#yes I also needed this scene in comic form leave me alone

[vhalesa]

yes, this is also from the pokemon fic

[randommusingsstuff]

Why Ben and Devi are Endgame (Meta)

At the heart of every rom-com, it always comes down to this: what does the protagonist truly want? 

Why Devi and Paxton Don’t Work

In the season 2 finale, Devi triumphantly says “So, I guess I'm Paxton Hall-Yoshida’s girlfriend now”. She got what she thought she wanted at the start of her journey, only it’s not what she wants anymore. 

Although Devi cares for Paxton, she views him as a status symbol. Paxton, for all his growth, still sees himself as cooler than her. And no, he was not just embarrassed because she cheated on him. Before he knew she was cheating, he invited his friends on their first date and refused to call her his girlfriend. In the finale, it once again takes someone else to point out that he shouldn’t blow her off. As Devi and Paxton walk into the dance, he gives his friends a sheepish look while they judge him. Not only does he still have lingering feelings of embarrassment, his friends’ reactions suggest turbulence ahead for their relationship. 

There is also a lack of communication between Paxton and Devi. They have a magical kiss by the window, and makeout sessions afterwards, but they don't actually talk about their relationship in that elapsed time. Devi makes the assumption that they are together and Paxton doesn’t articulate what he wants until it is forced out of him. 

What can we conclude from this? Paxton is a great character, but he is not the one for Devi. They have differing interests and goals, a lack of communication and they do not see each other for their true worth. 

Can the writers surmount all of these issues to give them an endgame? Yes, but it would require fundamentally changing who Devi and Paxton are. 

Why Devi and Ben Work

In episode 1 of season 2, Devi wants to pick Ben but her friends talk her out of it. This is crucial to understanding why they belong together: her gut instinct has already revealed the truth. She had both guys vying for her and she wanted Ben. Just by this one fact alone, we can infer that Devi’s relationship with Ben was more meaningful to her than her pursuit of Paxton in season 1.

When it’s revealed that Devi is two-timing the boys, Paxton is hurt but Ben is devastated. Paxton likes her, but Ben connected with her on a deeper emotional level. Devi follows Paxton out of the party, which is understandable because he is the one walking away. Again, this is cleverly hinting at their communication styles. Paxton wants to avoid the situation and Ben wants to talk about it. From Ben’s perspective, Paxton is the guy she has wanted for so long and he is the second choice. 

Throughout the season, Ben never considers the fact that Devi could want him over Paxton, which is equal parts sad and infuriating. Her therapist asks what she wants more than anything and she says Ben. In context, it’s a comical line, but it’s also Devi revealing her truth. Like she does at the beginning of the season, she makes a choice and it’s Ben. She pursues Ben romantically before Paxton even though Paxton is the one more willing to forgive her. 

It takes Ben longer to forgive her, and yet he is still there for her when she needs help. The little things he does like give her advice about Aneesa and make her feel better about Paxton’s rejection all show Devi’s ability to be vulnerable with Ben. 

As an aside, they had the opportunity to show Devi being vulnerable with Paxon but didn’t take it. In episode 8 of season 2, Paxton sees Devi crying and she reveals that she got into a really bad fight with Eleanor. I was thinking: here it is, here is the moment that Paxton finally helps Devi with her problems... but no. His response is “seems like you’re in a fight with lots of people” and the conversation quickly shifts to her apologizing and helping him yet again. Devi is able to open up to Ben and be supported by him in a way that she can’t with Paxton.

Before I talk about the finale, which is arguably the biggest point in Ben and Devi’s favour, I want to look at the season overall. The entire story arc is Ben and Devi wanting to be together but constantly running into roadblocks in the form of Eleanor/Fabiola, Paxton and Aneesa. It was so alarmingly obvious they belonged together after season 1, that the writers had to find ways to forcibly separate them for the time being. It’s important for Ben and Devi’s relationship that she dates Paxton first. If she had been allowed to go for Ben, they would have had to explore Devi wondering what she missed out on. When Devi and Ben do get their happy ending, it will be because Devi has realized that Paxton is not the person for her. 

In the finale of season 2, we get 3 crucial scenes from Devi and Ben. The first is the bathroom scene which reaffirms Devi’s ability to be vulnerable with Ben and his ability to support her (something she doesn’t have with Paxton). The second is their tension-filled scene at the dance where they longingly stare at each other. This directly contrasts the scene in episode 8, where Devi tries to reframe her mindset and stop seeing Ben as someone she is attracted to. Here, it becomes apparent that she is unable to stop thinking about him in a romantic way despite actively trying. 

The third scene is basically Eleanor saying “you dummy, she wanted to choose you!”. The writers intentionally reference the pros-cons scene from episode 1, re-affirming that Devi wants Ben. The only reason they are not together is because he is not an option. 

Then we get the line “it wasn’t always him”. Many Devi and Paxton fans believe her choice was Ben, but he took too long and now it’s too late. But when has it ever been too late for a main love interest in a rom-com? Mindy Kaling is a rom-com savant, and she knows as well as I do that it’s only ever “too late” for douchey guys who do not acknowledge the self-worth of the heroine. That’s not Ben though, he has always seen Devi for who she is. 

The heartbreak on Ben’s face is infinitely worse than Paxton’s voicemail at the end of season 1, although these scenes are meant to parallel each other. Devi and Paxton are two people who like each other but do not work as a long-term relationship. Ben and Devi are two people who work as a long-term relationship but never acknowledge their feelings for each other at the right time. It’s a tragedy just waiting to be rectified in season 3.

Season 3 Predictions

Now that I've given my analysis on why Devi and Ben are meant to be, here are some predictions I have on the Devi-Ben-Paxton love triangle for season 3.

Fabiola/Eleanor will be the ones to help Devi act on her true feelings for Ben. This one is a no-brainer for me. After sabotaging their chance to be happy in the first place, Fabiola and Eleanor will decide that they want their friend to be happy and set things right. It will also parallel Ben mending their friendship in season 1.

Paxton and Devi will have some sweet moments in the first half of the season, but not without their issues. The lack of communication and their respective status (the way they view each other) will cause them to fight. They will break-up mid-season, but the ending will leave hope for reconciliation.

On that note, I do not think they will kill the love triangle. Even though we will likely see Devi confessing her feelings for Ben and saying that she wanted to choose him all along, this is still a TV show. Contentious love triangles = buzz and money.

Ben and Aneesa will break up by mid-season, but probably earlier. Ben will find it hard to be in a relationship with Aneesa as he grapples with his feelings for Devi.

Ben will be a pillar of support to Devi as she navigates how to be a girlfriend. It’s the classic trope of the guy helping the girl win over the man of her dreams, only to realize that the person she wants is right in front of her.

 Devi and Ben’s friendship and lingering feelings will culminate in an epic finale confession and kiss. Everything that they were unable to say to each other last season will be spoken aloud in season 3.

Ben and Devi are soulmates, drawn to each other and unable to avoid their feelings. I can’t wait for them to take over my life again next year.

[ganymedesclock]

Ooh ooh ooh, how about your version of Sonic for the powers thing?

You see, Sonic is fast, because if he doesn't keep ahead of his problems, he'll have to actually think about them, and then he'll have a crisis.

This is partially a fun opener joke and it's also not. I'll let you decide how much of each it is. In the meantime, I'm going to talk about what my reads of various canons inspire in me, and how that informs Worlds AU, a bit more than talking about Worlds AU itself.

So Sonic in the initial game canon, started out with an extremely simple conceit. You can see this mirrored across all of the non-Amy classic characters: Sonic runs, that's his thing; Tails flies, Knuckles punches, Eggman makes robots and also problems, which sort of condenses into one thing considering the role robots have in the classic games.

(that damn caterkiller has cost me SO many attempts at a chaos emerald...)

This sort of got to be a problem as the games advanced. In particular, the Sonic game I started on was Sonic Adventure 2, which pitted Sonic very prominently off of Shadow. At this point, character concepts are no longer about simple capabilities, and every other member of the cast has grown up. (even Amy... though not too much. sorry Amy). Tails is now building robots to go with how his flight allows him to reach unconventional 'tricky' routes; Knuckles is now more of an adventurer, explorer, and even a mystic given his history and relationship with the emeralds. This earthly pugilist sense grounds him in a more versatile skill-set.

Sonic... basically his gimmick was remaining true to the classic formula- he was still the one going fast, popping those shuttle loops, and tumbling through a chaotic universe. Yes, they absolutely polished this and put flourishes on it- now he's grinding rails and flipping on poles, this sense of street-smart parkour that carries him cheekily through any environment...

But he's played off Shadow, where the thing about Shadow, especially in the first game, is Shadow is a person who suppresses most of his personality for his context. Not in an inorganic or badly written sense, mind- but he outright says to Rouge at one point that it doesn't matter if anything he remembers is fake- in essence, that it's more real than he is, and a dead person's wish is more important than his life.

Shadow is a soldier, is an alien, is a bioweapon, is a teleporter and he shoots lasers. We are beyond the days of simple conceits; if he was conceived in the classic era, he'd have probably been either only a jet-skater or a teleporter, and that one conceit about how he moved through the world would've been through everything.

Sonic picks up the chaos control from Shadow- in direct reaction to Shadow- and this is commented on. In this scene, Sonic not only rejects Shadow's unhealthy obsession with context- that where he came from was everything- but mirrors it with an attitude that, frankly, to me, rings just as unbalanced- Sonic basically denies having a backstory whatsoever.

"What you see is what you get!" he says.

And that flew in the classic era. We didn't really have a consistent or strongly-drawn backstory over why Sonic was fast. Most continuities around that era point it to either an accident or a happenstance synergy with an outside force. But we didn't really need a story over why Tails can fly or why Knuckles had spurs on his fists.

But in the modern era... there's context. Many characters have superpowers. And more and more, there was a sense that those superpowers had context and history, whether the outright spelled, like Shadow (he was engineered to be capable of this; if you look at him, he has most of the abilities you'd expect of a boss fight in Resident Evil, minus the squelchy, infectious sorts and the Black Arms imply he could well have those and just not use them)

...or the simply alluded, such as Blaze's ominous comment that her flames are the reason she was always alone.

Sonic... clearly has powers. He's been reframed to keep up with he setting as it changes. But that exchange between him and Shadow- where Shadow looks at what Sonic is capable of, looks at him, and asks, verbatim, "what are you," and Sonic delivers a non-answer so naked and so certain that there's not really anything to say to that.

To this end, while I think it's highly intuitive that they picked the wind as the motif to spice Sonic up to- with its sense of freedom, and with its association with speed- I think there's also something about air in general that connects to Sonic.

Air is... omnipresent. It has an extremely complex seething system high overhead. Enormous paths and belts and spirals of wind curl over us all the time, pushing clouds the size of entire states around like it's nothing. When you look at the sky, it looks stationary. But wait, squint- it's actually moving. It's actually moving really fast.

One of my absolute favorite characterizing moments of Sonic is in Archie Comics, specifically the post-reboot series. To keep context minimal, Tails confides in Sonic that he's losing his memory of a certain incident that affected both of them, and he's worried; Sonic reassures him, typical hero big brother best friend, and gives him a big hug. The scene is warmly lit.

The very next panel is literally in the shadows, over Tails' shoulder and behind his back. And Sonic's expression is... troubled. Telling. We immediately understand from that alone he just lied, and has no ability to 'just remember for Tails'.

Sonic is not a vacuous person. He's not empty, he's not innocent, and he's certainly not just your same good nostalgic friend who never changed or got complicated so you don't have to reevaluate all of those things- the guy you can always count on, just like the sky is always there- but he sure pretends to be all of those things, and tries to keep the stormy weather as far away from other people as possible.

This is given another heroic-sounding-but-actually-concerning context in Sonic Unleashed, one of several games in which Sonic shows a maybe suspicious but profound aptitude for darkness where he guzzles and serves as a very powerful conduit for the energy of Dark Gaia, who is strongly connoted with rage, despair, denial, and other states considered bad for your health.

Sonic asks Chip- who he's just found out is Dark Gaia's counterpart- if it was his protection that kept him from losing his mind the entire time. Chip denies this, and states instead it's that "you never let the darkness win."

The thing is... anger and sadness are actually pretty important to feel. And it's actually not true that Sonic as a character doesn't feel anger- there's a few rather notable scenes in which he really loses his cool, some of them within Sonic Unleashed itself (he actually scares Eggman at the culmination of the Egg Dragoon fight) and in the game Sonic and the Secret Rings he actually achieves a super form powered by negative emotions- and that game also ends on a surprisingly melancholy note, where Shahra, when leaving Sonic, specifically gives him a bunch of tissues, a nod to how they met, and specifically "So you can cry as much as you need to."

Sonic is a good person. But Sonic is also... kind of a liar. He has this powerful connection to these highly destructive and dangerous entities- Dark Gaia, Chaos- and this is a thing he, pointedly, doesn't wonder about. And it's not arrogance, or an inability to consider the possibilities- in Sonic Colors he is very real with himself that he can't outrun a black hole, but only admits that once Tails is out of earshot on the one safe ride away from it- and while gearing up to try to do so anyway.

Wind is a contradictory thing. In the sky, we consider the possibility of ultimate freedom; flight and wings are often depicted as symbols of enormous power and efficacy because the very notion of being able to go wherever you want to captivates us.

On the other hand, though, a state of freefall is terrifying. In the unparalleled freedom of the sky, absolutely nothing can catch you if you fall.

(you know, except Tails, if you're fighting Eggman in Marble Garden- I'll leave)

We can talk about a bolt from the blue, a sudden storm or a just-as-sudden clear blue sky... the mechanisms of the air around us are often very hard to perceive for their superficial simplicity. And on sunny days when the wind lazes slowly through the leaves, it's hard to think of it as capable of hurricane forces.

I guess the note I want to leave this on is, it's pretty interesting how Sonic genuinely likes running, but he also tends to either outrun or fight anything that stresses him out- and "what he is" and "what he's capable of" is something he really doesn't like talking about even if he's happy to show or compete it.

[aesthetic-survivor-of-twd]

My thoughts on Clementine’s story in the “Skybound X” Comic

Okay, so before I jump into my opinion piece on the comic, I’m going to give a little explanation and break down of the issue, for all of you confused as to why everyone’s talking about this story.

What is it?

A while ago, Skybound announced that they would be continuing Clementine’s story via comic. It is supposed to be a trilogy taken place in the same universe as both the game and TWD comic series (with Rick Grimes). It is intended to be a continuation of The Final Season.

Why is everyone yelling about it?

Back when the comic was first announced, the reception was mixed with some people excited to see Clementine again, some who expressed scepticism on how Skybound would treat our beloved characters (and the ending of TFS which seemed like a perfect end note to Clem’s journey and arc) and wanted nothing to do with it, and some who were “cautiously optimistic” - shall we say, to what a sequel comic would entail for Clementine.

How would Skybound handle the choices? does this mean half of the playthroughs will no longer be canon? how can you even continue Clem’s story at this point without messing with the characterization or the playthroughs? 

Well, the comic finally released and people read it and...yeah, our hesitance was justified. 

So, it’s impossible to describe this comic without spoilers, so for anyone who wishes to read the comic themselves and form their own opinion beforehand - do not read below this cut as I will be going through the entire comic plot. You’ve been warned!

The Story

So, the story starts off early in the morning, with Clementine gearing up to leave the school.

We follow her as she leaves the school grounds (alone), goes to the hut to pack supplies and finds a map. She hears a noise outside, which turns out to be a walker so she leaves the hut and kills it. Then goes back to looking at the map.

So far, so good right? like it seems odd that Clementine’s leaving the school in crutches alone with no back up, but hey, maybe she’s just trying to regain some independence and get in some early morning hunting for the group or something, right?

Well this is when shit starts to go South...

Clementine hears another noise, and thinking it’s a walker she opens the hut door wielding a knife, only for it to be AJ.

(Also I think it’s been a couple of years since TFS, because AJ’s looking pretty tall for a 5 year old and apparently they’ve got new settlements to trade with).

It turns out, that Clementine was planning on ditching the school and setting off on her own. Without even a single goodbye or bothering to tell anyone about it. AJ is rightfully confused by this (fucking same, little buddy). And it leads to this exchange:

Yup. So Clementine, not only was planning on ditching her new family and home, but she was also going to leave AJ without a single goodbye and just vanish from his life. Breaking any promises or teachings she told him from their time spent together.

And you know what the worst part is?

She’s doing it because she’s “not happy” (and no, she doesn’t elaborate on this, we’re just supposed to accept it). AJ just tries in earnest to convince her to stay and that he can make her happy and all Clem says is “you can’t”.

If I were to analyse this short scene, I would say that perhaps it’s an internal war Clem’s got going on in her head, where there IS no rational reason for her leaving, but rather it’s something mentally that she can’t get over (possibly depression) and she feels like she has to leave to deal with it better. Honestly, in any other story this would be an incredibly interesting character complexity to witness.

BUT

The issue here is that it does NOT at all match Clem’s characterization from the game.

Clem was happy with the school. All she ever wanted in her life was for somewhere safe to call home and spend the rest of her days without constant fear and having to be on the move. She wanted to belong somewhere after losing Lee and her family. 

Clem’s character has never been about this badass who’s always on the move for thrills or looking for adventure or excitement. Does it happen to her? yes. But her character has always wanted to settle down somewhere with people and to have a family. She’s a homebody at heart, and the ending of TFS even plays with this by having her be the leader (which is what the series was building her up for) who strategizes and sends other people out while she stays in the middle of it all. The reason that ep4 was so beautiful was it came full circle with Season 1 in that Clementine can finally rest and LIVE her life now, without fear of being on the run or having to feel alone anymore, knowing everyone around her is safe and happy.

You mean to tell me, that Clementine would risk her life to save a community of people and protect “a home” only to up and abandon it because “idk it’s not for me” - fucking bullshit, Skybound. Clementine loves the Ericson kids and AJ, even if she didn’t form a romance with Louis or Violet. Those people meant something to her, and even if she did feel like it was safe to leave them, she wouldn’t. Because she enjoys being with them and loves them.

Clem did not go through hell for these people and spend years hunting down AJ only to up and ditch them - WITHOUT EVEN A GOODBYE, mind you.

She has plenty of opportunities to leave them, and she didn’t. Not even when there was a risk to her life.

Also, the best part about this? after Clem gives us her pity me tears, a walker sneaks up behind her and AJ shoots it before it gets her. 

It’s supposed to represent how well Clem has taught him throughout the years, but I find it hilarious because we’re now supposed to be okay with Clem venturing out on her own after almost getting chomped (again).

AJ finally accepts her decisions and runs back to the school, while the final shot is of Clementine walking into the horizon.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, the fact that even the writer of this comic couldn’t even bother giving Clementine a reason beyond that vague “I’m not happy” statement is a slap in the face itself, and just goes to show that even they don’t fully believe in the plot of the story either and it’s purely being used as a means to cash in on a Clementine spin off without having the other characters there and the potential backlash of referencing the game choices.

Oh it was something special, all right. It’s like an angst fanfic.

HOW on earth is this comic staying “true to Clementine’s journey”? did you even play the games, Skybound? because besides a few quirky buzzwords like “still not bitten”, I don’t think you understand the story of TWDG or Clementine’s “journey” at all.

Not only was this comic unnecessary, but I’m confident that even the writers of TFS never believed this to be an outcome for Clementine either give how often they spoke about ep4 as being the conclusion to her story and her arc being “finding a home and what it means to protect one”.

With all that said, please don’t send hate to Tillie Walden. If anything, it’s Skybound themselves that should be scrutinised for greenlighting this script and thinking it was an appropriate sequel for the game (if it even needed one).

(Also apparently adventurer Clem is no longer tying her hair up anymore and is growing it out, which makes 0 sense when she’s out exploring).

In Conclusion

This short comic was a hot mess, but we’ve got 2 more to go.

The only way I can see this comic being salvaged is if they pull off the cliché storyline of Clementine realizing she was wrong and that the school IS her home and where she wants to be, so returns back to Ericson’s in the end.

But that would be both pointless and still make this entire intro nonsensical, so I guess we’ll just need to wait and see.

I’ve honestly no clue how Clementine is expecting to find something better out in the world for herself that makes her happy, when she herself knows how rare it is to find a home like that in the apocalypse and how dangerous it is elsewhere.

[gerrycoco]

Here are chapter 4 and 5 of the TOL fanfic I’m writing based on @nwarrior777 comic. I’d been meaning to post chapter 4 a while back but hadn’t been sure where my cut off was between these two chapters until I finished them today. 

Hope you enjoy and more should be coming soon hopefully! 

You can also read this fic on ao3

Chapter 4 

The weeks ticked away slowly but surely at the Academy, summer turning into fall and steadily veering into winter. I continued to have the best of fun with Tamara doing all sorts of shenanigans.

With the end of October came Halloween where she snuck us out to go trick or treating when Halloween came around. As we finished up grabbing as much candy as we could, I only half noticed how cold the weather was becoming.

A few weeks later there came the first snowfall, which everyone was super excited about. After a particularly big snowfall most of the residents of the Academy, myself and Tamara included, found ourselves in the outdoor courtyard making snowmen.

Given my nature of not being very good at anything, my own attempts at making a snowman were quite subpar. I could see others not far away snickering among themselves, probably whispering about how ironic it was that someone with ice powers was so bad at stuff involving snow.

I was rather preoccupied by my increasing discomfort at being in the cold to really notice them. Tamara, however, glared in their direction as she joined me after reappearing from having gone to get some extra accessories for our snowmen. "Don't listen to them, Demian," she said, "this isn't a competition or anything, the whole point is just to have fun."

"Yeah I know," I replied, trying to blow on my hands to get them warmer, which only made things worse as with my powers all I did was blow frost over my fingers. It was then that I realized that I didn't have to go about making a snowman the old fashion way. Stretching my hands out in front of me me I tried summoning the snow around me to form into a shape.

"Demian maybe that isn't a good idea," Tamara said, her voice filled with concern, "the doctors told you to be careful about how long you spend in the snow and you already look really cold. I think we should go back inside."

"Hang on, just give me a minute," I managed to reply despite my teeth chattering loudly due to how cold I was. A small crowd of others had come by to watch curiously and I was not about to give them another reason to tease me. Within moments I'd accumulated a pile of snow that I was twisting and bending with frost from my own hands. I’d stopped shivering by then so I ignored how painfully cold I was feeling and concentrated to finish what I was doing.

Soon I had made a full sized snowman, but this time shaped like an actual human. "Tada," I said, with difficulty, now that my whole face felt frozen, "say hello to snow Tamara!" The others all gasped as they came closer to inspect the near perfect snow and ice replica of my friend.

Tamara herself however looked at me, a very stern expression on her face as she grabbed my hand and teleported us inside. Once she was done she dropped my hand and glared at me, looking quite mad. "What were you thinking?! That was dangerous!" she exclaimed loudly.

"What do you mean?" I meant to ask, surprised by how angry she looked. I never got the chance to do so though as everything suddenly went dark.

***********************************************

"You got him here just in time so thankfully he's going to be alright," I heard an unknown voice say.

I groaned as I tried to stir, finding that my whole body was tingling from the sensation of me slowly defrosting. With difficulty I managed to open my eyes, to see that I was in the back room of the infirmary.

"What, what happened?" I asked, the words slightly slurred as my mouth and tongue still hadn't regained full sensation.

"You did something really stupid is what happened," Tamara spat out, angrily wiping tears from her eyes. She then ran out of the room, leaving me alone with who I now saw was a nurse.

“Tamara wait!” I called out. I tried to sit up so I could go after her but realized I was still too numb to do so.

“Woah take it easy there,” the nurse said, putting a hand on my shoulder to prevent me from trying again. “You need to stay lying down for a while longer, your body likely can’t tolerate going into an upright position just yet,” he explained to me. “Right now you need to rest. The doctor should be here shortly to check up on you to make sure you’re doing alright.”

I sighed unhappily but nodded in resignation. The image of Tamara’s face was burnt into my mind as I replayed the scene again over and over again. She had looked so scared and hurt, I felt terrible for putting her through what I imagined was a rather frightening experience.

My wallowing was interrupted by the arrival of the doctor, who I saw was the same I had met when first arriving at the Academy. “We meet again young man,” he said, though he clearly was far from delighted to be seeing me at the present. “That was a very foolish thing you did back there.”

“Yeah I know…” I replied, feeling the guilt weigh on my chest. Added to the fact that I fail at basically everything, I’ve also never exactly been known for being a particularly smart person. Even back at home, my family would usually avoid leaving me alone for extended periods of time.

“It’s a good thing your friend was there and that she was able to teleport you back inside when she did,” the doctor went on, his brows creasing into a concerned frown. He looked over at the monitor I’d been hooked up to and then picked up the chart on my bedside to examine it as well. “Thankfully you hadn’t gone far beyond moderate hypothermia and so your loss of consciousness was likely a form of rewarming shock.”

“I… I didn’t realize it had gotten that bad..” I said, feeling quite scared myself now that the reality of what had just happened was sinking in. “I wasn’t even shivering at the end.”

“Well that’s because shivering is only associated with the milder forms of hypothermia,” the doctor explained, putting the chart down and pulling out a small flashlight from his pocket. He then proceeded to point it in front of each eye and had me follow the beam with my gaze. “We already knew that you would be more sensitive to cold, but it appears now that because of your powers you’ve gone from warm blooded to cold blooded, no pun intended.”

“You mean, like a lizard?” I asked, my brain feeling a bit fuzzy as I tried to process what the doctor was telling me while spots danced in my vision from having the flashlight directed at my eyes.

“Yes precisely, or almost anyway,” the doctor replied, “cold-blooded creatures can’t internally cool themselves off while you have no problem with that. However, like them, you appear to have difficulty with generating sufficient body heat without some external help, which would explain why you progressed so quickly into an increasing hypothermic state.”

I simply blinked at him in response, his sciency explanations were too much for my thawing brain to understand. He appeared to see the look of overall confusion in my eyes and he gave me a small half-smile as he put the flashlight away in his pocket.

“The point is,” he went on, “from now on you will have to take extra special care to make sure you only spend short periods of time in cold environments.”

********************************************* I took the doctor’s word very seriously once I was allowed to leave the infirmary. Not only did I completely avoid going outside, I also made sure to always have an extra warm sweater as well as a hoodie wherever I went. While it might have been overkill, I didn’t want to risk anything happening again.

Mostly I kept to myself as the others gave me looks whenever I was in the common areas or the cafeteria. They had either been there to see me almost freeze to death or had heard about it as gossip spread rapidly around the Academy. I therefore spent the next few days in my room waiting for something new to happen so they wouldn’t be focused on me anymore. Time passed slowly though as I spent it alone seeing Tamara and I hadn’t spoken since the incident.

While normally she was constantly popping into my room to hang out, almost a week went by without me seeing her at all. She had obviously been very upset by my actions and I figured she was still mad at me about it. I really wanted to go and apologize, but, because of her teleportation powers, Tamara was very good at making sure she wasn’t able to be found if she didn’t want to be.

After a few days I decided it had gone on for long enough and decided to park myself outside her room. I figured if I stayed there at one point she’d have no choice but to talk to me. There was always the risk of her teleporting in and out of her room without ever having to use the door, but Tamara could usually only teleport so many times in a day before it started draining her too much and she risked ending up in the wrong place.

I decided then to go and wait outside her bedroom door after dinner time since she was more likely to be tired then and therefore less likely to use her powers to disappear on me. I’d been sitting there for a while, just scrolling on my phone as I waited, when I finally saw her walking down the hallway towards her room. She hadn’t noticed me yet, her head bent and gaze stuck around her shoes, looking about as miserable as I had been feeling.

“Tamara!” I called out, popping her out of her thoughts as her head snapped up at the sound of my voice. At this point she was about ten steps away from her door and I could see in her eyes that she was weighing whether it was worth it to try teleporting past me.

I stood up quickly and walked the distance between us, putting my hand on her arm. “Tamara, please,” I pleaded, “can we talk? I’d really like to apologize…”

She grimaced for a moment then let out a sigh. “Fine,” she replied, removing my hand and going to her bedroom door. I followed closely as she opened it, hoping that she wouldn’t dash in just to slam the door in my face. Instead she held the door open and gestured for me to come inside.

I went and sat down on the chair by the desk while Tamara shut the door before going to sit on the end of her bed. She glanced quickly in my direction before looking away and crossing her arms, visibly still quite upset with me.

I’d spent the time waiting outside her room going through how best to apologize to her, but in that moment all scenarios vanished from my mind as we sat in silence while I tried to figure out the best way to start. “So… I guess I’ll just start off by saying that I’m aware that what I did was really stupid and dangerous and I’m sorry for doing that to you…”

Tamara was silent for a beat before turning to look at me. “What were you even thinking doing that?” she interrogated. “Even without using your powers you’re more at risk when it’s cold, but with what you did you just made it 10 times worse! So what, you just couldn’t help but show off, right?”

I stared at her, surprised for a moment. It hadn’t occurred to me that by using my powers I’d put myself in even greater danger, although thinking about it now it did make sense. “No I wasn’t trying to show off, at least I don’t think so…” I replied, feeling quite uneasy. “I was failing at making a snowman the normal way just like I fail with everything else and then I remembered I have ice powers so, like, why not use the one thing I’m good at that’s actually relevant to the situation for once.”

“You’re telling me you made a snow person that looked just like me and it wasn’t just so you could look good in front of the others after they had made fun of you?” Tamara retorted, looking rather skeptical.

“I mean, maybe a tiny bit,” I admitted, “but mostly I did it because I thought it would make you smile. You’re always doing nice things for me so I just wanted to be able to do something nice for you too for once.”

“R-really?” Tamara asked, her tone now very different.

“Yeah, I just thought it would be funny for you to have a snow twin,” I said, letting out a nervous chuckle.

At this Tamara finally gave me a small smile before it fell away and she suddenly looked quite sad. “I guess I thought you had ignored my warning because you were too busy trying to impress the others. And maybe deep down a part of me was also scared that if it worked you were going to find new friends and wouldn’t want to hang out with me anymore…”

“What? Tamara no of course not…” I replied, getting up from the chair and going to sit down next to her on the bed. “You’re my best friend Tamara, you’re my only friend really. You’re also the reason nothing worse happened since you pretty much saved my life by teleporting us back inside when you did.”

“Damn right I did,” Tamara retorted with a smirk. “I hope you learned your lesson because I might not always be there to save your butt.”

“Oh don’t worry, I don’t plan on making the same mistake again,” I laughed. Tamara gave me a real smile this time and leaned over to hug me tightly.

“Okay enough talk about snow and ice now, how about we go get some hot cocoa?” I suggested.

“Good idea,” Tamara replied before teleporting us out of her room.

Chapter 5 

While I was quite happy to be hanging out with Tamara once again, our time together afterwards was somewhat short lived. Her one year at the Academy was coming to an end and shortly before Christmas she returned home to her family. Thankfully, during the holidays, the Academy made special allowances where they hosted an annual Christmas party and other fun events for family and friends. With this I was kept well occupied up until New Years after which things went back to normal, leaving me to find myself mostly alone once again.

I was able to see my family during visiting weeks of course, but I still wasn’t having much luck in finding any other friends now that Tamara was gone. No one really cared about me when I wasn’t using my powers and ever since my last incident I’d basically decided against doing anything ice related unless it was actually useful, which in the dead of winter it really wasn’t.  

Although my own one year milestone was still a good few months away, I figured I could start looking at different job possibilities to look forward to once I was able to return home. It was better than dying of boredom in the meantime. After all, the Academy had a department set up for the exact purpose of counseling and preparing those who wished to find themselves jobs once their time was up.

This didn’t end up being the most successful endeavor however. While the counselors were very nice and tried to look at different options with me, they had a hard time finding anything that would be a good fit. I’m not sure what I was expecting really, since by being not so great at basically everything I didn’t exactly have very many employable skills. The other issue is that usually the main solution is to try to find something that works with a person’s specific powers. In my case though, this didn’t pan out much since all the actual real jobs that would hire someone with ice powers involved working in very cold environments, and I was not going to make that same mistake twice.

“Unfortunately the only other option I can find is volunteer work,” Lenny, the counselor who had been assigned my case, informed me. “That means you wouldn’t be paid, but it would still be something if ever you’re interested.”

I left the employment center feeling quite disappointed as I headed towards the cafeteria. It was family visiting day and my mom would be arriving soon. Multiple parents and other family members had already started arriving as I entered the cafeteria and sat down at a table while I waited. A few minutes later I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Hi mom,” I said, doing my best to smile as I turned to hug her before she sat down next to me.

“What’s wrong honey?” my mom asked directly. “Something is up, I can tell.”

I blinked with surprise at this. I’d forgotten how perceptive my mom could be. “I… well…” I started, going on to explain to her my less than promising visit with the employment department. “So I might not be able to get an actual job once I’m done here…” I added, looking down at my hands, blinking my eyes madly as I tried not to cry.  

“I see,” my mother replied. She reached over to take one of my hands in her own and gave it a tight squeeze. I looked up at her to see her smiling warmly at me. “Demian, just remember that no matter what happens, whether you manage to find a job or not, you will always have a place at home waiting for you,” she said tenderly as her free hand went to wipe away a tear that had slid down my cheek.

I gave her a watery smile as I leaned in to hug her tightly. “Thank you mom, I love you,” I said, sniffling softly.

“I love you too sweetheart,” my mother replied, hugging me back just as tightly. “Always have and always will.

****************************************

After the visit with my mother I felt somewhat better about my future beyond the Academy. Though I still didn’t exactly know how I would ever manage to find a job, I also knew that I couldn’t give up trying.

My mood was also greatly improved by Tamara’s sudden and unexpected return to the Academy mid February. She’d had an unfortunate mishap with her powers, although she hadn’t really wanted to talk about it much upon her return. Bottom line was that she needed to be monitored at the Academy for another year now because of it. While I found that extremely unfortunate for her, I was also, rather selfishly, quite happy to have her back around.

It was only about a month later that she was finally willing to explain to me what had happened. Apparently when she had gone back home she had bumped into a former partner she had been dating not long before she had arrived at the Academy. They stayed in contact for the first little while after she had discovered her powers, however the long distance slowly became a strain on their relationship.

“At that point we agreed it was best to take a break and reconnect once I was able to go back home after my year was up,” Tamara explained to me.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me about this?” I asked, feeling surprised and almost a bit hurt that I’d never heard about this before.

“I guess I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high just in case it didn’t work out,” she replied. “In the end that’s what happened because when I finally saw them again they were dating someone else…”

“Oh Tamara… I’m so sorry…” I said, gently putting my hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she said, though she had a sad look in her eye. “It was for the best really, I don’t think we would’ve lasted very long in the end. But this happened on Valentine's Day of all days so needless to say I wasn’t feeling great after that. After seeing them together with their new partner I almost ran home, trying not to cry. I tried to teleport back but instead of my room I somehow ended up on Mars.”

“Mars?! You mean, like the planet?” I asked, shocked and confused.

“Yep,” Tamara replied. “Luckily I quickly teleported back to Earth, first in Antarctica and then at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It took a few tries but I finally made it home before coming back here and begging them to put me on blockators. I felt like I was going insane.”

“Wow that’s crazy,” I said, not sure what else to say at this point.

“Yeah…” Tamara acquiesced, her gaze downcast. “I’ve never really been lucky with dating anyway so I guess it’s not really all that surprising. I am a bit much after all and I’m not really dating material…”

“Absolutely not!” I protested, offended that my friend could think so low of herself. “You are funny and adorable and super thoughtful and anyone would be lucky to date you!” I exclaimed, tapping the table with insistence with every new point I added.

Tamara laughed at my display, most of the sadness now gone from her eyes. “Thank you, I really needed that,” she giggled. “But that makes me think, what about you? I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned anything about dating either.”

“Oh,” I replied meekly, now that I was being put on the spot. “I haven’t ever really dated to be honest…”

“Really? Like you’ve never had a girlfriend… or a boyfriend?” Tamara asked, leaving the door open for me to fill in the blank.

I could feel myself blushing at this, feeling a bit embarrassed about the topic. “I, uh… I guess I’m not totally sure where I stand in terms of sexuality… it’s never felt super clear for me and I haven’t really had the chance to figure it out for myself quite yet.”

“That’s okay then,” Tamara said, smiling kindly. “There’s no rush for you to find an answer or anything. And if ever you do figure it out and feel like dating whoever it is will also be lucky to be with someone like you.”

“Thanks Tamara,” I said, smiling back at her.

“Just for the record, you’re great and everything, but you’re not my type dude,” Tamara stated matter of factly. We looked at each other seriously for a moment before both bursting into laughter so hard we were in tears.

**************************** Before I knew it there was only one month left before I was to leave the Academy. Poor Lenny was still doing his best to try and find me a job but unless I miraculously developed an actual useful workskill there was only so much he could do.

Of course I was allowed to stay on at the Academy once my time was up in order to volunteer and help with the newcomers. I would be allowed to room and board there by doing so but it wasn’t an actual job or anything and that wasn’t something that actually paid. Because of the laws and regulations put in place for awakened, there needed to remain a place for them to stay if they weren’t able to return to society for one reason or another. To avoid people taking advantage of that and using it as an easy way out to not have to work, the Academy stipulated that they would not pay permanent/long term residents. Instead it was a barter type system where those who wished to stay had to contribute in some form or fashion according to their powers or abilities.

Some people, both within and outside the Academy, still saw it as a lazy option while others saw it as the epitome of despair. I thought both those views were rather extreme and unfair. However, I also didn’t want to stay at the Academy forever. I wasn’t ready to believe that there was truly nothing out there for me, not yet at least. The only thing that made me feel better was knowing that Tamara was also still going to be around for a good few more months even if I did wind up having to stay at the Academy for longer.

There was also the option of going back home to my parents for a while before coming back to stay at the Academy. That way I could stay with them for a bit and then move back into the Academy the next time I would be coming in for my regular post one year check in to make sure my powers were still stable. As time went on I figured I would go with that option since I hadn't gone home in nearly a year and had mainly seen my parents during visits. That way I would get to spend some time with the rest of my family but also come back to be with Tamara for the time she had left at the Academy.

I was starting to pack my stuff when I heard an unexpected knock at my door. I was confused as to who it could be, since Tamara usually just let herself in at this point. Putting down the shirt I’d been trying to fold I went to open the door, surprised to see Lenny standing there. “Lenny, what are you doing here?”

“Hi Demian,” Lenny greeted me, “I know you’ve been planning on going home soon but I have some interesting news for you that might just change your mind…”

[queen0fm0nsterz]

It seems the "legacy" that Six and Mono has do needs each other so they can bonded together just so they'll get the right mindset for them to grow into monstrous adults given Mono becomes the Thin Man after he's betrayed by Six and Six gradually becomes worst with her hunger to where she eats up the Lady after she gets hurt by Mono destroying her trust

Yes, and it saddens me to literally no end.

We get to witness how their friendship grows only to see it ripped apart. Both parties suffering the consequences of their actions.

For some reason this ask got me to think, so... Here's a bunch of mini theories I have about The Square (Thin Man, Lady, Mono and Six) that I wanted to share with you guys but never had the chance to. Be sad with me or else.

1) Pacific Thin Man.

The Thin Man wasn't actively trying to kill either Mono nor Six. He only wanted to separate them, which is why he chased Mono away. I think this is almost universally agreed on.

2) The Thin Man wasn't trying to get to Mono at all and only used him to leave. He wanted Six from the beginning.

I actually think the Thin Man was doing what he's always done, even back when he was still Mono: taking his friend back at all costs and keeping her by his side so that he could protect her. Would explain why he only starts running after Mono when he tries to free her from the TV.

I mean, he had plenty of other occasions to get a hold of Mono. My boy literally travels through the TVs a bunch of times before getting here, but the Thin Man only shows up when Mono is actively trying to take Six away.

All three times we see him in person are related to Six.

First time: he takes her.

Second time: Mono tries to take her back so he steps in to stop him.

Third and last time: The Thin Man is the only thing standing between Mono and the Signal Tower, in which Six is trapped.

This would also explain the Thin Man's official description. Let's give it a read:

"As the ever-present hum of The Transmission chokes the airwaves, The Thin Man continues his endless journey through this desolate place, haunting the shadows, searching for something. "

The something would of course be his old friend. Although, he may be mistaken without even realizing it, which brings me to my next theories ...

3) Mono is the only one stuck in a loop.

This is mostly based to the meaning behind his name, especially compared to Six's.

We all know that his name means single, one, only, alone. Many people made the connection with the word "monophobia", a.k.a the fear of being alone, and that's an incredibly valid and fitting connection, but I think it may have an addictional hidden meaning just below the surface.

Because, let's be honest. If they wanted to keep the number theme, why not name him "One" instead?

Mono is a... very unique child. He's the only one capable of controlling the transmission, which is why the Eye keeps him around: to use that power as it pleases. I wouldn't be surprised if it messed with the timeline so that Mono was reborn again and again and again.

The number 6 written on the door could symbolize the fact that this Mono we're seeing is the sixth one.

I tried to check for a 7 on Mono's door at the end of the game, but couldn't see anything.

OOOOR, it could be referring to the Ladies of the Maw, which leads me to...

4) Six and the current Lady are NOT the same person...

The main reasons why I believe this is something that everyone seems to forget.

Guys. THEIR COMFORT SONGS ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

"And what does that mean?" EVERYTHING MY GUY. LITERALLY EVERYTHING. In a series where characters don't speak, it's up to the visuals and music to tell us the story - which means their role is extremely important.

It seems strange to me that they would use two songs that are so drastically different in melody and pacing if the characters are supposed to be one and the same - especially considering just how personal the songs are to both. For example, when Mono becomes the Thin Man, the latter's theme is prominent in End of The Hall, but when Six eats the Lady it's her own theme song that prevails.

Fortunately, we get a clear listen to both music boxes in the games, so we can hopefully make a comparison.

Here's Six's music box and The Lady's.

5) ... But Six does grow up to become the next Lady.

This. Just, this entire thing.

You see, for the Maw to keep running, it needs a Lady to lure people in and turn children into Nomes. We can assume that it works in a similar fashion to the Signal Tower.

Which basically means that the two structures only function if there's an Host they can feed off from, otherwise they fall apart, just like the Tower did at the end of LN 2.

Let's put it this way: Six absorbing the Lady's powers is the same as Mono sitting on the chair. They sealed an invisible contract with the Eye from which they can't break free, destined to be it's slave until the next Mono and... a possible Seven take their place.

6) The Lady can't leave the Maw...

I already mentioned this in the previous one, but basically what I mean is: The Lady is the only Host of the Maw. If she leaves, the entire thing crashes down.

7) ... But she's been in the Pale City.

We've got proof of this because a lot of paintings and pictures on the Maw depict various sections of the Pale City and some of their citizens. Both the Hospital and the School get their time to shine in these, especially ones the Bullies (I think it's finally time for me to push my "Teacher & her students on the Maw" agenda) who can be seen around the Residence.

Admittedly, most of these paintings aren't placed in the Lady's quarters, so maybe they just belong to her employees who hang them around to decorate the place a bit like Roger did, BUUUT! There's a very particular set of paintings that can be found in her quarters.

Well well well, if it isn't our blob bestie 🙃

Based on what we know, the only location we find the Eye blob is the Signal Tower, so... I think it's pretty safe to assume that's where she saw it. Then again, when did she see it? Probably when she was a child, before the got on the Maw for the first time. Talking about the Maw...

8) How much time has Six been on the Maw?

This may be kind of an odd question, but I wanted to answer it because it has always bugged me. Me, the fool, trying to form a cohesive timeline in this extremely vague franchise... Sigh.

Anyway. First of all, let's give the Maw's official description a read:

" The Maw arrives every year. Always at the same time, but never in the same place, it creeps and crawls and buries its claws deep beneath the glistening water. And there it sits in vast silence. Waiting.

Soon after, they start to arrive. The guests. The monstrous, sweating, hungry guests. All seams bursting, bodies bulging, eyes dead with boredom. They shuffle up the gangway and into the mouth of The Maw. And then they are no more.

For none of those that enter have ever returned to tell the tale. At least, not yet... "

So the Maw comes up once a year, stays there for a while and then goes underwater once again. When the Ferryman takes an unwilling Six to the Maw by boat, implying that Maw has risen.

And the next time we see the outside world in in LN, when Six climbs her way up in that wonderful scene. We can see the guests coming in again, so we can assume it's been at least a year.

The thing about the comics that is really funny to me is that it implies that Six has been wandering around since when she first got on, meaning both Roger and the Chefs are already aware of her presence and are familiar with her. The thought of them being like "Oh no this kid again" when they meet her in the game is so funny I can't.

Also, Mono has been trapped in the tower for at least a year by now :)

9) Mono glitching?

I got to think about this while playing LN 2. You know when Mono starts absorbing the glitching remains? If you don't get too close that he "eats" them but manage to stay close enough, you'll see that Mono himself starts to glitch a bit.

Huh. Leaves room for thought.

Anyway, this is all I have for now.

MASTERPOST

[lovecanbesostrange]

since ouat never really cared about their werewolves, what do you think they can/can't do? I mean, if you could give their condition rules, what it would be like?

UUuuuuuuhhhhh, what a fun and delicious ask. The writers really never thought things through or gave us easy to understand lore. So, if I could have a say and make it all consistent? Here we go.

First up, the superspeed in human form goes. That is too much. Faster than average? For sure. Stronger as seen is fine by me. Let the wolves in humanform have an easy time to break bones, push others around and lift heavy things. Stamina surpassing the average human. And of course all the heightened senses as seen! Very important, everything is louder, smellier, brighter - very sensitive. (Can be used to overwhelm Ruby if need be. harrrrrr)

Something from the comics I'd be okay with is telepathy between wolves. That in their wolf form they can communicate with each other, not just with their animal noises, but telepathy. It's an interesting form of bond. But no communication with humans that way (also not in their human form). It's something that never mattered anyway, since Ruby is alone.

Now, for the most important thing that was glossed over - The Bite (tm). You can be born a wolf or you can be made one, so how does that work? The show tells us that Granny was bitten as a young girl and then the wolf came back and turned her. What does that mean? I propose that a wolf can't just bite anyone and *poof* now they're a wolf. There has to be a deliberate want behind. And let me go further, there has to be a connection between the wolf and the human. I'm not saying it has to be love, but familiarity, a need to add this human to your pack. And some form of willingness from the person being bitten.

Hear me out, outsiders will always talk about the Curse of the Werewolf. Because a person gets bitten, turns into a killing machine with fangs and claws during wolfstime. How horrible! The human family will say that someone was taken from them. But from the perspective of the new wolf, it's finding a new family, a new home, following the call of the wild, joining a pack. It's not easy and it breaks their heart a bit leaving behind what they know, but they will never be accepted in the human world again, right? They will be hunted. But they feel this deeper belonging as a Child of the Moon, it was in them before and when they met a wolf (maybe even in their human form, being drawn to something they couldn't explain)...

From the wolf perspective this is a gift. Marking someone is not be done lightly. And it happens only rarely. But when it does, it's the humans who get to tell the story and this is why werewolves are seen as beasts only. Well that and the unfortunate people being born a wolf, not knowing, having their tragic experiences like Red with Peter. Tragedy!!!

But obviously the bite isn't a curse, because curses can be broken with True Love (tm). Yes, Granny wasn't a fan of wolves, she saw ugly things and hoped her granddaughter would be spared. This is where my need for a Granny-centric episode comes on. Imagine meeting young Granny (imagine her having a canon name). @heartsways wrote something beautiful in her fic that I will now adopt as my headcanon. The reason Granny's wolf faded, apart from a few heightened senses, is that her husband died. So imagine a wolf dying and the ones he bit will not only lose the person, but also this gift. Angst! Layers! More tragedy! It's also why it so rarely happens, because the wolves understand that it is a high price to lose this life again like that. (It's also lifted somewhat from werewolf myths where you need to find the one who bit the person to lift the curse, but again, it's not a curse from the perspective of the wolves here.)

The other obvious thing - silver. Give me wolves that feel like almost indestructable killing machines. The skin so thick a normal sword will barely leave a mark, an arrow won't even stick. (A sharp blade with enough force should do damage, I mean, put a wolf under the guillotine and off that head goes.) But silver is their weakness. And while I am all for faster healing, let silver wounds carry between their forms, always. (Show me scars carry over in transformation.)

The wolf is strong and has many advantages, and since I believe in balance, the weakness against silver is within their human form. (All the jewelry Ruby wears? Lots of material, nothing silver though.) It's how somebody could try to find a wolf, having a silver coin or whatever, letting a suspect hold it and a wolf would react. Like a chemical burn. (Imagine Tamara and Greg doing that trick, that would be an amazing scene.)

Now, in the ideal world Ruby would been around for the whole show and to give her an arc, I'd introduce the concept that there are some werewolves, who master their shapeshifting abilities. Shifting independent of the moon.

Oh right, first I'd set this definite time frame for wolfstime. I'd give it the two nights before the full moon, full moon, and two nights after. So five nights of wolf fun. There.

But anyway, in S5 it's time to get Ruby an upgrade. She's confident in her powers and at peace with her wolf side. Which is key. For most even living in a pack, there is a lifelong struggle of the two sides. But Ruby is an expert now of living different lives, of seeing herself as a whole, made up of so many different ways she ever saw herself. Let there be a cunning shapeshifter around and give her a Big Damn Hero moment. Let her turn into a wolf when our beloved idiots are in dire need of help, give me proud wolf attacking to defend in brought daylight. It's super rare, but so is Ruby. (She should start flashing golden eyes every now and then from S4 onwards to build up to this.)

Other things - wolves are at an disadvantage against magic obviously, and yet maybe some spells don't work as easily against them. The whole strength can depend on the moon phase, like even as a human, they are a bit weaker during the new moon phase, so it's an ebb and flow that helps not being too powerful all the time. Explore that Ruby's sense of loyalty is part of her instinct package. (Girl will follow Snow into hell and back without question. Oh wait...) I'm totally here to add wolfsbane to the weakness list, because that's fun.

( @konako I’m tagging you, because if I’ve forgotten something, I’m sure you will remind me.)

[joezworld]

Silverliner Cults and Pet Cars

So this is what happens when @rise-comics and I are left mostly alone in a discord server.

Most of this is canon.

I like to think that the one speaking english is the metroliner cab car

[12:15 AM]and all the acelas speak french just to annoy the rest of the NEC

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:18 AM Buzz(in a Roz voice): I have not a goddamned clue what y’all are saying

📷@Jz1 and all the acelas speak french just to annoy the rest of the NEC 📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:19 AM Then they meet the one Charger who sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger

📷@Jz1 Every charger has a different accent, which really does not mesh well with the rest of Amtrak, most of whom were built in Pennsylvania or Indiana and therefore have the blandest accent possible 📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:21 AM It’s called variety

[12:22 AM]- The one Long Range Charger, currently drunk off their ass(edited) 📷Jz1 — Today at 12:23 AM It's called One train with four accents. They send a Genesis to pick up the new Chargers and he spends the entire ride home regretting ever making fun of the Acelas because at least they don't speak with an accent jesus christ this isn't in english

[12:23 AM]He gets to beech grove and is visibly twitching

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:24 AM When they’re at Chicago, the Genesis has started contemplating murder

[12:25 AM]Until one of the chargers offers up their stash of acid as a bribe

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:25 AM "No one would blame me" [Queens accent from the back] What? "Nothing!" [California Accent from the back] Sounded like something man.

📷@Rise Comics(she/her) Until one of the chargers offers up their stash of acid as a bribe 📷Jz1 — Today at 12:26 AM There's not enough acid to make this bearable

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:26 AM At some point, there probably has to be trolling involved, from the POV of the genesis

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:27 AM By the time they pass through Iowa the Genesis is spreading baseless lies about how Amfleet cars work

Jz1 — Today at 12:27 AM

The Chargers take him at his word and start setting up shrines

Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:31 AM Oh god, Amfleet shrines

📷@Rise Comics(she/her) Oh god, Amfleet shrines 📷Jz1 — Today at 12:32 AM [Chargers] - We must leave offerings to THE SILVER FLEET

[12:32 AM][SEPTA Silverliner parked nearby] - The what now?

[12:33 AM]That acutally would be even funnier - they have no idea what an Amfleet looks like so they Cargo Cult the Silverliners

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:33 AM [The NJT F40s watching this happen] - dying of laughter, hard enough to derail without moving(edited)

Meanwhile the ACS-64 fleet is growing more and more CONCERN with each passing day

[12:34 AM]it is unclear whether they feel that the Chargers are nuts, or if they've missed a memo Jz1 — Today at 12:35 AM

They try to worship one of the Metroliners. It ends badly

Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:35 AM

The Genesis that instigated it is either laughing, terrified, or both

Jz1 — Today at 12:36 AM That Motherfucker hopped on the first Empire Builder west and made this mess someone else's problem

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:36 AM Lol

NEW

[12:38 AM]Then an F59 just gets fed up enough to pull strings and get that guy back into Philly to beat his ass in the most Philly way possible. Jz1 — Today at 12:40 AM Poor sap arrives in Philly and the Entirety of Philly yard is like the locker shrine scene from MIB2 except they're all trying to worship some poor silverliner who is scared out of his mind(edited)

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:41 AM I can only imagine how scary it’d be to be in that situation(edited)

[12:42 AM]Or how funny it is for the SEPTA AEM-7 watching this happen(edited)

📷@Rise Comics(she/her) Or how funny it is for the SEPTA AEM-7 watching this happen(edited) 📷Jz1 — Today at 12:43 AM The entire AEM-7 fleet is laughing so hard they reverted to Swedish

[12:44 AM]The Acelas are laughing in French

[12:44 AM]The entire yard sounds like a fucked up version of Ellis Island

[12:44 AM]A single CSX engine rolls by on the bridge that goes over the yard, stops dead in his tracks, and runs the other way

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:45 AM Lmao

[12:45 AM]Woe be anyone who has to be in the yard at that moment

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:46 AM At that exact moment a Northeast regional shows up with a trainload of Amfleet coaches and a schism forms

[12:46 AM]An vainglorious RDC tries to get his own cult

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:46 AM Lol

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:47 AM No work is accomplished on this day

Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:49 AM

Ah yes, the Amfleet Cult incident of 2016 is one acid trip of a comedy

Was Franz Kafka one of the staff?

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:50 AM He only wishes he was

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:51 AM Lol

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:51 AM From that point on, The Charger deliveries were done by BNSF

[12:51 AM]Surely this will cause no problems ever

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:52 AM It’s either four different accents or everyone sounds like a slightly different surfer

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:53 AM It's either very german, very california, very New York, Or very Florida (because brightline)

[12:54 AM]I also like to imagine that the brightline engines turn into Florida Engine the moment they crossed the state line

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:54 AM Yep lol

[12:54 AM]Complete with alligators

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:54 AM Fought a Gator (and won)

[12:54 AM]Fought a Gator (and lost)

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:55 AM Lol

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:55 AM Florida Engine does 'industrial quantity" of Methamphetamines, breaks land speed record Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:56 AM Florida Engine swims across port

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:56 AM Florida engine learns to swim, fights boat

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:57 AM Florida Engine accidentally kidnaps entire Panama City Police Department

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:57 AM Some guy in Lake Okeechobee says he doesn't like trains - the water bubbles and a Charger erupts from the water "I heard you were talking shit"

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:58 AM Lol

[12:58 AM]Florida Engine busted for selling fake golden bricks

📷Jz1 — Today at 12:58 AM Florida Engine arrested for selling stolen fake golden bricks

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 12:59 AM Florida Engine derails, orders Wendy’s in a nearby drive thru

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:00 AM Florida Engine steals his own wheels, puts himself up on blocks Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:02 AM

Florida Engines accidentally welded together in one consist.

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:02 AM Florida Engines try to recreate Baldwin Centipede, accidentally create a different kind of Centipede

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:04 AM Florida Engine gets drunk, tries to fly

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:04 AM Lmao

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:05 AM Florida Engine vows revenge on airplanes - claims "they've had it too good for too long"

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:05 AM Florida Engine arrested for attempted arson via spaghetti

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:06 AM Florida Engine arrested for screaming about "noodle incident" at 4AM

Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:07 AM Florida Engine consumes too much NOs, recreates 2 Fast 2 Furious

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:07 AM Florida Engine jumps drawbridge - claims it was late for court

Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:08 AM

Florida Engine breaks world record for fastest and longest sustained multi track drift

📷Joseph R (he/him) — Today at 1:09 AM and hits a signal

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:09 AM Florida Engine steals house - claims fourth amendment

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:10 AM Florida Engines steal shed to avoid rent(edited)

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:11 AM Florida Engine crashes off end of line - claims he was going to Orlando to "see that rat mickey"(edited)

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:12 AM Florida Engine bites gator - claims it tasted like chicken

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:13 AM Florida Engine invades NASA Cape Canaveral - swears vengeance against SpaceX and Elon Musk

Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:16 AM

Florida Engines steal SpaceX rocket, dunks on Musk

Jz1 — Today at 1:16 AM Florida Engine Hacks Elon Musk's Twitter, Causes Dogecoin Pump and Dump

NEW

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:17 AM Florida Engines block port of Miami in world’s longest consist Jz1 — Today at 1:18 AM Florida Engines claim this act of sabotage was to support the container ship Ever Given "in her hour of need"

[1:19 AM]Florida Engines seemed unaware that Ever Given was freed two months ago Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:21 AM

Florida Engine spills fruit train, creates jam

Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:22 AM Florida car cosplays as train, wears cone as a hat

Jz1 — Today at 1:24 AM Florida Airplane lands on Train Tracks, offers Florida Engine "a fair fight"

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:25 AM Florida Engine and Florida Plane fight in world’s largest Wawa, Florida Boat wins

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:25 AM Hahahaha

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:26 AM A gator was shoved where the sun don’t shine

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:26 AM Florida Engine attacks John Deere Dealership, fights gators

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:28 AM Florida Engine throws pet gator at John Deere dealer(edited)

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:29 AM Florida Engine steals Car, claims he was 'adopting it'

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:31 AM Florida Engine sells stolen cars as ‘pet cars’ 📷1

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:32 AM Florida Engine and Florida Boat conspire to traffic in exotic "pet cars"

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:34 AM Florida Semi-Truck roped into exotic ’pet car’ scheme by Florida Engine and Florida Boat.

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:35 AM Florida Crane arrested in increasingly-large "pet car" bust

[1:35 AM]Florida Submarine also under suspicion

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:38 AM Autoracks stolen by Florida Train

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:38 AM Florida "pet car" bust increases - multiple Florida Engines suspected

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:39 AM Florida East Coast Railway Indicted In ‘Pet Car’ Scandal

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:40 AM Florida Plane denied bail in "pet car" arrests - deemed a flight risk Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:45 AM Florida Train acquitted on all charges relating to ‘pet car’ scandal, still fined for public exposure.

📷Jz1 — Today at 1:46 AM Florida Train thanks Florida Lawyer for proving innocence - Florida Boat and Florida Crane to go to trial next week

📷Rise Comics(she/her) — Today at 1:48 AM Florida Boat was actually Egyptian fishing trawler. Florida Boat still at large.

[meimi-haneoka]

Thoughts and comparisons between JP-ENG version of Clear Card chapter 47

It’s here!!! Finally!!!

After a short summary was released on the page of the French publisher, I’ve been eagerly waiting for this chapter!

And....

BOY IT LIVED UP TO EXPECTATIONS!

BUT FIRST!

We can’t start the monthly post without the gif of the month:

You’ll understand why if you follow me under the cut!! 

A little announcement first: starting by this month, I won’t be sharing the JP raw scans anymore, not even in private. I just don’t feel comfortable anymore, seeing as CLAMP/Kodansha have been cracking down on unauthorized scans lately. I’m sorry. Please support the official release by buying the chapters on Comixology, Pika, JBC, Comic-days or the Chinese publisher’s websites, or by visiting the CLAMP-FANS official website, where you can read this chapter for FREE on Youtube!

That being cleared out, let’s start!

OMG where do I start....well, from the colored double spread, of course!  After long time, we see again the two lovebirds on the chapter cover together! They have the fancy clothes that are supposed to suggest they’re little detectives, in fact the editorial text reads “Leave any difficult case to us!”. And I would be squealing YES at the top of my lungs if I didn’t have one of my dear friends on the Discord server reminding me that these two wretched kids can’t even solve their own super stressful cases related to their personal problems, let alone those of the others!! 😂 just kidding (but not really)

We start the actual chapter in a very peculiar way. We don’t get Sakura or Akiho starting their day, but actually we get Syaoran! Clinging to his bedroom curtains, the most depressed he’s ever been. You do remember how last chapter ended, right? I was there wondering if we would get a follow up of that scene, with maybe (MAYBE) Syaoran talking about the other important yumemi of this manga, his mother...but fat chance! As usual we’ve got a “reset & go” chapter, where we get immediately catapulted into the next day, even though what’s afflicting Syaoran is directly connected to the day before. “I said something unnecessary/I talked too much/I said something I shouldn’t have said” they’re all good translations of the line 余計なことを言った, but I wanted to put all of them here because I think it’s important to understand what Syaoran really means. It’s not that he shouldn’t have said it because it’s wrong, no, he’s actually worried that he might have disclosed too much of an information for the mind of his girlfriend, which is already devastated enough by this f*cking dream that keeps appearing and, as Syaoran reminds us here himself, involves him. We don’t have to forget that emotional quakes are a no-no for this girl. Seeing Syaoran crucifying himself over that “spilt milk” is already cute, but seeing the Sakura Cards trying to cheer him up?? PRICELESS!! And they’ve already learned to know him, his personality and quirks, in fact Light goes straight to the point “You’ve flat-out told her so, right?” and you just can’t avoid thinking “THEY KNOW HIM TOO”  😂😂  Syaoran knows the harsh truth: indeed, with her amount of power, it’s very likely that those could be premonitory dreams. But he stresses over the form, over how he told her that: a way that didn’t really left any hope and “other interpretations” to be made, and so a “definitive sentence”. I wonder if, deep inside, he feels so guilty about this because it’s like having told her “yes, this is what it’s gonna happen and I’m going to hurt you in the future”? But it doesn’t seem like he wants to show us that fear, as of now. Lovely Mirror, the only one together with Light & Dark who can talk among the Cards, tells him that he doesn’t need to worry, because their Master understands that he told her that out of concern for her, and not to shut her hopes and happiness down. But you just gotta LOOOOOVE how Light not only understands Syaoran’s personality, but she also likes to tease him and give him the right, WONDERFUL ideas!! She starts with “If you’re still concerned about this....then you must invite (her)” and Syaoran, bless him, still doesn’t understand (together with Jump, but Jump is the stupidest card of the deck, Kero said so 😂😂😂🤣).

Syaoran goes to school with a new mission in mind: apologizing to Sakura for how he said that the day before, and then asking her out for a DATE!!! YES! LADIES & GENTLEMEN THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

Because, as we’re going to find out later, there’s no お出かけ bullsh*t this time around, he really is thinking the word DEETO, the forbidden word!!!! 🤣🤣 There she is, the love of his life, walking down the street to school, but just as he’s starting to call her name, SHE RUNS AWAY! What’s happening?? Hehehe did you see the shock in Syaoran’s reaction here?

Is it me or he’s thinking she is avoiding him?

He runs after her, tension palpable in the air, only to find her....helping two little children from Tomoeda Elementary!! AWWWW! One of them, a boy, had his hat stuck on a tree (how the hell did it end up there??), so Sakura onee-chan swiftly jumps on the tree (the same way she did when she used Jump) and recovers the hat! The kids are absolutely IN AWE in front of this amazing onee-chan, and they’re even more when they find out that she attended Tomoeda Elementary too, and had Terada as homeroom teacher, just like them! Syaoran can only watch his girl with a tender smile and loving eyes, when Tomoyo suddenly appears behind the bushes, phone in one hand, filming the heroine of the day! 😆 I laughed like there's no tomorrow at how she calmly paused to compose herself and wish a good morning to Syaoran, only to be back gushing after Sakura with the person who can understand her the most!! 😆 

Seeing them quietly observing and gushing over Sakura from afar, each in their own way, was a very pleasant, nostalgic scene, that reaffirmed that there isn’t only a boy loving Sakura out there, but a girl too. And they get so along about it.

Just as it made me laugh to find Tomoyo using the term モテモテ in the JP version, when affirming that Sakura is popular with underclassmen too...the term usually has got this underlying tone of “getting romantic admirers” and, even though we can’t probably talk about that with those kids, they still had a temporary infatuation with her, in their own kiddy innocent way, so the term was PERFECT because it literally was killing 2 birds with one stone: when Syaoran agreed with Tomoyo, he basically bared his feelings (and his attraction) for Sakura too 😆😆😆 

After seeing some “old days teasing” (made in a very subtle way, Tomoyo’s got this wonderful way to tease him only with a smile), Sakura notices the two (Tomoyo’s line is slightly different in Japanese: “I could capture a wonderful scene first thing in the morning!”) and they head back to school. Sakura explains that Terada-sensei made the little kid like Arithmetic by explaining it in a very easy way, and they all agree that he didn’t change from when they were attending elementary school.  And Sakura just needs to say “But, even now I’m not very good at math” chuckling in her adorable way, and she has killed her boyfriend right there and then. 

GUYS. This is THE FIRST TIME we ever hear Syaoran’s thoughts about Sakura, and especially that KAWAII!!!! 😆😆 It was so utterly instinctive upon seeing her like that, and I’m just here staring at them and screaming internally GET MARRIED YOU TWO!!! 🤣🤣🤣 And! And! The way he tries to focus saying “no, it’s not that” as in “I have another mission in mind” but then his immense love prevails and he thinks “well, yes, it’s also that” as in, “I can’t deny she’s utterly cute” with all those little flowers....he killed me!! 😂 Can I be honest? Can I?  I can’t deny the first thing I thought after bursting into laughter was “puberty hormones, here they come!!” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 But honestly seeing him thinking so lovingly of her, with all that cute blushing and back&forth thoughts, all seen by his perspective, was really REALLY refreshing, nostalgic and it even made us understand HOW F*CKING RESTRAINED this young boy was in the earlier chapters of Clear Card. Do y’all remember how uptight he was?? How calm and composed...we all said “it doesn’t even look like him” and some even were ready to call out CLAMP for ruining a character, but ladies and gentlemen, CLAMP always know what they do. Have faith in them. There was a reason why we saw him like that, and now that he can feel a bit more true to himself, he feels more and more authentic.

Syaoran is set on his goal, he understands that last time it was Sakura inviting him to the botanical garden, so this time he’s gonna do things right AND invite her instead! He’s so nervous, bless him!!!! But he reminds himself he needs to apologize first! 😆 Damn this boy can’t wait to ask her out but at the same time he can’t bring himself to do so hahaha This is the ongoing theme with Syaoran, he’s always so shy to do anything that relates to Sakura, so you can almost guess it’s gonna be like this for many other things: first kiss, asking her to marry him, asking her to have babies...LOL 🤣🤣 TOMOYO, bless her too, notices immediately that there’s something “wrong” with Syaoran, or rather, that he’s been nervous to be left alone with Sakura to ask her something. How can this girl manage to read into her friend’s mind, it’s a mystery to me!! So they arrive at school, and with an excuse Tomoyo leaves the two alone. But not before smiling and making a “thumbs up” to Syaoran, and he understands that “She’s supporting me!!” so FINALLY he musters the courage!! I find it extremely endearing that he finally found the courage to ask her out when he saw that Tomoyo was cheering for him, as re-affirming that the bond between Syaoran and Tomoyo is strong as ever, and he knows he can find support from her at any time. I also wanna thank CLAMP for this little scene because MAN I MISSED INSIGHTFUL TOMOYO like the air I breathe!!!🙏

So Syaoran takes Sakura to their “private” spot, and starts first by apologizing, to which of course Sakura replies “There’s nothing you have to apologize for! You were just letting me know...I’m sorry I made you worry” and then at that moment starts the usual sideshow of “No, I AM sorry” “No, I AM!”, then they luckily stop before night comes and Sakura shoots a low blow for US TSUBASA FANS:

“At times like these...it’s best to say ‘Thank you for worrying about me’ (instead)“

And I’m just dead. Okay CLAMP. Just when we were least expecting it. GG. The reference was made even more clear by the ENG translation, that was even more straightforward in its “Times like these, I guess you’re supposed to say “Thank you”, not “I’m sorry” “. BAM.💥

BUT THE MISSION IS NOT COMPLETE YET, and Syaoran (after being entranced with her cute statement) is back to business trying to ask her out! He starts by “D-do you want to go together...?” and Sakura, OBLIVIOUS AS ALWAYS BLESSHER, says “To the classroom?” and “We are in different classes though” and here I could say the ENG version gave a nuance that I didn’t like at all: “We’re not classmates, you know...” which sounds quite ARROGANT, to me! That “you know” put there like that gives Sakura a nuance of arrogance and sass that is completely foreign to her. Sakura was just pointing out, she wasn’t trying to treat Syaoran like an imbecile 😅 Incoherencies aside (there needs to be at least one in each chapter g*dammit), Syaoran tries to say the forbidden word, starting with two “de” in hiragana, then gaining confidence with a “de” in katakana (I laughed at this shift from a system to another, it symbolizes the effort), when suddenly there’s a rustle in Sakura’s bag...and Kero-chan literally bursts outside screaming “Date!! Come on spit it out!!” (I liked the ENG version here), the font in the bubble is so jagged that I bursted out laughing because it just makes it even more apparent how much Kero is screaming in that scene 😂😂 he’s totally out of breath, he’s so FED UP with those two dorks!! We don’t have to forget that he promised Yue that he would be staying by Sakura’s side at all times, and since he’s got problems with his life energy source, Suppi too has to be by her side....Sakura can never REALLY be alone with Syaoran!

Moving on to class time, Yamazaki sees Syaoran arriving and asks him if he’s ok since his face is all red, and Syaoran keeps being too honest and spilling “Just a bit of embarassment...” which makes Yamazaki even more suspicious 😂 Then Naoko comes in too and Yamazaki just can’t help asking “Are you ok too, Yanagisawa-san?” which made me burst into laughing because clearly Yamazaki was thinking “what the f*ck is wrong with everyone, this morning??” 🤣🤣🤣 Naoko is super tired because she didn’t get much sleep last night, as she was immersed in the script of the “Two Alices” play, Syaoran worriedly tells her that she should go to the nursery room but Naoko objects that she would then pass out asleep. She explains that the writing of the script went smoothly until halfway, then she got lost, she needed one more character that would influence/have an impact on Alice’s decision, and Syaoran just needs to say a word for Naoko to have her creativity sparking again and say “That’s it!” 😆  With this, we ALL KNOW that Naoko will force Syaoran to get an active role into the play...and the way he was so worried/caring about her in this chapter leaves us with a good prediction that he won’t be able to say no, to not let her down 😆 I just love how all these kids bonded over the years, though. Moreover, we can also predict that just like in the play, Syaoran will probably have a strong influence in a decision Sakura will have to make. And here I start seriously shivering.

Sakura enters her own classroom, with her own blush on her cheeks, which doesn’t go unnoticed on Akiho, who greets her on the spot. Sakura notices she’s sewing the clothes for “Kero-chan and the others”, and she wishes she can start Kaito’s outfit soon enough.

Akiho says happily “...Yes!”, but ladies and gentlemen this is CLAMP, and you just can’t have a whole happy chapter without a tragedy going on. And so, as Akiho spells those words, we get a glimpse of Momo silently frowning, and Kaito, in his house, collapsing on the floor, clutching his chest in obvious pain and struggle, and ominously announcing “It seems I don’t really have much time left. I have to hurry up” which is a bit different from the ENG version, as the JP puts a lot of emphasis on the “little time left”. The final editorial text reads “Kaito collapsed. The accident to his body is...?”

Kaito is dying, ladies and gentlemen. Which could sound like good news to some, but not to me! I came to like this sleek a*shole. 😑😥 It was mentioned before, but now we can visually see the extent of the consequences of the contract and the time magic on his health. This is gonna be bad. Dear god I don’t want to imagine if Akiho manages to see him like this, sometime later. STOP DESTROYING THIS GIRL’S HAPPINESS. Kaito reaching a point of no return is also a good indication that the climax is near, because I don’t see him dying before the series is over, or I don’t see him dying at all, at least not as a permanent thing. ^_^” This is CCS, after all. Characters don’t die. Right?

Now the story could go two ways. We said before that Kero can’t leave Sakura’s side, right? But he might decide he can leave her alone for just one day, the day of the date with Syaoran, reassured that he’s with her. And that’s when Kaito would probably take the chance to strike, because the Guardians aren’t by her side so she’s got less protection around her. Kero of course would feel really regretful later, if something really happened (and he’s in the condition to remember about it, of course. You never know, with Kaito). Or, Kero+Suppi will just go anyway, because of Sakura’s condition, and the two lovebirds’ date will feel less “private” than it should be. Either way, there’s no way this date can happen without some mess going on. 😆 Since we can all imagine the real showdown will happen during the play, it’s probably not going to be the real deal yet, but if a confrontation will happen, we might find out more about Kaito’s goal. The next few chapters will be really interesting to see!!

So this time around we didn’t have much that was incorrectly translated, but there were some nuances that I was keen to point out. I think this chapter was good enough to forgive CLAMP for the “reset & go” feel of it. 🤗🤗 Let me know what you think about it, my DMs are always open!❤

[sanoiro]

Lucifer Meta Post - Tether Me

I have seen and read many meta flying around regarding this song but none seemed to satisfy me. On the contrary this is a song that downright confused me since I watched the episode, therefore the circulating explanations or meta given were not enough for me. I’ll not say they are without merit, they are just not clicking the right way with my mindset of all things Lucifer. 

Since August I’ve wondered why they didn’t reverse the songs between 5x05 and 5x06 meaning why they didn’t use ‘This Year’s Love’ for the ending of 5x06? It would have made sense I thought albeit it would also be cheesy. On the other hand, the commitment that was expressed and the step taken in 5x05 while Chloe comes to her realisation that they chose each other makes that song quite perfect. Especially as it echoes the 3x23 scene and kiss. 

In 5x05 Chloe manages to take down the killer on her own - albeit with Amenadiel’s help - in the same way she uncovered the killer in 3x23 with Charlotte’s aid. Both episodes then end with the party who comes to a groundbreaking realisation to seek the other. In 3x23 Lucifer comes to Chloe while in 5x05 Chloe goes to the Penthouse to find Lucifer.  

“If you do not need me you are working with me all this time because you want to. Because you choose to. You did choose me.” - Lucifer 3x23

Then Lucifer goes on, that he was procrastinating to face the present as he was afraid of his feelings, that Chloe wanted him because she had seen only certain sides of him and if she knew all of him she would run. Yes, Chloe did ran but from Season 4 we see that the same issue happens with Chloe and it also manifests spectacularly in 5x03 and in 5x05. 

Is she a mere human that one day Lucifer will realise she is not worth it? The fact she is a miracle is that the only thing of value she has? Is the rest of her that insignificant that her existence and her relationship with Lucifer is based on the grounds she was designed for him, meaning that there will be another toy or distraction in the near or far future for him? Toys after all are meant to be played, used to promote growth and knowledge and sooner than later are disposed in storage or a bin. Learning experiences are not meant to be revisited when sucessful and as a parent Chloe knows that. 

All the above are relevant believe me. 

And now back in 5x05. 

“His theory is that you choose to be vulnerable around me.[...] If you choose to be vulnerable around me then I chose to be vulnerable around you.” - Chloe 5x05

Now this is what leads us to the use of “Tether Me” as the chosen song in the sex scene of 5x06. 

As a form of habit I always go back to AGN a fic, not really worth your time, but since day one I knew how it would end. Lucifer in the comics #75 (last one) - of the first and original series - says that “Perhaps this is the ultimate freedom, eh Dream Lord? The freedom to leave.” 

In a twist of words and due to life experiences I thought to turn the tables a bit there and say that the ultimate freedom sometimes is the freedom to stay. 

Lucifer as a series has explored free will and freedom a lot and we were always so fixated with the concept that freedom is a synonym of breaking free, of getting away, running. But since S2 when Lucifer in 2x14 came back to Chloe despite knowing she was a miracle and directly connected to him, in his opinion, we see that freedom in the end was not of him being liberated by this manipulation but setting his own terms into the situation by deciding to stay. 

The same thing happened with Chloe in S4. She stayed in Lucifer’s life despite his relationship with Eve and his internal and external Devilness and as we saw guilt manifestation. So now we can take the concept of “Tether Me” on a whole new level. Shall we? 

First of all. Tether Me. 

The definition here is to practically bind someone. But they are bound out of will and so the freedom they seek is through the commitment they make on their own terms, time and ways to express it. 

The physical connection as has been said before surely, is not just about sex. Many opt to forget or disregard the fact that Lucifer stayed celibate for thousands of years in Hell and then when he came on Earth he never sought a companion as he had done every time he visited Earth for millennia. Not even when he believed his time on Earth was limited and his relationship with Chloe impossible to progress. 

The fact the above is always brushed aside bothers me as it shows not just Lucifer’s emotional state but also his maturity and commitment on an ‘idea’ and a person. For the first time his coping mechanism for an emotional attachment through carnal gratification is rejected because the alternative is more fulfilling even though the consummation on any level up to 5x05, is deemed improbable. 

Lucifer emotionally and spiritually, as we may say, like Chloe since the end of Season 4 have, on a basic level, bound themselves to the person they love. They willingly surrendered not the option of being with someone else but their whole entity to the one they loved. 

But many poets have praised love stories that were never consummated or were led to tragic endings like Romeo and Juliet as they brought forward a commitment that lacked the difficulties and grind of what may come next. It is why such love stories, see the Titanic one, are viewed as pure and everlasting. That was Deckerstar before 5x06. 

In 5x06 the bounding each character experienced as an individual on the mode of surviving external pressures and grief, now turns to a new entity of two joined parts. 

As Lucifer and Chloe decide to take the leap we listen to the singer singing “Tether Me”. 

On a very simple way we can say that at that moment both characters stake their claim and on a cognitive BDMS level they allow the other to vine them. Do not mistake it as surrendering. They both equally maintain their identity but they commit to something that started since Season 1. 

In Season 1, Lucifer asked if Chloe trusted him and she said yes. Now in 5x06 we see that trust blooming. 

As characters, Chloe and Lucifer could never commit. Chloe in Season 1 lamented over the fact that Dan was not committed to his family as he was too preoccupied with his job but throughout the seasons we see that her commitment had to do with loosing her ground and allowing to be patronised in many ways. She believed that allowing her partners to take control over some aspects of her life, like with Dan in 3x11 where he was an authoritative/mentoring figure and then Marcus in the same way she was committing to that relationship. It is also interesting how she stopped doing that once Lucifer entered her life. 

Lucifer told her to trust her gut, he didn’t question her authority although he did go his way when he wanted to. When Chloe was backsteping for him he didn’t walk over that space albeit for several reasons. Her silly attitude in 2x12 was met with mistrust while in 4x08 he was truthful on how he was tired of being placed in a pedestal or be expected to act a certain way. 

So from Chloe’s side, her relationship with Lucifer in 5x05 finally reaches the point where as a person she does not back down to accommodate him and that is cherished because there is a difference between settling things as couple and letting others degrade you for a relationship to work. It is also why Deckerstar in a way it’s a healthy relationship despite all its ups and downs. 

Lucifer on the other hand as we have seen since Season 1 he has been very assertive to his sexual relationships but in the kisses of 2x11 and 3x23 he let Chloe set the pace. The only time he initiated a kiss due to the circumstances it was in 4x10. Now in 5x05 we see both of them start their decision to progress their relationship to a sexual one. 

For a being that constantly fled any form of commitment and abhorred notions of surrendering power and control it is interesting to see his choices in 5x06. First of all if we go back to his sexual history we shall see for example how his lovers in 2x14, were all describing a person who took control in the bedroom as he knew their desires and became a tool to fulfill them. You cannot have an emotional connection to a tool as you may very well know hence why none of Lucifer’s lovers ever looked back or would ever be willing to kill for him. Additionally in 3x13, it’s interesting of how Lucifer exhibits himself as a giver to the Korean mob boss. A tragic self-awareness if we want to be honest. 

We can say that Lucifer is mainly a pleaser but at the same time he rebels when he is enforced or constricted by something. It is why like the song describes (Pull me back, out of my body I'm tied to my limbs They're spinning me out of control) being bound to yourself gives out this sense of vibration, where you want to be set free but also cocooned into a blanket of security. Because sometimes it’s not about setting a person open like a starfish but making sure to sooth their violent tremors and let them rest than be painfully rigid. 

Now let’s follow the rest of the lyrics. 

In the corners of my mind Long forgotten, lost in time Turning stones to look for light It's dark out here in the dead night

Always in my perception of things, the theory of relativity is prominent here in my opinion. It’s about time and how when we are alone time seems unclear, passing but it creates a still numbness, overthinking and we are getting lost in a self-constructed mind maze. Basically what has happened to our characters througout the seasons. While they doubt themselves, trying to find a meaning behind each other’s reactions and decisions and even the world they live in. 

The ‘light’ part, for me at least, it’s a synonym of time. Of change and change often brings hope and progress. I mean progress is based on the concept that time exists and is passing so everything can only move forward whether they like it or not, but where can you find light and thus time when you are in a state of self-isolation from your wants and feelings? 

So in 5x06 we see Lucifer and Chloe stretching out only to let the other in. Their awareness of freedom is having the other in their arms, to emotionally and physically consume them until there is no clear indication they were once two separate beings, but careful we are talking about their emotional connection. As I have aforementioned, they retain their attributes as individuals and as we see in 5x07 they word and respect each other for that. About what is shared and how a relationship is not the end of ones self but neither the surrendering of everything that makes you unique. 

Change is never easy and never slowly paced and it is why the line of the lyrics: 

For a moment, I was gone. Speed of light right to the red dawn. 

For me it’s when the clock starts ticking from both ends without that meaning it’s a countdown. Mornings are set to be the set of new beginnings after all but they all require a sacrifice, a red one in preference. Hence the: 

In this space, do I belong?

Breaking insecurities is hard as one set of them is replaced by yet another and it is a great song if we get it under that scope. That a relationship and particularly sex is not the resolving of everything but the transcription of yet another set of adventures down the road. 

And the: 

It's dark out here in my own thoughts. 

Will remain a part of Lucifer’s theme in P2 but also in Season 6 so no idea if they went that far in the meta level but knowing your partner needs helps and there will be dark spells, after all bad spells it’s part of life. There is no easy fix as you will see. No matter what will be resolved, a troubled mind will remain one. The question is how you will tackle the difficulties and the bad days or moments. That is all. And the difficult moments will also be the good moments. Weird thinking for some I know but we cannot expect life, even a made up one to be perfect or even easy. 

So Tether Me.

Bind me in a safe place alongside you, without the possibility to harm you or myself, to be free because I’m with you and the perception of how grand a world is, it’s but a matter of debate and time. 

[davids-cartoon-corkboard]

Do you think that if Shredder!Raph will occur in rottmnt, the aftermath might result in Raph inheriting some of Shredder’s rage even after saved? Maybe that is how the crew is going to implement Raph’s trademark temper throughout previous generations and maybe even make him have to step down due to it, making Leo the new leader?

Short answer: “Inheriting the rage of a centuries-old demon" is a dope-ass idea, so if you’re a writer I would definitely encourage you to use that in your own stuff. But I think that if Raph’s temper worsens throughout the show, it should be because of his own character development and not a magical effect. However, a Shredder!Raph scenario could contribute to said worsening temper by inflicting emotional/psychological damage instead. :)

Long answer ahoy!

Looking at “Many Unhappy Returns” from the Shredder’s perspective makes it very clear why he does what he does. Like, he’s been dead for five hundred years, and then something went wrong with his resurrection. He’s waking up with no idea where he is or what’s going on and oh shit those guys are pointing weapons at him, that’s a threat!

Note that he doesn’t even bolt for them immediately, he does a warning stomp and screech (back off!) before starting to approach.

Those other guys are yelling, that’s also a threat,

and they’re closer so he’s gonna attack them first, actually. (None of the Foot wind up even comically injured, suggesting that flailing them around was an intimidation tactic rather than genuine Murderous Intent.)

And then the first group attacks, so of course he’s going to retaliate.

And then suddenly he’s somewhere else, with other threats (the animatronics), and then the first group that attacked him is back, so he’s gonna fight them again.

And these jerks just keep following him? He’s not going to ignore that. And WOW that’s a lot of bright lights and loud noises, which are also threats, what the fuck is going on?!

And then this tiny human girl chucks a giant metal box at him, holy SHIT?! Sure, the Shredder is a dangerous antagonist, but at this point I wouldn’t call him a “bad guy”, he’s literally just responding to what’s happening to him.

In summary, the Shredder was stressed tf out because he didn’t know where he was or what was happening, he retaliated against perceived threats, and quite possibly wouldn’t have attacked the turtles in the first place if they hadn’t just rushed in without understanding the situation.

Gosh, doesn’t that sound familiar?

So yeah, I’m waiting for Rise to give us that good good Shredder!Raph content.

As for the possibility of Leo taking over afterwards... no, but also yes, sort of? On the one hand, we know that Leo does have leadership capabilities, and it would be a waste for the narrative to not explore that. On the other hand, Rise has broken from the status quo in many ways, and it would also be a waste for the show to do a complete 180 and return to Leo Being The Leader™.

Consider how the “leader” role has influenced Leo in past iterations: his perfectionism wears on him and his brothers, any failure tanks his self-esteem, he feels isolated from the rest due to taking on such a large share of responsibility, being an authority figure grinds everyone’s gears, etc. It’s just bad for his mental health.

No doubt all this responsibility will also wear on Rise!Raph as the story progresses and the stakes get higher. It will be bad for him as well. But if Raph steps down, Leo will once again suffer from the weight of this role. So if neither option is quite correct, if neither brother can shoulder the burden of leadership alone, then the solution is just... for neither of them to shoulder the burden of leadership alone. Sure, Raph will probably remain leader in title and in spirit, but Leo taking on a sort of “deputy” role makes sense from a strategic standpoint, and would be good for his character development.

Here’s how I think it could go down:

The Shredder!Raph scenario will be different from the Shredder!Draxum scenario. The Shredder was starved for mystic energy the first time around, so he immediately chewed Draxum up and spit him out. But Raph could be compared more to a battery than a meal; it will take a while for the Shredder to drain him. And at this point the Shredder could be back in “evil samurai” mode, and thus will understand the value of holding Raph hostage.

Y’all who have followed my blog for a bit know about my “Raph is a system” theory; that when he was little, he got separated from his family and pursued by some cryptid hunter. This trauma formed Savage Raph, who is able to handle “being lost/alone/threatened” when Host Raph cannot. “Pizza Puffs” didn’t give us a lot of info about who I’m calling “Red Raph”, but he made his presence known when Host Raph was sort of... "emotionally alone”? In that his brothers were dying a little bit and too stoned to care.

So if Raph is trapped inside a living cage, scared and helpless and hurt and exhausted, his family unable to help him... he’s not going to be able to handle it.

Or, rather, Host Raph isn’t going to be able to handle it.

These two can, though.

I’m imagining a scene in the mindscape where the Shredder says something like “Your pathetic family cannot bear to strike you down, and so there is nothing that can stand in m- wait, why are there three of you OW FUCK-” Red and Savage will mentally kick his ass long enough for the other turtles to rip off a chunk of the armor so Leo can portal it into another dimension or something. Shredder gets K.O.’d since he’s not whole anymore, and the battle is won.

Since the armor didn’t drain Raph as severely as it did Draxum, he won’t become as weak as Draxum did. However, it will still take him some time to recover. Raph trusts Leo in serious moments as of “Many Unhappy Returns”, and he already took charge when Raph wasn’t available back in “Man vs. Sewer”. So Raph will be like, “Hey Leo, can you handle the Mad Dogs for a bit? Just long enough for me to get back on my feet.” And Leo will be like, “Sure bro, I’ve got this.”

He does not, in fact, “got this”. Leo’s ego has caused trouble before (”Shell in a Cell”, “Minotaur Maze”), and being in charge will no doubt go to his head. This has the potential for both comedy and seriousness, leading to wacky mishaps and genuine danger. Being the leader is hard work and it’s not always fun, but someone has to do it and Leo will have to put the others before himself for it to get done. Once Leo realizes this, he could bond with Raph by asking for his advice on leadership. Sometimes Leo will follow the advice and sometimes he won’t, sometimes that will work out and sometimes it won’t, laying the foundation for the idea that there are situations where it will be better for one or the other to lead, rather than having one lead all the time. But that will only happen for a few episodes, because Raph will heal quickly and he’ll be the leader again and everything will be fine!

Everything will not, in fact, be fine. Raph is the strongest in the family, the tank, the one who can take a hit so the smaller ones don’t have to... the idea of being hurt, of being weak, scares him because his family is also in danger if he’s unwell. So I don’t think he’ll acknowledge to anyone, not even himself, that getting possessed hurt him emotionally as well as physically. And when a wound isn’t acknowledged, it doesn’t get tended to, and when a wound isn’t tended to, it gets worse.

That he’s a system will add another layer of complexity to this. The Shredder!Raph incident would make all the alters aware of each other via mindscape shenanigans, but it would also leave them with the fear of not being in control, so I think they’ll come in conflict with each other for a bit. They’ll argue with themselves, switch, and lose time more often, enough that it impedes their ability to function and the other characters start to notice something is wrong.

Host Raph will convince himself that Everything Is Fine and try to get things “back to normal”, which probably means he’s just straight-up not going to acknowledge that he's a system. He’ll rationalize that he’s always “gotten weird” from time to time, so it’s nothing to think too hard about... right?

Savage Raph will be on high alert because they just survived a near-death (a near soul-destroying) experience. He’ll probably take the front and go overboard fighting some villains that Host Raph could have ordinarily fought on his own. It might also take a while to convince Savage Raph that these “sewer monsters” who keep following him around really don’t mean him any harm.

Red Raph will get snappy (pardon the pun) about the more social aspect of “not being in control”; that Host Raph asked Leo to be in charge and then Leo started being an egotistical dumbass. And when Leo does make the right decisions, Donnie and Mikey might side with him over Raph, and that will also grind his gears.

Mix all that together and you have a recipe for a capital b Breakdown.

So yeah, I can definitely see how the Shredder!Raph incident and its aftermath would worsen all three of their tempers, trauma will fuck up your emotions real bad. Perhaps Host Raph loses faith in himself and tries to step down and get Leo to replace him as leader... only for Leo to be like “Bro I cannot do this full time I will one hundred percent have my own Breakdown if that happens.”

The life lessons here are that Leo learns to offer support by sometimes taking the leader role; not to benefit his own ego, but because he wants to help Raph. And Raph learns to accept support by letting Leo be in charge sometimes; not because he’s weak or incapable, but because he can’t always be a Staunch Immovable Rock and he needs to let himself rest by trusting Leo.

And then the Raphs can work on communicating, cooperating, letting their allies know about them, digging into their trauma, etc. now that they have some breathing room.

(Do you think the Hidden City has therapists? Steven Universe and Mao Mao both have therapists can we BLEASE get one for Raph.)

[all-hail-the-witcher]

jaskier’s breakup album

alright full disclosure i probably went into way more detail than i needed to. but jaskiers a dramatic little shit and therefore so am i. but this album slowly became my baby and I've been listening to it for the last 2 weeks while I've been doing homework and its a good sad bop. these are just my opinions, but i think it would be cool to see what other people think (esp because im fairly new to this fandom). also this post is really long. sorry about that. 

so. we all know jaskier is a bard. he traipses around writing songs about whatever fling he's having or about his witcher. netflix canon makes it pretty clear that geralt is one of jaskiers muses (and probably one of his more reliable ones given what we know about jaskiers dating history). jaskier is also very, very dramatic (as I'm sure everyone knows cause he's the damn comic relief that show desperately needs). in particular though the scene at the beginning of 1x05 where geralt is djinn hunting and jaskier stumbles upon him, drunk, singing off key, and rambles about how "the countess de stael, my muse and beauty of this world, has left me. again. rather coldly and unexpectedly, i might add. i fear i shall die a broken hearted man” and jaskier is clearly half muttering some sad attempt at a breakup song he's trying to write at the beginning of the episode so the question is, wouldn't he do the same thing post mountain scream down with geralt?

the answer is of course, yes he would because jaskier is nothing if not a dramatic little shit. and i am proposing that he writes not only one but an entire album (or set if this is canon era, but if this is canon i think he would keep a great many of these songs to himself, only playing a few select ones with the hopes that someday geralt will hear one and realize how badly he fucked up) of break songs and lamentations about geralt, because say all you want about what their relationship is, but one does not simply go traipsing around the entire continent with someone for 20 years and not grow close to them in some way shape or form (and the show makes it clear that geralt is at least one of jaskiers close friends so). now what is on this breakup album? well I'm glad you asked.

i peg jaskiers music (modern or canon honestly) for this album as being a combination of taylor swift’s folklore/evermore albums and james arthur and ill explain why. 

taylor swifts folklore/evermore albums have this almost ethereal, floaty, reminiscent, indie vibes. there are many metaphors, recurring themes and its overall kinda dramatic at points which i feel is exactly what jaskier would be doing right now (it also just kinda gives me canon era vibes, idk). but james arthurs music is much more emotionally intense which i think is definitely in character for jaskier at this point because he strikes me as someone who copes with things through his music. both artists do the sings through story telling in an almost monologue manner which goes along with that kinda bardic music and all that. i also think that jaskier would want geralt to know that these songs are about him because hes dramatic like that (kinda like how taylor swift writes her stuff). anyway here's what i think would be on his breakup album: 

heres a link to the playlist

1. the lakes - taylor swift 2. from me to you i hate everybody - james arthur 3. maybe - james arthur 4. sad eyes - james arthur 5. hoax - taylor swift 6. naked - james arthur 7. right where you left me - taylor swift 8. all too well - taylor swift 9. impossible - james arthur 10. exile - taylor swift 11. illicit affairs -taylor swift 12. safe inside - james arthur 13. quite miss home -james arthur 14. my tears ricochet  -taylor swift 15. phoenix - james arthur 16. this is me trying - taylor swift  17. happiness - taylor swift 18. death by a thousand cuts - taylor swift 19. empty space - james arthur 20. coney island - taylor swift 21. new years day - taylor swift 22. the 1 -taylow swift

so theres 22 songs which im sure jaskier would do on purpose cause hes a dramatic little shit ( “one song for every year i wasted on you” or something of that sort). jaskier being a dramatic little shit is going to be a recurring theme. some of them work better for modern era than canon era but as a whole this can be interpreted as either romantic or platonic. anyway lets unpack. 

1. the lakes by taylor swift (more canon era interpretation)

this song is the bonus and final track off of folklore. the song is actually about how she wants to go live in seclusion with her boyfriend out of the public eye but that is not what it means in this interpretation. i think that this song is about how jaskier feels as though his career as a bard is tainted now because he spent so many years singing geralts praises and there is no way he will be able to escape that part of his life because undoubtedly hes going to get requests for toss a coin and others he wrote about geralt and people will probably know him as “the witchers bard”. so this song is him talking about how he wants to run away and live out his life in seclusion because geralt took from him one of the only happinesses in his life. 

Take me to the lakes, where all the poets went to die I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry I'm settin' off, but not without my muse 

the line “i dont belong and my beloved neither do you” references the fact that jaskier feels like an outcast now that he’s spent years traveling around with a witcher, notoriously outcasts from society, so he feels that he doesnt belong anymore either.

I want auroras and sad prose I want to watch wisteria grow Right over my bare feet 'Cause I haven't moved in years And I want you right here

the second stanza references his idealization of living out his life in solitude, with nature, where no one can judge him (and geralt cant yell at him). 

jasper would have started this album with that song because it states his intentions: he feels as though he’s done with singing. it could also refer to him leaving the public eye (in modern era) to write this album.

2. from me to you i hate everybody by james arthur (more canon era interpretation) 

songs 2-4 on jaskiers album are ones that he wrote at various points while he and geralt were still together/best friends/etc. these three songs establish what the relationship was like before everything went downhill, but they are kind of melancholy, like looking back on a past love (which is what jaskier is doing). this one jaskier wrote about when they met. geralt would have heard him play it before and he would have known that this song was about him (he probably also secretly liked it and jaskier putting it on his album would have been like a slap in the face because it wasn't one that he had shared with other people, thinking it to be too personal). if this album had been released in modern era, jaskier would have released this song as a single to get geralts attention. he would have definitely wanted geralt to know that this album was about him. 

I used to come here on my own and drink So I didn't have to think or hear the whispering I stand with people telling lies again In suits and ties again and I just need a friend

they meet in the tavern and its clear that jaskier is Not having a good time and really just needs a friend, hence why he decides to go talk to geralt.

You walked into the room and cut the atmosphere like a knife, alright Sobering mind 'cause up to now, I've just been wasting my time, ooh yeah

the “wasting my time” part is of particular interest because it clearly articulates that jaskier feels as though adventuring around with geralt was the best part of his life and before that he'd just been a bard with debatable songs. the song as a whole makes it sound like geralt was jaskiers lifeline.

3. maybe by james arthur (modern or canon era works)

this song, while geralt would know immediately it was about him, was not one jaskier ever shared with geralt. it would have been written a few years after he and geralt had met initially. the reason that jaskier never shared it was because it talks about destiny and geralt made it Very Clear that he does not want to fuck with destiny.

I don't know what's going on Where you came from and why you took so long All I know is that I feel it Like it's the realest thing, I mean it Something changed when I saw you Oh, my eyes can't lie You said, "They're so damn blue And I love how you're so forward Is it too soon to say I'm falling?"

this would have been what young jaskier felt over the course of a few years after traveling around (or befriending if this is modern). There was probably a slip up somewhere, or jaskier just thought that he got really good at interpreting geralts grunts and the line about the eyes is what he hoped/imagined/thought geralt was saying to him in return. 

So maybe Maybe we were always meant to meet Like this was somehow destiny Like you already know Your heart will never be broken by me So is it crazy For you to tell your friends to go on home? So we can be here all alone Fall in love tonight And spend the rest of our lives as one

jaskier probably thinks that destiny is some wildly romantic thing hence why he compares them meeting to destiny. the line about heart break would have also hit especially hard after the mountain scene. also i think its pretty clear that jaskier wants to spend as much of his life traipsing around with geralt in the show (modern era wouldn't have been any different), hence wanting to spend the rest of his life with geralt. 

Oh, is it too crazy For you to tell your brothers about me? They told me they'll protect you But I'll look them in the eye Tell them you and I will be as one

this is the part that sells it for me. i think that geralt lambert and eskel would all be very close (admittedly i havent read the books but i kinda get that vibe from the fandom so). this part about geralt telling his bothers about jaskier and then jaskier probably meeting them would have been an Important Moment. 

4. sad eyes by james arthur (modern or canon works) 

aright so im not sure if geralt has heard this one before. i can see it going both ways. its a possibility that jaskier wrote it at some point and then would kinda sing it softly when hes patching geralt up after a particularly rough hunt so its one of those where like geralts not quite sure what the song is but then he hears it on this album (cause say this was modern era and jaskier actually did release this album geralt would totally buy it after a few weeks and then realize how badly he'd actually fucked up) and is like shit thats what he was singing all along?? but anyway this one is essentially about how jaskier thinks geralt puts too much pressure on himself and all that stuff

You wear the burden World on your shoulders, babe So let me hold the weight I know you're hurting Deep as the coldest pain But this is the order sayin'

essentially jaskier can see through geralts bs and hes calling him out on it and wants him to just take care of himself for once (see: the scene in 1x05 when geralt says he cant sleep) 

5. hoax by taylor swift (canon or modern works)

so this song begins the plethora of break up songs that jaskier wrote about geralt. this one would have been written some time after the incident, after jaskier has some time to reflect on the whole thing. i know that taylor wrote this  song about enduring a toxic relationship, which kind of works if you think about the way that geralts treated jaskier and how jaskier interpreted it (but im not implying that their relationship was toxic or abusive or anything) 

My best laid plan Your sleight of hand My barren land I am ash from your fire

jaskiers plan was to reinvent geralts image and geralt did not think that it was worth it. jaskier is just sorta his side kick (who gets him into trouble, as geralt points out) and geralt kicks him aside like he doesnt mean anything to him (like ash from a fire

Stood on the cliffside Screaming "Give me a reason" Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in Don't want no other shade of blue But you No other sadness in the world would do

this is a little more literal with the screaming on the cliffside. jaskier wanted a reason to stay and geralt didnt want him to. jaskier knows that witchers dont feel emotions (or at least not like humans do) so hes been tricking himself into believing that geralt actually liked having him around, knowing that it was probably going to blow up in his face at some point. but he doesnt quite regret it, and doesnt want to be sad over anyone else.

6. naked by james arthur (modern or canon works)

this kind of goes along with hoax, jaskier probably wrote them around the same time. he’s admitting in this song that he would be willing to try to work it out with geralt, but geralt needs to change first (needs to actually communicate and let him in and all that stuff). 

'Cause here I am, I'm givin' all I can But all you ever do is mess it up Yeah, I'm right here, I'm tryin' to make it clear That getting half of you just ain't enough

hes quoting geralts words back at him here ( “all you ever do is mess it up” is pretty similar to the line about shoveling shit), saying that all hes ever tried to do is be good and kind to geralt, but geralt hasn't really done the same in return and while jaskier may have dragged him into some things, geralt also needs to take responsibility for what hes done as well. 

7. right where you left me (modern or canon works)

this starts the Real Sad Boy Hours songs. this would refer to how he felt pretty much right after, not knowing what to do because geralt had been so much a part of his life for so long: 

Help, I'm still at the restaurant Still sitting in a corner I haunt Cross-legged in the dim light They say, "What a sad sight" I, I swear you could hear a hair pin drop Right when I felt the moment stop Glass shattered on the white cloth Everybody moved on, I, I stayed there Dust collected on my pinned-up hair They expected me to find somewhere Some perspective, but I sat and stared

this is kind of the processing of the event. and also the moment on the album where the audience would realize that this relationship that he's been telling about until now definitely ended. this song isn't super super emotional, its more a jumble of thoughts cause he didnt know what to feel after the breakup happened. although he didnt write it right after the break up, it was written much after as a looking back.

8. all too well by taylor swift (modern or canon era works)

(the link to this one is from a live performance because i like the emotion in this one better) so this song is not off of folklore (its off of red) but its such a powerful, painful breakup song that i had to include it in the lineup because it seems like something that jaskier would have written very very soon after the incident. the memories especially that she touches on in the song (driving upstate, dancing in the fridge light, looking at the photo album, etc) are all very powerful and real and i can see jaskier doing the same thing. again, if this were modern era i think that he might release this one as a single. theres so much to unpack in this song, this ones gonna be a little longer oops.

Maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much But maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up Running scared, I was there, I remember it all too well

this clearly references the mountain scene. they were a pretty good duo until geralt blamed him for all his problems. and jaskier was effectively stuck on the top of a very dangerous mountain that he would have had to navigate down by himself. 

Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still trying to find it After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone

jaskier spent half of his life following geralt around, its likely that he doesnt know what to do with himself or his life now that he doesnt have geralt to follow around on adventures. he doesnt know what to do anymore (see the first song).

But you keep my old scarf from that very first week 'Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me You can't get rid of it, 'cause you remember it all too well, yeah

this is more of a hope that jaskier has. he hopes that geralts held onto something of his that he left behind. maybe he left a shirt in one of roaches saddle bags (canon) or a notebook in their apartment (modern) that geralt just cant seem to get rid of. he would like to think that he had an impact on geralts life and that it wasn't just all for nothing. in the beginning, he wants geralt to be just as hurt as he is.

'Cause there we are again, when I loved you so Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well

this is a dig at geralt. he'd never had someone to follow him around on adventures before, much less a human. as far as we know it seems like jaskiers the first human that has even given him the time of day. this is jaskiers way of throwing it back in geralts face

9. impossible by james arthur (canon or modern works) 

this would have also been written very soon after the incident. it is more jaskier being mad at himself for not seeing the signs than him being mad at geralt. it is almost like his admittance of the event and like hes finally accepting what happened.

I remember years ago Someone told me I should take Caution when it comes to love, I did And you were strong and I was not My illusion, my mistake I was careless, I forgot, I did

jaskier is someone who clearly falls in love (or at least screws around with people) easily so its likely that someone would have given him some advice along these lines once. but when he met geralt its likely that this caution went to the wind. 

When all is done, there is nothing to say And if you're done with embarrassing me On your own you can go ahead, tell them

Tell them all I know now Shout it from the rooftops Write it on the skyline All we had is gone now Tell them I was happy And my heart is broken All my scars are open Tell them what I hoped would be impossible

this hints at the first song on the album. jaskier has no stomach for singing for audiences asking to hear about the adventures of geralt of rivia. this is his way of telling geralt that, almost as his punishment, he should have to deal with the people who ask why hes not traveling with his bard anymore, because jaskier has no intention of doing so. this is pretty brutal because (as we know) geralt doesnt really enjoy talking about feelings, or talking at all in general.

10. exile by taylor swift (modern or canon era works)

this is a fictitious conversation that jaskier wrote as occurring between him and geralt. it can be looked at either way but i think it makes more sense if bon iver is jaskier and taylor is geralt. 

I think I've seen this film before And I didn't like the ending You're not my homeland anymore So what am I defendin' now? You were my town Now I'm in exile seein' you out I think I've seen this film before

this first chorus is from jaskiers perspective. note the use of “homeland,” as home becomes a theme on jaskiers album. in geralts version of the chorus the line instead is “youre not my problem anymore” which is probably what jaskier took the whole mountain thing to mean. 

All this time We always walked a very thin line You didn't even hear me out (you didn't even hear me out) You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs) All this time I never learned to read your mind (never learned to read my mind) I couldn't turn things around (you never turned things around) 'Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)

(the () in this are geralt) this is jaskiers lamentations about how he didnt notice geralts abject discomfort in their relationship and also his regrets in not being able to remedy the situation. 

11. illicit affairs by taylor swift (modern or canon works) 

so this song is clearly and obviously about an affair. however, i have seen interpretations of the song where people view it as being in a relationship that is  so intense and well hidden that in a sense it is almost like an affair, like in the aftermath you’re not even sure if it was real or you deemed it because there isnt really a trace of this other person anymore, and that is the way i think jaskier would have written this song. 

And you wanna scream Don't call me kid Don't call me baby Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me You showed me colors you know I can't see with anyone else

the dont call me kid, dont call me baby part would reference jaskiers humanity, he has a normal human lifespan at least in canon (very much unlike geralt) so geralt might brush him off as being young and stupid. jaskier would have made this album to show geralt that hes not being young and stupid, that this did screw him up, and hes suffering cause of it. kind of like a reality check or a slap in the face.

Don't call me kid Don't call me baby Look at this idiotic fool that you made me You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else And you know damn well For you I would ruin myself A million little times

the secret language would of course refer to geralt himself. hes a hard man to understand (especially cause half his vocabulary is grunts) and hes also a witcher. so jasper had to learn to understand him and now he has no use for that anymore. and the ending line about ruining myself. that would be jaskiers admittance that he would do it again, he'd do it all again, which comes back up in later songs.

12. safe inside by james arthur (canon era interpretation)

this is one that jaskier would have written maybe a week or so after the incident. the song itself deals with distance and coping with not being in someones life anymore, and i think that that is something that jaskier would struggle to cope with because hes not sure he wants geralt to be alone. this song is more for jaskier than for geralt. 

Everyone has to find their own way And I'm sure things will work out okay I wish that was the truth All we know is the sun will rise Thank your lucky stars that you're alive It's a beautiful life

obviously geralt can take care of himself, but its kinda clear that he doesnt much like his life as a witcher (the part where he talks about them getting slow and killed). so this is kind of jaskiers way of almost reminding geralt that his life on the path is still beautiful and important now that he back by himself. 

Oh, will you call me to tell me you're alright? 'Cause I worry about you the whole night Don't repeat my mistakes, I won't sleep 'til you're safe inside If you're home I just hope that you're sober Is it time to let go now you're older? Don't leave me this way, I won't sleep 'til you're safe inside

this is more jaskier worrying about geralt being by himself. he hopes that hes okay in the aftermath of this this and that hes taking care of himself still. because of course jaskier would write a whole breakup album but still write one song about how he hopes the person is doing well.

13. quite miss home by james arthur (modern era interpretation)

this song. oh my god. its so amazing. if you dont listen to any of these, at least listen to this one (actually im pretty sure no ones read to this point so if you have thanks). this song is kind of more along the same vein as the previous one, how jaskier misses geralt but its more for him than geralt. he would have probably written it at like 3am in a fit of tears and weakness, and debated long and hard about whether or not to put it on the album, but done it anyway because what does he have to lose? theres a lot to unpack here tho so this is going to be a longer one. (sorry)

I'm in the kitchen while you smoke outside You're careful not to let the smoke inside I always tell you it's poison But I know it helps you take the edge off the day We get a drink before it's closing time The one on high street with the blinking sign All these memories feel poignant I won't be there to see the snow melt away

this is a very very clear picture of an event that seems to have happened a great many times, so much so that it seems like second nature. its like a little glimpse into what their life was before this incident. its intimate, but it still is melancholy.

Whoa I'm in another city I got nobody with me And it just really hit me

this is where jaskier is now, it provides some opposition. its like a culture shock almost, like hes so used to this intimate lifestyle with another person that its jarring to be by himself.

That I quite miss home And I miss you telling me To leave my shoes at the door 'Cause you just swept the floor And the dirt drives you crazy Yeah, I quite miss home 'Cause it feels like poetry When the rain falls down on the window While you're in my arms And we're watching the TV Yeah, I quite miss home

the key here is what jaskier is referring to as “home.” it's not the place, its geralt himself. all these memories center around him, not an establishment. (calling geralt “home” comes back in later songs.) again, this mosh of memories is like theres so many of them that its almost overwhelming but its stemming from jaskiers need to feel something other than lonely and hes craving this reality that hes lost.

14. my tears ricochet by taylor swift (modern or canon era works)

this is a song that really emphasizes jaskiers dramatic little shit tendencies. this is something that he wrote, trying to predict what geralts reaction would be if he found out that jaskier died. this is really just jaskier fantasizing that geralt didnt actually mean any of what he said and does still care about him. theres many lines in here that are jabs at geralt (if I'm dead to you why are you at the wake? and Even on my worst day Did I deserve, babe All the hell you gave me?), but i think this is the most important one:

And I can go anywhere I want Anywhere I want Just not home And you can aim for my heart, go for blood But you would still miss me in your bones And I still talk to you When I'm screaming at the sky And when you can't sleep at night You hear my stolen lullabies

this is again, jaskier referring to geralt as home. as seen in the last song, he clearly wants to go there, but he cant. this could also refer to where he grew up, which he cant go to either because his parents still view him as a disappointment (as seen in finally). jaskier saying he still talks to geralt is completely in character, he probably still curses him and the whole thing. but the part about geralt not being able to sleep at night and hearing his stolen lullabies is really hard hitting. jaskier likes to think that geralt wouldn't be able to sleep without his banter or his lute playing or something of that nature. over all its a very powerful song.

15. phoenix by james arthur (modern or canon works) 

this is a fictitious apology that jaskier wrote from geralts pov, kind of what he wished that geralt would say, but knows that he won't. 

Let me, let me begin Let me begin, with an I.O.U Who I owe everything to Lately, lately my friend Lately, you think I'm ignoring you But I've been trying to pull through All of the pain, I know you're looking down, down on me I could have been someone I hurt everyone Pushed away everyone who got near

in this “geralt” outlines what he did wrong, and that he didnt mea what he said at all. again, this is more for jaskiers benefit because he knows that even if geralt were to apologize to him, it wouldn't be to this extent.

16. this is me trying by taylor swift (modern or canon works)

this is jaskier trying to articulate the fact that hes trying to pick himself back up after everything, his way of showing his “healing process” and that he can do it, he doesnt need geralt (as the song shows, its not going very well)

And it's hard to be at a party When I feel like an open wound It's hard to be anywhere these days When all I want is you You're a flashback in a film reel On the one screen in my town And I just wanted you to know That this is me trying (maybe I don't quite know what to say) I just wanted you to know That this is me trying

its showing that jaskier is having trouble enjoying things that he once did (like parties) because hes still so distraught over what happened with geralt, but at the same time he also wants to show geralt that he doesnt need him. it has a very i dont care kind of attitude, but jaskier at the same time is having a hard time showing geralt that hes doing okay, hence the “maybe i dont quite know what to say” which is out of character for the very talkative bard

17. happiness by taylor swift (modern or canon works)

this is more him convincing himself that things will be okay. he's clearly trying at this point to move on, but its proving difficult because geralt was his happiness for so long:

There'll be happiness after you But there was happiness because of you Both of these things can be true There is happiness

he also repeats the line “havent me the new me yet” a few times, which i think is again him trying to convince himself that its going to get better and he will move on from it. but this line is the one that i think hurts the most:

No one teaches you what to do When a good man hurts you And you know you hurt him too

this implies that 1. he still thinks geralts a good man (not a monster) and 2. that he knows he hurt him to and doesn't know how to fix either of them. this is also kind of him giving up on how to fix it, but him recognizing they were both at fault is important for the arc of the story.

18. death by a thousand cuts by taylor swift (modern or canon works)

this is another song that is not off of folklore (its from lover), but i wanted to include it because it think it has a little bit of anger to it (especially in this live acoustic version that i linked) which i think that jaskier would feel a few weeks post incident in a fit of rage, like why am i still feeling this way? why did you think that this was okay?? and its right after happiness, which shows that his healing really isn't linear. there's many lines in this song that pertain to geralt and jaskier and i could talk about the whole thing but im not going to

But if the story's over, why am I still writing pages?

this i think is very jaskier. its so raw and like, i know this is over, why am i still writing about it? why am i making an album about this? why should this still matter to me? its very angry and again, like many of the songs, like a slap.

My heart, my hips, my body, my love Tryna find a part of me that you didn't touch Gave up on me like I was a bad drug Now I'm searching for signs in a haunted club Our songs, our films, united, we stand Our country, guess it was a lawless land Quiet my fears with the touch of your hand Paper cut stings from our paper-thin plans My time, my wine, my spirit, my trust Tryna find a part of me you didn't take up Gave you so much, but it wasn't enough But I'll be alright, it's just a thousand cuts

this part, especially if you listen to her sing it, (which i would HIGHLY RECOMMEND BTW) is very passive aggressive and the the last line is like quite sarcastic and downplays it, like, yes you put me through all of this, but i guess its *just* a thousand cuts. this really shows that in many ways geralt was a part of jaskiers life, and his sudden removal from it would have stung in many ways, and thats not something that you can get over quickly. 

19. empty space by james arthur (modern or canon era works)

this song starts the beginning of jaskier getting over geralt. these last 4 songs would have been written much after the incident, after hes had time to think, but there's still this nagging in the back of his head thats like, well what if im being stupid and he is the one and im supposed to go back?

I don't see you You're not in every window I look through And I don't miss you You're not in every single thing I do I don't think we're meant to be And you are not the missing piece I won't hear it Whenever anybody says your name And I won't feel it Even when I'm burstin' into flames I don't regret the day I left I don't believe that I was blessed I'm probably lyin' to myself again

this is more what jaskier wants to be, not what he actually is. he thinks that hes over geralt, but hes not (the chorus gets into it more but im not going to talk about it here, but it essentially says “only you can fill this empty space”) clearly jaskier is further along in his healing process, but hes still having second thoughts. he wants to be over him, but he knows hes lying to himself, very deep down. 

20. coney island by taylor swift (more modern era interpretation)

this is the true moving on song. it’s still laced with memories and speculation, but it puts clear distance between the two of them, much more so than empty space does because it lacks the longing. it just shows things for what they are. 

And I'm sitting on a bench in Coney Island Wondering where did my baby go? The fast times, the bright lights, the merry go Sorry for not making you my centerfold

its apologetic, but nothing more than that. it dwells more on what could have been rather than what he wants it to still be. 

The question pounds my head What's a lifetime of achievement If I pushed you to the edge? But you were too polite to leave me And do you miss the rogue Who coaxed you into paradise and left you there? Will you forgive my soul When you're too wise to trust me and too old to care?

this is interesting because it addresses their immortality and how they've been together for years and also the way in which they left things (paradise). but it also implies that things were on the downfall. and the last two lines about forgiveness is interesting because it then calls geralt “too wise to trust me and too old to care” meaning its more a wish of jaskiers rather than something he knows geralt will do.

Were you waiting at our old spot In the tree line By the gold clock Did I leave you hanging every single day? Were you standing in the hallway With a big cake, happy birthday Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest grey? A universe away And when I got into the accident The sight that flashed before me was your face But when I walked up to the podium, I think that I forgot to say your name

these are all very specific, very intimate moments that would clearly mean something to geralt. and it further implies that jaskier is uncertain if he actually made geralt feel appreciated when they were together. but again, its more what could have been rather than what jaskier wanted it to be, which is a nice segway into the last two songs. 

21. new years day by taylor swift (modern era interpretation)

this is another one not from folklore, this song is the closing track on reputation, but i like the nostalgia of it so i decided to include it (and it also has good parallels to the last song). initially jaskier intended for this to be the last song on the album, but decided to add another one last minute (and we will get into why). this song is more jaskiers muted longing to still be with geralt, albeit in the far future. 

There's glitter on the floor after the party Girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby Candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor You and me from the night before but Don't read the last page But I stay when you're lost and I'm scared and you're turning away I want your midnights But I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day

this interpretation is very much like the actual songs interpretation: the desire to stay with someone through the unexciting parts of life, like cleaning up after a party on new years day. additionally, wanting to start something new with someone (being there with them past the midnight kiss and actually starting the first day of the year with them). additionally though, there is the line of “dont read the last page” which refers to the last song on the album, which we will get to. 

Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you And I will hold on to you Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere

this is more jaskiers reality. hes torn between holding onto these memories and hopes and actually facing reality. he wants to hold on to geralt, but he also kinda wants to move on. and the last line about the laugh, thats more jaskiers own hope, he hopes that he will come across geralt again and things will work themselves out.

22. the 1 by taylor swift (modern era interpretation)

the decision to make this song the last one on the album was a very last minute decision, and it was written significantly after the rest of the songs. the reason for this was without this last song, the album ends on a note of hope “Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere” but this last song is more of a reality check and acknowledgment that what's done is done and that it will never be again. 

I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit Been saying "Yes" instead of "No" I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn't though

this refers to the fact that its been some time since the whole thing and jaskiers kind of changed a little bit. he claims hes doing good, and maybe is going to try out a new career (since the first song references wanting to put music down for awhile). seeing geralt at the bus stop is a reference to cardigan where he says “chasing shadows in the grocery line” where hes not actively looking for geralt anymore and it doesnt upset him that he didnt see him.

I guess you never know, never know And if you wanted me, you really should've showed And if you never bleed, you're never gonna grow And it's alright now

this is jaskier saying that hes almost glad that it happened because it gave him a new perspective and it was a learning experience. he also says that its alright, which is the second time that hes said hes okay, which probably means he isnt completely, but hes much closer than he was on the rest of the album because hes not still looking for geralt at every turn

I have this dream you're doing cool shit Having adventures on your own You meet some woman on the Internet and take her home We never painted by the numbers, baby But we were making it count You know the greatest loves of all time are over now I guess you never know, never know And it's another day, waking up alone

this is jaskier acknowledging the fact that geralt has probably long since moved on with his life, either with other romantic people or with his life entirely (the first time he does this on the album). he says that while their love or friendship was unconventional it still was definitely something (implying that it may have been one of the greatest loves of his life). and the waking up alone part references quite miss home and being by himself, but it isnt sad, its just a fact at this point.

But we were something, don't you think so? Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool And if my wishes came true It would've been you In my defense, I have none For never leaving well enough alone But it would've been fun If you would've been the one

this is the part where we see that jaskier has grown. hes recognized that his wanting to be with geralt was never anything more than a fleeting wish or a moment that couldn't last. but he knows that it had potential and it could have worked but it didnt and thats okay. in the last chorus the pennies line is “rosé flowing with your chosen family” which implies that he and geralt were close enough to know each others family (chosen or real), meaning that it meant something. and he wouldn't have minded a long term relationship with geralt, but its not what happened.

in new years day jaskier says “dont read the last page” this song is that last page. part of him still doesnt want geralt to know that hes put aside the hope of it working because he wants to still keep himself open for geralt, but knows that  its not healthy and ultimately he needs to move on. hes essentially giving geralt the choice: remember jaskier as wanting to get back with him (since the last line of the album would have been “please dont ever become a stranger who's laugh i could recognize anywhere” or let him have the knowledge that jaskier is done with him (since the official last line of the album is “but it would have been fun if you would've been the one”)

anyway thats jaskiers breakup album. i put way too much effort into this. and if you actually read through the whole thing, thank you and please let me know what you think!! if you use this for fics or have your own interpretations please please tag me, id love to see!!

[jazzythursday]

More Things I Would Change About/Add To The Loki Series If I Could (but now I’m just having fun)

This is a continuation of this post I did right when the series ended titled My Take on The Loki Series, And All The Things I Would Change About/Add To It If I Could (in vaguely chronological order), but branches off from most of my more thought out points into “haha this would have been cool I think” territory if you catch my drift. A lot of them exist in separate versions of the show unless specified.

When the paperwork scene happens it goes:

“Please sign to verify that this is all you’ve ever said”

*Defiant silence* from Loki. The workman taps his pen rigorously on the desk in apathy as Loki grows annoyed.

“Fine. Just- give it here.”

…

“Wait, that can’t possibly be everything.”

“Of course not, this is just the index for all the folders we have for you in the back room. You Asgardians can sure say a lot in millennia. Poor Frank had to spend decades organizing all of that, didn’t you Frank?”

They turn their heads and Frank nods sadly.

When watching the tape of Loki’s life, we see his fall from the Bifrost, and a shot of Loki floating through the void. Then we see real Loki’s face in reaction to this go stone-cold-fear-style and before we can see anything else he makes Mobius stop the tape. They have a brief discussion about what happened back then that ends with:

“What scares you so much that you, you, can’t even face it?”

“Well, Mobius ‘Mr. self proclaimed Loki expert’ Mobius, you’d know, wouldn’t you? You’ve seen it.”

Mobius, stoically, “Screened it. But yeah, yeah I have.

“Well then, you’d know that there was something far worse at the end of it.”

Loki getting angry in the time theater about how his family lied to him and always treated him differently etc. and holding his ground about how they most certainty did him wrong and never apologized for it.

“Well technically, you don’t know that they didn’t apologize. Haven’t lived it.”

“And now I never will? That supposed to make me feel better?”

…

“Did they, then? Apologize?”

“No, they didn’t.”

When Sylvie and Loki touch, they both start to go blue. Loki conspicuously spends the rest of the episode/episodes avoiding touching her.

- I talked about in my other post the possibility of Sylvie and Loki enchanting each other, and how if Sylvie enchants Loki it would lead to a memory of the day Odin took him. In this scenario Loki would have to be okay with them both shifting into frost giant form for it to happen, so it also makes sense why that memory would be triggered.

- Or, OR, Sylvie and Loki grab hands on Limentis 1 and shift into frost giant form intentionally as they accept their fate, but also themselves, and this is what starts their Nexus Event.

- Another way to address it would be for them to need to do ice magic to defeat an enemy, and grasp hands to both shift and to enhance their power.

Loki’s outfit change in episode five comes from a closet in the Loki Bunker pieced together from different things that have fallen into the void (no longer titled the void). He tries on a bunch of increasingly ridiculous outfits, most of which are references to both other Marvel characters/comics, as well as Loki himself. I’m talking classic movie makeover sequence here complete with the other Lokis inserting their opinion and critiquing each look (Classic Loki is of course a very vocal participant). The final outfit is a small nod to AOA Loki but with more of an MCU Loki twist.

“Well, you can’t go out in that.”

“Right. Huh, I suppose I’ll need something more… suitable for fighting giant cumulonimbus dragons.”

*that British smile™*

“We’ve got just the thing.”

- I’m thinking a bit more rugged than his usual looks, the cool belts and green coat but less devil-may-care than AOA Loki. Either this is where he gets the broken horn helm or he gets the helm pre-break and breaks it in the fight with… something. Then he has an interaction with Classic Loki where afterwords he says:

“Remember what you said before, about our being the ‘god of outcasts’?”

Classic Loki nods.

“Well, nothing so bad about that. All of us outcasts, we can be alone together, can’t we?”

In the same scenario, Classic Loki is later hiding out back with the other Lokis as they bicker (A mild take on the scene where all the Lokis start fighting) while thinking about his conversation with our Loki. He mobilizes the other Lokis to go help Loki and Sylvie and gives a very inspiring speech I don’t have the patience to write. Mostly I’m just imagining this slow zoom towards his face (that replaces the god-awful one we got at the end of the series) where he’s visibly fighting over the decision before standing up abruptly and deciding to try, and to accept both himself and all the other Loki’s for who they are, as they are, thus reinventing the way he thought of the title ‘god of outcasts’.

“ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU! IS THIS WHO WE ALL WANT TO BE? A bunch of petty braggarts bickering over nothing?! Well I’ll tell you something! I wanted to be more! I… I tried to be more…”

- Okay actually expanding on earlier when I said “… something”, what if there are sort of waif-y demon creatures that prowl the void (no longer titled the void) and prey on anything Alioth hasn’t gotten to yet. Obviously makes being out at night there a lot more dangerous, and gives Loki a chance to help out in a fight, which is when he loses one of the horns. (Ooooh I like that!)

Mobius convinces the other Loki’s to leave the void (no longer titled the void).

(No Sylvie here) Loki ends up meeting an IW Loki variant who’s trying to get back to his Thor. They talk, they have revelations about whats important to them and how their past isn’t the only thing that can dictate their lives, etc. Lots of IW Loki reparenting our younger Loki. Honestly this is just the interaction that we all wanted when they said they were making a Loki series with time travel, so just imagine that. 

Loki and Mobius (again, no Sylvie) find proof that the timeline isn’t just one Sacred Timeline and that a multiverse already exists. This is what jumpstarts Mobius’s acceptance that the TVA is not what it seems.

Time travel shenanigans in the library of Asgard with Mobius. Serious Loki magic gets to happen here. Also he disguises Mobius (in the absolute ugliest outfit he can think of) for the purpose of blending in. He uses his female form as most people in Asgard wouldn’t recognize it (I sort of head-canon that Loki used his female form most often when venturing outside of Asgard to explore/ have fun).

The return of pilot!Loki, because I love him.

Slightly crack-ish I know but Loki and Mobius time travel shenanigans where they end up stuck somewhere that has a beach and Loki tells Mobius to just get on with his jet-ski fantasies already. While he’s waiting (maybe getting a drink and people watching or trying to find a way back by fixing the broken Tempad or getting the Tesseract to agree with him he runs into trouble and by the time Mobius comes back Loki is ominously nowhere to be found.

“Well, would you look at that.”

“Wh- no. No, Loki, I am not getting on a—”

“Why not?”

“…”

“No way back as far as I can see, no apocalypse coming to destroy the place. Honestly. Honestly, what harm is it really going to do?”

“…”

Loki finds a way to use the Tesseract in the TVA but accidentally drags Mobius along with him (yes I’m basing this on the jet-ski idea above). More shenanigans ensue.

Loki and Sylvie both get trapped in their “ideal versions” of life that Kang offered them and have to fight their way back. Maybe Loki ends up needing to convince Thor of what’s really going on and gets his help. Brotherly bonding ensues??

They literally blow up/burn the TVA to the ground, resulting in everyone having to evacuate. In a very tense sequence, Loki saves the cat on the way out.

[buffyversefanfiction]

Slayer of Slayers

Warnings:I do not own, nor do I claim to own any of the copyright or characters within the Buffyverse which includes but not limited to the television shows Buffy and Angel, as well as the Darkhorse comics series’ continuation.

15+ Strong to moderate violence, Graphic to mild descriptions of gore, and torture, sexually charged scenes, sexual innuendos, mild to strong language, and practices of witchcraft.

M/M, F/F, M/F, GEN, OTHER +

PART NINE LINK HERE

Part Ten: Prophecy's Boy

Theo Frey’s affiliation with the first slayer was a strange one, his entire life mission was to become a slayer to eradicate all slayers, especially his birth mother Buffy Summers, and yet during a prehistoric time when everything and everyone was stripped away from him he had reluctantly formed some form of friendship with the primeval Sineya, bonding through their chaotic creation and so he joined her on some of her adventures in slaying until he was brought back to the present time, back to his current grievances, and surrounded by those ready for him to take his revenge. Theo never realized how deeply Sineya impacted her life until he saw her spirit on vampire island, her serving as a reminder to him of a simpler time where he lived his life without vengeance and how that led him to do good alongside the first slayer until he returned to evil crutches of vampire Drusilla and as the vampire/slayer hybrid stood right next to the unopened Hellmouth in the caves of vampire island, being surrounded by an undead army, he couldn’t help but think of the time he spent with Sineya. “They only call you a king because they do not truly know what you really are neither do you yet,” Sineya said to him through her telepathic ways, her words piercing his mind as she appeared as a spirit only, he could see, standing next to him. “Slayer of slayers is just another name, Theo, nothing but a name but none are what you really are…this is now what you truly are.” Theo looked around at his undead army to see if anyone else could see the first slayer knowing deep down that she was only appearing to him, appealing to a good side of him he thought he could bury forever, as she urged him to not bring about the end of the world, to change his ways, and accept his true destiny. “They need to pay they need to all pay!” Theo shouted, grabbing the attention of his fellow vampires who instantly cheered him on, believing that his words were words of war before he would proceed to open the Hellmouth. “They have paid the price already, as have you, and even her…there’s nothing left to pay except your destiny, and this is not it!” The primeval one replied to him telepathically with her cryptic words being said in his mind. “Your blood and your blood alone will open the mouth of hell, but you are so much more than your blood, a prophecy has been calling you long before your birth it is up to you if you want to continue ignoring it for a mission of vengeance or if you want to become what you were truly created to be.” Suddenly, Sineya’s spirit disappeared once again as Buffy, Faith, Angel, Spike, Illyria, Xander, Ruby, and Giles ran into the caves to meet Theo and his army, all equipped with weapons and ready to go to war if needed to stop Theo from opening the Hellmouth, as the slayer of slayer realized that one way or another, he was not making it out of Vampire Island alive…

Theo and his dedicated team of vampires fought against Buffy, Faith, Angel, Spike, Illyria, Xander, Ruby, and Giles viciously as Theo himself went head to head with the blue-haired goddess Illyria, the one who killed his undead lover Tobias, throwing a series of punches and kicks at the old one, making little to no impact, before Illyria proceeded to fight back against the slayer of slayers gaining the upper hand with ease as she showed her superior strength while beating Theo into submission as he fell to the ground, ready to be killed by the same woman who had killed the love of his life, but Angel quickly left his ongoing fight to rush over to his son’s side, eager to save him from being killed by Illyria. “He is my son Illyria, please do not kill my son.” Angel pleaded with his friend, who reluctantly began to walk away from both Angel and Theo before taking to fight in the ongoing war surrounding them. “I may have your DNA or whatever but you’re not my father, you never raised me as my dad did, you weren’t there like he was, and you will never take his place.” Theo snapped at his undead father as he slowly got back to his feet, bruised, and bloodied from injuries he had sustained in his fight against the blue-haired goddess. “You look pretty beaten up; she really did a number on you huh?” Angel replied, choosing to ignore his son’s cruel words. “I know you a slaypire or whatever now but somehow you managed to keep your soul, I’ve never heard of a vampire doing that before I mean I have a soul, but I’m cursed…literally. Yet again you are also the first male slayer, which is another mystery.” “We’ve come too far to stop now my army will not stop until my blood opens that Hellmouth over there…unless there is no blood to be spilled,” Theo responded, as he began to realize that he still had the chance to do the right thing, something which was only validated when the spirit of the primeval slayer appeared to him once again, this time standing next to Angel, who was oblivious of her presence. This time Sineya did not have to communicate telepathically with the slayer of slayers because the look on her face told Theo everything he had to know, her look told him that he had forced a destiny on himself that was never truly meant to be and now all he was left to do was decide whether he let that same destiny lead to him destroying the world or if he was able to do the right thing for the first time, as he suddenly began to finally feel his own humanity beginning to creep back in, as he felt all the pain and suffering he caused to his many victims, through his many evil deeds, as he concluded there was the only way to make up any kind of penance for the monster he had become. “You are right,” Theo admitted to the spirit of Sineya, confusing an unknowing Angel in the process. “There’s only one way my blood cannot be spilled and that is if there is none.” Theo quickly grabbed the wooden stake he spotted in Angel’s jacket pocket and plunged it into his own chest knowing that turning to dust was the only solution out of the hell he would otherwise cause onto this world, leaving his biological father Angel in a state of pure shock and horror as he screamed out “No” with the strength of all his voice, catching Buffy’s attention who turned away from her fight just in time to watch alongside Angel as the son they shared together turned to dust before their very eyes. Suddenly, a red smoke, like the one that had turned Theo into a slayer, formed above Theo’s ashes before it began to spread itself throughout the cave growing bigger as it did so, proceeding to attack, ingest, violate, and turn Theo’s undead army into bursts of flames before they eventually turned to dust leaving Buffy, Angel, and their friends stunned by their bittersweet victory, one that came at a great cost.

The End…NOT

“Hello?” Theo called out as he walked into a darkly lit rundown bar, before noticing a sign saying Willy’s Place, as he proceeded to walk over to the bar counter noticing the place was completely empty, the vibe completely dead, as he began to wonder if this was hell, heaven, or something in-between, when suddenly he felt a warm feeling rush through him, that which felt like love in its purest form and as he turned out he was shocked to find a woman stood behind him, with the softest smile he had ever seen. “You may not know me but I’m your grandmother, from your mother’s side.” Joyce greeted her stepson, the two have never met before. “I know this all must be very confusing for you but I’m here to help while I can.” “Not to be rude or anything but are you not supposed to be like dead or something?” Theo replied as he struggled to get his head around whatever the hell was going on. “Well yes, but then again so are you.” Joyce laughed off innocently. “You know you look a lot like your father, but you have your mother’s heart, no matter how much you try to hide it and that smile of yours is truly beautiful I just wish there were more opportunities for you to show the world that smile.” “They are not my parents; my parents died a long time ago and I am sorry, but you are not my grandmother either.” Theo snapped at his biological grandmother, although his snap was nowhere near as bitter as it once was. “Is this hell?” “No honey it is not hell nor is it heaven, consider this your second chance,” Joyce informed him cryptically. “You walked a path you were never meant to walk and the powers that be are just trying to get you back onto the right path, instead of fighting for another destiny why not try embracing the one that’s already yours?” Theo had no idea what Joyce Summers meant by her words but before he could ask her, he found himself magically being transported from Willy’s Place in the now non-existent Sunnydale to the rundown Hyperion Hotel in Los Angeles, where he walked into the lobby to find a beautiful dark blonde-haired woman stood behind the reception desk with a bright smile on her face that told him she was expecting him. “So, you are my guy’s second son I get vampires normally do not have to worry about you know condoms and stuff, but you’d think after the first son tried to kill, he’d wrap it up from there on out but then again if he’s not worried about losing his soul then he’s probably now worrying about impregnating people.” Cordelia Chase said, greeting Theo as he walked over to her. “You’re all kinds of messed up perhaps more so than Connor and he was raised in a freaking hell dimension by some unhinged hunter who very rudely blew up my friend’s club with us in it nonetheless but hey at least you’re not as bad as Angelus now that is the part of your father that you do not want to take after!” “So, which ghost from Buffy or Angel’s past are you then? Are you Angel’s mother?” Theo asked Cordelia, much to her own disgust, which was clear on her face, making Theo realize she must have been a former lover. “Oh, so you’re not Darla which I doubt because Connor’s her son…leaving you being none other than pretty little rich girl turned high being broke bitch miss Cordelia Chase. I must admit of all the stories I heard about the infamous scooby gang, yours were always the most amusing!” “Well, I guess you got your daddy’s brains, and his looks tell me which part of you is Buffy?” Cordelia wondered. “None I hope!” Theo quickly responded, making Cordelia cackle. “Good one sniveling little cry Buffy is more than enough for my liking.” Cordelia joked with the son of the man she once loved, before going on to hand Theo a room key. “A little friendly warning this guy is no friend of your mum or dads so be wary also his face is all kinds of yuck but hey we’re supposed to give you the full unbiased experience but seriously his face is not going to be easy on your pretty little eyes.”

“So, you are the son of the slayer and Angelus…I have been expecting you, my boy.” The Master announced as Theo walked into the hotel room to find the legendary vampire stood waiting to introduce himself. “From your actions, you are more of Angelus’ child than Angel’s which pleases me immensely to know the girl who slew me now has a beast within her own bloodline. However, I hope there is some of the slayer's DNA in you too after all she was the only one to ever beat me.” “You must be The Master, Dru mentioned you once or twice there sure is a lot of hype about you in your heyday you know before Buffy beat you like some newbie vamp,” Theo replied, mocking the master of vampires. “Tobias bought into all that hype but me not so much…so why the hell are you the latest stop on my supernatural soul train?” “You have this arrogance about you that most definitely reminds me of your mother but unlike her you have been beaten time and time again, therefore, making this arrogance of yours truly unearned.” The Master responded, taking a swipe at the son of the slayer in the process. “Mummy spanked you so hard you turned to dust, I think it’s about time you lose the attitude when in the presence of someone who earned their legacy in this world and the next!” “Now don’t start talking about spanking unless your intent is to turn me on.” Theo recklessly flirted with the infamous vampire. “You have what I call a pillow face, but I can work with it if you want to get freaky…” “Right!” Anya Jenkins shouted before storming into the hotel room, The Master quickly vanishing out of sight the moment Anya entered the room. “I’m taking into this appointment because that is just seriously unsettling, and I’d rather not metaphorically spew all over Buffy’s boy as I try to knock some sense into you.” “Oh, great another bloody ghost from their past!” Theo complained as he turned to face the former vengeance demon, quickly becoming tired of whatever the hell was going on around him. “I’m Anya formerly known as Anyanka formerly known as a vengeance demon, one of the best vengeance demons actually then I almost married your mother’s friend Xander until you know he ditched me at the altar and long before he knocked up the little brat we used to babysit,” Anya answered him, clearly unamused with Xander’s choice of partner to co-parent with. “Now I’m just Anya an ally to the powers that be, who’d have thought it…certainly not me anyway.” “Here’s the thing, I’m growing really tired of this bullshit, and after sacrificing myself for I guess the greater good I could really just do with a nap or something. I am so not in the mood for whatever is going on here nor do I give a damn that your man dumped you for someone younger it happens love get over it!” Theo quickly dismissed the former vengeance. “Sorry that your dead but I’m dead too so how about you go haunt the living? I suggest that knucklehead builder who broke your heart especially considering he has a thing for building prisons now and needs a good little scare for that alone.” “Listen here you little snot-nosed slayer, vamp, brat! I am over a thousand years old, and I will not be spoken to that by someone who is technically an error on human history.” Anya snapped back at the slayer of slayers. “Go get yourself a drink or something! Let someone else deal with you, I’m asking for a pay raise…come to think of it, does money still smell as good as it used to?” As Theo became more and more convinced that he was in hell, Anya took the look on his disapproving face to say he wasn’t going to answer her question, and instead of sticking around to force it out of him, she proceeded to leave the hotel room eager to get back to her own afterlife knowing that the next person to visit Theo would definitely be able to put up with his attitude better than she could, or rather was willing to.

Theo didn’t hang around for long before he decided to search for this infamous hotel bar that Anya had suggested to him, wondering if there was even a bar within this rundown, seemingly abandoned place, but after going up and down several floors he finally found the bar the former vengeance demon was referring to as he opened the door, walked through, and suddenly found himself transported to the dive bar he shared with Tobias, only Tobias was not behind the bar, a mousy blonde-haired woman was, a bewitching beauty. “It’s funny the places you wind up when you are not even going in that direction or at least so you thought. It’s hard to accept new paths that are laid out for you but sooner or later you just got to, or you spend forever unhappy and forever’s a very long time.” Tara Maclay informed Theo as he walked over to the bar counter, trying to work out who this bartender was and why they were in some dream-world version of his home. “I much prefer this bar to the last one I’ll give you that,” Theo admitted as he sat down on a barstool and waited for Tara to pour him a glass of whisky on the rocks, to which he quickly downed in one gulp upon being served it. “Which ghost of Buffy and Angel’s past are you?” “I was once Tara, now I’m something else entirely, I am no longer her, and yet her memories remain. It’s funny how they don’t tell you about that when you become a higher being nor do they tell you that despite how much you want to you can never truly reclaim your past, you can never truly get back to where you really want to be.” Tara revealed to the slayer of slayers, as Theo remembered a conversation, he had with Willow about a woman she had love and lost, and how her name was Tara. “I know she feels the same way,” Theo reassured her in a rare act of kindness, as he reached out to hold her hand to comfort the clearly saddened spirit. “See that’s the kindness, that’s signs of your soul, one that was too powerful to be destroyed by demons or anything else that has been thrown at you.” Tara genuinely replied as Theo took his hand back, uncomfortable by showing what he considered to be a weakness but was actually just plain old sympathy. “You have been fighting on the wrong side for all the wrong reasons Theo and I know you know that now even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself you want redemption, more than that you need it.” “Even if you were right, I’m dead now all done and dusted far too late to even try redeeming myself for all the terrible things I have done,” Theo replied, not wanting to admit to the former witch turned higher being that she was right, that he did want redemption, that he wanted to amend for the things he has done, that he had finally seen the error of his ways, and his hatred was placed in all the wrong places. “Oh, sweetie you’re not dead you’re just on a time out, which is sort of over now,” Tara replied before Tristan found himself being transported one last time, only this time he had been transported back to vampire island, to the very spot he had staked himself, standing in his own leftover ashes as he looked around the abandoned caves more confused than ever before as he tried to work out what he had just experienced, why he was back on that island, and what would happen next. “I told you there was another destiny for you, my friend,” Sineya revealed telepathically as her words once again pierced their way into Theo’s mind after her spirit appeared in front of the former slayer of slayers. “And now it has begun…you are no longer the slayer of slayers or the vampire with a soul intact, now you are at one with the very demon itself, this is your destiny!”

The End…of Volume One

Volume one - Slayer of Slayers Master List Link Here

VOLUME 2 COMING SOON...

[nanbaka-82]

No one asked and no one will probably read but here’s songs that remind me of some of my most beloved hypmic boyos (Yes I wrote this at five am and I was being biased) Alert this is very long and shitty don’t read if ya don’t wanna get a brain rot and I advise you not to break your mind before 2nd drb.

Bonus up top:

All Stars + Kotonohoto:

- This Is The Moment - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

CLASSIC LOVE IT KEEP GETTING DRB VIBES

- I’m Ready - AJR

THIS IS LIKE DIVISION ALL STARS VS KOTONOHOTO

Yotsutsuji:

- Three Thirty - AJR

IM NOT SURE ABOUT THIS ONE AT ALL but since he’s a character that we never really got to understand and analyze, or maybe the fact that he was put falsely into his comatose state pains me.

“You start thinking about the clock ticks, you get nervous, you start stressing, so how am I supposed to fit this, in three minutes, and thirty seconds?”

“Listen to my aching heart. Quick before you skip the song. We are human after all. And we. Don’t. Stay. For. Long”

Naughty Dialogue/MCD +:

- Bang - AJR 

JUST LOVE THE VIBE 

“I’m way too young to lie here forever (IchiKuko) I’m way too old to try so whatever (SamaSasa) so come hang! We’ll go out with a bang!”

- Partners in crime - ft. Ash Costello

The vibe too! Idk I really like it!

- A Bud Like You - AJR

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH IT FITS THEM EVEN MORE HELL YES

Naughty Busters: 

- Rope - Kulick

“I keep slipping on down but I can’t let go yet”

Pain 

- Kids In The Dark - All Time Low 

 “They left us alone, the kids in the dark, to burn out forever or light up a spark, we come together, state of the art, we’ll never surrender, so let the the world sing”

More pain but cute 

Mad Comic Dialogue:

- I’m Not Ok - Weathers 

HHHHH THIS SONG IS ONE OF MY FAVES

“IM JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE FUCKED UP LIKE EVERYONE ELSE”

- Weak - AJR 

“But I’m weak, and what’s wrong with that? Boy oh boy I love it when I fall for that” (fall for each other those Lil gay boiz)

- Broken -lovelytheband 

“I like that you’re broken broken like me, maybe that makes me a fool?” (sasa)

“I like that you’re lonely lonely like me, I could be lonely with you” (sama)

“There’s something tragic, but almost pure, think I could love you, but I’m not sure” (sama)

“It’s something wholesome, it’s something sweet, tucked in your eyes that I’d love to meet” (sasa)”

- Rose Colored Boy - Paramore 

Y e s 

- Sober Up- AJR

“Hello hello, I’m not where I’m supposed to be, I hope that you’re missing me, cuz it makes me feel young”

*Cries in SamaSasa*

“Won’t you help me sober up? Growing up had made me numb, and I wanna feel something again. Won’t you help me sober up? All the big kids say I’m drunk and I wanna feel something again. Won’t you help me feel something again... how’s it go again?”

“And I wanna feel something again. I just wanna feel something again. (My favorite color is you)”

“Can I finally feel something again?”

*Cries in SamaSasa again*

Otome (I’m so in it for her):

Dollhouse - Melanie Martinez 

Just. Her backstory. Shit. 

Fling Posse:

- TMD (Talk Me Down) - R & R 

This song just reminds me of the overall relationship between fling posse! I’d make an edit but I’m lazy and sad 

- It’s On Us - AJR

(Honestly AJR is my emotional anchor and it’s obvious)

“It’s not your fault you don’t feel safe it’s not your fault so don’t take blame (no it’s on us)”

“We can try together, make it right together, we can fight together, it’s on us, though your trust is stolen, though your heart is broken, you are never broken, it’s on us” 

“We know what we need to do we’ll be there it’s not on you”

Now da main course:

Samatoki Aohitsugi:

- Karma - AJR : 

THAT PART WHERE ITS LIKE “Where the hell is the karma?” HNGGG

- Can I Get a Witness - Sonreal :

OKAY hear me out:

“I fell in love with you cuz you made me feel, I fell in love with you cuz you kept it real, but you changed up on me, you changed your flow, and now I’ve been hating on you every where I go”

BASICALLY YEAH AND THE REST OF THE SONG TOO

- Honest - Nico Collins 

No comment... 

- Middle Finger - BOHNES 

Oh god I love this song 

“But I refuse to let you make me feel like I can’t fly, not only will I soar again, I’ll own the fucking sky” 

“Livin like a riot, setting off the sirens, fists are clenched I’m fighting, soul has been ignited, ain’t got time for dying, I’m too busy thriving, more than just surviving, heart is beating violent”

And just so much more, this song reminds of his spirit that no matter how many times it’s been broke down just won’t give up, and I love it

- Little Poor Me - Layto 

“I tried hard you know I care, I care, I care, just a little poor me, just a little poor me”

The way he protected what he loved with all his heart, Sasara and Nemu, yet, he still lost them at the end. 

Jyuto Iruma:

The Car - Nightly 

Idk why it fits him—the feel of it I guess 

Ramuda Amemura (maNy but I chose):

- Rabbit Hole - AViVA 

Gives me the feel where he drags people down with him but wants to escape 

- Hypnotized - AViVA

I DONT EVEN GOTTA FUCKIN SAY IT

“Can’t you see you’re hypnotized? Locked inside those eyes. Now don’t you go out at night, you’ll end up hypnotized”

“Look into my eyes find it so appealing look into my eyes send your body reeling, now you’re hypnotized, drag you down down down”

Gentaro Yumeno:

- The Way - Layto

Not so sure about this one—but 

“New Speak, show and tell, this will be my hardest sell, wise men, always say, sadness raps in golden plate” 

Reminds me of how he was bullied and unsocial in school, also how his care takers were elders and made him happy 

- 100 Bad Days - AJR

“A 100 days made a hundred good stories, a 100 good stories make me interesting in parties” 

NSJSBSJJSISS LISTEN IT F I T S

Dice Arisugawa:

- Disaster Party - MAGIC GIANT

FUCKIN-THIS SONG IS SO DICE STFU AND

“You’re a brave heart, but you’re broken, and an Angel, but you’re choking”

THIS REMINDS ME OF HOW DICE SILENTLY ACKNOWLEDGES GENTARO AND RAMUDA BUT DOESNT PUSH INTO THEIR BUSINESS! WHAT A GOOD BOY WE HAVE oh and

“Throw away all your money” hhhhh

- I’m Not Famous - AJR 

Reminds me oh how he could have been literal royalty but decided to say fuck it

Hifumi Izanami:

- Echo - Crusher-P

We don’t talk about why I link this to fumi 

- Oh oh and there’s this part in Parents - Yungblud, “Hi nice to meetcha! Got nothing to believe in! So tell me when my breathing, stops-“ idk it reminds me of his phobia and past 

- Make you Mine - Public The Band

HHHH HES SOFT BBY OKAY 

Doppo Kannonzaka:

- Isolate - SubUrban

“Segregated, situated, hanging on, sophisticated, liberated, nauseated, I just want my medication, individuality and blue lights give me headaches, I’m not changing for the better, I’m just changing clothes on weekends”

Need I say more?

- Come Hang Out - AJR

I personally love this one 

“Come hang out cuz you’re outta your mind, you’re working so damn hard, you forgot what you like, come hang out, don’t you leave us behind. But, I’ll be there next time”

“Come hang out cuz you’re missing your life”

“Should I go for more clicks this year? Or should I follow the click in my ear?”

I feel like this song is from everyone who cares about him which is also me—

Jyushi Aimono/Hitoya Amaguni:

- Crybaby - Melanie Martinez

ABSOLUTELY NOT SHIPPING but the part where it’s like 

“I look at you and I see myself”

Makes me cry because I remember how Hitoya lost his brother to bullying then you have Jyushi so he wants to help the little boy live his life and achieve his goals, unlike his brother, sadly

Sasara Nurude:

- My Play - AJR 

Fucking. Just watch the official vid. That’s all. It’s about parent divorce and slaps.

“When I show you my play, will you pretend you didn’t know, if I make a mistake? It’s gonna get really really really really bad, before it’s okay. But maybe you’ll forget it all, while you’re watching my play” 

- Rose Colored Boy - Paramore 

OHH BOY I WROTE A WHOLE FIC ABOUT THIS ON WATTPAD 

- Istanbul (Not Constantinople) 

FUNNY FUNNY SONG CLOWN LIKE FUNNY FUNNY 

Rei:

- Hushh - AViVA 

Fucker got one. 

“Hush Hush, keep your pretty mouth shut, hush hush, lose your inhibitions”

- This Ain’t A Scene It’s An Arms Race - Fallout boy

Like HeLL.

“Fitting you with Weapons in the form of words, and don’t really care which side wins, as long as the room keeps singing that’s just the business I’m in”

“I’m not a shoulder to cry on, I digress, I’m a leading man, and the lies I weave are so intricate, oh so intricate” 

If you read this then congratulations why the fuck did you waste your time

[ryqoshay]

OTP Ask Meme (Impatient Edition) YuuAyuSetsu

And yet again, I know the point of these things is to wait for followers to Ask questions from the list, but reading though this one got me thinking too much. About all of my flagships. And I wanted to answer all of the questions. And not wait for a handful to maybe be asked.

So again, credit again goes to @lonelypond​ for this version coming across my dash. Reblog that version if you want to do this thing correctly.

Also, just because I’ve already answered these here, I’ve expanded on some for various reasons and left others short if I believe the reasons are obvious. So if you still want to do the whole interactive thing, you can still ask for clarification or whatever.

And finally, there will be spoilers ahead for Tri-Arame, both for scenes I’ve written and posted, as well as some that remain in my Notes and WIP Warehouse. I’ll try to remember to link to the chapters mentioned.

1. Who wakes up first?

Ayumu. The comfort of sleeping next to or between her girlfriends has caused her internal clock to be uncanny in its accuracy, such that she no longer needs an alarm, as depicted in Early and Bright. Yuu doesn’t need an alarm either, as if the smell of cooking breakfast or brewing coffee isn’t enough to wake her, Ayumu will do so eventually. Setsuna will wake up sometime after Ayumu and before Yuu.

2. Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

Yuu is always happy to spend a little longer in bed, if for no other reason than to cuddle with whoever is there with her.

3. Who takes longer getting ready?

One could argue Setsuna, but that would primarily be because Ayumu is taking her time enjoying styling her hair.

4. When they can’t sleep, what do they do?

Probably watch anime.

5. Who falls asleep while watching a movie?

Ayumu, especially if she is comfortable and warm in between Setuna and Yuu. Yuu might fall asleep depending on the genre of movie.

6. Who falls asleep last, watching the other with a small affectionate smile?

Depends on the night’s sleeping arrangement, though more likely Yuu or Ayumu.

7. Who comes up with the cheesy pick-up lines?

Yuu intentionally. Setsuna less intentionally as she honestly thinks quoting some anime or manga line is cool; neither Yuu nor Ayumu are willing to dissuade her as they find it adorable.

8. Who gets extremely competitive playing Mario Kart?

Yuu and Setsuna like to make just about anything into a friendly competition. As of Betting For Play, they start including little requests winner gets to make of the loser. Ayumu joins the fun from time to time but is nowhere near as competitive as the other two.

9. Who accidentally pushes a door instead of pulling?

Setsuna, if she is focused on talking about anime/manga/idols/etc with Yuu or Ayumu.

10. Who sets the other’s ringtone to something loud and obnoxious behind their back?

Yuu

11. Who rearranges the bookshelf/DVD shelf in alphabetical order?

Setsuna likes her doujin collection organized properly so she can quickly find her favorites when she wants to reread them again.

12. Who does the hands-over-the-eyes “Guess Who” thing?

Yuu. I can see Setsuna doing so after she is more comfortable with her girlfriends.

13. Who points out a dog when they see one?

Setsuna

14. Who’s prone to road rage?

Setsuna, but only if Ayumu and/or Yuu are passengers with her; her desire to protect those she loves kicks in. If she is alone in the car, she might grumble a bit but it won't ruin her day.

15. Who’s prone to wearing socks indoor (or to sleep)?

Ayumu, and possibly Setsuna. We've seen barefoot sleeping Yuu in canon.

16. Who reminds the other to put on sunscreen before going to the beach (or pool)?

Ayumu

17. Who carries all the important documents while traveling?

Ayumu

18. Who gets the window seat?

Probably Setsua. Then Yuu and Ayumu get to enjoy watching her excitement from the view.

19. Who puts their cold hands/feet on the other?

Yuu intentionally. Setsuna unintentionally.

20. What do they argue about the most?

Less an argument, more a heartfelt disagreement, but they all maintain a concern about doing their fair share or that they’re somehow holding the other back or whatever. The other two then have to reassure them they’re doing fine.

21. Who’s clumsier?

Setsuna. Ayumu to a lesser degree.

22. Who texts more often?

Yuu and Setsuna

23. Who is better with kids?

Setsuna is best at keeping kids entertained and happy, with a story or a song or other sort of performance. Ayumu is best at tending to the kids’ needs, like feeding and calming them down when they’re upset or applying first aid. This isn’t all to say Yuu is bad with kids, just that the other two are better.

24. Who’s the better cook?

Ayumu, by far and away. Yuu is capable of the stereotypical bachelor level of cooking. Setsuna is prone to extreme experimentation, but if supervised by someone like Ayumu, she is capable of producing something edible.

25. Who mistakes salt for sugar?

Setsuna.

26. Who puts the fork in the microwave?

Possibly Setsuna

27. Who cooks at 2 in the morning?

Either Yuu or Setsuna

28. Who lets the microwave play the loud beeping sound at 1 a.m.?

Yuu, though she would be quite apologetic about if it woke anyone up.

29. Who licks the spoon when they’re baking brownies?

All of them.

30. Who likes doing the dishes?

Ayumu and Yuu are fond of doing them together. Setsuna is happy to take one of their places as she falls into the routines of the other two.

31. Who has bigger cravings? What are they?

I would say Yuu for idols, but I believe Setsuna matches or possibly exceeds her. Setsuna for anime and manga and doujin, in addition to idols of course. Ayumu initially just for Yuu, but then later for both Yuu and Setsuna. For food? Yuu and Ayumu have a canon fondness for Kope Pan and I imagine they pull Setuna into this desire over time.

32. Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Ayumu

33. How do they eat ice cream? What’s their favorite flavors?

They each get different flavors with the express intent of trying some of the others. Not sure about favorite flavors yet.

34. Do they go on dates? What are they like?

Absolutely. Ayumu prefers peaceful walks in parks or window shopping in the mall. Yuu also likes those things, though more because it is time spent with Ayumu, and eventually Setsuna, than for the activity itself. Once introduced to idols, she keeps track of local performance schedules and insists they go regularly. Setsuna loves hitting up the comic and game shops and has reservations for Comiket as soon as they’re available. She also loves the idol Lives, obviously.

35. What do they smell when they smell Amortentia?

Yuu smells the slightly gasoline-like smell of the dye Ayumu helps her use, the pyrotechnics used on stage during certain performances, and Tamagoyaki. Setsuna smells the sweat produced while performing under the heat of a spotlight, tabasco chilies, and the lingering scent of Yuu and Ayumu left on Ayumu’s bed. Ayumu smells the fabric softener the Takasaki family used for their laundry, Yuu’s hair, and Setsuna’s hair.

Tamagoyaki is the sweet, rolled egg omelet we see Ayumu feed Yuu in an early chapter of SIFA, or possibly Ayumu’s Bond Episode, I forget. Either way, I like the idea of that being a simple dish Ayumu learned to make at a young age and got Yuu hooked on her version of it over the years.

For Setsuna, I wanted to be more subtle with the tabasco thing, so I could hint at it instead of stating it directly. Thus, I looked up the ingredients for Tabasco… and what do you know, it’s made from tabasco chilies, which themselves are named after the state of Tabasco in Mexico. So yeah, a brand named after its main ingredient, which is named after the region where it is grown. No getting away from the name there.

Also, yes, Ayumu gets two hair entries, one for each girlfriend. I don’t care if it’s cheating or a cop out or whatever. I love the headcanon that she is obsessed with hair, so of course how it smells would be something that resonates with her. And she would absolutely be able to tell the difference between Yuu and Setsuna in a blind scent test.

36. Which one is the secret snuggler?

Setsuna is decidedly the most “needy” in her snuggles, though Ayumu can have her moments. Yuu loves all forms of physical contact, but that really isn’t much of a secret to anyone.

37. Which one offers their jacket to the other when they complain they feel cold?

Setsuna, with her desire to be heroic and cool. And Yuu, having grown up with Ayumu who gets cold.

38. Who reaches for the other one’s hand while driving?

Ayumu

39. Who leaves little notes in the other one’s lunch?

Ayumu. (Bonus: What does it say?) Cute, little affirmations of her love for her girlfriends.

40. Who is the most affectionate?

Yuu is the most open about it with Setsuna coming in a close second, but only after she is more comfortable in knowing she isn’t impressing herself too much on the others. Ayumu loves her physical affection, but is more reserved in initiating it; more sensual intimacy on the other hand…

41. Who is the big spoon/little spoon?

After a few weeks of rotation and figuring things out, they settle on Yuu being the big spoon to Ayumu while Setsuna snuggles into Ayumu’s chest, as first portrayed in Late Return Night. If, however, Yuu and Ayumu exhaust Setsuna during intimate activities, leaving her passed out between them, again, Yuu will roll her toward Ayumu and be her big spoon instead, like in Betting For Play.

42. What is their favorite feature of their partner?

If asked, Ayumu would probably say she loves Yuu’s gentle, supportive smile and Setsuna’s heart-igniting, passionate smile. However, if actions speak louder than words, her girlfriends’ hair might be considered her favorite feature. Yuu loves Ayumu’s adorable blush when she is teased and the fire in Setsuna’s eyes when she performs. Setsuna loves Ayumu’s braided bun, enough to want to emulate it sometimes, and Yuu’s excited expression as she cheers from the audience.

43. What is the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

For Yuu? Honestly, not much, in either case. She had little desire to rush anything and was happy to take it all at a casual pace. Not much changed for Ayumu either when she realized she loved Yuu as they were already spending a ton of time together anyway. However, upon realizing she had feelings for Setsuna, she resolved to finally move past her jealousy over the bond Setsuna had formed with Yuu; how successful she is with this is part of her character development in TA. Setsuna tried to walk away from the other two when she realized her feelings for them were stronger than just friendship and she was afraid of coming between them. They pulled her back in. And she let them.

44. What are their nicknames for each other?

Currently, I only have Yuu not using any honorific with Ayumu, as opposed to -chan she uses was her peers and juniors, and eventually her seniors after they’ve all graduated. I figure she has been referring to Ayumu as such for so long that changing, even to add -chan, would feel strange, even if she constantly calls Ayumu cute, making the honorific fitting in that regard. Setsuna uses -san with everyone, even her girlfriends and Ayumu uses -chan in a similar manner to Yuu, though with Yuu as well.

I have seen other authors use the alternate reading of the kanji for Ayumu’s name and have her girlfriend call her Pomu. I’ve also seen Setsuna shortened to Setsu, as Ai does in the anime. And while I am not opposed to someday adopting either or both of these to my own writings, I am awaiting what may or may not be revealed in the second season of the anime before I finalize how the trio refers to one another. Even if that means major retcons to what I’ve already written; just add them to the list…

45. Who worries the most? Over what?

Probably Ayumu. However, as mentioned above, all three worry about contributing enough to the relationship. Prior to officially dating, Ayumu and Setsuna worried that they were getting in the way of the other being a happy couple with Yuu, as revealed in Change Overnight.

46. Who initiates kisses?

Yuu, as mentioned above, is quite happy to initiate physical affection of all sorts, both in public and in private. Setsuna is more willing to initiate hugs and welcome home kisses, though is more hesitant with other types of kisses. Ayumu is similar to Setsuna but swaps for good morning kisses as the type she is more comfortable initiating.

47. Who says I love you first? How did it happen?

Yuu drops the more casual version quite often, and with just about everyone she is remotely close to. She probably starts adding the more serious version occasionally, with just Ayumu and Setsuna, as she feels their bonds have strengthened to that point. Setsuna is not quite as liberal with the casual version as Yuu, but definitely uses it more with Yuu and Ayumu. She probably doesn’t use the more serious version until after they’ve made their relationship official. Ayumu realizes she hasn’t said it at all, not even the casual version, prior to them dating, and decides it’s high time to start, as revealed in Change Overnight.

48. Who tells their friends/family about their relationship first?

They probably tell their friends at the same time. For family, I would imagine Yuu has no problems saying something right away. Ayumu likely isn’t far behind. Setsuna… I’m still working through my thoughts on her family, to be honest.

49. What do they do when they’re away from each other?

In When One’s Away, Ayumu started a practice to send one of Yuu’s sleepshirts and one of her own stuffed animals with Setsuna when she goes out on tour. She also has a set of wireless charging mounts that allow the three to share a conference call so they can see and hear each other before falling asleep at night. If Yuu is the one away, swap her shirt for one of Setsuna’s. If Ayumu is away, she would swap her own stuffed animal for one of Setsuna’s. This is to make sure no one feels completely left out, since it is rare that the three would be separated completely and more often only one would be away at any given time.

50. Who gets overwhelmed by small acts of kindness?

Setsuna and Ayumu.