#based on the magician episode

[fecto-forgo]

🔥💎🌠🏘️ :-]

HI TED TY

🔥how many special interests do you have at the moment?

dracula and arthuriana! arthurianas going into its second year anniversary while draculas heading for its first (i may start labeling my dracula fixation as a gothic literature special interest depending how frankenstein j&h and dorian gray go lol)

💎when and how did you discover your special interest?

arthuriana-had an oc named after mordred for funsies, tried looking into actual mor for oc basis purposes, fell into rabbit hole instead of paying attention to class

dracula-was reading casually and then renfield got introduced next

🌠whats a past special interest?

pokemon digimon barbie and whatever gorey anime youtube would recommend me were some kindergarten and elementary icons lol

🏘️what was your first special interest you can remembered?

either hello kitty or ppg cuz i have photos of very early birthday parties for those! tho i remember watching pokemon before i was even going to school lol

#ik barbie wasnt very early #bc my mom didnt want me getting into it cuz of like #either bc she didnt wanna buy me expensive dolls (fair i started a collection.) or bc she felt it was too girly (what the fuck.) #anyways my dad was like ^v^ ok and got me a wedding barbie for my like #fourth birthday? i think? #i loved her to bits but my cats ripped her head out and we put them in an outside storage so its possible my collection molded #atleast i got her dress in my closet #ask #omg does anyone remember that one early ppg pc game #based on the magician episode #i remember playing that sooo much #one of my first art style inspirations was a ppg fan comic #its #not that good but bell my beloved gender envy

[081314]

Book 7: The Ruler of the Abyss – Chapter 6 (Part 1)

Following is part 1 of my translation of Chapter 6 of Book 7: The Ruler of the Abyss. This part contains only Episode 7-88 (it’s as long as several episodes put together, so I had to give it its own post)

Main storyline spoilers after the cut.

Episode 7-88

Grim: Ugh… Where are we?

Sebek: This is… I recognize this place. This is where the Darkness engulfed us earlier! We’ve returned!

Silver: Where’s father and Sir Baul?

Sebek: They set off for the Moonless Forest, but…

Silver: !! You guys, look at the ground over there! Looks like some soldiers went this way!

Sebek: Appears to be the Silver Owl’s men…!

Silver: Father and Sir Baul are in danger. We need to hurry and find them!

Iron One A: W-What amazing power!

Iron One B: If our magicians hadn’t deflected those flames just now, she woulda burnt us to a crisp!!

Knight of Dawn: Focus! You’ll get trampled if you don’t watch out!

Meleanor (Dragon form): Rooooooaaar!!

Iron One C: Don’t give her even a moment’s rest! Charge!! Chaaarge!!!

The Iron Ones: Uoooooooh!!

Sebek: Ahhh…. Lady Meleanor!!

Grim: Get a move on, Sebek! We gotta make sure to stay close to the dreamer, right? We’re gonna lose sight of Lilia at this rate!

Sebek: You needn’t tell me that! I understand full and well this is but a dream, I just…. Dammit!

Yuu: I know this is hard for you, but we need to keep moving.

Silver: …Right. We have to hurry or else the rain’s going to wash away their footprints. Let’s go!

Grim: Geez, the rain’s comin’ down harder an’ harder!

Sebek: The roads are all muddy, and the sun’s set, too… You need to go faster, the both of you! Their footsteps are vanishing before our very eyes!

Grim: Oh, save your breathe, dude! I’m already runnin’ as fast as I can! Can’t ya just use that spell you showed off when we were lookin’ for Silver earlier? You know, the one where you were glowin’ an’ zoomin’ around all over the place.

Sebek: I take it you mean “Living Bolt”?

Silver: I’d never seen that spell before, either. Just when did you develop your Unique Magic?

Sebek: ‘Twas during the period when I trained alone in the valley, after you’d enrolled at Night Raven College… While refining my celerity, so that I might rush to our Lord’s side in the event of an emergency, I found an opportunity to develop it. However… I’ve far from mastered it. My Unique Magic allows me to transform my body into a bolt of lightning, and in that state, I can move rapidly and fire off attacks. …But as I lack the skill to properly use it, I become momentarily impaired after casting it. I’m thankful my opponent just now was our resident slouch, for had I tried to use it on a real enemy, they wouldn’t have waited around for me until I recuperated. It’s out of the question for me to use it to catch up with Lilia and my grandfather right now, as I would only be a hindrance to them as soon as I reached them. In truth, I had intended to hold off on demonstrating it before others until I’d mastered it. To think, I’d end up having to waste it rousing this sluggard here…

Silver: I… I’m sorry. But you know, it’s a really fitting spell for you.

Sebek: Hmph.

Sebek (whispering to himself): …As this is a dream and all, I should have liked to have pulled it off flawlessly for once…. Geez…

Silver: Something’s been on my mind ever since we crossed into father’s dream. This dream was made by Lord Malleus’s magic, so I don’t understand why it’s just been one tragedy after another this whole time.

Yuu: Now that you mention it…

Silver: In Sebek’s dream, he had it so father and Lord Malleus were about to go off on their internships together. If what Lord Malleus said before is right, then these dreams we’re trapped in should be based on what would make the dreamer happy… Dreams that would keep us spellbound forever. In father’s case, he should’ve been dreaming about Lord Malleus’s parents being alive and well, and not having to fight any wars against the humans. And the Land of Briar should’ve remained as it was, not chopped up into Briar Valley.

Sebek: Hmm… You certainly have a point there.

Silver: Lord Malleus said he’s observing everyone’s dreams… and that he’s reigning over them, too. If he knew that we were here, then he probably would’ve tried to get rid of us by now, like how he did in Sebek’s dream.

Sebek: Hmm… ‘Tis only speculation, but perhaps something is preventing Lord Malleus from observing Sir Lilia’s dream.

Silver: That’s possible, yeah. I wish we could wake up father already and have him help us, but…

(Swords clash in the distance)

Everyone: !!

Sebek: Someone’s fighting yonder!

Silver: It sounds like it’s coming from close by. Come on, let’s go!

Battle Map Conversation

Imperial Guard A / B: Gyagyaaa! Giii!

Iron One A: You assholes just don’t know when to give up!

Sebek: Look there! Some guardsmen are surround by the Iron Ones!

Silver: I don’t see father or Sir Baul with them. Maybe they stayed behind to buy them some time.

Iron One A: Ack- Looks like they got some back up! Doesn’t matter, you guys have no hope of beating us! Now lay down your weapons and surrender, or you’re gonna regret it!

Grim: Sorry, but the dictionaries we got at NRC don’t mention anything ‘bout “surrender” or “regret”! GET ‘EM!!

Battle Map Conversation

Silver: Augh, their reinforcements just keep pouring in…!

Imperial Guard A: Goeeee! Garururu!

Sebek: What!? You say you’ll take over for things here, and you wish for us to go on ahead!? But that’s…!

Imperial Guard A: Gyagyaaa!

Sebek: …Yes, sir. I promise you, we shall deliver His Eggcellency to the palace, together with Sir Lilia. Please, stay safe!

(Silver and co. depart)

Battle Map Conversation

(Something sparkles on screen)

Silver: …! This light, it’s…

Grim: The sparkles are showin’ us where to go! Must be magic!

Sebek: This magic… Doubtless it must be my grandfather’s spell. He left behind these landmarks to guide us. He trusts that we’ll be able to regroup with them… Let us hurry!

Land of Briar – Woods

Baul / Lilia: Haaa, haaa, haaah….

Lilia: Did we shake ‘em off?

Baul: !! General, look out!

Iron One A: Found you, Vanrouge!

Iron One B: Do you even have any idea how much pain you’ve put us all through!? Once I kill you, then my grandfather will finally be able to rest in peace!

Iron One C: Be careful where you aim! We can’t leave even a scratch on that egg!

Baul: Dammit, we’re surrounded. Looks like they’ve got ten… No, 15 men on their side. General, you go on without me and I’ll handle this. Hurry!

Lilia: Bullshit! There’s no way you can take these guys on by yourself.

Baul: What they’re after is your head, General, and the heir’s egg. And we cannot allow them to take either. As you can’t very well fight while lugging around the egg, I, Baul, promise to wipe out these miscreants myself. I’ll rejoin with you later. Now hurry!

Lilia: Dammit…! And I’m going to have your head if you die on me!

(Lilia departs)

Iron One A: Vanrouge is getting away! After hiiiim!!

Iron One B: Uwaaah!? What was that attack just now?

Iron One C: He cut down that massive tree with one swing of his Magearm…!? Shit, now the road’s blocked!

Baul: LISTEN WELL, HUMANS! MY NAME IS BAUL ZIGVOLT!!! I AM A MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD OF THE LAND OF BRIAR – A TITLE I BEAR WITH PRIDE! THOSE WHO WISH TO SULLY MY AXE’S BLADE, STEP FORTH NOW! I’LL DEVOUR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!

Grim: Woah! Look, you guys! Somebody’s fightin’ for their life over there!

Silver: That crocodile mask… It must be Sir Baul!

Sebek: The Silver Owl has got him completely surrounded. We must assist him! Quickly!

Grim / Silver: Okay! / Right!

Iron Ones A: What the!? His reinforcements snuck up on us from behind!?

Iron One B: Wait they’re… They’re’ humans!? The hell are they siding with the fae for…!?

Sebek: This has nothing to do with being a fae or human! It is simply that we do not like you! And so, we must fight!

Grim: That’s right! If you don’t like somebody, then you gotta show ‘em what’s what! That’s our motto at NRC!

Iron One C: Who the hell are these guys!? Troops, get in formation! We’re retreating for now!

(The Iron Ones depart)

Grim: Hey, look! They’re runnin’ away!

Silver: It’ll be bad if they come back with reinforcements… But chasing after them could end up costing us. Right now, we need to focus on tending to Sir Baul’s injuries.

Sebek: Sir Baul! I apologize it took us so long to find you!

Baul: Y-You guys…. Augh!

(Baul collapses)

Silver/Sebek: Sir Baul! / Sir Baul!

Sebek: What terrible injuries. Please, take this potion at once-!

(A whistle sounds)

Grim: Yikes, sounds like they really are callin’ up their buddies!

Sebek: We must get away from here. Sir Baul, please come with me! Here, rest yourself against my shoulder.

Baul: I’m staying here. It’s my duty to fight. You boys go after the General.

Silver: No, that’s… We can’t leave you behind!

Baul: Silence! I told you before, I don’t need help from the likes of you lot!

Sebek: ………. Silver, Grim, Yuu. Go on without us.

Grim/Silver: What!?

Sebek: I shall stay here with Sir Baul, and we shall buy you some time.

Silver: What!?? No, you guys can’t- …Besides, there’s no telling what’ll happen if you get too far away from father.

Sebek: WE’VE NO TIME FOR HESITATION!!! As he is carrying His Eggcellency, Sir Lilia isn’t able to move around freely and defend himself right now. You must go now and protect him! Protect what is precious to you! And I… I shall protect what is precious to me!!

Silver: Sebek…

Sebek: Hmph. You best not take me for a fool, Silver. We shall dispose of the enemy and regroup with you in but a moment.

Silver: …Okay, I understand. Let’s go, Grim and Yuu!

(Silver and co. depart)

Iron One A: We finally got the armored excavator past that block in the road! This is the end for you bastards!

Sebek: Hold your tongue! As if a pathetic little piece of scrap metal stands a chance against me! Sir Baul, please get behind me.

Baul: Human… Why are you doing all this for me…!?

Sebek: I know that even if I fight here, it won’t change reality one bit. However… There are things in life that I simply cannot concede on. Listen well, you wretched Silver Owl! I, Sebek Zigvolt, shall be your opponent! NOW LET US BEGIN!!

Sebek: It ends here! Haaaa!! Haaa… Haa… That was… the last one… S-So what did you think, Sir Baul! I’ve done it!

Baul: Amazing, you really did defeat them all…. You fought splendidly.

Sebek: !! Truly, I am underserving of such kind words…. Augh…!

Baul: Human… Why are you so desperate to help us fae?

Sebek: Though my father is indeed a human… My mother is a fae.

Baul: !!

Sebek: My maternal grandfather was not at all fond of humans. One could even say he despised them. And when his only daughter announced she was betrothed to a human… I couldn’t even begin to describe how terribly they fought. Presently, my father and my grandfather remain at odds with one another. However, not once has my grandfather ever distanced himself from us grandchildren. He’s a taciturn man, always with that same stern expression upon face, and I can’t recall him ever greeting us when we called upon him. And yet, he always kept his house stocked up with brand new children’s books, as well as candies and sugary refreshments that he’d never dare consume himself. I truly respect my grandfather, from the bottom of my heart. And that is why I… that is why I wish to be of help to you- to you all!

Baul: …..Hmph. I’m not sure you’d be of much help to anyone walking around looking like that. Your baton’s about cracked in half, and your defensive gear is in pieces.

Sebek: Y-You needn’t be concerned! Here I’ll – I’ll simply borrow some equipment from that collapsed Iron One over there and…

Baul: Human… Nay, Sebek Zigvolt. I give you my thanks for your actions today. As you’ve damaged your gear in battle, I’ll grant you your own suit of armor.

Sebek: What….?

Baul: In the name of Baul Zigvolt, Imperial Guardsman of the Land of Briar, and in celebration of the birth of this new warrior… The Night’s Blessing upon Ye.

Sebek: T-This armor… And this magearm, it’s…!?

Baul: The same ones we Imperial Guardsmen use. That magearm belonged to a fallen comrade… But I’m sure it’s preferable over your half-broken baton.

Sebek: Oh, ‘tis far and beyond preferable! I have no words! To be granted the privilege of wielding the very same equipment as the Imperial Guard!

Baul: All that’s left is your mask…. Hmm. This one should work well for you. In my troop, I’m the only one allowed to don the crocodile mask. As we share the same surname, and if it is true that your grandfather is a fae… Then perhaps the General was right. Perhaps our meeting was fate – Sebek Zigvolt, the half-fae warrior. I’ll be expecting great things from you.

Sebek: …Yes, sir! I vow on this mask, and on the Zigvolt name, that I shall fight with glory. Grandfa-… I mean, Sir Baul!

Baul: Alright. Now let’s hurry after the General!

Sebek: Yes, sir!

Battle Map Conversation

Grim: Where the heck did Lilia go!?

Silver: Black Scale Castle, the Imperial Palace, is located in the northern region of the Land of Briar. So let’s just head north for now.

Iron One A: Don’t stop looking! There’s a nice reward for whoever finds that dragon egg!

Silver: A reward…? …How dare they! We can’t let them lay a single finger on father or Lord Malleus. Come on, we’ll have them take a nice little nap for us.

Battle Map Conversation

(The ground beings to rumble)

Grim: What the- Is that an earthquake!?

Silver: !! Grim, Yuu, look out!

Grim: Waaah, that tree right in front of us just got hit by lightning!?

Silver: Lady Meleanor must still be fighting right now. We need to hurry and find father while she’s distracting the enemy for us...

Iron One A: I heard voices coming from over there!

Iron One B: It might be Vanrouge! Search the area!

Silver: Damnit, they heard us. I’m sorry, but we’ll be forcing our way through!

Battle Map Conversation

Silver: Have you seen my fath-… I mean, General Vanrouge anywhere? Ah! I know I’m a human and all, but I’m not your enemy…

(ring ring… ring ring….)

Grim: The fae are waving at us to follow ‘em. Maybe they’ll take us to where Lilia is!

Silver: I guess they believed me… Thank you!

Land of Briar – Woods

Iron One A: There he is, it’s Vanrouge! Capture him!

Lilia: Augh!

(Lilia collapses)

Iron One A: He’s down! Surround hiiiim!

Iron One B: …So this is the Land of Briar’s General of the Right, eh? The feared “Dragon’s Right Hand Man.”

Iron One A: Aww, he looks like a wee li’l bat that can’t get off the ground. Just breaks my heart.

Iron One B: It’s over. Just give us that egg and we’ll spare your life.

Lilia: Kishaaa!!

Iron One A: The guy doesn’t know when to give up, huh... Sounds like he wants us to take it from ‘im by force, then! I’ll give you my mercy as a knight and end this quickly. Haaaa!!

Lilia: …!

(Someone blocks the attack)

Iron One A: The Knight of Dawn?? …No, wait you’re… Who are you!? State your name!

Silver: …My name is Silver, and your tyranny ends here. NOW DRAW YOUR BLADES!

Land of Briar – Woods

Silver: Now’s my chance! Seyaaaah! …General Vanrouge! Are you okay!?

Lilia: Somehow or other, thanks to you. You made it just in the nick of time…

Silver: We ran into tons of Silver Owl on our way here, and there’s probably still a bunch lurking around. We need to hurry and press on.

Lilia: …Silver, you’re not at all obligated to take on this request, but I need you to listen to me.

Silver: Huh?

Lilia: I’m not gonna make it much longer… My body’s just about called it quits.

Silver: W-What are you…

Lilia: Please, take this egg… to Black Scale Castle for me. Go to Mystic Mountain, you’ll find an Imperial Guard’s camp site near the base... There’s a unit out there that patrols that whole area. First just… aim for there.

Silver: Are you telling me to leave you behind…?

Lilia: You probably can’t hear it, but there’s a bunch of soldiers headed right this way. There’s way too many for you to fight off alone while trying to drag me along. Once they get here… I’m gonna tell ‘em I got sick of carrying the egg and threw it into the ravine. That should buy you some time…. *cough cough*!

Silver: …..Alright. Yuu, could you hold Lord Malleus’s egg for me?

Yuu: Just leave it to me!

Grim: Man, this thing’s even bigger up close.

Silver: Please excuse me, General Vanrouge. …Okay.

(Silver lifts up Lilia onto his back)

Lilia: The hell do you think you’re doing!? I’m not a damn baby, you don’t need to carry me around! Don’t tell me… You’re gonna try to climb Dragon;s Tail Mountains with me on your back? That’s ridiculous! Just leave me here, dammit…! *cough cough*

Silver: I’ll be fine. I grew up around the mountains and have plenty of experience hiking with heavy gear. My teacher always used to say, “As long as you’re still alive, things will work out in the end.”…. So you can’t just give up on life already… You can’t!

Lilia: You little… The hell do you think you are, trying to lecture me… …Ugh…

Grim: Lilia passed out.

Silver: I’m amazed he was still standing when we found him. Let’s take a break for a little while. Now, should we head for that camp site, or just cut straight through to Mystic Mountain… In either case, we’ll be heading up north. Come on, you two. We need to get father and Lord Malleus to Black Scale Castle.

Battle Map Conversation

(Lightning flashes)

Grim: !!! Didja see that, Yuu! There’s a big ol’ mountain way over there. Looked like it was jet black.

Silver: That’s the sacred mountain known as Mystic Mountain. According to legend, the Thorn Fairy herself used to reside up there… And now, this country’s imperial capital, Dragon Capitol City and Black Scale Castle, sits on its peak.

Grim: Wait, so we gotta climb up that thing!?

Silver: We might be able to get them to loan us some flying mounts once we reach that camp site… But the mountain is always covered in dark clouds, and I heard anyone who climbs it without the dragons’ permission gets struck by lightning. Apparently, it’s to keep out any intruders. So I doubt we’ll be able to get there by air travel…

Grim: Yeah, but ain’t we carryin’ their egg!?

Silver: Everything depends on us getting to the camp site, I suppose.

(Soldiers march close by)

Silver: !! Those footsteps…

Grim: It’s the Silver Owl! What should we do?

Silver: Let’s hide in the thicket and wait for them to pass by… And then, we’ll pick off any of their men who have their guard down. We’ll be able to minimize any damage to our side that way.

Yuu: So we’ll have to fight them, then.

Silver: Yeah, if we don’t take some of them down and reduce their numbers, there’s a good chance they’ll just end up surrounding us. You know… The way he talks is all different, but the things my father says now really aren’t all that different from what he used to say when he was on the Guard.

(The soldiers approach)

Silver: …They’re here. Let’s go!

Battle Map Conversation

Silver: There’s some buildings up ahead, past the forest. Is that the camp site General Vanrouge was talking about?

Imperial Guards: Gyagyaaaa! Gyaruru!

Grim: Ooooi! We brought Lilia. Hurry up and come help-

(The guards brandish their weapons)

Grim/Silver: !?

Imperial Guard B: Human, enemy! Comrade, give back!

Grim: Crap, they think we’re the bad guys!

Silver: Damnit, and Sebek’s not here. We don’t have anyone who can translate for us…

(a projectile lands in the camp)

Everyone: !?

Iron One A: We found the fae’s campsite! Men, chaaarge! Ah! That huge egg that human’s holding… Is that the dragon egg!?

Iron One B: What luck! Out of all 15 units that entered the mountain, ours is the one that ended up finding it!

Iron One A: That egg is ours! Chaaarge!!

Imperial Guards: Gyagyaaa! Firume! Garrururu!

Grim: Grrr, it’s just one problem after another with these guys!

Silver: We have to help them. Grim, Yuu, we’ll need to fight our way through!

Battle Map Conversation

Silver: Phew… We were able to chase off the Silver Owl. But still… I can’t believe they have 15 of those units prowling the mountain. We won’t be able to stay here. Let’s go.

Imperial Guard A: You, not enemy? You, beat iron one…

Grim: That’s what we’ve been sayin’ this whole time, man!

Silver: We’re trying to deliver General Vanrouge and the heir’s egg to Black Scale Castle. The general is badly injured.

(The Imperial Guards huddle tighter and talk amongst themselves)

Imperial Guard A: Okay. We, enemy, search, beat. You, castle, go. Comrade, we, protect, far away.

Grim: Uhhh… Are they sayin’ they’re gonna handle whoopin’ the Silver Owl for us?

Silver: Yeah. And they’re even offering us their protection.

Imperial Guard A: Attack, sorry. Night’s blessing, upon ye.

Silver: …Thank you. And the Night’s blessing upon ye all.

Battle map conversation

Grim: Haaah, haaah… Geez, the road’s gettin’ steeper an’ steeper. Ya better not drop Tsunotarou’s egg, henchman!

Yuu: It sure is heavy…

Silver: You okay, Yuu? I don’t see anyone trailing us, so I’m fine if you want me to hold the egg for a while.

Grim: What, you’re gonna carry both Lilia and the egg at the same time!? Don’t you ever get tired?

Silver: Of course I’m tired. But it’s weird… I also feel like there’s this strength welling up inside me. Maybe because I’m thinking of “that day”.

Grim: Whaddya mean?

Silver: The day I found out my father and I aren’t related, I ran away without even thinking. It was a night kind of like this one, it was raining really hard and the forest was pitch black… the weather was just awful. I couldn’t go back home, I couldn’t move forward, I just sat there and cried… But my father came and found me, and he carried me home on his back while I was bawling my eyes out. And that’s why… I know it’s probably not really appropriate to say this given the circumstances, but that’s why I kind of feel happy right now. I’m happy that I’m now able to carry him on my back. And this time, I’ll be the one to carry him home.

Battle map conversation

Grim: Hmm… Is Malleus really inside this thing? Looks more like a big ol’ jewel than an egg to me.

(Grim pokes the egg)

Yuu: Something moved inside! …I think.

Silver: For as long as I can remember, Lord Malleus has looked pretty much the same as he does now. Makes me wonder what he looked like when he was born.

Yuu: He was probably in his dragon form.

Silver: Ah! …Maybe that’s what’s stopping Lord Malleus from interfering with father’s dream, because he’s dreaming of a time before Lord Malleus was born… Imagination is the root of all magic. And maybe it’s hard for Lord Malleus to control something he knows nothing about, something that’s beyond his imagination…

Grim: Whatcha mumblin’ about, Silver?

Silver: It’s nothing. There’s no use wondering about this and that. Let’s keep moving.

Battle map conversation

Silver: Huh? …The smell wafting from this forest, it’s so familiar. ...Ahh, that’s right. The house father and I lived in is across Mystic Mountain. …It’s okay. I have all those memories of the time we spent together in that house right here with me. No matter what happens here on out… I’ll never lose my way again.

Land of Briar – Woods

Silver: Haaa, haaah…. That bridge up ahead… goes over the gorge that connects Dragon's Tail Mountains and Mystic Mountain.

Lilia: Ugh… Where are we…?

Silver: Are you awake, General Vanrouge? We’re just about to reach the bridge that goes up to Mystic Mountain.

Lilia: So you really did climb up the mountains carrying me on your back…?

Silver: Yes, sir. And there weren’t any issues along the way.

Lilia: And what about the egg!?

Grim: No worries. Yuu’s got ‘im.

Lilia: *sigh* …Oi, Silver. I can walk by myself, let me down already.

Silver: Are you sure? I’m fine carrying you to Dragon Capitol City.

Lilia: Heh, you’ve gotten so cheeky. Listen, you might not be able to sense it, but the fog that envelops this place is rich in magic. My wounds’ll heal up in no time here. …Easy does it.

(Lilia climbs off Silver’s back)

Lilia: Yuu, I know you’ve been lugging that heavy thing around for a while now. Here, give me the egg.

Yuu: I’ve kinda gotten attached to him.

(Lilia takes back the egg)

Lilia: I don’t see any cracks or anything on it. ….*sigh*… It’s so damn heavy. Ah, and before I forget, I don’t see Sebek anywhere. Did something happen?

Silver: He stayed behind with Sir Baul to hold back the enemy for us… We haven’t met up with them again yet.

Lilia: I see… So he’s with Baul…

(The ground rumbles)

Grim: Eep! Was that an earthquake!?

Lilia: No, that awful noise has to be…

Iron One A: We finally found ya, Vanrouge!

Iron One B: Take out the bridge with the armored excavator! We have to slay Vanrouge and get that egg at all costs!

Lilia: Tsch. They’re bringing out that huge thing again…!

Grim: And there’s Silver Owl guys pourin’ in from left an’ right!

Silver: General Vanrouge, Yuu, Grim, you guys hurry and cross the bridge! I’ll buy you some time! I WON’T LET ANY OF YOU PASS THROUGH! I’LL BE THE ONE TAKING YOU ON!

Iron One A: Ha! You’re just a stupid kid, you seriously think you have a chance against us? We’ll smash that bridge and throw all you guys to the bottom of the gorge with it. ARMORED EXCAVATOR, FULL SPEED AHEAD!

???: I call upon thee, Lightning – Pierce through the clouds above! Living Bolt!!!

Iron Ones: Guwaaaaah!!!

Silver: That flash of lighting just now, it’s…

Sebek: T-To think, you would be standing around dawdling here of all places…. D-Did you fall asleep along the way? …Yowch!!

Silver: Sebek! ...That armor…!?

Sebek: Ha! So you’ve noticed, have you! I should very much like to flaunt it off right now, but… That will have to wait until after we’ve dealt with the enemy! Ouch!!

Iron One A: Reinforcements, huh! Arrgh, hurry up and get that Armored Excavator up and running again!

???: Oh, no you don’t! Haaaaa!

Baul: There’s no way we’d let rotten scum like you take even a single step on these sacred mountains! I’LL DEVOUR THE LOT OF YOU!!!

Silver: Sir Baul! You’re okay!

Baul: …Hmph. You did good making it this far. I’ll commend you for your tenacity, if nothing else.

(Bats fly across the screen)

Lilia: Heh… Looks like you’ve escaped death as well, Baul.

Baul: General! I apologize for taking so long to get here.

Sebek: Sir Lilia! Where are His Eggcellency, Yuu, and Grim?

Lilia: I had them wait somewhere safe, beyond the bridge.

Sebek: But should you not be recuperating with them…!

Lilia: Dumbass. I wouldn’t be much of a general if I sit this one out, now would I? You don’t need to worry about me, my wounds are all closed up now thanks to our blessed Mystic Mountain. Now then, Silver Owl… If you want to run away, now’s your last chance.

Iron One A: Hah, you talk big for somebody who looks like he’s about to pass out. You guys don’t stand a chance. We’re gonna take both your head and that egg of yours and go home heroes! You aren’t gonna have your way with things any longer! …YOU MONSTERS!

Land of Briar – Woods

Iron One A: T-That’s impossible… How are they beating us?! There’s only four of them, why the hell can’t we bring them down!?

Iron One B: I heard fae can draw in magic energy from nature. They must be absorbing the evil energies on this mountain and healing themselves while we fight! They’re gonna wipe us out at this rate. Commander, please, give the order to retreat!

Iron One A: Damn those blasted monsters….! To make it all the way here, with that egg just within our reach… Dammit! MEN, RETREAT! RETREEEEAT!

(the iron ones depart)

Everyone: Haaa, haaah ,haaaa….

Sebek: Did we… Did we chase them off?

Lilia: Looks like it…

Silver: T-Thank goodness…

Baul: Praise be to the Mystic Mountain’s divine protection, praise be to the Night’s Blessing…

(The ground rumbles)

Silver: !? An earthquake!? And it’s a big one!

Sebek: The storm’s raging even worse now… Augh! I can hardly open my eyes!

Lilia: The land is resonating with the dragon’s- with Meleanor’s rage.

Baul: What on earth! There’s a bunch of black clouds and thorns covering the Verdant Moors.

Silver: !! This is just like when Lord Malleus overblotted…!

Sebek: Don’t tell me, is Lady Meleanor-!

Lilia: Shit, the bridge is about to collapse!

Baul: Hurry, everyone!!

Battle Map Conversation

Lilia: Haaa, haaah….  I can see… Dragon Capital City up ahead… We’re almost there, Black Scale Castle isn’t too far off. Soon as we drop off the egg, I’m heading straight back to the Verdant Moors….!

(Something rumbles in the distance)

Everyone: !!??

Grim: Eep! I think this earthquake’s the biggest one yet!

Baul: Everyone, to me! I’ll put up a forcefield!

Sebek: I-Is it over?

Baul: Appears so… Ah! There’s a bunch of boulders blocking the path we just came down.

Silver: We’re not out of the woods yet. Let’s hurry!

Part 2

Part 3

#lilia vanrouge #twst silver #sebek zigvolt #baul zigvolt #twst #twst spoilers #twst jp #twst book 7

[hezuart]

No shade or aggression here but how are you disappointed in Hazbin Hotel when it hasn’t come out yet? Like do you just no have a lot of hope for the show or have you gotten some behind the scenes look at the show? Genuinely asking

I think I've explained before, but there's only 8 episodes for season 1 and it is going to showcase Charlie, Alastor, Vaggie, Husk, Angel, Niffty, Cherri, Pentious, Lucifer, Rosie, Vox, Valentino, Velvet, that one weapons dealer lady- and probably others, but the point is that it is overcrowded and the characters will not receive equal screentime for development.

The voice actors have changed, and they are talented people, but Lucifer is voiced by the same guy that voiced Varian from Tangled https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYaqBrVAfGY So Charlie's dad is gonna sound like he's 18 Which you know, he can't age but I'm not personally down with this choice because I'm only gonna see Lucifer as Charlie's brother and not an actual dad figure, the fact that he's into rubber duckies, circuses, and theme parks kinda just solidifies him in my mind as a man child I won't be able to take seriously Husk is no longer a jaded drunk Rick Sanchez-sounding gambler but a suave magical Coraline Cat / Dr Facilier , which is a big change to his pilot vibe (I think Magician is what Viv WANTED to go for originally but... I prefer his pilot vers because Husk being a flying cat magician is... there's a bit too much going on with this character of his here) Based off wiki facts, pilot screen time, promotional material, comics, and Helluva Boss, it's safe to say the women in Hazbin are going to be neglected in favor of the guys. So the girls might not get as much screen time or plot. I've seen official promotional stills and clips with obvious animation errors and awkward storyboard shot cuts and zooms. I've also seen the old pitch bible for Hazbin and the episodes and characters listed there and it seemed more like an episodic series of shenanigans for young teens rather than an overarching plot kind of story for adults. Things have changed of course, but seeing what it was based off or pitched as has lowered my expectations pretty immensely. They don't have a lot of time and they have too many characters basically.

#the show is overhyped and people are gonna be a bit disappointed #they will be getting a season 2 i think but #even then thats still only 16 episodes #that is not nearly enough to deal with so many characters #hazbin hotel critical #ask #text post #i mean i could also maybe be wrong about some of this but #based off what ive seen my feelings are actually backed by released stuff so far #they just have too much to go over- too many villains to many protagonists- its too much

[truestoriesaboutme]

#doctor who #eleventh doctor #Twelfth Doctor #Clara Oswald #thirteenth doctor

[fellthemarvelous]

The Giggle is a true work of art

It's a love letter to humanity, but everyone has to be willing to listen for it to work.

I love this gif. Think about it. The MCU has a LARGE audience base and Tony Stark is the face of the MCU and is one of the richest men alive. It is no accident that UNIT looks like a tower that was erected by a a white male American narcissist who sacrificed his life to save the entire universe. Love him or hate him, Tony Stark gets your attention. And so does Iron Man. And so do the other Avengers. You know who else has a tower? Batman. (Right?). He's DC. Some people like both. I don't know enough about the DC characters.

And think about RDJ who is trying to step away from the Tony Stark image. It's a character he loved, a character that changed his life after he got out of prison, and he will always love Tony Stark, but he and Tony Stark are not the same person.

https://www.thestreet.com/media/vintage-video-of-robert-downey-jr-visiting-wall-street-resurfaces-goes-viral

Robert Downey Jr told us what was up in the 1990s.

This is meant to connect to the people who love superheroes and superhero movies. To see that Robert Downey Jr is the way he is because he's seen the ugly side of humanity and he has always told us what he really thinks. People look up to him.

This is meant to catch their eye, to say THIS IS WHAT WE ARE DOING. Please listen to our message.

Nerd culture is beautiful art.

And if you don't spend your time asking yourself how often Neil Patrick Harris is bullshitting us because I refuse to believe that he had never heard of Doctor Who before joining the cast. I think he just threw 100% of his "please" attitude into Barney Stinson.

Remember when Neil Patrick Harris played Doogie Howser, MD? The 14 year old Doctor?

Oh, he was a Doctor too! So let's not forget this other cult classic Doctor character he played. If you haven't seen Doctor Horrible and His Sing-along Blog you are missing out.

He was once listed as one of Times' 100 Most Influential People in 2010.

He's charismatic and is openly affectionate with his husband and their children.

Love him or hate him, he has a large fanbase. And he is an AMAZING actor. And a really good magician too.

And they used his skills as a magician on Doctor Who, took us to Soho in 1925, and the Good Omens fandom arose from our slumber severe hyperfixation and meticulous meta analysis to dig into a fandom where David Tennant is the most popular incarnation of a particular character, so we are already doing nonstop detective work.

The Good Omens fandom LOVES David Tennant. He is our favorite rebellious demon.

He played the MCU's most terrifying villain (there is not one single MCU villain that has ever terrified me as much as Kilgrave because that fucker uses his powers of mind control to force Jessica Jones into being in a relationship with him...among other things). As a character though, he was fucking fascinating despite the fact we have met so many men who act just like him, and we hate all of them.

Side note: When I typed "Doogie Howzer" into the gif search, this is the most popular image that came up. I consistently get Howser and Howzer confused.

Now I've got the attention of the Star Wars fandom! Howzer rocks.

You know who else appeared on a Star Wars show (again) this year?

This entire episode was crafted in a way that it formed as many connections as it could with other fandoms.

And not just that. It made sure to include as much representation as possible. Was it perfect? No, but the point is that Doctor Who is telling the world that it is moving on. It is ready to grow and it is ready to be a mainstream voice for everyone whose existence is being threatened by unjust laws.

The new Doctor defied expectations. This Doctor is a breath of fresh air, and a reminder that we will all be okay, but change is inevitable and this sci-fi show about an alien who is either 2,000 or 4,000,000,005 years old. I can't keep up anymore. It doesn't matter because he's a Doctor free from the confines of societal expectations.

Nerd culture is vast, and I know I've left out fandoms because I don't really have all day nor do I know all the fandoms, so I'm just giving you a taste of what I do love.

This episode is meant to be for everyone who needs a place to call home.

And the old Doctor finally gets to retire to make way for the new Doctor.

And as a reward for longtime fans, the retired Doctor has found a place to call home on Earth with his best friend. David Tennant will always be Doctor Who because the old Doctor was allowed to live.

And for the Staged fandom, you know what that means, Michael?

#doctor who #mcu #doogie howser md #doctor horrible's sing along blog #tony stark #iron man #robert downey jr #how i met your mother #good omens #jessica jones #kilgrave #david tennant #ncuti gatwa #the giggle #professor huyang #captain howzer #star wars #staged #michael sheen #neil patrick harris #donna noble #mel bush #rose noble #crowley

[zexalmonth]

Zexal Month 2023's coming up! From August 1st to the 31st, we’ll be celebrating our 7th Zexal Month! We're doing a Tarot theme!

All our prompts are based on the 23 Major Arcana! You can follow the written prompts or just draw something based on the actual arcana for the day!

For those who are with us for the first time, we have prompts with some suggestions attached to them. You can focus on characters, concepts or OCs, as long as it’s somehow Zexal related and we'll reblog it if it's tagged with #zexal month 2023. In addition to the daily prompts, we have a list of alternate prompts at the end of the list! We hope you have fun with it.

Week 1: Welcome to the Kingdom

1st: The Fool upright | Beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, a free spirit The king calls you all to introduce yourselves. Hello, fools! Who are you and how did you get into Zexal? 2nd: The Magician upright | Manifestation, resourcefulness, power, inspired action Duel monsters are the manifestation of the soul, so show us your favourite duel monster or card! Alternatively, show us your favourite Numbers Card! 3rd: The High Priestess upright | Intuition, sacred knowledge, the subconscious mind Music can do miraculous things to the subconscious mind. You can make something based on the soundtrack or themes/motifs you like. As a challenge, put on one of the Zexal soundtracks and try to make something before the song ends! Show it to us! 4th: The Empress upright | Femininity, beauty, nature, nurturing, abundance The empress summons you to talk about someone you truly care for. What makes your favourite character your favourite? If you have an OC, feel free to talk about them! Also, we love women, so if you want, show some female characters appreciation!

Week 2: Secrets of the Royal Court

7th- The Emperor upright | Authority, establishment, structure, a father figure All hail the barian emperors! Show us a piece about our favourite alien warlords and/or Don Thousand. You can also show us a non-barian Character as a Barian or something else Barian-related. Alternatively, an upright emperor also represents a father figure. Kazama? Faker? Tron? An OC or self-insert? Show us daddy issues something inspired by them! 8th- The Hierophant reversed | Personal beliefs, freedom, challenging the status quo The reversed hierophant means freedom and non-uniformity, so it’s dress up day! Put a Zexal character (or OC) in a new set of clothes they would/wouldn’t wear! Historically accurate clothes for Barians’ past lives? Mini skirt IV? Droite in her wrestler attire? Astral in a tutu? Just show us fashion!  9th- The Lovers upright | Love, harmony, relationships, values alignment, choices Time to spread the love! OTPs? OT3s? BROTPs? Character x Reader? Character x OC? The lovers card is all about ‘belonging’. What relationships do these characters have?    Draw us your ships, friendships or your favourite group of characters (Number’s Club, Sanyuushi, Arclights etc.) enjoying each others’ company. You can also show us the families of your favourite characters and create relatives for them if you prefer.  10th- The Chariot reversed | Self-discipline, opposition, lack of direction Sure, we have a “plot” but Zexal has lots of filler episodes and fun, zany detours! Show what sort of sports or hobbies the characters would get involved with in their spare time. 11th- Justice upright | Justice, fairness, truth, cause and effect, law Time to put a Zexal character on trial! What crimes are they charged for? What is the verdict? What is the punishment?  Feel free to get silly with this (Phoenix Wright, anyone?) or be as grim/morbid as you like. Will Vector finally pay for his transgressions? Up to you!

Week 3: Into the Woods

14th- The Hermit upright | Soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance As you are banished into the woods for your hot takes, you’re able to reflect on a long-forgotten friend. Make something based on your favourite obscure or minor character. Give those one-shot duelists some love! 15th- The Wheel of Fortune upright | Good luck, life cycles, destiny, a turning point Let’s just put your favorite characters on a game show. Can you imagine a Family Feud with Arclights vs Tenjos? Does anyone get lucky?  What sort of entertainment (outside of card games) do you think you’d see in Heartland City? 16th- Strength upright | Strength, courage, persuasion, influence, compassion Fight! Fight! Fight! In a contest of pure strength, who would win? Who do you NOT want to face in hand-to-hand combat. Who would you duel? If you want to keep yourself out of the fight, show two characters in a fight/duel! Bonus points if they haven’t canonically fought before.  17th- The Hanged Man upright | Pause, surrender, letting go, new perspectives A change of perspective! Is there any character you didn't like at the start, but ended up loving, or vice versa? Who is it and why?  Alternatively, what relationships do you wish we saw? What interactions did Zexal deprive us from? 18th- Temperance upright | Balance, moderation, patience, purpose Sometimes, your friends get on your nerves and you have to be patient with them. But it’s really hard when they’re mostly middle schoolers. How do you think characters would spend a Boys/Girls’ Night Out? What about a slumber party instead?

Week 4: Exile

21st- The Devil reversed | Releasing limiting beliefs, exploring dark thoughts, detachment Show us your villains or your favourite character(s) as a villain. Does their deck change as well? 22nd- The Tower upright | Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation, awakening Show us your favourite punching bag hurting emotionally (whether from a death, tragedy, breakup or something else), in physical agony, or just having a good cry. Zexal is no stranger to angst, after all (we got how many death montages at the end of the series?).  If there are triggers or graphic themes/visuals, remember to tag them! 23rd- The Moon reversed | Release of fear, repressed emotion, inner confusion Some parts of Zexal were confusing and some plot points were forgotten. What do you wish you could have seen MORE of? Alternatively, is there something you didn’t like in Zexal? What and why? Show us what you would have preferred/thought was interesting! Explore a scenario that could have drastically altered Zexal. e.g. What if Kaito died of space cancer at the end of season 1? 24th- The Star upright | Hope, faith, purpose, renewal, spirituality Let’s change the tone of this week. Zexal is full of mythology and spirituality. Show us some of your favourite themes/lore in the show!   25th- The Sun upright | Positivity, fun, warmth, success, vitality The sun represents warm feelings as much as it represents treasure/wealth. Give your favourite character a cursed weapon or treasure. How do they react? What do they do with it? If you want a challenge, grab an image of Yuma’s room and pick a treasure/object. Draw it and/or give it a story. III definitely would love to hear you talk about it! 

Week 5: Court of the Dead

28th- Death upright | Endings, change, transformation, transition How’s the future for Zexal characters? Show us what you think a Zexal character (or several) are doing post-series or how they look when they grow up? 29th- Judgement upright | Judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution Zexal ended a long time ago but it’s time to give it a bit of new life. It’s crossover day! How would a Zexal character look/act in the world of the fandom you're into now (or vice versa)? 30th- The World upright | Completion, integration, accomplishment, travel Scenery appreciation! (Tell us what’s your favorite location in Zexal). Alternatively, show us a location where the Zexal characters you like would go on vacation or for an adventure. 31st-  The Deck Summarise your Zexal Month 2023! What did you like? What didn’t you like? Any shout-outs you want to give?  

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

Alternate prompts

As per usual, alternate prompts are meant for ANY day and you can do as many or as few alternate prompts as you like. I can’t stop you if you want to do prompt 10) thirty-one times during Zexal month. 

Holding back/recklessness

Manipulation/poor planning

Dreams/delusions

Age-swap/younger days

Insecurities 

Parallel worlds / Fused world

“But there is only one bed…”

“Can you explain why I have to bail you guys out of jail AGAIN?”

A heist!

Middle school/High school AU

Lunchtime shenanigans

Fantasy/Fairytale AU

Hygge: A very strong feeling of cosiness, of a special moment, alone or with friends, where you feel utterly content, secure, reassured, comforted, and even kinship if you’re among loved ones. 

Verschlimmbessern: To fix something but only make it worse

Backpfeifengesicht: A face badly in need of a fist.

Body Swap/Soul swap

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

As usual, feel free to do whichever prompts you like in whatever order you want. These prompts are a guideline, rather than a hard rule, and you can make art, write fanfiction, make amvs/animatics or just talk about it! Just do what you can manage! No need to do all of them if you don’t want to.

Also, we have a new mod on the team to join me and Iris. Welcome mod Fla!

We can't wait for this August to see what you share with the fandom! Please share this around and spread the Zexal love!

Love Mod Pyra

#Zexal #ygo zexal #yugioh zexal #zexal month #Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal #zexal month 2023 #Zexalmonth #zexalmonth2023

[indestructibleheart]

Thank you for the tag, @kiwiana-writes!

Back in September, @b13-maybethistime suggested a canon divergence based on a certain episode of a certain wee-woo show that I don't even watch anymore... but something about it spoke to me. It promptly got a playlist, but I got distracted by trying to finish my The Magicians AU. Out of nowhere, it started writing itself in my head at 2am this morning and I wrote the following in my Notes app:

The news of Alex’s accident is delivered to Henry through a muted television.  By this point, his ex smiling at him through the static of passing screens isn’t unusual. It hasn’t gotten any less painful, of course — the longing to return to the lake house only claws the chasm in his chest open wider, in fact — but he’s gotten used to the sensation. He’s entirely prepared to tell [whoever] to change the channel to literally anything else, but the words across the bottom of the screen have him blurting a request that the volume be raised instead. “FSOTUS IN CRITICAL CONDITION” glares at him from the bottom of the screen, above a no-less-alarming sub-headline: “Alex Claremont-Diaz among three rushed to the hospital following accident on private airstrip.” The anchor describes the incident in such detail that it nearly makes Henry wish he’d left the report muted. Photos and short video clips flood the screen as she speaks, showing security camera footage, cell phone shots from onlookers, and professional photographs taken of the aftermath — apparently, a jet skidding across the runway into a vehicle makes quite the mess. Knowing that Alex was somewhere in that black SUV as it bent into a truly horrifying shape turns Henry’s stomach. When he looks to Shaan across the room, he’s already tapping away at his tablet. “I can get you there by half-past four.”

Tagging: @stereopticons, @this-is-bwr, @lilythesilly, @nontoxic-writes, @notspecialbabe, @maxbegone, and whoever else wants to play! Please tag me if you do!

#wip:snippet #m:wip #fic: pcsfoptp

[kimberleyjean]

Notes on Magic and Good Omens

This whole post started was inspired by the post I've linked here which names each card trick performed in Season One. If you haven't seen it before, please check it out as it's what the rest of this post is based on:

I was interested in digging into these card tricks more and it led me down a small rabbit hole. To start, here's a little more information on two of the tricks featured above.

Three Card Monte (via Wikipedia)

"Also known as find the lady and three-card trick – is a confidence game in which the victims, or "marks", are tricked into betting a sum of money, on the assumption that they can find the "money card" among three face-down playing cards. It is very similar to the shell game except that cards are used instead of shells." (Note: this reminds me very much of Aziraphale's three cowrie shells).

"When the mark arrives at the three-card monte game, it is likely that a number of other players will be seen winning and losing money at the game. The people engaged in playing the game are often shills, confederates of the dealer who pretend to play so as to give the illusion of a straight gambling game. As the mark watches the game, they are likely to notice that they can follow the queen more easily than the shills seem to be able to, which sets them up to believe that they can win the game."

George Joseph Muck

The George Joseph Muck, also known as Hand Mucking, refers to switching cards in play. George Joseph was the author of a popular book on slight of hand and card palming. Here we see a a King of Hearts switched for an image of the Beast (similar to the one we see later on the wall of Anathema's cottage).

Strange Coincidences or Happy Accident?

Here's where my little rabbit-hole sidetrack happened. On the Wikipedia page for sleight of hand, David Copperfield is named as being particularly skilled in this area. I was interested in why he picked that name - apparently he just liked the sound of it! But what I didn't know is that one of his famous tricks was making the Statue of Liberty disappear (which just so happens to be a big theme in Nina's Cafe). Just to add to the Good-Omens related oddness, did you know that he was in a movie called 7 Days in Hell which also features Michael Sheen? News to me.

A Dash of Creative Thinking...

Back to our card tricks, I just want to speculate a little on the amount of tricks being played here during the baby switch in S1.

We're lead to believe that we know where all the babies have ended up by the end. If that's the case, then where is the magic? In the Three Card Monte, the idea is to fool the mark. So if the magician does his job right, should we have been fooled? Yes, the parents in the show were fooled, but they aren't the ones being shown the card trick - the audience is.

Is there some reveal on the horizon to do with the baby switch? I haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere, so I thought it might be interesting to float the idea. If Neil was going to expand on the original Good Omens book, this could be an interesting direction to take it in.

#good omens meta #good omens card tricks #good omens magic #good omens season one #david copperfield #statue of liberty #michael sheen #good omens speculation #good omens baby switch

[gonzo-rella]

Imagine: Helping Out Ellie Williams When She Gets Her Period

MASTERLIST | AO3 | KO-FI

Relationship(s): Ellie Williams x gn!period-experiencing!reader (platonic/sibling-ish)

Warnings: Mentions of periods and the pain that they entail (Let me know if I need to add any)

(A/N: She’s my imaginary little sister who I must protect at all costs; please send in some platonic Ellie requests before I implode. That scene in episode 6 inspired me to write this, along with my desire to write something based around periods that doesn’t treat it as a women’s only experience.)

"Does it always hurt this fuckin’ much?” Ellie groaned through slightly gritted teeth, folding her arms over her chest.

“No,” you answered, before smiling teasingly. “Sometimes it’s worse.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Wow. Thanks a lot.”

“Hey, it’s Mother Nature kicking your ass, not me.”

You paused as you watched her face contort with pain.

“Should I ask Joel if we’ve got any painkillers?” you suggested.

Her eyes widened, and shook her head with an emphatic, “We’re keeping Joel out of this.”

“Oh, come on, El,” you sighed. “It’s not like being on your period’s anything to be embarrassed about. And, if anyone is going to be embarrassed, it’ll be him, and it’ll be super funny-”

“Sh!” she hissed. “I don’t want him to know I’m... y’know.”

“I can say they’re for me, then.” you shrugged.

She stared at you contemplatively for a moment.

“Fine.” she conceded. Before you could leave, she added, “What if we don’t have anything?”

“Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. They don’t call me the ‘Menstrual Magician’ for nothing.”

A smile finally made its way to her face and she chuckled.

“I’m guessing they don’t call you the ‘Menstrual Magician’ at all,�� she responded. “’Cause that’d be pretty fuckin’ weird.”

“O ye of little faith,” you hummed playfully. “I’ll be back in a sec, okay?”

“Okay,” Ellie nodded. 

You went to leave again, but she briefly stopped you by saying your name. You looked back at her.

“Thanks.”

#ellie williams x reader #ellie williams #tlou x reader #tlou #the last of us x reader #the last of us #tlou hbo #x reader #x gn!reader #x gn reader #x gender neutral!reader #x gender neutral reader

[autumnmobile12]

A question that doesn't come up often enough: Where's the rest of Trevor's family?

We know the entire Belmont line was almost completely annihilated in a mob, but the series is pretty vague on how many people were actually living in the house. With a high mortality of the medieval period, families were often big and with an occupation as dangerous as hunting monsters, the Belmonts were probably no different. This was very much a 'survival of the fittest' and 'heir and plenty of spares' mentality.

Trevor lost his family at twelve, so it's very unlikely he was the only sibling. But even in the event his parents were extremely unfortunate and he was their only surviving child, the multiple siblings theory still applies to the previous generations.

So his immediate family was killed. What about the extended family?

In Lament of Innocence, Leon Belmont was a French baron, but he gave up his land and titles to rescue Sara. Following the storyline of the Netflix series, he then chased Dracula east and neither the games nor series ever mention what became of him other than the fact he fathered the entire bloodline.

Based on the games, it would be safe to assume the Belmonts are not part of the aristocracy, but as far as the series goes, they are mentioned as one of Wallachia's 'great houses' in the first couple episodes. They're not unknown to the Wallachian people. Plus, the reigning Prince of Wallachia did have the power to invest anyone he chose with a noble title. The real Vlad the Impaler actually made use of this power by elevating members of the lower classes, effectively ensuring their loyalty through gratitude. (Because if he was overthrown, things weren't going to go well for the people who benefited from his rise to power.)

So it's not impossible that somewhere in the 400 years between Leon and Trevor, some Belmont won the favor of Wallachia's monarch and was rewarded with a boyar lord's title.

'Not much of a family and not for long' seems to indicate the line was already pretty diminished before the mob attacked.

Trevor only mentions his family a handful of times throughout the four seasons, and the only specific members that come up are his parents with the reference to his mother's books and the story of how his father had once gotten into a fight with a Speaker.

The only other time his parents come up is in Season 2 when Sypha asks if they were magicians, to which he answers no, but they knew a lot about magic. At the very least, this shows both of his parents were alive long enough for him to remember them. Otherwise, the story about the fight with the Speaker could have easily been told to him by another relative that had been looking after him while the books Trevor mentions that belonged to his mother could have just been part of the family's collection after she was long gone.

With some historical context (provided we adhere to accuracy,) this actually gives some insight to Trevor's childhood. He would have known his mother very well. Unlike many other European countries where the nobility left childrearing to a nurse and other staff, the education of a boyar's son in Wallachia was actually left to the women of the household. His mother would have likely overseen every part of his upbringing that wasn't physical combat training, which would have been his father's domain.

Another possibility worth exploring is his mother was the Belmont and his father was the one who married into the family. An unusual if not unheard of dynamic for the times, but the series does subtly imply the women of the family were as much of hunters as the men when Trevor talks about how only one member of his family encountered the Infinite Corridor. It's possible they could have adopted other more non-traditional roles for the times.

This also accounts for his complete lack of surprise in Episode 3 when 'the Elder's grandchild' turns out to be a granddaughter and again in Episode 4 when Sypha reveals herself as a mage.

So we've established both of Trevor's parents were alive and well for a significant part of his early life. On to the extended family.

Unless the Belmonts were practicing Targaryen levels of incest (although marrying one's cousin was an accepted practice in this time,) Trevor should have had other relatives to rely on. Assuming the family had a traditional dynamic and his mother did indeed marry into the Belmont line, and since aristocrats generally married other aristocrats, her father would have been one of the boyar lords of the region. The same applies if his father had sisters who married into other families.

Given the primary goal of marriage in this time period was less romantic and more in the interest of forming alliances with other families for political or financial reasons, there could also be a wider family network among the nobility at play.

Side note: There's a small possibility he's distantly related to one or both of these two.

...

So what happened to those other relatives?

Personally, I think the answer to this question might play into the cynicism and bitterness of Trevor's character in general. If we explore the scenario that he did seek help from his mother's family, people who had no ties to the Belmonts other than the fact their sister/daughter married into the family, with the self-serving atmosphere of the Wallachian aristocracy at the time, I can imagine him being met with a cold reception.

And sadly, this would be an all too realistic situation for the times. As stated above, the boyars were corrupt.  There wasn’t a clear hierarchy among the nobility (That is, Wallachia did not have the equivalent of dukes, earls, viscounts, etc.) so power was determined by wealth or land-owning.  This rivalry for power went all the way to the top; Wallachia's throne changed hands once every couple years as the Dănești and Drăculești branches of the reigning family relentlessly fought over it.

In this minefield of political intrigue, the only surviving member of an otherwise shattered bloodline, especially a twelve year old excommunicate, would not have been of much use in the eyes of the nobility. With the Belmonts disgraced with heresy charges, neither branches of the reigning family would have been interested in their support and probably would have wanted to distance themselves from an alliance that could potentially damage their own reputation.

A public rejection from the Prince would have rebounded throughout the region and put the final nail in the coffin of what the Church started. None of the boyars would have been interested in helping Trevor, distant family or not. On the other hand, helping their orphaned and disgraced nephew/grandson is the Christian thing to do, but since Trevor and his murdered family are now enemies of the Church and out of favor with Wallachia's monarch, that 'help' might've extended only as far as, "We're deeply sorry for your circumstances. Here's some money, now get out."

So Trevor was born into one of the highest and most privileged classes in the region and is the product of literally generations of a family that has had two goals since Leon: protecting the world from Dracula and the destruction of Dracula. The night of the mob would have completely shattered a mentality he'd had since he was born. Throw that on top of that the trauma of losing one’s home and entire immediate family in a single night and then being vilified by both the people his family had protected and the wider circle of his extended family.

That is a brutal shift in world views for a twelve year old to handle, so it's easy to see why the series opens with him already burned up the anger and the grief over what happened and all that’s left for him is the aimless wandering, drinking, and getting into fights.

In all, this statement really summed up the beginning of his character arc perfectly.

#castlevania #trevor belmont #belmont family #sypha belnades #character analysis #castlevania headcanons #castlevania targoviste #character development #speakers #medieval wallachia #wallachian social classes #medieval romania #medieval history #medieval europe #wallachian politics #game of thrones reference

[thesherrinfordfacility]

alright next up on the list of ideas to dredge up from the drafts and talk about in more detail is the focus on books in this season, because its driving me around the bend

but because i literally have no answers whatsoever to this, im just going to do a crowley-core #justgirlythings and just ask questions:

ep2 goob (rip) lines: "books are key!" which ok yeah obvious but:

"and see, the big ones can be used as fly swats - and i know what you're thinking, but it's okay, because the beauty part is, it never works!"... hmmmm

but also earlier on, goob asks aziraphale "what [letter] comes after 'K'?", which is 'L', but goob then immediately refers back to his book that he's alphabetising, which is A Tale of Two Cities, and that starts with 'it'...? so why highlight the letter 'L'? (this might be something of nothing but given Book of Life idk could literally have been ANY other letter)

but then we have the rest of the episodes that cascaded from the two things above; first, the book blueprint of the universe in ep1, which AWCW was referring to, but only from page 11 onwards (so what was on pages 1-11?):

ep2: crowley discovering that jane austen wrote books (like, other than it being a comedic point of their conflicting remembrance of her as a person, and gives the "you think you know someone!" foreshadowing, it felt very pointed that crowley learns that she was a writer as well)

ep2 also sees aziraphale looking at a huge tome which, given everything that's going on, seems weird that he'd be randomly consulting? idk what the book is so not doubling down on this... anyone know if ive just missed something obvious?

but also makes a point of consulting the bible after goob recites what god said to job in the bookshop. which, given that he and crowley readily recognise what god says (he even says to crowley, "I most certainly do [remember]"), seems weird that they'd need to consult a book to remind them who job was and his story... could be exposition and for the cool fall-through effect, but possibly felt a bit unneeded. plus, it got aziraphale so absorbed that he totally conked out and missed crowley leaving the shop:

aziraphale writing in his diary at his desk on his bed, lying in his tummy, feet kicking in the air, in ep3:

the magician's pamphlet that not only follows aziraphale's epiphany of realising he's in love with crowley but also literally sets up the opportunity for aziraphale to demonstrate how much he trusts him, and is ultimately used against them in being discovered as (at least) being traitors to their respective sides:

plus the Hoffman book, and the angel field-guide:

like, oversimplifying, but literally all of ep5 being based on jane austen works

emphasis on muriel wanting to read books in the background of the Showdown going on in ep6, being chucked The Crow Road by crowley, and metatron being weirdly interested in the fact that they're reading it... like, how would he not know what a book is? why is it "excellent", and a "perfectly splendid thing to do"? odd choice of words even if you want them to take over the bookshop:

now this one i can believe is literally just about goob in the shop and that's fine, but again the emphasis on books anyway (and also michael's weirdly strong but conflicting memory? might write a different post about that bc i think michael got got by metatron somewhere along the line):

back to ep2 but fitting to bookend on:

so okay yeah sure, im certain the book of life comes into all of this somewhere (ive posted about it here but im fairly certain it's not what heaven/hell seems to claim it is, and i think only the metatron truly knows that). there's been a lot of emphasis on memory too in this season, but taking that out of the equation a minute, the main things giving me heebie-jeebies is goob's line about using big books as fly swats, and obviously metty-babes' weird reaction to the crow road...

idk where im going with this and ill probably look at this again but all of this was floating around my noggin and i couldn't take it anymore

#good omens #*screams into the abyss* BOOKSSSSS #s2 meta #book of life theory #kinda

[andsomemaniacgotridofthewheel]

Our Flag Means Death vs. The Magicians

I was not sure whether I should even write something, but the closer the season 2 finale and, hopefully, a 3rd season of OFMD comes, the more nervous I get. So it's gotta come out.

Thing is, I trust David Jenkins. Or, more accurately, I want to trust David Jenkins.

But 4 years and *checks watch* 6 months ago I also trusted the showrunners of "The Magicians".

Because they, too, responded thoughtful and kindly on Twitter to their fandom's worries. They assured us they were aware of how important queer representation was, and that they would handle their show's queer pairing of two main (!) characters with the utmost respect and sensitivity. They said they knew how badly queer people were treated on the media and they did not want to do that in their show. They had done their research, they carefully listened to their fans, and they were different.

A lot of fans were NOT convinced by that and maintained that it would still turn out to be queerbaiting. We others, we trusted. They obviously knew what they were doing!

For those of you who were not around here back then or simply not in the fandom, and who have no idea what I am talking about, let me try to summarise the shitshow what happened.

"The Magicians" was a very original, weird, entertaining and, for 3 seasons and 12 episodes, good urban fantasy show about a group of young, well, magicians. It was based on a book series of the same name by Lev Grossmann.

The main character, Quentin, was canonically struggling with clinical depression. At the beginning of the show he had admitted himself to a mental health clinic, and he was on medication, and his illness was treated as a part of his character throughout the show. And they received a lot of praise for their sensitive, realistic representation of people with depression and their continuing struggle.

Around Quentin there was an ensemble of other main characters. His (male) best friend (Eliot) was gay and played by a gay actor.

Season 1 ended with a drunken decision from Quentin, Eliot and Eliot's (female) best friend (Margot) to have a threesome; which basically ended Quentin's het-relationship (with Alice) that had developed during the season. This was the first indication that the depressed main character Quentin might also be bisexual.

In season 3 there came a mind-blowing episode where Quentin & Eliot spend the entire rest of their lives living together in a cabin in the woods and raising a son, in what turned out to be an alternative timeline. Basically, in order to solve a plot-arc relevant puzzle, they move to the cabin where the puzzle was set, not knowing how long it would take. After a few months together Quentin initiates an affair with Eliot. A little bit later a woman, with whom Quentin then has a child, moves in; a couple of years later she dies, Quentin & Eliot raise the kid together, and when Eliot, the older one, finally dies of old age, leaving Quentin alone behind, the puzzle named "The Beauty of all Life" is finally solved, the timeline reset, and young Quentin & Eliot in the past receive the solution of the puzzle together with the memories of their life together in the other timeline.

It was a beautiful, beautiful episode. Heartbreaking and life-affirming and queer and just wonderful. It also established beyond a doubt that the depressed main character Quentin was definitely bisexual (and polyamorous).

Then, for the whole 4th season, Eliot was separated from the rest of the group and in great danger, while Quentin and the others tried to find and save him. And when Eliot had to do some soul searching, he remembered something the audience never saw from that one season 3 episode, they added a brand new scene: after they both had been stunned into silence by having the memories of a whole other life dropped onto them, just where the original episode had ended, Quentin had actually asked Eliot if they should "just try it", because "who gets proof of concept like that"? And Eliot, scared of the gravity of it and full of abandonment issues, had shot him down. Present Eliot decides then, if he ever sees Quentin again, to stop being scared and just go for a relationship with him.

(On the other side of the plot, Quentin gets more and more desperate and frantic, trying to find Eliot and save his life. He is clearly masking a steadily worsening spiral into a severe mental health crisis.)

It's queerbaiting, said the nay-sayers and skeptics. It will never happen. At the end of season 4, Quentin will get back together with his ex-girlfriend Alice, they're End Game, and Eliot will end up dead alone at the sidelines, undergoing character development through loss, as a gay character should. /s

They thought we were naive, but we thought they weren't paying attention. Two (2!) episodes in two (2!) seasons with the sole purpose to set Queliot up as a couple, in canon. This wasn't subtext, it wasn't queer-coding; it was text, it was spoken aloud, it was named, it was shown. Why would they do that if nothing else would come of it? Also, they had promised us. The gay actor who played Eliot repeatedly stated how proud he was to be on a show where this was happening, he was just as excited as us, he was one of us.

Then the season 4 finale came, and it wasn't exactly queerbait.

It was much, much worse.

I was on Tumblr right after the finale aired, and it was eerie. No episode reactions, no gif-sets, no comments or shitposts or anything. Even the nay-sayers and skeptics couldn't bring themselves to utter the well-deserved "told you so"s to break the stunned silence. All that was missing from the scene were actual tumbleweeds blowing across our dashboards.

Even from the actors of the show who were on twitter, usually very active and involved, came only radio silence. The last tweet for a while came the day before the finale aired. It was a tweet from the POC actor of an unrelated character, who had spend the last season supporting queer fans and assuaging our fears that something bad might happen to Queliot. And this tweet from him simply stated that he had just found out he had filmed a fake finale scene, one that was never intended to be aired, and that it had served its purpose: he had no idea how the season would actually end.*

And here is how it did end: with the clinically depressed and queer main character blowing himself up in order to permanently ban that season's big bad. He had saved Eliot before that, but he didn't get a chance to talk to him, instead he did get a final scene straight out of the suicidal ideation fantasy handbook: after he killed himself, he witnessed his friends, unseen by them, grieving for him and acknowledging how his sacrifice had made all of their lives better in various ways. And no, I'm not making this up.

And it wasn't even the end of the showrunners stupidity, because in an utter display of tone-deafness, they were taking to Twitter celebrating themselves for the progressive (!!!) decision to kill off their White Male Main Character™, to focus more on the POC characters in the show. And, of course, the recently introduced cis-het male white dudebro character, who had started as a guest but somehow kept getting more and more screentime lately.

They had pulled a Bury Your Gays, but With A Vengeance. In only 10 minutes of screentime they had completely destroyed everything that had made their show critically acclaimed, retroactively un-deserving all the praise and recognition they had gotten for good representation of mental illness and the courage to introduce a canon queer relationship between their established main characters.

And they didn't even get it. They honestly expected praise for their "woke" decision to kill of their White Male Main Character™ (they kept repeating it like a mantra), and they reacted like children when they were instead confronted with an epic shitstorm from upset and angry queer and mentally ill fans.**

In hindsight we realised that what had fooled us was them just parroting the right words and phrases back at us. They had no idea what queerbaiting was. They had even less of an idea what a Bury Your Gays was. They didn't know what we meant when we said that queer representation was so important, and that we were worried if they would do it right; and they didn't understand that they themselves were lying when they answered that they would handle the queer representation in their show with care and respect, because they didn't understand what care and respect in relation to queer representation even was. They didn't even realise that his depression alone, and even more so combined with his absolute lack of toxic masculinity, separated Quentin from the usual White Male Main Character Trope they somehow so desperately wanted to fight - and for some reason they didn't even seem to have realised that they (accidentally?) written him as bisexual? (I am still not too clear on how that even could happen.)

And that's where my worry for "Our Flag Means Death" and David Jenkins comes in. Yes, he was publicly flabbergasted when he learned about queerbaiting and how deeply it had traumatized queer fans and destroyed our trust. He publicly noticed, he publicly cared.

But does he really understand?

Even if he knows and understands queerbaiting (now), does he also know what a Bury Your Gays is? Does he understand?

The historical Edward "Blackbeard" Teach died November 1718. The historical Stede "Gentlemen Pirate" Bonnet died a month later, December 1718. That's at the very most less than a year from when our favourite gay pirate couple is now. And yes, David Jenkins makes it a point to screw with history, he does what he wants no matter what. But their death dates are pretty huge. A fixed point in time, if you will.

I want to believe that all the faking of deaths talk is indeed foreshadowing, that they will be officially dead to history, but actually have run off together to open Jeff's Inn by the Sea, with a Bar & Grill and Other Delicacies & Delights, Snake Snackery, Gift Shop and Fishing Gear in the back. That we will get our Happy Ending. That they will get their Happy Ending. No Bury Your Gays. Everyone lives, just this once, everyone lives.

But what if it is a red herring instead of foreshadowing? What if it is supposed to make their eventual deaths even more heartbreaking and tragic? WHAT IF DAVID JENKINS DOESN'T ACTUALLY KNOW ABOUT BURY YOUR GAYS? What if he says he does, what if he believes he does, but what if he doesn't actually understand?

What if he just says what he believes we want to hear, without really understanding the reason?

For me personally, that's not even the worst of it.

When "The Magicians" season 4 aired, I had just gone through the worst depressive episode of my life. It was actually the reason I hyper-fixated so strongly on the show and why I had repeatedly binge-watched the first three seasons in a span of only 3 weeks. It was the reason I obsessed over Quentin, the character who was in a place that I was in just months before, I place I had lost and felt I would never reach again, a place that gradually and painfully I did reach again by the end of those weeks. When I had caught up with season 4 and the finale aired, I was actually a lot better. But even then, Quentin's death and the way he died hurt me, confused me, triggered me, set me back. Talking to other fans with the same problems helped. Removing myself from the fandom and not looking at anything Magician's-related for near-on two years helped also.

And I was in luck. Only one month later "Good Omens" was released. I had liked the book, I had looked forward to its adaption, but I was completely unprepared for what Neil Gaiman had done with it. It healed me, it fully filled the void "The Magicians" and Queliot had left inside me, and it made everything better.

In "Our Flag Means Death", Stede is clearly on the autism spectrum. I was bullied at school, just like him, not for being queer, but for "being a fucking weirdo". Because I have ADHD, like Ed. Unlike Ed I don't have the hyperactive kind, but the inattentive kind. I can never tell if someone is sarcastic or sincere. I also have difficulty with and anxiety in social situations, and I have almost never felt accepted by my peers or my family. I am permanently masking. I relate deeply to Stede's belief that he has to change in order to be worthy of love. I also related deeply to Ed's mental health spiral and suicidal ideation in the beginning of season 2. I obsessed for days over the moment when Ed decided to finally let go, only to be saved in the very last moment by love. It felt way too real, way too familiar, and it was so important for me and my state of mind that it ended in hope. They managed to take the trauma and make it cathartic. So even if my genderfluid ass didn't relate better to mlm relationships than to any cishet relationship, relating a whole lot to Stede and only a little less to Ed because of their neurodivergent traits will be enough for their deaths to destroy me. Just like Quentin's death almost had. And I don't even know if there will be a "Good Omens 3" to stop my fall only a month later.

*= with the exception of the actor leaving the show, none of the actors on "The Magicians" knew. They had all been given fake scenes to film. They didn't even know their colleague was leaving them until the day the finale aired.

**= when I had finally distanced myself enough from the show emotionally and wondered if I should maybe watch season 5, it was included in my Prime subscription anyway, I was told not to, because a) apparently the showrunners had written it as a giant FUCK YOU to everyone who was upset by the season 4 finale, and b) because they had done all the characters dirty, but especially fan-favourite (and mine) Eliot, apparently he fared even worse in season 5 than in season 4. But I am glad to be able to at least inform you that season 5 pretty much tanked both critically as well as in viewership, I have never seen a show go from successful and popular to irrelevant and hated so quickly and so completely.

#quentin coldwater deserved better #the magicians #david jenkins #our flag means death #queliot #gentlebeard #edward teach #stede bonnet #quentin coldwater #eliot waugh #ofmd #bury your gays #queerbait #queer representation #cw: depression #cw: suicide #good omens #neil gaiman #nikku.txt #nikku #blackbonnet #quentin coldwater x eliot waugh #eliot waugh x quentin coldwater #ofmd blackbeard #stedeward #ed teach #blackbeard #ed x stede #stede x ed

[kjmellow]

Let's talk

Magical systems

I have been considering this for some time, because I'm reading, watching and writing things that have magic in them, and I have managed to single out three categories of magics that seem basic:

Intention-based refers to the type of magic where you picture the result and it just happens. No specific rituals or magical words required.

Word-based refers to spells, when a specific spell-word yields specific results.

Sign-based is a somewhat broad category, which includes magical signs and sigils, runes, chalk circles, ingredients required to work a specific spell or a special movement that you have to do to perform magic.

And here are a few examples that came to my mind as I was making this, and I do encourage additions and speculation:

Let's elaborate!

Okay Diana Wynne Jones has probably written every single one of these magical systems, it's just that they're too confusing for me to classify each and every instance, because there are hardly any descriptions. It doesn't help that all her stories are more or less like So they usually do magic this way BUT our protagonist has their own way. But Christopher Chant aka Chrestomanci, for example, is very clearly an intention-based enchanter, because he just makes things go his way. In The Magicians of Caprona they specifically sing spells, and their quality depends on how well they are sung (written spells are still word-based spells, by the way). In House of Many Ways doing a spell is described in detail (which doesn't mean much since Charmain has her way of making magic anyway, but it's there, to show how spells were supposed to work all along), and it has ingredients and special actions and words to say or write. Then, since it's all the same universe as Howl's Moving Castle, I'm just singling out Sophie for intention+words, because what she uses is not necessarily spells, but she just magically talks things into being a certain way, so they also kinda are.

Harry Potter had brave attempts at a straight-forward wagical system, but then some spells require unnecessarily difficult and precise wand movements to move a fricking feather, while you just point at someone to unalive them. Still, sort of falls into this crossover of categories, I GUESS.

Doctor Strange was the only example of sign-based magic that came to my mind, but I think it's a very good example. They literally wave their hands around in a certain way and make glowy things out of thin air. Amazing. Wish I could do that.

The Owl House, in my opinion, is a prime example of intention+sign, because it literally said so in the show. I think it was when Luz was trying to teach Eda and Lilith wild magic, because there are only four basic sigils, and they make so many combinations, yes, but you can ALSO shape the outcome by picturing what shape you want your spell to take. And I think they do pretty much the same thing when they draw those circles and imagine what they want to happen, so here it is.

Addition that's not on the graph: Carrionites from that one Doctor Who episode about Shakespeare are word-based. That was the whole plot point.

Anyway, here's my take on a topic which I mostly cleared up into a system for myself, and I would love to see what others think about it. Maybe there's a secret fourth thing I have somehow overlooked... And I would also love to see people add their fandoms to the pile :)

#I feel like Howl who wrote his thesis on spells and charms #magical systems #Harry Potter #Howl's moving castle books #hmc book #house of many ways #diana wynne jones #chrestomanci #the owl house #doctor strange #I hope there's something to speculate about in this post

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Can you elaborate more on how Amelie is indulgent with Felix?

In Felix (the episode), after Felix does all that awful stuff including trying to make Adrien's friend's hate him via impersonating him, we get this:

Adrien: That video you sent to my friends... Unforgivable, Félix. (Félix doesn't look him in the eye, only looks down, upset and ashamed) Amelie: Now that his father isn't here to stop him from getting into mischief - (Félix stops her.) Félix: I don't deserve to be forgiven, mom. I put my favorite cousin in danger. He's right. No apology can ever be enough.

Now, we don't know exactly what Amelie was about to say, but Felix's interruption makes it pretty clear that she was about to defend everything he did or at least downplay it. Otherwise why would he say that he didn't deserve to be forgive and that Adrien was right?

This is further supported by the next scene in which we see Felix and Amilie. They get on the train and what does Amelie do?

Félix: I've got a surprise for you, mom. (He reaches behind her ear and pulls out Gabriel's ring.) Amelie: (gasps) But Gabriel refused to hand it over to me! And after everything that happened - (reaches out and cups his face) My little magician. I can never understand how you always manage to get what you want. (closes her hand over his) Keep it. It's yours now. Félix: But... you wanted it so much. Amelie: Only to give it to you. You've always been so fascinated by them. How many times have you asked me to tell you the story of the Graham de Vanily twin rings, huh? (she kisses his forehead) I'm glad it's back in the family where it truly belongs. (She winks at him and then rests her eyes. Félix smiles deviously out the window.)

She praises him for stealing and doesn't say a single word about all of the messed up things he did. If this were my kid, we would be talking about his actions were and trying to get him to explain why he did all of that. We'd also be discussing his punishment.

We also learn that Amelie only demanded that her recently widowed and still grieving brother-in-law give up his wedding ring because Felix wanted it. Even though, arguably, the rings should go to Adrien or at least stay with Gabriel until someone in the family is ready to marry. Amelie had no need for them other than "baby wants it, baby gets it."

This was before the sentireveal, so it's debatable if the original intent was to take it this far or if this is just another victim of the retcon, but it's canon now and the writers claim to have planned it all from the start, so I'm going to treat it as fully intentional and discuss the sentistuff, too.

We never see Felix or Amelie learn that the rings are Adrien's amoks, but Felix very clearly knew that's what the ring he had was. Based on that, it's not illogical to conclude that Amelie knew that she was asking for Adrien's amok and didn't care. Baby wants his cousin's controls, baby gets it.

Moving on!

The start of season five sees Ladybug and Chat Noir try to track down Felix since he knows Monarch's identity and gave him all of the miraculous. Kinda a big deal. When they get to London, this happens:

Amelie: My son wasn't here this morning, when I woke up. I didn't worry though, because I thought he might have gone to see his cousin Adrien in Paris. Those two are so fond of each other, but Félix wasn't returning my calls, though I contacted his uncle Gabriel; he told me he hadn't seen him. Cosmobug: And yet he was in Paris I talked to him. Amelie: Oh, Cosmobug, Astrocat, I hope nothing's happened to him! Cosmobug: Don't worry, ma'am. He'll probably end up at his uncle's. Astrocat: Or he might already be on his way back home to London. Amelie: Thanks so much to the two of you for your support!

Then the heroes leave. At the end of the episode, we cut back to London and see this:

Amelie: Tea break. (Félix comes out of the room holding a laptop and follows Amelie to the main hall. Amelie pours tea into a cup, while Félix sits on a sofa and works on his laptop.) Amelie: (putting her hand on Félix's head) Don’t worry, my Félix. Mom is here to protect you from those superheroes who think you’re a villain.

Who cares about saving Paris from a terrorist? If her baby wants to hide away, then Amelie will help him hide away.

Also, if she had forced Felix to talk to the heroes here, then Gabriel wouldn't have died because this is before Destruction. Not saying that his death is her fault, but Amelie did inadvertently let to her nephew be orphaned because she didn't want Felix to face the consequences of his own actions. Remember that as you read this next bit.

And then we have Emotion, which sees Amelie storm into the diamond dance and cause a massive, confusing scene:

Amelie Graham de Vanily: (struggles to make her way in through the guards) Gabriel! My son Félix has been missing for weeks now! (storms towards them) Not only have you and your friends been no help with the search! But now I'm not even invited to the ball?! You haven't been the same since my sister Emilie disappeared! Why are you rejecting us? Gabriel: This is not the place nor the time, Amelie. Nathalie will see you out. (Nathalie begins to walk towards Amelie, and grabs her by the wrist, walking her outside of the ball) Amelie: I don't understand how Gabriel could've become so cruel, let alone why you're still complacent in his actions. Nathalie: Sorry, Amelie. I have no choice. (hands Amelie to the guards) Amelie: There's always a choice, Nathalie.

Ignoring the massively hypocritical "you're still complacent in his actions" line, this is a weird scene. Amelie waltzed right into the mansion back in Felix (the episode). If she wanted to talk to Gabriel about the fact that Felix was missing, why not do that again? It's not like this is urgent. She's apparently waited weeks to come talk to him. Why now?

Cut to the end of the episode and we get our answer:

Amelie: You were right: I did everything you told me to and Gabriel didn't do or say anything to help me. He despises me. He's a monster! They're all monsters! Argos: Hold my feather. (He de-transforms into Félix and goes to hug Amelie) Félix: Not all of them. (smiles)

So Amelie was just doing what every good mom does: blindly follows her child's instructions.

What were you expecting Gabriel to do, hon? Stop the event? This is such a weird test to pull. It'd be different if Felix had just gone missing, but she literally says "weeks". Why is she shocked that Gabriel correctly said "this is not the place nor the time, Amelie"?

I don't like to give Gabriel points, but he gets them here. I wouldn't cancel my event either. I'd tell her to come talk to me tomorrow or ask an assistant to talk to her. Of course, I'd also have been helping with the search before this, but that brings us to the second issue: Felix isn't missing.

What have the search efforts been? What does Amelie want Gabriel to do? No one has ever mentioned an ongoing search and our heroes would absolutely be involved in that since Felix, you know, aided a terrorist, but they're not so this all feels like a shit test.

Also, please remember, this is right after Felix snapped humanity out of existence as Argos and he detransforms in front of his mother. Either Amelie was living in a bubble or she saw everything her son did and was just like, "That's cool, baby! Mommy loves you! Go commit genocide! Your song was so good!"

This is all probably Amelie overcompensating for Colt's abuse, but you asked this in response to another post where I said that Amelie and Andre are the same, so that excuse doesn't really hold water. Andre spoils Chloe for the exact same reason. Aubrey's abuse may have looked different, but it was still abuse.

The only difference between Amelie and Andre is that Andre abuses his mayoral power for Chloe's sake and Amelie doesn't do anything like that. But then, Amelie doesn't have that type of power to abuse. If she did, then I have no doubt that she'd do the exact same thing, so I'm not giving her that point. She is exactly the same: overly indulgent to the point that she's made her child rotten.

Overly indulging an abused person like this isn't going to help them get over their abuse. That's what therapy is for. I adore the magical power of love, but only when it comes to magical threats. Love is not enough to fix anyone's mental health. You can't love away things like PTSD.

#amelie graham de vanily #felix graham de vanily #felix fathom #Is this salt? #I'm not sure because I'm not really analyzing anything here #I'm just listing out what happens in canon #I view this in the same light as saying “lila is a liar” and listing lies #But feel free to comment if there's a tag that I should add

[pianokantzart]

Super Mario Brothers Super Show (Season 1, Ep. 2)

I may have been too harsh on the live-action segments, because now we have Luigi losing a chess match with a random sewer maintenance worker while Mario judgmentally eats a pizza and an entire loaf of bread in the corner

Also, they’ve gone a little easier on the laugh track, thank heavens

“Oh sure, just keep eating! Wouldn’t want anything to bother that beautiful girlish figure of yours!” DANG! LIVE ACTION LUIGI’S A SAVAGE. It’s even funnier that Mario doesn’t even care. He just blinks for a moment wondering if the insult is worth his time, then just keeps eating. 

Random child on the doorstep: I’m an orphan :( Luigi, ushering said child into his home: NOT ANYMORE YOU AREN’T

Mario and Luigi being scammed by a sad-eyed little girl because they’re too softhearted to question the obvious scam is so in character askdflkja.

Anyways, Season 1, Episode 2: “King Mario of Cramalot” Gee. I wonder what the theme of this episode is going to be.

Cartoon segment begins with them in Camelot Cramalot looking for Merlin Mervin the magician.

Mario heard the sound of bees and immediately wants to pull a “Winnie The Pooh.” Why is he so hungry!?

We’ve got something called a Beezos that I had to google. Apparently they’re a type of flying shyguy? They’re flipping adorable. I want a plush version.

Mario has to pull a golden plunger from a sacred sink in town square are you kidding me. 

Okay, I’ll admit this joke got a good snort out of me:

Mario and company celebrating his coronation with the rest of Cramalot... i.e as many extras as the animators had time to draw.

King Koopa gets the plunger with the use of the good old fashioned “hand over the magic object or I’ll kill your friends” trope. A classic.

Koopa seems to have all his bases covered for once when it comes to killing his enemies: chain them up in a sealed-off oubliette that slowly floods while a spiked ceiling lowers... not a bad design choice for an 80′s cartoon villain. Too bad he forgot the deus ex machina wizard.

THE LADY OF THE LAKE IS GIVING MARIO AN ENCHANTED DRAIN SNAKE CALLED EXCALIBUR. WHAT IS HAPPENING.

Mario has essentially been given superpowers by this drain snake and yet he wants Luigi to swim across the piranha fish filled moat and let down the draw bridge. Why. 

Luigi tries to weasel out of it by pretending he’s about to have a baby asdkfjlkj LU. WHY. 

The climax of this episode is way better than the first one. We actually have a proper one-on-one duel that is surprisingly decent for the show’s budget. They’re clashing weapons, moving across different terrain, yelling insults back and forth... it’s fun!

Actual image of me slipping out of a social event:

All of you who haven’t seen the episode, I would LOVE to know your guess about what is happening here:

#long post #Super Mario Brothers Super Show #smbss #smbss blogging #I think this is going to be the last episode breakdown I think. The rest is just going to be highlights

[c-m-stuff]

Explosion

-Description: You and Spencer are married. When you risked your life, Spencer only could be relieved you're still breathing.

-Warnings: Angst, hospital (visiting), 4x1 spoilers

-Word count: 1396

-Note: Hey lovelies, here again another story. Since this episode is based on the episode, I must say, I gave the team sometimes other sentences. Other than that, I hope you're in for an angsty one, otherwise, you need to click on another one shot of mine! :)

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_________________________

Y/N POV

This was the most stressful, terrifying, horrible day ever. We had to deal with terrorists, their only goal to blow something up and commit suicide right after.

We were all in the hospital, one of the bombs went off by the SUV, Aaron was walking to. Not only he was hurt, but also Kate, the one who leads this case. Aaron is okay, but Kate is in surgery now. But, we were not only here to support him, also because we needed to discuss the profile again.

'Everything they've done so far, has appeared to be something it's not. The seemingly random acts of murder, the attempt to hack into our surveillance system, the suicide by cop to make us all believe that it was over.' David spoke the things that had happened these past few days.

'Don't forget the death card telling us they know we're watching.' JJ added, as David continued:

'All diversions. To ensure our attention and analysis of any given situation would then incorrectly inform our profile.'

'So, the first responders were not the real targets?' Derek asked.

'Hotch and Kate were a diversion, too?'

'I think, the idea was to maim, not to kill.' I thought out loud, while David nodded.

'We know how terror cells evolve. They learn from the one campaign to the next.'

'And, this cell targeted a lone SUV, where the only people on the street are two federal agents. It's not multiple targets, it's one target.' Derek told us, as Aaron went on.

'Stop the bomber, stop the bomb. To do that we need to know how they would deploy something that big.'

'Did you ever found Sam's cellphone?' Derek asked, referring to the unsub, who pretended to help Aaron and Kate. But, security cameras showed, he was the one who placed the bomb under the car. It was all a trap.

'Yes.'

'Did he call 911?'

'No, he dialed one number, 6 times, every few minutes.'

'It was a disposable cell. Garcia tracked the number, but it went dead, minutes after Sam died.'

'So, the button to detonate the bomb is in a cell.' I made clear, the team all nodding in agreement.

'There's only one reason, he stayed with us.' Aaron said, as Emily finished.

'To make sure the ambulance got to you. And, in a city on lockdown, an ambulance with it's siren blaring and lights on, it's gonna make it through every roadblock.'

'That's who Sam was calling, the paramedic on the ambulance. The ambulance which I drove in here. This hospital is their target.' Aaron made us all wide our eyes, as we immediately began moving.

We went to the counter, while Derek called Penelope.

'The ambulance I drove in here, where is it?'

'In the basement, why?'

'There's a bomb in it.' I saw the man behind the counter getting pale, panic on his face.

'I'll go look for the ambulance.' I let them now, heading towards the basement.

With every step, my heart beats faster, the fear getting worse and worse. This ambulance needed to get out of here as fast as possible. We can't evacuate the whole hospital, and I really don't want any more death's. I knew, what I needed to do. And boy, I was not looking forward to it.

I carefully opened the ambulance, while calling the magician of technology.

'(Y/N)?'

'Yes, Penny?'

'You sound stressed.' it wasn't even a surprise, she noticed. My stress growing every second more.

'Do I?' I tried so sound as normal as ever, but failed, miserably.

'Where are you?'

'Not where I want to be right now.' I opened a huge box in the ambulance, revealing a big bomb. My eyes widened, while I tried my hardest to not freak out.

'Penny, how long can you keep jamming the cell phone lines?' I asked her, the plan I made, caming closer and closer.

'A few minutes, max. Why? Are you okay?'

'Cause, I need this ambulance out of here.'

'No, no. Don't do that. That's too dangerous. That's- Omg, I only can jam it for 3 minutes.' I could hear her panicking, as I took place at the drivers side.

'Penelope, listen to me. I need you to find an area where I can place this thing, and you tell everybody that I'm coming.' I started the car, very aware of the 3 minutes I had.

She gave me an adress, and I began speed driving through the city. Tears were streaming down my face, as my eyes kept focussed on the road. I've never been this terrified before.

'Penelope?' I spoke through the phone, my voice cracking in the process.

'(Y/N), you're going to be okay.'

'Can you call Spencer? But, stay at the line, please.' a few seconds later, and I heard my husband's sweet voice.

'Spencer?'

'Love, you're going to be okay. You're gonna make it. Garcia, told me what's going on.' I could hear the concern, as he tried to reassure me.

'Spencer, I-I love you.' I blurred out, aware of the remaining time, I had left.

'(Y/N), don't do that. Don't say goodbye. You're going to get through this.'

'Spencer, you are the sweetest, smartest, carrying, most beautiful person, I ever met. I thank all the stars who made me meeting you. Thank you for being the best husband ever, and for always being there for me.' I began to say goodbye, still driving with high speed. He needed to know these things.

'(Y/N), please-' but Penelope cut him off, both crying.

'(Y/N), you have one minute left. Please, be smart about this.'

'Please, get out.' Spencer begged, but I knew what I needed to do. His crying voice absolutely broke my heart, and I just wished, I was in his arms.

'I'm sorry, but I made my decision. I'm placing this thing somewhere safe. Guys, I love you so much. I love this whole team so much. I love you so much, Spencer.' my goal was finally getting in sight, a huge ground with no one on it.

'20 seconds!'

'(Y/N), GET OUT!'

BOOM

I just ran 10 seconds, before the bomb went off, out of the ambulance. I covered my ears, as I was standing far enough from the explosion to be safe. Fire was everywhere, while in the meantime, I had lost contact with Spencer and Penelope. I took a deep breath, cursing in the meanwhile, letting all my emotions out.

After taking a few more breaths, I spoke through my little speaker, that was attached to my clothes.

'I'm alright. No one's hurt.' all I could hear was deep relief and cries.

__________________________

After calling the fire department, I watched silently the fire, while I was waiting for Spencer to pick me up. However, it surprised me how fast he must have droven, cause a few minutes later, I heard a car door shut close.

'(Y/N)?' the genius yelled, but he didn't needed much time to follow the smoke, and find me.

'Spencer!' I called, while running both into each others arms.

'I'm so glad your breathing.' his voice cracked on the last word, tears streaming down his cheeks.

'Me too. I'm so sorry, Spence. I really didn't wanted this, but I couldn't let everyone die in the hospital. I'm so sorry.' I mirrored his tears, as he held me closely.

'Shh, it's okay. It's over now. You were so brave, love. I'm so proud of you.' while my head rested against his chest, he placed a sweet kiss on the top of my head.

'Thank you. Now, can we please get out of here?' I whined, desperately needing all the sleep and comfort I could get.

'Let's run you a nice, warm bath.' still clamped together, we walked towards the car. Luckily, I ended this horrible day, with a promised, warm bath.

#criminal minds #cm #fanfic #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x yn #angst imagine