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inkblot22 · 2 months

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What's Worse?

I finally finished this. This unpostable thing. It's done and even if it's bad, I do not care. In the end, it ended up being 4k words and I'm okay with this. Header by @/cafekitsune

Who is this fic for? I tried to keep this one very neutral despite the many references to body parts, so anyone who can handle it is free to read! Keep in mind that pronouns such as you and they are used to refer to the reader. The reader is human and does have hair.

TW for coercion, noncon, dubcon, allusions to a physically and emotionally abusive dynamic, captivity, everyone is at least a little bit untrustworthy in this, mentions of the smell of blood, beastman-specific oddities and anatomy, violent and morbid similes. Just in case, I'd like to say that this is DEAD DOVE, DO NOT EAT. A lot of the stuff is more so implied than explicitly stated, but it's still there.

The day he moved up a grade and began his “internship” is the same day he took you with him. Sure, Grim came along, but you’re often so busy, or he’s often so busy, either way. So you haven’t seen your familiar in months, and your life is filled with Leona.

You don’t know why he did this, but the first night you were there, he tapped your uvula with his fingers as he orally serviced you so feverishly that you left teeth indent bruises on his knuckles from biting down so hard as you tried not to be loud. He wore them like jewelry, and you know his brother saw them. Everyone at the table knew what happened, because, according to Leona, no matter how often you shower, the way you smell will always give you away.

That was a little over six months ago. As far as captivity goes, it’s rather cushy. You stay within the confines of the Afterglow Savannah’s palace. Sometimes Leona gets a bit aggressive and you take it, but you’re fed, clothed, and possibly pampered. It could be worse. It could be far worse. You could be in the dungeons.

You actually don’t know if this place has a dungeon, come to think of it. The last time you asked Leona, he asked you if there was an issue with the room you shared with him. When you tried to explain why you asked, he called you a “dumb herbivore” in a very fond tone of voice, then fell asleep. You didn’t try asking again.

It didn’t stop you from wandering. As it turns out, the Afterglow is mostly populated by beastmen… beastpeople? Aren’t all people beasts? Whatever, the point is, you’re basically the only person in the palace with muted senses. You often think back to Rook, wondering how he trained himself to use his senses so well. You tried to practice once, but Leona caught you hiding a ball and chucked the thing out the window, telling you to find something better to do with your “skills.” You sure used one of your senses, at least.

Unfortunately, these “muted” senses, despite them being completely sensible for your human state of being, have led to some issues. For instance, when someone approaches you, you don’t notice until they’re within your field of awareness. Beyond that, according to Leona, Farena, Cheka, and Farena’s wife, you also tend to just reek of blood.

You have no idea why, and you’ve never noticed this before. You get out of the shower, having scrubbed hard enough to rid yourself of any dirt but not enough to create micro-abrasions on your skin, and Leona still complains about it. You play fight with Cheka, gentle enough that neither of you gets harmed and he’s giggly, and he pauses his mirth and wrinkles his little nose before asking if you got hurt. Zuri, Farena’s wife, regularly would stop you whenever she saw you, her eyes wide as she asked you if everything was okay. The palace staff didn’t say anything, but they’d constantly be re-filling your first-aid kit, one that was “gifted” to you and one that the staff and Kifaji (despite him being human like you, or maybe just not obviously a beastman) insisted that you carry at all times.

But out of all of them, Farena was the worst. If you were in Cheka’s nursery, even just seconds after the kid fell asleep, Farena would pop out of nowhere. If you lingered a bit too long in the kitchen or hallways, anywhere too far from Leona’s wing, he’d approach with a smile, his arms spread wide. If you came to the dining hall without Leona’ his glowing brown eyes would find you, the intensity akin to a sudden knife wound. His persistence in being around you was all blanketed by his uncomfortable implications when he spoke to you.

Even so, you happened to somehow get lost. The hallways are sort of color-coded, but you’ve passed this same hallway several times, enough for you to be okay with admitting that you’ve been walking in a circle for the past twenty minutes. And, much like the devil, as soon as you thought that if you were there any longer, a certain lion-man would appear, Farena popped up and scooped you into a hearty hug as greeting, your feet coming off the floor.

“Leona’s partner!” He never calls you by name. It’s always just that. You are Leona’s partner, not your own person, you guess, “I knew I’d find you eventually.”

“Yes. Hello, your highness.” You wheezed as he placed you back on the floor.

“Oh, you’re so prickly, just like my baby brother. You two are a perfect match- he does like a bit of bite.”

You rarely knew how to respond to him, so you often didn’t. You just stared at him, like a total moron, but he continued talking like you aren’t giving him the most anserine of looks- a word he has used to describe you before, basically to your face.

“I’ve heard that you forgot your first aid kit. We don’t need you tripping and scratching yourself on Leona’s dresser again, and not with an inability to heal yourself.” He never gave you time to answer, “Of course, I know you aren’t magic, but those of you without it have made some wonderful inventions to make up for that.”

“Oh. Yeah, I just left for, like, two seconds so I could return something to the kitchen.”

He nodded, thoughtful, still smiling, “Well, did you hit your head? You’ve been walking in a circle, and you didn’t even stop to say hi to me.”

“No. I, uh.” You cast your gaze down the hallway closest to you, then looked back at Farena, “I am a bit lost. I guess someone else is usually with me when I’m wandering around.”

Leona is not the only person in his family with a cunning streak. You are marginally aware of this, and when Farena’s eyes narrowed, you sucked in a breath.

“Hmm. You’re right, Leona’s partner. It is rather strange not to see you by my baby brother’s side.”

It struck you multiple times in the past that the amount of times you bumped into Farena couldn’t possibly be a coincidence. He’s a king, so why was he never ruling or whatever kings did all day? It was incredibly strange, and you made the same subtle discomforted motions like clockwork. He usually pretended not to notice whatsoever.

His grin was always too bright. You did prefer Leona’s smirk, “Very well. It looks like I’ll need to escort you back to Leona’s quarters, won’t I?”

“Uh. I mean, if you’re not busy.”

“You’re such a mousy thing. Come,” He offered you his arm.

You took it, and true to his word, he led you back to Leona’s wing, then straight up to the door. He knocked, and you ducked out of his arm to cautiously open the door. Leona strolled out of the bathroom, hair and skin wet, his eyes not even skimming over you before they flashed to his brother, who strolled in as though he owned the place. Maybe he did. Who owns a palace if not the king?

“Ah, Leona! I found your partner, wandering the halls like a lost lamb.”

As soon as the words process in Leona’s mind, his green eyes are sliding to pin you down. Your limbs feel like lead, and you don’t move or emote, lest he strike. He’s like a snake when he’s like this, which is ironic. Perhaps it’s not ironic, and just comedic. Who knows?

Regardless, Farena keeps talking, “And I missed you at lunch! What a shame. They had your favorite, you know. Meat! And lots of it. Don’t you ever get hungry, being in here all the time?”

If not for everyone talking about the way your skin smells, that comment could have been written off entirely. It didn’t feel great, being indirectly told that you smell like fresh meat, and Leona wasn’t helping much.

“Mmm. No. I don’t like my meat that rare.” Leona grumbles, taking a seat on his bed and waving you over. “Hey, c’mere and braid my hair.”

What was worse? Being told you smell delicious or being told you didn’t smell delicious enough? It was one of those things. You cautiously tied off his braids, capping both of them in beads that Cheka had gifted you. His hair was wet, clinging to his skin as desperately as the water did. You caught yourself watching a drop sliding over Leona’s tattoo and hummed softly.

Farena was still talking. You didn’t hear the beginning, and you didn’t care about the end, so you completely tuned him out so you could finger detangle the rest of Leona’s wet hair. While you were ignoring Farena, you were pointedly all too aware of Leona’s sounds of pleasure. It took you a while to get used to it. You were a primate, and he was a lion. More lion than ape. He snorted and rumbled, huffed and chuffed, his face twisted in a scowl.

“Ah, what a shame. I’ll have to speak to you later, Leona. Perhaps you could talk about those plans with Zuri. I’m sure she’d love to listen.” You tuned back in as Farena turned to the door, opening it before remembering himself and waving at you, “Bye bye, Leona’s partner!”

When he was gone, almost as soon as the door was closed, Leona twisted his torso to grab you around the waist and pull you into one of his kisses. You read somewhere that the reason men kiss so… wetly is so they can mark their partner. It makes more sense if they just didn’t want to kiss with dry lips, but you’re no kissing expert. Leona is not an exception to this, you supposed. He always licked his lips before pressing them against yours, slicked with his saliva and often accompanied by a quiet, barely perceptible growl.

His kisses were dizzying. Possibly because it was difficult to breathe while kissing someone, and possibly because you were usually held in a crushing vice whenever he kissed you. Your poor ribcage had been squeezed many times.

And just as soon as it started, he dropped you unceremoniously and stood up, walking past your sprawled body on his floor, “We’ve got some big dinner to get to. Get dressed.”

You scrambled to your feet, “Big dinner?”

“Mhm. It’s some official’s birthday. I can’t be bothered to remember who.”

That made enough sense. In the time you’d been here, you’d learned pretty quickly that it wasn’t exactly worth it to go out of your way to be remembered positively by everyone, especially not since you were… with Leona. In all the time you’d been here, you’d never been sure about what the nature of your relationship with him was, either. Asking would get you some kind of snarky or irritated answer, and not asking but thinking about it made it hard to focus on anything else, so you didn’t think about it.

“Oh. You see Grim today?” You asked while getting dressed in your own green and black dashiki, like a couple’s outfit in the matching pattern of Leona’s.

Like he always did, he stared for a moment before making a few small adjustments. It was funny, he couldn’t be bothered to care about his own appearance, and yet, when it came to you…

“Yeah, He’s good. Still working on the mage stuff.”

“Mmm. Okay. Thanks.” You mumbled, lifting your arms so Leona could look you over again, “What?”

“You stink like my brother. If we had time, I’d fix that, but…”

“What does he smell like?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking what I smell like?” He snapped, and you flinched. Sometimes his irritation came with physical indications, but heavier than the physical indications was the energy around him, “Forget it. Stay close to me tonight.”

You usually did. You hated parties here, but more than the parties themselves, you hated the strangers who came up to you and just said whatever. Last time, someone approached you and asked how big Leona’s wallet was for you to stick around. You’re learning to like nobility less, not that you particularly liked them before..

You’re tucked against Leona’s back for the entirety of the evening. He’s like a ward. People see him and walk the opposite direction unless they’re drunk or stupid, and those types are in short supply at the beginning of the night. Unfortunately, by the middle of the night, amongst sips of his drinks and nibbles of various finger foods, you felt exhausted and Leona was straight up pissed.

You wondered why for a bit too long. You barely even realized when you ended up back in his room, outside on his balcony. He was stewing, pouting like a toddler. You unstuck yourself from his side and sat in one of the chairs.

“Mmm.” He grumbled. He often did this, putting a noise to his emotion, but no words to explain himself. You’d wised up and figured out early on that it was best not to approach him for this type of thing, “Hey, runt.”

Uh oh. He tended to use that nickname before he did something foul to you. You squirmed in your chair and flinched as he turned around and yanked his shirt over his head. His pants went next. Leona didn’t bother with underwear.

“C’mere. What are you hidin’ in the corner for?” He mumbles, “We’ve got time now.”

Your uh oh gets multiplied. It’s not that you aren’t attracted to Leona, or that you’re not in the mood. It’s not that you’re terrified of him, not that you’re confused by his awkward libido. It’s that you honestly don’t know what he sees in you, sprinkled with a bit of relationship insecurity. You’re here because of him, you and Grim have a home because of him, but what’s going to happen when he gets bored with you?

He looks over his shoulder at you sharply, “What the hell are you doin’? I said c’mere.”

You swallowed and took a few steps forward, stripping as you walked. The night air makes your skin tingle with goosebumps, your nipples hardening and a shiver rattling through you. It’s a very strong possibility that these feelings have beset you based only on the fact that someone could look up from Zuri’s garden and see you and Leona, both naked on his balcony.

When you’re standing in front of him, he just stares, one of his hands ever so gently stroking himself. You think it’s funny, the phrase “playing with yourself,” because that is what it is. His fingers softly paw at his heavy balls, gliding up the base of his shaft to tweak the head of his cock under his foreskin. He doesn’t break his gaze on you to look at himself. The hand that is not busy with himself reaches out to grab your waist, just above the start of your hip, and yank you closer.

He’s not gentle. Not really. You know he has the capacity to be gentle, but he doesn’t really seem to care. In the past, when you’ve pleaded with him to be gentle, he’s told you that he would treat you like glass if he thought you were made of it, but since he’s seen you suffer worse (what is worse?) he doesn’t see the point in bothering. That doesn’t change the fact that his touch often hurts. Now is not an exception, and you make your displeasure clear with a soft noise of discomfort.

“Shhh. You wanna tell me what happened earlier?” Leona mumbles, pressing his face against the skin on your stomach, taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh.

You absolutely hate it when he smells you like this, but that’s not important right now, “Wh-what?”

“With Farena. You looked freaked out.” Leona ever so lightly kisses the pit of your bellybutton, “He do anything to you?”

You’re not a fan of Leona acting like this. While it seems like he cares, you know from past experience that he’s typically, if not always, on the brink of a jealous meltdown. His jealous meltdowns almost always end with you sitting alone in the bathroom, tending to your own wounds as he sleeps like a kid who just threw a tantrum. So you decide to give a simple answer before distracting him, at least for a moment.

You scratch the nape of his neck, since he doesn’t like you touching his ears, “He was just his usual off-putting self. Nothing else.”

Leona grunts and looks up at you, so you take your chance. You lean down, sitting on your knees, and press a mock-reverent kiss to Leona’s thigh. He’s surprisingly hairless, for someone who is more lion than ape. You suppose the same could be said for yourself, as someone who is more ape than lion.

Leona’s unimpressed face slants into a smirk, and his hand that was previously fondling his genitals slides to cup your cheek, fingertips rubbing behind your ear.

Now that it’s right in front of your face, you wish that you hadn’t decided that this was the best option for distraction. You think maybe anything would be better than catching those barbs in the back of your throat. The little softly-curved nubs circling the base of the head of Leona’s cock flare out a bit, resembling one of those Elizabethan ruffs, tattered by the passage of time and reduced to the skeleton. They aren’t sharp, not truly, but they’re uncomfortable, especially when you forget that the more worked up Leona gets, the further they poke out and the harsher they feel. It’s similar to someone’s very carefully blunted fingernail and fingertip rubbing against your cheeks.

You try to suck up your carefully hidden disgust and press a soft kiss to the very tip of Leona’s dick, wetting your lips with his salty pre. Surprisingly, he doesn’t taste bad. You would think that his skin, his cum, would taste bitter and harsh, but it’s not the worst thing you’ve ever tasted. Perhaps that’s a silver lining in this wicked situation.

Regardless, a quiet grumble from him makes you snap back into the reality of where you are, and you figure you may as well get to work. You slide your lips down to his base, wincing as the spongy head of his member punches the back of your throat and his hand slides back to grip your nape.

“You trying to bore me to death, runt? You know I hate this teasing shit.”

That’s right. He absolutely loathes it. You bob your head a little more expeditiously, trying to ignore the slick mixture of drool and pre that is escaping from the corners of your lips and the ever-increasing strength of Leona’s thrusts against your face.

Despite your senses being the most dull in the palace, you can sort of hear the festivities downstairs, and Leona chuckles, standing with your head still cradled in his hand so he can actually start thrusting. It always begins with you trying to set a gentle pace and it always quickly dissolves into chaos. He’s lazy, but if he’s anything more than lazy, it’s a shameless pleasure chaser. You would think that you would have learned by now.

“You can’t hear them. They’re not at all concerned with me, they’re wondering where you went off to. But everyone knows that you belong to me, so they should know that you’re with me.” Leona mumbles.

You gag, his dickhead wetly popping against the back of your throat as the fluids in your mouth froth with the speed of his motions, gooey trails roping down to cling to your cheeks and collarbones, connecting to Leona’s shifting hips. At least he doesn’t stink today.

A bug lands on your shoulder and flits away as you choke on Leona as he shoves his cock down your throat. Maybe you should feel a bit more grateful that this is happening partially outside, and that way you can have constant reminders that you’re still alive and not in some form of purgatory, serving time for your very minor moments of humanity when you were alive.

Leona snarls, “You’re just so cute, with those lips wrapped around me. I wonder if my brother would keep flirting with you if he knew that you were like this in private.”

The implications of that statement are absolutely lost on you. You’re aware that Leona knows how you feel about your current life to a degree, but he doesn’t give a damn about your emotions. Whatever he’s talking about is absolutely just him babbling out some sex-addled nonsense. As the barbs scrape against your uvula, you gag and try to push his hips away so you can catch your breath for a second.

He doesn’t let up. Sweat is sliding over his skin, beading into crystal pearls and sliding down to flavor the skin in your mouth with their salt. If you don’t puke from his roughness, you’re going to puke from ingesting so much sodium. His smirk grows and his fingers massage the base of your head as if he isn’t pounding into your throat.

“Aw… too much? Maybe if you were a bit more active, I’d be done a bit sooner.” He coos.

You don’t fully hate Leona. He has given you somewhere to stay, food to eat, clothes to wear, for both you and Grim, but whenever he gets like this, taunting you even though he’s using you like a cheap sleeve, you feel an indescribable, hopeless anger. Regardless, you bring one of your hands up to the copious amounts of drool and pre and sweat that are covering your skin, collecting the goop on your fingers. You cup his ass with your non-gooey hand and spread that cheek, plunging a finger into his asshole and aimlessly crooking your finger.

His hips spasm, his hand fists into your hair and he lets out a low grumble, “Rrr.”

You slowly ease your other gooey finger into his ass and hope that he will cum soon so you can catch your breath. You need a shower, and he’s probably going to just go to bed after this. You’re more tired than he is, and you’re actually beginning to think that you both might be a bit tipsy. You need this to end, and you need it to end soon.

Your prayers are answered. You feel his cock bob in the back of your throat, the glans tapping that soft spot that makes you feel it in the back of your nose, and he yanks your head back, your lips releasing him with a somewhat loud pop.

His cum is hotter than it has any right being. You suppose since he runs hot, it’s not that shocking, but you’re also aware that the whole reason that the balls are not an internal thing is because the human body is way too hot for sperm to live for long periods of time inside of the body. This information is irrelevant, however, because Leona has just made the mess on your skin that much worse. You sigh as he lets go of you, flopping back into his chair and gesturing to his cock again.

“Can you clean me up before you go running off?”

You’d love to tell him no, to ask him to shove it, but you grunt your acquiescence and tongue-clean his messy skin, as if you aren’t covered in more slime than he is. Once done, you stand up and gather your clothes, placing them in the laundry bin in the bathroom and getting in the shower.

You scrub a little harder than usual, but not hard enough to break skin, not even enough to create micro-abrasions. Once out, you throw on one of Leona’s gaudy yellow tees and take a seat on the bed. He’s already curled up under the covers, but the soft tapping of his tail lets you know that he isn’t sleeping. You slide under the covers yourself and Leona rolls over, pulling your back into his chest.

“Hey.” He mumbles into your hair, “You stink like a fresh kill.”

What’s worse? Smelling like blood in a den of predators or being in the den of predators to begin with?

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knifedog-machina · 3 months

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Dogs As Narrative, Through The Lens Of Abuse Recovery

J: so I got into the Archetropers’ Guild discord server, saw a prompt, and immediately started writing answers because wow talking about myself is fun, I need to do that more? definitely a more informal essay than the last one, I really just copied it from discord!

Content Warning: mentions of past abuse, but it’s pretty vague and has a hopeful swing to it!

I identify with dogs, as a dog, in the metaphorical sense of like - a dog as shorthand for a beloved tool? Being a bad actor's attack dog, being used and abused, biting the hand that fed and hit you. Dogs in the way they're used in vent art, as a metaphor for loving and trusting the wrong person.

But I also identify with dogs as beloved companions, as sweet and loyal and playful and loved. I know people who adore their dogs even if they came from horrible circumstances and have bad habits from abuse, and like - it's a narrative identity for me, something that ties together very different parts of my life, the before and after.

Like, yeah okay, I'm a dog. I unquestioningly love and trust people I care about. Of course an abuser took advantage of me, I didn't know better, and she promised to love me but she wouldn't even comfort me when I was scared of the rain. But also, there are way more people in the world who love me and want me to be happy, and that's good to remember as I recover and heal and grow! Calling myself a dog means accepting the way I adore people as a neutral to positive trait, instead of becoming a paranoid mess who refuses to be vulnerable again.

I don't know how much it's a species thing, because whenever I try to picture myself as a dog it's more like the shadow of a dog, pricked ears and bushy tail and all black, no detailing. I feel Wrong about picturing myself as a more realistic dog, instead of an artistic rendering of a black dog - like for dog photography to Resonate with me, it cannot be someone's candid pics of their pet German shepherd rolling around, it has to have some kind of message intended for use, otherwise it's like. That's a normal dog! I do not identify with you, normal dog, you're very cute but that's it. You’re unrelated to my life narrative!

And I don't generally feel the need to introduce myself to people as a dog when new people hear about me, because that feels like it's more personal? like hey, I’m a dog, you wanna know why? It's The Traumas! I’m open enough about it, but I don’t want to be pushed into thinking about it, and sometimes alterhuman spaces grill you about the origin of your identity too much for my comfort? I’m talking about it now because I want to, not because I’m being pressured into sharing.

I say all that, but I do really like cultivating my doggish traits, because they're kind of just things I like already - exercise, chewing and biting as a stim, play-fighting, getting scritched, curling up in a little ball to sleep. And sometimes I like giving myself phantom ears or tail or fangs for the expressiveness of them. I feel perfectly complete without them, but I like having them sometimes! They're fun!

And I don’t know if it just has to be an archetrope? I can describe it in other ways! Poppy (@aestherians) coined a term on rair website, here, about something being an alterhuman simile if you relate to it so strongly because it reflects your lived experiences, and I think I could call dogs my simile just as naturally as calling them my archetrope. It's a useful word and I haven't seen it around much!

#jude talks #personal essay #archetrope #alterhuman simile #alterhuman #fictive

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fatheriimaginedyoutaller · 5 months

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(SCRIPT PREVIEW)

Hey ya'll. Hope you're all having a great afternoon! I'm here to bring you a little update about this post.

After watching some video essays for inspiration, I began developing a draft for a script about Robin: Son of Batman (2015). Analyzing the story implications, themes and motifs! :)

And because ya'll been so supportive of my nerdy endeavours, you guys are getting a special preview of the aforementioned draft! (criticisms accepted of course!)

Part of the script avaliable under cut

tagging in: @fancyfade @fluffykitty149 @cleoeatsit

The first issue of the comic run starts with Damiam returning some sort of cultural artifacts to their rightful owners; an order of monks in mainland China. So, immediately, we got this Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones kind of plot point.

(Man I sure hope it doesn’t get abandoned halfway through and pivots to portraying the replacement of an autocracy with another autocracy where the head of state its not even from the country as a good thing)

ahem…

He gets interrupted by League of Assassins members which he fights off with the help of his pet, Goliath the Bat-dragon. He wins said fight and is lavished for returning the sacred object by the locals

All while a masked figure is observing the scene while saying:

“(...) there cannot be redemption for the year of the blood”

This introduction to the comic is interesting because it highlights the main narrative theme and framing device of the whole story: The Quest for Redemption.

Before we even know exactly what Damian is doing and why he's doing it. We know he's looking to mend a rift. To make a past wrongdoing right. And then we find out someone wants to stop him…

This forms an interesting parallel with real life survivors of schoolyard abuse aka bullying.

Now, hear me out…

Many kids (especially those with conditions such as autism) are manipulated by their bullies into doing bad things to other children. They generally do this by preying on their loneliness and desire to be accepted by their peers. And so said kids carry out acts of hazing to other children, perpetuating a cycle of harm.

A cycle which is hard to escape from. Because if you hurt someone, regardless of if you were manipulated or not, that person will probably not trust you after the fact. And if you add into account the environment of a school, where rumors spread like wildfires, there's a high chance you develop a bad reputation. Cause other people have no way of knowing you did it while being threatened into being a social pariah. It's a no win situation.

Damian's story is simile to this. Sure, the acts he carried out were far more extreme and he was not manipulated by an outsider but by his own grandfather, Ra’s Al Ghul. But the effects of his psyche, development and public perception are all the same.

Think about it: His claims to being either the Blood Son or the Grandson of the Demon are basically him trying to justify his existence to a family that, for all he knows, could abuse him again. Which leads him to having a thought process where he has to be the best of the best in the room, cause the only other alternative is death. and for that he’s punished. Even though no one ever bothered to teach him the normal social protocols for a boy his age.

So when you make that reading of Damian, and put into the context of a story where he, by his own volition, decides he’s gonna try and reverse all the harm he caused while being essentially groomed. You get something really powerful.

Well…kind of…

There’s a few things that stuck out with the framing of this arc. The most glaring one being: this arc takes place after he comes back from the dead. After being trapped in hell for the better part of a year after being killed by his own clone.

By making Damian’s journey for redemption take place after he’s been through literal Hell, there’s the subtle implication that he’s not doing it out of his own free will, but to avoid some sort of celestial punishment.

And that’s not a bad idea per se, if the comic acknowledged that implication. Because it does put an interesting question into the table. “Does it matter why we do good things? As long as we do them?” Does it matter if Damian doesn’t kill anymore because of “selfish” reasons. After all, why would an orphan he saves from a fire care if he used to be bad or not? Should that matter to anyone?

That last part is a testament, I think, to how much better executed some ideas that writers at DC have would be if they played them straight. If they acknowledged the implications of their writing instead of just doing something because they thought it would be cool or dramatic.

#my post #batman #damian wayne #dc comics #batfamily #robin #batfam #bruce wayne #talia al ghul #rsob #robin: son of batman #dc meta #character analysis #media analysis #literary analysis #meta

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nihilisticlinguistics · 11 months

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can't remember where i saw the post reccing Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid, but they were so right.

Juniper and Thorn is set in the fantasy Russia-esque city of Oblya, in the midst of change as it industrializes and draws in immigrant populations. The protagonist, Marlinchen, is the youngest daughter of the last wizard in Oblya, a man cursed to be dissatisfied with everything in his life.

It's very tightly written -- I could tell within the first few pages that this was a book to pay close attention to. Elements introduced in the first few chapters remained relevant throughout, from the beauty of the eldest sister Undine to the spiny-tailed monster under Marlinchen's bed.

Like a good Grimm fairy tale, Juniper and Thorn uses the fantastic to underscore the real. Marlinchen doesn't just live under her abusive father's thumb; she lives under his abusive, magical thumb, with all the power he can wield to control her life. His curse drives the central conflicts of the story, feeding into his consuming hunger, his relentless desire for money, his anger at his daughters, his anger with the changing world that no longer respects his magical gifts.

Juniper and Thorn contains a romance that I would compare, if anything, to the fairy-tale, Cinderella-esque story of escaping family abuse coupled with the realism that shines through the entire novel. Sevastyan, the male romantic lead, is the youngest principal dancer in the local ballet company, but he's also an ethnic minority (if Oblya is "fantasy Russia," the Yehuli people can be read as "fantasy Jewish") in an unfamiliar city and victim to abuses of a different kind. He's drawn to Marlinchen for reasons that similarly thread the line between fantasy and realism, and he's both an archetype to her (emphasized by his heroic role in the ballet) and just a hurt, lonely man who likes her.

Anyone with a close familiarity with stories is likely to be able to guess the twist, if you're paying attention, but it's a credit to Reid that even after I figured out what was coming, enough story elements were left open that I was never quite sure how it was happening until I was almost upon the reveal. When the last piece clicked into place, I actually said aloud, "Oh, there it is!" It was such a delight, like being led blindfolded by the hand and being able to trust my guide to deliver me through the woods.

Reid's world-building also stands out. It lands in perfect synchrony with the plot; the industrialization of Oblya caused Marlinchen's father to lose his standing as a great wizard, keeps their situation on the verge of poverty, and brings the temptations of the outside world that put the daughters in conflict with their wizard father. Juniper and Thorn spends only just enough time on the worldbuilding to paint a vivid portrait of local life and imply the scope of the world beyond Oblya's gridiron streets. Reid neatly avoids the temptation to over-design her world with more details than the story can use; the entire tale occurs in Oblya, so she sticks close to Oblya, to great effect.

If there's any quibble I have with Juniper and Thorn, it's in the overuse of simile in the early chapters. It's clearly meant to establish the gothic atmosphere, with striking metaphor that calls up gory or spooky symbols, but early on it seems that every other line contains such a line. While each simile and metaphor has the intended effect, taken all together they can feel over-saturated and lose their impact. This issue lightens up as the story continues, and eventually these similes become more clearly defined as part of Marlinchen's own grim and violent thoughts.

A few warnings, however; if you're sensitive to depictions of sex, gore, sexual assault, or abuse, this book may not be for you. All four appear throughout this book, and while the depictions vary in explicitness and intensity, Reid doesn't shy away from their effect on Marlinchen's psyche.

All in all, an excellent adult fantasy fairy tale! I would highly recommend this book to fans of dark fiction, especially dark fantasy, and those seeking a fairy tale with more bite.

#juniper and thorn #ava reid #reading #book rec #book review #? is this a book review?

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d3adbr3inc3lls · 7 months

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Honestly, I'm not excited for Amethio's whole arc(??) It's gonna be so angsty and I'm not prepared.

In the opening we see how truly alone Amethio is, whilst everyone had happier scenes, especially the two scenes surrounding Amethio's being more family-like as some mentioned before, Amethio is alone, training intensly with his Corviknight and Ceruledge, probably to be recognised, be a more valuable asset, and to show that he isn't a kid anymore, he's an independent "adult", or he's adult enough to be treated like one, paired with the lyrics which are something along the lines of running to a future which is a simile(??) as Amethio did run to his future, he grew up too fast, he is mature for his age because he wants to prove that he is useful and that he isn't a kid anymore and is actually independent enough to be taken seriously.

I'm also interested in what will happen next, because imo these are the things that Amethio could/might do within the next episodes:

- Isolate himself in a fit of sadness and guilt for loosing a battle, he might even feel that he is not good enough, unworthy and that he Ceruledge down.

- He might even start to train intensly again, (this might be during his isolation or completely diffrent), and train more intense, channeling all his negative emotions and feelings into his training to get better in hopesnto show that he is good enough,

- He may also build his walls up higher, trying to squeeze any bit of emotion left in him out, and try to completely block everything out, which may cause him to push everyone away,

- He might go the completely diffrent route and his mask will crumble further until he's vulnerable around others, (most likely around Zir and Conia though, as he'll probably try to act mature around the admins, or as mature as he can)

- He may also take more missions to distract himself from the pain and guilt, hoping that these emotions will pass, (Although I do think that he wouldn't do this, mostly because he disobeyed his superior and I think he wouldn't be afraid to do it again,)

Idk though, I just really hope he gets to heal, (A meaning of Amethyst is 'healing' or smthng similar, and Gamfreak doesn't randomly choose names, so it only makes sense), if he doesn't get to heal, I'll re-write cannon to make sure he does. Gamefreak isn't rlly afraid to give trauma to sons (and daughter) of pokémon villains, so it would make sense for Amethio to be the son of Gibeon, but I just hope that he doesn't get physically abused by Gibeon, I'd cry istg-

#I really hope gets to heal in the end #Pokemon New Horizons #Pokemon HZ #Amethio #pokemon #pokemon horizons

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thehigh-waytohell · 3 months

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Final revision of season 1 hell yeah you guys know the drill patch notes are below (also apologies that this one took forever I kept walking away from the computer due to the physical full body cringe and forgetting for weeks):

Clarified some points of Joe and Andy’s plan to make it canon compliant and in line with the previous chapter

Lowered the original needlessly high emotions of Andy and Andrea in their hotel room with a not-crying baby

Made Patrick blood loss symptoms a little more apparent (what can I say i’m a stump-whump girlie before all else)

Removed pete’s weird simile about rotten fish (I literally make a joke about how he can’t lie and no human being would smell like this after not showering for a few days that’s like… a decomposition smell, not a sweat thing)

Removed implication that Pete was somehow finding time to sleep with their captor

Removed dialogue stolen from “The Social Network”

No longer imply that patrick has a thing for hannah/pete

Attempts have been made to tone down melodrama

Fixed all the dialog in Joe vs the two vampires because my god. Why was I allowed to write.

“Living” vampire corrected to “other” vampire as vampires in my cannon aren’t “alive” per se

Added “like the world’s worst, goriest scarf” because that seems like the sort of fun descriptor that The Kids (™) are into

(y’all andy girlies must be so starved for content the andy sections were Not Well Written)

Tried to better balance Patrick being an adult man who probably does not want to have a breakdown in front of everyone with Patrick being a human teenager who graduated high school like a year before this particular trauma (aka toning down the infantilism while still making it abundantly clear that he is young and Going Through It)

Turned a lot of lengthy sentences into shorter sentences because boy howdy can I abuse commas

#thwth revisions #dead on arrival pt 2 #yeah that's all #pete chapter still a work in progress i'm trying y'all #can't fuckin wait to get to this finale

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ashintheairlikesnow · 3 months

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🥺✅️

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

When Chris hallucinates his mom during WRU and also I'm Here, when his memories come to the surface and he has to face all the ugliness he has survived all at once... Both of those always get my throat tight. Any piece where I contrast Chris with his parents and Chris with Nat, Jake, etc where you see he still has a family, even after losing his own.

Any time Jake deals with the legacy of child abuse and how it still is woven into his adult life today. Any time Kauri's internal monologue becomes repetitions of ways Owen has insulted him, and sometimes he doesn't even realize it's not his own thoughts.

Nat struggling with the weight of the lives she is responsible for gets to me a lot, too.

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

Hm. Definitely the idea of someone wearing a mask after significant trauma and having to learn how to take the mask off, every story has some of that. I think also complicated relationships with imperfect parents or relatives... I definitely, in a more technical sense, use a LOT of metaphors and similes, even when I don't mean to and can't figure out where they keep coming from.

#writing asks

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courtz-thoughtz · 3 months

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Demon Copperhead (2022) Barbara Kingsolver

📚 5/5 📚

Demon Copperhead is a modern-day adaptation of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, a mid-1800’s novel that follows the mostly unfortunate journey from birth to adulthood of a young English boy named (you guessed it) David Copperfield, exploring themes of class and gender along the way. In similar fashion, Demon Copperhead takes the reader on the tumultuous travels of Damon Fields (nicknamed Demon Copperhead), born and grown in rural Lee County, Virginia.

I won’t sugar coat it; this kid was dealt a shitty hand from the get-go. Born in a trailer park to a single teen mother who abuses drugs, lumped with an abusive and arrogant stepfather, and then thrown into foster care, all the while navigating his own trials with addiction, poverty, love, loss, heartache, and friendship.

Despite the somewhat depressing narrative, Kingsolver litters this book with a stunning array of clever similes via an endless stream of adolescent consciousness that had me stifling obnoxious laughter on the bus more than once.

The thing I loved the most about this book was undoubtedly Mr Copperhead himself – being so privy to his boyish inner monologue made me feel like a close friend. I found myself hopeful every time he was on the verge of a win, then utterly heartbroken each time that hope was inevitably thwarted.

Another high point for me is the exceptionally entertaining turns of phrase and character descriptions. My personal favourite is this one about young Emmy Peggott from Chapter 4:

“She was a skinny sixth grader with long brown hair and this look to her, cold-blooded. Carrying around at all times a Hello Kitty backpack that she looked ready to bludgeon you with, then tote around your head inside.”

This revamped coming-of-age story also provides a thought-provoking exploration into the opioid crisis, classism, and the theory that your environment, particularly in the formative years of life, shapes your thoughts, your beliefs, and in many cases, your future. As a regional Australian citizen who has seen one too many failed futures due to a lack of geographical opportunity, this book touched my heart and I’m sure will touch the hearts of many who understand the plights of children who are forced to grow up too fast through no fault of their own.

I award this book with five out of five, my highest honour (not that my honour means anything because who even am I) and I’d like to send a personal thanks to whatever planets aligned to enable my accidental stumble across what I’d now call one of my all-time favourite books (and my all-time favourite protagonist).

Thanks for signing on to read Courts Thoughts on this one.

Cheers

#book review #book club #books and reading #barbara #kingsolver #demon copperhead #David copperfield

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phantom-of-the-ruckus · 2 years

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Wait....what if they're actually a cult of puppets.... (TW: for mentions of cults and spoilers)

I found this thread on Twitter and Andrew Allen (one of the writers of the game) said the following

I'm starting to think the whole "Family thing" may not be like "Oh they're an actual family" but rather a "What if this is a plot line is a more obscure reference to actual cults, and a some sort of tw: for serial life killers"///The Charles Manson cult. Who also referred to each other as family"//

I want to add things that reinforced this point or something that might be related to that theory.

The fact that Mortimer (as far as in the gameplay) is the only true voice and it's always right about stuff. What I mean with this is that I was wondering why the characters never hated Mortimer even tho he pretty much verbally and physically abuse them. Even at the last tape of their storyline (minor spoilers) Riley never said Mortimer was a bad leader but just said that he was becoming unsteady.

Mortimer's changing behavior towards the tapes. I won't give spoilers since I don't want to spoil stuff for everyone. I just realized that Mortimer does kinda have that slow descent into madness and paranoia that cult leaders tend to have as their rule start to become more unsteady and abusive.

This particular chorus + one of Mortimer's sentences in show everyone.

(old pic that I shared)

"Show everyone" is the official collaboration within the creators of Hello Puppets and Kyle Allen, which also worked like an announcement for the midnight show. I'm starting to wonder if this song was the first clue to the lore.

I also always wondered why they changed the chorus in the last verse after Mortimer sang his verses.

It kinda sounds pretty cult-y to me

Also regarding the whole they're related drama. I personally believed Owen was just setting the dynamic due to using the word "like" which in most connotations is used to referred similarities and is used in similes

Ex: He was as red as a red like/ She was crying like a baby.

Then he uses "Whose/who's" which in writing context and in connotation is establishing a character to be something.

Owen also went to say Daisy was like a mom figure, so that kinda reinforces the idea. So it's something like Daisy is a mom friend, Nick and Riley are rivals who have some sort of sibling dynamic

I am still not going to do any cannon x cannon as nothing as there is still uncertainty with this whole situation. Don't try to twist my words, as I'm just explaining my perspective and I do intend on just keep my focus away from the whole drama and do only Cannon x OC.

Feel free to add things up if you like, and please be respectful

Link to the twitter (is on word)

#hello puppets #hello puppets midnightshow #twitter threads #theories #tw: spoilers #tw: cult mention #tw: mentions of ab #Riley Ruckus #Owen Gubberson #Mortimer Handee #Daisy Danger #Nick Nack #tw: for referencing real life killers #tw: charles manson

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bloodxhound · 6 months

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COMMON MISCONCEPTION(S). That Ray hates his father. He would like people to believe so, as he would like to believe it himself, but the truth is—he doesn’t. When he was a child, he outright idealized him. To Ray, he appeared larger than life, untouchable, almost god-like. The man was surrounded by people who respected him and coveted his recognition. Ray was no different, until that feeling slowly gave way to fear, resentment, anger, and disappointment over the years. What remains after his father’s execution is a lot of confusion, regret and the question whether there couldn’t have been a better end to all of this. It’ll take him quite a while to work through his emotions.

AN IMPORTANT HEADCANON. Sometimes when he’s being arrogant or obnoxious it’s intended as a defense mechanism, rather than a manifestation of his high confidence or enjoyment of exasperating others. To some extent, that behavior is how he weasels out of situations that make him feel awkward or vulnerable. He struggles to take someone’s gratitude or a genuine compliment. Someone complimenting him on something superficial like his appearance? Whatever, no big deal. But someone giving him a heartfelt thank-you? No, thanks. He’ll let you know how great he is himself so you can roll your eyes and he can move on from the situation.

A USELESS HEADCANON. You know that embarrassing moment when you accidentally push against a door you’re supposed pull? Couldn’t be Ray. He’ll just keep on pushing until he unhinges the entire door and then walks through. There, problem solved.

POTENTIAL TRIGGERS. In general, you can expect anything that you’d find in the A.ce A.ttorney games. Murder, death, violence, etc. Other sensitive subject matters that may crop up are mentions of emotional and physical child abuse, mental illness ( depression, dissociative amnesia ), and alcoholism. Personally, I’m fine with mostly any subject matter in threads / backstories, as long as it’s handled respectfully. Since A.ce A.ttorney isn’t a terribly dark franchise I’m more than happy to keep subject matters limited to what is discussed in the games though.

SOMETHING YOU ENJOY ABOUT (WRITING) THEM. Getting to write dog metaphors / similes to my heart’s content? Bullying my friends’ muses? Getting yelled at in d/iscord because he did something stupid? < 3 More seriously though, there’s so much I enjoy about writing Ray that I struggle to pinpoint just one thing. He’s the culmination of all the crime / thriller / detective media I love and all the character tropes I enjoy, and I like that I get to explore those in my own way!

SOMETHING YOU WANT OTHERS TO KNOW BEFORE WRITING WITH THEM. He may be a grump generally speaking, but it’s not necessarily his default attitude towards everyone. Defense attorneys, prosecutors and authority figures are received with antagonism until they’ve proven their integrity to him. He cannot stand journalists, politicians, and criminals ( who committed serious offenses ) — and he will let them know that. But everyone else? Entirely depends on them. Some types of people are met favorably from the get-go, too. Forensics, other detectives, beautiful women, kind people who remind him of his mother, etc. He often cares more about people than he lets on. Even if he bullies them. Sometimes especially if he bullies them.

tagged by: @clemencetaught (●'◡'●) / tagging: @kagoshou, @virtusdemonte, @lovlorne, @silenthcwl, @tenacquity, @kamipyre, @edgelord-dl6 ( miles! though i would love to know your takes on james as well :flushed: ) & you, reading this ! ♡

#【♞】 tag game.#【♞】 chr. study.#hmm idk if the father thing is rlly a misconception tbh #but i feel like? bc my writing is colored by ray's perception ofc it might give off the vibe he truly hates him ?

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hajihiko · 2 years

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how would you rank the sdr2 kids in terms of how easy it would be for junko to turn them into ultimate despair?

Ooooh this is a fun ask I'm gonna take my time w this one see u when it's ready

This is not "everyone gets hypnotized" btw this is "everyone gets manipulated to shit" and also just mmy speculation

Nagito: already pretty radical in thinking, already showed how he'll play the bad guy to incite the good guys into action. Doesnt have a lot of years left so he could be convinced that this was the only way for him to ever see the world he wants to see in his own lifetime, by speeding up the process of despair-to-hope. Doing it for a "good" reason, totally believes the world will be a better place after all is said and done.

2. Mikan: long history of abuse, was I think supposed to be one of Junkos first, with Junko being the first person to be 'nice' to her? Would be somewhat easy to make her dependent on Junko's gross simile of love. She also wants power over people (to make sure they can't/ wont hurt her) so as soon as you dangle the possibility of her new and slightly less shitty life being taken from her, should she not cooperate, I think she'd fold easily. Also wow she does show some concerning tendencies.

3. Peko: If Fuyuhiko had already been gotten, she'd follow easily, at first maybe to make sure he's safe, but unfortunately I think that a despaired Fuyuhiko wouldn't be above manipulating or ordering Peko around, and she's already half-brainwashed by the Kuzuryuu family. She's proven that she can and will kill. I think if she perceived it as for other people's safety, she'd do it more easily. Follows orders.

4. Impostor: such a good person, but regrettably also super sad. At first I thought maybe they'd be very hard to corrupt, but considering how lonely and ghostly they are, it might actually be kind of easy to both give them access to a lot of disguises (easier to pretend to be someone who's super recently and secretly dead) and also a chance to figure out who they themselves are. Even if that person is a super cruel and evil one, I don't think that's an objection as long as it's a very present and dynamic personality (they did want to impersonate Byuakuya after all) that can be switched off and on at will.

5. Hiyoko: already has some sadistic tendencies and comes from a position of power, but not at all independent, also childlike way of thinking king so easy to mould. Superiority complex a bit. She doesn't like working with people though or taking orders, so she'd need something decidedly in it for her, like all the extra power and safety and ability to bully people.

6. Fuyuhiko: Raised with the idea that killing and violence is necessary and not that big of a deal, has proven that he's capable of murder under the right circumstance. If he's isolated from his family and Peko, it's probably easy to tap into his general anger. What gets in the way is how he doesn't usually want to involve 'civilians' in crime and is kind of a stickler for rules, so I think if he was convinced that the school itself sucked, and then the people behind the school, and then the government, by then he'd be powerful enough to just do whatever he (Junko) wants.

7. Gundham: not a huge fan of people and very isolated, I think maybe he could be got with Poison Ivy style radicalism? Like "look at how badly these people treat animals, its fine to treat them the same way" kind of. He's already got his own evil narrative, maybe wrapping the whole thing up in a fantasy would get him too. Go forth Actual Overlord of Ice, commit actual atrocities, you're such a tragic villain.

8. Akane: Kind of gullible and easily manipulated, also she loves fighting and proving herself so I think she can could be manipulated into like, Proving She's The Best by fighting more and more and being cheered on by people until it escalates into straight up murder. I think her family back home would be the biggest obstacle but those could be taken of.

9. Souda: generally pretty cowardly, maybe joining more out of self preservation than anything else. Maybe some real opportunities to make his mechanical dreams come true, get away from his dad & make some money, be the invincible punk he wants to be. Might also wanna impress people so if he got peer pressured by, say, Sonia, he'd be pretty gone I think.

10. Teru: Money, power and general lack of strong morals, also kind of cowardly? I think if he wasn't the first one, and saw how powerful all the villain-hopefuls are, he'd be likely to join out of self preservation like Souda (and the opportunity to make money for his mom and save his restaurant).

11. Mahiru: She's very responsible and against violence and murder, so I dont know that she'd ever really go that route, but she doesn't really need to be a killer herself. She *does* feel inferior to her mom the war photographer, and Junko is basically starting an apocalypse, and Mahiru states that a photographer should always be taking pictures even of upsetting things. So I think she'd be documenting everything while doing nothing to stop it, basically compliant through apathy and negligence.

12. Sonia: I kept thinking shed be more morally grey than she turned out to be, but no she's just actually a sweetheart. I guess her calling might just be getting away from her super strict royalty lifestyle and into the spooky grim occult stuff she likes? Like if she somehow tapped REAL deep into her fascination with morbid stuff, she might eventually take a very distant role commanding other people and just watching stuff unfold. Maybe expose her own country for some grim stuff so she loses patriotic faith?

(Peko would be here if Fuyuhiko wasn't already got, girl's loyal as hell)

13. Nekomaru: Listen he's an upstanding dude. I dont even know how he'd get got unless he already had an in with a student that was already corrupted, like Akane, so his protective nature could be abused. Maybe he could start out trying to make others see reason and then end up just kinda going along, idk.

14. Ibuki: Arguably the most well-adjusted? She's so independent and already knows who she is and what she wants, so I think it'd be most about giving her opportunities she could never get from anywhere else, and maybe keeping her in the dark about how destructive the concerts are at first? Maybe convince her it's super metal to have people die at your shows? Not sure tbh

I didn't count Chiaki bc I wasn't super sure about her character re: what's seen in the anime and what's seen in the game, and also not Hajime since he was kind of a special case in the first place (might speculate on him later though).

#Talky talky Tuesday #Talky talky #This was a fun ask to dally with ty

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