#but I've also only read the latter-half of the series SO

[dementedfilament]

Ramble time!

So, I was thinking over some things for Ruth while at work!

Well, I didn’t get a solid backstory for her or anything, just a few things here and there. No idea how well it fits in canon since I’ve only kinda skimmed half the series again so far xD

But anyways, some old details I remember for her is that she’s with the Order from the beginning, and doesn’t have her own intro arc like Miranda, Krory, or Timothy. She’s in General Tiedoll’s unit.

Her personality is a bit shy and naive, but hard-working. She admires the others in her team, even Kanda, though she finds him a bit scary. As the series progresses, she learns how to talk to him much more casually. She also wears glasses.

In the very beginning of the series, she tends to keep her hair cut super short, but when Lenalee loses hers, they make a promise to grow their hair out together, since Ruth’s never seen Lenalee with hair shorter than Ruth’s, and Lenalee’s never seen Ruth’s grown out.

Ruth wields a weapon-type Innocence shaped like a bow, but I don’t remember if I named it or not. She doesn’t carry a sheath, as the arrows grow off the bow itself like sort of spike-like objects. When she pulls the spikes off, the arrows will take shape, and the number of them on the bow with slowly regenerate overtime.

I don’t remember all the things I had made her arrows capable of, but I did have a few ideas for her crystal-type version. Now, I’m not sure where her crystal arc would fit in. There’s some time skips here and there in the story, so I thought about maybe having it to where she exhausts herself during the first Level 4 battle and has her arc inbetween that and the Alma arc. (That way she’ll have it by the time the current arc begins to unfold.) Exhausting herself would probably be forcing her Innocence to generate more arrows than she can handle, and having to forcibly hold whatever magic is behind them I guess. Maybe one of her abilities is like a shield? idk let me live-

Anyways, so her crystal type bow obviously looks a little different from her regular type. When not active, it forms into a large cuff on her wrist. What’s different with her new weapon type is the addition of a “scope” that enhances the vision of one eye, which will turn into a set of rings on her opposite hand (I think). The circular ornaments on the rings will form the scope (sorta like Allen’s eye mechanism, except it only enhances her vision and nothing more), and the rings will form a wing-like ornament that hovers in her hand, acting as the bowstring being pulled back. Her arrows will now be formed by her blood, which come out of the stigmata on the backs of her hands.

I imagine she probably has to carry around extra vitamins and things to make up for the blood loss. (And tbh, I had a funny headcanon involving her getting shot by akuma bullets, the virus spreading, and Krory drinks it out of her. A comedic scene of her feeling awkward about it and him being disgusted ensues, then Ruth stumbles into a wall feeling light-headed.) Eventually, besides learning how to use her scope properly (which may include a targeting feature too? I want to say she did have homing variety of arrows in her OG weapon), she also learns that she no longer has to pull the “bowstring” back entirely. She can actually “prep” the bow with the same motion, hold her hand in place, and continually fire without have to redraw the string. Building on this new ability, she eventually begins experimenting with how to fire more, and fire faster, while using less blood. She’ll make small, spherical objects akin to bullets, and instead of maybe doing something shield-like or otherwise being unable to aid her comrades much with it, she can now rapid-fire these bullet projectiles to combat akuma bullets, allowing her comrades to move freely as she defends them. (Her targeting feature could also prevent her from having to move around too much in order to shoot.)

A part of me wants her to begin questioning if there’s more to their war than they’re aware of. Not in a way that she doubts the Innocence or their reason for fighting, but she’s curious as to what the 14th has to do with anything and why the Noah are striving so hard to see him, and why Allen has to be wrapped up in this mess. (This curiosity will probably generally be a part of her personality tbh, which seems fitting for a Tiedoll unit member.)

When Kanda decides to chase after Allen, I kinda want a scene between him and Ruth paralleling the one between Allen and Lenalee (minus the, what I assume to be is, romantic undertones. I honestly don’t ship her with anyone). Except, I kinda wanted it to show her growth in understanding and befriending him, and while searching for him somewhere, she realizes he wouldn’t go a direction the Order could find him in, and manages to pinpoint him by simply knowing his character. She catches up with him and tries to stop him, which he obviously doesn’t. She tells him he’ll become a Fallen, and he’ll say he knows already. So, she’ll ask him to take her with him, as she fears her curiosity into the truth behind their war will cause her to become a Fallen also, so at least neither of them will have to go through it alone. Eventually, he manages to convince her to stay with the Order for the time being, and bids her goodbye.

She’ll probably get caught by the Order and be forced to explain before them why she was speaking with Kanda the night before he disappeared, and what about. She manages to lie and say she didn’t know where he was going, that he was simply “going out” and she didn’t know what that meant. They claim she should have known better, but she uses the excuses that Kanda always fought with Allen, so it was no guarantee he went after him, and that plenty of people had gone out that night for various reasons, thus she had no reason to assume he was going to betray them. They end up letting her go, and Tiedoll asks how she managed to lie so well. She tells him she “learned it from the best”, and Tiedoll also intentionally tells her a small lie about his plans regarding finding Kanda and bringing him home.

Later, when the General and Kanda meet up, he reveals that he brought Ruth with him. (Which...may make the above conversation a bit useless, but these are just a bunch of random ideas I had.) When promoting Kanda to a General, he says that he’ll only allow Kanda to roam outside the Order if he takes Ruth as his new apprentice, which would enable the two to more easily do as they wish without worrying about the Order holding them back. Kanda of course agrees, and Ruth and he have a humorous little conversation about how weird it’ll be for her to call him “General Kanda”, to which he tells her just to refer to him as she always has.

As far as the current stuff goes...she probably got left behind with Johnny and Tiedoll, and I guess we’ll see whenever they eventually find Kanda and Allen.

I feel like I missed something, but...anyways, here’s my big ol’ ramble.

#[ Echoes From the Multiverse ] #D.Gray-Man OC #Ruth Alexander #this ramble is only slightly cohesive #also I've been loving seeing the artstyle progression again #but I've also only read the latter-half of the series SO #I need to like...go back to the beginning actually #lmao

[kimberleyjean]

It's not 'discontinuity', it's just continued elsewhere...

The physical set of good omens is not just a set. It is also a series of clues. As I detailed in my previous good omens meta, the illustrated bible used in the Job flashback actually contains several more images than just the Job story. However, we can only see these images in the bookshop background - they are never shown close up on screen (and that’s why you may have missed them). If you’re not familiar with each of these illustrations please take a quick look at that post before you continue. A word of caution before you jump in - what I am about to share can have significant consequences for the season 2 plot. If you are averse to analyses that reinterpret the narrative of season 2, it might be better to skip this one. You have been warned.

So, in the last post, remember I mentioned how each illustration can be seen in a separate episode? Well, I omitted to include an important piece of information. The “Brazen Serpent” image can actually be seen in BOTH as you can see here: Actual image:

Episode 2, when Aziraphale put's on the record, reads the newspaper clippings and draws Gabriel:

Episode 3, starting around 1:15:

Oh hey, would you listen to that! Both times we are hearing "Everyday" by Buddy Holly. This is the part where I argue my case that things are not as they seem, just as others have already pointed out in excellent meta posts, such as this one:

There are many indications that what we are shown on screen might not be in the right order! Have you ever thought about all those references in season 2 to rearranging books, Aziraphale visiting the Whickber stores in the 'wrong' order, or (most blatantly) Crowley shouting that the demons are “Out of Order!!”. Well, whether you believe me or not, read on, because this is about to get interesting! (or quit now, if you don’t want to know, that’s legitimate too.

So, how do these scenes relate? Well, in S2 we see Aziraphale sitting down at his desk while Everyday is playing and reading newpaper clippings about the mysterious jukebox. He then starts a (quite good) illustration of Gabriel. End Scene. Episode 2 progresses and we see more of Aziraphale on screen. However, let’s jump over to episode 3. At about the 1:15 minute mark, we see the Brazen Serpent displayed and the song playing on the record player from exactly the same spot it left off! The scene progresses with the knock at the door and Muriel arriving. While Muriel and Aziraphale have tea, we can see the book still on this page. These two sections of the story are meant to be back-to-back but yet they were separated by the latter half of episode 2. Believe me, my mind was blown when I found this! So what do you think? Is there any other conclusion we can arrive at that isn’t the scenes being “out of order”? After all, these two scenes are still in the right order, just separated. But what about all the scenes that have been shown BETWEEN these two...? When did they happen? This is not just a continuity error. In my opinion, this is an explicit editing attempt which cuts a scene into two and then arranges it so the audience thinks that they have seen things in the right order. Could it just be only this scene that was split? I doubt it. If we accept that there are more, then we can start looking for other clues of discontinuous scenes in the show - and, let me tell you, I have found a LOT. I've posted about Gabriel's statue before but there are so many others - including road markings, and extra's clothing. If you want to see yet another (and it is hiding in plain sight!) check out my post below about a set of lights!

Thankyou to those whose work has contributed to me falling down the rabbit hole:

@ineffable-detective-agency, @embracing-the-ineffable, @postsforposting, @noneorother, @indigovigilance, @ineffableigh, @the-oaken-muse and many others.

#good omens #good omens meta #good omens clues #ineffable mystery #good omens music #harold copping #good omens spoilers

[impishjesters]

Mafia Boss Jax x Reader

warning(s): gun mentioned, stalking mentioned, domestic/soft Jax, marriage mentioned note(s): Honestly couldn't really see much worth tagging, it's all just stuff you'd expect to see mentioned in a mafia/gang headcanon... A/N: So I saw a fanart thingie (and I've had it on the brain anyway) and it made me thirsty for some mafia boss Jax and I just... I might have to write up a one-shot (or series) at some point but this was enough to quench my thirst...temporarily. I can definitely see myself building a universe around this idea though. I'm excited as you can tell because I just kept fuckin' going in writing this out... Also feast upon domestic Jax in the latter half, I got mushy...

Jax is a tricky boss, it’s hard to get a solid read on him, as an enemy or an ally. He’s almost always sporting a grin, making it difficult to gauge unless you can tell those smiles apart. If he’s frowning? Ha.

He’s that fine middle ground of laid-back yet strict. His word is law, get shit done and do it right and he doesn’t particularly care about the rest.

This person needs to be killed, but before that, they need to be tortured for information. How you torture or kill them doesn’t matter, you get that information or else.

Rabbits are his motif design, not originally by choice but it stuck. Purple rabbit head, his signature grin, it’s childish—which is why it’s perfect, only idiots see that childish design and think “Oh this will be easy” and then it’s fuckin not.

Working for him means nobody is an exception to his little pranks and fuckery. Nothin’ too bad—not intentionally anyways. Bunch of wackos with guns, who thought they’d get trigger-happy when startled?

If you work for him, chances are he finds you a fun target for his mischief.

He might seem buddy buddy with you, but remember he’s your boss. Chances are you are acquaintances at best, not friends. At least for now—who knows?

If you’re dating him, well howdy hey aren’t you a pretty little thing on his arm?

Just kidding, regardless of whether you work under him or not you are given standard gun training as protection for yourself and him, but mainly yourself.

He does like it when you are his date for any events, though he’ll never say it. Jax is the type to bring up an event and do the whole shtick of “guess I’ll need to find a date” sorta guy.

Back on the topic of dating him and gun training—on the off chance you are dating and don’t know about his little crew and lifestyle… What the fuck’s wrong with you? Are you that blind? His position isn’t some well-kept secret, well not to anyone who knows anything.

Jax is pretty straightforward about it, except with his track record of joking there’s like a 97% chance you thought he was kidding when he said he’s a mafia boss. Ha, surprise.

Now if the two of you are dating, and you aren’t part of his little world then he does do his best to keep you out of it. This means that there are periods when you won’t see him, whether it’s because he’s busy or for safety reasons.

You aren’t safe from spam texts, calls, and video chats though. Nah, that’s all fair game to him baby.

Oh, you got work in the morning? Tough, he’ll stay on the phone/video with you until you pass out—he might go a step further and stay on the call for hours even if you are unconscious.

He does it for one of three reasons…

One, it gives him fuel to use whatever shit you say or do in your sleep to tease you with later.

Two, your company, albeit silent and unaware that you’re keeping him company, makes him feel less alone. Moments like this are often when he’s not working and at home, alone. Hearing you breathe, babble, and shuffle around on speaker has him feeling less alone in that big home of his.

Three, it gives him some piece of mind that you are okay, he can see and hear you, and no guns or glass are breaking to be heard. You’re safe. Moments like this are usually after stressful events, whether it’s a job gone wrong, someone injured, etc.

Those calls usually last through the night into the morning and you wake up and see the call still on or see him on the screen. He’s never told you about why some calls continue into the morning, or rather why he’s still awake when he should’ve been sleeping. Though it doesn’t take a genius to figure out it’s not just him being a stalker, but something more serious—if the oddly sweet tone he uses when telling you good morning and asking how you slept is anything to go by.

That said, Jax is not a morning person—even to you. Though if he’s awake before you or has yet to sleep, he’s oddly tender and domestic when it’s just the two of you.

“How’d ya sleep, angel? Dream of me? Nah, don’t answer that, I know ya did.”

“Hey sleepyhead, got ya coffee and breakfast ready. No, I didn’t put anything suspicious in it. I’m wounded doll, ya think I’d put in all that effort to make you breakfast just to ruin it?”

Okay so he’s still a little shit, but he’s got an unspoken soft spot for you.

Speaking of soft spots, if he’s truly down bad for you then that means you are his weakness. He can’t have those—no he’s not gonna kill ya Christ calm down—that means you’re at risk of getting hurt if word gets out.

So if the two of you aren’t at that level yet and are still living apart, he tries hard to keep his distance to keep the attention off you.

But if you are living together? You’re still at risk but he’s got his security measures, and bodyguards galore—even if you don’t live together he always has someone watching you—sure it’s a little creepy but just don’t think about it alright?

I said don’t think about it.

Jax does yet doesn’t understand the line of stalking. To him he’s keeping you safe, to you it’s likely an invasion of your privacy—but if you are anything like me then as long as there’s no malicious intent he can do his own thing. I dunno bout you but I’d rather him have eyes on me than something bad happen to me.

While living together it doesn’t take a genius to tell you that Jax visibly relaxes in your presence, especially when he comes home and gets into bed with you. He’s such a domestic sucker deep down, but you don’t need words to see that.

Overall, I feel like Jax wouldn’t date you if he didn’t have serious feelings for you. His lifestyle isn’t for everyone and he doesn’t open up to just anyone, it could take years before he finally allows himself to even ask you out on a date before considering more. But once the two of you are together he sees the two of you in for the long run, he’ll probably be upfront about it and say if you aren’t in this for the long run and potential marriage then he can’t do it.

Your Jax’s ride or die, please allow him to be yours too.

#tadc #the amazing digital circus #the amazing digital circus x reader #jax #jax x reader #tadc jax

[ficretus]

Theory: Cinder will capture Jaune in Vacuo portion of the story

It's me, back again with another theory based on Joan of Arc story. This time, trying to figure out how her capture by Burgundians will be realized in RWBY story.... if we ever get to that part of the story. If it were to happen, it will most likely be in Volume 11 (I might make Volume 10 Joan of Arc theory one day).

I'd suggest reading my theory below to get better understanding of who do I read as what character and how do events that already happened figure out in their respective story timelines. If not, I'll still make quick tl;dr whenever something from that theory pops up.

First of all, let's start with why. Why would Jaune be captured at any point of the story? Jaune is one of the rare characters in the story who's primary inspiration gets captured in their story (other being Ruby), and no, I don't think Jaune being captured by Ace Ops will suffice for this. Joan of Arc' time in captivity was comparable to her time serving as a soldier (both being roughly one year), so I'd find it pretty weird if Jaune never gets captured as major plot point.

Timeline wise, it also matches. Volumes 4-5 match Loire campaign (pursuing the enemy, enemy fails to ambush them and suffers major defeat), Volume 6 is Rheims coronation (usage of Lantern/King is granted wisdom by Ampulla, both being oil containers), Volumes 7-8 are siege of Paris (both being greatest cities of their respective regions, Joan/Jaune suffers major defeat and retreats last over the bridge). I go over this in more detail in the timeline theory I linked above. Volume 9 is the only one I cannot connect to major event of Joan of Arc story, although that could be because Jaune becomes Rusted Knight during that portion of the story, temporarily ceasing to be Joan of Arc. This would make Vacuo portion of the story, theoretical Volumes 10-11, Joan of Arc' campaign against Perrinet Gressart, battle of Lagny and siege of Compiegne. Compiegne was the last battle Joan of Arc participated in, leading to her capture. So based on this, if Jaune ever gets captured, Vacuo portion of the story is the safest bet.

Cool, but why Cinder as his captor? Joan of Arc is captured by Burgundian army and Cinder matches Burgundian role in Joan of Arc story. Both side with enemy to achieve their goals (Burgundy sides with England, Cinder sides with Salem) ,both are power hungry with the goal of eventual freedom (Burgundy wanted to separate itself from France and become independent Kingdom), both have personal vendetta against enemy leader (Ruby reads as king Charles VII). On top of that, soldier that captured Joan of Arc was archer and Cinder is one of the rare characters in the series to use bow and arrow instead of firearms. Additionally, Joan of Arc was under shared jurisdiction of two enemy commanders, Lionel Bastard of Vendome and John of Luxembourg. Former had lame hand, latter had missing eye. If you overlay their injuries, you get Cinder again.

Why would Cinder capture him is different question who's answer will vary depending on interpretation of the events.

Now that I explained why do I think it's incredibly plausible thing to happen, let's get to the interpretations.

First let me start with interpretation I strongly reject.

Theory 1: Cinder won't capture Jaune, she will kill him on the spot. This is one of those obvious interpretations dating back all the way back to early Volumes, ever since Cinder was revealed to be the fire user. She is fire, he is Joan of Arc, bam, perfect match (I guess Cinder will give Jaune and Pyrrha matching sweaters). There are couple of reasons I reject this interpretation.

I am sceptical about Jaune having tragic ending to his story. While it does make sense on paper considering Joan of Arc is his literary influence, it doesn't quite work with Jaune's story. Joan of Arc has series of triumphs before losing some battles at the end and getting captured. Jaune basically gets none of that, or at least scraps of successes Joan had. On top of that, he gets significantly more failures and suffering compared to Joan. Killing him like this would be like kicking the man while he is already down.

Story seems to reject Jaune's martyrdom, ironically in his battle with Cinder back in Volume 5. He goes in admitting he doesn't care about his own life as long as others succeed. Issue Jaune has is lack of self worth due to his perceived uselessness. For him, character development would be learning to value his own life and not throwing it away for what he thinks is greater good. Having him die in combat basically invalidates that. Him throwing away his life wouldn't be an issue in that case, it's the fact he tried to throw it away at the wrong point of the story.

Having Cinder kill him would feel pretty weird. Common aspect of their encounters is that she can kill him at almost any point but for some reason chooses not to (be it arrogance, sadism or something else entirely), even when she logically really should (there is no reason to not go for a kill when Jaune denied her Maiden power). Having Cinder kill him would feel like she at some arbitrary point decided to flip metaphorical kill switch and finally do it.

Now to interpretations I find more likely

Theory 2: Jaune will be captured and then turned into Grimm. This is taking Joan of Arc story pretty straight forward with some twists. In this version of the events, Cinder will capture Jaune, but not kill him, most likely sadism or because of something Salem ordered her to do. Burgundians ransomed Joan of Arc to the English, which will be mirrored with Cinder giving Jaune to Salem. She will turn him into Grimm akin to the Hound and force him to fight his friends. This will represent Joan's death as heretic. Joan of Arc was re-trialed years later at the orders of king Charles VII, who is Ruby in this version of the story. Duke of Alencon (who I read as Weiss) was one of the witnesses during rehabilitation trial, so I guess she'll help out as well. Ruby will purify Jaune and save his life, symbolizing Joan's rehabilitation.

Next thing is not Joan of Arc related, but what the hell, when will I ever get an opportunity to mention this. There is a another Grimm fairy tale about Snow White, in which she has sister Rose Red. This always bothered me, since it works so well with Ruby and Weiss but story seemingly has no relevance in RWBY plot. They meet a talking bear they take care of. Then they meet evil dwarf several time, always helping him, but he is always ungrateful. In the end, bear kills dwarf, revealing himself to be cursed prince dwarf turned into a bear so he can steal his treasure. Snow White then marries cursed prince and Rose Red marries his brother, the end. So, what does this has to do with anything I said paragraph before? Well, if Jaune does become Grimm and he becomes let's say, Ursa like Grimm, then things get more interesting. He becomes cursed prince from the story that ends up marrying Snow White, making this effectively Whiteknight (Cinder can be then read as evil dwarf since she'd be one responsible for his curse and she stole his treasure, Pyrrha). This would also imply Rosegarden since Rose Red marries prince's brother (Oscar being another cursed prince).

This interpretation does rob Jaune of lot of agency post capture since he'd be esentially mind controlled, but it does hit enough Joan of Arc story beats for me to consider it plausible. This would also shift Cinder to being primarily Weiss' rival since Jaune would be out of commission.

Theory 3: This is step 1 in Cinder's redemption arc. Time to get back to that particular rabbit hole, this time with 100% more Stockholm syndrome. This one will have whole lot speculative canon, but I'll try to reinforce each point with Joan of Arc parallel.

Ok, how the hell does that work? Well first, we need to get back to that double timeline theory I linked at the beginning. To sum it up, timeline 1 goes from Joan's arrival at Chinon to her heresy trial, timeline 2 goes from Joan's childhood to her victory at Orleans. These 2 timelines overlap creating complete narrative (V5 is both Joan's Loire campaign and trip to Vaucouleurs, V8 is both siege of Paris and Joan's village being sacked, etc). I go into reasons why I use this method in that theory.

Anyways, last event I traced to 2nd timeline is Joan's village being sacked. She spends her time in city of Neufchateau before departing for Vaucoleurs to meet Robert de Baudricourt for the third time. Quick tl;dr, Cinder is Baudricourt in this timeline since both dynamic and timeline placements of her meetings with Jaune match Baudricourt's meetings with Joan. Both times, Baudricourt dissmisses Joan (first time borderline publically humiliating her), but third time he relents (motivated by his desperate circumstances and Joan's correct prediction of king losing key battle near Orleans) and sends her to king Charles' castle in Chinon. Sidenote, Cinder also plays the role of Charles VII in timeline 2 (backstories match, both have a crown that they cannot reach, both were raised by powerful queen dowager after running away from their home) which I don't feel is contradictory for the reasons I go more in my timeline theory. Additionally, Joan gained favor of two of Baudricourt's soldiers, Jean of Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy. This surprised Baudricourt considering both were notorious troublemakers. I translate those two into Emerald and Mercury in my timeline theory.

Cool, but what does this has to do with Joan's capture? Well, we overlay this portion of timeline 2 onto Compiegne portion of timeline 1 to get the full story.

First to get back to Compiegne: Burgundian duke Philipp broke the peace treaty with king Charles VII and attacked Compiegne. Joan went there with relatively small army and in some sources, against king's orders. She rallied out to fight Burgundians, holding well, but ultimately getting captured. Burgundians were unable to take Compiegne (or they did but it was quickly recaptured, I've seen both).

So full translation to RWBY would be: Cinder manages to outsmart Ruby and gets into position where it's likely she'll take Maiden power and Relic. Jaune shows up as the last line of defense, likely fighting her together side by side with Emerald and Mercury (I believe Mercury will be redeemed in Volume 10, partially due to Joan of Arc story). This can be interesting callback to either Cinder, Emerald and Mercury taking on Amber or Jaune confronting Cinder with Emerald and Mercury by her side like in Volume 5 (their roles now being reversed). Similar to Volume 5, Jaune will likely hit several sour spots for Cinder (this is reference to Joan telling Baudricourt her visions and them turning out to be true). They lose after putting up a good fight but buy enough time for others to reinforce and prevent Cinder from obtaining the Maiden power and Relic (or Cinder takes too much damage in the fight). Cinder makes spur of the moment desperate decision and captures Jaune while running away (this matches Compiegne, Jaune gets captured but enemy doesn't achieve their objective). Capture kind of works with timeline 2: if Cinder is both Baudricourt and King, then she is effectively sending Jaune to herself, that to me reads like capture.

Several of her comrades try to free Joan, but by the time they reach the place where she is held as prisoner, she is already moved to different castle. This can also happen in the show, breaking the trend of main cast successfully rescuing their captured friend from previous volumes. Jaune would then be taken to Salem with Cinder (who'll likely get punished for her failures) arguing she can exchange Jaune for location of Relic of Choice (maintaining the part of the story Joan is held for ransom). Similar to theory 2, I'd expect Jaune's capture to last at least one full volume.

Ok, that's cool and all, but what does this have to do with Cinder's redemption in any shape or form:

They are forced together for extended period of time. Additionally, there will be nobody else for them to interact with. Eventually, they'll have to interact in some shape or form. I would expect lot of initial setbacks considering Joan of Arc attempted to escape twice. But still, it would be pretty weird if they just grumbled at each other whole time and then go back to fighting. Come on man, they are foils that don't know they are foils, do something with that.

Neither can hurt each other. Jaune cannot hurt her since he is her prisoner, she cannot hurt him without risking the prospect of deal falling off (and as shown when threatened by Neo, Cinder considers her death plausible outcome if she screws up the Relic). That means Jaune can meaningfully verbally challenge Cinder without the risk of dying (hello Watts). This also wouldn't be reach to happen, considering he does similar thing in Volume 5. Basically, Cinder will be stuck with Jaune as voice of consciousness entire volume without being able to get rid off it.

This transitions relatively well into Indecisive King story. In that story, Widow (basically Jaune) spends time in King's castle before eventually confronting him over Relic of Choice. Joan of Arc similarly spends time in King's castle at Chinon. In both stories Jaune coded character spends time with Cinder coded character before eventually changing them for better.

As usual, I decided to make Cinder portion needlessly long and complicated. Anyways, what are your thoughts? Did I miss any plausible interpretations?

#rwby theory #cinder fall #jaune arc #rwby jaune arc #rwby cinder fall #knightfall #rwby knightfall

[coquelicoq]

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

i was tagged by @littleragondin! mci mon ami.e !

3 Ships You Like: in a kim dojka & yoo sangah platonic life partners phase rn. god. they would get married but not because they particularly care about marriage, just to bypass the hoops the government makes single people jump through in order to adopt kids, but kim dokja would seriously hesitate for the sole reason that him marrying yoo sangah would make all three of his parents very happy in a way that he would find incredibly annoying.

ok i'm doing another platonic one: moon & ember! i have read the few existing moon & ember fics so many times i can no longer separate them from canon. their dynamic is everything 2 me. bodyguard & anger translator. damaged hottie with trust issues & naive little pretty boy who just wants to go home. moon sees ember as not just a romantic rival but also a threat to his place in the colony, and of course being moon, his reaction to that is not to challenge ember but just to assume that he's been replaced and that he has to start over again alone. ember is everything that moon is not, everything he's convinced he's supposed to be, but ACTUALLY they're both perfect the way they are and there's room enough in this court for the both of them. they are so powerful when they combine their complementary skillsets for the good of the colony. plus i love that every time he interacts with anyone moon is probably thinking, "ugh, i bet EMBER wouldn't be fucking this up"…but also he's defending ember when stone makes fun of him and offering to challenge the reigning queen on ember's behalf! he's protective of ember even as ember embodies everything that makes him insecure. meanwhile ember thinks moon is the coolest person to ever exist and also. extremely cringe. probably 25% of his pillow talk is him subtly trying to convince pearl that moon is just a little birthday boy who should be allowed to be a hugely oversensitive weirdo, as a treat.

people have been rbing some of my cherry magic posts recently so i've been thinking about kurodachi again. i miss them! they're so well matched, so complementary in the ways that they need to grow, and it's lovely to watch them help each other do that. the way that adachi is inspired to make an effort by kurosawa's continuous striving for things he thinks he'll never get, and the way that adachi's apathy for perfection frees kurosawa from his need to be worthy…like ok fine whatever i am listening!!!

First Ship Ever: i have been sitting here trying to think of an earlier ship so i can avoid embarrassing myself, but if i'm honest it's probably ron/hermione. moving right along.

Last Song You Heard: one week by barenaked ladies! what a banger.

Favorite Childhood Book: when i was a kid i had meticulously curated my top ten favorite books, but now i can only remember half of them: island of the blue dolphins, the witch of blackbird pond, ella enchanted, walk two moons, and mrs. frisby and the rats of nimh. can you tell i had one of those bookmarks that listed all the newberry award winners and was working my way through it? lol.

Currently Reading: i just finished my reread of maskerade, the discworld book about the opera, which i had put on hold after reading le fantôme de l'opéra. it wasn't one of my fave discworlds as a teen but i think i'm now in the right headspace for it. enjoyed it quite a bit!

i'm near the end of both the traitor baru cormorant by seth dickinson and par amour by valérie tong cuong. the latter is about a family in le havre during wwii and is very hard to put down. i have honestly no idea what will happen in the remaining two chapters except the nazis are going to lose the war. the traitor baru cormorant is well done, but i don't think i like it enough to read the sequel. (i still am pathologically unable to stop a book that i've started, but i've just discovered that i am capable of stopping after book 1 of a series. life hack!!)

Currently watching: natsume season 4 dub! i just watched the moon-splitting festival arc and the baby nanase episode yesterday. next up is the one about natsume's picture of his parents which. like. let's just say i am marshaling my emotional forces for that one.

also it is about to be march madness! selection sunday tomorrow babey!!!

Currently consuming: the great thing (sarcastic) about living alone is that you spend four hours making this quinoa black bean dish and then have to somehow eat all of it before it goes bad. luckily my neighbor and i have been doing this cute thing for the last ~6 months where we share whatever food we make with each other. this has been working out extremely well for me, because when he cooks i get to eat without having to do anything whatsoever, and when i cook i don't have to worry as much about quantity. i feel like i tricked him into it somehow even though he is getting exactly the same thing out of it as i am.

Currently craving: a baked good i made for the first time recently and then made again two times in rapid succession because i (and my neighbor lol) liked it so much: gingies! okay technically the recipe calls them gingerbread cookie bars, and i just looked up "gingies" (to make sure it's not an offensive term for redheads that i don't know about) and apparently it's frequently used for gingersnaps, but MY use of "gingies" is right and correct and all these other people are idiots. the reason is that they're basically brownies (texture/structure/technique-wise) but with the gingerbread flavor profile instead of chocolate. and "gingeries" sounds stupid, so gingies it is!

tagging @treecakes, @joelletwo, @qserasera, @defeateddetectives, @ctl-yuejie, @deimos-the-wolf, @stupid-lemon-eater, @loreofcardigan, and @dangerliesbeforeyou if you feel like it! no pressure obvi!!

#thank you for giving me a way to procrastinate doing my taxes!!! much obliged!!! #also the reason i just listened to one week by barenaked ladies is because you tagged me in another thing to list a song #for every letter of my username so now i'm just listening to all the songs starting with O in my music library 😂 #it's gonna take a while #i started with the Qs cuz there aren't that many of them. but the Cs? the Is? the Ls? bye. #i realize this is not actually necessary in order to do the thing but it turns out to be a great way to listen to stuff #i never listen to. so for now i persevere in my folly #tag games

[kedikatzen]

saw your testimony of your experience being hounded for having a “similar style” to viv on another blog. ty so much for sharing your history there.

i was wondering if you’d be willing to talk about or list what cartoons/movies/comics/art influenced or inspired you/your style.

i’ve long been sick of people lumping other styles in with viv’s as if she’s the first to ever draw like that (as well as viv acting like she is.) and one day when i have the time i’d like to sit down and make an info-graphic of sorts explaining style influence and how it can overlap with other artists even with them never crossing paths.

if you’d rather not engage this tho i completely respect that. and feel free to shoot me a private message if you’d rather not post this ask to your account.

whether or not i hear from ya i hope you have a good one and ty for reading.

That's fine!! I don't mind engaging when people ask my side of things, I just don't want to be a source for other people to post random things through, if that makes sense. I do try to be upfront about my experience and bring it up from time to time because there are constantly new victims, and I don't want anyone to feel alone or like they're the only person having a negative experience. I know that a lot of others are afraid to speak out, so I try to be a story that's open in case anyone else needs validation.

As for stylistic influence, The Nightmare Before Christmas was the earliest movie I remember watching and my grandma had to get it on VHS for me because I watched it like every week. I loved Tim Burton's claymation as well as his live action movies (Beetlejuice, Mars Attacks, Batman, etc.) My favourite American cartoons growing up were Batman the Animated Series (very big stylistic influence), The Grim Adventures, and Animaniacs. I grew up abroad, though, so I had a lot of other influences, Winx Club was extremely popular as well as Sailor Moon, so I picked up a lot of habits in my anatomy from those (I think automatically associating ice with villains is also something I picked up from that). But the very long legs compared to bodies is definitely a prevalent thing in media I liked, I even had these dolls (they were called Hi Glamm dolls if you want to look them up) who had legs twice the length of the rest of their bodies. Don Bluth movies were some of my favourites, especially All Dogs and Anastasia. I read a lot of comics my dad collected as well, in big whole-volume collections, and I remember being very fond of Asterix and Obelix, and Bill Maildin's comics about the military (which might not seem like a big one, but I took a lot of inspiration from his spot-blacking for when I do spot-black).

Other major influences concerned, some of my biggest when it came to making comics were other webcomics, specifically Warrior-U (Aisha Thani) and Lackadaisy (Tracy Butler), both of which have been around on the internet far longer than a certain someone who thinks she invented half the things in these comics. I did see her webcomic and followed webcomics from the circle of comics it was lumped in with (Our Personal Purgatory and Alice and the Nightmare, the latter of which is still ongoing and the former you can see the artist's new comic on Webtoons, it's called Death Sitter). Ironically, a friend linked me to her comic and said "it reminds me of your art so I think you'd like it". I wanted to like it, but she was so overly defensive of her "style" that people were "stealing" and so aggressive toward other issues that it pushed me away from it. She definitely didn't invent the very fluid, cartoony bodies thing with big eyes that everyone equates to her, that came long before with Aisha Thani and Puppetology. From what I've seen, Viv used to have a way more Disney-esque style until she became associated with Puppetology and Dollcreep, so if anyone deserves credit for "inventing" the "style", it's them.

I'm genuinely sad that Warrior-U is still gone, but I need to buy her other comics because her art is amazing. Funnily enough, recollecting this all is what prompted me to go look up her gumroad, and see that there are even more new comics to check out.

I don't mind posting this publicly, I'm very proud of my artistic journey and I'm incredibly happy to share due credit to all of my influences growing up. I'm trying not to make this too long, so hopefully this clears up enough, but if you have follow-up questions then feel free to ask.

#vivziepop drama #personal #influences #my influences

[vendettasfanfictioning]

Since I can't, y'know, shut my mouth, I decided it's better to make a whole ass post about this so thank you @juniperjello for asking.

Here are my Top 13 Destiel Traxx AKA Fic Recs:

And This, Your Living Kiss (M) is a GODSEND I've read this more times than I can count, I even have NerdyNerdenstein's podfic of it saved on my phone, it is that good. It stars poet! Dean relearning his love for the arts and Literature professor! Castiel, whose favorite author just so happens to be Jack Allen (AKA Dean). I also love love loved the family dynamics here, it's all so homey and cozy. The poetry in this is stunning too. Highly recommend this one!

A Thousand Lies (E) follows con artist! Dean on his latest assignment of unraveling rich businessman! Crowley's secrets by playing as his secretary, all the while juggling dates with accountant! Castiel. Except there's more to them than meets the eye, and the plot gets thicker and thicker until you find yourself stuck to your phone for more than 4 hours, hopping from one chapter to the next. Yes that's exactly what happened to me lmao I was hooked, and stories like these where the angel fam are humans are always so fun. I love spotting the parallels and whatnot.

(goldenraeofsun, author of the previous fic, has a ton of fics I highly recommend so if you vibe with their style, go check out their account! I was torn about what to put here between "The Original Apple Pie Latte", "Not the Fire, but the Spark" and this—also I'm pretty sure I have half of their works bookmarked by now 😭)

Forget-Me-Not Blues (E) has all the correct vibes of a classic early 2000s romcom. It's set in Sam and Jessica's wedding, with Dean as the former's best man and Castiel as the latter's. Oh, and did I mention they have history? A particularly roughly-broken high school love story? That they absolutely refuse to acknowledge so now the wedding prep is so full of tension it's choking everybody? Yeah... This is a good one.

An Exercise In 'Worthless' (M) is one of the first destiel fics I've ever read. At that point, I was only on S2 or S3 and had no idea what was happening or who most of the other cast was, but the vibes were immaculate and reading it again as I progressed through the show, it just kept getting better. It's got tattoo artist! Dean whose shop is set up beside Gabriel's cafe (it's called the Physical Graffitea heh). It's got grad student! Castiel attending the same uni as Sam for a niche course in dialects. It's got Dean thinking Cas is more interested than Sam (missing the heart eyes Sam and Gabe are giving each other). It's got family feels!!!!!! as these four idiots live normal, non-supernatural lives!!!!!!!

Kissing Strangers (T/E) is a happy(!!!!!) queer awakening story, wherein Castiel realizes he's not as straight as he thought when he gets kissed by Dean for a social experiment. There's actually three fics in the series, the first one covers The Kiss while the next two are insights on the progress of destiel's relationship. It's really neat, and the author—sharkfish—has a lot of fics I've been reading this past week. (They have a lot of good ace! dean and/or ace! cas fics!!!!!!!!!!)

In Due Time (Dean Winchester is Saved) (T) is not only touching as hell but also mind-blowing. 26-year-old Dean is zapped to the future by an unknown power, and what does he see? Himself, happily settled; married to an angel of the frickin' lord with a son; and his brother, still hunting. THIS FIC IS AN ABSOLUTE GEM!!!! Baby Dean interacting with Cas means So Much to me.

Broadway Musical (T) is, in my humble opinion, an absolute banger and a classic. It's got the fun, lighthearted tone of a romcom and my favorite trope of "they may all be dicks but at least there's no murder" with the angel family. It's a reimagining of the first ever Armageddon: what if, instead of being the Righteous Man himself, Dean was chosen to father the two brothers of old with Jo Harvelle, with the entire Host of angels excitedly chattering about it in heaven. Except the cupid's arrow doesn't sink in, to either Dean or Jo, and they don't fall in love. So good ol' Cas comes down to take matters into his own (awkward) hands.

Sand and Salt (E) continues off of S9 fallen angel! Castiel. The timeline is important to me for two reasons, namely: Kevin and Charlie. Destiel are highlighted at the second half but the first is just Sam, Dean, Kevin, and Charlie helping Cas settle in as a human. They go to a mall to shop and eat and bond and they are so, so precious to me.

Carnival Oasis (E) is a series as well, but it's honestly SO worth it. We have creature! Castiel who eats sin and extremely guilty! Dean who first confessed his sins to Cas as a way to gauge what the fuck he is. But then he kept coming back. They get all gooey and shit here, as they should be. Plus the reveal on Cas' background??? It made me go insane I swear.

Convenient Husbands (E) is honestly just. So good. I've reread it multiple times over the past few weeks and it never gets tiring. This one's about hunter! Dean and Garuda! Castiel forming a marriage bond... Purely for convenience, of course. I'm also obsessed with the set-up of the hunting community in this AU, they got a whole network and base and it's awesome you should definitely read it. (Annie D also has a lot of fics on AO3 that you should check out—I'm very partial to "It's Always the End of the World Somewhere"!!)

This Witch!Cas AU series is based off of probably my most favorite story prompts to ever trend in Tumblr history: it's about witch! Cas who's moved to town after his grandmother's passing. Madame Novak's will is all that everyone's talking about, as it states that Castiel needs to marry to not only inherit the estate but also to keep his magick. Gardener and shopkeeper! Dean finds this tasteless, what with everyone treating Cas like he's just some prize and not, y'know, a person. Then, Castiel makes an announcement: he ties the key to the estate to his cat's collar, and whoever gets the key may take his hand as well. Everyone scrambles to chase after the surprisingly smart feline... except for Dean, who's slowly warming up to the little guy, and the cat to him in return.

it's brighter now (G/T) is actually a series but!!! It's a babyjackverse like come on, how can you resist that? This speaks for itself and it says all you will ever need in a fic, which is BABY JACK!!!!!!!!!!

conversations between brother & sister (T) is, simply put, criminally short but perfectly encapsulated my ideal ending for Supernatural. It's two fics; the first is about Jack and Emma, and the second is about Jack and Claire. The reason this is here is because I am a firm believer that this deserves more recognition and love and we need more AUs like this. Destiel are so, so tender and sweet but the main focus is, of course, Jack's conflicting feelings. I would leave a hundred thousand kudos on this if I could.

#honestly i had a REALLY hard time picking #these are simply the ones I've gone back to time and time again #they're the perfect digestible length for me to binge between breaks and stuff #i could do a whole other post about this with actual categories and shit #this fandom is insanely huge it's easy to get lost or overwhelmed with your choices #i know i was... #spn #supernatural #destiel #deancas #spn fic #spn fic rec #supernatural fic #supernatural fanfic #supernatural fic rec #dean x cas #cas x dean #casdean #dean x castiel #dean winchester #castiel #spn dean #spn cas #castiel angel of the lord #jack kline #claire novak #spn gabriel #sam winchester

[thecrenellations]

okay, trying to go for at least one answer that’s funny because it’s extremely expected and one that’s funny because it’s unexpected???

2 3 6 12 21 25

these are the questions.

I think you succeeded, my anonymous inquisitor! (I laughed/smiled when I read the questions.)

2. Did you reread anything? What? YES, I DID! I was going to provide some numbers for this and got a little lost in the details, but half of the individual books I read this year were ones I've read before, I read some of those books (Lion Hunters) multiple times, and then I went and reread a bunch of the ones that were new to me, especially the Lymond Chronicles! The Game of Kings wins, I think. No, I know. I love rereading, and my favorite stories are the kind that make me love it more!

3. What were your top five books of the year? In alphabetical order, with an only-one-book-per-series restriction and my apologies to a few books I liked nearly as much or the same amount as these ones: The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett, He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan, The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor, A Power Unbound by Freya Marske, and Stateless by Elizabeth Wein.

6. Was there anything you meant to read but never got to? I should have thought to split up my answers, but yes! I remembered a few of the nonfiction ones: The Power of Babel by John McWhorter, Ducks by Kate Beaton, Caring For Your Books by Michael Dirda, Karachi Vice by Samira Shackle, and a biography of John Gielgud

12. Any books that disappointed you? Certain aspects of the Lymond Chronicles, the new-reading highlight of my year, disappointed me in ways that I have also found deeply interesting to talk and think about, and I felt that Wild Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Natural World did not quite deserve its title. Get wilder and more curious!

21. Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama? These questions are from 2019, so I suppose they predate booktok becoming a major thing! But I certainly watched Claire run around Schuler books and, dramatically, cause The Thief and Code Name Verity to sell out!

At @red-sea-itinerary, the capital of booklr, our polls have been very dramatic, and an author has weighed in. We should all remember Abreha's palace's water clock. Nearly everyone prefers coffee with Turunesh over kingship and no one thinks Medraut should have the latter. Birds. And Telemakos is taller than Lleu!!!

25. What reading goals do you have for next year? To get around to a few of those books in 6, to read more nonfiction (I think trying more via audiobook would help), to read more diversely in terms of authors (including time periods), and to read another series that's new to me! Maybe to help poke a certain loose book club into meeting again? To have fun and escape and think and learn. Reading was enough of a challenge during and after college that I still feel delighted and grateful that I've been reading regularly and finding new books I love. :)

#thanks for asking! #GoK was at 4 proper reads and then i went and revisited a whole lot of my favorite scenes on saturday night so who knows honestly #;) #runners up for the top five question are system collapse and this is how you lose the time war #i thought i'd read other ever afters in 2023 but in fact it was last december! #still under a year ago i suppose #and i think the other lymond that would make the list is Pawn in Frankincense? #also i really feel like i'm forgetting books people i know have read and talked about this year #that i've been interested in reading #perhaps they will return #questions

[myfaveisfuckable]

Rants!

Stanchez: What's better than one gross old an of dubious morality? TWO gross old men of dubious morality!

Well, no... actually, to be honest, I've only seen one episode of Rick & Morty and didn't like it, so I don't really care for this ship in general. BUT there's one fanfic that made this ship into the STUPIDEST MOST HILARIOUS LOVE TRIANGLE AND I LOVE IT

The fic series:

Trying to explain the love triangle ("love triangle"): Rick Sanchez and Ford Pines were in college together. And then 10~15 years later Rick reconnects with "Ford Pines" (actually Stan b/c of the whole dimensional portal thing), they have an awkward if passionate affair for a short while before Stan breaks it off, and Rick's just never gotten over it for 30 years.

This is all fine and good until jump to the present (2012), Ford is back, and so are various other characters, including some OCs with ties to Rick Sanchez. And they all have to work together to save the world/beat Bill/etc. read the fic if you want details. But in the middle they also have to deal with fallout of STAN LYING ABOUT HIS IDENTITY FOR 30 YEARS and also RICK SOMEHOW NOT NOTICING THE DIFFERENCE. It's very dramatic and very dumb and only a love triangle in the sense that there are three people who are all very embarrassed and very mad at eachother, but as a reader I am ABSOLUTELY Michael-Jackson-eating-popcorn-meme over this.

(...and later the author retconned the latter part by bringing in the Gravity Falls memory gun, which IMO is waay less fun. But for the first half of the fic where I thought Rick Sanchez was just dating a completely different man and either didn't realize or didn't question it, THAT was hilarious)

(btw the fic in question is mostly very good! the love triangle stuff is a sideplot, it mostly centers around the adventures of Ripley, amnesiac dimension hopper who is space-gladiator married to Ford and beat him back to Gravity Falls to have adventures with the gang there, and Ripley is great.)

Raqio/remnan: mean nb + traumatised dude but i think they should kiss + in the canon ending they start a revolution together + raqio looks like a peacock + remnan has a sibling dynamic with a literal beluga whale TO ME

#poll #tournament #stanchez #rick and morty #gnosia #gravity falls

[aboxthecolourofheartache]

20 questions for fic writers meme, tagged by @chubsthehamster -- thank you, friend! :D

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

42 at the moment

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

269,795. Almost half of that is one fic though, lol

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently most active in Trigun, perennially/intermittently active in Nirvana in Fire, currently dormant in CritRole, and hiatus in Sandman. Interests wax and wane! And who knows what I'll discover next? Not me, that's for sure.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Mate, I write mostly gen fic. I'm not here for the numbers. A kudos means that a whole human being with thoughts of their own spent some of their precious moments on God's green earth reading my thoughts and kinda liked 'em.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! ...........eventually. sometimes several years later. And why? I dunno, it just feels polite? Also human connection, even digital. That's a thing.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Inference, but that's just because of the canonical main character death. Visitation Hours is bleak in implication, not in actual ending. My definition of "angst" does not always align with readers' definitions of "angst," which can be hilarious for me when I get weepy reactions on something I thought was relatively lighthearted.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I do 'equivocal' better than 'happy,' I think? The goal is emotional resolution or emotional discordance. Happy's incidental, which almost certainly means I don't write a lot of happy endings by the standard measure.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Not hate so much as people who are belligerently confused? I get some bonkers fucking comments and anons sometimes, which I delete, a smattering of entitled weirdos, and a sprinkle of (typically unintentionally) back-handed compliments.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope! Suggestive, sure. Dirty language, if relevant. Implication, when called-for. Smut? Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I have written a short series of crossovers between Machineries of Empire and Nirvana in Fire. Haven't written any since, but they're not off the table.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yup! More plagiarism than theft in entirety, though. At least once had someone lift a whole scene, dialogue, phrasing and all, and claim it as their own with obvious intent to get mileage without credit. And I have happened upon recognizable lines from my fics in other fics enough times to have several nickles. I get miffed about the latter, but the charitable assumption is just that it was a phrase fresh in their minds/recalled without association.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Into Russian, I think? Godspeed, fanfic translators, the strongest of us all.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've co-written original stuff before, but I don't think I could ever do it again, original or fanfic. Not that it wasn't a pleasant experience at the time!

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I don't have a favorite ship, but I do have a favorite dynamic, which is the mutual "you're the only motherfucker in this club who can handle me" a la that one Lorde tweet. The buckwildness has to be compatible, preferably complimentary. We're not talking enabling, though that can be part of it. It doesn't even have to be a ship. That grok/trust combination.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

Look, I don't know what WIPs are going to get finished until I post them, okay?

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like character studies! And I feel like I am getting better at limited points of view, though they keep wanting to slide omniscient.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Same-hatting with @chubsthehamster here: plot. What the characters are doing in any given story is largely just to break up the dialogue and introspection. Things happening? They don't, sorry. Gotta work on this.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

For straight dialogue in another language, it's still dialogue, and it still has to serve the story, so if it makes more sense to drop it untranslated, drop it untranslated. If the reader needs to know what's being said, italics or paraphrase.

For mixed languages, it's totally situational and depends on the character, too. Did they just get back from an exchange program in France and they're insufferable about it? Are they a very new second language speaker? Are they an expat? A bilingual parent who wants their child to grow up speaking one language preferentially? An academic, or someone who learned their whole vocabulary based on a single vocation (ie: a doctor who can get by using Spanish in a medical scenario but not outside the clinic)? All of that is going to influence their speech pattern.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Nirvana in Fire!

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Just as interests wax and wane, I like some fics more and some less, and today's favorite could be tomorrow's cringe.

Please consider yourself tagged if you see this and would like to play! @ me, if you like!

[daily-rayless]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

Thank you, but aaaaaaa, this is difficult. I only started posting on AO3 last year, but I've been posting fic online since 2006, and while there's a lot of old stuff I can't 100% stand by, there are also older fics and elements of older fics I'm still proud of today.

I think for a lot of ficwriters, our fics are tied very closely to different points in our lives and our sense of accomplishment -- so things like that also make it difficult to pick favorites when looking at these titles stirs up so many memories.

But here, I'll give it a shot:

5: Kindred (Harry Potter, 2007, no longer online): These days, my feelings about HP are less positive, but Kindred was my take on the life and upbringing of Fleur Delacour. It allowed me to research an expansive fantasy world as well as make new friends online as they patiently fielded my questions about life in the UK. I got to play around with original world building when it came to Beauxbatons and Veela (at a time when the HP world was still more open) as well as imagine the latter sections of the series from the perspective of the Order of the Phoenix. I was also writing this right during all the build up to Book Seven. I thought I was pretty safe in world building for Fleur, figuring she'd never be all that central, only to read Deathly Hallows and find not only that she's fairly involved, but a good chunk of my headcanon had to be thrown out and rewritten. Kindred was also the first time I'd contributed a longfic to a major fandom that was simmering with interest and energy, and I got so much encouraging feedback. It was a lot of work, I felt so proud of myself, and I was so pleased people enjoyed it. I'm still touched when people message me and say they remember it all these years later.

Weasley gives me an automatic smile. “Just a moment, excuse me.” He jerks his chin to Hassan, and they pass out of the room, down the hall. Hassan glances at me, raises his eyebrows, and grins.

Damn.

I distract myself from my hunger by studying the office. This is one of the smaller ones I’ve seen, cluttered with unopened boxes and a half-filled bookcase. The desk is neat, stacked with papers. A black leather-bound book on the desk catches my eye, its cover stamped with broad gold swirls and dots. It also, I realize, opens right-to-left. Hebrew?

I glance at the still-open door. No sounds.

I slide my fingers under the front cover, flipping it open. Then I blink and lean forward. Every left page is full of that sweeping, dotted script. Every right page has pictures, very stylized. Hieroglyphs, I think. A lot of the figures have animal heads on human bodies, and I recognize the ancient Egyptian numerals from Arithmancy class. I shut the book. I really shouldn’t pry.

My stomach yowls. Well, glancing at stuff on the desk isn’t prying.

I pass over the papers. There’s a framed photo of nine people standing in front of a pyramid, all of them vibrantly redheaded. I pick out Bill Weasley in the group, sans ponytail and earring. He looks better with them.

I check his wall clock. 12:31. Argh.

There’s a small glass case by the photo, containing a chip of some rock (lapis?) inlaid with gold. Arranged around it are what seem to be ancient corn kernels...no...Oh my goodness, they’re human teeth.

Rattle.

I jump, wheeling guiltily towards the door.

Thud.

Rattle.

I look back down at the desk. The sounds are coming from the top left drawer.

Slowly, steadily, I back away from the desk.

Thud. It sounds large, as though something almost filling the drawer is shifting around.

Suddenly, the fact that I’m in a Curse-Breaker’s office carries much more weight. If Kensington could get a curse in the mail, couldn’t Weasley keep a special occasion curse in his desk drawer?

No matter. It doesn’t concern me.

“Mphlum?” comes from the drawer.

That was a human voice.

“Gphlb? Gvpblaffx!”

His muffled voice sounds like he’s struggling. I realize that I’ve stepped back towards the drawer.

Really...Weasley’s a Curse-Breaker...why would he keep a curse lying around? It’s his job to get rid of them.

“Plibg.”

I run my thumb along the smooth brass drawer-pull. Probably it’s some annoying portrait he’s imprisoned there for peace and quiet. I know all about that.

“Thfssss?”

I jerk the drawer open. A human head stares back at me.

4: The Stars Are Fire (Tales of the Abyss, 2021): This is my longfic about Asch and Natalia, exploring their relationship before and through the game, then examining Natalia's life after the war. I think what I love so much about this one was how emotionally free it felt to write it. Generally I write in a very linear style. Stars was written all over the place -- one scene here, one scene there, with very little regard as to stringing everything carefully together. The hope is that if you've played the game, you can follow where you are in the timeline, and the scenes are connected more by theme and feelings than plot. Doing it this way took a lot of pressure off of me. I didn't have to write "boring" scenes, I didn't have to carefully plot. A lot of the time it was just, "Oh, what about exploring this canonical scene?" Or, "Wouldn't be interesting to show this about their childhood?" And I could just go with it. Stars is also special to me because my earlier attempts to write long Abyss fics hadn't quite worked, which was a little discouraging because Abyss is one of my very favorite games.

Natalia flew into him, and, as if it were a dance they'd already learned, he closed his arms around her shoulders, the both of them burying their faces in each other. He could feel her fingers gripping his back, her eyelashes against his cheek, her heart pounding against his own. For just a moment, his brain was released from all thoughts, all impressions but breathless relief.

He was here. She was safe.

There were voices, the others exclaiming over Luke. In a moment, Natalia would push away from him, go to Luke too. But she'd come to him first. She'd run to him.

His brain was catching up to all of this, reminding him there was no time for any of it. Nor a point to any of it.

Natalia was pulling away, but she didn't leave his embrace, taking him by the shoulders, looking at him, saying something – asking if he was all right? Asch was about to say something stern – he didn't know what – but she had one of his hairs smeared across her wet cheek and first he needed to wipe that away, otherwise she looked ridiculous – and he touched her cheek, and the next thing he knew, he'd pressed his forehead to hers and shut his eyes and he could feel her soft breath and her hands tightening on him and he was doing his best not to say all of the things he needed to say – he –

“Whoa, what's this?”

Luke's – the replica's baffled voice was what Asch needed to break out of this storm. Not roughly, but firmly, he stepped back from Natalia – she kept hold of his arm, and he didn't stop her. And Asch felt almost furious satisfaction as he saw the replica staring confusedly at the Jewel of Lorelei in his palm.

After Asch explained, as everyone exclaimed over the Jewel – and that somehow they'd both survived the hyperresonance – Asch again felt weight settle over him. He was alive. It wasn't over.

He still had to go on.

3: The Muse of Last Songs (Transistor, 2019): The first in my Muse Trilogy. It was hard to pick between this one and the final installment, because the final one brings things all together to a (hopefully) satisfying close. But I really like Last Songs because it was my chance to world-build a past for Red and dig into her history with the Boxer. The game drops so many little hints about who they are and how they relate to each other, and these hints felt like fun toys to play with. I was a little hesitant to start posting the trilogy because I'm not sure the universe was asking for a very long Transistor trilogy with a lot of of OCs, so that makes me feel so flattered and grateful that people are interested.

Red had no special plans for that day, aside from the lunch with Belrose. She's not expecting any interviews, any photographers. She's wearing trousers and a blouse, a large triangular ring on her right hand. She'd written some notes for her song on her inner arm during lunch, and the marks are still there. Her hair could use a bit of comb, and she's only bothered with lip gloss. She looks more or less how she usually does on a day left alone to herself.

Whether that's a plus or a minus is really just a matter of perspective.

Colette beckons her over, sort of like she's trying to coax some animal that's never been properly domesticated. “We're interviewing bodyguards. Give me thirty of your priceless minutes.”

Red focuses, looking past Colette to the three men. Though of different heights and ethnicities, there's a certain look that they all share – young men, dark hair, dark or tan skin, squarely built and solid looking. She takes a moment to study each. She's never shy about looking people in the eye, and she's glad to see that each of them has the nerve to maintain eye contact.

One of them.

One of them.

One of them, she looks at a few moments longer than the others. Not out of recognition or distrust. He just keeps her attention a bit longer.

2: Death and Ker (Persona 3, 2010): My what-if story exploring if the female protagonist came on another adventure with SEES. While it's no longer my best writing, and I'm sure there's lots in it I would now do differently, this fic still has a very special place in my heart. My earlier Persona longfic, Elysion, is very sad in places, and while Death and Ker also has its bittersweet moments, it was my opportunity to write SEES as strong and hopeful after the harrowing events of Persona 3. I also love the FeMC, Minako, her energy and strength, and I loved writing from her perspective, particularly exploring her relationship with her Persona Thanatos. Add some references to Greek mythology, lots of Shinjiro, and my opportunity to finally get Akihiko and Mitsuru together (one of my favorite ships, but one I find very hard to write), and I still look back on this one happily.

I've come abreast of a bar, with some guys out front smoking, nearly silhouetted against the lit windows. Another guy, broader across the shoulders than the others, has kicked a trashcan onto its side, letting the garbage spew out. He's sitting on it, hair down to his waist and bearded, a shapeless cap over one eye and a long, ragged greatcoat. There's a smell rather worse than cigarette smoke, and I pick up the pace again, wishing I was upwind.

"Hold on," that same gruff voice says, and I realize that Lovely here is my defender. "You took a long look. You can't say you're too proud to say 'good evening'."

His Japanese is perfect, but there's some accent I can't pick out – English-speaking, I think, but I don't recognize it as British or American or anything like that. I've turned towards him before I can tell myself to keep walking. He leans back to study me, throwing his face into better light. Gaunt features, a long pipe between his teeth, some of which are missing. I can't guess his age, except that he's older than me. His hair is some color between blond and brown, and his eyes look greenish, and they track me up and down a few times.

I'm not good at staying away from trouble; people always used to say this about me. But this isn't trouble, it's just a word. So – "Evening," I say, and turn to go.

"You have a look of death about you."

I turn back around. The guy's leaned forward onto his knees again, and the others are talking amongst themselves, someone laughing. Is this a weird set-up, or...? I turn to go.

"You keep out of the light, but there it is just the same."

What?

...I've got a naginata and a Persona with a huge metal mask thing. I can handle whatever's going on here. I turn back and stare at him, waiting for him to explain. He gestures sideways, and unresistingly I step into the glare of the windows.

He stares at me a moment, teeth cracking around his pipe, and nods slowly like he already knew what he'd be seeing. "You're pale enough, and your hair's the color of dead things, dead leaves. Eyes like dirt and blood." He leans back and turns away, drawing on his pipe. "Why pussyfoot around it? Why not carry your damn scythe in the open?"

I blink, but I can't quite deadpan this, and I find myself shifting my weight once from foot to foot. "Are you friends with Mama at Club Escapade or something?"

"Shove off," the guy says, gesturing me away. "Take your dirt with you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Pretty girl." He swings to his feet, the trashcan rolling away with a clatter. "Death shouldn't pretend to be cute. It's raw and bleeding and it loves the living more than food or air." He chuckles. "I don't want to be friends." And he slouches into the light of the bar's front door.

I pitch forward a step, about to follow, then pull to a stop, hardly hearing the question one of the other guys throws at me. What was he talking about? Could he tell I was dead? I could ask Death himself, but Thanatos is quiet, uninterested in this exchange.

1: The Beast in the Dark (Fate/Extra, 2017, not online). So this feels kind of selfish, seeing as no one can read it and I don't know whether I'll even post it, but I really love this fic. In the mid-2010s, I was sad and frustrated and artistically unhappy (unhappy about art -- not unhappy in an artistic way), particularly with my original fiction, which didn't feel very good, and most of the time wasn't even happening. In this mindset, I wrote a trilogy of fics set in the Fate/Extra universe, focusing on female Hakuno. And what I love about that experience, along with it helping me through that patch, is that I just let myself go. I threw basically anything I wanted at the story. I researched all sorts of weird things about history and different cultures so I could incorporate them. I really like words and their derivations, so I just told myself I could include unnecessary explanations of word etymologies. I threw in cringey tropes I enjoy but might be embarrassed to admit to other people. I had no expectation of ever posting it, so I truly was able to please myself. Beast is the final installment of the trilogy, the longest, and all the angst and shippy stuff and nonsense comes together in a big loud crash for it, and I just really loved writing that. Almost immediately after finishing Beast, I suddenly felt ready to write The Price and Prey of Magic -- the original novel I'd been thinking about for years, but been unable to start. I don't know if Beast unlocked something in me, but I like to think it did me good.

Was it even possible to really love someone with your whole soul? Maybe a parent could love a child that way. Maybe if the two of you had grown up together, and they'd always been part of your life. But a person who had a whole life separate from you, whom you'd met only recently?

Could you really graft your soul to the soul of a comparative stranger?

There was a tree by the well, and its leaves rustled in the slight breeze, sending a sympathetic shiver down Hakuno's back.

A man's shadow fell across her

She looked up.

It was a tall man in army fatigues and a burnoose. She couldn't really see his face because of the sun behind him.

Crow, she thought.

“You're the American?” he asked.

Hakuno sat up, unprepared for how relieved she was to hear English again. His accent was unfamiliar, but the words were perfectly clear. “Yes,” she said, squinting up. “My name's Hazel Kuznetov.”

Maybe he noticed the squint, because he moved out of the glare, though not any closer. His skin was tanned, but he wasn't actually Middle Eastern – possibly Japanese. Despite his white hair, he looked to be in his twenties. She thought she saw a red muffler wrapped around his head and throat under the burnoose. There was a long gun on his back.

He held his hand out. “I'm Shirou Emiya.”

Thank you for tagging me, @deemoyza. Going through my archive brought a lot of feelings of happiness and gratitude bubbling to the surface.

#fanfiction #i'm sorry i went on so long but doing this made me really happy #kindred #harry potter #tales of the abyss #transistor #persona 3 #persona 3 spoilers #tales of the abyss spoilers #fate/extra

[shantechni]

Speaking of the original Mirage comics: I’m reading them for the first time (after a long hiatus because I planned on physical only reading before I found the alt online method) and also rewatching 03, (which may be on pause because the reactions I was watching it alongside have been paused) and I knew there was some adaptation, but I didn’t realize how much!

Laird really said “Screw your 80s kiddy goofy nonsense, I’m putting page to screen! But with less explicit violence because still for kids and some extending to make full episodes 😅” I’ve been hoping for a straight adaptation of the comics for years, and 03 is right there like 80-90% the same (so far)?! 😵‍💫

I’m sure it must diverge by like the ninja tribunal, highly doubt FF and BttS were Mirage material

I've read bits and pieces (often by accident because it just happened to be there) and, much like the '87 series, I seriously need to start from the beginning.

Anyways, I would always see a comment about the '03 series being the closest to the Mirage comics or adapting the most of it out of any other tv series, and yeah, people are right lol. It clearly wanted to go back to the series' roots and stray from the image the '87 cartoon created for so many years. It'll likely remain the only tv series to adapt so much of the Mirage comics too (it is the only one Mirage Studios co-produced), and that sounds unfortunate on the surface, but I think that's fine. It gave way to the '12 series pulling something from everything that came before it, as well as the IDW series running at the same time, and it's honestly the largest amalgamation of the franchise as a whole.

And that gave way to the Rise and Tales series being able to do their own thing while still managing to pull something up from their predecessors.

I got majorly sidetracked, but you get what I'm saying💀the '03 series did a lot for the franchise. With that said though, it obviously starts to stray away from the comics in its latter half, plot wise and design wise. And you're right: Cody Jones is not prime Peter and Kevin material lol. FF is fine and all, but it feels the most distant from anything right out the gate lol. BttS dips its toes back in that old pre-S6 atmosphere, but it's still not enough to hide the fact that this definitely did not happen in the comics. They're interesting enough though, and I've seen people express dissatisfaction with FF having been cut short in favor of BttS when it was picking up steam near its end.

#answering your asks #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles

[daybreakrising]

(for the canon questionaire) any odd numbered one you haven't done yet, answer it about Wrio!

canon questionnaire | no longer accepting

3. What's the best thing about the show/series/books/comics/etc.?

the lore. i live for it: all the little details you can uncover through reading info on artifacts or weapons as well as the lore that is fed to you through the story. i am a big fan of extensive lore and getting to discover it little by little, so to me, that's the best thing about it

5. What's the best thing about the fandom?

the small corner i have found for myself with all these brilliant, creative people. i am allergic to fandoms as a whole bc they're a clusterfuck, usually, so carving out a nice space with the good people is comforting. i love reading all the hcs people come up with for these characters, all the little details they add that make the characters their own or expand on what we've been given in canon. the people i follow are all so creative and clever and i just. i love seeing it on the dash.

13. Are there any other characters from the franchise you'd like to play?

oh man. oh man. yes, absolutely, to the point where i have a space on my roster that's been reserved for someone for months and will remain there for probably at least another year and a half bc we likely won't get him in game until the s.nezhnaya addition

and i am always open to suggestions people make for characters they think i'd be good at bc....... i have 0 self-restraint when it comes to adding muses, as i've probably made very clear-

15. What are your thoughts on the canon ships for the character, if any?

i mean, there are no "canon" ships, of course (as much as i joke about wrio and n.euvi being married-) so i will replace 'canon' with 'fanon' in this instance bc i wanna talk about the two big ones-

by which i mean, w.rio.lette & w.rio.rinde. obviously, i ship both of these fiercely (though very specifically, for the latter) & i am absolutely weak for both relationships. there's just so much potential with both & i really hate the discourse i've seen in the past over which one is better. (classic example of people hating on a straight ship involving one half of the very popular m/m ship bc 'ew women', mostly, but i won't get into that now-)

17. Are there any ships you can't stand, why?

quick disclaimer to say this is not commenting on people who do ship this, this is just my personal tastes, but: wrio & l.yn.ey

now i am with the people who place l.yn.ey as a young adult at least (short male model =/= teenager, people, there are many adult characters with that model), so it has nothing to do with a perceived age, but simply that............ the fandom is Very Weird about it, and there is a rampant fetishisation of the ship that i cannot stand (largely due to l.yn.ey's design, of course)

also, personally, my wrio has put that very rigid distance between himself and the siblings in general - he calls them children in canon bc that's how he views them, bc he sees himself & his own lost siblings in them. regardless of how old they actually are, he's always going to have that perspective on them, so for me, the only relationship i can see him having with any of the trio is a found family kinda vibe

i don't judge anyone who does ship this (providing they also see l.yn.ey as an adult, of course) but it's just not for me

19. Should people get into the franchise you're writing from, yes or no?

yes. absolutely.

#captivemuses #( my hatred for fandom behaviour is showing through- ) #( thanks for this !!! ) #;forever yelling into the abyss (ooc)

[yelenabelovq]

iii. the hatred of a minute | m.m.

series masterlist

summary: long nights begin being crowded by things you don't want to see materialize, after your legal battle runs its course. the question stands: can you fight your way out of this one? or will you finally fall?

playlist: permit the righteous to be moved | m.m.

word count: 3.6k

rating: 18+, swf, canon typical violence with a slight trigger warning for assault/SA (latter only mentioned in a medical sense), slight she-hulk spoilers

a/n: (playlist starts after if i'm being honest) this quote comes from an edgar allen poe passage, "years of love have been forgot, in the hatred of a minute." hello all! i know it's been like nine months since my last chapter and honestly i shouldn't promise any more consistent updates lmfao. i've moved twice (once cross country) since my past chapter and i'm moving out of state again in like two weeks. so life has been unreasonably crazy lately, but i watched she-hulk and when she said the accords were revoked i was like are you fr rn bc so much of this fic's plot was in fact based around the accords but also i hadn't been writing bc i didn't know what i wanted to so with it so honestly that little tweak in canon made me wanna overhaul the plot and start writing again so here i am!! this is still the bare bones of where i had planned on going with the series but with some changes so that i'll actually be invested in writing it lol and i hope y'all will be invested in reading it!! also shout out to the three people in my notes who reblogged the first two chapters like two days ago that finally made me start writing, yall are awesome. this is for u. (and she-hulk) (oh yeah also matt in she-hulk!! sexy af)

March 2024

Matt could smell your hangover.

Every inch of you was drenched in sweat and vodka and sick. You stumbled into the office of Nelson, Murdock, and Page a little after eleven, half reeling, and rendering Matt more than a little concerned. Foggy met you as you made it in the door, helping you to the small couch next to his desk.

“What the hell happened to you?” Foggy asked, tossing Matt a water bottle to hand to you.

“Have you seen, like, literally any public media source?”

Matt hummed, leaning against the desk across from you. “I did. Imagined you’d take it about this well, too.”

“Thought you couldn’t see, Murdock.”

Matt chuckled. “Good to know your humor’s still in tact.” He unscrewed the bottle an handed it to you. You took it, taking a long sip, then pressing your head to the back of the couch.

“How does, like, the law work?” you asked. “Can I sue? I wanna sue, or something. Get that asshole to put his shield down.”

Foggy laughed sympathetically, walking around to take a seat. He’d told Matt you would be coming in today only about an hour ago, detailing the phone call he’d had with Bucky Barnes. Apparently he’d fished around your purse until he found Foggy’s business card and called, asking if you could come in. Neither of them knew what the topic of your visit was, but after last night’s news spectacle, it wasn’t hard to guess. 

“That’s not how the law works, unfortunately,” Matt answered you. “Also, we’re defense lawyers.”

“Okay, and?”

“We don’t sue people.”

“We protect the people getting sued,” Foggy supplied.

“Assholes,” you mumbled, eyes sliding shut.

“So, what, did you raid a liquor store last night?” he asked, voice dancing with the odd mix of sympathy and humor.

“Tried to outdrink Bucky.”

“How well did that go?”

“Can’t remember a single thing after four p.m., but at least my hangover hurts worse than the news blasts I keep getting on my phone do.”

“You can turn those off, you know,” supplied Foggy helpfully.

“Fuck off, Nelson.” Matt laughed, suddenly acutely aware of the rip in your jeans where your skin poked through unhindered. You were crowding his senses for some reason. He pushed off the desk, walking around just to give himself something to do. He noted what was happening outside the window. Someone was walking a dog, a couple was arguing, a few honks from taxi drivers, the smell of you underneath all the liquor—

Knock it off, he thought. 

He paced back around to the opposite side of the desk, balancing himself on the edge. Your voice coated his thoughts as he tried to focus on what you and Foggy were saying. 

Foggy was explaining something about the legality of the Accords to you that Matt was struggling to catch on to. You swore at whatever he said. Matt let the conversation float over him as his senses crept out to the warmth of your skin and the softness of your voice and whatever shampoo you used that made you smell so good. He dug his nails into the wood of the desk below him, something solid to keep him from drifting into whatever made him like you so much. He knew he couldn’t, knew he shouldn’t, after the alarms went off in his mind the last time he walked you home and you’d leaned into his touch just a little too much. That bit of intimacy you’d offered him, the trust you were putting in him was misguided, unearned, and dangerous. Not with who he was. Not with who you were. 

So he denied himself, as any good Catholic would. 

He was brought back into reality when Foggy directed something at him. 

“What?” he stuttered, willing his brain to come up with something a little bit better. 

“Still with us?” Foggy laughed. 

You remarked, “I thought I was the one who was wrecked,” and he clenched his jaw. 

“My mind wandered.” He took a slow, deep breath. 

He couldn’t ignore the soft laugh you gave, or the way your pulse picked up with awareness under his focus. He could tell Foggy knew he was full of shit. "What did you say?"

"Do you think you could handle a neighborly visit?" Foggy asked.

Matt had no idea what he was talking about.

Thankfully, Foggy saved him the embarrassment of having to ask. "I'm going to do the best I can to figure out how to get around this once Bucky Barnes gets in contact with Sam Wilson. I think you should pay a visit to Mr. Walker."

Matt huffed and shifted from foot to foot. "Um, why?"

"Trying to prevent a murder," he answered dryly, then pointed a finger at you. "You are not to make contact with Walker. At all. I don't care. Relay that message to Bucky as well."

You sighed and rolled your eyes, letting your head lull back onto the couch. Your hair fell away from your neck, exposing more of your skin to the air. No more deep breaths.

"I think it can be arranged," Matt said.

He felt you tense, like you were making to get up, but you didn't move. Matt rounded the desk again, offering his arm to you. "Let's get you home."

You took it, letting him half-haul you up off the couch and into a standing position. Your skin was so soft. "Coffee?" he asked.

"You buying?"

He smirked at you, then turned his attention to Foggy. "Send any updated you find?'

Matt could tell Foggy was giving him a look that he was hoping you weren't picking up on, powers or not. You let yourself be escorted out the door, down the stairs, and out of the building, the entire time not letting go of Matt's arm.

New York liked to pretend to have spring. There was snow on the ground, and the temperature was barely breaking 65, in a way that let non-locals believe there might be some warmer weather up ahead. He knew better, though. He knew New York would stay icy for a long while longer.

He walked along the streets covered with melting snow, dodging tourists and kids checking out colleges on spring break. No one paid him a second thought. People were too busy thinking about themselves. Everyone is always only ever thinking about themselves.

Even when there was so much hurt in the world. So much that needed to be fixed and yet everyone chooses to think only about themselves. Everyone chooses to ignore the help they could give others and instead make it about them. So selfish, he thought. But he wasn't selfish. He thought about other people. He thought about the betterment of other people. Of a community.

That's why it took him so long to pick the perfect person. He didn't want to call her a victim. A pretty blonde in a pinstripe suit. She had just hung up the phone. Perfect, he thought. She wasn't a victim, no. Even as she thrashed and kicked as he came down hard with a hand over her mouth and dragged her into the alleyway just to his right. She wasn't a victim, she was the beginning to the betterment of a community. Of the world.

He pushed the needle into her skin, letting the dosage sink into the muscle of her arm. He'd had to tear her pretty blazer. He was sure she'd be fine with it if she knew. If she knew she was the beginning to a better community.

She lost her fight as the dose made its way through her system, slowly slumping in his arms as he lowered her to the ground, and he left her there to wake up later, making his way back into the sidewalk as if nothing had happened.

"Are you sure they're going to let you in in your condition?"

You laughed, still clinging to Matt's arm as you both made your way to the hospital. He'd insisted on ensuring you made it there safely, despite your protests. It's either this or the rooftops, he's said. He'd bought you coffee. You figured you could start your shift off on the right foot.

"They don't care what state I'm in as long as I can change a bedpan and start and IV," you remarked.

Mat laughed, and you liked the sound. "Let me know if you ever want to unionize."

"We're med students, Matt, I'm not even a real employee."

"That... sounds like it should break some labor laws."

You screwed up your face. "Gotta learn somehow. There could be worse ways. Than legalized slavery."

"Oh no," Matt said around another one of those pretty laughs. God. Go back to when you hated him, you thought. It was so much easier than thinking he was beautiful. And God, was he.

"I'll be fine," you stated, trying (and failing) to stop staring at him in the glistening springtime air. "Couple more cups of coffee and I'll be human-shaped again. Or, med student-shaped. How about you go out there and make sure we don't get any stabbings or GSWs? I want a quiet night."

"I'll try my best," he said, releasing your arm so he could slide his hand up and down it. What a gentleman, warming you up. So polite.

You stood there in silence, trying to come up with something to say maybe to extend the moment, or maybe a dig to make it not as incredibly obvious as it felt that you really enjoyed his company. Before you got the chance, a scrub-clad energy ball launched at you.

"You gotta come in here, we got a chick with some weird-ass symptoms, right up your alley. Come do your funky thing." He shivered. "God, it is freezing out here."

"Derek, no, that's not how this works and you know it." You sighed, closing your eyes, and digging your phone, which had begun ringing, out of your coat pocket.

"It is now," Derek said, smiling like he was sharing an inside joke with you. His smile faltered when he realized you were entirely lost. "You didn't see? I thought you would be jumpin' for joy."

"See what, Perez?" you asked, funneling every inch of exasperation into the question.

"The Accords got revoked. You get to be super doc."

"What?" you and Matt snapped in unison.

You looked down at your phone to see Foggy calling and thrust the phone up to your ear.

"Is it true?" you demanded at the same time Foggy said, "I have the best news ever!"

You heard him laugh on the other end of the line. "No more collar or leash for you, baby! The Accords were just revoked for American citizens!"

"Is he serious?" Matt asked you in a low voice.

You felt like you were going to pass out.

"I knew this had been in the works in congress but I didn't want to get my hopes up, but it's happening, baby!" Foggy was going on.

"What?" you snapped.

"Effective immediately, you are no longer required to sign the Accords. No leash, no monitoring. Go have fun."

"I would definitely still check with your higher-ups before using your abilities at work," Matt supplied.

"Is that Matt? Matt, you asshole, I've been calling you for like 10 minutes!"

"Dude," Derek said, "you've gotta come see this girl."

You were frozen in place, frozen with shock until you felt Matt's hand come to rest on the small of your back. You took a shuddering breath. "So, I'm free?"

"You're free," Foggy said gently.

You hung up the phone without saying goodbye, and turned to Matt. "I should get in there." Patients first, feelings later.

"Have a good evening," Matt said, his hand falling from your back. "Text me when you get home.

You knew damn well he would know when you got home without you texting him. But you didn't say anything. Instead, you turned back to Derek as he walked away and you forced yourself not to let your gaze follow him.

"Do I have time to get scrubs?"

"This chick is wild, okay," Derek began, ignoring your question. "I'd just gotten in when she came in. Flu-like symptoms, so the docs put her on me, right? Turns out, she was assaulted walking to work. All shaken up. I went to go get the kit, but she kept refusing, thought she'd probably feel safer with a female doc. So I offered up one of the interns, but she refused again. Said she was conscious for the entire attack, and all that happened was this guy stuck a needle in her arm and left her on the ground." He kept talking as you rounded the corner into the locker room. "Scumbag, right? I wasn't sure I believed her, but she let me do a physical exam and the only signs of struggle were on her face and neck. And her arm, where the needle went in. So she's telling the truth. And here's the catch. Tox screen is nuts."

You shrugged on your white coat. "How so?"

"Lit up like a Christmas tree," Derek said, shaking his head. "Amphetamine, opiates, benzos, tylenol, you name it."

You raised your brow at him. "Wow."

"And get this, she's bleeding from every line we give her. I tried to put in an IV, blew the vein."

"You're bad at IV's."

"Not that bad," he said indignantly. "But even Mar tried, and the line started bleeding. Mar! Best nurse in this place botched an IV. Doc Cohen tried to put in a central line, more bleeding. Her pressure was skyrocketing every time we tried too."

"That would sense," you said following him further into the ER. "Eight million drugs in someone's system ought to thin the blood."

"Yeah but we get at least a central line on druggies. Besides, she doesn't have any past drug use history. Her lines are clean, man." He led you to a private room towards the back of the ER. You pushed open the door with a sigh.

There was a young girl on the bed, two bloody bandages around her arms and a bandage across her chest. She was pretty, twenty-something with her blonde hair falling out of a ponytail at the back of her head. There was what looked like a designer bag and pinstripe pants discarded in the corner, the matching jacket in an evidence bag.

"Hannah Edwards, this is one of my colleagues, she's gonna do a much better job of figuring this out than we are," Derek supplied as you walked farther into the room.

You introduced yourself with as much smile as you could muster, sitting down next to the bed. "Don't sell her lies, Dr. Perez, please. How are you feeling?"

"Like a human pin cushion with a nasty flu," Hannah said with a weak smile.

"Can you tell me when you started getting the flu symptoms?" you asked.

"Like, fifteen minutes after the guy got me. I laid on the floor, not able to move for like ten minutes. When I got up, I started to go home, but I got, like, super dizzy and feverish five minutes later, so I came here instead."

"You were paralyzed?" you asked.

"I guess?" Hannah shrugged. "I got really groggy for a while and then when I tried to move, everything felt super heavy. It took me, like, ten minutes, like I said, to get up and move. Then I felt all dizzy and came here."

"Good thing," you said. You let your ability reach out ever so slightly, creeping out to touch whatever weird sickness surrounded her.

You jumped back.

"What, what is it?" Hannah asked.

"Dr. Perez, could I see that tox screen please?"

Derek handed you the paper. "Told you, there's almost so much on there that it's unusable."

"She shouldn't be upright with all of this in her system. Have you had any vomiting, Hannah?" You read the tox report again and again, begging the number to make sense but--Hannah Edwards should be dead right now if this were true.

"Just a little nausea," Hannah answered.

"Temp's been bouncing between 100 and 102," Derek said from behind you. "That's the third tox I ran. Same result every time."

You stood up, turning to meet his eye. "Let's get this shit out of her system, please."

You walked out of the room, almost slamming face-first into your resident as the door shut behind you.

"Did you do your thing?" Dr. Cohen asked.

"I, uh--"

"She started to, but something weird happened, huh?" Derek supplied. He'd seen you break the rules with your mutation once or twice or enough to tell when you did.

"It was weird. Like her sick pushed against me. She has so much in her system she should be dead or close to it, but there's something to keep her standing," you told them.

"Which is?" Cohen asked.

"I... don't know."

"Okay, so go find out." Cohen flashed her brown eyes between you and Hannah.

You sighed and shook your head before shutting your eyes and willing the hustle and bustle of the ER to go quiet for just a moment. You let your ability reach out once again, tendrils of invisible power creeping toward Hannah in her bed. You let it lace through every drug in her system, finding familiar things like acetaminophen and penicillin, the odd things like an antidepressant, and the less familiar things you were assuming were things like cocaine and meth, until you found... nothing.

"There's nothing there."

Derek and Cohen stared at you.

"What?" Derek asked.

"All that must be a front. She just has the flu." You looked between the puzzled expression the two shared.

"A flu that came on in less than fifteen minutes," Cohen supplied.

"I'm not saying that's all it is, or all that's gonna develop." You shoved the chart back into Derek's hands. "You should admit her for observation. I need a cup of coffee."

Your phone rang again hours later and as it flashed on the table of the breakroom, you found yourself hesitant to answer.

"Hi, Matt," you said as you brought the phone up to your ear.

"Good evening," he said, his voice silky and husky and you wanted to hang up.

"Hi."

"Are you walking home tonight?"

"Alone," you said. Not the smartest idea, all things considered, but you knew when someone was going to sneak up on you. You were an Avenger for fuck's sake. You could walk home alone tonight.

His voice dropped imperceptibly lower. "What happened?"

"Nothing," you said, carefully keeping emotion out of your voice. "Busy night. And, plus, I don't really need a lawyer anymore, since the Accords were revoked. So."

Matt laughed dryly, and you felt like you could imagine his face on the other end of the phone. He sighed. "You know I can hear your heartbeat through the phone, right?"

"You're so full of shit."

"You're lying to me. Why are you blowing me off?"

"Cause I'm a big girl, Murdock!" You dragged a hand over your face. Attachment was not your style, even Steve knew that, but this guy was making that very difficult. "I don't need you trying to sneak into my bed every night."

"You have got to stop with the lying, it's getting you nowhere with me."

You screwed up your face. "Goodbye, Matt." And you hung up the phone.

Matt was not having a good night. 

He went out on patrol like he did most nights. Like you told him to that night. That was where he'd called you from, a rooftop in Hell's kitchen. Maybe he did go seeking out trouble. Getting into fights he didn't need to be in. He wasn't unaccustomed to getting his ass kicked. No one knew more than Matt Murdock what pavement tasted like. What differed tonight from most nights, though, was the level at which he got his ass kicked. 

Whatever he was stuck with, it knocked him on his ass for a good ten minutes. Groggy and disorienting, like every cell was magnetized to the floor. His throat hurt, probably a symptom of being out in the cold all night. Even Daredevil wasn't immune to the common cold. He hauled himself off the floor with great effort, shocked his assailant left him there, and a little upset with himself he let the guy get away.

He was beaten and bruised and thoroughly feverish as he sat on the subway to Brooklyn.

He didn't want to show up on your doorstep. And you'd made it very clear you didn't want anything to do with him. But he was tired, and everything ached, and if anyone could fix his potentially broken rib, it would be you.

So, no, he didn't really blame you for the shock when you opened the door to your condo and found him slumped against the doorframe.

"Matt?" Your voice was high and indignant.

"I don't--" He fell forward, and you caught him taking off his mask.

"What the hell happened?" you demanded.

"Lost a fight," he managed, letting you guide him to the couch. He felt... some sort of tickle. Something that relaxed his muscles and felt soft, like how he imagined your skin felt.

"Matt, what the hell? Who did you get in a fight with?"

"I don't--" He grunted in pain, then relief as the pain in his ribs subsided.

He felt your face contort in pain, and your breath hitch.

"Don't--" he started.

"What happened?" you tried again.

His body started to feel light, so light, as if he were floating. Then he felt you slump against him, and suddenly, sleep was grabbing at his senses. He tried his hardest to resist it, tried to shake you awake, but he just ended up falling asleep, a hand snaking into your hair.

#my desire to be back in school rly popped out here #rip my nonexistent career #this is really not proof read sorry #its okay im moving to florida to work for disney in like a week so thats cool as hell #emmmaswrites #matt murdock #matt murdock x reader #daredevil #daredevil fanfiction #matt murdock x fem!reader #marvel #marvel fanfiction

[richardsphere]

Leverage Redemption Log: The Unwellness Job

We start this episode in a room with an expository camera-pan past some pictures and boxes of MLM herbal remedies. --- Client is a doctor, suspects its an autoimune disorder. All tests are inconclusive.

what in the heck is a "maven"? (google says "expert or connoiseur") Parker will be too busy with the International part of the branch to do much in the first few acts. --- Our marks are Bronwyn and Melanie. (former is Influencer, latter is about to have a medical licence revoked)

"have you ever fought a shark" Breanna, do you even need to ask?

Well, the rabbit hole is working off some pretty evil word association. Lets ensure that by the end of the day, half those words will be coming from Bronwyn's own mouth.

I side with Breanna, what is with the knives today? --- Ok so we're introducing a third mark: Bitcoin Bastard. Because we really needed a second pyramid scheme in this plot. (im worried this'll get cluttered quickly)

Bronwyn seems actually excited by the idea that nanobots are real. Privacy is dead, and Breanna is absolutely right: Her generation doesnt know what it means because Sophies generation killed it. --- Elliot is playing a slightly-creepy pseudo-hippie? ("i listen to their eternal song" feels verry... serial-killer-ey? but then anything with "eternity" sounds like "death" so i guess its just that)

"sweet nectar" like its the way he says it, definitly intended to be creepy.

No Melanie, dont apologise you are the only sane one here.

I legitimately didnt recognise Breanna until i rewound the scene cause i was like "who the heck is Zazi?" --- I like Sophie's yellow jacket. Classic divide-and-conquer, plead to Bronwyn's ego, make her remember how she's too good for Melanie. Honeyed handshake (of eternal life... they're definitly setting up Elliots character to be some kind of serialkiller. Would be a good scandal, but also... kinda likely to backfire if she just backs out and becomes the Hero of the Beautyscene by outing her competitor as a serialkiller....) --- Parker has grown enough in the timeskip that she now refuses to push people off roofs unless they have roof-jumping-training. Good for her. --- Bitcoinbro wants to use the MLM to harvest private medical data. Because of course.

Sophie is actively hating herself every moment she spends with Bronwyn. --- You launched too early. She hasnt yet said anything that would associate herself with Hank specifically, just with bees and honey in general. You've given her an enemy to rally against to become more succesfull by claiming that her honey-based products are different from Hanks.

unpaused the episode, i was right. (though she's not selling honey but stinger-juice). Good quick thinking on her part though. 10/10. --- I absolutley agree with sophie, stealing thoughts in exchange for ones and zeroes, where's the style, the panache.

"I've been keeping up on my evil-lawyering reading" 7/10. Sophie pulling the "only one who really understands", Harry doing the Accountant Special

Breanna's digging a little burrow of her own (and she's a good digger) Even if he didnt go down it he'd still be paranoid (because he's guilty of moneylaundering and doesnt want to get caught) so its only really a cherry-on-top but its a well-crafted one. --- Melanie is in the studio so Breanna needs to distract her. Time to turn an inside man.. Peggy and Hurley mention! Crowd going wild!

Chad is bringing his armed goons to the table. (certainly gonna help Sophie turn Bronwyn against him) --- "Eivor is gonna have to kill you" Well... Guess thats one way to ensure that Bronwyn cant ever run her little scam again, get her to turn on Chad and force her into witness protection, it'd be hell for her the same way it was for the car-enthusiast in the original series. Worse then prison or a fine, (those would actually make her more popular. She'd just brand herself as "persecuted by the system" and a "controversial truth-teller", but if she's on the run from Chads Murdermen... Well, goodbye influencer status)

Oh sophie is pulling the "we're conmen and you're just our mark"-excuse. Which is technically true but as long as you make them think you're after something different then your actual goal, you continue to mislead them. Now Melanie is going to give us the data, Breanna is switching it out for the virus, and 40 mllion bitcoin goes down the drain.

--- Back at the Theatre the team has caught on to Sophie's Missing Person Status. Melanie calls Zazi. "Hank" is coming to help.

"that would've stung, huh" obligatory joke. (also we're about to pretend to lose the fight. the fight is a distraction while we switch the drive for the virus) Honestly, this might be the most humiliating way of taking down a goon yet (and im counting the Looney-Tunes Hole from the Sheherezade job in that. Beaten unconcious with a Qwynneth Paltrow Dildo while getting stung by bees is a humiliation you do not want in your armed-goon resume.) --- Ah we're not switching drives by feigning a loss. We're knocking Eivor out and just bringing a fake drive. Much simpler and it doesnt force Elliot to take an L for dramatic fake-out. Also yes, Harry is good at what he does.

that is a pen. That isnt even an EMP its a stopwatch app used as a distraction while the database whipes itself. --- Oh magnetic phone-covers to pretend them sliding in the car. Didnt know they made those. (but then, i dont use my phone that much, nor do I own or drive a car)

And the look on his face when he realises what he just did to himself.

And i guess im right, Bronwyn is going into Witness Protection which means she cant work as an influencer ever again. --- Back at the theatre Client and Melanie are working together to create a plan to actually help the people whose medical data Bronwyn took.

Parker once more becomes the most relateable character ever by outright admitting that for over a year, she didnt know Elliots name, only remembering it when other people used it.

"Janice" is in her own personal hell.

--- "you dont need my validation, but I will offer it" is such a dynamic. 10/10 line.

#leverage #leverage redemption #leverage redemption season 1 #the unwellness job

[trainingdummyrabbit]

Hey, I know you're a Projmoon fan, I guess I'm curious because I'm at an impasse on what to do rn, did you play through the entirety of Lobotomy Corporation, did you just skip it entirely for Ruina, or did you read a summary/watch a cutscene compilation or let's play/something else? And what would you recommend as an approach? I've tried playing through Lobcorp but it's just extremely tedious and I'm considering skipping it to get to something I think I'll like more (Ruina)

oh!! ok my answer is a little bit complicated tbh; bc i havent. played any of the series at all. WAHAHA

what i personally did was um. attempt to watch an incomplete lobcorp lp ==> couple months radio silence ==> watched one (1) day of gameplay from a friend (for one boss fight specifically) ==> got recc'd summaries i slowly watched thru ==> couple months radio silence. ==> watched someone else's (actually complete) lp ==> (rabbit hole'd) summaries again.

um. dont do that. JSNBGKHDBK

im not gonna act like i Know how t tackle a series like this (since it took me like 4 circles around to Actually Commit to it (and also im kind of. new. here)) BUT from my personal opinion of the series and how it carries itself, i CAN recc at least Some order of something.

TRY to play Lobcorp! which i can kinda see is already done on your end. its something i Super want to try but absolutely know i wont finish SKJFNKDJF;; the main draw of PLAYING lobcorp is the struggle. it Sucks! its Long and Tedious and the game HATES you... and that's the point! it's plot relevant. it's an experience i didnt get to feel, but can so painfully just Understand by merit of watching someone else do it, only skipping about occasionally. tl;dr: the game loop is Telling A Story, Dragging You In-- THAT is the draw in insisting folks play it. it genuinely makes the... everything... hit that much harder. Once youve given it your best, dont feel ashamed to look for someone who's Done It! (i hear a lot of folks havent completed lobcorp themselves, so ✌) DONT UM . SKIP IT COMPLETELY THOUGH ruina is literally a Direct Sequel to it. i think it does a good enough job at introducing the setting on its own, but i am GRABBING YOU this shit will hit fucking DIFFERENT if you Understand. also its a lovely game worth looking at and appreciating bc GOD what a fucking experience those last few days are. i do not cry that easily to stuff like this but OUGH. AUGH. H

Wonderlab??? its a webcomic thats heavily reccommended you read through, but due to um. circumstances . it doesnt seem t be feasible atm. however, there IS a synopsis up thats pretty darn good! wonderlab, iirc, isn't directly plot relevant, but DOES introduce certain important concepts for ruina. however, it's not Mandatory, as ruina Also explains these things. as far as i know, its just a fun lil kickass story in the universe taking place between series you can look at if you want :)

Play Ruina! or watch, i guess. again, i watched an lp and it kicked the shit out of me emotionally (affectionate) so honestly do what you will here, i suppose.

honestly though, these are both super fucking long-ass and ridiculously heavy games so you're probably gonna be here a while. it took me like two weeks of committed watch time t look into Properly, and that was even when i started skipping straight to cutscenes at the latter half. embrace that! i cant stop you, but id heavily reccommend at the very least watching through the gameplay loop for a good chunk of the time-- giving the story that space really hammers home the... Everything. heavily heavily recc letting it Have that space.

for ruina specifically though, definitely at least watch through the beginning and ending legs of every fight-- and at least a solid chunk of every boss fight. if you're intent on skipping round gameplay loops like i did, imean. watch the boss fights watch the boss fights these fuckers do NOT play around. i cannot applaud these games' soundtracks enough and i wont say anything but trust me trust me trust me.

ANYWAY. here's the stuff that was recc'd to me, personally! if you wanna give watching through the series a go! :]

Lobcorp LP: [x] (Commentated+Completed! I couldn't find any no-commentary ones that were finished, but honestly for its gameplay loop it Helps. Blind on his end, but he does genuinely really like the series so i give it a thumbs up ✌) Ruina LP: [x] (Same guy :] also completed!) Lobcorp SUMMARY: [x] (Brief, but a good opener+summary!) Wonderlab SUMMARY: [x] (It Sure Is Wonderlab!!) Ruina SUMMARY: [x] [x] (Actually incomplete, but goes pretty well in depth and is easy to watch+absorb.) Alt SUMMARY: [x] (Consists of both parts of the duology! I haven't actually watched it in a while so i don't exactly remember much t say about it, but it sure is on my list!)

#TAG ESSAY BUT ITS IMPORTANT ACTUALLY HI <33 #pikasks #long post #speaking only what i know and feel from th short amount i can speak for!!!!!! #VERY VERY good game series though when it hits it fucking HITS. #its just 'im in hell im in hell im in hell im in hell-- OH FUCK.' #transitioning to a slightly more jaded 'ah. hell. --OH FUCK.' #ANYWAY. for lobcorp; abnormality lore isnt PLOT IMPORTANT but it IS very very fun storytelling so if you like fun spooky stuff. nods. #again-- do what you will and what you think is most fun-- this is just what i think would have th most impact! #for me tho watching the summaries THEN the gameplay helped a lot bc i do Not retain info well at ALL #. i also get really stressed when characters are in danger and i dont know what will happen to them so that helped there too KSJNFKJD #again. heavy heavy series but if its your speed its SO worth it. #ALLSO THERES CONTENT WARNINGS HI YEAH theres an image available but tbh most of it isnt that bad. #EXCEPT ONE INSTANCE. if you dont wanna know when dont read ahead BUT #REALLY HEAVY BODY HORROR AND GORE WARNING for one specific part of ruina-- nothing good happens on trains. <3 #it builds up to it very well so you can see it coming p easy-- no jumpscares-- but YEA THAT BODY SURE CAN HORROR. #THATS ALL. OK. HAVE FUN <33