#and I've seen at least two other people remark similarly

[aspoonofsugar]

i'm sorry in advance that i'm sending you this wall of text. but i've been rereading and rewatching the yorknew arc that now i have /so/ many thoughts on how the succession war arc could mirror and contrast the former wrt the phantom troupe that i wanted to share. also i love reading your hxh theories and meta, they have really helped me gain a better understanding of the characters and themes of hxh. feel free to ignore this tho if it's too much.

when the troupe are gathering to yorknew they remark that it's the first time in years that all members have been together. they also mention that two of their members have been replaced. i think that when they finally gather on tier 1 after several weeks on the black whale two of their members will have been killed.

which members? well back in yorknew chrollo did not send the following members to infiltrate the underground auction: pakunoda, hisoka, kortopi, phinks and bonolenov. on tier 1 the first three won't be part of the mission for obvious reasons, but once again phinks and bono will be absent bc they are already dead.

at the auction franklin and shizuku are the only ones shown killing people (feitan and uvo torture info out of that poor security guard but that's all offscreen). after reaching tier 1 those two will be killed. symbolically franklin is the voice of reason and helps to settle disputes while shizuku cleans up their messes so their deaths would further destabilize the group. tho if shizuku really does die then i hope togashi will never touch machi bc it'd suck of all the female members were killed.

chrollo will again attempt to get close to the heir of a powerful family who has a future based hatsu (neon/tserri) but will fail either bc he'll be unable to gain tserri's trust and/or bc tserri's nen beasts can sense chrollo's intent and attack him.

the ten dons sent the shadow beasts to prevent the pt from stealing the treasures but ultimately they were killed by uvo. in contrast the guardian spirit beasts will succeed in protecting their princes from the pt (my predictions are basically just the pt taking Ls one after the other lmao)

after kurapika finds out that the pt are on the black whale he will confront chrollo but instead of a deathmatch he will strike a deal. in yorknew kurapika was hired as a bodyguard to protect neon from threats and was collaborating with hisoka against the troupe. now kurapika will strike a deal with the pt to help him guard oito and wobble, in exchange he will help the pt find hisoka.

i've seen the theory that nobunaga will want to fight kurapika since he was the most upset about uvo's death. but it think it's interesting that during the hostage situation nobu was willing to follow kurapika's orders to keep chrollo alive. it was phinks and feitan who were opposed to following kurapika's orders. so when kurapika approaches the pt with his proposal i think nobu will agree to it if it's benefical to the troupe while it's feitan who will protest the most.

chrollo will have a rematch with hisoka. he'll probably have assistance from at least one of the spiders, after all he was only able to beat hisoka the first time with help from shalnark and kortopi. most likely machi since she seems to have the strongest connection to hisoka out of the pt. but before chrollo and machi can land the killing blow illumi will intervene and save hisoka's life.

ok i think that's all i've got for now. thank you so much for your time.

Hi!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It is entirely possible this arc will mirror Yorshin to an extent, even if I am not sure of the details!

Similarly, I think Kurapika and Chrollo might be forced to form an alliance, even if I don't know how it comes to be. And I agree about wanting something for Hisoka and Illumi, even if I am expecting it to be fucked up :P

In short, I agree with the general idea you have, but I am not sure of the details or if it will mirror Yorshin in such a precise way :)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

#hxh #cacciato #asksfullfosugar

[geejaysmith]

How would the series have gone if maxwell has survived, and Jacobi died?

No joke, this is a plot point in one of the AUs that's cropped up thanks to Kat's and my conversations. I went from Spongebob memes to role-reversing the Wonder Twins in Time to Kill basically on a whim, and from there my options were "role-reverse Desperate Measures" and "Maxwell /jumps and fistbumps the air/ 2!!". Anyway, I pictured Maxwell's grief-fueled angry outbursts following Jacobi's death and was immediately taken with the idea, and I'm already doing Maxwell 2: Max Harder in another Thing, so Dark Vengeance Maxwell it is!

The key differences between Jacobi and Maxwell in this situation, I think, are that Maxwell doesn't have the same kind of attachment to Kepler or Goddard Futuristics as a whole, nor does she have Jacobi's Big Backstory-Defining Fuck-Up. I'm in the middle of season 3 again and listened to her backstory episode while on a walk just yesterday; She's always known Goddard's had few scruples about how it does business; it was just the place that let her do her work with the least amount of barriers. Plus, you want to look me in the eye and tell me that Kepler's "my authority comes down from on high, what I say goes and if you disobey you'll suffer eternal damnation creative disciplinary measures" attitude wouldn't set off a prodigal pastor's kid's alarm bells? Also, her half-serious "I never cut the wrong wire" in Fire And Brimstone is actually a way bigger indicator of her personality than I realized at first. Not to say that she's never had a decision come back to bite her in the ass, but betting on the wrong side of "if Minkowski isn't bluffing my best friend is going to die" is going to be one that hits hard.

Now, here's something Kat picked up on that I didn't fully process til Kat pointed out this exchange:

KEPLER I'm right. Look: the plan was forall of you never to find out aboutthis aspect of the mission - 

EIFFEL The plan was for us to be dead. 

KEPLER That's kinda what I mean. 

EIFFEL What about Jacobi? 

JACOBI Yeah, was I supposed to find - ? 

KEPLER The point is: you're here now. 

Which she took to mean Maxwell and Jacobi were probably never supposed to know about the duplicates either, nor Cutter's plans once they'd established extraterrestrial contact. So what, was Kepler going to conceal the whole thing from them, or were Maxwell and Jacobi - both of whom have few connections outside Goddard, both of whom were unlikely to be missed - never supposed to make it back to Earth either? 

And that's a whole other topic which has some wrinkles to it (I feel that Maxwell and Jacobi being loose ends was Cutter's call, not Kepler's). My point is: I think Maxwell would pick up on it, and have even less of an issue with turning on Kepler if, in her eyes, he was willing to throw them to the wolves anyways.  Kepler pissed off Minkowski by killing one of her own, why wouldn't she be more likely to respond by finally responding in kind? But Kepler knew all along Lovelace would be able to get back up, something Jacobi wouldn't be able to do, and he took that risk anyways. Additionally, he's not making any hints about, say, tossing Jacobi's body into the star after watching Lovelace reboot. Even if the duplicates did have any idea about what they really are, surely a weaponized alien clone of Jacobi is better than no Jacobi at all, especially if you're so confident in your ability to put a leash on him with the psi-wave regulator, right?

Bottom line: Maxwell goes from kicking herself for making the wrong call and getting her friend killed (when it should have been obvious actually killing Minkowski's crewmates would be all the difference, of course that'd be the thing that sent her over the edge) to putting a plan together to yeet Jacobi into the star, get her friend back, and read Kepler the riot act for being so quick to write artificially created humans off as things, and for thinking so little of people's lives in general that his bullshit mindgames took higher priority than just telling them what they needed to know so they could get some actual results. She always knew Goddard did it's business the dirty way, but in addition to letting her and Jacobi fly blind when just telling them would've made both the module incident AND the mutiny go so much better, do you KNOW, Colonel, do you even GIVE A DAMN about how much time and energy we could've if you hadn't just let her and Jacobi take shots in the dark for the MONTHS we've been up here?? We could've actually gotten something done instead of going in circles trying to hit a target when you won't even tell us what to aim for!

(Unless of course, that was never the point of Command sending them up here to begin with, but put that moment of realization away for later, Alana.)

So yeah, Dark Vengeance Maxwell is less about making Kepler pay for what he did with his life and more getting back at him with "I'm going to let ALL the aliens onto the ship, and there's nothing you can do about it", plus fixing her mistake and bringing Jacobi back, all while getting to violate scientific norms and the laws of nature. See Warren? This is what I can do when you let me do my job.

And that's just the dynamic that emerges within SI-5, I've barely touched upon how the rest of the crew is involved. I don't see her being quite as angry at them as Jacobi was? Especially if she can get him back via Alien Necromancy - she doesn't strike me as having quite the Us vs. Them mentality Jacobi's developed from his time with SI-5 (she asked if they'd actually delivered Hui's letters home, plus her remark "I hoped it wouldn't come to this" when she and Jacobi catch Eiffel and Lovelace at the end of Desperate Times). Sure, she can distance herself and get the job done, and remember that at the end of the day, the only person she really has is Jacobi - but I think she's not so far gone that she can't at least see why the crew did what they did, or that they only did it because her team left them no other options.

She would absolutely not be above leveraging their emotions to get her plans into place afterwards, though. The real snag in things is that now, she actually has to deal with the consequences of her actions with regards to Hera, and THAT is a whole can of worms I haven't yet set aside the time to think about to the degree I'd need to write about it, lol.

#wolf 359 #gill's AU children #I get Olivia Octavius vibes from Maxwell #and I've seen at least two other people remark similarly #the woman is a budding mad scientist let her do her alien necromancy! #and that in short is why Maxwell keeps Going Apeshit in my fic concepts #plus it's waaaaay more fun when your morally-dark-gray mad scientist obviously COULD act like a decent person #and therefore there's tension about whether she will or not or if she really means it when she does lmao #mrbookboy

[nightingaletrash]

📖 for Niraen Rilis! (I've also been having lots of fun with these journal entries! Its a great way to explore a character and their personality!! :P)

[The journal looks well cared for, with the binding looking as though it was replaced relatively recently. The pages show signs of age, yellowing at the edges, and some have pressed flowers between them from all different parts of Tamriel. The handwriting is tidy and relatively free of smears. Above the first entry is a painstakingly drawn image of Phaer.]

16th Midyear 2E 523

I finally leave tomorrow. Mother has been working the forge all day, making sure that I have the finest arms and armour she can give me for the journey, and Father has been saying his prayers to Auriel. It will be strange to leave alone this time. Any time I have gone further than Silsailen has been with Mother or Father. But it is time, and if I hesitate now I will never go. If I want to be a Templar like Father before me, then I have to see Tamriel for myself, and I must survive it myself.

Kyriel has been sulking all day, no doubt still protesting over her being left behind. She is still very young though, and I cannot promise that I will be able to keep her safe just yet. She resents this of course. Eight years old and she thinks herself very much learned of the world. One day perhaps we will travel together as sisters, when she sees how much growing she has left to do, and she is better prepared. For now, she must be content with dreaming and studying.

[There is a series of beautifully detailed sketches of three other altmer, a man, a woman and a young girl. The man, though aged, is smiling brightly and handsome in his age with flecks of silver in his hair. The woman is similarly handsome, her face lined and a steely look of determination flashing in her eyes. The girl is smiling too, and even in ink the fiery determination in her eyes is clear.]

[The page

24th Midyear 2E 526

I arrived in Wayrest yesterday just as the Dancing Day celebrations were underway. Every person in the city must have been in attendance, and I have never seen such a blatant disregard for the usual castes of society. Nobles danced with beggars, orc children danced with their breton counterparts. It was unlike anything I have seen and I have not had such fun since we last went to the Skywatch Celebration. Summerset feels worlds away here in High Rock. I have to remember to find that wine Father mentioned in his last letter and send it home. I know he would love a chance to have it again.

New whetstone

Mulled wine

Bone from the butcher’s for Xerxes

Salted meat

Sword oil

Something for the hangover - will have to ask the local alchemist

[A later entry is written in a much more shaky hand, as if the writer was trembling as she wrote it. The ink is smeared in places and there are stains on the pages, some of which look suspiciously like dried blood.]

3rd Hearthfire 2E 535

It is my fault. I let my guard down. I became arrogant and thought I could handle anything, and now they’re dead. Auriel forgive me, the fault is my own. The werewolves were more cunning than I had suspected and turned my own arrogance against me and lured me into a trap. I thought them mindless beasts and fell right into it. I am fortunate to have escaped relatively unscathed - the healers have confirmed I did not catch lycanthropy - but the villagers could not say the same. They are all dead, torn apart by the wolves I promised I would protect them from.

I would bury them myself, I owe them that much, but Spinner Lathaniel is quite insistent I rest and allow my wounds to heal. She is perhaps the most forceful bosmer I have ever met, and coupled with my injuries, it was enough to put a stop to my protests. But I must know better. The lives of those people were depending on me and I failed them. I must do better, else I will fail them again.

[There is a drawing of a bosmer settlement shaped from the trees surrounding and amongst it. Dappled sunlight shines through the canopy and bosmer can be spotted amongst the branches and settled between the roots of their homes. There are no pressed flowers, but intricate and detailed drawings take their place.]

14th Second Seed 2E 582

My first month back in Auridon since leaving all those years ago, and so much has happened. Once upon a time, nothing ever seemed to happen here, and it was the most boring place in the world for a young mer with a head filled with dreams and ambitions. Or perhaps more happened than she could see. My first day back in Vulkhel Guard and I ended up imprisoned, framed for an attempt of regicide, only to escape and become an agent to the Queen for whose murder I was to be framed for!

Phaer has not fared nearly so well, however. I arrive home for the first time in decades and I find that a plague has swept into the village. Mother, Father and Kyriel (who has only grown more resentful since I last saw her) are well enough at least, but many of the villagers have been moved into the old crypts which now serves as a quarantine. Hendil and Amuur are doing their best, but not everyone is convinced that their efforts are actually yielding results. Perhaps I will go to see them tomorrow and offer my help. There must be something I can do.

12th Frostfall 2E 582

I saw Gathwen at the Elden Root Mage’s Guild hall earlier today. She has been continuing her research, trying to find a way to free Rurelion from Uldor. The number and complexity of her ideas is remarkable, the Dominion is lucky to have her. We spent a good deal of our time talking, so much so that neither of us realised how late it was until the candles had nearly all burned out. I am sure the Magus will not let us forget that. I don’t remember a time I could speak with anyone for such length. I think I enjoy Gathwen’s company.

Now I have to make sure that she never finds out about the jail thing. It is bad enough having Raz reminding me of it every two minutes.

#plutoie #eso #niraen #journal entry meme #yessssssss I am enjoying these ^^ #thank you ilysm <3 #niraen has such a formal way of speaking and writing compared to my other ocs