles (I welcome any input). But I don't think any other part of the series has drawn such a clear comparison between these two and the roles they are trying to fill. Their emotional reactions speak a lot to the difference in their character. While both are angry, Tony is filled with entitlement—his finances have been damaged by Charlie’s, while Alan is filled with grief—his family has been broken.

One thing I’d also like to highlight is Alan’s constant use of the word “family” towards his employees throughout the entire show (I know this can be problematic irl sometimes, but it’s quite apparent here that Alan really thought of them as his family), while that word seems to be entirely missing from Tony’s vocabulary, even though these people are legally his children. X-Hunter is Alan’s family, while the Chen Foundation orphans are Tony’s property.

Family is a recurring theme in Pit Babe (insert Fast & Furious reference here), and these scenes do a great job of showing contrasting perspectives on family. "Family is not everyone's safe zone." Family can hurt, family can heal, and family can fail you.

In the end, as seen below, Tony quite literally throws Kenta away from him, while Alan lets Dean slip from his embrace.

Kenta ends the scene framed almost completely by black, but his face is bathed in light, and he is standing upright, while Dean is the opposite; he is on his knees, bracketed by light, his face entirely in shadow.

I also find it interesting how much this dialogue of Dean's feels like it could have come directly from Kenta himself.

To me, Kenta and Dean are on very similar trajectories, but moving in opposite directions. They have both been background characters, observers in someone else's story, and they're both unhappy with where they are.

Dean was revealed in his scene to be a traitor to his people, and I think Kenta’s scene is showing us that he is in the same position—without coming out and saying it directly. In my opinion, it’s some very nice visual storytelling that’s doing a great job of building up what is coming for Kenta’s arc.

[4dkellysworld]

The state of self-communion

Hellooooo, haven't been here for a while. Hope everyone's doing well :) I've just been doing my own thing away from Tumblr and haven't felt like there was much to post. I do enjoy reading Reddit posts though across a variety of spiritual subreddits and sometimes I come across some gems of wisdom. It also supports my belief that all paths can lead to Home (Self) because the same truths pop up in so many different subs from people doing different things (some with barely any actual spiritual study or sadhana).

Anyway, I found this part of a Reddit post (from the Neville Goddard subreddit actually) to be really beautiful (highlighted my fave parts) because it emphasizes Oneness (which isn't something I actually see much when it comes to manifesting-centric content) and shows what it looks like in practice to treat others as if they were yourself, as if there is no separation between you and everyone/everything else, as if the world is just a projection of your mind. I like how he calls it Self-communion when he talks of communicating with another person too and treating it as if he is talking to another aspect of himself.

The first most apparent proof I have received during my early era of this understanding, was still when I was in a shitty state of consciousness, so I was met with my own creation. It was a man that stumbled upon me and a cousin out in the street, it was a hostile interaction, I won't specify what. I had no other choice but to apply what I believed in, that if all is myself, and he is only my expression of my own state of consciousness, if the attitude I undertake towards him was as if he was a pleasant gentleman (despite him clearly coming to harm me outta no where), if I dare to live FROM MYSELF from my perception and attitude towards the stranger that approached as if he was a lovely gentleman, he would be so. So I was forced to apply it, and to completely put aside all my physical reactions and all that nonsense that the physical man invented and called instincts, and I was willing unto death, to believe that I was communing with a pleasant gentleman, I do not even remember what words came out of me, but I wore the state of love, of self communion, I knew I was talking to myself in another garment called Another Man, and he was pacified immediately. He broke down and we hugged and parted ways without further speech. I knew what I did, my cousin was clueless. In another case history as well, when a family relative I have neglected to frame his ideal image in my imagination, and it came surfacing (as everything neglected eventually does), I made the bold decision to carry an attitude towards him that he would be the coolest gent there is, and despite physical evidence from the first time, I applied my new standard good attitude towards this person, him being the way he still was, it did not take long for him to change in his attitude so quickly, because my attitude defined his reality and attitude in this physical world. So he was changed, and also pacified on the spot when aggressive speech took place. All my states created the vile and created the perfection.

Here is the original Reddit post though beware the formatting, spelling and sentence structure makes it quite difficult to read lol, I just skimmed it until I found this case studies which I thought were worth reading and sharing.

Anyway, hope that inspired/sparked some love within :)

[the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf]

You're waiting for a train... (8)

A Son's First Hero; A Daughter's First Love

Robert Fischer x reader

description - Y/n's conversation with Robert is filled with more reality than should be in their dream.

word count - 3k

warnings - self-harm, physical violence (fake), tears, shitty parents, Robert Fischer's trauma.

a/n - so sorry this part is so late but I wanted it to be perfect so I've been working on it lot's and now I'm really happy with it!

Previous Part Series Master list Master list

If you want to be added to the taglist - here

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I furiously wiped away the unforgiving tears. Fearing my weakness would be obvious to those around me. I had to pull myself together and set out on the task at hand. Dad said Fischer would remember me but, in your dreams…well…anything’s possible.

“Eames. I need some help.” I pulled myself up onto the table where he was busy working. He looked up at my cheeky face, already excited for whatever idea spilled out of my mouth.

“Is that so?”

“I want to show my dad that I can do this.” I spoke.

“You know you don’t have to.” His voice gave away a sympathetic lilt. But my sincerity lingering in my eyes made him abandon his qualms about my well-being. Instead, he braced himself for the details of my plan.

“We both know that he may be the one dreaming, but we control the visual.” He smirked, sensing my direction. “Yes, he saw my face. But maybe, for this moment, we could just…alter it?”

“Ah, come with me my young Picasso.” He led me to a three paned mirror he’d set up on a rickety desk which would give way at the slightest touch. He firmly pressed my shoulders down into the even flimsier desk chair. “Let me teach you the art of disguise.”

“So, he won’t recognise me at all?” I managed to whisper out. And grasped the hand heading for my face.

Eames smiled down at me and squeezed my hand in a gesture designed to evoke a feeling of security. “We’re not changing your whole face, just mushing it up.” He spoke. “It’s like when you see a face in a dream; you know it’s a face, but you can’t quite make out the features.”

“Like a silhouette.” I softly agreed. My mind flitted back to the man from my own dream. How his indiscernible features had subtly begun to meld, and I already felt their final product. His eyes were now as familiar to me as ever.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

*Eames pov*

I’d offered Y/n time to psych herself up for her next role in this so-called game. She couldn’t ever throw herself in, she required prep and time to create her character which would be placed into the subjects story. But as I walked away, I chanced a glance at her form which had simply walked into the room, no character necessary.

But I needn’t dwell on it for too long; I trusted Y/n. Speaking of which my firm walk was directed towards a certain leader who I needed a few words with.

Cobb and Ariadne stood locked in thought. Cobb fiddled with an object out of sight, but his hunched shoulders betrayed his nerves. If he had been stood to my liking, he would have been destroyed in the corner sobbing his little heart out. I approached from behind, a droll cough announcing my presence and more importantly, my desire to talk.

“May we have a moment, my darling.” I shot a smile Ariadne’s way. She responded to the over-enthused expression by retreating quickly. Cobb did not meet my gaze which had tracked on to him. He grasped his object even tighter with each new hand placement. He clearly already knew the topic and could feel my reaction.

“You have some nerve.” I spat.

“She nearly put this whole mission in je—” He defended with a surprising amount of conviction.

“No don’t give me that!” I fumed at his official attitude. Scoffing at his apparent corporate nature. “She made a mistake. We’ve all made them.” I tilted my head towards him in an unspoken statement. “But for some reason she is held to a higher standard than us all.”

His mouth opened in silent argument, but his false words would give away no sound.  I went to turn, feeling my anger was misplaced due to the severity of this mission. For Cobb and Y/n. But I just couldn’t. I came back and leaned in further so I could attempt to meet him face to face.

“It’s all well and good you accusing her of being a child, but don’t you forget that she entered into our world a child.” My voice kept its hushed tones, but the severity seeped through it. “Whether it was her choice or not, you still let her do it.” My finger was shoved into his face, and he minutely flinched at this. I calmed myself, feeling relieved at releasing that before we continued on this mission. My head hung low when even I felt the sincerity of my words. I loved Y/n like she was my own sister, but I couldn’t deny how sick I felt when she was here with us. And now with this new revelation, I feared that Cobb, Arthur, and my self’s efforts at protection would not be enough.

I now leaned against the table, complimenting Cobb who had ignored his object in favour of supporting his hunched frame on the desk. I broke the tense silence between us.

“Do you know why she liked talking to Fischer and didn’t immediately run off.”

“Please enlighten me to the inner thoughts of my daughter.” Cobb huffed out in severe annoyance.

I took a beat, almost relishing in his cocky attitude.

“Because for once she wasn’t in the shadows anymore.” I stormed off away from the man in shameful realisation.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

*your pov*

I had placed myself centrally in the door frame, staring unforgivingly at the locked steel door. Breathing was tricky in my emotional state but the little gasps every so often at least confirmed the living state of my body. I’d altered my clothes to seem more faded and dishevelled. Cuts and bruises adorned my body, but I had forgone the use of the dreams mechanics to create that specific look on my skin. My nails still had specs of my blood underneath from where I’d dragged them down my smooth skin. Feeling pain on my unblemished skin in this fake reality spurred on my adrenaline. The lack of numbness would work in my favour. There was something about squeezing into my flesh until it speckled with purple and blue which tricked my mind into believing this reality. Then maybe I could believe what was about to happen.

Footsteps clacked up to my frame, and I turned to see Arthur, adorned like a true criminal. Gun cocked, mask prepped. I couldn’t help but bite my lip seeing his body constrained in that that dusky brown leather. My mind was flipped back to our first solo mission and the memory of embracing him and feeling that jacket beneath my fingertips. He had delivered a swift kiss to my hairline but had left in another second hoping it would slip my mind.

His hand reached to clasp my forearm, but he faltered. His eyes instead met the side of my head and eventually his lack of movement confused me so I turned to see what was the issue. His face spoke a thousand words yet his lips delivered none of them. He eventually decided upon a few.

“You don’t have to do this.” I understood the hidden end of his sentence. We both knew it was more than the simple task at hand.

“I know. But I do.” I assured him with a little smile. Hoping it would convey enough normalcy to calm his nerves. He once again took my arm and I slightly winced at the contact. His steely gaze landed on our point of contact and look of regret spilled over his features as his thumb lightly traced my skin. His hand landed on the look but before he could turn it another though bubbled up.

“Are you okay?” He looked up at me piercing through his gaze.

“Yes.” I firmly said with a softer edge. “Do you trust me?” I teased but there was a slant of sincerity within it.

“Forever.” He stated and he punctuated the end by ripping open the door, mask on, and dragging me inside.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

“Thought we’d bring you a little treat.” Arthur grunted out through his fake voice. I stumbled alongside upping the part of the damsel. The act was tied up through a calculated throw to the ground and a well-timed yelp from me. As soon as my body crashed with the floor, Robert scrambled towards me and lifted me up. We found ourselves in a position we’d been in many times before. As he took my hands to gently place me in a more comfortable position, I finally let my eyes flit up to his. But once our gazes locked a flicker of familiarity danced across his features.

My heart dropped.

The flicker burned out.

“Miss, are you okay?” He looked over my body. Took in my tattered clothes, my physical anxiety. As he landed on my various cuts and bruises, his expression darkened. It confused me to see him as he brushed his fingers over my injuries. As if willing them away with a darkened anger bubbling up. His conclusion of who I was settled on his soul.

“Yes, I’m fine.” I stuttered out. “Well, as fine as I can be.” Laying it on thick. I added a few extra shakes to the mix but he mistook this for me being cold. He quickly ripped off his jacket and softly wrapped me in it. The gesture floored me where I forgot my character as I sunk into the fabric and let my head fall to my shoulder to breathe in the unique scent.

“Why have they taken you?” Okay good, he has already assumed I’m a fellow victim.

“They’ve had me for months.” I whispered out as if trying to evade my captors wrath. “I was taken because of my father’s debt.” His face fell at the mention of my father, sensing a shared trauma between the two.

“Turns out I’m not even worth ransom.” I spluttered out a laugh amongst my crocodile tears. Seeing this he brought up his hand to wipe them away, not bearing to see me in pain.

“They could’ve killed me. They probably should’ve.” I said. “I guess they just like something pretty to look at.” My head hung. “That’s all I am; to my colleagues, to men,” My breath caught in my throat. “and to my father.” The lump in my throat dropped and I managed to muster up a sympathetic sob. Upon hearing this he carefully gathered me in his arms. Instead of waiting for permission or fearing consequences; he sensed what I needed and had relished in giving me it. I let off a few minutes to fulfil my tears and let them drip onto his shirt. But as I lay in his arms I could no longer differentiate anymore and struggled to decide whether I was lying or not.

I pulled away when I felt dried out. I giggled at the wet patch that had formed on his chest.

“I am very sorry.” I continued laughing, pointing at his shirt. He laughed once he looked down and noticed. “I dread to think how much it cost.”

“It was sacrificed for a worthy cause.” He cupped my cheek and felt the dried up tear tracks.

“It’s nice to talk to someone for once.” I spoke.

“Really?” His face fell upon hearing this.

“Yeah, even before this I didn’t really have anyone.” I shook my head to wipe away his sympathy. “I worked for my dad, but I never really felt taken seriously. Like I was a part of it. Rather just a moveable doll to be used for whatever.” I giggled out at the almost lie I had forced myself to tell.

Robert chanced a look when I had let my eyes fall to the floor. His brow furrowed at the strain of taking in my various features which were so blurry. But it was something about my voice that struck a deeply hidden part of his mind. My dulcet tones had seemed to pierce our intricate layers.

“I feel like I know you.” My heart struck cold. And the most base bodily movement ceased. “You’ve been in my mind a lot recently.” I turned to face him. My lip trembled at the possible subtext of the words he was speaking. We seemed to be locked together for an eternity, neither feeling comfortable in pulling away.

“Anyways,” I brushed off his previous thoughts by trapping him with my dozy smile. Each time I smiled he became transfixed, and it was addicting. “Apparently you’re an old hand at the father stuff.”

He nodded his head through a teeth gritting smile.

“They talk a lot when they think I’m asleep.” I feebly gestured to the locked steel door. And I turned back to see the life had left his bones once he’d considered what I’d said.

“Well, his ability at business could not be faulted. Absolute inspiration and a hard-working and powerful individual. But in the father department, there was a lot to be desired.” He shifted his position so we were now turned to face one another, with our knees gently kissing.

“Growing up, seeing my dad like that was transcendent.” He laughed thinking back fondly. “He was a god.” His head fell. “but I didn’t want a god. I wanted my daddy.” His voice took on the note of child as if that desire had halted the ageing of his heart.

My fingers creeped toward him, betraying any logical strategy in my head, and I linked them together in a silent show of comfort. His eyes crinkled when our hands met and he spoke his thanks through a gentle squeeze.

“You know.” The words fell past my lips before I could stop. “Sometimes, I think my dad is afraid of how much I love him.” I waited until he looked at my face before continuing. “But I don’t know how to do anything else, because it’s all I’ve done for the past 5 years.” I smiled through the pain at how foolish I could be.

“If he truly doesn’t want me in my life.” I searched around the room to find the end of my comment. “Then I don’t know how to live like that.” I gasped out through an unconvincing laugh.

“My love is wasted on him,” Robert hooked on and decided to alleviate me by sharing some of his own. “It only serves to hurt me more.”

“I get that.” I offered him another smile and I was greeted with the sweetest relief of his own cheerful face, even if it is only for a moment. “But love is meant to hurt. It is only the deepest wounds which have the most lasting pain.” I spoke inwardly, forgetting the conversation I was supposed to be having.

“I don’t think I’m capable of love.” He shocked me back to him with this statement. My brow furrowed at the lifeless face he beheld. He met my concerned face. “Well, those are the traits you learn. You watch from a young age, your parents and their displays. I don’t think my parents ever gave me that.” I shuffled closer so our sides met. I hoped the proximity gave him comfort. I knew my next move but I doubted everything about it. Finally conceding I lifted my hand to grasp his chin, and tilted his face towards my own. And I met it with my other hand.

“I see your capability.” I began with a whispered tone. “I see it in your eyes.” My sincerity seeped even further through my disguise. “That longing desire to be loved that only comes when one has a great amount of love to offer.” Our lips were inches away and with a slight lean we would be locked in a kiss. My neck strained to go further but I had to stop. I was being risky enough as is it is.

“Maybe we both need to realise the burden of our love for our family.” Robert softly stated and as soon as those words hit my ear, the world stopped. We’d both felt it too. The tiny sparks dancing between each point where our bodies met.

The door was ripped open and Arthur stormed in. He grabbed my arms and began to drag me away. Robert firmly protested. Trying to run after despite the threat of being shot. He pleaded with them for my safety and as I was forcibly thrown out, I noticed something in his eyes. Something I’d seen before but never this intensely.

“just do what they say.” I spluttered out before I was safely behind the door with Arthur.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Once Arthur had removed his mask, we both stood as I caught my breath from the stressful exit. He placed his hand on my shoulder in a bid to calm me down.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah. Perfect.” I gasped out.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Not hurt, or he didn’t –” His eyes ran over me during his uncertain questioning.

“No. Course not. All fine.” I half-way grinned up at him. We stood in silence, as Eames walked past all ready for his role as Browning. He opened the door and went in.

“I heard you in there.” He said through a small laugh.

“Oh really?” I tried to tease but my heart wasn’t fully in it.

“Yeah. It was a bit flowery, no? Bit poetic.” He laughed out. I joined in the humour but my eyes remained stoic.

“Yeah, I guess.” I became uncertain in my skin and my erratic hand movements betrayed this. “I don’t know he liked it.” I tried to show Arthur the humour behind my words and he seemed to buy it’s surface. After the laughter died out we walked back to the group. Despite the insincerity of our discussion, it felt like I had Arthur back. I liked it.

Once we reached the group, Dad immediately ran to meet us.

“Sweetheart, well done. Thank you for that—” He reached out for my arms but I never broke my stride and simply brushed past him. Arthur followed my lead.

Cobb was left standing aimless, before grasping his rejected hand into a tight fist.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

a/n - What do you guys think of the chapter? Is Arthur redeeming himself? What about Eames defending poor y/n? Are we liking Robert and y/n's interactions?

taglist: @jonsncws @h-l-vlovesvintage @theethy @fashionki11a @felicity1994 @bearchermer @idkyoutellmesmh @mimimarvelingmarvel @butterfly-lies-chase-them-away @neotanpopper @deliriouslybi @folklorde24 @thefandomdiaries07 @viarosemcmissile @noirrose21-blog @thepoeticfirefly @xoxo-gothic-girl @skeletonwrite

[xinfinityl0ve17]

Moi Dix Mois

Emperor of Darkness Stands in Europe

Have you already watched the live DVD DIXANADU Fated 'raison d'être' Europe Tour 2007 which captures the scenes from the European tour in October 2007? Focusing primarily on the final performance in France this work also features the atmosphere of the tour that visited eight locations in six countries. It gives insight into Moi dix Mois' popularity in the region and the 'heat' of the live performances can be felt through the screen. We spoke with the leader, Mana (G), about the contents of the DVD and his impressions of the various European countries he experienced firsthand.

― As we look back on the European tour let's talk about the live DVD DIXANADU Fated 'raison d'être Europe Tour 2007 which captures those moments. This tour took place in October last year and it was the first time you did something so extensive in Europe, right?"

"Yes, that's right. We went to six countries and performed in eight locations. Along the way the staff often mentioned how equipment would frequently break at the various venues. Apparently, that’s considered 'normal' over there. There were plenty of small issues like that but i’ve come to realize that if you let those things bother you, you won’t be able to tour in Europe or abroad. So recently, i’ve gotten used to it. I go with the mindset that something’s bound to happen (laughs)."

― So, I’d like to hear your impressions of each country you visited. Let's start with Finland, the first stop in Helsinki. It's a country that's also booming in the rock scene, right?

"Finland is home to bands like Children of Bodom and Hanoi Rocks, right? It was our first time there and i was struck by how rock is integrated into their culture. After the show, we saw a news program and they aired a special on rock music with footage from our concert."

― Wow, they featured Moi dix Mois on a regular news show?

"Yeah, that’s right. The cold, crisp atmosphere of Finland also left an impression. (laughs) We arrived late at night, so we didn’t have time for any sightseeing. That’s the biggest thing that stuck with me but the audience reaction was incredible."

― Finland’s government seems to be quite supportive of rock music, even promoting it as part of their culture, right?

"Ah...! Maybe that’s why. We were interviewed for TV, and they aired it during the night on a standard news program. I was surprised to see footage from our show being included in a regular news broadcast. But after hearing what you said, it kind of makes sense now."

― Next was Sweden, known as a haven for Nordic metal and melodic death metal. What were your thoughts before going?

"Before going, I had a strong image of Yngwie Malmsteen (laughs). I also had this vague image of beautiful scenery and a place I felt connected to. This was the only time we flew during the tour, and since we arrived during the day, the local promoter took us sightseeing. The area around our hotel was in the city center, and Stockholm was really lively. But if you walked a little further, the buildings and scenery were breathtakingly beautiful."

[akatharton]

now that i've thought about it for a little bit, i think i can articulate why forsaken fell flat for me. major spoilers ahead, obviously.

i had a lot of issues with the way bowden characterized haytham, tbh. an advantage of writing in first person POV is that it allows you to really get into a character's head and dissect whatever it is that makes them tick, but haytham comes off like a disinterested bystander in his own life for much of this book. it's most apparent in the earlier parts--like, i really can't suspend my disbelief enough to buy that any child would be able to sit down and write a dispassionate play-by-play of their father's murder shortly after witnessing it. yes, haytham is emotionally closed-off even by 18th century british guy standards, but i didn't get the impression that bowden intentionally wrote him as a character who represses his emotions to avoid dealing with pain--honestly, he just seems kind of bored.

this is made worse by the fact that a lot of important character moments happen offscreen or are breezed through haphazardly. to give an example--around halfway through the book, haytham witnesses braddock's troops massacre a group of dutch civilians. this is presented as a major turning point for his character, as his disgust and horror at the experience prompt him to question his (up until that point) rather insouciant attitude towards violence. you would think that we, as the audience, would get to witness this scene and be privy to our protagonist's thoughts and reactions during what is ostensibly a very traumatic moment for him. yeah lol no. we only hear about it secondhand when haytham relays his falling-out with braddock to birch. but we do get around 50 pages of him chasing a bunch of mercenaries through the black forest in a plot thread that ends up leading nowhere and getting unceremoniously dropped.

to give bowden due credit, older haytham seems much more like a fully realized character than his younger self, though as a sad middle-aged man enjoyer i may be biased. i love how jaded and bitter he is, though it's frustrating how the story never really goes into why he no longer believes that any sort of detente between assassins and templars is possible. his reflections on his relationship with connor are probably the strongest part of the book, and some of their interactions--like the scene where he saves connor from execution--are, imo, better than what we got in the game. that said, i really cannot wrap my head around some of the retcons, with the most egregious being the scene in which haytham finds out about ziio's death from connor. in bowden's version, he already knows that washington murdered ziio and is faking his reaction for... gaslight girboss reasons, i guess? (side note: his dumb ass is not that good of an actor.) just a baffling authorial choice. that scene was hugely important for both characters and one of the few times in the game that we get to see haytham genuinely panicked and unguarded, but god forbid you ever include drama and emotional gravitas in your story, i guess? can't distract from the important stuff, like uh... *checks notes* haytham strangling a guy with his thighs and burning a bunch of coptic priests alive for chopping his valet's dick off.

[demontobee]

Autism and Invalidation

I just can’t believe how QUICK people are to invalidate your experience. Which is why it is so important to learn to love and validate yourself.

I was diagnosed with autism earlier last year, because I had done tons of research on the topic and I had gone through the arduous process of finding a place to get the assessment done. During this process, I constantly doubted myself, and I went through loops and loops of feeling like an impostor but also the need to get answers. The assessment process itself was hard on my self-confidence as well, since I felt weird and out-of-place as an afab person assessed by the white male boy standards of autism research. Nevertheless, I got my diagnosis after weeks of filling out questionnaires and feeling uncomfortable in interviews. Having a formal diagnosis relieved me to some extent, but it has not yet cured me from self-doubt and the feeling of shame that washes over me at the thought of feigning it just to get attention, to belong somewhere, to have answers. Since I got the diagnosis, I have made huge changes in my life, which has been wonderful and terrifying at once, and I’ve had more meltdowns than I can count. And I should be proud. I have managed to overcome hurdles like my life-long comfort zone, I am trying to set boundaries and I want to find out what really makes me happy, what I was made for.

And it is exactly this achievement that makes other people doubt the validity of my experience as an autistic person.

My current therapist, who has no specific expertise in autism (especially not in afab queer autistic beans), told me last week that she thinks I was misdiagnosed. Why? Because I am able to handle change so well, because I am a very reflected person who knows exactly what their problems are and how I am harming myself, because I am able to think critically about my parents and the way they raised and treated me. An autistic person, it seems, would not be able to so that.

Bullshit.

You know how I am able to do all these things that she apparently thinks are reserved for neurotypical people? I have been teaching myself, in an ongoing and nerve-wrecking process, how to handle change. I have been working on loving myself and respecting myself enough to want to make changes that benefit me and my well-being. Setting boundaries is a hard and heart-breaking process for me. It doesn’t come naturally to me and I often feel lonely or guilty. For as long as I can remember, my mind has been going round and round reflecting on my actions, other people’s reactions, normal behavior and so on. Reflecting for me is not a skill that proves how “normal” I am, it is a survival strategy. And it is about time I put it to good use instead of fueling my anxiety and my self-criticism with it.

Just because you are developing skills that help you learn to love and validate yourself does not mean your experience as an autistic person is not valid. Formally diagnose or not. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

[phatcatphergus]

I do think people underestimate just how real that is for Tubbo 😭 he’s uncomfortable so he’s going to make light of the situation and that just translates poorly through the lore sometimes.

This is a very important fact that I don't think non-tubblings are always aware of. Tubbo being unserious isn't necessarily him being out of character or not respecting the lore/rp. Both streamer and character react by making jokes to ease the discomfort. Depending on the situation that can be a really good approach for dealing with children. For example when Sunny doesn't want to talk about something Tubbo will frequently redirect to lighter topics and come back to it later. He's not ignoring the issue he's just trying not to press. Doesn't work for every situation but it is a realistic reaction.

I think this is a big factor in the friction between crows and tubblings because when Phil does stuff like that tubblings tend to analyze and crows come in shouting that Phil wasn't in character. On the reverse when Tubbo does that crows talk about fail rp and tubblings have to defend the actions as making sense for his character. That's not always how it happens but it is a pattern in the fandom.

Agreed.

The amount of people that fail to realize how much of irl tubbo bleeds into qtubbo leads everyone to make assumptions that aren’t true or completely misguided. His ND traits play a large role in how he acts because, believe it or not, he’s ND. I think that’s also a big gap between crows and tubblings too, they don’t realize that tubbos “fail rp” is him being himself and being ND, which has traits that aren’t always socially acceptable or rp acceptable (because there’s a standard apparently).

The fact that crows get upset over us analyzing Phil makes zero sense to me because he’s a character that interacts with ours so we will have thoughts on him. Just bc they aren’t always positive doesn’t make them less valid 🤷🏻‍♀️

[alexanderlightweight]

Happy Wednesday! Something fun?

Alec's reaction finding out his ass is, apparently, something the shadow world talks about. Like, maybe he overhead something but thought they were calling him an ass or hardass, rolled his eyes and kept going or was confusing cause he didn't do anything this week -so far, that he can remember- to be called that but one thing leads to another and then he starts connecting the dots and oh, boy!

Also, Magnus' thoughts on Alec's allegedly flat ass? Did he know all along about the ongoing debate?

im typing this note and i need you to appreciate that i gave up nightshade snuggles and delegated being his pillow to a squishmallow so i could keep writing! (i'm kidding btw, don't feel obligated to appreciate because he's a little spoiled and i honestly wanted to keep writing, i'm teasing)

I hope you have as much fun reading this as i had writing it, thank you for the lovely prompt! and it is a very happy wednesday!

-

Alec’s well aware of the many reputations that he's developed throughout the shadowworld. To his own hunters, he’s a hardass, protective and mostly fair but above all, he’s tough and holds them to a standard higher than the one the clave expects of them.

Considering that half of the things the clave wants are ridiculous or just plain stupid, Alec’s found that no one complains very much. If they do, they don’t last long and Alec is happy to sign off on their transfer.  

The other’s are interchangeable but he knows that everyone agrees that his ass belongs to Magnus, which fair, it does.  The other rumor he doesn’t really mind until he overhears something that makes him frown the whole way to Magnus’.

“So you think my ass is flat.” He says flatly, keeping any amusement hidden deep inside especially as he notices Cat and Ragnor are still over.

Ragnor chokes and Cat starts cackling and Magnus, Magnus looks horrified.

“Darling—” he starts, undoubtedly to try and explain but Alec forces his scowl deeper.

“Is this why you’re so insistent on feeding me? Magnus, are you trying to plump up my ass because it’s not enough for you?” He asks, feigning sadness as a wounded sound escapes his love and Magnus is hurrying to get up and knocking over his own drink and chair in the process.

“What? Alexander no! That’s not, I mean I always think you could use a little more meat darling, what with how much work you do, but thats—” 

Cat is crying now with laughter as Ragnor urgently opens a portal and pulls her through it, no doubt fleeing the domestic he no doubts thinks is about to go down. Which is smart, because this is definitely going to end in something Ragnor isn’t going to want to see.

“Magnus, really.” He interrupts, knowing that Magnus is too flustered too catch the mischief in his eyes and he lowers his lashes, “I thought you like me how I am? Bad enough the whole downworld doesn’t think my ass is good enough, but you too?”

Magnus wheezes like an ichor scalded hunter and he’s rushing forward, his hands immediately cupping Alexander’s ass if his tight grip can prove his appreciation and love. 

It’s perfect,” he promises insistently. “I love it, you know I—” and then Alec can’t take it and he’s laughing, head thrown back as Magnus realizes he’s been tricked. “Oh you— you little fiend.”

“Little huh?” Alec murmurs and leans closer to chuckle into Magnus’ ear, “does that make my fiendishness smaller or larger than my ass?”

Magnus makes a sound like an outraged teakettle and Alec can’t help but let himself be swept up over a shoulder as Magnus stomps over, carrying Alec and with a hand splayed territorially over his ass.

“I’m going to prove exactly how much I love your ass.” Magnus threatens, “and then I’m stomping this rumor for the last time. Who cares if your ass is a little flat,” Alec makes a protesting noise that Magnus ignores, “it’s mine.” Alec hums, because that’s a point he can get behind. “Why are they even talking about my things anyways?” He complains as he throws Alec onto the bed and then follows and pins him. “Who even has touched your ass to know?”

“Uh—” Alec suddenly wishes he’d thought through this better because he’s pretty sure he knows where the rumor started.

“Alexander.” And Magnus’ intense possessive energy focuses on him with a fervor that makes Alec’s throat dry. “Tell. Me. Who?”

“Simon?” He offers, forgetting all the reasons why he has hesitated to bring this up for so long, even when rumors of his ass and it’s lack of buoyancy made the rounds. 

“Simon?” Magnus is clearly flabbergasted, “when did he even?”

Alec throws an arm over his eyes because this entire thing has backfired on him. “Look, remember that time he got really drunk and stripped to dance in sunlight after Clary lost her memories. Okay? Somehow, while I was dragging him down and trying to keep him from exposing himself to the downworld and the mundane world, he decided I needed a hug.”

“And that translated to your ass, how?”

“He’s very… grabby. With his hands.”

 “Wait, isn’t that when you needed an iratze? I thought he’s broken one of your bones did he—” Magnus is seething now and Alec aborts all his plans and hooks his legs around Magnus’ waist as Magnus grows more and more incensed. “That ungrateful little leech! I take care of him for free and this is how he repays me? Bruising and groping my ass?”

“My ass—” Alec mutters indulgently, more amused by Magnus’ anger than anything else, though this better not delay Magnus’ proving just how much he loves Alec’s ass. Because Alec had plans and if Simon ruins them, well he’ll have two angry husbands instead of just one after him. 

“Mine!” Magnus says, even louder over him, “I’m going to make that, that ungrateful traitor wish he’d never crawled out of his grave!” Which might seem harsh, but Alec knows that Magnus has his own priorities and one of them is who gets to touch Alec’s ass.

It’s a very short list.

Only Magnus is on it.

[paradoxcase]

Chapter 27 of Harrow the Ninth

Is this just a reference to Ianthe killing Naberius, or was there someone else that she murdered in Harrow's false memories?

Ok, so, this... arm removal scene

A long while back I made a post about my old fanfic and how I'd somehow managed to write a scene with zero sexual anything in it that someone nevertheless described as "hot" and how it was just a matter of writing it with the right tension peaks, and like, narrative beats, and whatnot, and that apparently if you did that people would 100% hallucinate sexual stuff in there between the lines and you didn't even have to write it? I think this scene is exactly what I was talking about. It has exactly the narrative cadence and beats and tension spikes/etc. as an actual sex scene, and also I think this is the right point in the book in terms of overall plot structure and the development of their relationship for such a scene, so it reads exactly like a sex scene except that in terms of actual content it's a scene where Harrow cuts off Ianthe's arm and makes her a new one. It's not just the narrative cadence, there's also a lot of word choice in here that contributes to this effect, but like, a lot of it is the narrative cadence

This actually made me remember something else I wanted to talk about earlier, because sex scenes are definitely not the only kind of scenes that have their own very specific narrative cadence patterns. The whole chapter in Gideon the Ninth where the Fourth Teens are murdered has an extremely textbook horror narrative cadence to it, and it stood out to me because although you can describe these books as horror, the rest of Gideon the Ninth, and so far all of Harrow the Ninth, doesn't have that specific horror cadence to it, even the parts where Gideon the First is trying to kill Harrow. And I like this, actually, because I tend to avoid horror generally because I really dislike experiencing the standard horror cadence over long periods of time, it makes me feel awful, but I never had that reaction to these books even though they are full of horror content. And in fact, right here we have a scene which is horror content + sexual cadence

I did expect most of this scene already (i.e. that Harrow has to make Ianthe's arm from her actual bones rather than it just being a prosthetic as I originally thought), but this was interesting:

It's mainly interesting in that Harrow has been spending all this time on the Mithraeum figuring this out, and even though this book is supposedly from her POV, we're only finding out about this now, when she says it to Ianthe. Maybe this is another indication of the third party narrator, but the narrator has had the ability to see (and critique) Harrow's thoughts in other cases. Or maybe the narrator just doesn't care about the technical details of Lyctor healing abilities

Ok, so that's why the arm is gilded in the prologue

Gideon expected a different ending to this chapter, didn't she? I think I'm sure this is Gideon now, I'll leave it as a point of future inquiry why she now seems to know some necromancy stuff or at least doesn't think it's boring nerd shit anymore and has an opinion on Harrow's feelings about flesh magicians

I mean, I think Harrow has already shown that she's perfectly capable of killing him on her own, the only thing that stopped her was John. Harrow hasn't exactly been going around thinking "if only Ianthe would help me, I could succeed!" Unless Ianthe has some plan or idea to bring John around to this I can't imagine what use she would be here

[guiltycorp]

thoughts on this current quest! ! CARIBERT SPOILERS

good thing that we got a specific answer as to 'where was Khaenri’ah located' 

LOVED the tidbit about Kaeya trying to run away to Sumeru as a kid — as nice as living in the winery might have been, little Kaeya was still sentimental enough to risk that newly gained safety just to reconnect with his roots, very sad and revealing

...also, his absence caused a ruckus and Crepus personally went and took him back, which means either that he truly cared about his sworn son ...or that he had a yet unknown goal for him 👀

more confirmation for Kaeya being a little bit too much into alcohol since he tried every kind of liquor the tavern offered and appears to have a high tolerance (day-drinking even though he must have known that a difficult conversation with the Traveler and Dain was incoming)

on that topic, tbh im not sure if his excuse (learning about Sumeru’s alcohol industry and leading trade negotiations) was supposed to be just that, a lie that he came up with, or if genshin writers are this bad at writing excuses for characters to be places... like I guess 'alcohol import regulations' could be something that the Knights would do, but when Snezhnayan merchants wanted to import their firewater they went straight to Diluc, and overall this doesn’t seem like a worthy task for the Acting Grandmaster’s right-hand man

...unless it was supposed to be a vacation that Jean sent him on, but why would she want him to miss Windblume?

also apparently Diluc won’t be in Windblume either, so maybe this is something they coordinated on, idk

but yeah no, most probably Kaeya just lied and specifically went to Sumeru to find out more about Alberichs

anyway, he is as avoidant as ever, getting the small bit of info he wanted and immediately bailing on mc and Dainsleif (who seems like the type to reveal important secrets without meaning to, so it probably would have served him better to pry a bit more) 

i would have enjoyed it if they actually started arguing haha but alas

don't have a lot of thoughts on Dainsleif himself, his reaction to Kaeya makes sense considering his grudge against the Abyss Order

i still think that Kaeya might have ties not only to the Abyss Order (which he only confirmed for himself now), but also to the Fatui (which he might have known about all along), but that's all just theories

overall i really like that Kaeya doesn't seem to know that much about lore stuff — this gives him an opportunity to learn about it alongside us and have to actually grapple with his duties to either Mond or Khaenri'ah rather than it all happening in the backstory somewhere

also since we are told that Kaeya is Chlothar’s descendant that must mean: 1) Caribert was rid of his hilichurl curse somehow and later procreated  2) unless Kaeya is Caribert lmao but that would be too much?.. 3) in either case Kaeya has some Mondstadt blood in him too since Caribert’s mother was from there, tying the whole ‘bloodline’ issues together neatly

otherwise, yeahh, the usual unfortunate writing choices...

gasp did you just empathize with a character who stands against the current status quo? well, let's spend looots of time proving how unreasonable they are.. 

like it's not even a good play on the standard story of cults preying on vulnerable ppl, but who cares at this point

i guess it’s somewhat interesting when compared to Kaeya’s dad writing which made it sound as if Alberichs took over the responsibility of ruling over the survivors as soon as Khaenri’ah’s royal line was incapacitated, while this quest makes it seem as if Chlothar Alberich lived on his own with his cursed son for a while before he founded the Abyss Order 

which also means that they weren’t officially recognized as regents by the nation? hmm

oh and we didn't even get to see what's under a hilichurl's mask :/

we did learn a bit more about Khaenri’ah as a country, specifically that they had some serious divide between the ‘true’ Khaenri’ah bloodline ppl, the nobility, and the commoners, but im guessing this just leads to ‘it deserved to get nuked bc it sucked’

the gravity thing was fun, i liked it in Elden Ring and i like it here hehe, hope there's more of it in the future

but the dungeon seemed pretty cheap overall, especially that same reused statue prop lol Also man, imagine how fun it would be if the twins actually switched places and we played as the evil one for a bit. It would make the dialogues so much more interesting...  Because yeah, the writers should really stop making so much of the story revolve around the mc when they still don’t have much of a personality or specific motivations. At least our sibling has a goal in mind.  But yeah, no. Anyway!!