#which sounds mean but war is bloody and idk if you could really be fighting without ending up creating some bloodshed if that makes sense

[paigemathews]

How do you feel about Chris killing the Valkyries? I felt it was very out of character to the character he was shown to be personally, like he wouldn't have it in him to do something so wrong.

How do you feel about how fast Chris forgave Leo? I know by the time he found out who Chris was they didn't have much time to make it all spaced out but I do feel it was a little rushed for how much Chris had against Leo..But perhaps it's just me?

As always, general disclaimer that I haven't done a full rewatch in a while. (Y'know what would negate the need for a disclaimer, is if I just rewatched the show like I've been meaning to for the past two damn years.)

In regards to the Valkyries, I actually disagree, I feel like it's very in-character for him. (It helps that it happens in one of the first episodes, which are typically pretty foundational for characters', well, characters.) Chris is incredibly dedicated to his mission, ultimately dying for the cause, and I don't really think it's out of character for him to be willing to cross a line that others wouldn't (murder) to accomplish his goal. Admittedly, this is in the context of said goal being preventing the world from being subjugated by an evil, ultra-powerful tyrant. It's clearly something that he did not enjoy doing, by any means, but it was a necessary evil at the same time if that makes sense. I will say though that it's a pretty common interpretation that Chris was actively working against Wyatt in the UF, to varying interpretations, but I mean. Very few people are engaged in a war without some kind of blood on their hands and Chris already knew that he could kill the Valkyries by using his powers like that, which wasn't something we'd seen other good characters do before. I don't necessarily think that was the first time that Chris killed someone for the sake of the mission.

At the same though, I think that part of the issue is that Charmed is very much a show that is... I guess black and white with good and evil is the best way to put it. We as the audience don't really have a good framework to interpret Chris's actions in-universe because of that. It also doesn't help that a) it really isn't ever brought up again and b) Valkyries are cast in a weirdly antagonistic role, despite presumably being good beings? Chris also makes mention of an agreement, but we never get anything more about that. Honestly, it's very much an instance of the show not really knowing where they're going with him at that instance.

For Chris and Leo, I'm gonna be honest, I really don't know because I haven't seen those episodes for quite a while. With how season six is written, I'm inclined to agree that it was rushed. At the same time though, I think it's interesting that it's Chris forgiving Leo when he tries. Chris continually shoots him down, but Leo keeps trying, which is a stark difference from Chris's experience with UF!Leo, who was never there for him. It also might be that Chris actually realized that he was holding Leo accountable for things that he hadn't even done yet, and may never do which. Isn't exactly a stellar precedent when the tiny baby he's trying to save originally grows up to be a murderous tyrant, y'know? But you're definitely not alone in thinking it's a bit rushed, I still feel like season six was a bit more by the seat of your pants than it probably should have been.

[bard-llama]

Black King, White Knight (New Fic Universe)

I have a new ship and it’s all @useless-empty-brain‘s fault! This started out as an Iorveth/Roche fic, but now it’s turned into an Isengrim series featuring Isengrim/Eldain.

Warnings: The first fic has some really, really dubious consent stuff going on. If that bothers you, please don’t continue, ‘cause it’s... pretty sketch. In a porny and feelingsy way.

First fic: title is gonna be something about tarnished iron, i think

Okay, so I thought this was just going to be the one fic, but apparently not. So the first fic’s focus is on Iorveth/Roche, buuuut Isengrim shows up and actually rescues them from a swarm of drowners. But then Isengrim turns to Roche and Iorveth, thinking fast, claims Roche as his prisoner - which Isengrim interprets as “pet”, because otherwise, why hasn’t he been killed or sold yet? Then Isengrim offers to help train Iorveth’s pet.

They go to an abandoned cabin (where rorveth were actually headed to maybe bone for the first time), but it’s all turned sideways. Especially when Isengrim pulls up a chair and asks Iorveth to fuck his pet in front of him so that Isengrim could help with any needed disciplining. (Remember the dubcon part? yeah, that’s this part)

After Roches comes untouched, crying on Iorveth’s cock, Isengrim goes out to get firewood or something and when he returns, he overhears Iorveth sounding wretched as he apologizes to Roche. Then the worst part: Iorveth says he’s scared of Isengrim and that’s why he couldn’t stand up and object.

Understandably, Isengrim is heartbroken. He’d come by wanting to see his old friend (and old lover) and even with the best of intentions, he still managed to hurt Iorveth. What kind of monster is so scary that they maim without meaning to?

He apologizes to Iorveth, for what it’s worth, and leaves them to their own devices. Except that leaves us with an Isengrim who is firmly castigating himself and knows that if even Iorveth, his former friend and lover (and previous 2nd in command, I think) fears him, then he must truly be unloveable.

Second fic: title is something about the shine of bright iron through layers of tarnish

While Isengrim is depressed, there’s still a war going on and the Scoia’tael are still fighting. And some of them are fighting a little too brutally for the others tastes, so they send Isengrim, as a Scoia’tael veteran and revered leader, to talk some sense into the crazy fucker in Moulderwood aka Eldain, the one time merchant and musician, now a hardened Scoia’tael commander. 

Not sure what exactly their meeting is like, but as time goes on, Isengrim finds himself impressed with this dude who may actually be crueler than he is, but for practical reasons that Isengrim can understand and endorse. Additionally, Eldain isn’t the slightest bit scared of him, instead teasing him in front of the men and poking fun at him and looking entirely delighted when Isengrim pokes fun back (but like, in a refined way). 

Somehow this leads to them getting together or maybe just the hint of it? Idk we could do full porn and accidental feelings now, OR we could wait until after the pain to actually get together.

Third fic: okay idk what the title for this one should be. Something about the way polished metal is stronger or shines brighter or something

I mentioned the pain, yeah? Yeah, this is the pain. THRONEBREAKER SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Right so, I have not actually finished Thronebreaker but what happens (AGAIN, HUGE SPOILER WARNING) is that Meve can either respect Eldain’s wishes and show him mercy and bury him after his death. Or she can be just as merciless as he was and leave his body to be fed upon by vultures and shit. 

Now of course, we can’t just have it end that way, not in this house. So OBVIOUSLY everyone lives. But first everyone needs to find out that everyone is, indeed, alive.

By which I mean - actually, huh, maybe this part should be Eldain’s POV? could be interesting. But anyway, Isengrim spirals ‘cause like, the one dude that never feared him is now rumored to be dead and Isengrim can’t admit that his heart hurts, but his chest aches and he just - he finds that he needs to see the body. He needs to KNOW that Eldain is actually gone.

Except there is no body. Idk exactly how Isengrim finds Eldain, but Eldain is in pretty bad shape. Fortunately, Isengrim expected that and packed appropriate medical supplies.

This all leads to them shacking up somewhere as Isengrim learns that his bloody hands can also be used to heal and Eldain gets to recover from losing his whole command with someone who understands and through it all, Eldain’s physical body heals. This, of course, leads to getting together PROPER LIKE now, with actual communication and shit.

Fourth fic: oh man, idk. Something about striking tempered steel or some shit, idk

This fic is the comic relief fic lol. Basically, I have a great need for the awkward as fuck reunion of Iorveth and Roche with Isengrim - who now has Eldain along for the ride as well. And Eldain does NOT like Roche, and Roche does NOT like Isengrim and Iorveth and Isengrim are still pretty awkward and Iorveth and Eldain are in that weird space of ‘you’re his former lover and I’m his current one’ and idk, maybe work out some tension through a music off, because why not?

Fifth fic: okay, actually, this one might be a standalone, not sure. idk on the title, but it would be a pwp

So Roche has been the only commander in the north to really prove to be a thorn in the Scoia’tael’s side. So when the Scoia’tael manage to capture Vernon Roche? Well, a little payback is only fair, right?

Cue cnc gangbang?

Yeah, idk anything else about this one, it’s just porn.

So yeah, that’s my new fic universe. If I’m lucky, I’ll actually finish the first part sometime this century 😔

But, in the meantime, if you haven’t considered Isengrim/Eldain before, you absolutely have to go check out @useless-empty-brain’s fics:

Five Cheesy Pick Up Lines That Didn’t Work (And One That Did)

Summary: For a Reason of State, Eldain finds himself following Iorveth to an old Blue Stripes safe house in Farcorners to assist in a plot to assassinate the King of Redania. He expected to actually work on the said assassination plot, not watch Iorveth and Roche flirt terribly with each other. What's a poor elf to do in that situation but drink with the only other sane person in the house. And if that person is Isengrim Faoiltiarna so what? So what if the Iron Wolf is also terrible at flirting? So what if his cheesy pickup lines are sweeter than they are cheesy? So. What?

Not To Control The Wind

Summary: When he received the missive from Dol Blathanna, Isengrim wasn't sure what to expect, but watching the small council dissolve into snarled threats wasn’t what he would have guessed would happen. When it becomes obvious that they'll all grow old and die before anything can be agreed upon, Isengrim takes it upon himself to offer a 'helping hand' in controlling Eldain's mouth. It escalates from there.

Lay Me Down on a Bed of Roses

Summary: "You made flowers bloom in my lungs and although they are beautiful, I can't breathe." - Anonymous

[ask-the-riders]

Bonds

Idk what this is, but it's a blurb I wrote in which Pest needs to take War to see Retribution over issues concerning how she'd had one of her eye lights marked by Nightmare

This also contains Connie being a bean, Pest talking to a rat, and Death successfully scaring Ret

War pressed her hands over where her ears would've been, her figure beginning to glitch as she slowly slid down her bedroom wall. Curling in on herself, she felt tears prick at the edges of her sockets.

"Come back to me... You can't ignore the calling, 406." "I need you, 406." "You're so very useful... So skilled, so special. Don't tell me you're choosing to waste your abilities like this." "Come to me, 406." "I'm calling for you. That means it's time to come home now."

She shook her head, her sockets wide as she muttered faintly, "S-Shut up, leave me alone. You don't control me... I'm not your pawn anymore." The whispers that echoed in her head made a sound that resembled laughter, "You'll always belong here with me, and you'll always belong to me. Just stop fighting it already. You're only making this so much harder than it needs to be."

The rider shifted, lowering one of her arms and sinking her teeth into it, drawing blood. Her free hand curled into a fist, her fingertips scraping her skull and leaving faint scratches as she whimpered, blue tinted tears rolling down her face. She bit down harder, letting out a muffled cry of pain, and a singular deep, rumbling voice scoffed, "Oh please, 406. You know that won't do you any good, so why do you still do it? Are you really that naive?"

War began to claw at her skull, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to ignore the way her soul was trying to tug away from her, wanting her to follow it. The voice let out a deep sigh, "You're pathetic, you know that?... Those riders have made you weak. Come back to me, and I'll fix all of that. You'll be strong again, and they won't hold you back anymore. They're dulling your potential, and you should be upset about that." She let out a muffled cry as she bit down even harder, trying to ignore the voice.

There was a soft knock on her door, and she didn't respond, too distraught to even take notice of the sound. The door opened a small bit and Pestilence peeked through the crack, his brow bones furrowed, "War?... What's going on? Are you ok?" War's eyes opened again and she looked up at her soulmate, visibly trembling as her glitching grew worse. Releasing her now bloodied arm, she shook, reaching for him as she sobbed, forcing out a desperate plea "Help me, Pest..."

Seeing the condition she was in, Pestilence pushed the door open further and darted into the room, frowning as he knelt before her. Very gingerly taking her injured arm and noting the blood on her face, his frown deepened, "Babe, what'd you do to your arm? Why would you?..." War sniffled, gesturing to her head with her free hand and whining, "He... He won't leave me alone. He wants me to go back there, and I can't. I don't want-" Pest's concern visibly increased, "Who won't leave you alone?" War's glitching continued to worsen and more tears flowed down her cheekbones, "Nightmare. He's calling for me. I dunno how long I can fight it, and I'm scared."

Pestilence drew in a deep breath, using his magic to begin healing her arm as he leaned closer, gently pressing his forehead to hers. Having caught a glimpse of the scratches on her skull, he lifted his free hand, healing them as well. His soulmate wrapped her free arm around him, clutching his hoodie tightly, and he gently shushed her, his voice soft, "Hey, shhhh... It'll be ok. I won't let him take you back, and I won't let you cave and follow his calling, I promise. I'll do whatever I can to help you, I swear on my life."

She nodded, her own voice barely audible, "Ok... Thank you, Pest." He made a soft sound of acknowledgement, lowering his hand from her skull before gently lifting her other arm, now healed, to his face and pressing a soft kiss over where her injury had previously been. She then found herself being hoisted up into his arms, and rather than half heartedly fighting him like normal, War clung to him still, perhaps tighter than before.

He gave her a soft squeeze, murmuring lowly, "If it's a problem with Nightmare that you're having, do you think Ret would be able to help?" War shook her head, "I dunno... maybe?" Pestilence tilted his head, "Would it bother you if we went to see him? Just to ask if there's anything that can be done." The female skeleton shrugged, mumbling, "No, that wouldn't bother me."

He offered her a slight smile, hoping to give some reassurance, before stealing a quick kiss from her and using a shortcut. When they reappeared in their next location, Pest tightened his grip on her a small bit, careful not to hurt her as he roughly kicked Retribution's closed bedroom door, hissing under his breath before shouting, "OPEN THE DAMN DOOR, RET! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" Through the door, Retribution's muffled voice could be heard, "Go away, Pest. I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now."

Pestilence kicked the door harder, shouting again, "I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE IN A PISSY MOOD. IT'S AN EMERGENCY, PLEASE OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR, C'MON." War whimpered, pressing her hands over her head as she began softly sobbing again. His expression softened, now full of worry, "Ret, c'mon man, please! Please let us in! I'm... I'm begging you, please open the door. If not for me, then for War."

Retribution could be heard grumbling to himself, and a few seconds passed before the door was swung open, it's handle surrounded by cyan magic. Without waiting a single second, Pest slipped into the room with War, trying to make his eyes adjust to the dim lighting faster as he looked around. He jumped as the door was closed behind him, and he turned, seeing Retribution standing near his bed, in the process of removing and hanging up his cloak, clearly unenthusiastic as he sighed, "What's the problem now?"

Pest approached the other rider, his soulmate still in his arms, "It's War. I'm not sure what's going on with her, but when I found her, she'd bitten her arm and bled a bunch, and she'd scratched up her head. She said she was having problems with Nightmare. That he wouldn't leave her alone, and that he was calling for her or something. We wanted to see if there was anything you'd be able to do to make it stop."

The former prince arched a brow bone, stepping closer to the pair of soulmates. His grasp was firm but gentle as he pried War's hands away from her head and hummed, his cyan magic turning violet as it flared up, illuminating a waning crescent moon shaped mark over her right eye light that had been hidden from view. His brow bones knit in concern and he made a face, "He marked her at some point. That's how his calling is still able to reach her."

Pestilence nodded in understanding, his sockets wide with worry, "Is there any way to remove it?" The shorter of the two males stepped back, gesturing to his bed, "Lay her down. It'll make it easier for me to do my job." Pest did as he was told, gently laying her down and settling on the bed beside her, gently taking her hand and intertwining their fingers. Retribution stepped closer, a scowl on his face as he allowed four ghostly tentacles to materialize, idly swaying behind him.

He leaned down, his violet magic still brightly blazing and illuminating his counterpart's mark while he tried getting a better look at it.

He lifted his gaze after a moment, glancing at Pestilence, "He's used a lot of magic to lock it in place. If I was anyone else, I'd say there was nothing I could do to help." Pestilence frowned, "But?..." Retribution continued, answering the other's question, "But I'm not just anyone else. I might not be able to remove it entirely, but I can, at the very least, replace it with my own mark. If I do that, he won't be able to call for her or bother her anymore. If I need her for whatever reason though, then it would grant me the ability to call for her."

The other nodded in understanding, silent for a brief moment before asking, "How are you gonna get rid of it and change it to yours?... You said it looked like he used a lot of magic to really make it stick." Retribution flicked a single tendril at him, tilting his head, "I intend to use these. I may need some assistance from Conquest as well, however. Her positivity should be able to help weaken it."

Pestilence nodded again, "Ok... Is there anything I can do to help you, or?..." The former prince hummed, "Stay here with her while I go get Conquest. If she starts trying to move, hold her down. We can't have her running off." Pest made a soft sound of compliance, gently squeezing War's hand and watching as Retribution vanished from the room. Once they were alone, War let out a soft whine, her face stained from crying, "Pest?... Do you think he'll be able to do it?" The rider in question hummed in confirmation, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her cheek, "I hope so. I have faith in him, and I know that he'll find a way to pull through."

He paused, gently nuzzling her face, "You'll be ok, War... I promise. I'll be right here with you the whole time." The female skeleton leaned up, delicately touching his face with her free hand and capturing him in a lingering kiss, her teeth against his. He blinked, momentarily surprised before responding, gently pressing back, his cheekbones dusting a faint shade of green.

Just as the tip of his tongue glided over her teeth to request entrance, Retribution reappeared, Conquest at his side. Seeing the exchange between the pair, his cheekbones turned the softest shade of violet and he cleared his throat, averting his gaze. The two parted, both of their faces flushed a darker shade of their respective colors. War delicately stroked her soulmate's cheekbone with her thumb, smiling softly as he leaned into her touch. Pest smiled back at her, gently nudging her and asking her to lie down again.

Though it was clear that she didn't want to part from him, War laid back down, both arms down by her sides. As Retribution approached the bedside, she shifted her gaze to him, her sockets widening in fear at the sight of his tentacles. Her vision flickered, colors glitching and blurring together, and as an inky, black substance began to drip down his face and coat his tendrils, a scream tore itself from her.

Her glitching worsened and she bolted upright, now sitting. As the tendrils curled around her arms and shoved her back down to pin her in place, her eye lights constricted in fear and she screamed again, calling her soulmate's name. Pestilence jolted, taking one of her hands and giving it a firm squeeze. Seeing the way she was beginning to thrash, he frowned, climbing on top of her and straddling her femurs, trying to minimize her movement.

She let out a startled, confused cry and he was quick to shush her, gently patting her face with his free hand and causing her to focus on him, her chest heaving as she all but gasped for air. Leaning over her, his concerned expression softened and he kept his voice low, "War, hey... Listen to me. You're safe, ok? I'm here. Connie's here. Ret's here. Everything's gonna be ok, but we need you to calm down. Please... Take a deep breath. Try to relax. You're ok, you're safe, I promise."

Despite how badly she'd begun to tremble, she blinked and slowly nodded, drawing in a deep breath. Her eyes momentarily drifted shut, and as she opened them to look up at Retribution again, she couldn't help but stare. Her vision had cleared, and not a speck of the black, tar-like substance could be seen on him. Had she really just imagined that?...

Seeing the terrified, confused look her friend wore, Conquest frowned, gently touching Retribution's arm and murmuring, "Retribution?... She's completely terrified. Should we really be putting her through this?..." The former prince shot a look at her and scoffed, "It's either this, or she eventually runs off to be tormented, abused, and puppeted around again. Which would you prefer, Conquest?"

Conquest fell silent, withdrawing her hand from the other's arm. Retribution grumbled something under his breath, before using another tendril to gesture to War, "I'll need you over there with her and Pest. You know what to do." Connie nodded slowly, moving closer to the bed and perching on the edge, letting out a sigh. Reaching out again, she very delicately took War's hand, giving a soft squeeze.

As War's eye lights focused on her, she smiled reassuringly, "I'm going to use a little magic to temporarily paralyze you, ok?... We don't want you moving too much and unintentionally hurting yourself or any of us." The other female skeleton nodded, her voice shaking, "Ok... What's he gonna do to me, Connie?" Conquest shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't know. He didn't disclose that information to me. Whatever it may be, Pestilence and myself are here. You're safe, ok? We would never allow you to be harmed."

War nervously swallowed, giving Conquest the ok to continue after a moment, and she blinked as the other placed a hand over her forehead, her other hand gently squeezing her own. Her sockets became solid white and began to glow as she forced her magic into War's body, and War let out a muted sob as she felt her limbs become heavier. She attempted to move her free hand, but to no avail, and her body's glitching suddenly came to a halt.

She wanted to turn her head to look at Pestilence, whimpering as she found that she couldn't move her head either. A warmth flooded her and all her buzzing thoughts seemed to still, images of herself and Pestilence flickering in her mind. She recalled the images with ease, recognizing them as the memories they'd made together. Their first meeting, their first date, their first time cuddling and sharing a bed, even their first kiss. It was all there.

Another sequence of images appeared though, ones that she didn't recognize. One of her hands, but with a ring around one of her fingers. Her deep blue ecto, forming a round, bulging belly. An infant, tiny and sweet, fast asleep and wrapped in a small blanket. Blue tinted tears welled up in her sockets and dripped down her face, and she began to relax. Seeing how at peace she suddenly appeared, Pest arched a brow bone and glanced at Connie, "Well damn... I'm not sure what you did, but I'm impressed."

Conquest softly thanked him, maintaining her magic's hold on War. Feeling his counterpart's magic starting to weaken, Retribution stepped forward, his hands pressing to War's face and firmly holding her right socket open. Despite the contact, she didn't make a single sound, still appearing completely relaxed. Even as a tendril snaked around him from behind and slithered through the air toward her face, she was silent.

Retribution stole a quick glance at Pestilence, "You. Summon her soul for me." Although hesitant, Pestilence did as instructed, his green eye light glowing as his magic flared up. As her soul appeared floating just above her chest, Retribution's fourth tendril quickly seized it, it's grasp soft and careful. As the tentacle began to slowly squeeze harder and harder, War's eyes widened and she whimpered softly.

Seeing an opportunity, Retribution's magic flared up and the tentacle closest to her face jutted forward, it's tip pressing directly against her marked eye light. Had it not been for Conquest's magic paralyzing her, her body would have jerked violently in response to the contact, and she let out a pained, blood curdling scream.

Retribution muttered something to himself, keeping the tip of his tendril pressed to her eye light for a few more seconds, before suddenly yanking it away, his grip on her face tightening as he held her socket open, trying not to focus on the way tears ran down her cheekbones as she sobbed hysterically, her words jumbling together as she pleaded for them to stop.

The way her fear and confusion flooded his senses was almost intoxicating, and he inhaled deeply. Feeling a mix of fear, sadness, and guilt rolling off of Pestilence in waves as well, he glanced at the rider in question, "Pest. Hey. Whatever's going on in your head needs to stop. She'll be fine, I promise." Pestilence was shaking, lifting a hand to wipe away a tear that dripped down his cheek as he made a soft sound of acknowledgement, his voice cracking, "O-Ok... Sorry..."

As her soul was released and was returned back to it's rightful place within her chest, Retribution sent out pulses of his magic, the pulses increasing in strength until War was silent. As Retribution slowly began to count down from ten, her emotions stilled, gradually becoming much fainter, and as he very delicately released his hold on her face, he watched her eyes drift shut.

The former prince shot a look at Conquest and she quietly nodded, her magic also releasing it's hold on War. No longer being held by their magic, War was still, appearing in a deep sleep. Retribution gently rubbed circles over her lidded socket, pausing to very careful open it again. Just as it'd done before, his violet magic illuminated the mark on her right eye light, now shaped like a waxing crescent moon.

He let out a sigh of relief, his other two tentacles releasing her arms as he let her eye shut again. Looking to Pestilence, his violet magic finally shifted back to their usual cyan and his ghostly tendrils faded away, "...It's done. She'll be asleep for a while yet, but she'll likely be pretty sore when she wakes. Keep her out of any bright lights, and keep an eye on her. If her eye light looks strange or abnormal, bring her back here immediately."

Pestilence lunged forward, taking the other by surprise as he wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug, "Thank you so much, Ret. I really owe you one." Retribution made a face, rolling his eye lights, "Of course. You can return the favor now by letting go of me though, Pest." Watching the two speak, Conquest smiled softly to herself, looking back to War's sleeping face after a moment; she'd be alright. With a future as gloriously designed as hers, she had nothing to be worried about.

Conquest was jolted out of her thoughts, letting out a soft, surprised squeak as she found herself now trapped in Pest's arms as he tightly hugged her, giving his thanks for her help. The look on her face softened and she smiled, returning the hug and gently patting his back. Pulling away from the hug and letting her go once her grip began to slacken, Pest watched as she shortcutted away, likely returning to whatever she'd been doing before Ret went to get her.

Pestilence carefully scooped up his soulmate, granting a soft goodbye to Retribution before he used a shortcut as well, taking himself and War back to her room. As he delicately laid her down on her bed, his magic flared up briefly, just enough to switch off her bedroom light and close the door. Tugging off his sash, belt, and hoodie, he laid down beside War, cuddling close to her and pressing a soft kiss to her head, one of his hands finding hers and instinctively intertwining their fingers.

Again, his magic flared up, this time to pull the covers up over both of them, and as a small, fuzzy head emerged from beneath the collar of his shirt, he was unphased. He watched as the rodent climbed out from under his shirt, making it's way to War's pillow and sniffing her for a moment, before it curled up into a ball, pressed into the crook of her neck. As it made itself comfortable, Pestilence snorted softly in amusement, his voice low, "Looks like you love her too, huh?"

The rat looked up at him and squeaked, and he rolled his eye lights, "Yeah yeah, of course you do. Do you really wanna sleep right there though?" He paused, letting go of War's hand to delicately tap the rat's side, just above it's slightly swollen belly before continuing, "Ya got babies in there, bud. You wouldn't wanna risk getting squished or anything, would ya?" The rat's tail curled tighter around itself and it squeaked again, as if in confirmation.

He let out a deep sigh, moving his hand a bit and gently petting it's head, "If you say so, fuzzball. I'll try not to let you get squished, but I can't promise anything."

Seated at his desk, Retribution silently filled out a page in his journal, paying no mind to the cloaked figure that stood behind him. As the figure drew closer and he felt the air around him grow colder, Ret sighed deeply, setting his own down, "Entering without announcing our presence, are we? How rude. I would've thought the god of death would have better manners."

The figure in question snorted in mock amusement, "Yeah, I know. You don't think the stunt you pulled earlier wasn't rude either though? Not even a little bit?" Retribution spun to face the other rider, "No? She needed my help. I couldn't afford to waste time tracking you down, Death. If I waited, she could've very well gone back to the walking sludge again."

Death shrugged, tilting his head, "That may be so, but it's not an excuse. You wouldn't have to come find me. Just use your phone to text me, and I'll be here in a flash." The former prince scoffed, "Assuming you're not busy trying to get into your partner's pants again."

The god of death narrowed his sockets in mild annoyance, "Hey, if you were around since the dawn of existence and were unable to touch anyone, you'd know my struggle, ok? Don't bring my sex life into this, virgin." Retribution's entire face flushed a bright shade of cyan and he flinched, staring at the other with wide eyes. Seeming pleased with his reaction, Death laughed softly, shaking his head, "Anyway, that number you pulled with Connie and Pest's help. How'd you pull it off? It seemed like something you've done before."

Retribution crossed his arms over his chest, visibly irritated, "What would you do if I said I had no idea what I was doing? Ground me? Maybe exile me again, even?" Death rolled his single visible eye light, completely unphased, "Oh, don't be ridiculous. I most definitely am not ok with that, but it's not worth exhiling you. Just know that I don't approve of you doing things like that. Not when they could have a direct impact on someone else's soul."

The former prince grumbled something to himself, turning his back to Death as he returned to the unfinished entry in his journal. Death arched a brow bone and sighed, reaching out to grip the back of the chair and tug the other back away from his desk. Retribution blinked, his confusion quickly transforming into anger, "Hey, what the hell are you-?" He found his chair being spun around, it's backing shoved against the edge of his desk. Feeling his spine start to ache as it was also pressed to the edge of the desk, he scowled as Death leaned down, only mere inches separating them as he mumbled lowly, "If you don't know what you're doing, you best not do anything like that again. If you decide to ignore me like you've done before, I'll end you. You only continued to exist because I allowed it. Don't you forget that, Nightmare."

Retribution froze upon hearing his old name, his sockets widening the smallest bit. Fear very briefly flickered across his face and Death stepped back away from him, feeling satisfied, "Until you can prove that you're capable of acting responsibly and listening, controlling yourself, and keeping your emotions in check, you're on guardian angel duty. I'll allow you to keep your Morningstar, but the first time you step out of line, it's mine, and that's not up for debate."

The smaller of the two immediately despised the way his body had begun to tremble, and he swallowed his pride, his voice soft, "...Why are you punishing me? I did a good thing. I helped War. Saved her life, potentially. Is that suddenly a crime?" Death tilted his head, watching the other closely, "No. I never said it was a crime, Ret. You're receiving punishment because you did something that held way too much of a potential risk. What if it had backfired? What if it killed her? You had no idea what you were doing, and therefore, you could've been risking her life. I don't want that to happen again. Not to her, not to anyone else in this group."

He materialized a small black book, offering it to Retribution, "Take this. Like I said, you're on guardian angel duty, and these are your assignments. Take each of them seriously, please." Hesitantly accepting the book, Retribution nodded slowly, his voice soft, "Fine, whatever..." The god of death sighed again, gently placing a hand atop Ret's head and softly patting it, "Although I don't appreciate you doing what you did earlier, it did save War. You have my thanks for that. Seriously." Retribution scoffed, "Oh, please. Like you actually give a damn." Death hummed, "I do, actually. Believe it or not. I'm only being a hard ass because it seems like you won't listen to me when I try the gentler approaches. If you can agree to start cooperating with me and being less stubborn, I'll stop being so hard on you. Does that sound doable enough?"

The shorter skeleton shrugged, looking away from Death, "...Seeing as I don't really have a choice, sure. I guess it's doable enough."

The eldest of the riders hummed softly, pulling his hand away from Ret's head, "Good. Now... I believe you have somewhere to be." Retribution, though clearly annoyed, stood and made a beeline toward the rack where his cloak was hanging. Death cleared his throat, earning the other's attention and smiling slightly in amusement, "Your date, Ret. Your date with Famine. He's in the kitchen finishing up a few things right now, trying to make it perfect for you." Retribution seemed frozen for a moment, his cyan blush gradually returning as he huffed, "...I knew that."

Death laughed softly, waving him off, "Go on, dork. You can start worrying about your work later when you're done with the date and have had a little time to cool down." Retribution, feeling his soul pounding faster within his chest, said not a single word more, simply heading for his door, tugging it open, and vanishing through the doorway into the hall. Death chuckled again, shaking his head and sighing, an amused, affectionate grin on his face. This group he'd assembled seemed to function just like a bunch of kids, and it looked as though he'd be the one that'd have to keep an eye on them.

[fizzingwizard]

Episode 6 was AWESOME. Finally it really and truly felt like Digimon Adventure!!

This episode plus the last one makes me eat my words of despair over the blandness of episode 4. I’m counting that one as just a miss. I’m hoping that it doesn’t bode for the tone they’ll take with all Sora episodes though. Sora’s easy to overlook because she’s already kind, brave, and responsible - the main things the other kids need to work on. Still she never bored me in old Adventure. I only ever wanted more of her and that was my hope for 2020 Sora. Her intro episode wasn’t a great start, but guess what, she got to be pretty darn cool in this episode, and overall the tone of this ep was such an improvement on ep 4 that I’m back to thinking we will absolutely get a modern, cool girl Sora who rocks her spotlight episodes in the future. Pray with me friends.

By the way we finally got some decent animation in this episode. So I took gratuitous Taichi pics and I’ll post a couple to start us off bahahaha

Okay, so this was the much-awaited MIMI episode. Heck yeah. It’s called “The Targeted Kingdom.” Who is the queen of the kingdom, I’ll give you three guesses, eh what’s that Mimi? like WOW you got it on the first try!

More below!!

^ So I’m not quite sure what’s going on here. I think Sora is standing on Taichi’s back and Piyomon is helping lift her (them?) up into the trees so Sora can look around? They are trying to find the way to the ocean. This seems like the most awkward way possible to go about it but you do you kiddo...

See, Adventure Taichi would be making jokes while this is happening. 2020 Taichi is thinking about The Big Picture, at least as much of it as he knows of. He’s turning into such a pensive type. Yamato’s gonna have to work hard to keep his lead brooder status.

Also I was thinking... there’s a few times in this ep, and more in others, where I feel like the animators don’t show us enough... Idk what to call it, movement? The fall out of actions? Like why don’t we see them climb into the tree? Why are we zoomed into so close when they fall out? Later during the big fight scene, there’s stuff going on that could definitely be shown in a clearer, and also cooler to watch, way. My theory of course is it’s all budget issues but what a bummer.

The kids’ first intro to the bottomless pit that is a Digimon’s stomach. They have no food (seriously? in that pack of emergency supplies Sora brought by pure happenstance there is NO food??) so they go... steal some. But they don’t know they’re stealing.

Not that SHE cares.

Mimi: Bahaha... you’ve fallen into my trap! *cutest maniacal laugh ever*

^The trap

There is another trap that comes later in the ep and I’ll just say here. It’s some Jessie & James level shit. Way to go Meems!

ugh soooo cuuuute I want twenty

Introducing... Queen Mimi! Yes, Queen. They’ve upgraded her!

Honestly, I love how she’s introduced as royalty, but she’s dressed as a cowgirl. No one would ever ask Mimi to pick just one theme. Like her kimchi fried rice with whipped cream and strawberries, Mimi is not afraid to mix genres!

Like I said, the animation in this ep is a cut above what’s it been recently, which is a relief. And everyone’s appearance is so much like Adventure that I wonder why they changed anything xD But I’m just so grateful everyone kept their unique eyes. It was the one thing I missed in the animation of Tri, even though I wouldn’t have wanted high school kids to have baby eyes. But the eyes really highlighted each character’s individuality. Glad that’s still a thing even if not every animator pays attention to it.

Taichi & Sora: Were those your fruit trees? Uhh sorry? My Digimon was close to death and we were starving...

Mimi: You will starve again unless you learn the meaning of the law!

that’s a little les mis interlude for ya youre welcome

So Mimi arrived in the digital world, separated from the others, and immediately became Queen of the Tanemon. I SENSE A TREND.

Mimi doesn’t come across as ditzy and selfish as she did in early Adventure. I am not sure if that side of her’s been erased in favor of simply making her reluctant to fight because she’s soft-hearted, or if we’ll see her self-centeredness appear later on. I hope so. Right now the 2020 story is very focused on the plot and not on the children’s growth, which is a huge departure from Adventure, but I don’t think it will remain that way. I hope not at least. But I do think it’s possible that they’ll rewrite Mimi to be a bit less self-centered and/or airheady, and I’m not exactly against that. After all, post-Adventure Mimi showed her cool side more when she was willful or opinionated, and I’m on board with more of that in the 2020 show too. A better balance would definitely be a good thing in Mimi’s case.

She kind of made me think of Sailor Moon in this episode, lol

GASP! We are all Chosen Children! Mimi immediately says NOOO WAY i’m queen of the Tanemon!! But not because the Tanemon are catering to her every whim (they’re not, as far as I can tell! Though they did make her a throne!). Because she honestly feels a responsibility to look after them. Again, pretty different from old Adventure.

Pocket Koushirou returns and Taichi tries to absorb him into his brain!!

Taichi: *grunting* HNNNNGGGG!! Give me me your curiosity!!!

Koushirou: Are you Vademon!?!?!

Koushirou shows video footage from the human world that shows the effect the power outage is having. Though it’s not a complete blackout yet, some places like hospitals have already lost power and are in trouble. 

Mimi sees her grandfather, the president of Tachikawa Industries, on the TV helping people in trouble. VERY DIFFERENT. VERY COOL. I approve

Koushirou also points out that there is INDEED a time lapse between the human and digital worlds. I’m not exactly sure how different the time lapse is from old Adventure. At first, I thought it was much smaller, but thinking about it... given how slow the video from the human world was moving, it might be sizable. But I don’t think it’s as big as old Adventure. At any rate, Taichi and Sora figure out this means Mimi was on her own with Palmon and the Tanemon village for longer than they realized.

Also makes me wonder just how much time Yamato’s spent in the digital world...

Mimi feels torn between wanting to help her grandfather and needed to protect the Tanemon village! Naturally Taichi suggests they work together!

And a Tanemon rudely kicks him in the face!! Just kidding. But it was too cute not to cap

Mimi brings the waterworks like three or four times this episode.

Mimi: Alright! You work for me now!

Taichi: ...??? Okay I guess????

Yes, Princess or Queen, Mimi is still Mimi <3

So they join up and uhh... get ready for war I guess??

I MEAN HOW CUTE IS THAT

So this is the second Team Rocket trap, a giant hole in the ground. How did they dig it? How did the build that raft two eps ago?? Inquiring minds want to know

Greymon is surprisingly limber for a chubby dinosaur.

Taichi does what he does best in battle scenes: stand in immediate danger and look up a dinosaur’s bum.

OGREMON MAKES HIS BIG APPEARANCE IN A MIMI EP. I totally called it last week. Okay, technically he already appeared in episode 5... but we barely saw him okay! He uses Soundbirdmon (who may indeed not be sentient?) to mind-control other Digimon to find and apparently kill?? the children. Ogremon honestly sounds kind of mind-controlled himself but not sure. If he is, it’s a different kind of control. He may just talk like that because he’s an ogre and not very articulate...

I guess I capped this because CUTE CUTE CUTE

So speaking of rushing into immediate danger... Not only is Sora right in the middle of the right, she’s HANGING OFF BIRDRAMON’S LEG. This show is SO not promoting child safety hahahhahaha

Cute Taichi. Cuter still - Taichi and Sora tag teaming it. PLEEEEEASE give me more of this!! I want nothing more than for Sora to join Taichi and Yamato as a heavy-hitter. I always headcanoned her that way growing up. Let Sora kick ass 2020!!

^Palmon’s method of rescuing Mimi... effective, yet questionable

Capped because Cute.

Sora and Birdramon take down the blue bird digimon (sorry... forgot its name... will likely forget the name of every other Digimon not from old Adventure as well. i am a senior citizen). Taichi cheers for them and says “You nabbed the best bit from me!” SO CUTE. Come on, they are the best team!!

Meanwhile, Palmon: *screams bloody murder*

Mimi: Palmon! Noooo!

Episode 6: Palmon friggin DIES

I mean she is like glitching in and out. So it totally FIGURES it would be a Mimi ep that tells us “yeah kids we’re not Pokemon!” I mean. Keep watching...

Mimi recalls being all alone in a strange world when she meets Palmon. Btw they totally revamped the Pyokomon Village for this Tanemon village, I dig.

EVOLUUUUUTION!!

Boxing!!! Cactus!!! Eat this Precure!!!!

While Togemon takes out Drimogemon, Greymon rushes in to protect the kids from Ogremon...

... AND FREAKING SAWS HIS HORN OFF.

Like I said. THIS AIN’T POKEMON, KIDS.

Isn’t this actually darker than old Adventure? I mean I guess at least no one dies (I think? uhh...) and I suppose that’s less dark... but sawing off body parts... Idk man... I’m down with it, I just don’t know that it’s any nicer than old Adventure... hahahaha

POW! Err, Drimogemon’s drill ain’t looking too good either...

More waterworks as Mimi tells Palmon she loves her, and Palmon says it right back. Foreshadowing for Mimi/Koushirou tiffs in the future!? It was lit last ep that Koushirou tried to say he loves his partner and choked on it. Something tells me these two are gonna butt heads again ;)

Ugggggghhhh so cute I can’t staaaaaaand ittttt

Mimi decides to go with Taichi and Sora and leave the Tanemon village, Idk, I guess they’ll be safe now???  at least they won’t be targeted for having a human child among them.

Also I like her leaf bag. The Tanemon totally made it for her.

We end with Ogremon gripping his broken horn and fricking sobbing. This... does not bode well.

I want to hug him

so cast your votes, who gets the first hurt/comfort scene with Ogremon? Will it be gentle chastisement from Mimi while she patches him up with stuff from Sora’s pack? Or will it be Jou and the toilet paper you know he brought even if it makes no sense?!? hahahaha

I give this ep a 7/10 WELL DONE. That’s what a Digimon episode should be. Very close to VERY VERY GOOD.

I missed the trailer for next week so have more gratuitous Taichis instead.

[kagehinataboke]

idk if you're still taking prompts... (and is totally okay if you aren't!!! you must have a lot already...) but IF you have the time AND I F you want to do it, can i please (with a cherry on top) request tdbk 1+17?? like maybe something in wwii?? like maybe they're both jews ot something along the ´the boy in the striped pajamas´ storyline, with todo as bruno (or maybe baku as bruno...) or maybe they're japanese and in japan... (1/2)

… i mean, japan was a big part of the wwii too. anyway, whatever is fine! i’m just really invested in the idea huh. but if you can, obviously!!!! no pressure!!! your writing is perfect!!!! (2/2)

first of all: thank you ❤️ second of all: HELL YES. YES. anon, you don’t know this, but i’m obsessed with history and have been wanting to do a WWII au FOREVER ;-;

also i listener to this song while writing and it increases the sadness level by about 100000% if anyone is interested

tdbk, [1] Historical AU and [17] War AU

***

“Are you still having the nightmares?”

“I’ve been doing the breathing exercises before bed.” Bakugou avoids the question, as he always does when Aizawa asks. “I think things are a bit better.”

That’s a lie. He still has the nightmares, and things are the opposite of better. But how is Bakugou supposed to tell his doctor that, after a year away from the war, he still has the same nightmare day after day? That it never gets any better no matter what he does? He can’t, and he doesn’t.

Every night, he goes to sleep terrified of the images that live deep in his mind. The memories that only come out in dreams. The nameless boy he doesn’t know, yet somehow knows all too well. The screams of that boy, which echo in Bakugou’s head for hours after he wakes up. The heat of blood. The overwhelming smell of saltwater. The smoke-filled sky over the murky Pacific. Fragments of things he used to know.

The only thing he can think of that will get rid of this burden is finding the person stuck in his head. If only things were that simple. Bakugou has been checking the records of every soldier in navy battle, but he can’t connect a name to the face that flickers behind his closed eyelids. Why can’t he remember?

After waking up in the hospital thirteen months ago, he could only recall three things: his name, his age, and that he was a soldier for the Japanese navy. Nothing else. Now, he’s regained most of his childhood memories, but his time spent fighting in the war remains hazy. He’s blocked it out due to severe trauma, the doctors say, but Bakugou wants nothing more than to remember.

“Make sure you come back in a month,” Aizawa tells him, as always, when he dismisses him. “And don’t go poking around the recruitment office anymore. They’ll think you’re well enough to be re-drafted.”

Bakugou just nods, pulls his hat low over his eyes, and steps out into the rainy afternoon smog. He’s got dark circles from lack of sleep, and he seriously doubts the army would want him back given his severe memory issues. It’s not like he chose to have his ship blown up or to get amnesia. Whatever. He doesn’t need to go back to the recruitment office, anyway: they won’t tell him anything. If he’s going to find this mystery boy, he’s going to have to do it alone.

He’s starting to recover bits and pieces, at least. The dreams, although horrifying, are becoming clearer. He can remember sights, sounds, sensations. The smell of the ocean. The feeling of a hand on his wrist, and the sun on his face. The smile of the boy with no name—the boy Bakugou’s heart aches for. He knows him, if only he could remember how.

That’s why he can’t tell Aizawa about the nightmares. He’ll try to get rid of them, and then Bakugou will have nothing left to remember. The more he dreams, the closer he gets. That boy holds the key to what Bakugou knew in the past. He’s going to remember everything, even if it fucking kills him.

His friends, however, think he’s lost it.

“You come back alive with nothing more than some scrapes and amnesia, yet your head is still living in the war? I don’t get you,” intones Kirishima, one of Bakugou’s old high-school classmates. He stayed back in Japan to design planes—helping the war effort in a different, arguably smarter way. It certainly didn’t make him any less annoying, though.

“You don’t get it,” Bakugou replies irritably, digging through the papers piled in front of them. “I’m not living in the war. You’d be frustrated, too, if you had things you knew you remembered but could never fucking remember them.” He nudges Kirishima roughly. “Keep looking. I know I’ll find him eventually.”

“How can you expect to dig through thousands of records with nothing more than a face to go off?” Kirishima whines, opening a new box to dump out piles of photos. “I obviously won’t know if it’s him, so how can I even be of help?”

“Use this.” Bakugou pulls a sketch from his jacket pocket and presses it to the table. It‘s the only thing that survived his trip to the ocean. He can’t remember drawing it, but it’s definitely his handiwork: A profile of the mystery boy, leaning against a ship’s railing. There’s half a smile on his face, and his eyes are peaceful. Serene. So out of place in a war zone.

“When did you draw this?” Kirishima squints at the paper. “Wow… it’s really good. You got better while you were stuck on that ship, huh?”

“Shut up and look, Shitty Hair.”

Bakugou spreads the pictures apart, but no face jumps out at him. Why is it so hard to remember someone he clearly knew so well? He’s so frustrated that he wants to rip his hair out. Where is this damn guy, and why does Bakugou need to get back to him so badly?

***

“Shouto, it’s past noon. You need to get up.”

Todoroki doesn’t stir. He keeps looking out at the sea, ignoring Fuyumi’s impatient presence at his back. The scent of saltwater is always strongest in the early morning. The harbor is already full of fishermen’s ships, heading out for a day of hard work.

Unfortunately, like the ocean, Fuyumi is immovable. “You need to get out of the house today. It’s been three weeks since you came back, and you’re starting to reek of despair.”

“Despair doesn’t have a smell,” Todoroki sighs, finally rolling over to look at her.

She folds her arms over her chest. “False: it’s what little brothers smell like after locking themselves in their room for a month. Get up. Bathe. Go to the market for me.”

Todoroki knows she won’t give up, so he pushes himself up, accepting the crutches she passes to him. She already has a tub ready, and as much as he hates to admit it, the hot water feels soothing on his aching limbs. They’re stiff after being in the same position for so long. Most of them, anyway. Todoroki has to marvel at the way the feeling in his left leg just ends at the knee. He’ll have to get used to it eventually, he supposes.

When he’s changed, Fuyumi gives him some money and kicks him out into the dismal afternoon drizzle. After the end of the war, Japan is healing slowly from its wounded pride and broken cities. Todoroki was lucky to return to his family home in Matsue, untouched by the carnage. If only his body and mind shared the same fortune.

The market is scarce with rationing still in place, but Todoroki manages to find most of Fuyumi’s list before he runs into a long line at the fish market. He settles in for the wait and picks up snippets of a conversation ahead.

“He’s raiding records and stirring up trouble with the army left and right, so much so that he’s infamous, even way out here.”

“What? All that to find one person? Kyoto men are their own brand of crazy.”

Todoroki reaches the front of the line, collects a parcel of fish, and heads home. His mind replays the strangers’ words. Kyoto is one of the only big cities unscathed after the war. Once upon a time, Bakugou had said he was from there.

Bakugou… Todoroki has been trying not to think of him. His name only brings pain. When they were separated at sea and Bakugou’s ship went down, Todoroki had minutes to panic before his own ship suffered the same fate. A slaughter, they called it. So many men lost to the sea that it was impossible to keep track of them all. Many are still lost, and even the ones that returned haven’t truly been found. They all left parts of themselves out in those bloody waters, Todoroki included.

He searched the records of their platoon and could find nothing of Bakugou Katsuki. It was almost as if he never existed. Todoroki would believe it, if not for the memories. They come on nights when the sea is calm and the sky is clear. Only good memories, which are somehow all the more painful.

Bakugou used to draw him. He was trying to be an artist before the draft, he said. He would only let Todoroki see some of his work, and never what he drew of him. He did draw him, even though he never admitted it. In every spare moment, Bakugou’s head was buried in a notebook, gaze trailing Todoroki across the deck, hand moving as if it had its own eyes.

“Shouto?” Fuyumi opens the door, which Todoroki has been standing in front of for a while. “What are you doing?”

Todoroki looks up at her, feeling clear-headed for the first time since returning home. “I want to visit Kyoto.”

***

Bakugou fiddles with a charcoal pencil. He still has to stop himself from using it. His fingers itch to sketch out the shape of familiar cheekbones. Of eyes that used to watch him. That still watch him in his nightmares. He’s afraid of what his hands will unleash if he gives them access to paper.

“Still can’t draw?” Kirishima sits beside him, an engineering journal in hand.

“No.” Bakugou sets down his pencil with a sigh. “Everything just feels so damn bland. There’s nothing beautiful here.” He’s not here, his mind corrects. He was here and now he’s not. He’s missing from me.

“You’re in a spiral,” Kirishima says. He doesn’t mean it maliciously, but it still pisses Bakugou off, even before he adds, “If you waste your life chasing after ghosts, you’ll always be living amid war.”

“What the fuck do you know?” Bakugou snaps, hugging his knees to his chest. He considers jumping off the train railing they’re perching against, but he isn’t suicidal. Yet.

“You’re stuck. That’s all I’m trying to say. This mystery person you can’t forget is like a rope. He’s keeping you tethered in a past you can’t even remember.”

“But he’s the key to remembering!” Bakugou snaps. “I know he is! If I can find him, I… I know everything will come back to me.” Bakugou’s hands clench into fists. “I’m not living in the past. I’m chasing it, but it’s moving too damn fast for me to keep up.”

Kirishima doesn’t say anything to that. How can he? Bakugou is sure he’s being clear about how desperate he is. One more dream and he’ll remember his name. Just one second longer and it will come to him. He can’t stop searching, or he’ll lose this part of himself. The part his heart won’t let go even when his mind has forgotten.

“I’m going back home.” Bakugou gets up, pausing before sticking the pencil in his coat pocket. “I’ll see you later.”

He doesn’t wait for a response. Instead, he pulls a sketch from his back pocket. Its edges are worn from constant unfolding, but the subject is as clear as when his unclouded eyes gazed upon it. There are thousands of other images like it living in Bakugou’s head, and he wonders now if it might be better to draw them. To set them free will be to experience them in the light of day. The light may be exactly what he needs most.

His hands agree all too quickly. Bakugou can’t rip new sheets of paper off fast enough before they’re filled with him. His eyes, his smile, his hands, his face, his everything. The pages spill across the floor, just like water spilled over the decks of that sinking ship so long ago. How his memories flowed out of his head and into the sea.

The sea… He lived by the sea, didn’t he?

Bakugou can recall his voice in whispers softer than crashing waves. My home is called Matsue. There’s nothing very exciting about it, but… the ocean is so close. When I wake up, I can hear it and smell it. The scent of saltwater is always strongest in the early morning.

Bakugou pauses mid-sketch. A stoic face looking out to sea watches him.

Matsue… isn’t very far away. If he’s alive, he’ll be there. He must be there. And even if he isn’t there, Matsue still might hold the key to who he is. And, just maybe, who Bakugou is.

***

“Are you sure you can handle taking the train by yourself?”

“I’m not a child, Fuyumi. I’ll be fine.” Todoroki lets her adjust the bag across his shoulders before nudging her away. “I’ll be back soon, and I’ll call when I arrive.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll see you later.” She hugs him goodbye, and Todoroki finally boards the train to Kyoto.

The ride only takes two days, and in that time, Todoroki has things to keep him occupied. He’s supposed to be studying his medical books to get back into school, but instead, he gets distracted by the paper tucked in his coat pocket. It’s a sketch of the ocean that Bakugou gave him for birthday. Fuyumi must’ve put it there. When he first arrived back home, he wouldn’t let go of it for a week.

Todoroki wonders what Kyoto is like. Bakugou spoke little about his home and himself. He always wanted to hear about Todoroki, instead. Perhaps Kyoto will reveal a new part of Bakugou. Or, with any luck, all of him.

The city is, however, not as Todoroki expected. It’s dark and rainy, but in a different way than Matsue. Kyoto rain is overwhelming and hard and doesn’t smell of the sea. Rather than wet sand and gravel underfoot, the city streets are muddy and antagonistic.

Todoroki wanders aimlessly through the center of the town, which is ablaze with activity. There are people as far as the eye can see, but none of them are the one Todoroki searches for. He should’ve come here with more than memories and a name, but it’s too late to go home now. If there’s one lesson the war taught him, it’s to always keep looking ahead. Literally, in this case.

“Watch where you’re going!” A stranger pulls Todoroki out of the way of an approaching car, which splashes then both with mud.

“Thank you,” Todoroki mutters after collecting himself. “I… I got lost in thought.”

“You seem lost in general.” The stranger pauses, doing a double-take for reasons Todoroki doesn’t understand. “Whoa, wait a second— Hey, weird random question, but you weren’t… in the navy, were you?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Oh. Oh man. I can’t explain, but you really need to come with me.” The stranger takes him by the arm. “I’ll tell you on the way. Actually, before that—do you know someone by the name of Bakugou?”

“What?” Todoroki’s heart skips a beat. He pulls the stranger to a stop. “Bakugou? Bakugou Katsuki? He’s still alive? Do you know him? Is he here? Can I see him?”

“Slow down. That’s too many questions. He’s here and alive, I’m his best friend, Kirishima, and I’ll take you to his place right now.”

“He’s… he’s really alive?” Todoroki presses a hand to his chest, feeling his pulse hammer against his fingertips. “You’re not kidding?”

“I’m serious. And from the looks of it, you’ve been searching for him as hard as he’s been searching for you.”

“He’s been searching for me?” Todoroki follows Kirishima down the street, feeling his heart slam into his chest. It’s been so long since he let himself hope… To think that Bakugou has been alive, and looking for him, this whole time is unreal.

“He’s been obsessed with finding you since he got back.” Kirishima glances at Todoroki nervously. “You probably don’t know this, but… he has severe amnesia. He regained most of his memories, but he says the time he spent in the war is hazy. Your face was the one thing he couldn’t forget.”

Todoroki wipes away a few sudden tears before Kirishima sees them. “Thank you. Thank you for telling me.”

“I just can’t believe I ran into you. He’ll lose his mind.” Kirishima stops outside a small housing unit and knocks on the door. His excitement noticeably dissipates the longer the knock goes unanswered. “Er… let me get the spare key.”

Todoroki takes a moment to cool down. He shouldn’t get his hopes up, even now. He needs to be prepared for the worst. But when the front door opens, his heart blossoms with nothing but hope. Drawings flood the room, lying across the floor in crests as big as ocean waves.

Him. It’s all him. Todoroki stares at himself on every page, staring out to sea, tying ropes, playing cards, smiling.

“He’s not here,” Kirishima says, bending down to pick up one of the drawings. “I don’t know what happened, but… I guess this probably confirms everything I said.”

“Where did he go?” Todoroki has to stop himself from grabbing Kirishima’s shoulders. Irrational panic is clawing its way to the surface. Todoroki has to reassure himself that he isn’t losing Bakugou again when he hasn’t even gotten him back yet. “Do you know why he isn’t here?”

“I’m not sure, but—“

“Oh, you’re here, Kirishima?” Someone new appears in the open doorway, shaking rain from his blond hair. “Who’s this?”

“Kaminari!” Kirishima practically jumps on the startled newcomer. “Do you know where Bakugou went?”

“Huh? Yeah. He went to Matsue to chase after that guy that he…” Kaminari pauses to look at Todoroki, then at Kirishima, then back at Todoroki. “Oh. Well. Bakugou is in Matsue, but I guess… the person he’s looking for isn’t.”

***

Matsue is completely different than Kyoto. Rather than being simply untouched by the war, it’s as if it never existed here. The people seem almost carefree; happy, even. Bakugou wanders the streets in wonder at the change. The war has touched here—it’s easy to tell—but things are already on the mend.

Bakugou finds himself in a crowded market, where rationed goods are being bartered for and carried away. His eyes comb through the rain, searching for a familiar face. He doesn’t find it, but he does spot someone who sparks the faintest recognition. He’s seen a picture of her before.

“Excuse me.” He startles her by tapping her on the shoulder, so much so that she almost smacks him. “Sorry. You just look familiar.”

The girl is about to brush him off when she does a double-take. “You’re—“ She cuts herself off; shakes her head, as if in understanding. “You missed him,” she sighs slowly. “He left for Kyoto two days ago.”

Bakugou’s hands clench into fists. She knows. “He’s looking for me?”

“He thought you were dead.” She readjusts the basket on her arm. “He only just arrived home a few weeks ago. Nothing would console him when he couldn’t find any trace of you. He‘s... well, he wasn’t well enough to searxh for you.”

“He thinks I’m dead?” Bakugou swallows thickly. He could ask her for his name, or ask when he’ll be back, but his tongue can’t form the words. “I have to go,” he mutters instead, backing away. She doesn’t stop him, so he turns to run.

He sprints all the way to the train station, the street passing by in a blur of moving feet and mud. He’s so distracted that he runs head-first into someone on the platform. They collide, Bakugou grabbing an elbow at the last second to keep them both from falling. “Sorry. I’m in—“

The world fractures, and Bakugou is suddenly back in the war. Not the violent parts, but the calm ones. The days where he would sit and sketch the same person over and over, but would never let him see no matter how much he begged. The afternoons where they played cards and swapped stories from home. The nights where they snuck into empty places and got lost in each other.

Bakugou‘s fingers have suddenly settled against his cheeks, holding his face up into the dreary evening light. His skin is soft and his eyes are lost in memories, just as Bakugou’s must be.

His name… His name is…

Bakugou feels himself smile for the first time in months. “Todoroki.”

He doesn’t recognize his own voice. It’s never been so soft. So close to breaking. But then again, he’s never experienced this type of relief before. The final pieces of his memory settle back into place, and his heart becomes whole again. The war that’s been waging inside of him ever since he woke up has finally been won.

Todoroki hugs him, his arms solid and achingly real. He pulls back to look at him, tears trickling from the eyes that used to haunt Bakugou’s dreams. “I missed you,” he says, so softly it’s almost a whisper.

Bakugou kisses him to steal the sadness from his voice. Then he kisses him again. And again, until he thinks he might know he is. Who they both are.

The war is over. This time, for good.

[the-romantic-lady]

Hiiiii, if you get some free time today I was wondering if you could tell me about Richard III and why he’s kind of a stand out among Kings? I don’t really know anything about him and yeah I could google it but idk I just like when other people talk about this stuff sometimes, it just sounds better coming from a person 😂

Hi! I can for sure! Get your snack ready because I get a feeling this is going to be long. One of the main things associated with him (thanks to the bloody Shakespeare) is the murder of his nephews and his attempts to marry his niece. Besides, these things being totally unfounded this is what stuck with his reputation. 

One thing to note before I start his story is that he suffered from scoliosis(Eugenie had it too!) which is a curve in the spine and it is really painful. Like a back pain x 100. But when he was young he fought alongside his brother Edward IV(during the Wars of the Roses) to keep Edward the king. This is his teens basically. We don’t know much about his childhood other than the fact that he lived with the Earl of Warwick, where he met his future wife. I mean first of all how he fought with armor on a horse despite his condition is kingly strength on its own but he also lead them to victory a couple of times. Later, Edward IV got exiled after the old king back to the throne. Richard went with his brother in exile. Whilst their brother George conspired against his brother. He was a loyal brother right from the beginning. After Edward was able to reclaim his throne and all seemed good. Richard was made the “Lord of the North”. Basically he would govern the north. Lazy as shit Edward didn’t want to do nothing, that’s why. 

He did an amazing job and people loved him. Then Edward died. That is when things went downhill. Edward’s power hungry widow, Elizabeth Woodville started messing with the way things were supposed to go. Edward had named Richard the “Lord Protector” who was in charge of managing things whilst Edward’s son Edward was waiting for his coronation. Also keep in mind that Richard was not told of his brother’s death until a few days later. He immediately set out for London and this is where things get a bit shady. He intercepted his nephew’s entourage and then executed his maternal uncle who was traveling with him. Then he took his nephew to London and basically settled him in the tower and took his other nephew Richard out of sanctuary with his mother and send him to the tower as well. 

The apparently, the Archbishop of Bath(I think?) told Richard that Edward had been married before and so his children were illegitimate. And so Richard got himself coronated and became king. 

And after studies into his reign, historians think he was actually one of the best kings in terms of policy. He made courts into English so normal folks could get justice, he made a court for people who could not afford legal battles so they could have their cases heard, he banned any restrictions on media and/or books and so much more. A King who focused on substance. He did not focus on the vanity of his court or really crap people said about him. His nephews had disappeared during that time and people thought he killed them. I totally disagree but that is a different post all together. A year into his reign, he lost both his son and later his wife. People said he killed his wife. At her state burial or whatever they used to call those, he stood there with a grim expression. Then after balled his eyes out for his wife. After that henry tudor came and claimed the throne. And they fought at the infamous Battle of Bosworth where Richard III was killed due to betrayal. Yes, he was betrayed by I can’t remember who. And last minute, supposedly, he had lost his horse. His men yelled for him to retreat or take one of their horses. But he didn’t. He just kept on fighting and eventually multiple men attacked him at the same time and a blow to his skull killed him at the age of 32. His body was then stripped and paraded on for people to throw things at. This enrages me so much. People who had lived under his role in the North did memorials for him because he had done so much good for them. 

All in all, he was such an honorable man/king. He did his duty as best as he could and despite all that was thrown at him he continued doing his best. And I swear things would have been better if it wasn’t for that piece of shit called Elizabeth Woodville. 

For me, he is one king who did his duty, cared about his family and people. An absolute King.

Feel free to ask if something didn’t make sense!

[kae-karo]

Hi Katie! I just want you to know that I want your analysis of this new sims video more than anything and I'll just patiently wait for it... Have a nice day!

hi dear!! new sims vid, did u mean dnp simulator?

dorks spending the first ten seconds dancing in fake snow 

why virtual friends???? ??

my daddies gave to me y’all,,,,,,there’s knowing your branding and then there’s acting on that knowledge and i think this may have been one time where acting on your knowledge maybe was not a good call like ily and u do u and all but

i love phil loving his branding it’s cute also shoutout to @dnpscloset​ thanks for finding it (x) bc i want one now if anyone needs a last minute xmas idea i’m lookin at u mom u always wait til the last minute

same dan, same

‘we all have new faces and new lives and everything’s changed, this is gonna be hella dramatic’ *inhale* *exhale*

‘when u imagine the howlter family’ god they’re such adorable n sentimental nerds i love them

phil’s actual default is bein a leany boye

dnp arguing about what ‘desperate’ actually is as if the entirety of their first year after meeting they weren’t talking as often as they could five hour skype calls amirite

get away from me stalker lmao bold of u to say that danny

phil sweetie i love you with my entire heart he’s so so excited abt the virtual snow i love him

tiny zoom in jumpcut at 2:08 overlapping audio interesting

a mood and a half

phil immediately going ‘yeahhhhh thin walls family hearing things they gotta get out’ abt dab and evan like m8 we get it all u think abt is sex we get it god u and ur husband really are made for each other aren’t u (dnp = devan reference #1)

‘i presume evan is also jobless’ ‘i hope so!’ phil is it really,,,,,,smth to be excited about,,,,,,,

dan’s doin a lot of the hand phone lately u cute boy

we should have a redbull what is wrong with them phil can barely handle having too much sugar y’all thought it was a good idea to have a redbull also we should have a redbull they share literally everything which tbh is probs for the best lbr phil on a whole can of redbull hmmmmm yes ik it’s v possible and in fact probable that phil had his own can let me live

‘it’s a sensible lightweight jacket’ in the fucking snow wow dan u really did just set urself up for phil to drag u about not dressing for the weather

dan’s fucking laugh at 4:39 gives me life literally there is no purer and more adorable sound like that’s up there with kittens purring

‘i think he’s gonna be a bit of a diva in this relationship’ did you mean: dan howell (dnp = devan reference #2)

[slight bit of ankle is showing] dan: ‘and now you’re wearing shorts’

where’s the lie tho honestly that lil pause before he said mate

this clip will live in infamy bc i want this in every fucking phan edit for the rest of time like i can’t even think of the right out-of-context clip right now but anything that can be answered with phil saying ‘it’s dan’ i need it

mandatory phil covering his mouth and bein a cutie

yes destroy gender roles in the snow universe (although seriously dan’s ‘life is just about uncon-doing the horrible conditioning of all these gender stereotypes, phil’ is so important also i stan phil recognizing that before dan i think it’s really easy to forget that just bc up til recently he’s not been as expressive as dan of his opinions on how stupid gender roles are doesn’t mean he doesn’t have just as if not more progressive a mindset than dan)

‘it’s like a dan vs phil’ dnp = devan #3

dan has such a lovely singing voice i miss him singing

dude phil’s eyebrows are making a Solid appearance v expressive

i s2g this is a different moment from the one above he’s just so fricken cute???

‘but they’ve got each other’s backs, phil, just like dab and evan’ yeeeeaaaa i’m gonna go ahead and go with dnp = devan reference #4 here i think that’s fair

snow angels are the least fun thing to do and yet (x - it literally won’t let me put it in bc it’s a privated vid rip)

amazing they just started having a snowball fight how cute n domestic am i talking abt dnp or dab and evan hmmmm - dnp = devan #5

i get that infinity war was a meme but lads it’s time to let it go

‘and they’re called the howlters’ lmao as if u ain’t an honorary lester daniel (dnp = devan #6)

i’m living for phil’s excitement i mean if that’s what redbull does to him i’m here for it i guess?

hi they’re dumb this was cute

‘we don’t want to be those people, but for us personally, we very much found that you just need to just move into a big city of some kind and just jump into life with both feet’ this is not only adorable advice but also where dnp simulator comes into play aka we did this so uhh dab n evan should do it (dnp = devan #7) also dan speaking for them both singular pronouns are quaking

‘don’t trust that’ what on earth are u on abt phil what don’t u trust the fuckin desert or?????

scalyburg phil stop pls we know we get it dan’s a furry ur a scaly we got it

why does dan spend an entire 7 seconds (8:40) adjusting is he moving closer to phil? switching which leg he’s sat on? idk but it lead to me pausing at this moment which was a gift in and of itself

‘the deposit on that one, plus the weekly went would make us instantly broke, so that’s fun, us when we moved to london’ bih do u hear me crying

does dan remember phil’s first manchester apartment what kind of question is that phil have u met dan he probably remembers every bloody inch of that place i mean he did remember that there wasn’t a bedside table so

stop that

middle of the city, romance festival, geekcon, pretty views and cherry blossom trees sounds like dnp’s ideal location do u get why i’m calling it dnp simulator yet also dnp = devan #8

we don’t want to move next to the karaoke legends wow dan bold of u to say after belting helena at 2am real bold

phil having flashbacks to the apt they toured where they found out people died there

hi phil just looks so excited by everything

look i’m not saying anything except they’re managing to find a lot of similarities b.w their lives and what they’re doing for dab and evan okay like this apartment is great for people-watching? which is what phil did in his manchester apt?

context whomst? idk her

shoutout to the wardrobe

big bold life-changing steps

anon spitting truth up in this house (but like,,,,,my thoughts exactly lmao i was like they’re such introverts they would’ve avoided meeting their neighbors at any cost including apparently smacking into a locked door trying to avoid small talk phil we love u bab)

casually mentioning dan saying ‘we are dil-’ was he gonna say dil’s son, maybe but i like to remember the bloops of dan repeatedly calling dab dil so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

omg okay so from like. this point on, when dan’s like ‘here is my vision’, i’m absolutely getting queer eye vibes like amateur queer eye tho like two gay nerds trying to embody queer eye in their lives a bit oh wait

okay okay okay dan u said an ensuite bathroom and then failed to add a door to the bedroom do u understand how frustrating that is???????? do u understand how stressful it was for me to watch that whole damn vid and know that u forgot the door????

a space for hobbies what hobbies who has hobbies

they learned nothing from building their house before: phil should take the mouse away from dan immediately look at him he is such a sugar baby in this jfc

god dan is so cute get these idiots a penthouse apartment super high up so he can have his bath next to a window okay he deserves that in life

stop it they’re literally agreeing on almost every single thing god they literally share a single brain

amazing

leany boye

‘they are young adults moving into their first apartment, you don’t have art!’ okay first of all don’t even go there daniel second of all i’m sorry you’re the one arguing for spending literally all their money but u don’t want to get some art bc it’s unrealistic????

dan saying lovely

phil’s mr carpet

navy??? navy? when did they? why? 

i would get involved in a criminal plot to have that / i’m gonna throw you out of one

wow pro tips makin a comeback

phil is Losing Steam

oh my god okay so i was joking but literally phil is losing steam lmao 18:35 he says ‘ayy’ and it’s so tired-sounding

leany leany boyes

okay look ik dan’s going into ‘aww poor philly’ mode but also he knew that very quickly like honestly that’s not a Thing i would ever notice about someone tbh i’m not saying it’s like Significant but damn danny was really into phil to know that shiz man

the high-fashion gigantic rug of our dreams

okay look i can’t make this up phil literally leans away for a bit and then

hello daniel’s Curl

i stan phil getting excited over plants

dab and evan will be having a mario kart fest will they (dnp = devan #9)

mirroringggggggg

dude big mood god they’re so fond and full of memories 

honestly dnp made it that way like u cannot convince me they didn’t purposely decide to do that mmkay

‘see they are ready to have their romantic dinners. and then they can pretend they have another friend and it’s fine!’ am i talking abt dnp or dab and evan who knows :) (dnp = devan #10) 

cold in the middle what on earth i literally have no memory of that i mean it could just be my shit memory but jfc they just remember that stuff goddamn

scrunchy boyes also phil where’s ur arm at hm

like i’m not fuckin joking where is it

you can’t exist without a computer i mean

what is important in life / the internet

they don’t even have fucking doors and dan’s like ‘uhm they need a terrarium’ dan i’m stressed

oh my god i’m sorry phil is so done with this now it’s actually comical

hi they didn’t add a door for the ensuite

give dnp an interior design series honestly give them any series

phil reached for dan’s hand u cannot convince me otherwise

‘not my personal taste’ really,,,,,really

when dab n evan hug dan looks at the screen n phil looks at the camera things u didn’t need to know but now u do

lmao jumpscared by the kiss

‘i feel like i’ve never nailed anything more in my entire life’ hmmmm hmmmmmmmmmm hm

the fuck was dan’s ‘getting a job’ that’s his fnaf voice u stop that

doon doon doon doon

tongue

hi uhm what the Fuck was that jumpcut at 28:30 i hate Obvious Jumpcuts with a burning passion specifically bc of dnp

[anti-tony-god]

(Sorry kinda long) Cass Cain!! I love her! She has her own series: Batgirl (2000)! The problem is Cass’s education was neglected, so she doesn’t know anything at first. Then she gets magicked and knows words, but can’t speak. Then she can speak, but in broken English. She can’t read either, even pretty far in. I am iffy on Bruce’s part because he sucks and reteaches her to fight, he’s her adopted father but uhh this is before that and while he does worry for her like all his protégés it feels a bit like white knight to me (mostly cause I hate Bruce and Cass should be able to kick his ass at any point in time). Barbara Gordon takes her in, too. Idk if that’s a turn off for you. Shes like 16 so she needs someone looking after her anyway.

I’m going to warn you the art is…… well someone definitely drew that. But it gets better further in. Onyx Adams is there and doing amazing!! Cute Cass/Steph moments!! The end is disappointing and the amount to black villains has me a bit concerned but it’s not 100% and there are black good guys so I’m not going to throw down the racist card.

#30-32 has Connor Hawke in it

Kinda bloody. Suicide, murder, the works. Cass can really kick butt and she’s super sweet but she lets Bruce get in her head when she should be letting Barbara in instead. I actually don’t mind that part, it’s kind of interesting to see even if it does make me mad.

The thing I do absolutely love about her is that she speaks in movement, which is poetic and beautiful. I just wish there was more of it. She had a rough growing up and finally got the family she deserves (except Bruce he sucks). I hate that they make reading body language a power or secret weapon of some sort that can be taken away. I’d have loved it if they kept that.

Batgirl (2008) starts off rough, the other batfam members start off acting like dicks, I know that the first intro of a character makes me judge them afterwards (why I hate black widow) so idk if you think that’ll ruin them for you. She still speaks brokenly but it’s revealed she took an esl class, so it’s better. This is definitely something you read if you want to see more Cass, you run into a bunch of characters but don’t get into her as a person enough except for that part she gets a bf. It’s Cass on a deeper level (talking about her trauma, seeing her sister). She is on a mission and it shows. 2000 is a lot lighter, not as serious.

2009? Cass upgrades to her ultimate form and says fuck Bruce Wayne and then leaves. Unfortunately, that’s the most you’ll get from her. Stephanie Brown (blonde white girl) then becomes batgirl. Which, now that I think about it, is kinda fucked up.

Don’t read any batgirls past that, it’s Barbie Gordon and she sucks (I will find you)

Here’s a rec list for her if you still want to see stuff on her, she probably speaks brokenly (really brokenly or somewhat brokenly depends on the time) or not at all in them. She didn’t have any speech problems in batgirl: convergence but Steph is batgirl in that, she’s black bat. In rebirth she’s known as ‘orphan’ which is worse than ‘signal’ so uhh I don’t know shit about that and never will. Also she respects Batman which is sad :( https://fyeahcassandracain.tumblr.com/recs

Don’t read One Year Later

Connor Hawke!! Oooo I hate Oliver Queen and you will see why but Connor? Connor is my baby!! But all black DC characters are because I’m black and I said so.

He originally had a temper (“angry black man” but also Uhhh Oliver Queen’s son) he was picked on as a kid since he’s mixed (¼ Korean, ¼ black, ½ white) he has the occasional white washing too. His mom would kick your ass if you started making fun of him.

Nothing else I can think of I don’t read him much, sorry

https://www.google.com/amp/s/lornahs.tumblr.com/post/95199039664/where-to-start-reading-connor-hawke-lets-first/amp

Ok I did Connor Hawke: Dragon’s Blood and don’t fucking read it he’s whitewashed in the first part then kissed his fucking half-brother’s mom noooooo

People like Connor and Kyle Rayner together plus it’s outside of the Arrow Fam so none of that shit will pop up probably (hopefully) they don’t have a run together but I did run into them a couple of times, they’re so cute!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/lornahs.tumblr.com/post/156635510974/kyle-raynerconnor-hawke-recommended-issues/amp

I’m kinda traumatized so no I will not sample any of those for you. Also he respects Oliver which is sad :(

Duke Thomas!! I did like the little glimpses of Duke I got before he moved from background to foreground, but I never read him much. 1. Because I hate Bruce (BATMAN & the signal) 2. Because his new name sucks if they just called him Lark like everyone was voting for I would maybe do it 3. Because it was new 52 and I couldn’t care less about Robin War

I am curious about Duke too tho, I will never read Robin War (nothing immoral about it I don’t think, I just don’t give a shit and it sounds boring also respect for Batman which is sad) but I did get into Batman & The Signal

Writer attempts to console the audience about having too many batfam members while showing us said batfam members, one (or two if you count nightwing) of which is whitewashed, another that is ablewashed, and the PoC and Jewish ones are put in the corner (but to be fair, they’re trying to center the more popular ones and THATS why I hate this fuckin fandom).

I’m going to choke this writer, speech bubbles and boxes are two different things I don’t care if he’s talking to both the audience & the people around him it’s confusing and I hate it how am I supposed to know when it’s in his head or not

“No good names left” I’m so mad there are so many birds that exist do you even know how disappointing it is to hear Duke is getting to be part of the batfam everyone’s so exciting making stuff up for him “oh Lark this Lark that” and then his name is fucking SIGNAL what’s he do make bird calls whenever the bad guy is outside??? “Oh uhhh there’s crime Duke hit the button for the batsignal” fucking SIGNAL

Him trying to figure out his powers is boring as hell I DON’T CARE literally “Jason Todd Death Joke” “Someone Gets His Name Wrong” “I’m A Mystery” “I’m The New Guy” this writing is so lazy ahhhh

Black “blue” dude with a big ass nose that’s the bad guy

I got bored again and skipped panels then found a disabled Asian woman, I am interested again… Wow I want a comic on her she’s more interesting than Duke lmao

I SCROLL DOWN TO SEE IF ITS REDEEMABLE AND SEE A WHITE WOMAN WITH DREADS BYE “but it’s ok ‘cause she’s part robot or whatever” I’m not reading anymore especially since Barbie is there probably preying on another young black guy to not be racist with

https://www.google.com/amp/s/lornahs.tumblr.com/post/155680034759/where-to-start-reading-duke-thomas-his-first/amp

Rec list, he’s mostly in batman sorry fam *F* also he respects Batman which is sad :(

If you decide to stay away from batfam please take me with you

If you decide to stay away from DC PLEASEEEEE take me

I should probably explain this since I keep throwing it onto you without explaining what it is Barbie Gordon: Barbara Gordon (second batgirl, most popular) was attacked by the joker and was paralyzed from the waist down. This was an extremely sexist comic that was complained about by all sorts of straight white able-bodied feminists even after DC turned that trash-fire into a glorious fireworks display

She was amazing as Oracle! She was a genius, badass, wheelchair-bound asskicker!! Even the justice league wanted her!! She was so reliable and strong mentally, physically, and emotionally! She was one of the only people to step up during No Man’s Land! She took in Cass and didn’t give up on her when she took Bruce’s stupid advice over her wisdom! And she lost her respect for Bruce which is great! She had more respect as Oracle than she could ever dream of as batgirl. She realized Bruce was bitch and became twice the man he could ever be. She didn’t let that moment define her, and she decided she wouldn’t let anyone hold her back anymore. She didn’t have Bruce’s “huh they look like they can beat someone down hard 🤔🤔🤔” view of worth, she saw people as they were and did what she could to help them improve. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

But with enough whiny bitches DC will do anything, and Barbara was given back her legs, her respect for Bruce, and her wisdom while also gaining a black boyfriend that had no business being there (MY Luke??? I appreciate the bowtie pics but FUCK YOU) that she would soon dump for her light-skinned ex, and a victim complex.

She lost both her dignity and everything great about her.

No one hates Barbie more than me. No one. If I find out that you even glimpsed at her I will hunt you down.

Also recently they made a new Oracle, since she mostly deals with computers it’s sort of a robot thing and it’s STILL FUCKING ABLE BODIED THE POINT FEW PAST THEM AT A THOUSAND MILES AN HOUR

THE MADDEST I’VE EVER BEEN

–

Thank you so much for all this! Idk what a lot of it means since ive literally never read a dc comic but ill keep it in mind when I start reading!!

[dachi-chan25]

GoT S8, Episode 1: The Pointy End Recap Part 2.

-Once they are alone Tyrion muses about her title and she about his while throwing some shade at d, Tyrion says the last time they saw each other was at Joffrey's wedding, Sansa gives a half ass sorry for leaving like that and Tyrion is still salty about it (like fuck off) Sansa is like we both survived so... Tyrion makes a remark about how everyone that underestimated Sansa is now dead and she looks proud (damn right that is my girl) which in this case sounds ominious af for D. Then Tyrion proceeds to show how far he is into the lizard cult, by trying to sell Sansa Stark of all people that bs of Cersei sending the armies, and Sansa in not so many words calls him and idiot (my girl is not holding back her punches and I am here for it) and Bran is just staring at them probably enjoying the drama as much as I.

-Jon is on the godswood in front of the heart tree (you know what? ?? If aegony was real at all she would be there with him, he would like to show her the place where he grew up. he would be like i am really sorry about my people not wanting you here but you'll see they'll warm up to you once they see what a good queen you are or something along those lines, maybe even a kiss in front of a heart tree, a sacred place where you can't lie) but no Jon looks worried and fucking miserable

-Arya sneaks up on him, they banter playfully and can you believe??? He straight up casually mentions he died (👀👀) they hug and it's very heartfelt and brotherly (honestly no stark reunion has been filmed like the Jonsa one, ofc one can argue they were the very first reunion, but duuude the music, the snow falling softly around them, how they get a close up on both Jon and Sansa's face, the nuzzle, and how bloody long is that hug, as well as the fact that neither of them has had a follow up like just drinking having a good time together) they talk about Needle and Longclaw (like if you don't get how different are the Jon - Arya interactions played against the jonsa ones then idk what to tell you) Jon says something that really bothered me at first but then I really thought about it and I came up with why:

1) He is an asshole so far up D's ass he forgets Sansa is the one who really gave him a reason to fight for the living again, and that she literally saved him in the BotB, and that she made him a fur and called him a Stark, or that she has been doing an excellent job preparing for the war against the AotD , but this can't be, I would believe it if this was a season 4 or 5 or even a season 1 and I knew nothing about who Jon is and what he wants, and after seven seasons I know Jon enough to say he would never think this.

2) He is hurt about Sansa still not trusting him to protect her and their home,and is salty cause she really thinks he didn't listen to her when he did. I mean doesn't it remind you of that argument they had about Sansa undermining him, he was desperate to know that Sansa trusted his desicions (super unfair to sansa still cause she doesn't know anything about Jon's plans) he says sansa believes she is smarter than everyone, when he knows she is not seeing he listened to her and is appeasing D so they have a chance against the NK. And i believe this one because it doesn't destroy Jon's character.

Now he says this to Arya and not in the Great Hall (that would have been super shitty of him and would go along with number 1 case) because he and Arya used to poke fun at Sansa's expense when they were kids and he thinks Arya would agree with him and trust him, but she is totally on Sansa's side and defends her (yasss this is what we deserved after last season's shit show) that Jon wasn't expecting it (dude he was joking he doesn't say it with hate or anything like that) much less was he expecting Arya to say Sansa is just trying to protect the family (as if he wasn't) and we see number 2 is real when in a very vulnerable voice he says 'i am her family too' , like he really wanted Sansa's support and trust in the Great Hall and he thinks she is so angry and trusts him so little that she doesn't even consider him family anymore (i'll be crying in the corner excuse me) even more so when Arya makes that remark of not forgetting about that (like seriously we have seen this boy for 7 seasons like how could he ever forget about his family???) And duuude I can't even begin to imagine how sad and alone Jon felt. They hug again and Jon closes his eyes (important detail)

-We cut the scene to Cersei looking like the evil queen she is, smiling while Euron's fleet arrives with the Golden Company when Qyburn informs her that the Wall is no more, and she looks so pleased (dude also in the Recap at the beginning of the episode the really drove home that d was fire and the nk was ice, and i mean GoT starts with Robert's Frost poem about how ice and fire are destructive forces of nature) .

-We get a glimpse of the Golden Company, and then we get a scene with Euron and Yara, Euron is being an annoying piece of shit.

-now we are in the throne room, Cersei welcomes the captain of the Golden Company (his name is Harry but I can't remember how to write his last name) but she is disappointed about not having elephants. Euron is disgusting again, Cersei is savage with him but he starts complaining and is so insistent that Cersei finally gives in and fucks him.

-Bronn is having sex with some prostitutes, the only intresting thing about this scene is the girls talking about the Loot Attack and the horrible deaths of the guys who fought there (apparently Ed Sheeran's character face got burnt off and if that is not an attempt to show D as a villian then idk what that is) Qyburn arrives and says Cersei is summoning him, she is willing to pay and give him a castle if he goes north and kills both Jaime and Tyrion (also I feel Sansa's kidnap plot is gonna happen).

-We get a post-sex scene of Cersei and Euron, and Euron is fishing for compliments but instead annoys Cersei.

-While Euron is trying to measure his dickin' abilities to Bobby B's and Jamie's my boy Theon rescues Yara, who decks him in the face for not fighting for her, but still they escape (I have so many doubts about this, like Theon went to Braavos and back or he just waited, and how did he know he was coming back to KL after he supposedly betrayed Cersei,and if he knew it was a ploy why didn't he warned D or Jon through a raven) Yara wants to take the Iron Islands (I don't believe she gives a fuck about D she just wanted to take back her home) but she knows Theon wants to fight for the Starks so she tells him to go, and it's a good scene.

-More refugees arrive at WF, and we get a sense of the camp and how big is this army, we get a glimpse of Alys Karstark (she is wearing something similar in cut and color to Sansa, and i do believe people are gonna think Sansa is dead at some point) then we get Davos,Varys and Tyrion talking while they watch Jon and D at a distance. Davos tells them the northerns are not gonna like D, Tyrion is worried, but then Dadvos proposes a marriage between Jon and D (duuude I said he was going for this since last season but he only says it until now, this ship is doomed) and this would be a pretty good idea if the people didn't hated her and feared her already but Davos is not a good politician cuz he wasn't raised for it, he is loyal and all you want but he doesn't know the north. Varys is like nothing lasts and I don't blame him cuz he has been unimpresed by D since Mereen, and now he gets to see Sansa's savvy politics and A+ administration while he probably thinks Jon is just another dumb asshole thinking with his dick.

-D and Jon are walking around, and who is brought up in this conversation?? SANSA fucking STARK! !! Even when no northern lord liked her D is just whining about Sansa not liking her (they really trying to sell this triangle when I know, I see I hear with everything Jon does that Jon has no romantic feelings for d at all) and Jon's deadass answer is "well she didn't liked me either when we were kids" (i call bs cuz whe sansa tried to apologize for this he said there was nothing to forgive so this is not serious) he was trying to joke to light the mood, direct the conversation to how alike he and d are instead of a "I'll talk to her don't worry bae" duuude D is really dumb, but she is annoying again implying that if Sansa doesn't respect her she'll do something about it, we don't get to know what but you can see when d is not looking at him that Jon is not happy about what she just said (but also I don't think jon gets that it was a threat cuz he hasn't seen d's uglier sides and I believe he think he has, and he thinks he can manipulate her not to do anything rash).

Some dothraki riders inform D that the Dragon's are barely eating :0:0:0 oh noes!!! If only someone hadn't burned food during the Loot Attack (idgaf about the lizards at all )

Jon and D go to check on the dragons, and D prompts Jon to ride Rhaegal (Jon while not as afraid as before is still weary of dragons) Jon doesn't seem to want to and says what will happen of Rhaegal doesn't want him to and d basically jokes about Jon dying which is not cute or flirty cuz Jon looks scared af. We get further proof D is flying by the seat of her pants and doesn't know shit about how to control her dragons yet she probably thinks Rhaegal likes Jon because they are meant for each other or some other self important bs.

And Jon is not thrilled dude he almost falls off (you ruined horses for me is bs) and we get Varys, Davos and Tyrion see him on the Dragon. Tyrion looks worried.

Jon somehow takes the lead and takes D to some waterfalls, and she is like we could stay here forevaaaaa and he is like we would be too old (the romantic interactions are still at 0 the chemistry is again flat, Jon's responses are awkward and not romantic) he practically tells her she doesn't belong in the north and she asks him to warm her, they kiss (bland passionless) Jon opens his eyes to stare at the dragons, d is like don't be silly darling, he kisses her again and then fucking turns her around so he can stare at her dragons while kissing her. Peak romance amirite ?? Lmaoooo Pol!Jon is real sorry not sorry he had to stare at the dragons while kissing her making the dragons and not the kiss the focus of the scene. I do believe this was just to appease her and keep her happy and commited to the cause after everyone treated her like she deserved.

Gendry is working at the forge, and Arya enters, the Hound is being a cunt, and tells Arya she is a cold bitch for letting him to die and Arya couldn't give less of a fuck. She and Gendry flirt hard like pls make this canon, and pls don't let d burn my boy.

K Imma need a part 3 cuz the Jonsa scene!!!!

[fae-fucker]

Zenith: Chapter 18-19

Chapter 18

We’re in Nor’s POV again, so prepare for edge. Though that can be said about literally every chapter in this book.

Nor is having a dream about how she’s being crushed by a small rock that feels like a bunch of very big rocks. And then she falls into an abyss (relatable), and into a big ol’ fire.

It’s very dramatic, and also? Symbolism.

Extremely symbolism. 

She wakes up.

She was so cold. Her body, coated in sweat, was attracting the frigid recycled air that clung to her like a second skin.

How does one “attract” air? I know what they’re trying to say but like, at some point you just gotta stop trying to twist more meaning and drama out of every meaningless detail. 

People say show don’t tell, but here, Shinsay follows up their telling with really dubious showing. Why do you do this? Just to pad the word count? More words doesn’t make you a better writer.

We’re introduced to Zahn, who is Nor’s bodyguard and also lover. They cuddle for a bit and Nor thinks about how nobody but Zahn is allowed to see her this vulnerable. 

“I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think, Zahn.” She lifted her prosthetic hand to her face to wipe away the tears, then dropped it, disgusted by the sight of the gold metal, of the scars marring her upper wrist. Disgusted with herself for feeling so weak.

Ah. We’re doing this now, are we?

It’s okay though, because Zahn takes her fake, disgusting hand and kisses her tears away! 

How sweet.

“You’re safe,” he said with a sigh. “I will always protect you, Nor.”

“I don’t need protecting,” she whispered.

I know this is supposed to be deep and not true, but she’s basically telling him, her bodyguard, that she only pays him to sleep with her. 

To many people, Nor was the stone-cold ruler who haunted the nightmares of her foes. But to Zahn, she was just Nor. The love of his life, as he was hers.

Cool cool. The narrative then continues to talk about how they were there for each other when the war took their families and how he’s the only one who’s seen her at her weakest and bla bla bla.

This chapter is literally just a massive infodump about this new rando. You couldn’t have woven his existence into the narrative in a more elegant way, Shinsay?

“Don’t leave me,” Nor said, looking up into his eyes. Seeing the passion mirrored there.

“I would never dream of it,” he said.

Their lips touched, and his hands slid down her bare back, gentle at first. Then hungry for more as she let him lay her back down.

“I love you,” Zahn said. “My Nhatyla.”

The lingering fear from her nightmare trickled away as a very different sort of feeling took its place.

“A very different sort of feeling,” Shinsay?

Are you two grown women or twelve actual years old, combined? Why is this so coy? You can’t have both all these MATURE and EDGY characters who are all about TEH SECKS and VIOLENS while basically giggling like tweens whenever you make a reference to fucking. 

If you don’t want to deal with the subject, why include it at all? This is YA, isn’t it? Teens can handle discussions and references to sex. You could probably even get away with sex scenes if you write them carefully and don’t make them too explicit.

If you wanted to be completely PG, why is everyone always making grody sex jokes? If you wanted them all to have amazing sex lives, why don’t you have them (and the narration) speak maturely and openly about the subject?

I do not understand the reasoning behind any of this.

Chapter 19

We’re back with Dex, who, if you recall, kissed Andi without her consent in chapter 17.

DEX HAD FORGOTTEN how fast Andi’s reflexes could be when she was mad.

Furious, actually, he thought, as he watched the shock on her face melt into a mask of pure, boiling rage.

The sentence above, my friends, is a perfect illustration of why I have such problems with purple prose and using a bunch of “pretty descriptions” that don’t mean jack shit just to show off how deep your writing is.

Allow me to be extremely nitpicky and go off on a tangent while I analyze this ... word vomit.

Melting happens when something gets warm enough to change state from solid to liquid, but without necessarily boiling. In writing, the word usually has positive connotations. ”Molten” metals are often used as eye colors for love interests, people “melt” when another person does something sweet or romantic for them, et cetera. 

It makes people think of warmth, softness, pliability. 

When Andi’s shock melts into “a mask of rage,” it implies that the rage is solidified, but also that it’s fake, because it’s only a mask. Then we’re told that it’s actually boiling still. The fact that her shock is “on” her face doesn’t help.

Now, I know what you’ll say: Eff, this isn’t literal! It’s all just a metaphor!

But metaphors have to make sense, and conflicting, confusing visuals and concepts do nothing but shine a spotlight on the author’s carelessness. They’ve picked these words because they have inherent meaning and they sound good and intense, but without understanding how to use that meaning to their advantage.

If Shinsay wanted to keep the “hot rage” angle, I’d suggest something like this:

Dex watched as the shock on Andi’s face boiled over into white-hot rage.

Jesus Christ, I’m only two sentences in.

Anywhoo, Andi beats Dex with a chair. I would’ve killed him on the spot but I’ll take what I can get.

Andi spat on the ground, then rubbed her lips with the back of her sleeve. For one moment, she looked purely Andi, angry as a wet feline and terrifyingly beautiful.

...

So uh. For future reference: Comparing to your badass, ruthles space pirate to a wet cat 

is probably the dumbest fucking thing you can do.

I guess Dex is also impressed that Andi looks like Andi. 

And here I thought standards couldn’t go any lower.

Maybe there’s a message of positivity in there? Dex loves you if you look like you, girls! Just be yourself, and also angry as a wet cat.

Then he saw the moment when Andi’s face changed. She transformed into someone else entirely; an actress playing the perfect part.

So you’re gonna describe to me how her shock melts into a mask of rage and how she looks angry like a wet cat, but you won’t tell me how Dex sees her slip into the role of an actress playing the perfect part? Something that would actually be quite interesting to witness?

Figures.

Andi starts acting like Dex cheated on her and Lira and Breck join in as the other women, which for some reason confuses Dex, the ultimate mastermind that he is. He catches on eventually as the other patrons start surrounding them in the hopes of a juicy fight.

Breck kicks him and he flies across the room, which is absolutely delightful and I love it. She kicked him into the table of the Lunamere guards (finally someone does something smart) and a fight with them breaks out. 

Dex wasn’t the tallest man by Mirabel standards, but what he lacked in height, he made up in speed and agility—and above all, the desire to win.

And as we all know, people who lose always actually want to lose, and the guards he’s fighting against just don’t want to win enough!

Makes perfect sense.

He was all grace and glory as he spun and whirled, taking out Lunamere guards as they rushed forward in hopes of sinking their knives into his gut.

Don’t make me do a GLORY count. Blease.

We switch POV to Andi. This entire chapter/fight scene is for some reason broken up into chunks, even though it’s all the same one scene and at one point we don’t even switch POVs, but the scene break is still there?

Who edited this?

[The Lunamere guard] howled and dropped, and then she was off again, leaping over his fallen form, her hands itching to raise hell, draw blood and spread the glory of her name.

The Bloody Baroness was here.

She’d make sure every single one of them knew it.

THE GLORY OF HER NAME

Note how Andi seems to just love this. I guess when the narrative needs her to be ruthless and badass, she’s all about being the Bloody Baroness and loves to SPREAD HER GLORY, but when she’s angsting, it’s all about how much she hates murder and remembers every single person she’s killed.

Cheap, Shinsay. You’re cheap and so is your book.

Another POV skip. We’re back with Dex. It’s still the same scene, same fight.

The plan was in place. Everything was glorious, beautiful, blessed disarray.

GLORIOUS

Another scene break. We’re back with Andi. Holy shit, this is such a terrible, disconnected, patchy mess. 

Dex was cornered with his back against the bar, fresh green blood oozing from a cut on his brow.

Proof that his blood is actually green, in case y’all didn’t believe me. 

Idk what this means or if it will ever be explained, but whatever.

Every part of Andi’s soul told her to get the hell out of there before the Sparks went off. She could abandon the mission. Leave Valen Cortas in prison, with Dex beside him once the warden of Lunamere caught wind of this.

But as she stood back and watched the clock tick down, some tiny part of herself, some animal thing deep down, began to claw its way back up and out into the smoky pub light.

The Bloody Baroness never turned away from a fight.

See? Andi enjoys this, and willingly chooses it when she can do otherwise. So then why does Shinsay insist on making her all angsty and sad about the people she murders?

YOU CAN’T HAVE YOUR CAKE AND FUCK IT TOO, SHINSAY.

With a sigh, she pushed herself forward, swinging her borrowed knives as if they were extensions of her body. Little pieces of heaven clutched in her hellraising fists.

With a sigh? Why is she acting like she doesn’t have a choice and this is a chore, like her mom told her to clean her room? Oh my god.

And yeah, I had to look at “little pieces of heaven clutched in her hellraising fists,” and now so do you.

Anyway, the “Sparks” (if they were explained, I didn’t pay attention) that Andi’s team set up around the bar go off and:

Then the whole world exploded around [Andi and Dex].

God, I wish they could die in the explosion.

[thestaffofgrayson]

1-100 for the unusual asks, you meme lord

Mmmmkay so I cant help being sassy but also wanna give a real answer so we gonna do this -> Anything in parenthesis is a real answer everything else is sass central station

1) Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora?  Im a dank soundcloud rapper check out my soundcloud at nobodycares540.soundcloud.fuck (I dont really use any of em tbh)

2) is your room messy or clean? *glances over* clean (m e s s y)

3) what color are your eyes? All 16 of em are different colors actually (blue)

4) do you like your name? why? No because its not Jojo (Yes!!! Love the name Perrin gonna be honest)

5) what is your relationship status? *sets status to its complicated* you could say im a bit of a player (deathly single)

6) describe your personality in 3 words or less? Im sorry who? (Described meme lord)

7) what color hair do you have? Minecraft Steve Brown (Ver Ver Pink)

8) what kind of car do you drive? color? No I run like sonic next question (nope fuck driving fuck boulder)

9) where do you shop? Uuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh (For what Next question)

10) how would you describe your style? Goku Black cosplay (Goku Black cosplay)

11) favorite social media account? The one with the Z U C C (Tumblr fuck snapchat)

12) what size bed do you have?  Uuuummmmmmm my size OBVIOUSLY next questions (Dont know tbh queen maybe?)

13) any siblings? Little shit brother (thats not even a joke)

14) if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why?  Why this world fuck you what about mars (uuuuhhhhhh no idea gonna be honest)

15) favorite snapchat filter? Oh man! Love this one altho its not well known what ya gotta do is hit the delete button and when it asks if youre sure say yes :D (they change so often I dont pay attention)

16) favorite makeup brand(s)? Whatever it is Genji uses as eyeliner (dooont wear makeup)

17) how many times a week do you shower? I get clean by rolling around in the snow so maybe like 3 times a year (depends usually once a day with exceptions)

18) favorite tv show? I dont watch tv I AM the tv (The Office or if its Anime then Jojos Bizarre Adventure)

19) shoe size? M Y   S I Z E (size 10)

20) how tall are you?  hOWs ThE wEaTHEr dOwnTHeRe (5′9 - 5′11 somewhere in there)

21) sandals or sneakers? Gadget Shoes (legit those are cool but sneakers)

22) do you go to the gym? I think theeessseeee muscles speak for themselves (nope but I do martial arts)

23) describe your dream date  Killing all mortals and achieving a state beyond that of a god (iiiii dont know I dont really see myself going on a date)

24) how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment? Why do YOU wanna know (no really why tho)

25) what color socks are you wearing? Well I’m at home on the sofa playing sonic the hedgehog and typing up responses to an ask on tumblr that about 5 people are gonna see. That being said, Dragon Ball orange. (not wearing em but I have a fuzzy pair of polar bear socks my friend Ana sent me that I love!)

26) how many pillows do you sleep with? Wait what do you mean not everyone sleeps with 25 pillows are they mad? (One for my head, one on each side, smol pillow, pillow pet)

27) do you have a job? what do you do? I am assistant regional manager at a paper supply company named Dunder Mifflin. (Not currently but I’m gonna apply to Gamestop and Costco here soon)

28) how many friends do you have? Toooooooooooooo many I hate mortals (honestly I’m too lazy to try and count rn)

29) whats the worst thing you have ever done? Well I haven’t seen Mulan don’t call the cops (Iiiiiiii’m not sure I guess cheated on my Chinese final freshman year but hey I needed to pass that)

30) whats your favorite candle scent? V o i d  (I dont use candles that much and I shooouuulld)

31) 3 favorite boy names Jo[seph] Jo[estar], Jo[taro Ku]jo, Jo[nathan] Jo[estar]  (uuuuhhhh I like my name so it would be Perrin, Joji, Donovan)

32) 3 favorite girl names Jolyne Kujo there is no 2 and 3 (Jolyne yes I know but I actually really like the name, Perrin is also a girls name so, Milly)

33) favorite actor? Shrek from Shrek the musical (Robert Downey Jr and Chris pratt)

34) favorite actress? Taylor after she sasses me and acts like nothing happened (Millie Bobby Brown)

35) who is your celebrity crush? McCree (Matt Mercer)

36) favorite movie? UM IS THIS A QUESTION LIKE??? OBVIOUSLY THE SHREK AND BEE MOVIE CROSS OVER SHREK B: HONEY AND SWAMPS (I LOVED Black Panther and Thor Ragnarok but Secret Life of Walter Mitty’s stuck with me for a loooong time)

37) do you read a lot? whats your favorite book? I don’t read cuz I’m not a NERD (I mean actual books I don’t ask me about it another time but comics I sure do I love the Marvel Civil War storyline)

38) money or brains? They say Money can’t buy happiness but it can buy me more games! Eat that SUCKERS (Honestly brains because then you can be smart which can make you a lot of money. So many more benefits)

39) do you have a nickname? what is it? Perriushium, destroyer of life and bringer of the new age (Pey given to me by my brother when he was still a baby and couldn’t say my name)

40) how many times have you been to the hospital? Enough to be immune to every disease known to man NOW IM UNSTOPABLE MWAHAHA (none for any of my own conditions or injuries but for family stuff about twice)

41) top 10 favorite songs All Star, All Star, All Star, Chum Drum Bedrum, All Star, All Star, All Star, Never gonna give you up, All Star, All Star (Bloody Stream, Sono Chi no Sadame, Flying Battery Zone, Stardust Speedway, Stand Proud, Goku Black theme, Halo theme, The Apparition, Shovel Knight main theme, Hooked on a Feeling)

42) do you take any medications daily? I take a shot of cold hard whiskey when I get up (nope I dont have anything)

43) what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc) The largest organ of my body I’ll tell ya that much (I honestly dont know?? Smooth and soft I guess?)

44) what is your biggest fear? The Communists lol jk Communism is the only way (I’m not so sure on this one gonna be honest I do fear something I just cant think of it at the moment)

45) how many kids do you want? I mean I’m a 16 year old teenager in high school with no job and no relationship that being said 5 (NONE EVER NOPE 0 KIDS)

46) whats your go to hair style? Super Saiyan 3 (Idk I just kinda comb it to the left)

47) what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc) All Star. Wait fuck wrong quest- (Two floor medium sized house) 

48) who is your role model?  Uuuuuuuuhhhhhh (uuuuuhhhhhhhhhh)

49) what was the last compliment you received? A like on my post we did it guys we hit one like so I’m here making this 1 like special (I was told that everytime my friend see’s my dyed hair it absolutely makes his day :D) 

50) what was the last text you sent? Yeah that’ll be $5000 for the kill nice doing business with you (Maaaannny pictures of Genji Shimada)

51) how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real? WHAT SANTA ISNT REAL????!!!!!?!?!?! (It kinda faded over the years my last strands of belief were gone by 12)

52) what is your dream car? Odie’s car from Garfield Kart (The Mach 5 from speed racer there’s a street legal car look it up)

53) opinion on smoking? Jotaro does it so I do it too (PSA: Smoking doesn’t make you cool or look cool you’re just killng your lungs. I won’t try and make you stop as long as you’re aware I don’t want you smoking around me and you understand the consequences)

54) do you go to college? After that SAT I meeeaaaaannnn McDonalds might be hiring (I’m still in High School but I want to)

55) what is your dream job? To stand in a corner for 8 hours with a lamp shade over my head and make a clicking sound every so often (I would like to be able to draw, animate, design and/or play games for a living. Achievement Hunter would be a fantastic job but I doubt that’s happening)

56) would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs? I wanna live in a cloud In the sky and abduct people to harvest their DNA and make clones which I can fight to the death with (eh somewhere quiet and disconnected from people tbh)

57) do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels? They fetch pretty high prices on eBay you’d be surprised (Nope I dont use them at all I bring my own and take my own)

58) do you have freckles? My face is a giant freckle little known fact (not really thank god I would look real bad with em)

59) do you smile for pictures? *leans in* I’m gonna let ya in on a secret kid. I wait until the photographer is just about to take the picture and then I hold a middle finger over my face to block the proper shot. Do it enough times then they’ll be payin YOU to get the picture done (I do but I only open my mouth slightly)

60) how many pictures do you have on your phone? They’re all of people I’ve killed because they showed me a stale meme dont worry about it (960 exactly and they’re all either memes, fan-art, or my cute friends)

61) have you ever peed in the woods? Ew no I don’t go outdoors thanks (Yep once on a school field trip in which we hiked to the top of a mountain it was fun)

62) do you still watch cartoons? Well I mean SOME ONE spoiled my belief in Santa earlier so I’m a bit too old for that now. I have a boring desk job thanks LAZLO (I do spongebob is really funny to me still and I LOVE the original Teen Titans)

63) do you prefer chicken nuggets from Wendy’s or McDonalds? McWendy’s next question (I dont eat either so)

64) Favorite dipping sauce? Drip dip dip I’m boutta rip please i want to die (I dont use dipping sauce either call me a heathen all you want)

65) what do you wear to bed? Well I take off the clothes I wore for the day, take off my earring, ring, necklace, eyes, hair, 3 layers of skin, and call it a night (Pajamas mostly and sometimes sweatpants)

66) have you ever won a spelling bee? *Obligatory Bee Movie Joke* (I’ve never even heard of a spelling bee in any of the schools I’ve been to)

67) what are your hobbies? Well I like to kill all mortals #ZamasuWasRight  (I enjoy martial arts, drawing, video games, game design, and walking around my house with nothing to do)

68) can you draw? UH BOI YOU DONT KNOW WHAT ART IS UNTIL YOUVE SEEN A SHITTY JOJO DRAWING OF MINE (I mean yeah but not well)

69) do you play an instrument? Electric Triangle (Actually, I play the Violin but not super well)

70) what was the last concert you saw? SORRY WHAT I CANT HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF THE CONCERT (I’ve never been to one that seems like the opposite of fun for me personally I hate hyper loud music, people, and crowds)

71) tea or coffee? Coftea next question (tea. I don’t drink caffeine if i can help it)

72) Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? I need my sugar sonic rings (Again, Don’t drink caffeine)

73) do you want to get married? I’m already getting married. MARRIED TO THE LIFE OF CRIME THAT IS UP TOP (I mean I would like to one day)

74) what is your crush’s first and last initial? My  Self (I don’t have anyone I’m crushing on)

75) are you going to change your last name when you get married? What’s crimes last name? Smigglesworth? (If my partners last name is something with an S cuz then I can be PJS)

76) what color looks best on you? You know the color mario turns when he uses the super star? T-that (Pink and Black)

77) do you miss anyone right now? PPFFFFFT NOOOOO WHATS A FEEL *CRIES* THOSE ARENT TEARS ITS JUST SWEAT IVE ANSWERED A LOT OF QUESTIONS OKAY (I miss all my internet friends :(  *cries*)

78) do you sleep with your door open or closed? It is neither open nor closed it is in a hyper dimensional state between open and closed in which no mortal can enter or exit but also cannot be blocked from passage (clooossed because otherwise the cats are gonna kill my fish)

79) do you believe in ghosts? I mean how else would I make a long and successful career as a ghost buster (I do!)

80) what is your biggest pet peeve? My pet, Peeve! Biggest one I know! (depends on for what tbh the other day a guest speaker was talking to the class and this kid was playing music in his headphones really really loud and it pissed me off)

81) last person you called? Called what? Called them a nerd? A good bean? A meme? MAKE MORE SENSE YOU ******* **** *** ******** (Well according to my phone, the name listed is “Mom”)

82) favorite ice cream flavor? I’ll ice your cream if you’re not careful (Vanilla with chocolate syrup mixed together is hella everyone GO TRY IT)

83) regular oreos or golden oreos? The fuck is a golden oreo?? (No seriously, what the actual is a golden oreo)

84) chocolate or rainbow sprinkles? *mario invincible star song plays as I flash color and dash down rainbow road* I’ll have to think about it (rainboooowww!)

85) what shirt are you wearing? Well I…. You see… The thing is…. excuse me for one second (yeah I can’t think of sass to this one but my favorite shirt! Sonic mania that my friend Tasha bought for me and I love it!!!)

86) what is your phone background?  RYUJIN NO KEN WO KURAE!! “What do you think of this color? Is it not beautiful?” If you dont know those HOW DARE YOU LEARN THEM AND WE ARE WATCHING DRAGON BALL (Genji lock screen and Goku Black home screen)

87) are you outgoing or shy? Does THIS answer your question >:D (Outgoing when I want to be, but I’m antisocial so it’s like I CAN be outgoing and personable but it’s highly on my terms ya feel?)

88) do you like it when people play with your hair? My hair is a pride to my race the Saiyans hair is a sacred thing I will advise you not to touch it (YYYEEESSSS I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE DO THAT BUT THAT HARDLY EVER HAPPENS)

89) do you like your neighbors?  …..the what? Never heard of it before is that a type of appliance? (I mean they’re chill we don’t interact a lot which I’m cool with)

90) do you wash your face? at night? in the morning? Nothin can cure this ugly face fest of spring 2018 (I use face wash when I shower which is typically right after school not sure why it matters but there ya go :V)

91) have you ever been high? “I’m high on LIFE maaaannn” -Incorrect Shaggy quotes (N o p e  never have don’t plan on it)

92) have you ever been drunk? shots ShotS SHOTS SHOTSSHOTSHOTS (nope but I will one day maybe in College years)

93) last thing you ate? The shattering realization that my friends will keep saying OWO to me every chance they get (Pancakes! asked for french toast but I loooove the breakfast food so no complaints)

94) favorite lyrics right now someBODY Once Told Me The World Is Gonna Roll Me… (The lyrics to Bloody Stream dude it’s a  g r e a t  op)

95) summer or winter? Sorry I’m on Mars weather its ZXAR right now (eeehhhh winter cuz then I have an excuse to be inside and it’s also the ski season)

96) day or night? I am the darkness. I am the night. I am BATMAN (Night honestly I’m a fan of the darkness)

97) dark, milk, or white chocolate? Plllleeeeaaase its like asking if you’re heart is pure of evil or not. Dark Chocolate is a sin (Milk chocolate is the best chocolate fight me on that)

98) favorite month? See, some may argue for their birthday months, christmas, new beginnings to the year, but I say there’s only ONE spooky time :3 (Altho I’m one of the fools that’s gonna have to go with March because it usually has my favorite kind of weather for where I live)

99) what is your zodiac sign  I refuse to go by Zodiac signs until Ted Cruz is proven to be the Zodiac Kill————–”OLD MEME ALERT THIS IS THE MEME POLICE”   “I AINT GOIN BACK TO JAIL”  (Cancer! I wear a necklace of my sign all the time fun fact for ya)

100) who was the last person you cried in front of?  Me after writing all these (Don’t know actually I try not to cry in front of people ever)

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #121

“it’s the rich man’s war, but it’s the poor that fight.”

Does your refrigerator have an ice maker or do you use ice cube trays?  Trays. Have you ever been searched by the cops?  No. Do you draw your name in the sand at the beach? I never have just because... why? Are any of your great-grandparents still alive? No. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?  I'd rather sleep with Sara any night. Did your parents try to push you into a certain degree or career path?  No.  I was blessed with parents who seriously did encourage me to do what I wanted. What’s your favorite film genre? Horror. Would you ever dye your hair silver? It's on my to-do list. What color is your refrigerator?  Black. What was the last thing you sent in the mail?  My closure letter to Jason. What cuisine is your favorite restaurant?  Italian. Have you ever visited hot springs?  No, but I'd love to. Who was the last person/thing to lick you?  My dog. If you had the chance to live anywhere in Europe, where would it be?  Germany. Do you have a favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?  No, I never watched it. Do you like candy canes?  Yeah. Do you prefer pads, tampons or something else? Tampons.  Pads feel like bloody diapers. Have you ever visited someone in prison? No. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to eat? Sashimi. Are you the type of person to take naps, even if you’ve slept plenty? If I'm sad, stressed, or unbelievably bored, I sometimes will. Have you ever had casual sex? No, never would. Do you think it’s attractive for a man to wear eyeliner? I'm a sucker for that shit. Are you the kind of person who does not like talking about their past?  Nah, I'm open about the dark parts now. Have you ever taken a ride in a convertible?  Yeah, my brother had one. What size bed do you sleep on?  Queen. What sort of music did you listen to when you were in high school?  The same I do now, though I went through a more screamo phase. When was the last time you made out with somebody?  Years ago. What month of the year was your mother born?  August. Would you rather travel to Japan or Scotland?  SCOTLAND. Does your house have a porch/balcony?  We have a small front porch and a really big back one. Do you share a middle name with any of your siblings?  Nicole that I know of, idk about Katie. Have there ever been any bushfires/wildfires in your area?  No, but we've been a few hours away from some that were so large the smoke traveled here. Do you think age matters in friendship? Nope.  One of my closest friends is in his early 30s. Do you enjoy clubs? If so, which club do you enjoy going to the most? I've never been to one and I'm really not interested in going.  I can just imagine it being too loud and crowded. Do you take good care of your skin? Apparently not considering it's dry as fuck. Do you play any PC games? What is your favorite?  Not currently.  I loved WoW, but I'm not paying for the subscription when I could spend money on better things. What have you done to your room to make it cozy? Fill it with personal things. What is your favorite seasonal candy? (only available at certain times):  Hm... candy canes. Are there any television shows you own in entirety on DVD or VHS?  "Meerkat Manor." How far away from your house is the nearest gas station? Like two minutes. Have you ever been to SeaWo​rld?​​  As a kid, yes.  I never would as an adult because I don't support it.  You can't keep whales in a damn pool. How long did your last relationship last?  If you're talking about the last one that ended, like four months. Last person you watched a movie with?  Sara. Have you ever touched a cow?  Maybe? Do you call the ice cream topping “jimmies” or “sprinkles”?  Sprinkles. Do you like the idea of promise rings in relationships?  No real opinion.  If you're not ready for engagement but know you will be one day, sure, give one if you mean it. Do you plan on dressing up for Halloween this year?  Hopefully. Have you ever been on a subway?  No. What do you usually buy for snacks when you go to the cinema? Popcorn and a soda. Look to your left and name five things you can see. Water bottle, medicine basket, Illidan poster, crashed ship lamp, and my Silent Hill 3 poster. Do you like having your lip softly bitten when you’re kissing? Yes. Have you ever been on a boat?  Yep. Do you have or want any piercings? I have five, but I want my right nostril and collarbones pierced, plus loads more in my ears. Have you ever set foot in a tanning bed?  Nope, never will.  Skin cancer doesn't sound fun, nor does having to keep exposing myself to one to maintain a tan. Do you trust a lot of people? No. Do you have both a loud side and a quiet side? Yes. If you had to save one thing from your burning house, what would it be? Assuming Mom and Nicole are already out, my dog. What would you want your last words to be if you could choose them?  I don't know, haven't thought of it.  Guessing my family's there, in that case I'd want them to be "I love you so much." Can you sleep with the light on?  Only if I'm seriously tired. Would you ever have a bird as a pet?  Realistically, nah.  I wouldn't be able to handle to likely noise. Do you know someone who’s been cremated? Not to my knowledge. Do you like canopy beds? YESSSSS. What is your favorite animated movie? Probably "The Lion King." Have you ever been 'violated'?  I felt violated when Girt tried to make out with me when I in no way wanted it.  He for a second tried following me as I pulled away, and that's when I really felt violated. Have you ever put gum on the bottom of your desk/chair?  No, disgusting.  There's trashcans for a reason. Would you rather open a used clothing store or an antique store?  An antique store would be cool. Magenta, aqua, or coral?  Coral. Would you rather be a wedding photographer or a nature photographer?  Honestly, nature, but for income's sake, I'm aiming to be a wedding photographer.  I'd love both, though. Have you ever had an ulcer?  No. Have you ever felt like you were going to throw up while you were at school?  In kindergarten, I was running for the trashcan and threw up on the floor.  Whoops. What is your favorite type of donut? Cake and glazed. Have you ever walked through a labyrinth? No. Do you like avocado?  EW. What is your favorite kind of bear?  Pandas. If you have any piercings or tattoos, do you remember the name of the person who did them?  June Bugg did one of my tattoos.  I don't remember the others. Do you do that typical girl thing out in public where you have to have someone come into the bathroom with you? No, I'll go alone. What does your dad look like?  Super tan, black hair that's mostly gray by now, connected beard and mustache, brown eyes, tall. Do you like chicken soup? Not really. Do you like deviled eggs? NO EW. Do you keep your fingers on the home keys when you type?  Yes. What would you name your future son?  Probably Severin. When was the last time you used a regular telephone?  Been yeeeaaars.Do you like the moon or sun more?  The moon. Do you think dimples are ugly? Personally think they're real cute. Has your boyfriend/girlfriend ever stayed up with you all night? Not my current girlfriend, but an ex. Are you a paranoid person? Yup. Have you ever been in an inflatable bouncy house?  Yeah. Have you ever seen a nun in public?  No. Who was the last person to kiss you on the cheek?  Sara. Have you ever played in a waterfall?  No. What job would you NEVER take, even as a last resort?  Prostitution, for one. Who was the last person you sat beside at a restaurant?  Sara. Have you used Limewire before? Ha ha yeah. Is the taste of alcohol appealing to you?  Noooo.  If I ever drink, it has to be fruity and cover the taste well. What’d you last look up on YouTube?  A KittyKatGaming video because I knew Mark was in it lmao. Would you ever get a tattoo sleeve?  FUCK YES I WOULD.  I'm already planning on dedicating my entire right arm to things that relate to my recovery, so I could kinda design it into a sleeve. Do you have appreciation for graffiti?  It can be gorgeous and super creative.  Personally don't mind graffiti if it's not vandalizing a public-public place and isn't offensive. If you could learn a superpower in exchange for your memory would you do it? Definitely not. Do you know any TV shows’ theme songs by heart? Which ones? "That '70s Show" and "Supernatural." Have you ever gotten stitches? Twice. What’s your favorite music video at the moment?  "Cool Patrol" by NSP will always be the answer to this. Your take on one-night stands? Are they okay?  It's a no from me. Have you ever had sex outside? No. Have you ever needed to call the police? No. How do you feel about kettle cooked chips?  Ew. What strange food combinations do you thoroughly enjoy? My dad loves waffles with peanut butter and syrup, so I tried it when I was young.  It's AMAZING. Would you considered yourself to be well-exposed to life or sheltered?  Too exposed. If you’re in a relationship, how long have you been dating?  Six months. Have you ever played the game Halo?  No. Have you ever had to learn lines for a play/skit/movie?  Not that I remember. Can any of your friends sing very well?  Sara has a gorgeous voice. Have you ever been attacked by an animal?  No. Who did you dance with last?  Colleen. Can you speak in different accents?  British. Has anyone ever aimed a gun at you?  No. Have you ever been through a natural disaster?  Hurricanes. Have you ever been in a parade?  No. Have you ever had a dream where you could understand a foreign language?  No. Have you ever owned a beanbag chair?  Maybe? Are you a fan of retro things?  YES. Have you ever used pastels? Yes. Who was the last person you flipped off? Probably Colleen or Chelsea playfully. Would you consider yourself to be loyal? Very. Who was the last person you shared a bed with? Sara. Do you know anyone who has been abused?  Yes. What is your brother’s name?  Robert/Bobby. Did you ever go to daycare as a kid?  VERY briefly.  One of the adults hit me simply for going into the wrong room. Have you ever experienced a medical emergency?  Yes, when I passed out and got a concussion plus a deep wound in my chin.  And when I overdosed. Do you know anyone who has been to prison?  I don't think so. Do you have one of those removable hand-held shower heads?  Yes. How many burners does your stove have?  Four. When you go to a restaurant, do you prefer to sit at a booth or a table?  Booth. What’s something you think everyone should do/experience at least once in their life?  A different country.  Working towards that. What is the last compliment you received?  That my singing was pretty. /v\ Do you shower facing the water or away from it?  Away. Do you wash your body or hair first?  Hair. Do you put your name on your food coverings?  No. What is the most daring thing you’ve ever done?  Fly alone. Have you ever given to any charities?  Yes. What have you created that you are most proud of?  Some, imo, interesting OCs that I love like chilren. Who was your favorite Disney princess as a child?  Ariel. When did you do your first illegal activity?  When I was in middle school, downloading music. When did you lose your virginity?  I don't remember the age because at the time I didn't consider my virginity lost.  I'd guess 17-18. Do you like your boyfriend/girlfriend’s parents?  I LOVE THEM. Are you taller than your mom?  She's less than an inch taller than me. Where did you get your last bruise/cut from?  Bruise from working out on the floor, cut, idk. Is anyone over-protective over you?  Not really.  Mom's pretty protective, but not overly, I'd say. Have you ever had to call the cops on someone? No. Are your parents divorced?  Yes. Who do you think is the most attractive actor?  Johnny Depp. Are you good at wrapping presents?  NOOOOOO. Who were the last two boys to text you?  Dad and Girt. Are there certain things that can’t be joked about with you?  Yep. Have you ever read the Hunger Games series?  I read the first book. Are your lips soft?  Everyone who's kissed me has told me so, yet I think they're dry as fuck?? Your thoughts of long distance relationship?  Being in one, they're definitely hard, but SO damn worth it for when you actually see the person.  I think it's true that distance makes the heart grow fonder. Do you drink regular or diet sodas?  Regular, diet gives me a headache.

[wobblegong]

I was going to squee about my space-cat but I just got shotgunned through the Chains of Harrow quest & subsequent orbiter thing so instead I’m going to spew my thoughts everywhere. I have too many emotions about this ok. WARNING: Massive story spoilers (for many quest lines), massive gameplay spoilers, massive worldbuilding spoilers, BASICALLY NOTHING BUT SPOILERS UP IN HERE. You probably don’t want to read this unless 1. you’re caught up on everything including 2. you dgaf and find me nattering about a game you don’t play interesting. (~2200 words.)

I. Gameplay/Mechanics

Chains of Harrow is VERY WELL DONE, jfc. I continue to be impressed by Warframe’s execution. Some previous quests weren’t quite ideal but this one... this one was on point.

(Shout-out to my game dev friend who does totally unrelated stuff and their ANGUISHED GROAN when I asked how they’d do the one bit with moving the audio around in their not-Warframe engine; they stared into Hell as they contemplated it. “But Unreal engine apparently lets you do it just fine.” It’s so fun to be reminded that one engine’s effortless task is another engine’s “the only thing that eclipses the suffering this would require is your hubris”.)

There were spoopy screen effects, not that I’m surprised– already seen plenty of demonstrations of what they can do when I get flashbanged or fade in/out of a menu. One section has you chasing directional audio aka heading towards wherever the sound is coming from. (This was the worst section for me, I had to pause three times to get my panic wrangled.) The talking-heads approach to story, combined with the setting, combined with a few lite-cutscenes & one interactive segment... was actually fucking perfect. I usually feel like the exposition-dumps are somewhat contrived and aggravating, but here I was SOLD.

If I had any criticism, it’d be that the spoopy starts wearing off like 1/3 of the way in and just keeps eroding until the end isn’t spoopy at all. It didn’t feel like a deliberate tone-shift, just that they ran out of jumpscare (which is what the spoopy is 100% made of) and didn’t really replace it with anything. I don’t consider it a drawback though... if it had actually been scary the whole way through I’d be a gibbering jelly. Also everything else going on is so fantastic that I prefer the lack of distraction.

I did laugh when the main combat section goes Ghostbusters: you have to trap a spoopy in a box you toss on the floor, complete with a glowy beam trapping said spoopy. Mild grumble because I wasted a dozen traps before I googled wtf to do in that section (hint: APPLY BULLETS TO BAD THING) but fine, if I hadn’t been accidentally lied to I would probably have tried that first instead of faffing around.

Final “boss” fight was indeed kind of a bear but I was warned beforehand that I was gonna get punched out like forty times so when I only got punched out thrice it was like all my namedays had come at once! HOLY FUCK DON’T DO IT BEFORE YOU’VE DONE THE GARA QUEST THO & GOTTEN AN OPERATOR AMP ON CETUS. This quest predates all that BUT THE AMP IS GOOD. EVEN A BAD AMP IS BETTER THAN NO AMP. So... hot tip, get your little shit a little piece of shit and be thrilled when you can actually kill the boss fight adds in under 12 hours.

Ok no I have one true criticism: BLOOD ISN’T RED WAX, WHY WERE THE BLOODY MESSAGES ON THE WALL THAT COLOR. Actually they were... really 3D... ... ...maybe it WAS wax? Where the fuck did the spooperson get so much red wax for writing creepy messages?

II. Story

So the story is that you get a haunted I mean hecked up transmission, it’s spooky; you go to a fucked-up empty ship and find one Red Veil chick just hanging out with her cat. She says a lot of baffling things and then forty ex-Red-Veil zombies/ghosts/possessed assholes try to murder you, ineptly. Ok maybe they’re less inept if they’re not going in ultra-slow-motion. (My god, I will never stop being happy that Frost Prime was my first frame. So good and useful when I’m going into shit blind.)

You haul RVC (Red Veil Chick) out of there and plunk her ass down in the Steel Meridian camp because I guess the factions like each other enough for casual favors like that. She says some more barely-less-confusing shit and very earnestly (there’d be dewey eyes and heaving bosoms if she wasn’t wearing a full-body-inculding-head suit) begs you to go find some relic. Off you go to another fucked-up empty ship! UNNECESSARILY CREEPY WHISPERS lead you to said relic, which was the thing Rell focused on for soothing because most sensory stimulation was too much for him. Wait, what? And then ASSHOLE MCINVINCIBLE tries to stick his hand up your ass like a puppet and if you’re me you sprint in circles for 30 seconds crying while the NPC frantically tries to get you out.

You go back to RVC and she does a seance. It works. To summarize/paraphrase including story bits revealed further into the quest line, Rell was one of the Tenno who got shunned out of the gaggle even before they all got Tenno’d. Apparently this put him in a position to discover what the fuck is in the Void, at which point he had his meatsack body killed so his mind(/soul/whatever) could be chained to his specific ‘frame, leaving him awake/conscious to keep doorstoppering the badbadnotgood, even while the other Tenno were off snoozing per the Lotus’ plans. A line of RVCs (Red Veil Chicks) were in on this and dedicated themselves to... looking after him, inasmuch as you can look after someone who shoveled themself into a robot that’s been chained up somewhere it’ll never see the light of day. They could talk to him anyways– I guess they were mostly there to keep him from going bonkers and maybe intervene if anything ever went wrong.

Anyways, that’s all fine right up until it isn’t; RVC & the Lotus determine that his transference fucked up and fragmented so you need to go Ghostbusters the creepy phantoms of this guy’s psyche. Collect them all while dodging ASSHOLE MCINVINCIBLE (and a smattering of forgettable mooks– fuck off Infested, I don’t care if it’s your ship) and RVC thanks you/tearfully asks you to take them back to where his ‘frame rests so he can die because THAT’S ENOUGH SUFFERING FOR ONE PERSON THANKS.

Nothing gets to be easy, not even that, so when you find the ‘frame and start snapping its chains it wakes up. RVC has about five seconds to go “thaT’S NOT RELL” while your little shit self scurries behind a pillar before boss fight! Red Veil operatives (except dead or mind controlled or who knows what) try to punch you out while some kind of awful red glowing tear pops in and out to fireball you. But eventually you snap all the chains and yaaaay Rell gets his eternal rest. (I’m not crying, you’re crying.)

III. Meta Story/Worldbuilding

It’s SUCH A THING to me that RVC casually knows what the Tenno are. I mean, ok, makes sense because the RVCs were so involved with Rell, buT LIKE. MAN. NOBODY ELSE KNOWS. THE “KIND OF HAVE A CLUE” PEOPLE STILL DON’T KNOW MORE THAN “IF YOU DISSECT A WARFRAME YOU WILL NOT FIND ANYTHING THAT EXPLAINS WHAT THE TENNO ARE”. Fuck, I think the RVC even dresses down the Lotus over it a la “fuck u, u say they’re ur kids but u suck and u never knew about Rell”.

They completely skate right past RVC setting up shop in the hyper-secret Steel Meridian HQ. “Yeah, no big, me and my ouija board are gonna hang out at the secret base of a completely different faction, which happens to be located like three centimeters from the balls of the genocidal maniacs they defected from. Sorry you keep seeing my kavat in the background of my transmissions.” W h a t . ?

...ok, side thoughts out of the way: OH FUCK OH FUCKOHFUCKOHFUCK THE MAN IN THE WALL

As of this point in Warframe’s existence (out of game I mean) they have done... not the WORST job defining the Void, but of course a lot of it hasn’t been written out. (Both because good storytelling and also because the writers probably haven’t gotten that far. :p) Things we do know:

The ship of people who got stuck in there was (afaik) 100% casualties among all the adults. Fuckers all went feral apparently? But the kids lived. Although they came out weird and dangerous (understatement). People do still go into the Void atm, generally via opening a portal on another planet. People... don’t always come OUT of the Void, although presumably they come back out often enough for the major powers to feel like it’s not a waste of time to ransack that shit. I don’t know where they stuck this lore but iirc there’s some kind of horrible THING in there that basically shoves some kind of hijacking device into you, if it catches you, and then it controls you forever. (IDK if dying gets you out of it or if it can just be like HA HA NICE TRY MEATPUPPET and get you back up. With how this setting is, could go either way.) This is why all the Void tilesets have a variety of mob types: the THING has been hijacking the assortment of factions that wander in. Like I said, people don’t always come back out during those expeditions.

So the first badbadnotgood hint I personally played through was at the end of The War Within (Space Lil’ Shit 2 Electric Boogaloo, Now With More Tremors). It’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it brief, but while Space Dad is congratulating you, your Operator suddenly stares into the camera, eyes turning into voids, and a creepy voice taunts you, something about “don’t forget what you owe me kid” or the like. It’s a single line, but the way the camera snaps around (complete with some fucking over-the-top visual effects) & Space Dad catches your arm while you shake it off... thaaaaaat’s not a trivial hallucination.

Anyway. Among other things, during the Chains of Harrow the RVC is very fucking explicit about how Rell was grappling with/cockblocking a specific “vast and indifferent” entity that lives in the Void. Offhandedly, The Lotus dismisses this while mentioning that basically all Tenno have mentioned or claimed similar things. (RVC keeps on insisting.) Right before Rell finally dies, he asks who’s gonna take over his job if he stops, and the RVC coos that all the other Tenno will have to help now.

I have been told by one friend– without checking around, so could be wrong, but– that once you’ve finished the Chains of Harrow you’ll periodically get jumpscared on your ship by a creepy asshole who looks identical to your Operator, but has a different (asshole) voice. Said friend randomly turned around once and what looked like their Operator was sitting on their nav console. And taunted them. Said friend sprinted down to the transference pod to make sure their Operator was in the right place– they were– but was pretty freaked out by it.

Obviously, we don’t have much more detail at this point, but uH. This is not painting a rosy picture of the shit lurking out there in the Void. To me this is pointing towards some kind of extradimensional horror that you really don’t want to draw the attention of... and we’ve gone and done that. Possibly even that the Tenno were lucky to scamper away the first time after it got to play with an entire ship of people (some guessing there, but given its asshole moves so far...) and going anywhere near the Void after that was about as wise as standing on a hilltop in a thunderstorm while double-dog-daring Zeus.

I’m so excited to find out how fucked we are.

Given what the orbiter shit involved, the answer is probably very, and also creatively. BALLAS? WHAT?? WHAT?????

IV. Further Thoughts

I really would love to hear the perspectives of autistic folk. That said, I... more or less liked how the Chains of Harrow handled Rell? The quest established that he was very different; the other kids-eventually-Tenno ignored him, while his mother loved him (I’m open to other interpretations but everything I heard pointed to sincerity). He had the intelligence and agency to deal with badbadnotgood, and while the RVC had a certain maternal vibe she was pretty damn reverent when discussing what he’d done/was doing. Also (maybe most importantly in my reckoning) he didn’t get a happy ending, but he succeeded at what he was doing. By this setting’s standards that’s a rosier conclusion than almost anyone else gets.

Now that I’m thinking of it, I’m racking my brains for any parties that have known the truth of the Tenno and been kindly disposed towards them without getting all maternal/paternal. I’m coming up blank. (The fuck is with this setting and everyone treating them like kids btw? All indications are that they stopped aging so they look like young teens, sure, but all indications are ALSO that they’ve lived awhile time, even excluding their cryosleep! I’m willing to believe a certain amount of “their brain maturity stalled along with the rest of their aging so they have the hardware of a 13yo” but that wouldn’t undo living long enough to form a small civilization. SOME parts of teenagers not being like adults are hardware, but a lot of it is pure lack of life experience, which the Tenno have in spades by now. Also, you know, THEY PSYCHICALLY POWER SPACE NINJA ROBOTS, SHOW SOME RESPECT.)

...

And now I’m going to pass out to sweet dreams of tomorrow’s fully-grown space-kitty.

[small-angry-ferret]

Really? I always heard the 3rd movie was the best in terms of cinematography.

Maybe in terms of cinematography (I won’t deny there are some visuals that are pretty damn cool), but I was actually really disappointed when I watched the third movie after having seen the anime first, mostly from a story and character perspective. 

I’ve got a pretty big rant coming under the cut, so the tl;dr for it is, basically, the Eclipse in the movies was a MASSIVE letdown for me, and it came about as a result of essential buildup in the previous movies being cut for time, the fact that the movies made changes that resulted (in my opinion) in them kinda missing the mark on getting Griffith’s character right, in the fact that I just really really disliked some of the artistic choices they made for the Eclipse specifically, and in the animation falling flat--and yes, I will explain myself further under the cut, but when it comes to the Eclipse I do consider the ‘97 animation to be more effective than the bulk of the animation in the movie.

That being said, though, one thing I will give MASSIVE props to the movie for is the fact that they fixed the complete shitfuck of an ending that the anime had. For that if nothing else I cannot tell anyone to just skip the third movie in favor of the anime.

Anyway, though, on to me picking apart the Eclipse in the movies. Spoilers under the cut.

Alright, so, I believe that the movies have some recurring problems. I don’t think that any of the movies are perfect. However, I think the issues hit the hardest in the third movie because the Eclipse--a good half of the movie’s runtime, if I remember correctly--is the culmination of the entire Golden Age arc, and so the little issues in the previous movies build up and compound on themselves to really sabotage the finale. 

They had to cut a lot for time in the movies. That’s understandable. And they had to cut more and more as the series went on--the first movie cut out some stuff, but a lot of it was fairly minor and not essential to understanding that part of the arc, so the first movie really doesn’t suffer for it. However, most of the stuff cut was setup for things that would happen later. Already we’re missing pieces of the story. The second movie started making some pretty significant cuts--going so far as to cut out the entire plot point with Griffith assassinating the Queen, which is HUGE. It still works on its own, but now we’re missing some pretty significant chunks of story and character development. 

And what makes it even worse is the fact that a lot of things that were cut or changed pertains to Griffith--and all of it seems to be geared toward making Griffith less villainous prior to the Eclipse. This is why I said that the movies miss the mark on Griffith’s character--there were deliberate choices made in the movies that paint Griffith more positively, that clean him up and outright erase some of the worse shit he does.

The Griffith in the anime terrified Minister Foss with a single look across a room. The Griffith in the anime held a man’s daughter hostage to assure his cooperation in helping Griffith commit high treason. The Griffith in the anime murdered several high-ranking nobles--including the fucking queen--in cold blood, just for opposing him, with no regard to the fact that it jeopardized the peace he had just helped the kingdom reach after 100 years of bloody war. The Griffith in the anime then murdered, what, a dozen or so more men who had just done the job he’d hired them to do, just to prevent them from possibly speaking out against him in the future--and he did all of this via manipulation and hitmen, without getting his own hands dirty, which he openly acknowledges. The Griffith in the anime manipulated his way into Princess Charlotte’s chambers and then practically forced himself on her in a fit of emotion after Guts left him.

The Griffith in the movie? The Griffith in the movie didn’t do any of that. The Griffith in the movie didn’t take any hostages, didn’t carry out the plot to assassinate the Queen, and when he slept with the princess the dynamic was completely altered so that Griffith wasn’t really manipulating Charlotte at all, so that Charlotte was practically chomping at the bit to let him get in her pants, even to the point where they added in dialogue about her planning to go out and see him in secret. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to have a less rape-y sex scene, but in combination with all the other cleaning-up Griffith’s character gets as a result of cut material, we’re left with very little foreshadowing as to the bastard that Griffith really is deep down. Griffith is cold, calculating, manipulative, determined to take what he wants--be that Guts’ loyalty, wealth, status, or the Princess--and cruelly punish those who would think to go against him, regardless of the impact it would have on anyone or anything around him. 

The Eclipse in the anime was so effective not because it was shocking--though it certainly was--but because, when I was watching it, it felt RIGHT. It felt like this was the only way that things could have gone in the end. I had seen the signs that Griffith was twisted and ruthless beyond repair in all of the other bad shit he’d done previously, so ultimately it felt in-character for him to betray the Hawks as he did. We didn’t have as many red flags in the movies, so Griffith’s choice ultimately feels less in-character, less earned. It feels almost like a heel face turn rather than a logical progression, and that, to me, simply was not as satisfying.

And then there’s the matter of the artistic choices and animation during the Eclipse that I really didn’t agree with. 

For one, I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I think a lot of the movie’s animation falls flat in comparison to the anime, for one reason: THAT. FUCKING. CG.

The monsters in the movies were conspicuously CG, and they felt floaty and weightless. They looked and moved too smooth, too nice. I think the Eclipse was one case where the ‘97′s animation actually worked in their favor--it seems like they saved a lot of their budget for the Eclipse, for one, because there’s a lot less of the notorious still images used for most of the other fight scenes, so that helps, but the ugliness and jerkiness to the ‘97 animation really lent those monsters a freaky quality that the movies just couldn’t match. The same goes for the background too--the hellish landscape of the bright red, anguished faces all over the place is a visual I absolutely loved in the anime, but in the movie it looked too polished and clean because it was all done in CG. In the anime it all had texture, it had almost a grittiness to it, and that was incredibly effective. And though this might sound like a nitpick, I disagreed with the choice to have everything start out in that greyish-blue and then turn to red later--I understand what they were going for with it, but having the red from the beginning was much more shocking and effective. Red is a color that signifies danger, that catches your attention and sets off alarm bells in your head, whereas that greyish-blue to purple is cool and soothing. The bright red sets you on edge and foreshadows the bloodbath to come; the blue just doesn’t have the same effect.

And I’m sorry, but I’m really, REALLY pissed they cut down the bit about the cobblestone path of corpses in the movie--it was such an effective scene that so perfectly captured Griffith’s psychological state and the Godhand’s manipulation of him, and it even further cemented that sense that yes, this tragic end to this story fits, it makes sense. I was so, so disappointed they cut it down so much.

The third movie isn’t all bad by any means, and I’m definitely glad that they fixed the ending and added the Skull Knight back in, because the anime completely bungled the ending beyond belief, but the Eclipse was what I was really looking forward to and the movie just didn’t deliver. In the anime, I was watching on the edge of my seat the entire way through, but in the movie it started feeling long and draggy, despite the fact that both Eclipses, if memory serves, should have taken up about the same amount of time (a little over 2 20-something minute anime episodes, about 45 minutes of the third movie’s runtime). Idk man maybe some of it is just personal preference, maybe it wouldn’t have fallen so flat to me if I hadn’t seen it in the anime first, but to me the third movie just really dropped the ball and though it’s still worth a watch it really pales in comparison to the anime when it comes to the Eclipse.

[wearethegladiators]

ok here me out

it’s been a couple weeks since I ended up on Elow’s tumblr and stumbled upon my name (made me smile so much??? sending luv to you I MISS YOU TOOOOOOO) and INCENDIO III?? needless to say i’m 100% here for it and i’m going to be RANTING from now ON.

so let’s talk about LILY. gosh i got so much ideas but my pinterest needs way too much reorganization and i PHYSICALLY need to spit it out rn.

like she gonna be OOOOOLD. never thought my bb would make it to 24yo and still be at war tbh

btw, this means that sacha and her are technically the same age?? sounds super scary to me but ok

anyway, she also gonna be DARK.

and that makes me sad but i mean?? she literally spent almost half her life at war?? with nazi-wizards decimating HER people??

plus there’s the virus. that’s gonna be the ONE thing that’s really going to change everything

cause i realized this super lately but

if the virus killed all muggles

ofc that means her entire family is dead. i was doing relatively ‘‘‘‘‘okay’‘‘‘’ with that since i knew it was going to happen sooner or later anyway

especially since this scene right here cause this is 100% lily burning the dead bodies of her family

but something i hadn’t realized was that AARON’S DEAD TOO????

like this is something I NEVER IMAGINED. it’s SUPER HARD picturing lily without her brother (or should i say her brothers amirite)

she’s a tough-ass girl. by this time it will have become pretty clear that she’s super hard to kill and/or to break. but losing her brother???

i guess nathan will be the reason she survives this, but a part of her is definitely gonna die alongside aaron

this is going to be so terrible

plus i had a super clear vision of where aaron would be at. highly depressed, blaming his sister for the death of their family, suicidal but highly integrated to the rebellion and shit

their bond would have been broken before he died bc the virus would have killed the rest of the family before him (idk why yet, but always thought he had some magic in him. and if aaron dies at the same time as all the evans that’s the end of lily i swear to god)

so yeah he would have managed to survive for some time, maybe even ended up killing himself cause he couldn’t take it anymore

he would have been highly damaged by the whole fenugreek drama already, plus i guess ptsd, and now that

so yeah anyway he’s dead and i’m not okay

and neither is lily

lily went down a very dark/depressed/bloody/edgy path the first time she thought aaron was dead so i don’t think this would happen again

but bingewatching this video i figured out she may have gone on some compulsive personal mission/crusade to find all infected muggles and give them a decent death/bury them properly or something

this would freak people out bc unhealthy coping mechanism/proximity to death/etc. lily ain’t supposed to be a croque-mort tf

also i guess she would have a pretty important role in the resistance by now. maybe not the rebellion cause i always thought she would have a weird relationship with them (’’’weird’’’ relationship with nathan, appearing way too innocent/weak and then having no self-control following the ‘‘‘death’‘‘ of aaron, etc.)

like she’d be super heavily involved in some muggleborn resistance, or irish, or i don’t even know

and since she’ll always nathan’s back-up i guess she would still matter in the rebellion

maybe this could be the matter for some tension (the fact that she’s part of two or more groups), maybe even w/ nathan

i see angst with nathan but i guess this is because of bellarke. i want my children to be ok and still be the best brotp the rpg world could ever ask for

anyway lily wouldn’t survive without this soooo

ANYWAY so yeah, she’d have some influence. maybe not a leader but at least a medic and a counsellor.

which would also be really telling of how much she changed (a.k.a. very sad)

i saw this quote on pinterest: “anger makes you stupid. stupid gets you killed”

lily’s always been about drastic self-control so i guess she would always have agreed with this, but she would never have put it that way. now i can very literally see her bark this at a young one like “stupid gets you killed. do you wanna get killed? DO YOU WANNA GET KILLED MICHEL?”

so yeah. cold. efficient, experienced soldier. knows her shit and has pretty much seen it all.

btw, weird relationship with the death eaters. because they were the firsts to see her ‘’‘potential’‘‘ back in prison, and some of them may have some respect for her cause shit, they can’t kill her or even keep her in a freaking jail

headcanon in which lily spends 50% of her time escaping various prisons

so ambiguity w/ the death eaters. she’d may be passing deals with some of them. greyish moral area, she’d be a pragmatic

ofc she’s lily so she’d still be out there singing, cracking poor jokes and trying to save everyone. my bb’s still a bird, only a sad, highly damaged one

so she’d also be uncompromising, merciless at times. still hard to write down but i guess not afraid to kill? she’d definitely have blood on her hands anyway

big rhetoric of “my people” also. after the virus she would definitely have embraced her “muggleborness”, even in her looks

TATTOOS

LEATHER

kinda scary now. super super cold-blooded. yet torching monsters to the ground. “you wear blood well for someone so gentle”. does what it takes to save her people from extinction - she’s always had guts anyway even when no one could see it

makes very poor choices with very dramatic consequences sometimes (you felt it, clarke griffin vibes)

also a super dope occlumens. i need to dig into it but i guess she may even have touched on legilimency by now. at least she’d be able to gain a fight with someone getting into her head, with physical consequences (am i making sense?? like she’d be able to make someone bow by fighting back when this person gets in her head)

also an almost ridiculous survivor. surviving EVERYTHING, almost to the point of hilarity. i guess she may have contracted the virus in some way, almost died, went back up.

full lagertha vibe “you couldn’t kill me if you tried for a hundread years” // clarke “think you can kill me? have at it”

lagertha is a HUUUUUGE source of inspiration for incendio3!lily btw

anyway yeah i stan one traumatized, badass queen that also happens to be my baby

i’ll continue this later for wynona and the overall universe because this is getting way too long and i’m not yet ready to deal with more drama for now

STAY TUNED KIDS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS