#No Beholder speculations though

[kafkaoftherubbles]

Crack-ass Hypotheses Record #1/ 致命脑洞记录 (一） 

Eko has her clay pot. I have my crackpot.

This is where I gather my current To Your Eternity hypotheses and speculations that are wild (low probability) and have minimal-to-no concrete in-lore evidence or arguments per what the story currently shows. Over time, some might get promoted to formal hypotheses (IPA pronounciation: ˈram-bəl) if the evidence pools to its favor, but for now, take 'em with the same copious amount of salt as needed to make marinated Nokkers to serve unsuspecting Human Nokkers. Yum! 

Dolly has 32's brainwaves, including a copy of her consciousness/personality (at the time of her copying), uploaded into its AI module. It is still loading in the background. 

Dolly has 32's brainwaves and some bits of Left Hand Nokker's consciousness. Ironically making it the latest Hayase "rebirth." 

Dolly has 32's brainwaves because she is (forcefully) uploaded into the doll to leave her actual vessel for Left Hand Nokker to completely dominate. Dolly is 32's last-ditch attempt to remain "human." 

Dolly is a hybrid of 32 and Left Hand Nokker's consciousness as the Left Hand Nokker's latest attempt to "be human." Hence the panel "I've become human." 

Dolly is the Beholder's Orb (a rather popular one in the fandom as it stands, but it's personally placed rather low on my probability scale) 

AD and 32 (+ other Mizuha clones) had a very important relationship. 

AD was one of the Mizuha executors. 

 All Kaibara's most dirty-working executors have no stars. 

AD is frequently depicted as wearing goggles because (1) he has soft expressive eyes which, despite the intimidating physique, can easily betray his emotions. (2) his eyes are distinctive enough that revealing it will make readers recognize his lineage or connection to past characters. (3) a fashion statement. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. 

The Mizuha Massacre was conducted because Left Hand Nokker has finally perfected its vessel and it no longer needs these "Hayase's rebirths" anymore.  

Left Hand Nokker's perfect vessel is constructed or engineered from scratch the way designer babies like Andy are, but with materials from the Left Hand Nokker itself such that for the first time, it can say this is its body. This is its first time as an independent human being, "free" from Hayase and her "incarnations."

There could be a grand revelation of the true nature of Hayase's rebirths, which the Left Hand Nokker recounts to taunt/spite Fushi. Perhaps the revelation that the rebirths have always been arbitrary and socially constructed and that only the Left Hand Nokker is the constant. In other words, Kahaku could have just been a normal Yanome boy without all that baggage—and self-hatred—all along.  (very wild if true; for now, very low on the probability scale despite how much I like this one)

There will be a World Tour of sorts, with each immortal warrior's personal theme and life story coming to full circle and perhaps even dying. It will make this part of the Wish Era mirror the Previous Era's emotional gut punches.  

The tundra will return (whether it's still the tundra or not... well, climate change might beg to differ). The NAMELESS BOY (ooh, didn't need to capitalize that) and Joann both will return to the story in some form.  

As they are Fushi's earliest memories and life impetus, to the point of being pre-Hayase, they are the ones most connected to the Beholder's Orb. 

Nameless Boy is (or the base of) Fushi all along. It doesn't change the fact that Fushi is "everyone", though, but in some philosophical-spiritual-scientific-whatever-sticks way, Nameless Boy and Fushi are "one person."  (Also very wild if true, but also very low on the probability scale despite how much I like this one to bits)

Fushi would make do with what they promised Left Hand Nokker back in the Present Era and "become its vessel."  

That's it this time! I wonder what everyone's crackpot theories are as of now?  

Thank you for reading my ramble.  

#fumetsu no anata e #fnae #to you the immortal #to your eternity #tye #wish era #manga spoiler #crack pot mud slinging #some of these are nigh lethal doses of copium #No Beholder speculations though #huh did I do something wrong? feels like I did because no Beholder hypotheses #and I'm supposed to be the president of the Beholder Be Holding Bee Club

[bredstick]

Hello! I hope you are having a good day. This is the first time I'm making a request so if I write stupid things, please turn down my request. Male!reader can see curses even though he has no cursed energy. Although he is very kind and gentle looking, curses are running away from him because of the energy he radiates. He is descended from a clan that was destroyed by the Sukuna in history. The general characteristics of those coming from this clan are that although they are physically weak, they can destroy even the strongest curses with a single touch. Also, the men of this clan appear feminine in appearance and can be mistaken for a woman from afar. And the jujutsu sorcerers are unaware of the existence of any of this clan because they think they have all been destroyed. Also a member of this clan can be easily identified from their physical characteristics. So what is the reaction of Gojo, Nanami, Geto, Toji, and Sukuna when the reader is able to heal curses that have been transformed from human into curses and destroy the bad curses without doing anything, even though he has no cursed energy at all?

Sorry if it's too long and complicated English is not my first language. Thank you!

JJK men find out you're a descendant from an extinct clan (male reader!)

Reactions from Gojo, Nanami, Geto, Toji, Sukuna

Gojo Satoru

▪︎ He didn't even know about the clan and its users until other people spoke up about you, how you were different from the others- already speculating you have connections to the clan.

▪︎ He was curious on who you were, since that's the first time he'd heard of you, so he arranged a group mission with you involved (principal was confused, why did the strongest need a companion?)

▪︎ First look at you he thought you were a woman until you spoke up on the mission, allerting him of certain dangers across the curse filled field. He was surprised, but it didn't really matter. He just wanted to see the powers you behold.

▪︎ Turns out the enemy was bigger than he thought, and wanted you to step back from it, considering your body was quite frail and you seemed weak to him- he didn't know what to do when the curse was moving in the speed of light towards you.

▪︎ He was just about to teleport you away, but you sensed a curse approaching you, and as a reflex you immediately put your hand up and touched it without seeing the said curse. You could feel it, not see it.

▪︎ Just as you touched it, it exploded without a second thought. You and Gojo just stood there in complete silence, Gojo's lips slowly forming a grin. You might become someone on his level.

"So, mystery boy, what's your name?"

Kento Nanami

▪︎ Didn't really care when he saw you around until he was on a mission with you, not even knowing you're the one everyone's been talking about

▪︎ "I'll take care of this" thinking you're still a newbie and don't know how to use your technique because he didn't sense any cursed energy within you

▪︎ TAKEN ABACK by the way you destroyed the higher rank curse so quickly- needed to register the fact that such a frail person could behold such power (he's totally not jealous)

▪︎ Is even more taken aback when you heal yourself, thinking that he's seeing things

▪︎ "So..... you've mastered your cursed technique I see.." he says after awkwardly standing next to you for who knows how long

(you're on the villain's side on these)

Suguru Geto

▪︎ He wasn't paying attention to you, thinking you were just a boring sorcerer with no power to overturn the world to what he wants to create- he did question your gender though lol

▪︎ Not until a fight with jujutsu sorcerers (including gojo's presence) have you really proved yourself worthy of his praise

▪︎ He was oh so so glad you were on his side when he saw your healing abilities- seeing Gojo's face drop in realization on who's clan you belonged to has made him thrilled

▪︎ "how about we rule the world together?" he said with that smirk of his;)

Toji Fushiguro

▪︎ "uhh.. what are you exactly?" would totally be his first words while meeting you

▪︎ he wasn't even listening to you until you mentioned your clan, which he heard of from the zen'in clan and how overpowered your clan compared to his was- which had a positive effect on him since he hated his own clan. The murmurs of "I'm glad the clan got wiped out years ago" was coursing through his mind while he snickered, and took on your offer of getting together for the destruction of the zen'in clan.

▪︎ When he saw your abilities and even saw that you and him both don't have cursed energy was a big win for him, thinking of treating you to a nice dinner after you're done with the killing (let's hope he can afford it)

▪︎ "I've been waiting for this" he says, slashing the clan's throats.

(here you're on the good side again)

Ryomen Sukuna

▪︎ Your abilities being shown to him made him go back to the good old days when he was slaughtering your kind to bits, giving him ptsd from you just showing him one of the techniques

▪︎ "How the hell did your kind come back?? I killed all of you" he says in the most disrespectful tone ever, making you rage

▪︎ he underestimates your power, forgetting how troublesome your clan was to kill- perhaps you were even stronger than them, making him wonder who taught you to perfect the techniques and how he could let someone slip away from his brutal slaughter.

▪︎ when he gets seriously injured, he curses under his breath and goes back into hiding in itadori's body (he simply cannot be asked to deal with your kind again)

▪︎ "That damn brat... I just need to consume all of the fingers so I can beat the shita outta him"

#jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu gojo #jujutsu geto #jujutsu toji #gojo satoru x male reader #suguru geto x male reader #geto x male reader #gojo x male reader #toji x male reader #sukuna x male reader #nanami x male reader #toji fushiguro x male reader #nanami kento x male reader #sukuna ryomen x male reader #anime

[burnorgetburned]

okay. OKAY. I JUST WANT TO SAY.

NEW MUSIC STYLE. NEW ART STYLE. NEW MAGIC SYSTEM, NEW GIRLS, MORE CLARA DOLLS, MORE HOMURA OUTFITS, MORE EVERYONE OUTFITS, and AAHAHAHAHSGH.

Homura wins by style points alone.

Anyway. Choice screenshots and my thoughts on them. Plus a few wild theories. Replies, tags, and your own reactions are VERY welcome.

(You're doing great, sweetie!)

First of all, I’ve already said this, but Homura has usurped Kyubey. She is the contractor in this new system. She calls magical girls and asks them if they can bear the responsibility of fighting (LEAGUES better than Kyubey's misleading BE A HERO language), using a magical lizard phone. She knows better than anyone else how heavy this is.

And she looks amazing while doing it. Look at that outfit! Look at her steampunk-esque aesthetic! Her throne. Which, notably, has glowing magenta eyes and her wings as a backrest.

The moon is either actually, physically repurposed, or she’s made something that looks like it. Not only that, but the pins going into the moon are exactly like the pins that went into her soul gem when she was being experimented upon in Rebellion. Those pins, according to the artbook, are for draining her gem of grief to keep her just before the point of witching.

Well, here’s my first wild speculation: Homura has not only taken over Kyubey’s job as a contractor but also its job of disposing of grief. That moon steampunk device is maybe for collecting, concentrating, and distilling grief into energy - hence the strange tesla coils connected to red liquid in the second screenshot above. She's doing what Kyubey says it's doing - turning the grief of people into energy to prolong the universe's lifespan.

I for one support her reality-warping shenanigans.

Here are some voices over a phone, sometimes speaking over each other, sometimes together. They call Homura “Akuma-sama” (!!!) which is a distinct upgrade from calling her Good-For-Nothing. They say “Just bring hope” like a mission statement. Are these her contracted girls? Or her Clara Dolls? They seem to show her a lot of respect.

I’ve also said this, but I strongly feel that this and the girl shown later are some of Homura’s new contractees. Their magic is darker. It warps the world around them, even. Their outfits incorporate black a lot more, too, though that might be the lighting.

Look at the little sigil on the top left-middle! Looks a lot like Homura’s lizard sigil shown when she was consuming the universe, just with a longer lizard.

And, of course, the image of Madoka throwing herself off of a building. “Wraith” and “Legend of Bestie” (lmao) show up here. I’ve actually been really looking forward to seeing what they’ll do with Madoka’s… self-sacrificial tendencies, so this might be part of that. Or, because of “Wraith”, it’s… well, I’ll get to that later.

On the other hand, it might not be Madoka. It might be the girl who the speaker in the phone call calls her "best friend", jumping to her death because of a wraith, and Homura saving her to fulfill a wish.

So glad that the insane architecture from Rebellion is making a comeback. Love what you’ve done with the place, Homura. Look at all those cranes!

The outfit changes are very cool to me. I honestly don’t have speculation for why Sayaka is covered in bandages, but I do have speculation for the changes!: they’re older. Years have passed. Since they’ve changed and grown, their outfits have changed, too. I don't have proof of this - I just like the idea.

Light shines down on Madoka. Petals fall towards her as flowers bloom above. Behold, Homura's extremely subtle and inscrutable feelings. (Sorry for the blurry Madoka, but I am not going through the ordeal of uploading screenshots to my computer again because Tumblr does not like mobile users).

Homura is apparently waiting for Madoka here. She's standing right in the fountain's water and holding a Victorian umbrella like a vampire. Right now we can see that the visuals of this movie will not miss.

Is this a routine thing for them or is Homura just showing up to greet them this one time, for some reason? No clue. Madoka's expression as she notices Homura could indicate either.

Eagle-eyed people on Twitter noticed this, but in these shots, Sayaka already has her bandages.

Aside from the multiple and/or teleporting Homuras, there's also a Clara Doll in a ballerina dress and a cute Clara Doll peering over the side of the tower like a little kid.

The tower is interesting. It appears to be made of books or pages, and there's chains throughout it. More notably, it's in the shape of a helix - infinity symbols on top of each other.

Please appreciate these Clara Dolls. I'm sure they're working hard.

But seriously, those Clara Dolls' details. One has a witch's hat. One has an apple on its head. And the one with a teacup appears to have not only a lizard's tail but a replica of Homura's Devil outfit. Appreciate them!

Here is Homura(?), lounging or trapped on a chair filled with even more of those pins. Look at her closely. She's wearing a strange combination of her magical girl outfit and her Devil outfit - her shoulders are bare, and she has... feathers? She's sitting on a bunch of nails. But she also has two soul gems - one in her hand, and one hanging from her neck.

Is she cleansing them? Eating them? Holding people hostage? I don't know, but I support her completely.

She looks so tired.

So: here's some of what I think might be going on.

Homura is using wraiths to repress her worst memories. We know already that wraiths take memories and emotions from their victims. Well, there's no reason it can't be used as extremely terrible coping! Homura actually does this in the Wraith Arc, too - she lets a wraith take her feelings for Madoka.

If it is Madoka, it explains the shot with Madoka throwing herself off a builing - what if Homura has seen this happen in the loops, and out of pain lets a wraith pull it right out of her? The shot says "WRAITH" and billows with smoke. A wraith could have taken Madoka's form to act out this memory. And it doesn't need to be a memory - it could also represent Madoka's self-sacrifice and almost suicidal tendencies. This, too, would explain the multiple Homuras. All wraiths using her form.

This puts forward powerful enemies for the plot, as well as an interesting point of literally fighting Homura's demons. Most importantly, this lets everyone see Homura's pain.

Other wild dartboard speculations:

Homura will try and present herself as a villain. This is, honestly, kind of guaranteed, but it bears mentioning that her magical girls will be very likely to try to defend her.

Kyubey may appear to try and turn the girls against Homura.

Homura made the new magical girl who is drawing a bow. She has a lot of design choices from the Quintet, and people have already noticed how much she looks like Madoka. This new girl plays a role of the hero to Homura's pretend-villain, eliminating the risk that her friends will get seriously hurt.

The new magical girl is actually Madoka. Or the Law of Cycles. Or Kriemhild Gretchen.

The girl who jumps from the tower is a contractee being asked to take a leap of faith. She does so, and Homura rewards her with magic.

#pmmm #pmmm analysis #puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica #walpurgisnacht rising #walpurgis no kaiten #pmmm 4 #please tell me what tags to use for spoilers! #pmmm specuation #homura akemi #long post

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hi! Love your blog!

We know that made Lestat's abuse of Louis way more prominent in show (decision I still don't agree with but that's not the matter) and we have Jacob saying that s2 is way darker than book. People speculate that it's because they'll include FrankenClaudia who technically wasn't in this particular book but do you think they'll make Loumands relationship more toxic too like they did with Loustat? (I know they added romance to loustat but they also added beating scene that was on way way more smaller scale in book). Do you think they'll add more gaslighting? Emphasize on Armand making Louis turn Madeleine against his will?

Thank you for answering!

Hey nonny!

So glad you like!

I do think that they will heavily lean into that, yes. (And this "interview" is already held with the content of several books, so imho it doesn't really matter where the content comes from... Rolin held 6? or 7 books up to the camera^^). This will be a bit longer^^:

As all things are said to be revisited we will see how s1 will hold up, but of course it will stay correct that they emphasized the abuse vector. And that is a very valid thing for the Vampire Chronicles! There is a LOT in there, especially abuse, but also like... everything else, too. (As the Twitter discourse currently on Marius also... shows.)

So to get back to your actual question: yes I do think they will emphasize this part (though if they add more? We will see.), I think they have already hinted at that in season 1, but the book canon and their chosen promotional posters give us a very poignant hint here as well.

If we look at the "elevator posters" for example, we have Lestat, Louis and Claudia looking sideways at the observer*, in various state of emotions: fear, anger, and aware consternation (maybe), respectively.

And then we have Armand, *the observer, who looks down the length of his nose at them, with an air of superiority and a hint of a smile, clearly the one in charge:

It is also important to note that he is half in shadow but from the front here, not sideways as the others. The other three are almost completely "in the light", visible as it were. Armand... is not.

Now, if you remember the poster of season 1, then this is a direct echo of it, as well as a development from it:

Lestat was only half visible, behind Louis, since we only heard of him through Louis. Now he is in the same "position" as Louis and Claudia, almost fully revealed.

It is interesting that those elevator pictures keep Claudia in this position here, too, but it makes sense when one knows what will revealed only in later books about her and her play (I have talked about the twist from Merrick).

Now the posters sold at SDCC are equally interesting, because they speak their own language:

First off, we have Louis, holding the mask of Lestat in his hand, a mask taken off, and the mask echoes Lestat's "death face". He is looking into space, beyond it, and he seems to be seated in the back of a stage (given that we have a scene photo with Lestat seated on stage that carries ... repercussions^^).

"La mémoire est un monstre". The second half of IWTV is (among other things of course) Louis yearning for Lestat and learning a few... uncomfortable truths. Masks are taken off, and the revelations will be bloody. Louis will be condemned to be a spectator for some of them, and in the book it culminates in a very poignant speech about passivity.

And then there's Claudia. "La famille est un monstre." Dancing as Carmen, the red flamenco dress making her seem older than she is (supposed to be). The dress emulates flames, the audience is dead. She is almost smirking at the beholder, definitely proud of who she is, and her feet are naked.

"Carmen, a searing depiction of a woman who craves love, but creates obsession and jealousy, is one of the most popular operas ever written." (x)

The Carmen reference feels perfect for me, it will be very interesting to see which aspects they take up for the show, who Madeleine will be, given the World War 2 context, and the jealousy of the soldier in the original opera.

Then there is "L'amour est un monstre". Love is a monster. Love is the monster. The lover is the monster. For these vampires all these variations fit, and I do not just mean Loumand here, but generally.

Armand seems to say something to Louis, who is looking into space, with a slight frown.

The movie poster from "Gaslight", a movie about a whirlwind romance and the new husband isolating the wife from the world and "gaslighting" her to make her appear mad and doubt her own sanity to get at what she possesses... now the IWTV people know what they're doing *laughs*

Anyone who has read IWTV and TVA knows that Armand spell-binds Louis on several occasions, and influences him to do things, for example turning Madeleine, as you mentioned.

Interestingly enough there is also a man with a face half in light, half in shadows here - and that is echoed on Louis in the poster, one half is painted red - indicating he doubles with the police officer of the movie, discovering the things that are supposed to be hidden from him.

And, last but definitely not least, the general poster, without caption:

Lestat is "almost" revealed, our "view" of him still restricted somewhat by Louis and Claudia, as well from the theater curtain.

Claudia is engaged with whatever is happening beyond our view, Louis... is not. He is restraining himself, hands in pockets, mouth set and his gaze is dark, somewhere between accusation and anger. Lestat's gaze is open here, carrying a vague challenge, an expectation.

If we take the elevator pictures back into account one could argue they are looking at Armand here - and that would fit with the story:

Lestat will come to Armand hoping for something, expecting something. Louis will come to some very uncomfortable realizations, and events that will make him beyond angry. Claudia will try to move on, leave Armand behind. And even Louis, arguably.

So to wrap this up: I'm not sure they will add more gaslighting. More toxicity.

Because I don't think they actually need to! There is plenty there already. They will however build on what's there, and it has been more than hinted at imho. (Arguably that happened in season 1 as well, as a lot of that ep 5 scene echoes something in later books, and we will know only after season 2 how it will click into place.)

Armand uses his spell-gift on Louis even after promising not to do it (in the book, I talked about it here), and given how this show drags things into the light they will definitely hook into this. I think both definitions of "gaslighting" will apply - given the structure of the show they might make Armand the "villain" (that he was in the first books) this time round, though of course this word doesn't quite fit for these vampires.

Armand is the one who tortures Nicki and chops off his hands. We are getting flashbacks to that time, and we know that we will get to see Lestat and Nicki in that time. I would bet money on it that they will explore that part of their history.

Armand is the one who tortures Lestat, and uses him to pull the mock trial off.

Armand is the one who throws Lestat off a tower, challenging him to love him... a scene many book readers expect to at the very least echo, if not replace the ep5 scene, depending on how they spin it.

Armand is the one who influences Louis to do things, and who lies to both Louis and Lestat about the other.

Armand is the one who has Claudia (and Madeleine) killed, because she was in the way.

I know show only viewers see Lestat as the epitome of toxicity right now, but... he's actually not. Jacob put it well in that interview that Louis is "angry at him and presents him as a monster".

The show made choices, and given that it's Lestat (who is just the tiniest bit important for the following seasons/books after all)... this requires other choices to be made.

And going by the posters they have given us - they do.

#Anonymous #asks #ask nalyra #toxicity #gaslighting #gaslight #amc iwtv #iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire amc #iwtv amc #iwtv 2022 #interview with the vampire #lestat de lioncourt #louis de pointe du lac #loustat #armand #loumand #claudia de lioncourt #iwtv claudia #posters #iwtv meta #iwtv s2 #monster #poster #elevator

[cetaceacyberia]

even MORE sillies from @superxstarzz's classpect fusions!! this time with a wee bit of analysis below the cut because i have the evil homestuck autism that makes me go crazy about this stuff. also the reason these guys look freaky is because theyre a human+troll fusion

OKAY SO generally i imagine fusedtiers would naturally be far stronger than a regular tier, though not quite as strong as a master class, at least depending on the development of each. They are also, of course, far more specific in nature, leading to highly specialized roles. Anywho, here's my interpretation of the classes featured here. I'll probably end up doing more later. Apologies in advance for my wordiness. I know there's a lot of speculation about the role mages play, so I'll provide a brief explanation of how I interpret them first.

Mages, in my opinion, are the active counterpart to seers, being able to take the knowledge they gain through or recieve from their aspect and put it into action. For an example, a Mage of Space as is a component here would be able to take the knowlege of the behaviors of elements and atoms, and be able to manipulate them at their will, provided they know what they're doing, and it's physically possible, alongside being able to ascertain. This can be seen with Meulins ability to form relationships out of seemingly nothing and Sollux's pension for causing doomsday esque events (aradia, sgrub, the like)

Prophet of Design

Prophets, in my opinion, would take the prediction abilities of the seer and the active knowledge mages can use and be able to speak events into reality.

Prophets tend to be extremely high strung people. The suffering that comes with being a mage and the all-consuming knowledge that comes so easily to seers create a scenario in which it's very common for them to slip into anxiety about the events they cause. The butterfly effect, if you will. Prophets do not use their powers carelessly, each move is thought out and incredibly calculated. Prophets are, naturally, blindingly intelligent, being the fusion of the two knowing classes. This can manifest itself in many ways, though the shortcomings mages often experience in relation to their aspect can often cut down their confidence, leading to a prophet underestimating themselves constantly. Despite their anxious tendencies and low self-conciousness, prophets can also be very snarky and sarcastic, when not gleefully oversharing about whatever piques their interest at the moment.

Design would be the merging of the concepts of fate and inevitability with the universe, creation and physics. Design players have domain over the physical outcomes of things. Reactions, from chemical to physical, even quantum at a higher level, all of that is within the control of a Design player. So!! i think a Prophet of Design would be able to speak into reality the outcomes of reactions they create or observe. For example, prophet would be able to do something like say "when i take a step forward, I will actually be twelve feet ahead of where i would have been" and just have that shit happen. As they get stronger, their prophecies can becomem more long term and more drastic, from being able to speak into reality an event that will happen some time in the future to prediting events that might not even be physically possible normally. Beholder of Birth

A beholder, a class that combines the insane growth potential of a page and the mage's expansive knowledge to produce a role of one that is able to expotentially build on the knowledge they have of their aspect. To create entire knowledge trees given the smallest bit of information. From a basic fact to the most niche, minute detail, none of it can escape the gaze of a Beholder. A fully realized Beholder would know, quite literally, everything there is to know when it comes to their aspect, which can be an enormously vast amount when it comes to Space or Time players.

Beholders are natural detectives, though it never comes easy. It starts as the beholder starts to make connections, faint at first but with a sure sign there's something more. Often ones to second-guess their findings, but once they dig deeper, and their ideas are validated, there's nothing stopping a beholder from uncovering everything there is to know from that one initial spark. For lack of a better word, beholders are quirky people, kind but stubborn, and their ascenion often is hindered by that trait due to the help they might need at first. They might get knocked down easily at first, but are wickedly determined, and bounce back quickly and eagerly learn from their mistakes, often brute-forcing their way out of problems. Thanks to the manipulation of knowledge that comes with their Mage counterpart, rising the ranks is far easier for a Beholder than a Page, though roadblocks are to be expected with their headstrong attitude towards growth.

Birth is the merging of creation, physics and the universe with the mind, logic and raw information. I think these would blend into birth players being in control of the inception of very nearly anything. How exactly they can control this depends on the class, of course, but birth players hold the essence of creation in their very soul,

A Beholder of Birth would have the ability to hold an object and see everything that lead up to its creation, how it was created, and everything that happened to it. Not just objects either, but people and other living things. A fully realized Beholder of Birth could potentially have the full knowledge of everything that has ever happened in the universe, from before the big bang to the very end of it that was no doubt caused by the activation of SBURB and everything in between.

#homestuck #homestuck oc #my art #classpect #homestuck fankid #art #classpect analysis #sorta

[yuliasolsystem]

Behold my craziest theory about the Plants in manga.

Everything below is not my take on the actual canon, but rather just a fun theory I came up with based on some plot holes.

Okay, so listen: people in Trigan didn't just become incapable of obtaining food and energy naturally, without the Plants. They're probably genetically altered in such a way that they are unable to use food and energy that doesn't come from the Plants.

That's why they don't use solar panels on the No Man Land, even though it would seem like an obvious solution. And that's why the townsfolk in Chapter 47 all died out in a few days.

Soldiers speculated that it could have been up to two months after the city was cut off from the world.

But in such a period of time, the Ark would have time to fly over the horizon and it was seen on the fifth day of the soldiers' stay in this area. And the day before, that is on the fourth day, there were still people alive in the town and they still had the strength to make riots.

But on the 7th day, when soldiers reached the town, there was no one alive (except for one man).

"Exposure" in the original was "burns" ( implying sunburns). That is, people not only managed to die of hunger and thirst before the Ark had time to disappear beyond the horizon, but sunburns also were mentioned among the causes of death. So, the Plants not only provided food and water, but also somehow protected against solar radiation, which is probably why there are so few suntanned people on the NML.

This means that the bodies of the humans in Trigan are completely changed and die in a matter of days without a Plant presence anywhere near them and without consuming food containing Plant biomass (since even the cannibals in that town didn't survive). They are literally completely dependent on the Plants, just as the Plants are dependent on the life support terminals they are connected to.

And we also have mutated humans and humans with Plant-like abilities, like Elendira, who can create matter from nothing (her nails literally appear in her suitcase out of nowhere, they are neither stored in it nor teleported from somewhere else by some device)

and Legato, who can manipulate electricity and take control of other people's bodies, which is reminiscent of Knives' ability to control the merged being. When Knives "connected" to Domina with a thin feeler, it looked very similar to Legato's technique.

(It's not impossible, however, that Knives intentionally copied Legato's trick. )

What's my point? You know, there's this trope in horror stories: an alien ship/meteorite falls from the sky and infects the land and living things all around so that people, who lived there, become unable to live outside the ship/meteorite radiation zone or eat normal food. And they, these people, gradually turning into aliens or mutants. So, what if the same thing happens in Trigan, it's just that in this universe humans, unlike in all these movies and stories, didn't avoid the " impact zone", but rather took the alien DNA and spread it all over the Earth. So Trigun humans are no longer 100% humans, but part of the Plants' biosystem, which is why dependent Plants forgave them so easily and don't really mind to be "used".

This could also be related to the presence of ghosts, which can be both human's (like Conrad and Wolfwood) and independent's (like Tessla). The existence of ghosts is not revealed to public, most likely so that people won't find out that after death they will spend eternity in a gloomy black void.

What are independent plants for then? Most likely they are some sort of walking weapons. From the conversations of the Earthlings we can conclude that Knives is not the only aggressive independent (he was just the strongest of the known ones) and that independents on Earth have their abilities blocked for humans' safety ( so most likely all independents have weapons built into their bodies).

What's the need for weapons against humans if the dependent plants don't mind their position and "humans" are in some sense part of them? Maybe to regulate their numbers, or to stimulate their reproduction and further mutation, maybe the Plants need not humans but their souls (ghosts), or maybe independents are something like immune cells that get rid of improperly developing body cells.

#trigun #trigun maximum #trigun plants #my headcanons #manga spoilers #trigun spoilers #manga theory #my analysis #spoilers #millions knives #legato bluesummers #elendira the crimsonnail

[mqfx]

middle court's (un)official pillar rankings

(courtesy of our most zestful @lanchang who commissioned these via THEE most deliciouse cookies EXPRESS delivered by turkey vulture!! behold the fruits of your contributions!)

anyway. here's a transcript of a totally unbiased report confiscated from the desk of a middle court official from the court of nan yang

feng xin - duh. nothing but respect for MY ju yang!!!! no contest. buy his merch + stream God of Virility over at xuan zhen's channel!!

quan yizhen - again, duh. only thing is no one's ever seen this so we can't prove anything for certain, and yet the shadow of his trousers do not lie (<- we middle court field agents got our asses beat for this scant data so be grateful)

jun wu - you don't want to know how we got this information

pei ming - what it lacks in sheer size it more than makes up for in peerless beauty. middle court verified! multiple times~

mu qing - we'd barely walked into the rotunda before he sat us all down and recited a 12-hour epic poem on ju yang. it might be an original as we've never heard that before in our lives. anyway when we finally got to our question he turned red and said "none of your business" and kicked us out so we had to ask the bossman and he immediately said, quote: "more than you'd expect--HEY WHAT THE FUCK" so now we all have armor-cleaning duty :(

lang qianqiu - when asked, he just made an approximation of size with his hands. it's average

honorary mention, speculations

hua cheng - we're afraid of even including this what if he hears us. anyway it's probably more like a pole than anything. or curved like a scimitar ahahha AH BUTTERFLY JUMPSCARE

he xuan - maybe we can bribe him with food and find out. total goose egg data though we'll never know

yin yu - one of our field agents went undercover to ask him and he said, quote, "small, leave me alone!" note: he may be suffering from low self-esteem so estimate generously

xie lian - medical condition

--

all middle court officials found responsible for this report have been sentenced to extra shifts at rebuilding the palaces along with three months' probation

#hewwo #i am bringing postmodern found footage tropes to the fanfic community. my back hurts from this btw #i don't even wanna put this in the tag. im shy #tgcf

[tanadrin]

It is interesting, and often painful, to hear of what high hopes our ancestors had for us at the beginning of the third millennium. They expected that we should grow in our wealth and our power as a species; and we have. They hoped that we would venture out into space; and we have. They dreamed of what cunning things we might invent, what new arts and sciences we might devise, and many of those things we have invented, and devised. But in all their speculation there lay also a dream of more, that perhaps we might solve the most vexing troubles, that only a few centuries off lay a world without war, without poverty of any kind, without fear or sin or death. That though there may be no paradise beyond this world, perhaps one day we could create one here.

This is, perhaps, the sharpest tragedy of our existence: that we have scoured the globe, and sent our ships out to search among the stars, and there are no utopias to be found. Oh, we have tried to build our own--the little Horais and Cockaignes and Zions of a thousand hopeful dreamers--but they have foundered sooner or later, for the simple reason that all things really in the world are subject to division and change. The current age of exploration and technology has brought with it a new breed of utopian, one whose spirit I cannot help but admire. They are willing to build not just new towns but new worlds, to brave hundreds or thousands of light years, to hazard generations living in what be marginal environments, for the chance to realize their visions. Yet I cannot think of one that has not failed, in most or all of the things it set out to do. We behold, often, a vision before us that seems so vivid, so immanent, that it must necessarily be real; and yet when we go to capture it, in words or in pigment or on a new world, it disappears.

The failures of these utopian colonies is usually quite civilized--there are no deaths, no revolts, no disasters. It simply evolves away from what its founders intended, all the careful tinkering of its architects, and all the resolute will of its governors, unable to stem forces which were unaccounted for in the original designs, or changing circumstances which could never have been forseen. Many of humanity's most notable colony worlds began as such utopias: Teegarden's World was founded by socialists seeking to create a truly stateless communist society; Proxima b was originally settled by techno-utopian transhumanists, who dreamed of a teeming Hive beneath the barren rock; Luyten Anchorage was built by Sufi mystics, who wanted a world apart for the contemplation of God. These facts are simple historical curiosities now.

More spectacular failures have occurred--the civil war among the schismatic sects of Kepler-62f, for instance, or the notorious mass cannibalism incident in the commune at Umbriel Station--but typically the failure of a utopia is more subtle. It is not just a failure of politics, a failure of planning, a failure of systems. It is the slippery mismatch of souls which are at variance against the universe, souls which necessarily suffer and strive and dream, but must dwell in a cosmos where not all their suffering can have purpose, where some striving must be in vain, where to be able to imagine a thing is not necessarily for it to be possible to build. I do not advise wholly against utopian dreaming. The instinct that a better way of doing things, even a better world, is possible, must be possible, is a perennial source of renewal and growth, the fierce goad of salvation. But perfection is a process, and not a state. And the perfectibility of mankind is a process that acts on two different problems: the hurts of the world around us, and the hurts of the world within. Many, many utopians have struggled with the latter in vain, mistaking them for the former; and many complacent in their own happy position have supposed all utopians are fools, because they make the same mistake in reverse.

I have been asked often what my utopian world would be like, if I could build one. The short answer is that I would not attempt it. Were I brave or foolish enough to try such a thing, I am afraid the answer is quite boring, and not much in keeping with the spirit of the question. I am only a little schooled in philosophy, and a dabbler in political economy. After all my long years of life, I feel often I understand the world less than ever; if I have gained any wisdom, it is principally a wisdom of my own faults and failures. Were all things possible, I should banish disease and want and death, I think, as most would. But I cannot say how. And beyond that all that comes to mind is that I should like to have tree-lined streets, and the sound of lively conversation from a little way off. And the knowledge that not far away, the friends I lost long ago were waiting and eager to see me; and always would be, and I need never be long parted from them again.

(Excerpt from Tjungdiawan’s Historical Reader, 3rd edition)

#tanadrin's fiction #tjungdiawan's historical reader

[beekindtobees]

are we gonna get to see the other v3 kids get akumatised and maybe also get their own miraculouses? on that note, if kaito and kokichi weren't miraculous users what would their akuma forms be like? loving the fic so far btw!!!!!

first of all thank you sm !! i’m super glad ur enjoying it !! <3

second , oh boy people will be getting akumatized !! no one is safe . ( well . i say no one but . idk if i’ll ever akumatize kokichi or kaito )

i’m in the process of designing hero forms for the V3 kids rn !! ( who gets what is a surprise tho , shhh . though ur free to speculate . i have a feeling some will be a surprise tho . )

however i have had designs for hypothetical akumas bouncing around in my head and drawing these was good practice !! behold !! hypothetical kaito and kokichi akumas !!

( incredibly pleased with how kokichi’s came out )

uhhh , when it comes to lore/names for these two , i have zero idea !! feel completely free to guess away on why they got akumatized or what their abilities are ( and this point your guess is as good as mine <3 )

#thanks for the ask !! #i have a couple of asks to respond too and i’m excited for all of them #just spacing them out so i can savor them ya know how it is #this is fun #oumota miraculous au #my art

[desultory-novice]

Mechalor AU Anon retuning to bring up a few things that came to mind.

1) I can imagine that Marx, due to having not gotten the Nova wish, would instead roll around on and attack with gem apples as opposed to his usual beach balls.

2) in Marx Epilogue, would the Ultra Sword sequence go differently on account of Marx not having hands? Maybe he uses a different Super Ability (Flare Beam as an example) or perhaps a different move entirely (Something based on the Crowns Cutters? A black hole akin to his splitting attack from his canon self?)

3) What happens to Nova after Magalors defeat? Its described to be "quietly whirring", so I assume it is just functioning on low power mode, but would it eventually fly away? Crash land on Popstar? Maybe it stays orbiting the planet, becoming a new background element (one that I'm sure would draw some attention from other worlds).

And 4) Would Mechalor, on account of him being reconstructed out of his magic and Nova's parts, be able to use any of his boss fight attacks without needing to deconstruct the god clock? Would he maybe even be able to make a wish on himself if given the needed power?

(Oh and 5) I feel like Mechalor "not changing from the experience" [being trapped inside Nova and having to pull himself together] seems a bit strange when Marx in canon changes from his own experience, even if it's a small amount. We don't see Marx try betray anyone, nor him try snatch up some other power source, but it seems like Mechalor still would. Idk maybe I'm reading too much into this.

6) (last one for real this time) what would the Marx Soul equivalent be? Magalors essence creeping into Nova and infecting all of it, remaking himself out of ALL of Nova rather than bits and pieces? Magalor just absorbing it's power as it explodes (assuming Kirby hits him into Nova's core just a little harder) and refusing to die, perhaps subconsciously making a wish to the last remnants of Nova? Maybe he isn't even strong enough to manifest one, and he simply *tries*, making a mess of magic, Nova pieces and himself that shambles towards Kirby, its one goal being taking them down with it.

(Love your work BTW)

More BOSS SWAP AU Time!

1) Adorable! I love it! (And I didn't even think about this but now we have Shopkeeper(?) Marx as he waits patiently (?) for the Master Tree to grow to full size so he can get the power to go home?)

...Also BEHOLD Marx's little (cursed) Master Crown hands.

2) I would say the Epilogue is the first place/time Marx begins to learn how to manipulate the Crown Gold left embedded in his body. He might not have a full on "body split" attack, but I imagine if the Crown uses its roots to try and impale Marx, finishing him off, Marx grits his teeth and forces his weak and aching body apart ju~st enough so the roots all impact the molten gold parts of him...

...Mistelteinn becomes trapped, frozen in metal that is of equal (limitless) strength to its own...and that's when the bells on Marx's hat begin to vibrate... faster and faster, building up static energy, growing to a greater and greater size until they nearly consume the screen! Marx unleashes the the dual sparks which collide into Mistelteinn, the gold transmitting the electricity (shocking Marx a little) but doing devastating damage to the tree!

It explodes magnificently and shaken Marx gets a charge of power  from the experience. (As well as a boost of confidence, once he gets his requisite good cry out, that is.)

(I do love the idea that he would specialize in Flare Beam instead of Ultra Sword, given his own hat is "Beam" like in nature)

3) I would say that yes, Nova remains a presence in orbit around Popstar for a while (similar to the Dreamstalk) however, it is currently inert and incapable of granting further wishes - this is partially because it is still in the process of "carrying out" Magolor's wish, which I speculated in another post to be something like "...immortality!" or "...that nothing can stop me" (ie: though Magolor has been crushed and effectively buried alive, he can't die. This is why I describe his "death" as gruesome btw.)

But once Mechalor finally emerges from the Nova and is no longer in the process of ~dying forever~ the Nova probably blinks out of existence and back to wherever Novas go pre-summoning.

(TLDR, the Nova couldn't leave to continue doing Nova things because it's like a computer running hot trying to run a complicated program and as a result, everything else is stalled/lagging.)

4) Hmm, I feel like Magolor wouldn't really have anything new in his arsenal, so much as he would have more tech/cyborg/robot versions of his regular moveset? Or as best as he can replicate them. Although yes, that might manifest as Nova-inspired moves! He could crush you with the pendulum-mace as opposed to using the Ultra Sword or he could throw light bulbs on the ground that explode into glass shards after a while. (Oh no! Why are his moves more violent?! XD)

5) No, no, that's fair!/pos That was mostly a sassy quip of me comparing Mechalor to the radical changes in motivations Magolor experiences going through the Epilogue! You're right in that he does change. Even though Mechalor will say he was unaffected by his experiences, it's clearly not true.

The main difference is that he never considers himself to have "turned over a new leaf." He hasn't particularly decided on anything he wants to do with his "life" (as much as you can call it that.) He hasn't remembered any dreams he once had or tried to pursue them. He's "happy" being goofy, lying pest to his friends and fellows.

(The number of scare quotes here ought to tell you how Mechalor is not really okay and definitely not unchanged, he just wants to pretend to be. Because really, his continually reoccurring/repeating death(s) inside the Nova was quite simply mind-breakingly horrific and there's no way you don't come up with any number of mental systems and loopholes and deals with yourself and whatever divine figure you believe in trying to avoid such a reality....)

6) Ahaha! Ohh boy, I hadn't even thought about their Soul form equivalents! Considering in both their cases, their Soul forms are just them but more horrible and... Oh...

Oh great... my horror brain just imagined for BossSwap!Marx Soul, the Master Crown's thorn blades suddenly start spinning, turning them into buzzsaws and it gaining a new "attack" where it basically sends a spray of damage-inducing Marx-ian blood shower and gore at you... >.> Dess's Brain, why do you do these things...?!!

Answer: Honestly, I'm probably processing too many Castlevnia games as a child... I'll admit that Boss-Swap Marx's fight was heavily inspired by my memories of being a little (a lot) traumatized by the fights with Beelzebub (SotN) and Puppet Master (DoS)

...Let's not even talk about Legion. Those damned screams...

Err, right! Mechalor Soul! Given the way the True Arena plays out in Super Star Ultra, with it taking place directly after Marx's defeat, I imagine we'd have to go the same with Magolor here, starting with him still entombed. Since these fights (at least Marx and Magolor's) are highly reminiscent of their original fights, just with new patterns, I would say... maybe something like your remaking himself idea?

Perhaps you end up with a redo of the original Boss-Swap Magolor fight, with you fighting the pieces of Nova being wielded against you like weapons, only...you can't SEE Magolor yet. It's only when you get to the second, new phase does he reveal himself from within the Nova as the controller of this fight, appearing as a half-machine, half-corpse pre-Mechalor grisly mess? (Agh, nooo, why is this AU getting gorier all the time? ^^;; It started out so simple and now it's gone full horror with blood and guts and ruined bodies... Sob...)

So... basically like a "haunted" version of the Magolor battle with a last phase added in? And if he needs an original "death scene" ala Marx Soul's being split in two and screaming, I can imagine something similar to his original loss only with a jumpscare element Instead of Magolor being pulled into the background, the awakened Nova JUMPS to the foreground of the screen (like Star Dream) while Magolor is passed out/unconscious (alternatively, while he's stunned and in complete and total terror) and clasps shut on him.

Get back in your coffin, buddy.

...

......

.........I swear I'm doing all right mentally. >.<

#Kirby #mechalor #Crowned Marx #Crowned Marx + Clockwork Mechalor #Long Post #Long Ask #Dess Rambling #Dess Concepts #CW: Mild Horror #CW: Maybe some actual horror too? #Dess Sketch

[adachimoe]

Yukiko's "Yasogami Highschool Visualnet - H" Profile (and Kanji and Naoto's)

The Persona Club P4 book includes sections dedicated to each party member, and one of the things all of them have is a Yasogami High Facebook-esque page called the "Visualnet" with their profile, friends list, communities they've joined, etc. "Yasogami Highschool Visualnet - H" is definitely a "Someone wanted the initials to be YHVH" acronym.

To recap what the Persona Club P4 book is, it's a book made for fans by Atlus that was released back in 2009. It showcases fanart that was sent to Atlus, and provides additional character info and world building info. There is also an interview in the back of the book with Katsura Hashino about the development of the game.

I am god awful at reading handwritten Japanese, and every single character profile is written in a different Japanese font that's stylized after handwriting. I assume it's to emulate what kind of handwriting the characters would have, but... urk...

Yukiko's YHVH

Profile

Amagi Yukiko

Message: Hello! Chie invited me here.

Icon: Golden bird

Nicknames: Yukiko, Lady of the House (Ugh...)

Sex: F

Birthday: December 8, 1994

Zodiac: A heart-piercing Sagittarius. Be struck by my arrow.

Height: 164cm. Ah, the folded part of my kimono... (sweatdrop)

Weight: Secret

Blood Type: I'm a Type O who really puts the "O" in O-bvious. Betcha didn't expect that!

Celebrity Lookalike: Ami Koshimizu

Favorite Food: Japanese food! Don't call me old.

Favorite Things: Dogs. One day when I was a child, I had a fateful encounter on the Samegawa... (rest omitted)

Dislike: I don't particularly dislike anything, but... dirty talk is a bit... Uhm...

Special Skills: I'm quite confident in my kimono dressing and table manners

Brief Comment: Nice to meet you!

My YHVH (Friends)

Protagonist

Chie

Teddie

Kanji

Naoto

Ko

(See All)

Clubs

Japanese Clothing Lovers! - 6 members

The "Go Home" Club - 15 members

Showa Era Music Fans - 3 people

Let's go see the dam! - 7 people

(See All)

Messages

From Yosuke: "Let me get in the onsen again!"

(See All)

The bit about Yukiko's blood type joke is "the 'oo' in 'oozappa'"; with oozappa meaning like... roughly, generally, broadly speaking, etc. For the sake of my last remaining brain cells that haven't been Adachipilled yet, and also because I am uncreative as fuck, I just used a different word instead of trying to translate oozappa into English with a word that starts with a O lmao. The Ami Koshimizu mention is cause that's Yukiko's Japanese voice actress. All of the Investigation Team have their JP voice actors as their Celebrity Lookalikes. Also, I have no idea what the dam thing is about lol. Is there a dam if you follow the Samegawa?

Kanji and Naoto's Profiles

I've learned that Kanji and Naoto's profiles were translated back in 2009. Behold, Naoto being a member of the Linux club at school lol. The only thing I have to add-on to these existing translations is that:

Naoto's DM is from Rise, asking to go to get a "bucket parfait" - those comically large ice cream and fruit parfaits you might have seen photos of before. (I don't think they always come served in a pail / bucket, though they certainly can lol.) Not sure if Naoto secretly likes sweets (she did save the Christmas Cake...) or if Naoto gets bullied into going to this stuff by Rise all the time.

Can confirm from the Japanese version of the game that this translator's speculation about Kanji searching for the rare submarine is accurate. Kanji's Ototo and Homerun Bars are something I've written about on this blog before too.

When the mood strikes, I'll do more of these. (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

#persona 4 #yukiko amagi #naoto shirogane #kanji tatsumi #persona club p4

[herrscherofmagic]

HEY THERE i remember u added onto my post (the one from raidenenthusiast about acheron, technically my sideblog lol, but i don't use this one) about honkai world diva n how well it fit acheron. n LO N BEHOLD U WERE ONTO SOMETHING bc they referenced the chorus melody MULTIPLE times in acheron's new trailer!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After seeing your ask I went and checked the trailer and that was absolutely spectacular!! I didn't catch the melody references at first because they were so subtle, but when I went in the comments of the video I saw people timestamp it and then when I went to those parts I could hear it. And with the direct Honkai & Herrscher parallels (though I'm still not sure if I'd say it's actually Honkai or simply a different world's equivalent) it makes total sense they'd bring in Honkai World Diva

also I am LOSING MY MIND BECAUSE OF THE TEARS OF BLOOD

I've been working on an Acheron fanart and I had the same exact idea of having Acheron (and the moon/planet thing?) crying tears of blood I CANNOT believe this

I started this piece two days ago, before the trailer dropped, so my interpretation/imagining of what the "end of the world" looked like is a lot more dramatic, but that's okay. I'll either keep it dramatic and violent and make it more symbolic (which was already the vibe I was leaning towards) or I'll tone it down to fit the actual reveal of Acheron's world, as we saw it in this new trailer!

Also I designed the artwork guessing that whatever disaster ultimately befell Acheron's world was at least partly her fault, i.e. something like "Acheron got corrupted by Honkai-or-her-world's-equivalent-of-it and killed everyone, but eventually broke out of the spell and is now forgetting everything to cope with the soul-crushing trauma". It seems like that's not quite the case given this new trailer, though there's still a lot we have to learn so I'm not gonna try and speculate too much further >.>

BUT YEAH ME AND MIHOYO ARE TWINSIES! WE HAD THE SAME IDEA! :D /j

#honkai star rail #hsr #acheron #hsr acheron #honkai impact 3rd #raiden mei #herrscher of thunder #hsr fanart #okay well technically i'm just showing a peek at a WIP fanart but i'll still tag it lol

[manweweek]

{Click for better quality}

Here are the prompts for Manwë Week. You can also find them in written form down below, as well as some thoughts and musings to inspire you. Happy creating!

Day 1: Family | Breath & Air Day 2: Friends & Love | Rain & Clouds Day 3: The Children | Whispering Breeze Day 4: Poetry & Birdsong | Taniquetil Day 5: Free of Evil | Opposition Day 6: Fallen | Storm Day 7: Freeform

Family

Like many others in the legendarium, Manwë too has family members that greatly influence his story: His father, Eru, none other than the Allfather himself, who has a special connection with him, and his brother, Melkor, the Enemy, who fought against him on numerous occasions. 

What is Manwë’s relationship with them? How does he feel about them? How does his own biography influence the way he views the family relationships of others? Is he truly his father’s golden child, and at what cost? How did events like Melkor betraying him and the Fall of Númenor affect these relationships? 

Breath & Air

“Súlimo he is surnamed, Lord of the Breath of Arda.” (The Silmarillion). 

Air and wind are Manwë’s domain, and as such he was one of the chief architects of Arda. 

How does his element affect his personality? How did he experience the shaping of Arda alongside his fellow Valar? How does he make use of his powers over the ages, for things big and small? 

Friends & Love

Alongside his father and brother, Manwë also has Varda, his wife and queen, and Ulmo, one of his closest companions and confidants, who love him dearly. He can also be seen interacting with other Ainur whom he may share special connections with.

How does Manwë feel about Varda and Ulmo? How does he show his love for them? What are his relationships with other Valar, for example Yavanna or Námo, like? How does he interact with his Maiar?

Rain & Clouds

“Behold rather the height and glory of the clouds, and the everchanging mists; and listen to the fall of rain upon the Earth!” (The Silmarillion). 

Clouds and rain are but one example of things Manwë has had a part in creating together with other Ainur and, as many of their creations do, they are also a reflection of underlying dynamics. 

What does Manwë think when he sees these works? Is he content or does he wish that some things had turned out differently? Does he continue to influence these phenomena to this day, for example sending rain when needed or controlling the weather to ensure balance in nature? 

The Children

“[A]nd to mortal Men / Manwë speaks not.” (Unfinished Tales). 

Like the other Valar, Manwë looked forward to the coming of the Children and loved the Elves, deciding against his father’s will to bring them to Valinor to protect them. As far as mortals are concerned, however, he has been hesitant and withdrawn, sending Eönwë and Olórin to guide them instead, and it’s speculated that he has trouble understanding them due to their different nature. 

What did Manwë feel when he saw the Children in the Great Music, and what does he think as the history of Arda unfolds? How does he perceive them and what does he not understand about them? Does he wish he could be closer to the Secondborn? Has he had any interactions with Dwarves? What was it like for him to meet the Hobbits who came to Valinor? 

Whispering Breeze

In the Silmarillion, we read about Ulmo interacting with and helping various characters on their journey, refusing to abandon the Children, including the exiled Noldor. Manwë too gets involved as he responds to Fingon’s prayer, though he remains in Valinor and doesn’t appear or communicate in person. 

Does Manwë perhaps help the Children and speak to them in more covert ways, either because he feels like he needs to be careful or because his role as the Elder King forces a certain code of conduct? Do they pray to him, and does he listen and heed their prayers? What does he wish to tell them? 

Poetry & Birdsong

“[F]or poetry is the delight of Manwë, and the song of words is his music.” (The Silmarillion). 

Whereas song and music are part of every Ainu’s nature, and Manwë shares his with his Vanyarin friends, he also loves poetry and, presumably, writing as well. 

What do you think Manwë writes about, what does he express in his poetry and songs? Is it a special hobby of his that sets him apart from other Ainur? How does he share his works with others? Has he perhaps had a hand in certain writings that exist in Arda? 

Taniquetil

Oiolossë, the Ever-snow-white, Elerína, crowned with stars, the Holy Mountain – Taniquetil and the Halls of Ilmarin are Manwë’s home and dwelling-place where he lives together with Varda, his Maiar and a lot of birds. 

What did Manwë feel when Almaren, the first home of the Ainur, was destroyed? What drew him to Taniquetil? What is life there like? What does he see and feel when he sits on his throne and looks out across the Earth?

Free of Evil

“For Manwë was free from evil and could not comprehend it [...]” (The Silmarillion). 

Whereas his brother Melkor has become a force of evil – and his influence has negatively affected many other characters, alongside their own choices – Manwë is presented to us not just as a force of good, but as being unable to comprehend the very concept of evil.

What does it mean that Manwë is free of evil? Does he struggle to understand certain concepts and emotions, is he unable to experience them? Did Eru design him this way or restrict his perception? Or does the truth lie somewhere else, for example Manwë being unable to recognize when he does something evil? 

Opposition

Ever since the very beginning of days, Manwë has been forced to oppose the evil of Melkor and contend with him for the mastery of Arda. He was also appointed as Elder King despite Melkor’s greater power, a title his brother has nevertheless sought to claim for himself and attempted to usurp his power and undermine his influence at every opportunity.

How does Manwë feel about this dichotomy? How strong is his conviction, and how much of it is a mere sense of duty to his father and his own morals and values? Does he wish his role could have been different? Does he perceive his position as a blessing or a burden? 

Fallen

As has been touched on in previous prompts, we read a lot about Manwë’s goodness and being a symbol of righteousness and divine morality. However, the Silmarillion is a narrative about flawed characters who make mistakes out of both good and bad intentions, and Manwë is no exception – so what if he fell to corruption? 

What could test Manwë’s morals and patience to the point that he snaps? Is he corrupted by an outside force, like Melkor for example, or does he fall on his own? Has he, similar to how even the most evil characters have some good in them, had a seed of evil inside him all along? What consequences would this have for the narrative and on a personal level? Who would follow him, who would oppose him? 

Storm

Storms – the violent side of Manwë’s element. In the Silmarillion, we read about his mighty voice, the War for the Sake of the Elves, and the storms sent as a warning to Númenor, getting a glimpse of his true power; and in alternate versions of the story, we even see a host of Balrogs falling to the lightning of Manwë’s sword. 

How did storms come to be? Did Melkor corrupt Manwë’s element or was it Manwë’s own doing? What happens when he unleashes his true power and what could push him to do so? What role did he play in past wars the Valar participated in, what role may he play in Dagor Dagorath? 

Freeform

The prompts for the past few days touched on some aspects, but they can’t cover everything.

What else do you want to explore? Take this day as an opportunity to either revisit a prompt (though being late is never an issue) or touch on something new. This may also be a great opportunity for all sorts of AUs. Either way – the choice is yours!

Any questions or concerns? Please have a look at the FAQ, send an ask or reach out to a mod!

#mod post #prompt list

[toasterthievery]

I READ MERE APPENDIX AND I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT IT

The real gravity of Professor Honeycutt's situation doesn't get explored too often since everyone has bigger things to worry about when they're bring chased by Triceratons, and the identity crisis that goes down in this issue is just heartbreaking and really a sight to behold since he tends to get so little focus. It says a lot about him as a character in the best way possible.

Something that I really like is that time has passed since the accident that cost him his humanity in the first place, but that it's something that still affects him deeply. It's something he's come to terms with on a surface level so that he can continue to function day to day, but it weighs on him heavily.

You can feel his horror the moment when he realizes he never installed the component that would allow for a real transfer. He states later in this issue that he's been asking himself for years whether he's really Honeycutt or not, but speculation and evidence are two different things and his worst fear looks to be coming true.

And the idea that Fugitoid does not equal Honeycutt is pervasive. It comes up again and again, making it impossible for him to ignore. Even small things, like his voice recognition software not recognizing him, keeps him at arm's length from the "real" Professor Honeycutt. It's so uncomfortable, like a constant ache, to not be recognizable as the person you are in any capacity.

To wonder if your existence is even a scientific possibility.

And I know he's dealing with the damage he sustained at the beginning of the issue, but it obviously goes deeper than that and everything is being exacerbated by it since he's been experiencing hallucinations and memory loss. It makes it kind of all come at him at once in a way that's impossible to deal with and brings all that pain fresh into his mind.

It makes him feel less human than ever, which is a hard pill to swallow. This side by side panel (that hurts me immensely) is just a great illustration of the identity problems that he's dealing with.

He's reaching his limit and there's nothing that can really be done to fix his situation. It's a really cool thing to see Honeycutt's thoughts and feelings that haven't been filtered through the viewpoint of the turtles, and to see how acutely he feels the shockwave of everything that's happened to him. Where does the line lie between man and machine? How can he say with certainty that he's a real person when he's so familiar with the technology that caused the accident?

The part right after this has my FAVORITE set of panels in this entire thing.

It's very ironic that in having this crisis, he's proving he's more than just an unthinking object, but that's hard to see when everything is coming crashing down. I genuinely can't express enough how much I love that that he's reached this low where he can't think of himself as real, and because of that, it's fine if he simply takes himself apart until it's not a problem anymore. And in a way, it's easier for him to see himself that way because machines can be fixed; they don't deal with the messy, nonlinear recovery that real people have to face.

THIS IS BRILLIANT and I'm in love with the ship of Theseus dilemma that's at play here.

Even though Honeycutt comes out of it all right...there is still no easy solution for him, and the rock and hard place he finds himself wedged between won't give so easily. His struggles are fascinating and compelling, and getting to see them so up close and personal was a serious treat. Actually one of my favorite comics I've ever read. I'm never going to be normal again.

#GO READ MERE APPENDIX #Tales of the TMNT issue 54 #I'm still reeling this issue is AMAZINGGGGG #it shall live forevermore in my heart and soul #thanks unscapedgoat for pointing me to this comic #not me rambling on about this thing but AHHHHHHHHHH #tmnt mirage #fugitoid #tmnt #zayton honeycutt

[bohemian-nights]

Nettles Casting Speculation

Since HBO won’t announce the casting for Nettles(understandably), and because we are all going mad due to a lack of official news for her, I thought I would compose a list of all the actresses who could potentially be her.

(Shout out to @nettlesdefensesquad cause she found a lot of these actresses).

Take this whole list with a massive grain of salt because my criteria for this was Black(ish) British/Black(ish) actresses in British productions between the ages of 26-33 (according to some guy on Reddit, Nettles actress is 32, so I thought I’d be lenient with the age) who’s side profile sorta matches this picture of Nettles presumed actress in costume:

Keeping all that in mind, here’s our list:

1. Gabrielle Brooks

While her side profile does not really match the woman in the blurry photo, Gabrielle just turned 33, I believe she’s following/being followed by some of the HOTD cast, and she doesn’t appear to be working on any projects at the moment so we can’t rule her out 🤷🏽‍♀️

2. Yohanna Ephrem

Can’t find her exact age, but based on the side profiles it looks as if she could be a match and she appears not to be working on anything right now. She also doesn’t appear to have any social media so bonus points?

3. Marilyn Nnadebe

Marilyn is 32 and it appears like she is not working on any projects right now.

4. Jordan Loughran

People have been fan-casting her for years, but since she was used in a recent fancast, I decided to look her up, and lo and behold she’s 31! Jordan was already on a HBO show, Raised by Wolves, which also happens to be the same show Alyn’s actor(Abubakar Salim) was on so bonus points.

5. Lois Chimimba

The side profile isn’t that great of a match, but she is 31, about to be 32, and she doesn’t appear to be working on anything at the moment.

6. Tamaira Hesson

I can’t find a decent side profile pick and I can’t find Tamaira’s exact age, but under her playing age, it lists 20-30. She doesn’t appear to be working on any projects at the moment and besides LinkedIn, she doesn’t appear to have any social media.

7. Ronke Adekoluejo

Ronke is 31 and her side profile is kinda a match.

8. Meesha Turner

The side profiles aren’t that much of a match, but for the people who speculate that Nettles actress is tall, Meesha is 5’9.” She’s 32 and she’s not working on anything at the moment. (In fact back in October she left her role as Catherine Parr in the production Six the Musical).

9. Jasmine Rachelle

Can’t find her exact age, but she’s I don’t think she’s older than 25/26. Jasmine is 5’9.”

10. Sherelle Johnson

I can’t find her exact age(or a side profile pic), but her playing age range is between 18-28. I also don’t think she’s working on anything at the moment.

11. Crystal Clarke

Crystal’s last show Sanditon just ended and for the time being it does not look as if she has any other projects in the works. She is around 30.

(I would literally jump for joy if she was playing Nettles).

12. Gleanne Purcell-Brown

The profile isn’t dead on, but Glenne’s playing age is between 20-30. She doesn’t appear to be working on anything and she is 5’8.”

13. Lebogang Fisher

Her playing age is between 18-28. She doesn’t appear to be working on any projects at the moment.

14. Casey Al-Shaqsy

Casey’s playing age is between 19-25. She doesn’t appear to be working on any projects at the moment.

15. Lydia Fraser

Not a side profile picture, but Lydia’s playing age is between 20-35. She is currently working on a stage play though.

16. Yazzmin Newell

Her playing range is between 20-30. It doesn’t look as if she’s working on anything at the moment(her last series was canceled earlier this year). Steve Touissaint is also following her.

17. Madeleine Mantock

She was gearing up for a play back in June, but she’s 33 and 5’9.”

18. Tia Bannon

Not sure about her exact age, but she graduated with a BA back in 2015 so she fits the age range.

19. Danielle Vitalis

Honestly, this is another case of the side profile not really matching, but she fits the age range(play range is 16-30) so I’m adding her just to cover all our bases🤷🏽‍♀️

20. Karla Simone-Spence

Listen my behind knows she’s not going to play Nettles, but she follows Bethany on Instagram and she’s 27. Let me dream 😭

21. Natalie Simpson

Her playing age is 23-33(I think she’s in her early 30s).

22. Leah Haile

According to her Spotlight, she’s currently working on the Snow White movie that comes out next year, but I just thought I might include her. Her playing age is between 16-25.

23. Jessica Allain

Do the side profiles match? Probably not, but she’s 26 and pretty tall so I’m including her.

24. Thalissa Teixeira

Shes been fancasted as Nettles in the past and she’s in her early 30s and it doesn't look like she's really working on anything🤷🏽‍♀️

25. Shantol Jackson

Are the side profiles matching? Nope, but she is 31.

26. Sophia Brown

She's tall 5’ 8” and 31. I really couldn’t find a good side profile pic of Sophia, but I wouldn’t rule her out.

27. Zaraah Abrahams

She’s 36 so she’s a little out of the age range, but she looks young, again, we are covering all of our bases.

28. Razan Nassar

She’s on the young side(25), but she’s been in a show with Bethany Antonia(Get Even), hence the inclusion.

29. Simona Brown

She’s 29 and she doesn’t appear to be working on anything.

There are some actresses who are a bit too young so I didn’t include them, but in case Reddit guy was all the way off, Corinna Brown(who follows Bethany) and Coco Rebecca Edogamhe are good contenders.

This list is not extensive, so anyone with any suggestions feel free to add them 😊(please add them because your girl is desperate 😭).

#nettles #nettles casting #hotd spoilers #netty #nettles asoiaf #nettles f&b #my behind is tired #hotd #nettles casting speculation #bnedit

[fleckcmscott]

Making Motions

Summary: Months ago, Y/N shared an unexpected flight of fancy. Arthur decides to take it to heart.

Words: 3,652

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: @sweet-nothings04​ requested to see Arthur enact the fantasy mentioned in Ch. 3 of Stepping Stones. 👓 This is the result! Hope you all enjoy this story! Thanks for your support! 😊

If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment, feel free to message me, or send me an ask. Requests for Arthur and WWH are open!

Three sandwiches in a row. Three lunches gobbled in a meeting. Three breaks skipped to pace the length of an oak conference table. But going up against NCB required more than a will to find a way, so Y/N took another bite of pastrami on wheat and settled on the windowsill.

Popular wisdom held that harassment was a worry solely for women. That they were never, ever perpetrators. Having come of age before she could get a loan on her own, experienced an era in which an employer had sought her ex-husband's permission to hire her, it'd been a hiccup for Y/N to get past that assumption.

But power had a way of begetting bad behavior, which in turn begat ever more power. And when Aaron Williams had stumbled into her office, embarrassment trembling his squared off fingers, she'd believed him.

Lana Miller, Gotham's Golden Girl, charmed the city on the six o'clock news. Bringing You the Truth! as the slogan went. Bleached teeth smile, gleaming grey gaze, a confident cadence that demanded trust.

She'd set her eyes on Mr. Williams a month after he'd signed his contract. Blocking his way as he'd try to exit the production control room, suggestive comments that'd escalated to the outright lewd. An offer to put in a good word with management if he'd visit after a broadcast. ("I hold a lot of sway with the boys upstairs.")

When a meeting had devolved into her nude on his desk, that grey gaze had turned steely. He'd kicked her out and filed a complaint.

A cardboard box shoved at his chest, an order to leave the premises by noon. That a handful of others had reported bullying hadn't mattered to The Top. Ratings were too high, too critical to hassle the on-air talent. A behind the scenes guy was expendable, a money saver even. Big deal if he blabbed about it over beer with buddies. That kind of tale had been blabbed before. Bye, bye trouble, hello to the next desperado trying to break into showbiz.

Wage theft, safety violations, employee misclassifications. Those were matters Dube, Ellis, & Flat handled on a regular basis. Filing a motion in court often got the Mom and Pops to behave. Publicized cases, though? Speculation aired on tabloid television? The firm wasn't used to that.

Williams v. National Center for Broadcasting had spent the past year collecting dust in the corner filing cabinet, waiting for its turn on the docket. NCB had stalled every way it could. Frivolous Motions to Dismiss, fillings for discovery every month as if a past due bill. A flurry of due process that felt like old money showing off. Then, low and behold, another case settled, and their matter was set for a two-week trial.

The delay had allowed Y/N plenty of investigation hours. He saids, She saids were hard to prove, and anything she could find to put a dent in the network's excuses was worth the effort.

She'd snuck into NCB studios as part of a tour group, just to refamiliarize herself with the place. When a copy editor discovered her in the stairwell, pretending to be a new employee had been the easiest solution. ("Oh, you must be Brenda's replacement! Personnel is one floor up.")

Mrs. Cunningham was a barrel of woman, a cigarette held perpetually in her left hand. Y/N asked about Spencer Fox, a counterfeit sounding name that kept appearing in NCB's filings. "He's an old friend," she'd claimed. "I wouldn't mind getting back in touch."

The older woman shook her head. "He moved to California nine months ago, pilots and renewals. Damned if I know when he'll be back."

At that dismissive declaration, Y/N had to shove her hands under her thighs to hide her excitement. Fox had sent in an affidavit, stating he'd witnessed no harassment during the period in question. Now she could testify that was meaningless. Mistreatment is easy to miss from three thousand miles away.

Turning to sift through manila folders, Mrs. Cunningham tapped ash into a pink ashtray, florals printed in the glass. "What did you say your name was? Treble? Your paperwork isn't here." She'd offered a pained expression. "You look more fun than Brenda. God, I hope you are. She had bitch stitched in her seams."

Y/N wished circumstances would have allowed her to get to know this woman better. As a thank you for her trouble, she'd sprung for two vending machine coffees, shaken her hand, and slipped through the nearest emergency exit.

"I'm not even that good looking," Mr. Williams said, fingers trembling again. He flexed his knuckles, left knee bouncing like a snare drum. Mannerisms that held a touch of Arthur. "I don't know why she picked me."

Placing her sandwich on a napkin, she took a coffee carafe from the center of the table to refill his cup. "Her actions have nothing to do with you and everything to do with a lack of consequences. But we're going to change that, aren't we?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "I guess so."

"Good. Now let's review court etiquette and your testimony again."

She covered the basics. Stand when the judge enters and leaves, always address him as Your Honor, don't chew gum during the proceeding. When on the stand, pause before answering. Make sure you understand the question being asked. Be clear and concise.

"Don't guess, either," she continued. "It's fine not to recall everything, even expected. Remember you're under oath. An 'I don't know' is better than speculation." She'd seen too many people twist themselves into Slinkys trying to say the right thing, to justify themselves. "And don't volunteer information. If you get nervous, focus on our team. We're here for you." She popped the last bit of crust between her lips, wiped her fingers, and grabbed her binder.

The lines between her brows deepened. Fingers paged through the documents faster and faster. She regarded Mr. Williams over the top of the binder. "Let's take five minutes." Then she rose and jogged to her office. The file had to be there...

Just as she strode in, her phone rang. One hand sorting already sorted stacks, she set it to speaker. "Dube, Ellis, & Flat, this is Y/N."

"Hey, it's Arthur." Her heart leapt. She grabbed the receiver to listen closer. "I was wondering if we could meet for lunch? I'm kinda in the mood for a Reuben. They're on special today." Patricia had gotten him hooked on the combo of sauerkraut and corned beef.

Y/N's heart sank back to her ribs, a pang starting below her left breast. A glance through half-glass walls. Her colleagues were gathering materials for this afternoon's meeting with expert witnesses. She'd be expected post-haste.

"I'd love to but we're so busy here," she said. Then added, a tad defensively, "You've seen the news coverage."

"Oh." The solitary syllable came out low and slow.

She closed her eyes. She hated disappointing him. As of late, she'd found herself doing so too often. "I promise to be home on time tonight. I'll make it up to you-"

"There's nothing to make up."

"-when all this bullshit is over. Tell you what. I'll save you my coleslaw."

"No, you need to eat."

"Y/N!" Her name bellowed across the room like an air horn. Not scolding but sure to get her attention.

A pause. "You better go," Arthur said.

She raised her hand in a One Minute gesture. She wasn't about to cut this goodbye short. "Thank you for understanding. I don't take it for granted."

"Yeah. See you tonight."

"You will," she affirmed. "You will."

~~~~~

The cordless handset clicked in the cradle. A lean hip hutted against the counter, a cutting line against bone. Arthur pressed his head to the light blue cabinet door. He drew in one long breath.

He'd meant what he'd said. There was nothing to apologize for, there was nothing to forgive. He'd read the headlines, heard the lowlights on GCR, skimmed editorials in the paper. NCB was continuing its age-old tradition of shitting on the little guy.

And he knew what was at stake for Y/N. Challenging those who abused their advantage was important to her, had been since they'd met. Christ, it was how they'd met. He couldn't be prouder of her for believing in something, for having convictions strong enough to take it on. Yet, tendrils of dissatisfaction spread across his chest, a vise he couldn't loosen no matter how much he longed to. An annoyance as much as it was truth.

She'd helped him. Plenty. Taking messages from clients, ensuring his gigs were on the kitchen calendar so they could plan around them. On evenings he was home late, dinner was ready and on the table. She rubbed his lower back if it ached, massaged the stubborn knots that tended to swell by his misshapen shoulder. (He was over forty now; his body liked to remind him.) She listened when needed, left him alone when requested.

A couple Tuesdays ago, he'd dropped in his chair, palms flat on his desk. A sinking slowness had snuck into his schedule, leaving him bereft, feeling unwanted. As if he should do more but with no clear vision of what. He'd worried the seam of his legal pad, curled torn strips of yellow paper with his thumb. "I don't know how much longer I can do this."

Clad in mauve tunic and black leggings, Y/N had knelt beside him. Offered a tender look with love as its foundation, gentle debate twinkling her pupils. "Do it until it stops making you happy," she'd said, ruffling his oily hair. He'd leaned into that touch like she was water and his ruminations flames to be doused. "But even then," she'd continued. "Don't quit. Think of it as taking a break. That way you can make sure you want to live without it."

He'd taken her advice, kept his calendar clear. A choice rather than circumstance. So far, it'd been a good decision, one that allowed him to write more jokes, make more observations, work on his timing, work on himself. Already, the itch to return to Carnival had started in his inner wrist, traversed his lanky arm. Led to an impromptu dance in the living room, when he hadn't moved to a beat in days.

She was a resilient woman, wore an exterior as tough as bull hide. But he saw through all that. Deepened wrinkles framed her mouth, flattened cheeks, eyelids that drooped well before bedtime.

Y/N had restarted his pulse. There had to be a way for him to do the same.

Heaving a sigh, he tapped a Stutton into his palm. Grabbed his lighter from the counter and headed for the fire escape.

Just as he was about to light up (a few seconds too early, he'd crack the window, she'd never know), a folder on the coffee table forced a doubletake. Egg timer set, limiting herself to half an hour, she'd worked on a binder last night. He'd brought her a coffee, kissed the top of her head, skimmed the top notes in her loopy script.

Arthur's lips pinched. From the beginning of their courtship, she'd stressed that she'd tell him what she could, but privacy laws and her own code of ethics prevented her from sharing a whole hell of a lot. But this was their coffee table in their living room in their apartment. Obviously, the folder had been forgotten. If he were to steal a peek, who would know? Maybe it held the key to giving her a hand.

That convenient line of thought drove him to pluck it from the table and flip it open.

Green bar printer sheets, two columns of questions in dot matrix font. LIKELY and HYPOTHETICALS in all caps. Squinting, he held the pages a foot away. How many incidents were there? Did you report them to anyone? Can you describe your relationship with...

A sudden image came to him, a spark of awareness. A flight of fancy imparted in a hospital garden, sitting side by side on a concrete bench. Cool breeze on raw, goosepimpled skin. Whiffs of strawberries and musk.

Yes. Yes, that would work!

He raced to the bedroom closet, nearly stumbling in his haste. A suitable shirt, striped tie, brown trousers, freshly polished Oxfords. Only a couple more props were necessary. A bit of research at the video store, the jotting of his own questions.

From interviews on the highest rated shows to dating the prettiest girl in the world, fantasy was one of Arthur's longstanding habits. Although the weaves of his dreams had changed - less dire, more aspire - his mind still titled towards the land of make believe. He had no doubt he could pull this off.

Eager as a gumshoe, he patted his wallet, tossed on his jacket, and flew out the door.

~~~~~

Though the temperature hovered around fifty, patches of sweat darkened the armpits of Y/N's bow tie blouse. The breakneck pace of the day had overheated her, ponderings of all tomorrow would bring. And where the hell that file could have disappeared to.

Due to electrical work, she had to exit the subway at Ditmas Avenue. Five stops early. She skipped the offered buses to walk the rest of the way to 4A. That always helped her sort her thoughts, decompress. Put her mind in Pay Attention to Home mode rather than lingering on a missed comma in an affidavit.

Besides, she adored her adopted hometown, the aura of the city, the souls of its people. The street musician blasting a trumpet on the corner, the homeless woman wrapped in a blanket who asked for the time, the guy in a beanie selling bootleg VHS tapes, laid out on a ragged blanket. Y/N loved them all. And, if she was lucky, walks led to unexpected joys. Like the stroll from Burnley that'd led to a certain greasy donut shop in Otisburg.

A sort of silliness accompanied her, the kind only fatigue can bring. Silly as best experienced with Arthur. She'd stopped at Ed's Grocery for a surprise dinner of breaded pollack fillets with white rice and ketchup - a take on a fish stick dish he'd often made as a teenager - and a lone flower, the apology he'd said wasn't needed.

Coat hung on its hook, kitten heels kicked off, court bag dropped to the floor, she moved to put the fish in the fridge. Brown Eyed Susan in hand, she aimed for the living room to find her husband, seize the kiss she'd craved since his call.

She stood stockstill in the entrance. Fingers curled about the stem. Her lips gaped.

Buttressed on the wall to her right, under the windows, sat the television and coffee table. To her left, the cream couch was now six inches in front of their console stereo in a parallel line. A yard from the bedroom door stood a lone dining chair, the remaining three had been arranged in random spots about the room. A sort of imitation of an audience. Or a gallery...

Was this what she thought it was?

Pulling at his belt loops, Arthur entered from the bathroom. With the sheer will of a gallon of hair gel, deep mocha locks had been forced into a side part. He wore a violet and gold striped tie, fixed neatly at his neck in a half Windsor knot. The pale yellow button-up was a shirt he donned far too rarely, his medium brown trousers the perfect fit for his narrow waist. Black suspenders gave him a look more 1940s than modern. A classic, classy man. It was a style that worked, one she loved on him and only him.

He nodded at her, mischief curving his lips. "I'd like to call Y/N Fleck to the stand?"

"Arthur..." Chuckling, she shook her head, crossing the carpet. She reached to embrace him, petals brushing his bicep. "What in the world?"

He caught her hands. His were warm and firm on her skin. "I wanna help. I rented 'Adam's Rib.'"

"Isn't that about a murder trial?"

"Yeah, the husband and wife are lawyers. Anyway, I think I got the hang of it. I know you sometimes get nervous when you testify. I thought it'd be good to practice, like what I do for my shows."

Wetness stung the corners of her eyes. She blinked it away in haste. That he'd recall the fantasy she'd shared at Arkham, a goofy trifle she'd disclosed during his toughest of times, moved her deeply. He was a wave upon the sand of her soul.

Clearing her throat, she slipped the flower in his breast pocket and patted it twice. He angled his head to admire it, gave her hand another squeeze. "I better hurry before the court holds me in contempt," she said, and passed him to sit on the setoff dining chair, the presumed witness stand.

A piece of paper emerged from his sleeve, a magician's move. He unfurled it with a flick of the wrist. Her brows shot up and held. "Where did you find that?" she asked, incredulous. She'd recognize that dusty printer paper anywhere, the list she'd spent a better part of the afternoon scouring for.

"The coffee table." He plucked a pair of reading glasses from his trouser pocket. Espresso browline, rounded wire bottoms, a pair that looked as if it'd been selected from the display stand at Groves. When he put them on, the temple tip momentarily caught in his hair. 

She felt her insides melt. It was a glimpse of the future she longed for.

His gaze rose from the paper. "Raise your hand."

"Which one?" As innocent as an intern on her first day.

"Uh, the right," he said, indicating with his chin. He straightened his posture, feet squared with his shoulders. "Do you swear to tell the truth?"

"I swear to tell you anything."

A laugh caught behind his teeth, green eyes sparkling. "What's your name?"

"Y/N Fleck." She spelled it for good measure. A third of court transcribers left off the h.

"And what's your job? Have you had it for long?"

"I'm a senior paralegal at Dube, Ellis, & Flat. I've held that position for just under a year. I started there as a paralegal in 1982 - before the Flat. Prior to that, I worked in firms both in Gotham and Missouri."

"I see. Do you think you're a good boss, Ms. Fleck?"

"Misses, actually." At the correction, pleased pink stained his cheekbones. She crossed her legs at the knee. "And I'm no one's boss, but I am good at what I do."

"What did your client say happened?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to object to that question." She tapped her chin in mock suspicion. "It's dangerously close to hearsay."

"What does that mean?"

"That you'll have to ask the complainant directly, not me."

"Okay, well..." Eyes narrowing, he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "How did you prepare for trial?"

Flirty and fun was what she wanted to be, but reciting it all, even the compact version she offered, exhausted her all over again. "I reviewed the filings submitted by both parties. I assisted in preparing the complainant and expert witnesses to testify. I snuck into NCB Studios - an old habit I developed awhile back. And I put on many, many pots of coffee."

"That sounds like a lot. Gotham is lucky to have you." A tender look that said and so am I.

"It has been. A little too much." She let out a weary sigh, everything at risk an abrupt weight on her shoulders. All she'd wanted tonight was escape and laughter and him, but now... She folded her hands together in her lap to maintain her composure.

Lowering the list, he ventured a step closer. Earnestness softened the lines of his face. His head dipped down and towards her. "How are you feeling about next week?"

Suddenly, she was the case he'd decided to investigate. She shifted in her seat. "That depends. Are you retained by the plaintiff or the defendant?"

"I'm on your side," he said, kind as a pat on the back.

Fresh perspiration stained her blouse. Five seconds of pondering before she dropped the brave face. "A little scared, to be honest. I'm glad the judge decided to keep the proceedings private - we don't need a circus in there - but I'm still going to angle for the back door. NCB has so much money, and so much of the public is behind Lana Miller. I just want our client to get what he deserves. And for NCB to pay for protecting the wrong people.” She smoothed the pleats of her skirt, bottom lip planted firmly between teeth. “I've worked hard on this. We all have. I need it to be worth it."

"It will be." He knelt on one knee before her, his breath warm on her chin. He plucked the flower from his pocket, took her fidgeting fingers, and placed the bloom in her palm. "Is there anything else you wanna tell the court?"

A gulp cleared the breath locked in her throat. "Just two items. You're an ace lawyer, Attorney Fleck. If you're ever looking, you should apply to my firm."

"And what's the other?"

On a grin, Y/N cupped his cheeks. "You forgot to ask if you could approach the witness." Then she kissed him. "I love you."

He caught her by the collar. "Kiss me again."

She did. Sweet but sure, the testimony of her whole heart. Her forehead bumped his glasses, his nose collided with hers. When they broke apart for air, she stood and took his hand. "I'd like to submit a Motion to Dismiss. It's time for us."

Arthur's thumb traced hers, his feet already guiding them to the kitchen. "No objection, Mrs. Fleck."

~~~~~

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