#this got longer than I thought it would

[my-insanity-is-an-artform]

Woe, Crack Baby Shitten au be upon thee.

(@bamsara 's little doodle of Nari being dubbed Cult Babysitter and holding a little lamb irrevocably changed my brain chemistry. So of course, I'm now making it everyone else's problem with the headcanon that Narinder is good with children of all ages.)

A couple of months before Lamb gets captured, they meet another lamb or a very small flock that have to split up very quickly after meeting since there's more chance of the lamb species surviving if they aren't all together. In the meeting, Lamb agrees to try continue the lamb species and gets pregnant via *magic* or afab.

Of course, all of the lambs are captured and killed with Lamb being the last, still a few months away from giving birth.

But then they are chosen and resurrected by The One Who Waits.

Fun fact: a fetus can survive for a few minutes after the death of the carrier. (Also this is a world with magic and gods in it. Logic means nothing to me.)

Lamb starts their cult, crusades across the lands and meets all sorts of allies and enemies. All while quietly mourning their entire species and the child that never would be.

Right up until they go into labour.

The baby is lamb through and through with soft wool, wide eyes, tiny cloven hooves and floppy ears.

But the influence of the crown is blazingly obvious since the baby's wool is jet black and they have three red eyes.

I can't tell which would be funnier. Lamb giving birth in The Lonely Shack or while they are physically in The Gateway just post-beating Leshy. Like they were in active labour right throughout fighting Leshy and had no idea. Either way, it's Shocked Pikachu .jpeg all around. (My fucking KINGDOM for a doodle of this.)

Various dot point shenanigans under the cut

There are two ways to go about this. But either way, Baby is not staying in the Cult. Too dangerous, especially if word gets to the Bishops about there being another lamb. So Lamb can and will speed-run this shit. So it takes them about 4-6 years to fully defeat the Bishops.

Baby stays with Ratau:

Lamb goes and yells at TOWW. They are panicking because they have no idea how to raise a probably-half-god baby.

Narinder has no idea what happened right up until Lamb comes in screaming about him being a Baby Daddy and child support.

Ratau is Grandpa now. This is his fate. He embraces the Grandpa life.

Baby learns how to play knucklebones before they can speak.

Shrumy tries to wager with Lamb/Ratau for the whole Baby. Once and only Once.

Baby's first word is dice. Or die.

Baby worships TOWW, but they are a Baby and don't really comprehend worship so the small shrine gets a lot of flowers, neat rocks and some drawings. Narinder always gives a lot of gold for them. And No, it's not favouritism. Shut up.

Baby knows curses. This is concerning for everyone except Baby.

Baby gets a little TOWW doll. It's their favourite, it goes everywhere with them and washing it is a nightmare for everyone involved.

Baby is jokingly referred to as TOWW's most Devoted Follower because of the doll.

↑ this action will have consequences.

When Baby is not so baby, they make stuff out of their wool for TOWW and for his disciples. Or asks their parent to help them make stuff.

Cue Lamb awkwardly giving the three some very wonky scarves or hats.

Baal loves it.

Aym refuses to take his off. Ever.

Narinder is actually upset cause his doesn't fit. He's too big. He had to wear it like a little ring.

Or Baby stays/is brought to the Gateway ala Aym and Baal situation:

If Lamb gives birth in the Gateway, everyone is getting a free midwifery education and free trauma. The cats want a refund.

Ya know when a baby instinctively clasps their little hand around a finger and it's like a crime to pull away? That but with Narinder's big ass claw that Baby can only barely cling to.

Aym cries the first time he holds Baby.

Baal straight-up refuses to give Baby back for a good hour.

Lamb visits at least once a day.

Lamb also brings baby things since a baby will do what a baby will do.

Depending on how old Aym and Baal were when they were gifted, Narinder is either learning all of this for the first time or is reminded of how challenging baby care can be.

Narinder purrs = a zonked Baby.

Baby's first word is Vessel.

Baby is taught to fight. Lamb doesn't like it but accepts it.

Baby has a little lamb doll. It is only due to the fact the afterlife doesn't have dirt that they avoid the nightmare of trying to wash it.

Baby is jokingly referred to as TOWW's most Devoted Follower since they refuse to be parted with him for long.

↑ this action will have consequences.

Lamb teaches Baby about being a lamb and if Aym and Baal join in, well who are they to deny their child's only friends/guardians this?

Narinder and Lamb figure out how to get Baby to teleport to the Living World and Baby gets to visit Grandpa Ratau.

Post-game shenanigans.

Narinder: Give me back my crown. Lamb: Ok. Sure. Narinder: I will now sacrifice my most devoted follower (the Lamb) for my freedom. Lamb: *Kill Bill sirens*

Lamb somehow doesn't kill Aym and Baal and instead kidnaps them via Indoctrination Circle out of spite/ reluctance to hurt them.

Narinder feels betrayed that the Lamb would refuse like this and kidnap his acolytes. He was going to resurrect them! He can't fully commit to raising a child while being the God of Death.

Lamb feels betrayed that Narinder would want to kill their child. After all they've been through together! After the way they saw him treat Baby with such gentleness and now he wants to kill them?!

This comes out in the very final moments right before Lamb goes to give the final blow.

Narinder: You are a vengeful false idol and a traitor! Lamb: At least I'm not a monster who wanted to kill my own child! Narinder: Wait. What.

This devolves into a massive argument with divorced-couple vibes.

Narinder is insulted and a bit hurt they thought he would kill his own child.

Lamb is hurt that Narinder would just demand their sacrifice without even talking to them about the whole situation.

Either way the lesson learned is Narinder needs to be more blunt and Lamb needs to not jump to conclusions.

So they are left with a newly usurped Narinder and a newly crowned Lamb. Oops.

Baby is with Ratau when all of this is going down.

Baby is happy their family is all together properly. Baby is Not Happy about this whole cult thing demanding attention from Their Baba.

The Cult is baffled by the sight of their leader with both a baby and a Spouse? Bitterly Divorced Ex? Estranged Co-parent?! What ever it is, most of them have elected not to touch the whole situation with a 10ft barge pole.

Baby learns what the word Father is and how that word refers to Narinder.

Baby calls Narinder Father/Papa/Daddy. Instant KO.

Narinder somehow gains a small hoard of children that like to follow him. Baby Does Not Approve.

Baby also Does Not Approve of this newly formed rift between their parents.

Cue Parent Trap level of Shenanigans.

Aym and Baal are recruited.

The Hoard of Children are recruited. Baby now Slightly Approves.

Narinder and Lamb have an Actual Conversation after the 18th time they get locked in the confessional together.

This of course evolves into Narilamb.

Bishops are saved from purgatory.

Despite all attempts otherwise, Baby is introduced to them.

Shocked Pikachu .jpeg x4

Maybe after a few more years, not-so-baby Baby wants a sibling.

This got so much longer than I thought but yes. Shitten Shenanigans: Accidental Child Acquisition flavoured.

#cult of the lamb #cotl #Shitten Shenanigans Au #cotl lamb #cotl narinder #narilamb #true devotion #Cotl Aym #Cotl Baal #Cotl Ratau #accidental child acquisition #at least on Narinder's part #long post #I once again do not go here #this got longer than I thought it would #Bam's brain is SO wrinkled and I want to lick it

[osamusriceballs]

Kinktober Day 27 <3

Ushijima x dirtytalk

Warnings: NSFW, fem reader

Words: ~ 2,3 k

Kinktober Masterlist II -> Next day

"Here, Wakatoshi-kun! Look at this!"

A phone gets shoved into his face, the brightness level way too high for comfort, but he squints to take a look at the screen. A small grunt leaves his lips at the lack of greeting from his red-haired friend, but he chooses to focus on the screen instead.

It's an Instagram post with a picture of him, one taken during the Olympics. He looks at the picture, confused, but then Tendou starts scrolling through the comments

"I'd combust if he called me 'baby' with that deep voice."

"Do you think he's vocal in bed?" Reply: "He doesn't talk much in interviews, so I doubt it." Reply: "What a waste. His voice is so hot."

"LOOK AT HIS ABS *drools*"

"The world is going crazy ever since you said 'baby' in that one interview!" Tendou wildly gestures with his phone still in his hand, his grin almost smug when he elbows Ushijima. A frown appears on the spiker's face as he tries to recall the interview. It was one that he wasn't too fond of, due to the number of personal questions that had been asked. Way too personal questions for his liking.

"Ushijima-san, do you have any plans to start a family soon? When can we expect a baby, a little Ushijima junior?" "Baby?" he had echoed, clearly taken aback by this question, something that the interviewer probably failed to notice, but to the people close to him, it was fairly obvious. The silence after this question lead to speculation on the internet about his relationship status, something that he has kept private so far.

"It wasn't in a sexual way." Ushijima states after skimming through more comments, raising his eyebrows when the messages get more explicit and vulgar. "I was surprised when he asked the question."

"Doesn't matter! The world is going feral now, everybody wants to be Wakatoshi's baby! And even I have to admit that I got butterflies when I heard you say that. Y/n is really lucky~" Tendou hums, mischief clear in his eyes, but Ushijima fails to follow his train of thoughts with this.

"Why is she lucky?"

"Because she gets you to say sweet and dirty things to her all day long. You can't fool me, Wakatoshi-kun; I'm not only your best but also your oldest friend." Tendou winks and strolls ahead, oblivious to the way Wakatoshi is left standing there with a frown on his face, still.

xxxxx

"Y/n?"

You rub your arms dry with a fluffy towel when his voice comes from the other side of the door.

"Hmm?" you hum, smiling excitedly because he is finally back home. "I'll be out in a second."

"Yes, please. We need to talk." You hear him lean against the door frame, clearly waiting for you to come out.

You freeze at his words, eyes growing wide when realization settles in and you fully comprehend his words. "Talk? Talk about what?" you know that you sound shrill and loud, but you can't help yourself but to feel nervous at his serious tone- even more serious than normally.

"About us." Your jaw drops, and you quickly reach for your bathrobe, hastily unfolding the fabric to its full length.

"What do you mean about us? Is there a problem with us?" You finally manage to pull your arms through the fabric, quickly wrapping the fabric along your body before you open the door. You're met with Ushijima's broad chest as he quickly straightens to his full posture. His olive eyes roam over your body, lingering for a short moment on your exposed cleavage before they return back to your face. He looks nervous, there is no other way to put it. "I'm not sure. I think there could might be a problem."

"And what would that be?" You cross your arms in front of your chest, your eyes boring into his face as if you could find answers for his unusual behavior there. You've never seen him like this before. His usual warm eyes are clouded with worry, his hands fidgeting with his phone in his hands. "Toshi? What is it? Please, talk to me." You're tempted to take the phone out of his hands, but you refrain from touching him, not when you don't know what's going on.

"Are you happy with our sex life?" His eyes don't leave your face, not for even the slightest second to see your reaction, and your jaw drops at the sudden question- you expected a lot, but definitely not this.

"I'm- I mean, yes I am? Shouldn't I be? Are you unhappy?" You take a slight step back, creating distance between the two of you, baffled by the sudden implication that he thinks that you're not satisfied. Or that he might not be. Sex with Wakatoshi is great- hard, rough, and passionate. He knows how to fuck you, that is for sure, but he also knows how to be gentle and sweet, how to take care of you and spoil you, especially during aftercare. You lack nothing in your sex life with him- and you hope that he feels the same.

"I am happy. Very. I enjoy sex with you very much much," he states firmly, but that only confuses you more.

"Why are you asking me then? What made you think that I could be unhappy?" You move closer to him, worry etched in your features when you finally take his phone and put it aside to grab his hands.

"Do you want me to talk more? To be more vocal? I saw a video and people kept on commenting how they want me to call them 'baby' and some more things. Would you like that too?" The way he asks nonchalantly like he was just talking about dinner made this even more embarrassing somehow.

"For you to call me 'baby' during sex?"

"Hmm." He nods and looks expectantly at you, his hands squeezing yours while his gaze seems somewhat calmer now that he is convinced that you're satisfied.

"You... you can call me whatever you want. I'm fine with it." You try to sound unbothered and calm, but the slightly shaking note shows how the thought of him calling you "baby" or "his pretty girl" while he thrusts into you does something to you. He nods, hesitating for a second, but then his hands suddenly drop yours to pull you in by the waist, his other hand coming to your chin while he leans down until his lips are close to your ear.

"My baby. Or would you rather be my babygirl?" His honey-like voice almost puts a spell on you, and you find yourself shivering in his arms, thighs involuntarily clenching together. "S-sounds good, Toshi." You bring your hands up to his chest, feeling the hard muscles under his shirt and his slow and steady heartbeat.

"And what would my babygirl like me to do? Does my babygirl want to be touched?" He lowly mumbles against the shell of your ear, your heart now beating faster when his hands start to roam over your body. "Yes," you breathlessly answer, hands slightly clenching into the fabric of his shirt. Definitely not what you had expected as the outcome of the conversation, but vocal Wakatoshi makes your pussy throb with every single word.

"My babygirl needs me to touch her, huh? I will take care of that pretty little princess cunt." He kisses your cheek, and your legs feel like jelly at this point. You cling to him, hanging on every single one of his words. You feel your arousal growing, feel how you start to get wet the more his hands keep touching you.

"More," you whisper, feeling hot and bothered while he keeps on touching you and pressing kisses to your neck. "More? Is my babygirl needy? That pretty princess cunny needs me to touch her?" He lifts the bathrobe just enough to place one hand on your thigh, and you feel like your body is on fire when he touches you there.

"Yes," you gasp, your hands now finding purchase on his shoulders while you cling onto him like your life depends on it. "What does that little princess cunny want? My fingers?" He grazes his fingertips along your thigh, moving dangerously close to your pussy under the bathrobe- bare, and basically creaming for him the longer he keeps playing with your body.

"Or my tongue?" he licks along the column of your neck, and you gasp at his words, the sensation hot and forbidden god. "I want to taste you, baby. You always taste so sweet. Do you want my tongue between your legs? Licking at your pretty pussy?" His fingers reach your throbbing pussy, slightly parting your folds and dipping in your wetness.

"Do it, do it, Toshi, please," you press your legs together around his hand, effectively caging him right where you need it. "Hmm, but you have to cum on my fingers first." He pecks your cheek and pulls his hand away from your legs, just to place it on your hips to guide you towards the bed. "Lay down for me, baby. Open that bathrobe for me."

His baritone echoes through the room, and you feel yourself doing everything like you're in a haze, full of need for him. "Hmm, that's my good girl." He hums apporvingly when you discard the bathrobe on the floor. Your body is trembling in the cool air of the room, but Ushijima is quick to join you on the bed and to hover above you, radiating so much heat that you instantly feel warm.

"Baby, spread your legs for me. Show me everything." You take a deep breath and slowly part your legs, revealing your glistening folds to him. A shiver runs down his body, and he clears his throat before he speaks again, his voice now lower when he is obviously bothered and turned on by the situation. "Look at how wet you are for me. All for me."

You frantically nod, anticipation rushing through your body while you wait for him to touch you. His fingers finally roam over your thighs, and your head falls back into the pillow at the way he touches you, the way he knows exactly where and how to touch you.

"So impatient. I can't wait to be inside of you, to feel you around me." Your gaze falls to the tent in his pants, the thought of him fucking you making your head spin and your pussy throb with need. His fingers move between your legs, moving along your folds and pressing against your clit. You moan at the sensation, your hands fisting the sheets when his thumb prods on your entrance.

"You look so pretty like this. Just waiting for me to touch you, to fuck you. And you feel so good around my fingers." He pushes his thumb inside of you, and you almost close your legs around him. "I will make you feel so good. I will make you cum on my fingers, on my tongue, on my cock." You clench around the digit at his words, your eyes focused on his handsome face while he keeps on rubbing your clit. "More, please more," you whine your body shaking underneath his. "Shhh, I'll give you more. I'll give you what you need, baby." His eyes roam down your body and you almost protest when he pulls his thumb out, just to quickly replace it with three of his fingers. "Oh, Toshi," you whine, your hips arching into him, and you start to fuck yourself on his fingers. He keeps the fast rhythm, pulling his fingers out, and pushing them back inside, curling them pulling them out again. "You feel so good. You're is creaming for me, look at that." His words only add fuel to your desire, and you grab his shoulders to push him down to you to connect your lips in a needy kiss. He groans into your mouth, his movements slowing down for a few moments before he sets his rhythm again, a fast and punishing pace now.

Your nails rake along his bare shoulders, leaving red marks, and he groans at the sensation. "Come on, baby girl. Let me feel you clench around me. Cream on my fingers, make a mess for me," his voice sends you over the edge, and you moan his name when you cum, your walls pulsing and clenching softly around his fingers. He groans your name, sweet praises of how you're his good girl, how pretty you look under him, how much he loves you, leave his lips and your body arches from the bed into his while your face contorts in pure bliss.

He prolongs your high, making sure to keep his pace and to curl his fingers just the right way, and your body goes limp when he finally slows down. His lips meet yours, pressing chaste and loving kisses to your face. "Was that okay?" The slight frown on his face is back, a clear sign of him being deep in thoughts when he pulls back after a few more kisses.

"More than okay. I think I could cum from your voice alone." You smile up at him and cup his cheek, the afterglow making you feel so good while you lay under him.

He raises an eyebrow, curiosity now sparkling in his eyes at your words, and you are quick to explain further. "I- I didn't mean that literally. Like- I just wanted to say that your voice is hot. And you are hot." Your cheeks heat up when he simply nods and hums, a mild smile on his lips.

"I want to test that out. Let's see if I can make you cum with my voice alone, baby."

#haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu smut #ushijima #ushijima smut #ushijima x reader #this got longer than I thought it would #I thought the small bit of backstory would be a nice touch #I hope you enjoy this! #just two more days #T.T #I'll probably post Suna's part on friday #and the finale on Sunday #just to let you know! <3 #I just realized how much I'm missing Tendou T.T #I'll probably write something for him soon! <3 #BTW! I am pretty convinced that Ushijima looked up some phrases online beforehand #and he will use baby for an eternity now #But he'll eventually come along and start to use a variety of names and dirty things to say

[humanperryfic]

to be honest, i'd rather not have perryshmirtz be actually canon.

like, would it be cool? yeah! has DTVA been teasing it for months? yeah!

...would it also involve the perryshmirtz tag being filled with people going "eW WtF whYYY DisNeY i neEd eYebleAcH" [plaintext: "ew wtf whyyy Disney i need eyebleach] from people who haven't seen the show since they were ten? yes! that is 100% a thing that would happen!

and i don't want that to happen. sure, some people would have their "come to the dark side we have cookies" moment, but how many more won't? how many more will be harassing us for a ship? the pnf community is pretty chill with the whole "don't like don't read/YKINMKATO (Your Kink Is Not My Kink And That's Okay)/curate your space to your comfort and ignore/block what you don't want to see" thing but with the revival it's gonna get to a larger audience, and the larger the audience, the less nuance there is with that sort of thing.

i just want my subtext. let the ones who ship come to us.

Also I want things like

Bi Vanessa (maybe even Stacy/Vanessa??)

Actually all the teens/young adults being bi/queer

More with the whole Baljeet and Buford thing

More with Baljeet and Isabella's heritage

Trans/queer background characters (and even jokes! there are queer jokes that could be really funny!)

Danville Pride/Pride Episode

hell, even Bi Doofenshmirtz having terrible luck with guys too

too, and I think any explicitly canon Perryshmirtz would kinda overshadow that. By a lot. And they all deserve better.

#this got longer than i thought it would #phineas and ferb #pnf #dr doofenshmirtz #perry the platypus #agent p #heinz doofenshmirtz #i hope this isn't too controversial #rb with your thoughts!!

[lifblogs]

I went to such a shitty doctor today.

The dude lied that you can see bulging discs on x-rays, and then he said I clearly didn’t have any. Joke’s on him I know I have bulging L5 and S1 discs. So yeah, liar.

He was also apparently supposed to prescribe a sedative for my MRI tomorrow since that’s the norm around here with people who have spine injuries, and I get that because that table hurts. But nope, he did not. Yeah, it’s kind of a moot point because the sedative usually prescribed makes me feel like crap and does not sedate me at all, but he clearly ignored my pain and needs here.

My pain was further ignored. I was told to move around. Good luck having working ear drums after that since I’ll just scream the entire time from AGONY. I can barely walk, can barely handle sitting in a wheelchair, and this dude tells me to move around? I can’t lift my left leg!!

He barely looked at me, barely felt where I had pain, and then lifted my left leg WITHOUT ASKING FOR PERMISSION FIRST WHICH CAUSED ME A TON OF PAIN.

So yeah, calling the office to get a new doctor tomorrow, or else I’m stuck in bed till the 31st waiting for this guy’s shit opinion and shit behavior, and fucking lies.

This asshole doesn’t care about me, my pain, or my quality of life at all. Pretty sure if a patient goes to you in such dire need that you should do something to figure out what’s going on. I know I would listen to someone who came in in a wheelchair and complained of pain so bad they’ve been bedridden and have had their brother helping them out with daily needs.

Like, why the actual fuck does it feel like no one wants to take care of me? My life, and my pain mean nothing to most of the doctors I’ve seen for this. I’m always waiting for the next appointment or the next doctor to feel better, and they do jack shit while I’m getting worse every day. Like, yeah, an ER doctor gave me excellent pain meds and told me what he suspects is the problem, but god, I wish I could’ve gone inpatient to get an MRI there and have someone take care of me because no one’s doing it out here like he assumed they would.

I uh, didn’t want to be here earlier because of all this. I think I’m better on that front, but I am so. DONE.

#personal #this got longer than i thought it would

[onmytape]

please do tell about the pg cougars

okay i’m kissing you on the mouth rn for asking. i’ll try to be chill about this

in general the team is very close. partially bc prince george is so much further from other teams so travel is longer and also bc there’s nothing to do in pg and it’s so isolated from other cities so they basically just spend a lot of time with each other. something about being the joke of the league makes you closer…idk. the team this season has been the best they’ve been in a long time. they made it to round two of the playoffs for the first time in 17 years this season (only to be swept by seattle) but they’ve been fun to watch! and they have two top prospects that will be drafted in june. 

here's the notable players from this season. i was going to make a separate post for wheaty/wiebe to beg dallas/anaheim fans to like them next season but whatver. I can’t wait. 

chase wheatcroft #29 (from calgary, ab) was traded a few times and had a mediocre juniors career and went undrafted. winnipeg traded him in the 2022 offseason to pg because they had other 20 year olds and couldn’t keep him, but everyone likes to bring up that he was traded for a fourth round pick and then became one of the whl's top scorers. he’s said that he didn’t fit into the role winnipeg wanted for him, which was an older, enforcer type. he’s a lover, not a fighter. Even though pg has a reputation for being a physical, dirty team, he was a perfect fit. they gave him an “a” and the team and city loved him. literally so humble. he was a favourite for media stuff and the post-game show. he was signed by dallas in march.  

jaxsen wiebe #22 (moose jaw, sk) another undrafted overager, wiebe was also traded a few times. he won the ed chynoweth cup with edmonton last year. He’s a bit of a short fuse and is hated by most whl fans. before getting traded to pg he had five suspensions over three years for a total of 18 games. A lot of dirty hits/fights and generally a poor attitude, yelling at refs and fans, etc. he was suspended on his last team when he was traded in november but eventually he became really well liked in pg. eventually he and wheaty were put on the same line (the team socials call them wiebecroft) and wheaty tamed him...???and taught him how to love...<???idk??. he was invited to and attended the columbus dev camp in 2022 and he was signed by anaheim in march. during the playoffs he was kicked out of game three against seattle for a hit on colton dach and given a suspension so he didn’t get to play his last whl game. 

dynamic duo - riley heidt #27 (saskatoon, sk) and koehn ziemmer #13 (mayerthorpe, ab) are two forwards projected to go first round/early second round in the draft. Both were drafted to pg (ziemmer in 2019, heidt in 2020) and have played their whole junior careers there. despite technically being draft competition, they’ve been dubbed the “dynamic duo” because of their linemate chemistry. theoretically heidt is the playmaker and ziemmer scores the goals but in reality heidt's a princess and ziemmer is his enforcer. they played on opposite teams at the chl prospect game.

ethan samson #4 (delta, bc) was drafted by the flyers in 2021. unanimously voted the captain by the team in 2022 and totally deserves it. looks like he could kill you (and he could) but he also pats his teammates heads like mama duck when they score. was invited to 2022 wjc camp but didn’t make the team. part of the trio.

Honourable mention: goalies (the "ty's") tyler brennan #30 (winnipeg, mb) drafted to new jersey in 2022, ty young #33 (coaldale, ab) drafted to vancouver in 2022. brennan was the third goalie for canada's u18 team in 2021, also invited to the 2023 wjc team camp but didn't make the cut. part of the trio.

blake eastman #28: the third and final part of the “trio” with samson and brennan. he’s not the best player, a fourth liner. not tough enough to be an enforcer but he is definitely a shit disturber. has never blinked in his life. Eastman is the only one of the trio that wasn’t drafted and no pro team has taken interest in him. the trio was all drafted to the whl in 2018 and have played their entire junior careers in pg. samson and brennan will be moving on next year and it’s highly unlikely the cougars will keep eastman as one of their 20 year olds. i firmly believe he could be the new mascot. If he’s not already. 

the team vibes:

#this got longer than i thought it would #it took me hours to find all the photos and i don't think anyone will actually read the whole thing lol #i hope this conveys the vibes #i can't tell if i love them bc of bias or if they actually are something special #cougarsposting

[blackhannetandco]

My favorite thing about Izzy is that he really is such a competent pirate, like one of the best, he has tailored himself into someone made for survival. But he is also wrong like, all the time. He has little to no clue about how people work beyond "fear is the ultimate motivator," and that's not his fault really, but it does make for a fascinating contradiction between what he's capable of and what he's actually achieving. We talk a lot about how he's the only human among muppets (which has fascinating implications re: Ed but I digress), or how he and Ed were in one genre and suddenly overlapped with another that Ed adapted to much more easily, and that's all true imo, but ultimately it comes down to this I think: Izzy, for all his worldliness, has metaphorically been living in a very specific part of the world and he's never ventured outside of it. And now he's seeing that the world is so much bigger and varied and confusing than he thought it was, and once you open that door to the wider world, you can't close it. You have to live in it.

#this got longer than i thought it would #initially i just wanted to make fun of him but then i thought too much about it rip #israel 'izzy' hands #my posts #ofmd #ofmd meta #i guess

[piquuse]

dunce decorum

ALRIGHT. just so that everyone’s on the same page, this post will contain some housekeeping and what to expect about my portrayal. I’ve also set up a basic rules page for more general things that aren’t mentioned in this post. they both will be updated at need.

in case it isn’t clear, my name is paint, and I am still very new to the TWST storyline and cast; please have some patience with me. I’ve been reading the story translations online to catch up and I don’t mind spoilers, but I honestly didn’t even pick up the game until very recently.

updated: 2022.05.17

1. as we’re following twst’s EN translations, I will not be using Japanese honorifics. instead I’ll be following the EN’s choice of referring to year mates by their given name and seniors by their surname, give or take the exceptions / as relationships progress. staff will receive the usual treatment. given names will reflect his familiarity with the person, while surnames will be used as a sign of respect/distance. it’s also a nod to his former delinquency. nicknames will be rare if at all, since it doesn’t seem like Deuce is the kind of person to use them. maybe under duress.

2. since the cast has been aged up (2 years in Deuce’s case), I’m taking the liberty of adjusting the time frame of his delinquency phase as something that started towards the tail end of middle school and continued through the majority of his high school years. roughly speaking, he would have chosen to clean up his act around the last 1-2 years of high school before receiving his admission to NRU after graduation, so roughly 3 years of delinquency total. this adds about a year and a half of buffer for him to play catch up with his previous affairs before he has to get serious at NRU.

3. the game itself has mentioned that Deuce is a bit of a slow and disorganized person when it comes to the theoretical side of academia, and while I will still be playing up those elements of his character, it’s clear that he can pick up on the subject matter when given opportunity and assistance to thoroughly break down the material. his strength clearly seems to lie with more physically tactile subjects, but aside from some friendly teasing I don’t actually want to push an agenda of learning difficulties being the butt-end of a joke. Deuce may not be the sharpest card in the deck, but that’s why he looks to others for help.

4. there’s also apparently a running trend for him to have dialogue that reference his masculinity, with lines like “I’d lose my man-card if I backed out now” and what not. frankly, I think it’s kind of bullshit and a bit tasteless when you consider the existence of characters like Vil and Riddle, so I will not be using them nearly as often as the game does if at all. however, I will be utilizing that element of his personality as a result of being raised by a single mother; it’s mentioned by him that aside from his mother, there was also an officer who would believe in him when he was blamed for something he didn’t do. so while I don’t agree with the way they’ve chosen to word those particular dialogue lines, I can see how they got there. but by virtue of a longer gap between the end of his delinquency and his current goals, I’ll be writing him as having matured enough to understand that he doesn’t need to worry about those kinds of things. he’ll still be a little immature though, as a momma’s boy.

???. I will be memeing on him, if you couldn’t tell after looking at (gestures at the entire blog).

#` ooc. #` important. #` perspective. #this got longer than i thought it would #still need to finish the profile but now i can grab those asks by the collar like ive been wanting to

[softnsquishable]

One thing about me is I blush at the drop of a fucking hat and I despise it because everyone makes fun of me for it. I don't even have to be embarrassed, it'll just happen.

#it was the same when I was little #i used to squint apparently? #and my mom would make fun of me and call me squint #but it was something i did involuntarily and didn't even know i was doing #and she always insinuated that i only liked tv shows because i had a crush on the boys in the lead roles too #couldn't enjoy a damn thing #this got longer than i thought it would

[clown-owo]

I couldn't get this out of my head

#og post #good omens spoilers #good omens season 2 #good omens #gos2spoilers #i. i am not tagging everyone #only the people i think are important #which are #muriel #ok that's all folks!! #...im kidding #aziraphale #crowley #anathema device #adam young #gabriel #beelzebub #metatron #this took longer than i thought it would because i had so much trouble finding good screenshots on google images #that i just went and got my own #had 2 use a fucking autoclicker to advance frame by frame for the best screenshot #the last one is mean to aziraphale but unfortunately it is funny

[pianokantzart]

YES! GOOD! I’m going to just going to analyze the whole dinner scene, because it’s one of my favorite parts of the movie. 

Mario and Luigi walk in, and immediately the whole room lights up to greet them. Despite everything that follows, one thing is clear: The Mario Brothers are happy to see their family, and the family is happy to see them. 

The whole family confirms that they watched their commercial. Everyone except their mom insists the commercial was a bad idea, but the fact that they all watched it speaks to the fact that there is no indifference regarding Mario and Luigi’s dream. They’re eager to see where this endeavor leads, even if they think it’s going to end in failure. 

The moment Mario and Luigi sit down at the table, their uncles begin laying into them like it’s open season on financially struggling plumbers. Just full blown, no-holds-barred roast mode on their nephews.

Mario is on the defensive, but he doesn’t get angry, he’s just trying to argue his side. Clearly this is typical behavior for Uncle Tony and Uncle Arthur. They’re loud, overly honest, and obnoxiously confident in their opinions. Uncle Arthur, thankfully, has his wife to keep him in check. Uncle Tony, however, who is seated next to poor Luigi, is an absolute menace.

Luigi ignores all the teasing. He is only interested in getting food, but this is not an easy task. Tony’s verbal arguments are all directed at Mario, but Luigi is the one who gets prodded and shoved around, and that makes getting dinner next to impossible.

Luigi attempts to serve himself salad, attempts to ask for a roll, attempts to eat the mushrooms being put on his plate, and at every turn he’s either pushed away or talked over. He is clearly very soft spoken compared to the other men in his family, and never quite had the strength to stand up for himself... after all, everyone means well, they just lack self awareness. It isn’t worth the fight. 

Thankfully, Luigi’s mom comes to the rescue, and puts a bowl of soup in front of her boy. She’s the queen of the caretaker role, making sure all the loose ends are tied up and that everybody eats.

But on the flip side, it’s interesting to note that once the uncles start tearing into Mario, Mario’s Dad serves him up a plate of food. He may have just been serving the person next to him because that was the polite thing to do, but I have a theory...

I think that this wasn’t the first night that Mario and his uncles went at each other. I think Mario’s Dad read the room, and figured that if Mario was going to spend dinner playing defense, he should at least remember to eat while doing so.

It also speaks volumes that Mario’s Dad doesn’t voice his disapproval until Mario asks for his opinion. Before then he avoids the subject and lets everyone else do the talking, but so long as he’s being questioned directly, he can’t help but be honest.

“I think... you’re nuts. You don’t quit a steady job for some crazy dream.” This sounds like a voice of experience. Mario’s Dad has the figure of someone who has worked physical labor for a good portion of his life (look the size of those arms). He may have had dreams of his own when he was younger, but he had a wife and kids to worry about, and family took priority. 

Speaking of family taking priority: “... and the worst part? You’re bringing your brother down with you.” That settles it. The conversation has gone from a casual roast session to dead serious. The entire room falls quiet as Mario puts down his fork and storms off. 

“What’d I say?” Everybody at the table (except the niece, she’s long since checked out) gives Mario’s Dad different versions of the look™. Uncle Tony and Uncle Arthur have the same “Jesus Christ bro, you didn’t have to go there” expression, and Luigi just looks hurt on Mario’s behalf. His Dad, however, is just confused.  

He didn’t get the gravity of what he said. His relationship with his own brothers– loudmouthed schmucks who call their own shots – is completely alien to what Luigi and Mario have. He probably knows Mario is protective of Luigi, but he doesn’t realize the depth of responsibility Mario feels for him. Anyone can see that Luigi is loyal to his brother, but Mario alone knows how loyal he is, and the implication that he’s betraying that loyalty is intensely painful. 

I doubt Uncle Arthur and Uncle Tony truly relate to Mario and Luigi’s relationship either, but they’ve probably teased Mario enough to understand one thing: bringing Luigi into it is a line you do not cross.

Conclusion:

There is a lot of love in the Mario family.

Uncle Tony and Uncle Arthur are definitely the most insufferable of the bunch, but there is no malice in their teasing. While they are brash and overbearing, it’s all in good fun, and they get visibly uncomfortable when things go too far and someone actually ends up hurt. 

Luigi seems to take after his mother; kind, nonconfrontational, and happily invested in a supporting role. While his Mom cares for and assists the family, Luigi cares for and assists his brother, both emotionally and in his business ventures.

Mario, in the meantime, takes after his Dad, who appears to be the oldest of the three brothers. He doesn’t always think before speaking, but he isn’t constantly running his mouth like Arthur or Tony, and acts with the gravity of someone who bears a lot of responsibility. He doesn’t quite “get” his sons, but he knows enough to see that Luigi follows his brother everywhere, and Mario does not always think before jumping into things. Despite what Mario may believe, his Dad doesn’t see him as a “joke” so much as he sees him as an impulsive young man who doesn’t grasp the consequences of his actions. But Mario does understand the consequences of his actions, he just dreams big, and... thanks to Luigi... actually has the support he needs to pursue those dreams. 

#mario movie #mario movie spoilers #super mario brothers movie #Luigi #Mario #Not Art #mario commentary #This got a lot longer than I thought it would #There were a lot of thoughts #Super Mario Brothers #Long Post

[type40thiefoflight]

Thoughts on Season 2:

They’re just letting anyone into Kaer Morhen these days, huh?

White wolf, white wolf, what do you see? All!

Did they make Geralt’s eyes extra yellow this season to contrast with the rest of the witchers?

Is Ciri drinking White Gull? I was under the impression that humans couldn’t handle that stuff.

Who are you and what have you done with Eskel?

Why are all the Wolf medallions different designs? At first I thought it was just Vesemir’s, which would make sense since he’s older and maybe the design had changed since he became a witcher. Then I saw the tree and everyone else’s and no, they’re all different.

Isn’t Coen supposed to be a Griffin? They never really explain why he’s at the Wolf school.

Stregebor is a master manipulator: are his hands really an illusion or are the burnt stumps just a piece of theater to garner sympathy?

Don’t try to make Cahir sympathetic, he’s a weasel

Demon Baba Yaga

Did Francesca and Fringilla start out genuinely wanting to be friends or just use each other and then the friendship happened?

Dara!

Burn by Lin-Manuel Miranda who? I only know Burn by Jaskier the bard.

How does Jaskier know Yennefer is part elf?

Do they really expect us to believe a professional elf smuggler’s going to risk his life just to argue with a dock worker?

RIP Filavandrel’s lute, you will be missed

Wait actually, is this show really expecting me to believe that Jaskier just stopped carrying his lute in a case? Especially since he’s sneaking around and it has a one-of-a-kind, very recognizable design?

If the School of the Wolf needed a certain mutagen to create Wolf witchers, shouldn’t it come from a wolf creature? Or were we supposed to infer that the Elder god the blood came from was a wolf creature?

Not a fan of Geralt’s new armor

RIP Roach, you were the best horse on the continent

I love Jaskier’s tuning fork necklace

Oh so now Geralt talks, just not to Jaskier

This has got to be the smallest continent ever; everywhere is way too close together

Wait that girl was supposed to be Yennefer? She looked nothing like her.

Is Ciri this hyper-plot relevant in the books/games?

Duny is the White Flame?! (queue the book/game fans laughing at me)

Kinda wish we got more monster hunting but that’s just a nit-pick

Valdo Marx when?

As someone who’s only seen the show and read fanfic (how I know about Eskel and Coen), I feel like the show relies too much on watchers having prior knowledge of the books and games. There’s a lot of “witcher stuff” that isn’t really explained.

Across both seasons, the signs are hardly explained and not even referred to as such until the second season; you just have to accept that witchers can do some level of magic, but it’s never said why, what the signs are, or what they do. 

The only hints we get at the signs are: in season 1 Yennefer and Geralt are defending the dragon and Geralt kisses Yenn to boost his Aard and in season 2 Ciri asks Geralt what he did to Roach to calm her down and he tells her about Axii, then later Nenneke tells Ciri to ask about the Aard Incident, but that’s it.

The different schools aren’t brought up at all, which I thought would be a natural progression once Coen was introduced. I figured Ciri would notice his medallion and ask why it was different, prompting Geralt or Vesemir could explain the schools to Ciri and serve as exposition.

The trials are mentioned as a throwaway line without going into detail. We see through Vesemir’s flashbacks that they’re painful and not many boys survived them, but not what they are or what they do to the ones who do survive.

I expected that Ciri learning about the trials would prompt her to ask why Geralt looks so different to the other witchers, serving as further exposition, but that never happened. This was especially odd to me since we saw how he looked as a child in a season 1 flashback where he had grey eyes and brown hair. How did he go from that to extra yellow eyes and white hair?

Vesemir has white hair, but he’s the oldest living witcher and that’s to be expected. It must have been the trials, but everyone else went though the same ones and their hair color didn’t change and they all have the same eye pigmentation. It’s only through checking good old fandom wiki that I learned that Geralt was the only boy in his group to be selected for an extra dose of mutagens which gave him white hair and hyper-pigmented eyes.

I understand that some media is by fans for fans, but it really doesn’t seem fair to not include so much essential information in a show that acts as many fans’ first introduction to the story it’s telling. For someone who already knows what’s going on it’s probably not that big of a deal, but for a newcomer to the IP like me, it was really frustrating having to constantly look up how things were supposed to be.

And to only be aware of many of the details or characterization changed or omitted from season 2 because I happened to read some fanfic or check the fandom wiki seems kind of like lazy writing. “Oh it’s not a big deal, they’re already a fan or they can just look it up if they want to.”

No, you made a show to tell a story, so tell the story. don’t rely on prior knowledge or supplementary materials to do your job for you.

#the witcher #another post lost to the drafts #this got longer than i thought it would #lol whoops #this sounds like i hated everything about season 2 #i promise i didn't

[bishonenspit]

Kaze To Ki No Uta (風と木の詩) on the cover of June Magazine (1987-88)

#kaze to ki no uta #the poem of the wind and the trees #vintage shoujo #keiko takemiya #kazeki #gilbert cocteau #serge battour #my scans #my collection #finally got my scanner up and running 👍so here are these #not sure if these have been scanned at all before but i thought i would anyways #apologies for any creases and scuffs but they are old! and two are just covers lol #note: june ran for longer than the yrs in the description it's just the years the issues are from xox

[reds-skull]

Not Alive, Nor Dead

[PREV PART] [AO3]

Really enjoyed writing this one! I like adding lines from the game in different contexts...

Ghost enters the shipment container, taking note of Valeria sitting in the middle, surrounded by the soldiers, and restrained by Graves.

Alejandro is pacing in front of her, her eyes following the motion with obvious amusement.

“Alright”, Graves points at the two of them, “how do you two know each other?”.

Alejandro scoffs, “know is a strong word”.

“Ah, strong words are important” Valeria grins, “our word is our worth, right?”

The Vaquero stops his pacing to sharply turn to the woman and start cursing her out in Spanish. Rudy and Soap rush to restrain him.

Price steps forward, “I suggest you start cooperating, El Sin Nombre. Unless you want me digging through your brain,” the Captain towers over her, “and I promise you, it won’t be pleasant.”

An expression of uncertainty passes through Valeria’s features, but she returns to her usual arrogant smile fast enough, “whatever you’re looking for, you won’t find it here” she nods her head, “I don’t know where any of your precious soldiers are. I’m a courier, I move things.”

“Yeah, and those things just happen to be humans, aren’t they” Graves grabs her shoulder. 

Valeria shakes it off, “I don’t peek inside, that would be unprofessional.”

Alejandro seethes, “and you’re just a model image of professionalism, aren’t you?!”

“Shit Alejandro, will you pull your head out of your ass for one second?!” She screams in Spanish at him.

The Vaquero commander huffs and warns them, “don’t trust her. It won’t end well.” He storms out, Rudy not long after following him calling his name.

“Enough!” Price speaks out. “Who are you delivering your packages to?” He stares at Valeria, tilting his head down.

“I don’t take orders from anyone.” she simply states, “even the dogs at Las Almas know not to-”

“Anonymous PMC.” Price’s eyes move rapidly, as he looks through her memories, “they took down your last clients and filled the power vacuum.” 

Valeria mutters, stunned and still, “how…”

“The ones from Sweden?” Gaz quips up.

Price looks away, having gotten what he was after, “I’ll have to go through your reports again, but it’s very likely.”

Valeria shakes from her stupor, and starts laughing in a chilling way, “you’re one interesting revenant, cabron.” she lowers her head, “but you're still no closer to finding them. I was supposed to exchange two revenants today, before your little soldiers interrupted me.”

The Captain frowns, and gazes at her once more. Valeria winces a little, smirking, “I don’t know where they moved them.” She looks at him with mock-innocence.

“Fuckin’ hell…”

“If there was a deal just yesterday, it means the PMC is still somewhere here…” Johnny grunts.

Graves shakes his head, “eh, they must’ve spread out after the failed attempt at the party. They could get revenants from a different… supplier.” He closes in on El Sin Nombre, “perhaps you can give us a name?”

Valeria regards the American with a sneer, “you tell me, ‘Shadow Company’. Surely you know of your other PMC amigos?”

Ghost has been watching the entire conversation from the shadows, slowly getting more and more impatient. What caught his eye however, is the small hesitation in Graves’ moves when Valeria mentioned Shadow Company, almost like he expected her to say something else…

Maybe Graves’ hands aren’t as clean as he would like them to believe. He says so to the Captain, and Price answers, “I don’t see anything suspicious in his mind.”

Ghost knows he’s sometimes a little too paranoid, not that his life so far proved it too unfounded, but he trusts the Captain enough to let it slide for now. After all, Ghost isn’t exactly an expert at reading people.

He focuses back when Price addresses him, “Ghost, talk to the Vaqueros, see if they’ve surveyed any suspicious activity around the party, take the Sergeants and-”

“La Fantasma, Parca de Roba? I wasn’t sure if it’s really you.” Valeria looked like a shark sensing blood in the water.

He doesn’t grace her with an answer, a snake pit slithering in his stomach. Soap turns to look at him inquisitively.

Valeria chuckles darkly, “what you did to Roba… it’s the stuff of nightmares. Did you really wipe out the entire gang in less than a hou-”

“You keep running your mouth, I’ll give you a demonstration.” He growls.

She falters, before answering with a forced smile, “I look forward to it.”

As they leave, Ghost catches Graves taking Soap to the side to speak to him privately. He would snatch the American’s hand away from Johnny’s shoulder, but the Scot doesn’t look uncomfortable. On the contrary, he’s listening intently to what the Shadow commander is spewing at him.

He waits until they finish, Soap noticing him finally and jogging up to him. “Waiting for me, LT?” he smiles up at him, something dimmer about his usual attitude.

“What were you two chatting about?” he starts walking towards Alejandro’s office, knowing Gaz is probably already there.

The Sergeant tenses, but keeps moving beside him, “nothin’ interesting. Why, wanna hear some gossip?”

Ghost grunts, and walks ahead, leaving the Sergeant struggling to match his long strides.

He may not be good at reading people, but even he knows when he’s being lied to. Unfortunately, they have a job to do, his doubts will have to be resurfaced at another point.

Turns out the Vaqueros have spotted something, during those precious minutes right after Soap created his distraction. Unmarked vehicles, driving off south. They have several possible locations, but until the Vaqueros narrow them down, they’re free to take a moment to rest.

As the Sergeants and himself leave Alejandro’s office, Ghost calls for Soap, and nods to the gym. His Sergeant’s face lights up, his fingertips literally, and he leads the way to the sparring mats.

They both take off their shoes and stand in front of the other, stance lowered and combat ready, “we fight until one taps out.” Ghost grunts. Soap gives him a sharp nod and they’re off.

His Sergeant instantly rushes forward, using his smaller frame to his advantage by trying to duck under Ghost. He expected so, and takes hold of the Scot’s shoulders, pushing both of them down.

They wrestle for a moment, Ghost clearly having the upper hand, Johnny fighting on the defence. Ghost eventually gets hold of the slippery man, and pins him on with his chest down, “you’re distracted, Johnny…”.

“Thinkin’ about what Valeria said to you back there”, Soap growls, pushing Ghost off.

His Sergeant shakes his arms, the fire burning him spreading, “again.”

Ghost feigns a right hook, and grabs Soap’s left arm. The Sergeant uses the grip to shove Ghost down, attempting to pin him, but Ghost can tell he’s not focused, when he manages to wrap his legs around his torso, flip them, and pin him again.

“Been doin’ some thinking myself.” Ghost ponders out loud, “wondering what Graves could’ve said to make you look so…” he murmurs in Johnny’s ear, “intrigued”

Soap is breathing heavily under him, eyes darting around for an exit, “I told ye-”

“I think I’ll be quite interested” Ghost squints, the motion not unnoticed by Soap.

His Sergeant sighs, “he was… offerin’ me a spot on Shadow Company.”

Ghost tightens his grips on Soap’s wrists, “and you refused.” he states. “You fuckin’ refused, right, Johnny?”

“I told him…” the flames on his hands die down, “told him I’ll consider it.”

The sentence feels like a knife shoved down Ghost’s throat, almost like a betrayal, another of his old friends.

Ghost loosens the hold, and Soap immediately breaks free, stepping a meter away from him. “After this mission, I think I should… leave.”

“Why?” What changed? Why does Soap want to get away, and with fuckin’ Graves out of all people?

Soap’s brows turn upwards, his face almost desperate. “I won’t be responsible for your death. I can’t-”

“Do you trust me, Sergeant?”

Johnny is silent for a moment, “yes sir”, he almost whispers.

“You think I’m weak?”

“No!”

“Than you should already know, I’ll not go down easily.” He walks up to Soap, “you wanted to know what Valeria was talking about?”

His blue eyes fill with color, the previous dullness to them fades, “yes sir.”

Ghost looks around, seeing the gym empty and lifeless. The snakes in his heart squeeze, bite and spread their icy venom through his body. His tone is lifeless, belonging more to the man buried under six feet of the Mexican desert sand.

“Roba was a cartel gang leader, they captured my squad. Tortured us for weeks, tried to break me, brainwash me, make me submit.” 

Soap’s hands clenched into fists.

“They failed. Got tired of me. Disposed of me.” he breathes in dirt and rotten flesh, “They killed me. I came back, stronger. Powerful.”

He remembers the shock, the horror as they saw him, a dead man, walk into their base. His eyes flutter shut. He wants to laugh. He wants to cry.

“She was wrong. I didn’t kill them in an hour.”

Nothing exists anymore, just sharp memories and a throbbing phantom pain, “it took less than a minute. Hundred men gone in an instant.”

Something brushes his arm, warm and calming, so unlike his memories.

“I was mistaken. You couldn’t have known what I am before, Soap.” He opens his eyes, and the sight of Johnny’s devastated face would hurt him, if he could feel anything. “You understand now. My purpose is to take revenge on people that hurt me. I am designed to survive the worst this world has to offer.”

Soap now grasps at his arm, the feeling barely registered under the cold blanket constraining him, “Ghost I’m… I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t need apologies.” Ghost blinks, tries to focus on his eyes, “just don’t run away.”

Johnny holds onto him tightly, “I won’t.”

He leaves the gym in a daze, distantly hears Soap trailing behind him, uncertain footsteps echoing after his own. The sun has long set, the stars shining high in the night sky.

After he died, he found himself enjoying the twinkling lights. They were the first thing he saw after being reborn, the heralds of his new existence. 

He pulls out a cigarette, rolls the mask up a little. Settles against a wall, about to take out a lighter when Soap stops him, gently lifting a finger. Ghost lights the end of the cigarette on the flickering flame.

He breathes in deep, finally tasting something other than sand on his tongue, Johnny speaking for the first time since they left the gym.

“Thought your Reapin’ was classified.” he huffs.

Ghost rolls the smoke on his tongue before exhaling, “I reckon my favorite color is classified at this point.”

Soap looks up, “what is it?”

“Don’t have one.”

“Figured it was black.”

Ghost raises an eyebrow, “black isn’t a color, Johnny. Dropped outta infant school?”

His Sergeant chuckles, “a’right, dark grey then?”

He pretends to think on it, “yellow.”

“Yer bum’s oot teh window!” Soap laughs.

Ghost blinks confusingly, “English, MacTavish”

“That was English!”

Ghost grumbles, “You said my arse is out a window, Sergeant?”

Johnny doubles over laughing, the sound warm in Ghost’s chest, “aye sir, yer moonin’ the whole base.”

“Giving them a good view” he takes a drag of smoke to hide his small smile.

Soap straightens, giving him that mischievous grin he often wears, “think I know a better one.”

Ghost glances at him, “and what would that be?”

Johnny crowds him against the wall, “yer face, LT. Must be bonnie under that mask of yers, would bet good money on it.”

Warmth thrums through his chest, almost overwhelming. Still, Ghost can’t help leaning into it, like a moth to a flame, uncaring that the fire would bring his demise.

“Maybe I wear the mask ‘cause I’m ugly.” Ghost breathes. The burning smell that always lingers on Soap fills his lungs, and he wishes it would make a home there.

Johnny looks him up and down, smile growing. He stares at Ghost’s eyes, purring, “Ah doubt it.”

Gaz pops most of his body out of a window above them, making them both jump away from each other, “the fuck are you doin’ down there?! Shit, were you snogging? I’ll come back later-”

“We weren’t fuckin’ snoggin’ Gaz!” Soap shouts, flush covering his cheeks. Ghost is still lagging behind, waiting for his brain to come back online. Whatever happened a second ago, it felt like he was in a dream, the world outside melting away, leaving only Ghost and Soap.

Curious how dreams and nightmares are so similar.

“Need something, Garrick?” he finally looks away from Johnny at the floating Sergeant.

“Rudy is making tea! Haven’t had a good cuppa in ages, you coming?”

Soap sighs disappointingly, “fuckin’ Brits.”

“On my way Gaz, don’t you dare take mine.” he stomps on his cigarette and rolls his mask back down.

Despite his grumblings, Soap follows him to the kitchen, taking a mug of tea himself. 

He spat out the liquid after one sip.

Originally I wanted them to fight for like 2 chapters, but they decided they just don't want to and flirt instead

#call of duty modern warfare 2 #cod mw2 #cod ghost #cod soap #cod gaz #cod price #philip graves #alejandro vargas #rodolfo parra #valeria garza #revenant au #call of duty fic #call of duty fanfic #call of duty modern warfare #cod fic #cod fanfic #ghostsoap #soapghost #ghoap #the valeria interrogation also got longer than i thought it would be #shes just fun to write bc shes so confidant

[violetriorsons]

—in a world alone (we're all alone);

a collection of missing moments based on xaden's letters to violet. // pre-FW; iron flame spoilers.

part one.

“sgaeyl watched me kill another cadet for bullying garrick during threshing. she says she chose me for my ruthlessness, but i think i just reminded her of my grandfather.” — chapter 12 (iron flame).

.::.

The number one objective: don't die today.

It's proven to be a shockingly easy goal over the last few hours. A quick glance at the sun in the sky tells Xaden it's the start of the afternoon, and the biggest problem he's faced since Threshing started at nine this morning is the uncharacteristically strong heat for the beginning of October.

It's unsettling — he knows damn well that Fen Riorson's son is at the top of the hit lists of a number of cadets in his year (and the other years, for that matter). And he also knows Threshing is the best opportunity any of them are going to get to finally settle any bets.

It's why when his year dispersed this morning, Xaden had made a point to move in the opposite direction than Garrick and Masen. The target on his back is too big today to risk his only friends.

But so far, it seems his worries were for nothing. The few cadets he's come across over the last four or so hours have paid him nothing more than a wary glare, clearly far more interested in finding their dragons than wasting time trying to run a sword through him.

The dragons Xaden has passed by have also ignored him, both to his relief and mild dismay. The jitters in his chest persist, but for new reasons.

For months, the most common and accepted rhetoric he's heard spread throughout the quadrant is that no self-respecting dragon would go through the disgrace of bonding a marked one. That there's nothing worthy in the children of the people who had threatened the safety of human- and dragonkind all over Navarre.

Up until now, Xaden hadn't let himself dwell on the theory. His priority was keeping himself, his friends, and the rest of the marked ones in his year alive (a feat he's already fumbled, twice). But now, walking through the disturbingly quiet forest, there's no escaping the nauseating fear that everyone was right.

If he'd had the choice, Xaden thinks he might've gone into infantry to honor his father's wishes. He hadn't had the time to figure out for himself what he'd wanted to do with his life before fate and the lost Battle of Aretia had written his destiny for him. Before he knew it, the apostasy had come and tragically gone, and he was suddenly saddled with a hundred and seven souls to keep out of Malek's all-too greedy hands.

Three years ago, Xaden had brokered a deal with General Sorrengail to keep the orphans of his father's allies alive. He knows his father would've abhorred the agreement, but the man had also taught him well about making tough decisions. And making it through the riders' quadrant was their only shot at survival.

But now he's dreading that he might've sentenced them all to a worse fate: if the dragons aren't interested in bonding them, they'll all be doomed to relive their first year in the riders' quadrant over and over until Malek finally decides to collect his due.

Xaden hears the crackling of dragonfire in the near distance— too near for his liking. He quickens his steps as he searches around him in vain for any spot of blue.

Unlike Garrick this morning, Xaden did have a certain dragon from Presentation on his mind. An enormous, navy Blue Daggertail that had left him stunned when he saw it near the end of his deadly stroll yesterday.

He'd stopped dead in his tracks when he'd first caught sight of it, and had Garrick not given him a shove from behind, he's sure that he would've ended up a pile of ashes for daring to look a dragon in the eye for as long as he did.

It was an honest mistake. Xaden had felt something shift inside of him when he locked eyes with the beast, a sharp thrill that lingered long after the first-year cadets had all retreated to their bunks for the night.

Though judging by the icy narrowing of the dragon's eyes as it stared back at him, he thinks maybe the feeling was not mutual.

The thought is reinforced by the fact that he hasn't caught a single hint of her presence anywhere this morning. Idly, Xaden wonders if perhaps the Daggertail had picked another cadet at the start of Threshing, and his mood begins to sour.

But before he can linger any longer on his newfound worries, he hears a familiar shout nearby that has his stomach dropping.

It's Garrick.

All thoughts of the Blue Daggertail are forgotten as Xaden races in the direction of the shout.

The number one objective: don't die today. It goes for himself and especially for his best friend.

Xaden may or may not bond a dragon today. But if nothing else, he'll gladly spend the rest of the day making damn sure his friends make it out of this forest alive.

The shouting continues as he approaches, and Xaden recognizes the voice of Garrick's opponent just before they both come into view.

Prince Alic.

Xaden should've seen this one coming. He'd been too concerned about the target on his own back to consider that his friends have also made enemies in the quadrant all on their own.

The limp-dick, sorry excuse of a prince had wasted no time trying to assert dominance in the quadrant after crossing the Parapet this summer. He's been a terror to most, the Riorson son included, but Alic has had it out for Garrick since he lost to him during assessment week on the mat.

And apparently, he's decided Threshing is the perfect setting to enact his revenge.

Garrick's one of the best in their year when it comes to sparring, but the royal training the asswipe of a prince has under his belt makes him more than a worthy adversary. And though Xaden would be willing to bet that Alic snuck up on Garrick, any matters of honor and dirty tactics don't matter much if Alic makes it out of this forest with Garrick's head in the end.

Rage waves over Xaden and he barely manages to wrangle it back under control so he can slow his steps and assess the situation from a distance.

So far, Garrick seems to be holding his own well enough.

Xaden wavers, unsure of whether to step in or let his friend prove himself to any dragon who may be paying attention.

"I'm betting the prince loses his head."

The unfamiliar, feminine voice startles him out of focus from the fight. He hadn't noticed the giant shadow under his feet that now blankets his immediate area, and when he twists around to look for the source of the voice he finds himself face to face with the navy Blue Daggertail he'd been seeking all morning.

"Holy shit," he curses without thinking, and he just barely stops himself from scrambling backward. Dragons typically don't respond well to cowardice, and he doubts this particular one is any exception.

Her size had been daunting during Presentation, but having her right in front of him now, with her head lowered to his eye level and a bit too close for comfort, it dawns on him what a monstrosity of a creature she is — especially compared to the other dragons he's come across in the field today.

Suddenly, Xaden can't remember exactly why he'd been searching for her in the first place. Does he have a death wish?

The dragon's head moves forward, and Xaden locks his knees in place as she gives him a quick sniff at his chest before lightly blowing steam in his face through her nostrils.

"There's something very familiar about you." Her voice echoes in his head again, and his heart is threatening to break through his ribcage as she stays in his personal space and continues her perusal of him.

Xaden arches an eyebrow. Familiar? "Yeah, we kinda met at Presentation..." His joke falls flat, but he pushes forward. "I'm Xaden —" He stops short of saying his last name, and his earlier fear surges back with a vengeance.

Despite all it's cost him, Xaden has never been at odds with the war his father had started. Their country was corrupt, rotten to the core, and the price Xaden has been made to pay for his father's actions has only strengthened his belief in Fen Riorson's cause.

But would the dragon agree with that?

"Riorson," the dragon finishes for him, rather absentmindedly — uninterested, even — as she sniffs at his hair. She says nothing more, all her focus on her odd inspection of him, and some of Xaden's nerves give way to confusion.

Is it a good sign that this dragon is currently covering his leathers in snot?

As if in response, the dragon chuffs. "Better that than being charred by dragonfire, I would think."

Xaden's eyes widen in return. Did she hear his thoughts?

"Very true," he breathes. He tenses again, keeping quiet as he awaits judgment from the dragon he'd spent all night thinking about.

With no warning, the dragon lifts a claw and swipes it over the upper left side of Xaden's face, too quick for him to see it coming. The claw breaks the skin deep over his brow, nicking the eyelid he'd managed to close out of pure instinct, and digging through the top of his cheek.

"Fuck," he swears without thinking, instinctively lifting a hand to his eyebrow. His fingers come back bloody.

"There," the dragon says, sounding satisfied as she lowers her head to his level again. "Now I see it."

"Interesting word choice after almost taking my fucking eye out." He can't help himself from expressing his disdain as he works to keep the blood from seeping into his eye. "What do you see?"

"I'd given your grandfather a similar scar during his Threshing. It'd been accident then."

Surprise quells the anger. His brows knit together, the movement making the sting from his new wound worse. "You knew my grandfather?" He didn't even know his grandfather. From either side of the family.

"He came before you. But he didn't make it out of the quadrant." Her words are matter-of-fact, but there's an undertone of sadness that has Xaden believing she feels the loss far deeper than he ever could.

"I'm sorry...," he trails off, not sure how he's supposed to address her. He wipes more blood away from his brow before it gets in his eye.

"Sgaeyl," she offers distractedly, her eyes moving beyond him, to the sword fight still being waged in the tiny clearing behind him. "I said the prince would lose his head today. Why don't you go prove me right?"

Xaden turns back around and tenses, cursing himself for forgetting about Garrick.

Blood is now flowing from Garrick's left shoulder but he's paying it no mind as he raises his sword up to block Alic's attempt to slice Garrick's right arm off. As the two swords clash, Alic gets in a sloppy, but effective kick to the side of Garrick's calf that has him going down.

Garrick manages to twist his body last-minute to land on his side and avoid getting the wind knocked out of him. But the maneuver has his wounded shoulder taking the brunt of his fall.

Xaden's moving toward them before he even realizes it, silently drawing his own sword as he approaches. His heart is hammering again as he watches Alic raise his weapon to take the final strike.

Xaden sword is quicker, and he runs it through Alic's back, deep enough that it reappears through his abdomen. Alic's response is a garbled groan, and Xaden lifts his foot to kick the prince off his sword.

Alic falls forward, the force of Xaden's kick sending him face-first towards the ground — right where Garrick is lying.

Garrick rolls out of the way just as Alic hits the dirt. His eyes meet Xaden's with a flash of gratitude as he works to get himself up.

Xaden waits to make sure his best friend is good before turning his attention back to the dying prince, who's working mightily to get up onto his knees.

"You're a... worthless piece... of shit, son of a... traitor..." Alic's rambles are out of breath as he continues to bleed out on the ground.

Xaden hears the dragon grumble behind him, and he can feel the wordless expectation emanating from her as she waits impatiently for him to follow her earlier command. He spares a quick glance at Garrick again, who's retrieved his sword but is distracted by the dragon who's stepped out from the trees and into view.

"Sorry I butted in," Xaden tells Garrick with a sheepish grin. "But I've been asked for his head." He tilts his head in the dragon's direction as means of explanation. Garrick's eyes widen, but he chooses to stay silent in the presence of the dragon, giving Xaden a firm nod instead.

Before he can think too hard about it, Xaden swipes his sword through the neck of the still-rambling royal. The man's head hits the ground with a sickening thud, and Xaden works to keep his breakfast down.

Though not his first kill, it is the first time he's ever decapitated someone. It turns his stomach in the worst way, even as he feels a small twinge of satisfaction in getting to behead one of King Tauri's sons.

Perhaps he's not quite as monstrous as he's come to feel over the last few months — yet.

He's still got a dragon to impress, so he forces down the nausea, compartmentalizes any horror he may feel over adding to his body count, and bends down to retrieve the severed head by its hair.

He turns toward the dragon and tosses the head at her feet, making sure to keep his eyes off the ground and on hers the entire time.

She chuffs in what seems like approval. "Ruthless."

A heady rush of pride sweeps through him, giving him confidence as he admits to her, almost accusingly, "I've been looking for you all morning." Her earlier words about his grandfather finally sink in.

He came before you.

She'd chosen him. And now she's choosing Xaden.

She lets out another chuff. "I woke late. And I refuse to skip breakfast, even for Threshing."

Xaden smiles, glancing behind him to see that Garrick has disappeared. His smile wavers, and he worries over the wound in his friend's arm. Will he be okay to keep dragon-seeking?

"You care a lot for him. And for the others." It's a statement, not a question.

"Yes," Xaden answers anyway. He forces down the trepidation over letting her in on his secrets.

The marked ones and Aretia are who he's dedicated his life to, and there's no point in trying to hide it from her. She needs to know who she's choosing, and what he'll be continuing to fight for. And all the types of monsters he's willing to fight against.

"You carry scars for the ones you're devoted to," she notes. "And now you'll carry one for me as well."

The reminder of the wound on his brow cuts through the adrenaline enough for him to feel the sting again. But her words erase any lingering resentment he may have felt over the scratch.

She steps forward. "Get on my back. The cadet you saved will be just fine, and your other friend has already been chosen. There's no point in spending any more time around here tempting the cadets who'd love to take your own head off your shoulders."

Xaden exhales in relief at the news about Masen, and decides to trust her certainty that Garrick will make it just fine on his own.

He hesitates for just a second, calculating the best strategy to make it up her leg. The gauntlet didn't quite prepare him as well for a dragon of her size. It's a challenge, but he makes it up to her back, avoiding the spikes at her neck, and reaches the divot with only minor embarrassment.

"Didn't you practice?" she chastises him, but her tone is light.

"Of course I did." He rolls his eyes. "But you're huge."

She chuffs. "Wait until you see my mate. You'll see who's the real monstrosity of a creature."

Xaden lifts a brow, fighting the discomfort of her knowing what he had been thinking earlier. "Is that always...?" He trails off, not sure how to phrase the question.

She scoffs. "Get used to it, cadet. I know everything about you. I always will." It almost sounds like a threat.

He nods, mostly to himself, knowing he'll just need time to adjust to it.

As a means of distraction, the dragon formally introduces herself. But she also launches into the sky as she does so, and her words are lost to the wind whooshing past Xaden's ears as he directs his focus on staying seated as she flies high above the trees.

He remembers her earlier introduction, though — her name is Sgaeyl. She's a navy Blue Daggertail, once bonded to his grandfather.

Unbidden, a memory from many years ago of his mother rises to the surface. She'd told him once that her father had entered the riders' quadrant while she was a baby. She never got to meet him.

"Dragons aren't allowed to bond direct descendants of their previous riders," Xaden notes lightly, trying to shake off the heavy feeling that comes from remembering his mother.

Sgaeyl stays silent, and Xaden interprets it to mean that she has little care for any rule that may stand in the way of what she wants. And what she wants at the moment is him.

"I could go mad," he continues absentmindedly. Judging from the excited flip his stomach just did at the thought of being wanted by this dragon, he may already be half-way there.

"You won't go mad," Sgaeyl asserts.

He arches his wounded brow. "And how do you know that?"

"Because I chose you," she scoffs.

He grins at the arrogance, but his chest fills with pride. And anticipation, as he sees the flight field getting nearer in the distance.

Soon, they'll be landing in the field. Soon, he'll be walking up the dais to look the roll keeper and General Sorrengail in the eye and announce the name of his new dragon — and relish in the shocked faces of Commandant Panchek, Captain Fitzgibbons, Colonel Aetos, and anyone else who doubted that a dragon would choose Fen Riorson's son — or any marked one.

Sgaeyl knows everything about him. And she chose him.

Xaden Riorson is officially a rider.

#xaden riorson #sgaeyl #xaden and sgaeyl #fourth wing #iron flame #fourth wing fic #empyrean fic #this really got away from me oops #it's way longer than i thought it would be #lina scribbles

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Mini costume meta

Gonna throw in a very mini costume meta because now I’ve got a proper look at Bucks velvet jacket I am having a lot - and I mean a lot of feelings about it.

For starters this jacket is not maroon - it is burgundy and that is an important distinction. maroon is a more brown toned colour while burgundy is a more red and purple toned colour and they have very different meanings. 

I’m not sure how easily you can see it from these two pictures, but the tee Buck wears when he tells Christopher about Eddie getting shot - in 4x14 - is much more brown toned, while the velvet suit jacket has much more of a purplish tone to it (i’m hoping for better pictures of the suit jacket when the episode actually airs as the screenshots I grabbed are not the best!!)

So Like I’ve said in previous metas, maroon has been used in scenes where a character is taking on some form of parental role - this is something thats been going on since season 1 and its been used on pretty much all the characters. Buck telling Chris about the shooting is the most obvious example, but Eddie in the last episode when Buck went over to the Diaz house was making Christopher's lunch - a parental thing. We’ve also seen Bobby in maroon a fair amount when he’s needed to step into a parental role - think back to Bobby telling Harry he needed to clear the table - that he couldn’t be best buddy Bobby anymore, and needed to be step dad Bobby and so on. 

Maroon is thought to promote comfort and warmth, it is also a colour of strength and maturity - all things associated with parenthood. It is also a colour often associated with drying blood which connects it to the idea of blood ties - which equals family ties.

Then we have burgundy - a colour of sophistication. It’s a powerful colour commonly associated with refinement - stemming from the idea that a Burgundy wine is among the best and most expensive in the world. This association also means Burgundy is associated with wealth - the perfect colour for Buck to be wearing while he’s winning at poker!

The other thing about burgundy though is that it is also associated with lust, passion and desire - it is a colour very much connected with romance and deep love as it is a deep form of red!

Combined with the black of the rest of the outfit, including the black wide peaked satin lapels, which is a colour of elegance, sophistication, power and seduction, as well as the choice of velvet and satin for the blazer - two fabrics considered to be symbols of wealth luxury and sophistication I think it’s safe to say that this outfit is very much an outfit one would chose for a date. Peaked lapels are an interesting choice - they are the most difficult lapel to achieve and are considered the mark of an accomplished tailor - hinting at the idea that Buck has been on a difficult journey, but will achieve success with it. it can also hint at him being accomplished at cards!

Its also worth mentioning that velvet as a word is a slang term for money acquired through gambling 👀👀👀 

Last thing to note is that Eddie is not the only one wearing a new and more blingy watch - Buck is also wearing a new one - we only get a couple of very brief glimpses and I’m hoping we’ll see a bit more of it once the episode airs, but I am very literally screaming over it. (you can see a tiny glimpse in the still below)

Buck has had the same watch since season 1 - no deviations, just the same watch! and now - now we get a new one! Post dying, post coma dream, post Buck going to the Diaz house and sleeping on the couch and post Buck appearing all contemplative and figuring things out at the end of last episode we see Buck in a new watch!!!!

The fact that they both appear to be wearing metal watches means we have the possibility that their watches are going to potentially match up, because metal watches are more showy and confident - they’re less practical (especially if you’re a fire fighter) and are therefore much more about making a statement of some sort. Them both wearing them for the first time at the same time is a choice! Not to mention the fact that while Eddies watch is out and proud - on display for everyone to see, Bucks is mostly hidden - we only get to see a tiny part of it for a moment. The idea that Eddie is confident and essentially putting this new version of himself out there for people to see, while Buck is ‘on the same page’ but still mostly hiding his new self - he’s still uncertain about it etc is a choice - especially as we’ve seen watch theory around Buck expand much more this season than previously! I should also mention the fact that the show very loudly made a big thing about Michael buying David a watch as an engagement gift - rather than a ring - and we don’t see any other (male)  characters wearing metal watches, so for them to choose now to put Eddie in a metal watch as well as possibly Buck is making a very purposeful connection!!

I really can’t wait to see if we’re going to get more of these watches - if we do I’m expecting we’ll only see them connected to Buddie developments and that they’ll revert to their normal watches for other non work scenes (I’m expecting the brown leather strap watch for whatever date(s) Pepa has set Eddie up on!!)!

#this got way longer than I thought it would be when I started!!! #kym costume meta #mini meta #Buck meta #911 costume meta #911 on fox #911 spoilers #911 costumes #6x13 #911 fox #buck #evan buckley #watch theory #costume theory #I cannot wait for the full context of this scene!

[vickyvicarious]

"I have an idea. I suppose it must have come in the night, and matured without my knowing it. He must hypnotise me before the dawn, and then I shall be able to speak."

+

"I want you to hypnotise me!" she said. "Do it before the dawn, for I feel that then I can speak, and speak freely. Be quick, for the time is short!"

There's a lot going on here, I think, but one of the key details to me is Mina referring repeatedly to her own ability to speak. It's very interesting, because in point of fact, what she does next is basically look through Dracula's eyes. She uses 'I' then too, as does Van Helsing - "Where are you now?" not "Where is he?", "What are you doing?", and so on.

Mina seems to inhabit Dracula's body briefly, following the link he created between them in order to spy upon him the way he perhaps may have intended to spy upon her/them. She has obviously not been sitting idly, but has been thinking about what Dracula said when he forced her to drink his blood:

"You have aided in thwarting me; now you shall come to my call. When my brain says "Come!" to you, you shall cross land or sea to do my bidding; and to that end this!"

There is a mental link there apparently, and she knows already from Lucy that a sleepwalking/trance state opens you up more to Dracula's influence. She knows from Van Helsing's research that Dracula is weaker during the day, beginning at sunrise, and so that's why she hurries to put her plan into action immediately. In such a state, Mina will be extremely vulnerable and unable to direct her own actions... but with Van Helsing doing so instead he can unlock the secrets she will have access to. Mina is doing what she's always done best, taking disperate pieces of information and connecting them to find a lead to follow/build a plan of action. Even the words Dracula spoke specifically to torture her with fear are getting used against him, because they contained information and Mina knows what to do with information.

(I love her so much.)

But there's another element to this as well. A recurring theme with people who have been affected by Dracula is their inability to speak about what they know/have experienced. I used to think it was kind of a passive effect of him feeding off of you, but Renfield being unable to speak, and Mina telling the story on October 3rd, makes me think it is something he does deliberately, or at least can choose to suspend partially when convenient.

So far, the effects of this ability seem to have been thus:

Lucy hid her bite marks. She only vaguely seemed able to connect her dreams and the bats to what was happening to her in her diary, but unable to speak of them. She tore up the final message she had written** while asleep.

Renfield was unable to speak directly about Dracula coming to him and being let into the asylum, or about him preying upon Mina, despite clearly trying as hard as he could to get the information across.

Mina had all the pieces but for the first time wasn't able to see the relevance of them, so despite knowing Dracula was next door and knowing what she dreamed of matched his other victims' experiences, she dismissed those as nothing but fear/worries. She clung to Jonathan and was obviously subconsciously aware but not on any level she could verbalize (aloud or even to herself). She was able to tell of the attack that involved her directly speaking with Dracula, and that was witnessed by others. Either this means this ability only works when their is some level of plausible deniability, so to speak, or he deliberately wanted to torment them all with what he told her. I definitely lean towards the latter.

** (I think Dracula deliberately allowed Lucy to write her memorandum as a final taunt before her death, but when he came by the next day and she was still alive for the time being, he wanted it gone so he could still have access to her without showing his hand too much. This is supported by her writing of the specks swirling in the room, suggesting he was there watching her write the letter. It's very in-character for him to want to taunt his defeated foes and let them know how she suffered, but he was trying to remain hidden the entire time he was preying upon Lucy so I think he didn't want to confirm any suspicions they may have had about his abilities and give them more ways to counter him. They already were learning with the garlic flowers.)

So Mina emphasizing that she knows of a way she can speak freely is so interesting to me. She has found a workaround, bringing the information trapped in her subconscious to the fore and giving voice to the part of herself that knew all along what was happening but couldn't reach the surface. Even what happens after she is woken supports this, since she had to ask about what she'd said but didn't seem surprised by any of it. Deep down she already knew.

This relationship between the subconscious and the vampires is nothing new. They have been putting people in trances only when they're in some kind of vulnerable state like Lucy's sleepwalking or Jonathan's misery clouding his mind as he stared blankly out the window - and even then he was awake and could more easily break free, unlike when he was half-asleep and nearly eaten on the couch. Van Helsing was sure that Lucy dying in her sleep was why she became a vampire, and that it even had an effect on her undead self. We know of this.

However this is the first time anyone on our side has deliberately tapped into it. And it immediately pays off by unlocking those hidden experiences. (Which brings up heartbreaking questions, like 'if they'd thought to hypnotize Lucy would she have told them exactly what was happening to her?') Mina has reversed the usual course, has tapped into Dracula's subconscious instead (or at least that is how I have read it). She isn't merely in his body - she is him, for a little while, at least a little bit:

"Then you are on a ship?" We all looked at each other, trying to glean something each from the other. We were afraid to think. The answer came quick:—

"Oh, yes!"

"What else do you hear?"

"The sound of men stamping overhead as they run about. There is the creaking of a chain, and the loud tinkle as the check of the capstan falls into the rachet."

"What are you doing?"

"I am still—oh, so still. It is like death!" The voice faded away into a deep breath as of one sleeping, and the open eyes closed again.

By this time the sun had risen, and we were all in the full light of day.

This is where I come back to my original point about Mina using first-person pronouns here. As she is asked questions, she describes not only hearing sounds, but is able to identify them as distinct objects. I don't think Mina personally has enough knowledge of ships to immediately recognize the capstan falling into the racket - that is Dracula, knowing he is aboard and what is happening. Similarly, Mina is able to immediately confirm that she's on a ship when asked. She doesn't puzzle it out or clue anything together, she just knows because Dracula knows and she's currently at least partially Dracula.

It's only when the questions shift from what is around her to what she herself is doing that she wakes. This could be partially about the time, but since dawn is already fully over I'm not so sure. It may be that focusing on Dracula himself has drawn his attention and he cuts the connection off. Or maybe it is dangerous for Mina to dive too deeply into feeling what Dracula feels, and some part of her is what breaks the connection.

Regardless, I find this whole scene fascinating. Especially in the context of how Jonathan and Dracula are stealing/exchanging traits from one another:

Dracula stole Jonathan's identity

Dracula has gotten younger/darker hair while Jonathan now has white hair

Jonathan climbing on walls/out windows like Dracula

Dracula making Mina 'his', like he's stealing Jonathan's marriage and instituting his own version

Dracula is now the one making a mad dash to flee the country while Jonathan is the one consumed with an unholy drive to destroy

...and so on. But here, Mina is tapping into this exchange of identities as well. Dracula is trying to make her like him? She becomes him, and uses it to help them all hunt him down and destroy him for good.

It's just super fascinating to me.

#dracula daily #dracula meta #my meta #this got waaaay longer than i thought it would