#both because of the danger he's in because of terry and also because the whole subject is so laced with trauma

[lazlolullaby]

Terry McGinnis gets yeeted to the past and becomes besties with Jason

he also has Ace and the shelter doesn't allow "scary dogs" inside.

So. He's a homeless teenager and his big dog. Who both have Batman level training. Possibly his suit, but it's funnier if he doesn't.

because I've seen Damien VS Terry a few times but I haven't seen our juvie children Jason and Terry interact much in fandom.

Mostly follows the DCAU timeline but you know. General fluid canon playground bashing action figures together because I love Terry and by dint of him being in the future he's a little estranged from the Bat Fam and that makes me sad.

first thing: Terry knows he can't wipe himself out of existence because of the way he traveled. His future is fine, he just has to repair his time machine.

But you know. Homeless, no resources. Bruce taught him to be suspicious of the government, and this is before the League, so. Not many people he can turn to.

It was almost an accident, but he was walking Ace and caught the Joker mid-rant against Batman and Robin. Terry heckles them as a distraction. He insults the Clown good. He even throws in a barb against Batman just to be funny.

Tim tries to guide him away, but the Big Brother instinct kicks in and he ends up fighting the Joker anyway.

When Batman tried to catch up to him, Terry flinched and ran. Sure, Bruce would help, but he wanted to do this by himself.

Red Hood hears about this and decides to investigate. "Hey, buddy. word is you ain't scared of clowns. I hear you could use some protection."

Terry weighs his options. He's read about Jason Todd. Red Hood. The whole mess. "It's not like I'm not scared, it's just - that Robin kid. I had a little brother his size and I'd be pissed if a low rate clown ever hurt him." And "you know death doesn't stop some people. Why don't we mock him? Make sure no one takes him seriously ever again?"

"I'm listening."

Terry becomes an Enforcer in Crime Alley. He gets close to Jason, mostly because of shared backgrounds and complaining about "their old bosses", not that Jason knows he's also talking about Bruce.

Terry had a big yelling match with his father Warren the last time he saw him before he died. He starts to soften Jason up to the idea of talking with his father since they both have dangerous night jobs.

There are raids for getting Terry's time machine up and running again. There are also surgical attacks on the Joker's usual haunts and goons. Terry and Ace get caught and taken back to Wayne Manor.

Terry specifically asks to watch how Alfred makes his cookies and food. Bruce thinks he's being paranoid but he just wants to know how to make food the way Older Bruce likes it.

Bruce thinks he's Jason and does a DNA test. It shows that he's not Jason, but he is Bruce Wayne's son. Terry didn't know this, and while he was keeping it together so far, he freaks out.

Ace was trained as a medical dog and can tell when someone has heart problems. He makes Terry lay on the floor. "Yeah this is your heart problem, here's a sneak peek of your future."

Idk how to end this but it's like, Jason comes in the front wanting to see his friend. And also talk with Bruce.

#terry mcginnis #batman #batman beyond #The joker #tim drake #Red Hood #jason todd #Batman #Lazlo's lulls #Comics get better when you think of them as action figures #That kids are slamming together in a sandbox

[raayllum]

Been thinking about it partially as I come closer to it in fanon S6 / divergences where what I'm writing (in prose with zero constraints) vs what I think the show is actually more likely to do (such as in this case) with the Celestial elves because like

If we look at it just from a storytelling standpoint, there's a few things we want to take into consideration.

Why Skywing elves?

Despite being an aspiring and then full fledged Sky mage for most of the series (5 seasons) as his defining... career trait? with Ocean only added at the end, Callum's attachment to the Sky arcanum is incredibly important from a thematic standpoint. I talked about this in more detail in terms of how TDP writes from theme to begin with, but it would not surprise me if a lot of the series fell into place after decisions were made regarding "mage boy has Sky-Freedom powers" and "big endgame big bad is Stars and Destiny embodied," i.e. like what kind of dragon Zym would be in order for Callum to have a reason to sacrifice his primal stone, why have Callum learn Sky magic first, etc etc.

The Celestial Elves, presumably, could've been any group of elves. We know from Tales of Xadia that Sunfire elves had a chant about warding off dangerous Star dragons from the Great Orb, and that Karim-Pharos are poised to be future pawns, so there is a decent link there. It also could've been cool if the Celestial elves had had elves from all over, showing both intergroup workings and that the Stars were bringing them together in some manner.

If Sky and Skywing elves by thematic extension represent Freedom, then it makes sense for these to be Skywing elves who have perhaps forsaken notions of freedom for ideas of pre-determinism or destiny, i.e. our circumstances beset all of our choices, or that fate/destiny is real and unchangeable. To have the same arcanum and similar abilities as Callum, but to already be warped to Aaravos' will / thematic graces of destiny and fate - to amplify what he's scared of and to accentuate what he might become (at least in terms of what he's scared to become).

On that note, I think it makes sense for them

To be Antagonists

Partially this is because of precedent. Most elves, when in groups, have been more antagonistic with one or two rising to the forefront to be allies. We see this in arc 1 with Moonshadow and Sunfire elves, with the majority being antagonists especially at first (the assassins, the Sunfire soldiers) with Rayla, Lujanne, and eventually Janai being allies / exceptions - even if the Sunfire elves as a whole quickly switch to being allies as of 3x08/09. We see this again in S4 with the Drakewood Earthblood elves being mostly antagonists, Terry as more of a grey area, and only N'than (and possibly Mukho the Mushroom mage?) being downright allies. This would mean that Astrid and maybe another Startouch elf might be more sy

Plot / Misc Reasons

Of course, the biggest reason for the Celestial elves to exist is to, presumably, give exposition regarding Startouch elves to the main characters and to extradite subsequent views / philosophy about Star magic and the arcanum (arcana?). If they are loyal to Aaravos, they would likely provide a perspective on Startouch elves different than one Callum might be coming in with and give more credence / context to Claudia's assertions of Aaravos as well, given that she's the one character currently with a positive view of him. It also doesn't seem they can entirely be good guys given their 1) isolationist nature and 2) having not one but two super OP objects that the protagonists definitely need. While they may not end up being villains, I think we can somewhat safely assume they will initially be obstacles, if only in giving tests (of love) like another certain Startouch elf...

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp theory #worldbuilding #predictions #s6 speculation #arc 2 #mini meta

[javaelemental]

True Detective: Night Country, Ep. 5

FINALLY. Some answers! Loved this episode! Some thoughts...

Ha, fuck you Hank. Rotten little bastard.

So the bloody ear was a misdirect. And apparently Otis was just a weird junkie. Huh. Not sure where this leaves us with the disease/microbe idea. We've still got Clark and the other scientists' weird behavior and all the affiliated oddities there, but now it looks like we're leaning a little harder towards mining company fuckery and corruption. Possibly the company unearthed something and Tsalal was helping to hide it?

I like the repurposing of the spiral here as a warning about danger and thin ice. I wonder if that'll stick though the final episode, or if they're going to change it up again? Because if they don't change it up, and Clark and Annie knew what it was and what it meant... were they branding themselves and everything around them with a well-known cultural danger symbol? Did they know the mining company was polluting worse than was known and/or had unearthed something dangerous, and they were trying to warn people?

I also like the repurposing of "Night Country" to refer to the darkness of the ice caves. Both that and the spiral symbol feel very Terry Pratchett and his dwarfs to me. Like their mine sign in Thud!

There's a whole lot to say about how all these cops, even the ones trying to do right and solve crimes, are dirty and corrupt and doing rotten shit. I don't think it would all fit into bullet points, though, but if someone's got the urge, there's a big ol' essay there, I think. Breaking out a junkie and fixing his habit so he can lead you to a crime scene, escalating to the point of a probably-justifiable shooting that now has to be cleaned up and hidden so everyone doesn't get in trouble. Navarro and/or Danvers killing Wheeler and then they have to clean that up.

It was nice to see Liz and Leah have a little moment.

Man, I loved that cover of Save Tonight at the end of the episode. Do they put out soundtracks for stuff like this? Like, can I get that cover somehow?

I'm really looking forward to the finale. I can't wait to see how this wraps up.

ETA:

OH. OH HEY. We had that flash of light on the video of Clark having his seizure, then the video cut out. What if Clark's not the murderer? What if he's on the run, and it was the mining company killing off the people at Tsalal to hide whatever they found/knew? Flash of light to cut power or something, then they charge in and start killing people, folks are panicking and run out into the cold... I think that might be a thing, guys.

#True Detective #Night Country #True Detective: Night Country

[randomvarious]

Today's mix:

Fuse Presents Hell by Hell 2000 House / Techno / Deep House / Electro / New Wave

Goddamn, man, I'm not gonna say outright that this mix in particular is the greatest shit in the world—although it's pretty close!—but the ethos behind it certainly represents what has ultimately led to some of the most astonishing sets that we've ever had the pleasure of witnessing as a species. There's this late 70s-and-80s-rooted spirit that's equal parts unpredictable and eclectic, in which the overall route of the set doesn't feel pre-planned at all, because the DJ takes risks by linking tracks together that you yourself would never expect to hear in succession. The overall journey from point A to point B that you get taken on is one that's long and winding and full of surprises, and the DJ themselves doesn't really have any particular destination in mind to begin with either, because the perpetual question that's always most immediately on their mind is, "hmm, what banger do I want to play next? 🤔"

And I feel like this flying-by-the-seat-of-its-pants approach to DJing has largely faded from the limelight and has gradually been replaced by either the DJ who specializes in one specific dance subgenre that's in one specific range of BPMs for a whole set, or the DJ who just plays mindless EDM claptrap from a pre-loaded USB stick 😒. All of it's so safe and hermetically sealed shut. Where's the danger, the fun, and variety of it all?

See, what you really have to understand here is that there was no place on the planet that was more sonically diverse than your typical late 70s and 80s dancefloor. House, freestyle, synthpop, disco, hi-NRG, pop, post-disco, art punk, art rock, art pop, electro, hip hop, funk, boogie, post-punk, new wave, dance-pop, dancehall, two-tone ska, glam rock, sophisti-pop, soul, alternative dance, R&B, etc., etc., etc., all had the potential to be played at any given moment during a set, and the ultimate job of the DJ was to craft a breathtaking sonic collage out of any of it.

And that's exactly what Germany's DJ Hell channeled here with this commercial mix from 2000 for the second ever installment in Belgian club Fuse's own series. But what's more is that while Hell was deriving his inspiration from an attitude of a bygone era, he also happened to have about an extra decade of music at his disposal that his spiritual predecessors didn't. And the 90s ended up seeing a mega-expansion on the frontiers of electronic and dance music entirely, so while Hell certainly picks out his classics from super popular acts like Donna Summer and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, on here you're also gonna find stuff from contemporary dance legends like Todd Terry and Carl Craig, different flavors of rock from Tuxedomoon, Sparks, and the Flying Lizards, Brazilian-sampled techno from Andrew McLauchlan, and deep house from Bougie Soliterre. In reality, almost none of this track list makes any lick of sense on paper, but that's the inherent beauty of the whole thing, folks! Once you put it on and get a taste of Orange Lemon's (Todd Terry's) "Extended Club Mix" of "The Texican," you really start to get a feel for the vision that's been laid out here, and it's one that's mindbendingly motley, and more in the vein of how a lot of old DJ sets used to be!

The best DJs to me are the ones who appear to be doing it purely off the dome and are just living right in the moment while barely thinking ahead. They know how to wow a crowd with a memorable blend of classics, a contemporary hit, and obscurities from any decade, place, or genre, but they make adjustments if and when they feel the need to as well. And above all else, they possess an uncanny ability to play songs that you don't see coming—or that you never even knew existed in the first place—while also convincing you that the choice they made is one that's both thrilling and logically sound. It's a tough act to balance, like a halftime gimmick who rides a unicycle and spins plates on a long rod that sits on their chin while also juggling bowling pins, but DJ Hell is someone who clearly has the knack for it and puts it on full display here.

The world could always use more of this kind of DJing in it, especially when so many of us now have access to more music than we know what to do with that's all sitting right at our fingertips.

And by the way, I didn't really get into specific tracks with this post here, but "Desire," by 69, which is just a nice alias that was used by Carl Craig, is one of the most stunning combinations of string synth and drum break that I think I've ever heard in my life. Good lord, what a tune that is! 🤯

Listen to the full mix here.

Highlights:

Speedy J - "Evolution" Ché - "The Incident (Wet Dream Mix)" Orange Lemon - "The Texican (Extended Club Mix)" Liaisons Dangereuses - "Avant-Après Mars" Tuxedomoon - "What Use" 69 - "Desire" Mitsu - "Shylight" Donna Summer - "I Feel Love (Patrick Cowley Megamix)" Sparks - "Beat the Clock" Phuture - "Rise From Your Grave (Wake Side)" Foremost Poets - "Pressin On" Bougie Soliterre - "Superficial (Main Vocal Mix)" G Strings - "The Land of Dreams" Frankie Goes to Hollywood - "Two Tribes (Annihilator Mix)" Dopplereffekt - "Rocket Scientist" Andrew Mc Laughlan - "Love Story" Filippo "Naughty" Moscatello - "Disco Volante" The Flying Lizards - "Steam Away"

#house #house music #techno #deep house #electro #new wave #dance #dance music #electronic #electronic music #music #70s #70s music #70's #70's music #80s #80s music #80's #80's music #90s #90s music #90's #90's music #2000s #2000s music #2000's #2000's music #00s #00s music #00's

[nevertheless-moving]

i very much enjoyed the eventual explanation for Vin's Whole Deal but i also spent a good chunk of book one and two, (and maybe also more than a few idle moments in book three) waiting for a reveal that she was also a feruchemist. Just. There were so many parallels between her and the lord ruler, you know??

just thinking about the au...

a nice alternate explanation to her unnatural-even-for-a-mistborn grace, strength and power, just a bit better than she should be, and has such wild swings of fortune during a few of her fights because she's unconsciously storing up than releasing corresponding powers in her internal flakes.

of course it's taking her so long to realize - no one wears actual amounts of metal, so she's constantly burning her stores before they get large enough to be noticeable.

she was able to sense sazed's feruchemical store when she burnt it why would that be an allomantic ability i'm still kindof mad we didn't see her even TRY feruchemy anyway au

sazed teaching her...bonding moments...family...

funny moments where sazed and kelsier get weirdly competitive over who's got dibs on the daughter-he-never-thought-he'd-have

I am a SUCKER for zero-dads to multiple dad's trope...

(and thinking about how there HAD to be some feruchemy in the ska population, since the terris people weren't always so separate from the general population)

in addition to noblewoman, thief, mistborn, ska urchin - here's ANOTHER burden, ANOTHER heritage, ANOTHER identity - some pressure to be a Keeper, at least store the books, even if you do nothing else -

imagining reen as a feruchemist, constantly running from town to town because for some reason him, totally ska him, he can do things, things like a misting, but even more obvious, and allomantic vials just make him sick

unconscious feruchemy leading to mental instability (her mother). What happens when you store memories or mental attributes , but never get them back? you're just losing time and strength and willpower to the metal in your groundwater...and it's gone, passed through your body unless you happen to be an allomancer who can burn it back...

duralium-esque shenanigans during book two trying out the lord ruler's youth combo and accidentally making herself into a child. it's resolved eventually but there should have been AT LEAST a few chapters of 11 year old Vin mowing down assassins

HULK PEWTER VIN! HULK PEWTER VIN! FINALLY SHE ACTUALLY LOOKS AS DANGEROUS AS SHE IS! FIVE FOOT NOTHING HULK PEWTER VIN FIGHTING HAMM!!!!

infinite free health combo (somehow? i don't quite understand the mechanic, perhaps it's revealed somewhere else in sanderson books. is it just storing up health? seems like getting flayed would fuck that up. look, we know the lord ruler figured it out, since it's part of his whole Canon that he can't die, a Lot of people have tried)

ANYWAY I am also a fan of "unkillable" character trope where person starts getting too reckless during fights while enemies panic and their loved one's look on in horror because they're still getting hurt

All of the above does NOT help with the whole worshiping thing

staying awake for WAY too long with bronze earring...come on sanderson i know my girl was double deity op but consider if she was even MORE

FERUCHEMY IS OF BOTH PRESERVATION AND RUIN COME ON Y'ALL THINK ABOUT IT

...if it turns out there's an annotation in one of these books that she was actually a feruchemist but it never came up i don't know if i'd be more angry or more vindicated...if there is...okay people can spoil this one (1) thing...

aaah alas - it could have been so sick - feruchemist mistborn fight scene my beloved who shall never be...unless...

#mistborn #mistborn spoilers #vin venture #mistborn au #nevertheless meta

[msfbgraves]

The fill where Terry’s cuddling Daniel who is pregnant with Anthony was so, so tender, and lovely, and bittersweet. I loved seeing Terry’s perspective regarding his omega. This fill made it so clear how much Terry loves Daniel and would be ruined without him—and also how much he regrets what he did to him, to someone he adores so much. I think that is going to haunt and hurt him until his dying day. Ah, hindsight!! It also really makes me think that Terry would just not be able to live if something happened to Daniel; it would destroy him. Which makes this whole thing that much more painful, considering how deeply be hurt Danny. And lastly: how Daniel still yearns for him and wants him and loves him despite what happened. The snuggling, the hand over his belly. The trust that he has to allow such intimacy in the first place. Yes, I love them both so much!

I love them too, thank you! 🥰

The thing with Daniel is, he doesn't half ass relationships. When he is in, he is in. Here they'd just reaffirmed their relationship, and he is still recovering from all the emotions, and with puppy yet again so he gives in to instinct completely.

He doesn't always, and there are times when he feels he can't go on, because Terry is dangerous and he hates danger and he fears for his loves (Terry included), but he loves his mate, per Dio, he loves him and his family so much he can't do it.

But especially here, expecting his sixth puppy (in a first litter!)? No. He wants Terry, he needs Terry, reason be damned.

#silverusso #knights and pawns #omegaverse #mob au

[starlitangels]

The Traps We Build

The title actually comes from Avior when he talks about Freelancers and Inchoates compared to their specialized kin... but make it D.A.M.N. fam Season One 2.0k words CW: discussion of prejudices

—

“My head hurts,” I complained as I walked with Terry out of Intermediate Mental Disciplines. The last telepathy/empathy/dreamwalking course I’d have to take for my full certification credits. Which was good because those three magical branches were hard for me to get any kind of control over.

“Yeah,” Terry agreed. Another Freelancer. He rubbed his temples. “I can’t tell if it’s the Meridian giving me hell for magic drain or just the fact that we’re all too clumsy with our powers when we go into each other’s thoughts.”

“Same,” I agreed. My phone went off in my pocket. “Oh. Hang on. I gotta check that.”

Damien🔥: My place, 5:00 tonight?

Terry peered over my shoulder. “Hot date?” he asked.

I snorted. “No. Damien’s a classmate. We’re in Intermediate Psychokinetic Manipulatory Studies together, and were in Introductory together. He, uh, he’s magic-born. We study together. He tutors me. In more... than just... magic. I’m really behind on magic culture and he knows it all.” I cleared my throat. “Last semester... someone bridged with me when I didn’t know what it meant. Damien has been helping make sure something like that never happens to me again.”

“So why the flame next to his name, if he’s not a hot date?”

I snorted. “He’s a Fire Elemental, Terry,” I replied with a chuckle. I texted Damien back as I spoke. Yeah. See you then. “I figured that’d be obvious.”

Terry blinked owlishly at me. “Well... no. It wasn’t.”

“Why?”

“Fire Elementals... are notorious for... not connecting with people very well. They’re temperamental. Hot-headed.” He cleared his throat. “You should be careful. Around him. You might get... burned. In both a literal and figurative sense.”

It took all the self-control I had not to roll my eyes. “I appreciate the advice. But Damien’s... he’s good. He’s a good friend.” My grip tightened around my phone. “Anyway. I gotta head to my healing class or I’m gonna be late. I’ll see you later.” I waved and started to head off, shoving my phone in my pocket and clenching my bag strap in my fist.

“See ya!” Terry called.

While I walked, I let my thoughts spiral. I tried not to let it happen too often, but Terry’s words sent my mind racing.

I’d spent my first semester desperately trying to figure out this whole magical world—and being a bit spiteful about Gavin’s comment that Freelancers were masters of none. Before I got to know him better.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that there was still prejudice in the magical world. That the specialized races had preconceived notions about each other, and Freelancers. Terry wasn’t the first classmate who’d said that Damien was probably dangerous for me to be around.

Instead of ignoring said classmates, I’d been using their words as even more fuel for my spite. I liked Damien. He was passionate with a deep heart that he didn’t like showing people. I was going to be friends with him whether my classmates liked it or not. Not just out of spite. Also because he was a good guy under all those layers and behind all those walls, and I genuinely wanted to be his friend. My other classmates’ reservations about someone they didn’t even know just made me all the more determined.

Not that I’d ever tell anyone.

I yanked my phone back out of my pocket. Want me to bring dinner?

Damien🔥: Sure, if you want.

—

“I think you should consider requesting to be transferred to a different guidance counselor,” Alicia remarked as I read over the email I’d gotten from Lasko.

I looked up from my laptop. “Why?”

“Well... it’s just... I’ve heard about him. Air Elemental, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

She shrugged. “Air Elementals are... flighty. Spacey, if you will. Scatterbrained, even. There’s a reason people nicknamed them Airheads.” Yeah, prejudice and closed-mindedness, I thought sarcastically. Alicia wasn’t done. “I can’t imagine he’s a particularly... effective guidance counselor. I mean, mine’s a Telepath—she always seems to just know the best class order for me for the coming semester. Hasn’t steered me wrong yet. Maybe you could get transferred to her.”

I took a deep breath through my nose and bit my tongue. “Thanks, Alicia,” I said. I glanced down at my watch. “I should get going. I have a study session with a friend in an hour and I gotta grab dinner beforehand.”

She gave me a smile that was probably supposed to be warm, but seemed condescending. “Just think about it, Freelancer, yeah?”

I made a noncommittal grunt and slipped my laptop into my backpack. I slung it onto my back and pushed myself to my feet. “Bye.”

“See ya.”

I stalked off, trying to seem like I wasn’t losing my temper. Lasko was a great guy, and I imagined he’d be a great friend, if we ever had the chance to hang out in a social situation, rather than a professional one.

Not a particularly effective guidance counselor my ass, I thought as I wove through the later-afternoon crowd of students milling about the hallway.

Everything I’d ever asked of Lasko, he’d done. Unless school policy absolutely forbade him from doing so. He’d processed that override to get me into Intermediate Healing and got the prereq of Intro to Healing waived so I could jump into the higher-level class without too much pushback. So, maybe he seemed like a bit of a pushover, but it came from a desire in him to help. To do the best he could for whomever he could. That was a trait to be admired.

Who cared if he stumbled over his words and had anxiety? It wasn’t like those things made him a bad person or bad at his job. He was good at his job and so incredibly kind. Sure he tended to overshare information he probably shouldn’t, but I understood where that impulse came from.

Lasko Moore had been nothing but a fantastic counselor for me. I was going to be really happy for him—and a little sad for myself—when he finally got what he deserved and became a professor here at the academy.

—

“Bye Hux! Lunch next week on me?” I asked as I backed up to head to my next class.

“Sure thing, dude. See you then!” He gave me a broad smile and an enthusiastic wave as he headed off for his next class.

“See you in Elemental Control!” I waved back and ducked into the admin building to cut through it on my way to History of Magic.

“Yo! Freelancer!” a familiar voice said close by. Emery jogged up to me, falling into step beside me. “Headin’ to History?”

“Yep.” I nodded.

“Mind if I walk with you?”

“Sure.”

Emery was an Illusory who I had History of Magic with. They were nice, all things considered. Magic-born. The only other humanborn I knew was Lasko.

“So who were you talking to before you came in?” they asked casually.

“Oh, that’s Huxley.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Nah. Classmate. We’re in Introductory Elemental Control together. But he’s a third year.”

“He a Freelancer too or an Elemental or...?”

“Elemental.”

“Oh fun. What kind?”

“Earth.”

Emery nodded slowly. And I braced for what I knew was about to come.

“Out of curiosity, is he a total hippie?”

I shook my head. “No. He’s pretty grounded and down-to-Earth.” Both puns very much intended, but I also meant what I was saying.

Emery hummed thoughtfully. “Huh. Most Earth Elementals are either total hippies or dumb as rocks.”

“That’s not very nice,” I said, sharper than I meant to.

Emery shrugged, hitching their backpack higher up their shoulders. “Just the general trend,” they said.

I forced myself to stop clenching my jaw. “Huxley’s not like that. He’s not necessarily the most book-smart individual I’ve ever met but I’ve never known someone as emotionally intelligent as he is. Like, I’m pretty good at understanding people, but Huxley does it so naturally. He just gets people in a way that I never can. And he’s so kind—he’s helped me understand so much about the fundamental basics of magic that I never would have learned otherwise. He taught me, like, what a Core is—what Threads do.” I left the bit about the bridging lesson off. Emery didn’t need to know about that.

“Interesting,” they said. I heard something in their tone. They didn’t quite believe me.

Wallow in your prejudice, then, I thought. Let me have my best friends in peace. No preconceived notions of what they were “supposed” to be just because of the magic they were born into.

—

Gavin😈💖: See you tonight, deviant 😉

I bit my lower lip in a smile, quickly sending a response. See you tonight. Looking forward to it.

I received another winking emoji—and a string of others that I quickly moved to hide from Terry’s view as he fell into step beside me. “Okay,” he said. “You’ve gotta be smiling at your boyfriend this time. You don’t grin like that for some classmate.”

I snorted and gestured vaguely. “It’s... complicated. We’re not dating. I don’t think he and I ever... I don’t know. I like him a lot though.”

“Let me guess...” Terry narrowed his eyes at me. “Dreamwalker. I’ve heard they’re very romantic.”

I chuckled. “Nope.”

“Water Elemental.”

I flinched. Terry didn’t seem to notice. “Definitely not.”

“Okay. Balance of probability: another Freelancer.”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

“Who is he?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you.”

“C’mon, I’m not gonna judge you.”

No. Just Gavin, I thought. “No, I don’t think I will.”

“Pleeease?” he whined.

“What if I told you he was an incubus?” I retorted with a tone that was obviously sarcastic and meant to be taken as a joke.

“Then I’d tell you to use protection. But incubi are super rare—I doubt it.”

I waved dismissively. “I’m just messing with you. He’s a Psychokinetic,” I lied.

“Good. Because... I’ve never met an incubus but I can’t imagine they’d be faithful partners.”

“What makes you say that?”

He shrugged. “I doubt one person can provide the amount of energy on a consistent basis that a demon needs to feed on to be consistently nourished.”

I shrugged. “Well, how would we know? Most empowered people barely know anything about demons, right?”

He bobbed his head side-to-side. “Pretty much.”

I snorted. “Well, I gotta head to healing. See you Friday.”

“See you Friday.”

I waved and strode off. Terry waved back before turning a corner and disappearing.

My classmates who I wasn’t close to had a lot to learn. Maybe it was just my experiences as a humanborn—not knowing anything about the magical world beforehand—but it seemed strange to me that stereotypes were so pervasive in this hidden community. Like, if they were trying to stay hidden, why didn’t they band together a bit more?

It seemed like magic-born people were setting themselves up for destruction. Building their own traps that they would get caught in. How magic had managed to remain covert for so long was an absolute mystery to me.

Sure, I didn’t know if Gavin was having other dalliances—but it wasn’t my business. We weren’t dating. It wasn’t like our relationship was an exclusive one.

And Gavin was, underneath it all, a good guy. He played the arrogant incubus who cared about nothing and no one but himself—but there was so much more to him than that. I could see it. I could feel it every time we just sat on the couch and ate leftover pizza while I finished my homework and he was waiting for me to get done so we could have our fun. There was a lot of deep emotion there that he didn’t show anyone. Maybe not even himself.

It wasn’t my business to try and get him to lower those walls. If he wanted to open up to me more, the only thing I could control was myself. Making sure he knew it was safe for him to open up to me.

We’d get there, if he wanted to.

And maybe I could show other empowered people that the races different from them weren’t as different as they thought.

#Redacted ASMR #fic #Redacted Freelancer #Freelancer #Starlit Fic

[asphodel-storm]

Soul Eater AU. (Anime about students of a high school where everyone is either capable of transforming into a weapon or tasked with wielding a weapon-student (a meister). The souls of the weapon and meister have to be compatible for this to work at all, and the greater their resonance the stronger they can be.)

Eli is a weapon, so he wasn't given much of a choice about attending the 'DWMA'. His best friend Demetri hated the idea of fighting/danger/extra gym class for no reason, but enrolled as a meister anyways because if Eli had to go then of course he was going. He couldn't stand the thought of Eli having to face down danger alone, paired with a meister who actually took the whole ridiculous 'using people as weapons' thing seriously.

Because, make no mistake, Demetri is against the very existence of this school.

For the first year they lay low. They attend class, but make practically no progress outside it towards defeating/devouring "evil souls". They fail their missions because Demetri really isn't trying to do anything but keep them both safe.

They are looked down on for this, in addition to everything else that they've ever been picked on. Mission failure becomes another thing that makes Eli feel small.

He gets frustrated.

-

Miguel is the new kid, a weapon that took a bit longer than usual to be found or to awaken.

Sam is a meister and the daughter of an instructor, Professor LaRusso, who spends his time attempting to reign in the violent tendencies of students, however counter-intuitive that may seem. He views their fight as one that is unfortunately necessary, but he worries about students becoming too swept up in the violence.

Miguel is immediately impressed with Sam and nervously considers asking her to be his meister. However he is also very impressed by another teacher, Professor Lawrence, who teaches weapon students about self-wielding.

Miguel and Eli both end up not only taking Johnny's class but attending his extracurricular sessions.

-

Eli, now with a hairstyle reminiscent of blades, calls himself Hawk and becomes more agressive. And cruel. He ends his partnership with Demetri when Demetri doesn't follow suit.

Privately, they are both terrified they wouldn't resonate anymore even if they tried. That they've diverged too much for their souls to connect like that.

Hawk mainly self-weilds, transforming his fists to his blades. Miguel does the same, his blade coming out in his kicks.

Demetri wonders if he should just leave, since he hates this school and Eli has left him behind. He finds he has something to prove, though, and he doesn't want to be alone. He becomes closer with Sam and Professor LaRusso, improving his skills as a meister while also learning an ideology focused on balance.

-

Other Info:

Johnny's weapon form is an ornate gold staff and he and Daniel were partners as students for a brief period when Daniel was new. Professor Kreese made sure to terminate that, however, since Johnny was part of a group of student weapons he was cultivating for his own use and Daniel was close with his rival instructor.

Professor Kreese was fired a long time ago, but was suddenly reinstated by the headmaster (Death) with little explanation.

Terry Silver is a witch who Kreese met as a student and was supposed to kill since witches are the enemy. He spared him.

Terry can use his magic to take a weapon form as if he were a weapon. Usually he'd only do this for Kreese.

Robby was not born a weapon even though his father is one. He enrolled in the academy as a meister and got close to his father's rival initially as a means for revenge, but it turned out to be really good for him. For a while.

Tory is a flame thrower.

Moon is an elegant jeweled dagger (she wouldn't have chosen this life) and Yasmine is her meister.

-

Eventually Eli and Demetri have their moment where they reunite and fight together.

Meisters Sam and Robby and Weapons Miguel and Tory fight at various points in every combination and, in theory, this eventually settles. Sam wielding Miguel and Robby wielding Tory is one possibility, but they'll all be surprised to find that Sam can actually resonate with Tory and Miguel actually can resonate with Robby... So who knows how that partner situation settles but it eventually does.

Daniel and Johnny finally team up for the big fight and are honestly shocked to resonate so well.

The odds of me writing an AU fic like this are low but not zero.

#cobra kai #soul eater #eli hawk moskowitz #binary boyfriends #demetri alexopoulos #eli moskowitz #samanta larusso #miguel diaz #robby keene #tory nichols #johnny lawrence #daniel larusso #john kreese #terry silver

[harushinkai-daily]

“A Very Surprising Birthday”

An Appmon Madlib, filled out by @hitthesnooze

It was a perfectly normal, INFLUENTIAL afternoon in early July. Haru SPAT down the BACKPACK-lined boulevard, on his way back to Kashinoki Books after completing a rather strange errand for Ai. She had asked to borrow his copy of the latest Terry book (“Terry and the HEIR of LIGHT”)— which was strange because Haru knew she had her own copy, which she had read at least 648 times already. Still, he had done as she asked, and SPUN home to fetch it, no ifs, ands, or MATCHES about it.

Suddenly, he heard voices, and a ROUGH rustling to his left. Looking over his TAILBONE, he saw four very CAREFUL Appmon in a long HOODIE spill out from behind a tree and tumble to the ground with a mighty “BOOM!” The BORING bag they had been holding split open, scattering its contents everywhere.

“Gatchmon! Are you all right?” Haru immediately ran over to help. Gatchmon, looking unhurt save for his JEWEL, picked himself up and was attempting to look as PALE as possible, trying to hide what the others were doing. Musimon was busy trying to help Offmon out of the HOODIE, while Dokamon was MORBING items back into the bag.

“Haru! Fancy meeting you here!” Gatchmon exclaimed FRIGHTFULLY. “We uh… we meant to do that. All part of the plan.” Despite his Buddy’s best efforts to hide them, Haru couldn’t help but notice the things that were going into the bag: a variety of snacks, party FISHING HATS, and some colorful streamers. Suddenly, everything made sense: Ai’s request, the Appmon hiding behind a tree, their disguise… Haru knew exactly what was going on.

“Gatchmon,” said Haru, half-amused, half in FEAR. “I really appreciate all this effort to be sneaky, but isn’t this pretty much the exact same PEARL party as last year? It’s not very surprising if I know what to expect.”

At this, Gatchmon smiled GLOWINGLY. “Ah, Haru, now that’s where you’re wrong! This PEARL party is going to be a surprise, and that’s a gatchin’ guarantee!” The Appmon held out his ELBOW, and Haru found himself with no choice but to DANCE it and follow his Buddy’s lead.

As they opened the IGNORANT entrance to the bookstore’s underground FOYER, Gatchmon told Haru to close his eyes. As they maneuvered carefully down the stairs, Haru could hear loud voices and sounds of CRYING, both of which were replaced by hurried shushing, then silence. When they reached the bottom, Gatchmon gave his arm a DANGEROUS tug, which Haru took to be the cue to open his eyes.

“HUZZAH, HARU!” A chorus of voices called out in unison.

Haru felt his eyes grow as round as KNIVES as he gazed around the FOYER.

It was a PEARL party, all right! Eri and Astra had been in charge of the cake (under the watchful eye of VEGASMON), which was obvious to Haru because all three of them were still covered in COLBY JACK. It was also apparent there had been some sort of argument over how to decorate it. One half of the cake was covered in LASAGNA and the other half was overflowing with MOLTEN LAVA CAKE. It seemed that Rei had been assigned the hideout’s decorations (and perhaps even he hadn’t known what to do with that information), as the whole room looked particularly SOULLESS decked out in colors of BLOOD RED and OPAL. Offmon had been put in charge of party favors, but as he found noisemakers a bit too SAFE, everyone had been given THE NIGHT instead. Ai was standing off to the side, trying to hold in her laughter, and as Haru’s eyes found hers she gave a tiny, apologetic shrug as if to say, “I know, but they did all work very hard to pull this off.”

“Well, Haru?” Gatchmon asked, looking somewhat in DREAD. “What do you think?”

Haru looked around at the faces of his friends, their Appmon allies, and finally down at Gatchmon. “I think,” he said at last, “that for some reason, everything made a bit more sense last year.”

He smiled.

“But I have to admit, I am very, very surprised. Thank you so much, Gatchmon, everyone!”

And as it turns out, the cake was absolutely PAINFUL.

~ THE END! ~

#birthday post #happy birthday haru!

[raayllum]

Was thinking about this parallel and “Claudia and Rayla refusing to let Callum and Viren die in S4″ and general S4 parallel shenanigans, turning them over in my brain like a rotisserie chicken, and realized it goes much deeper (and the four of them unfortunately don’t have a group foils tag, as why it ends why it always ends currently excludes Callum) and this isn’t going to be super coherent because I’m sleepy and am going to do my best to keep this short but

What the Fuck I Think Is Up with Callum-Rayla Viren-Claudia in S4, or the Interlocking of the Cycle’s Wheel

Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way

Viren-Callum parallels, yeah, we’ve known that since 1x01 or at the very least 1x02, we’re gouda

Raydia parallels with their dads who ask them to do shady stuff and then can’t stop them from continuing to do shady stuff, we knew that

Viren and Claudia / Callum and Rayla being reunited after two years apart by Claudia and Rayla’s efforts

Callum and Claudia being contrasted by doing major feats of magic in order to save Viren and Rayla in 3x09

Rayla and Claudia being contrasted in 3x09 by being Viren’s killer and saviour respectively 

Rayla and Claudia paralleling the way they continue to push at their current missions in Through the Moon and 4x02 even when Callum / Viren are doubtful or wanting to take a different path, both going on a quest into Xadia to ensure Viren’s death / survival in doing so

Viren and Rayla ultimately being unable to diverge in 4x09 with Rayla running after him with only one sword and Viren picking up his staff after a season of likewise rejecting / being hesitant about it

Viren-Rayla parallels with their paranoia and practicality and ruining their own lives, more subtle but still absolutely there

Claudia and Rayla rejecting Viren / Callum’s plans for their deaths in 4x02 and 4x07

The Viren-Claudia-Rayla parallels just to cover all our bases

With all of that out of the way let’s get into it

So like I said, both Viren and Callum talk to Claudia and Rayla about wanting to die this season for ‘the greater good’ of their lives, and both times, each respective girl wholeheartedly rejects it quite harshly after a moment of softening

Okay, seems simple enough. But here’s where things get a little more complicated. Claudia, after all, doesn’t know how dangerous Aaravos is, but Rayla does, and yet they make similar calls here. Claudia refuses to let her dad die, even if she has to drag him along the whole time, and Rayla refuses to let Callum die, let alone by her own hand. They’re weighing their loved one against something possibly dangerous or unknown, something that has certainly been detrimental to both of them and leading to serious trauma of things they deem overall better left unsaid

and still choosing the loved one.

Okay, still pretty simple. Shit isn’t interlocking or overlapping too much. But then 4x04 comes along with the way it parallels Claudia and Callum explicitly as Aaravos’ most overt pawns in a lot of ways

and scenes of Viren and Callum waking up to find Terry and Rayla sobbing in the middle of the night (4x04 and 3x04) and offering words in response: “Rayla, it’s okay [to cry]” and “Get a grip,” reinforcing the way Viren and Callum have been shutting down this mix of love and pain, trying not to feel things at all. We know from later on in the season that part of this advice stems from worry over Claudia for Viren

and what Callum was doing until he arguably broke down fully in 4x09 and let himself fully feel a lot of what he’s been repressing all season long by embracing Rayla

But it goes deeper than that, with 4x07 and Viren’s nightmares also confirming that Viren still feels guilt over what Claudia has gone through thanks to his death and involvement with Aaravos, even after 4x02

Likewise, 4x07 also foreshadows / shows that one of the people Callum is most worried about hurting is Rayla because this shot is about as overt as it can be

Like Viren, Callum is worried about being a pawn in Aaravos’ game and how he may hurt the people around him, while Viren worries he already has; Callum is aware he may be becoming like Claudia, pushed further down a dark path he’s previously rejected, and caught up just as unknowingly as her in Aaravos’ web in so many ways

Callum and Claudia have already done whatever it takes to save their loved ones (dark magic for Rayla and Soren; their juxtaposed saving of their loved one who fell off the Storm Spire as cited earlier in 3x09); Viren, Claudia, and Rayla have all done deplorable things in hopes of protecting / saving their loved ones, as Viren also cites in 4x04:

But there is an aching pain mixed with love that you feel in these moments. I have always been ready to do anything to protect my family, however dangerous, however vile. In the name of love, you may commit acts so unforgivable... you will never forgive yourself. 

Mirroring what Rayla says in her letter and what Claudia said earlier (“I had to do things...”) and indeed a line from Bloodmoon Huntress about Rayla’s best friend at the time, a tiny adoraburr

but it’s something more important than that. I’M GOING TO KEEP YOU SAFE. I have to. I love you too much not to. [...] sometimes, we make sacrifices so that the ones we love don’t have to. It’s part of protecting them—part of protecting you. Taking on hard choices and going to dark places is an act of love. It’s a gift. So, please let me give you this gift, Callum. Stay safe, and stay in the light. Don’t follow me, and don’t look for me. I don’t think you’ll find me, anyway.

The river’s fast, but you’re basically my best friend. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. No matter what it took.

Viren has typically been confident he’s making the right choice; Rayla worries over making the wrong one; Callum is anxious about having no choice; and Claudia is triggered by having to choose at all. 

All of this to say: they all have the same core, explicit, and opposing desires to save the people they love. Rayla still wants to kill Viren and protect Callum, and keep him from becoming a pawn in Aaravos’ game; Viren fears that Claudia will be turned into a pawn and wants to keep her safe from the danger he’s put her in; Callum is worried that he may put Rayla in danger due to Aaravos’ hold on him; and it seems like little to nothing will ever deter Claudia from saving her father, permanently. They are all more terrified of losing/hurting the other more than anything. 

Viren has an incentive to not want Aaravos loose to try to protect his daughter; Claudia has an incentive to free Aaravos in order to save her father. Rayla will already likely save Callum from Aaravos’ brainwashing, either too late (leading to Callum playing his part) or just in time, since as she stated, she’ll do whatever it takes to save him. However, that doesn’t answer entirely how Aaravos gets out or how Callum could play into his hands even without the brainwashing, unless it’s for someone he loves, like Rayla. After all: 

All of this to say S4 absolutely Fucks and I love it so much and I cannot wait for the next season to see how this collision course of love and messiness is going to turn out, and for the one who turns the Wheel of the Cycle to finally get to spin it himself. 

#tdp #tdp meta #rayllum #morally ambiguous fam #why it ends why it always ends #analysis series #s4 #arc 2 #4x07 #analysis #tdp viren #tdp claudia #raydia #it was just red #personal fave #cube hostage exchange theory #pawns #s4 is My Best Friend #tests of love #multi #4x05 #4x04 #4x02 #arc 1 #3x09

[wicked-jade]

Director’s commentary for "If it Wasn't for Bad Luck"

Okay, so in the original plan for 'Bad Luck', I dug a lot deeper into Daniel's history with Silver. I mentioned it briefly in one of the author's notes, but there was supposed to be a whole subplot about Terry, and how he did not stop terrorizing Daniel after the '85 All Valley.

The basic idea was that, after the part in Ch. 16 where he tells Johnny the basic events of KK3, Daniel would go and pull out a folder. He hands it to Johnny, and he sees it's full of old greeting cards and pictures. Johnny flips through them and realizes they're all long-distance, telephoto shots of Daniel and Mr. Miyagi, going about their everyday business. Daniel going to work or doing kata in the garden, Mr. Miyagi out fishing alone or at the hardware store. Even a few of Lucille, going about her business back in Jersey. All seemingly innocent and mundane activities, but it was clear someone was following them, and that they were unaware of it.

(There were also a few more comprising photos. Daniel making out with a hunky blond at a club. Shots of Daniel and another blond guy having sex, taken through the open window of his apartment. Johnny is both horrified that his privacy was compromised like that, but also like, 'hmm, I'm sensing a theme here...' 😂)

Anyway, Johnny is suitably creeped out, and that's when Daniel was going to explain that Silver continued to have his goons stalk him, well after the tournament. For years he would receive those cards on his birthday and on random holidays, filled with photos of himself and his loved ones. Reminders that Terry hadn't forgotten, and that he was always watching. He never actually made outright threats or did anything to anyone, but Daniel was always on edge, wondering when he'd finally strike. The harassment finally stopped shortly before he met Amanda, and he didn't hear anything from him again until Kreese dragged him back into the karate war.

This was meant to really hammer it home to Johnny just how dangerous/unhinged Silver is, and help him understand Daniel's fears a little better. But because 'Bad Luck' was more of a character study of Johnny, I could never find a way to make it fit with the rest of the narrative. Also, that fic already had too much drama going on, it really couldn't take the weight of any more!

That being said, the bare bones of it are still there, if you look closely. Daniel makes cryptic mentions of Silver and his power and obsession with him. There are also several moments where he worries about Silver finding out about Johnny's injuries and exploiting them. There is a mention of Terry probably having 'spies' watching them, and Daniel figuring there's a high change he already knows what happened to Johnny. (And possibly about the kiss they shared out in the garden after their fight.)

There was other Silver and Kreese related stuff that got chopped, too, mostly because it just didn't work tonally with everything else. I basically just kept pushing the trip to Terry Town back, and back, and back, because I just couldn't figure out how to get them to talk about it. Hence, the totally unplanned nightmare chapter was born. 😂

Thanks so much for the ask! 😘

#writing asks

[jackiietaylor]

who do you think should die? (in season 5)

literally anyone other than el. just kidding. maybe

ok but seriously before i start let me say i don’t want anyone to die, but narratively speaking these are the characters that make the most sense to me. also this got very long.

obviously vecna

also probably whatever government or military people continue to get sent after el. however im assuming owens will ultimately make it out alive and probably be involved in helping cover everything up/helping el and hopper either continue to hide or re-enter society

will. i think out of everyone hes definitely in the most danger because he’s the most connected to the upside down. they made a really big deal this season about the upside down being a hivemind, and that was really crucial during s2 when will was still directly connected to that. however, will still definitely has some connection to vecna/the upside down, which will likely complicate any plan to destroy it. like since there’s still a part of will that’s connected to the hivemind in some way, permanently killing the hivemind (not just closing the gate) would also kill will. but i also think this is a very depressing ending so i think it’s both very unlikely despite being very likely, if that makes sense

jonathan. this is kinda connected to the will point above but moreso assuming will lives. jonathans biggest fear at this point is something happening to will while he’s not there. he wasn’t home in s1 when will first got taken and he wasn’t there in s2 until almost the end. i could very easily see him sacrificing himself to protect will

i could see dustin dying just because i think it would have the biggest impact across both the older and younger teens. he’s part of the party but he’s also the closest of the kids to steve and robin, and probably the closest to nancy other than maybe mike

ok this one is kinda out there, but terry and/or becky ives. the government is still after el, they went through the byers california house and owens things, so id say it’s pretty likely they know who her mom is, if they didn’t know before. plus becky called the hawkins pd in s2 to say el was at their house and we know that the government is listening in on the phone lines, so i could see that coming back. or vecna could kill one or both of them to hurt el

i really thought mike was basically guaranteed to die until the duffers confirmed that killing him would be too sad. again this is not me saying i want mike to die, he’s great, but vecna showed nancy a vision of something happening to mike, holly, and their mom, so i really thought all of them were gonna be killed. guess not though. also with the whole el being a superhero and mike being the love interest i assumed theyd go the “villain kills the hero’s love interest” route

one of the parents, probably karen wheeler. she’s been at this weird state of almost involved in the plot for the whole show, so i could see her finally connecting everything and realizing to some extent what her children have been up to and maybe sacrificing herself for her children. or maybe she’d sacrifice her husband. that could be fun. also going back to the previous mike point, vecna showed nancy something happening to her mom. but again, mikes safe and i really don’t think they’d kill the six year old, so karen’s probably safe too

in other news i think nancy is the least likely to die because she’s basically the epitome of a final girl. also i think max is safe because they would’ve just killed her at the end of volume 2 if they weren’t bringing her back. for similar reasons i think lucas, joyce, and hopper are all safe because they have planned dates (lucas and max at the movies, joyce and hopper at enzos) and i don’t think the show will end without showing both of those or at least mentioning them happening, because they did the exact same thing with mike and el and the snow ball in s1/s2. kinda feel the same about robin because theyre clearly setting her and vickie up. and i just think they’re too scared to kill steve. and once again i refuse to entertain the thought of el dying

honestly i don’t think it makes sense to kill anyone at this point. everyone’s survived so much and there’s been so many fake out deaths that ending the show by permanently offing someone feels wrong.

#anonymous #answered #st spoilers #st4 spoilers

[msfbgraves]

Juuuust wanted to add that I think a huge problem in Knights/Pawns, is that Daniel is TOO irresistible. Like, he’s too pretty, too cute, too cuddly…that it actually provokes a violent love and lust in others, especially Alphas, and especially Terry. Terry usually has this under control, but those nights where he comes back from a “job” and/or is not in the best of moods…he gives in to these more base instincts and passions and lets loose on Daniel. Most times, this goes very well (and Daniel, I think, likes to be ravished and at Terry’s mercy sometimes) but when it doesn’t, we get r*pe. There’s a thin line between the two and usually Terry/Alphas know better. Until they don’t.

Daniel's Pop tested Terry both on restraint and protective instincts towards his youngest son. (The heat and the music trick. Both times he wanted to 'endanger' Daniele without actually putting him in harm's way. Performing music in public when you don't feel comfortable will provoke the same reactions as actual distress). Both times Terry showed restraint and acted to ensure Daniel's wellbeing. Which is to say he knew better that night he raped his mate too. He simply chose not to care. He thought he could afford it. What recourse did Danny boy have after all? Yes he's lovely. Yes they both like it rough. But Terry saw the line and thought, pun intended, "Fuck it." Yes Danny is a beautiful brat and a bit of a tease. And Terry is stronger than him by far. That's why it's Terry's responsibility to stay on the right side of that line and he didn't. Daniel, who, fundamentally, has done nothing but try his best for Terry. They have five pups at this point, six years of marriage and Daniel has given him everything. Terry used to live in some rooms above a store somewhere and subsisted on violence, whiskey and pub grub. He partly loved John Kreese so much because he needed a semblance of family time at his friend's house. (He still loves to be at John's house, he's not that basic!) Has love now, a great family, comfort, sex, a place to receive his friends and associates and... chooses to do this anyway. Oh, no - it's vile. Absolutely vile. Consider that Amanda is on Daniel's side in the whole affair. She adores her brother but is like: "Can't blame you if you kill him." To do this over some mob related pissing contest. But this is Silverusso. And in canon too, Daniel hasn't stopped caring for Terry despite the violence. He married Terry's female doppel after all the hurt. And yes, Daniel does provoke cuteness aggression in others too. Sometimes on purpose. That's one of his dark edges. Putting that together with Terry is quite the cocktail. Or even with Johnny and the Cobras, whom he also provoked in canon. But it's still Johnny's fault for nearly killing him. Danny flirts with danger,and that's fine because Terry eats that stuff up, but as the stronger one, it's Terry's responsibility to look out for Daniel's safety. And he didn't. End of story. Greater power, greater responsibility. Daniel has done enough in his marriage to look out for Terry's welfare too to be allowed to expect no less.

#knights and pawns #silverusso

[librarygf]

thinking about how Ian said he loved Mickey in s3

god i know, the timing of it is so fucking tragic, but i also think the timing is why it happens. like ian’s really just trying to deal with terry tearing mickey away from him, and with the trauma of what just happened, by clinging on and insisting on that love. but then that’s kind of the exact opposite of what mickey needs or has any chance to safely entertain in that moment, because he’s traumatized and terrified and living in such a different world than ian is, and that’s a part of what makes it so tragic too. like they only talk about it once the whole topic is just a heartbreaking impossibility 

#em answers #honestly i can't even think about it s3b is just so fucking upsetting for so many reasons and this is one of them #like ian's just clinging so desperately to that love #and that love is something mickey has wanted too - we've just seen him reach for it #but it's only something they mention now that he literally just can't #both because of the danger he's in because of terry and also because the whole subject is so laced with trauma #because to admit it now is to like. acknowledge the thing he can't have anymore and the thing that's like #in some ways sort of the reason that this horrifying thing just happened to him #like god the idea that love is such a painful subject to him in this moment that being begged to admit it is what makes him like #physically hurt the person he loves #that just breaks my fucking heart

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Which Hypmic character do you think is most likely to commit tax fraud? (for some reason i genuinely wanna see your answer to this question NDBWKJDHWKFLWFNBW)

When I mentioned this as an offhand comment elsewhere, I was definitely thinking Rei, but you know what? That's too easy. We can do better. Let's take a deep dive into Hypmic characters and their potential to commit tax fraud.

Ichirou - Ichirou would never knowingly commit tax fraud because he is a good boy at heart, but would he know to pay enterprise tax? Is Ichirou receiving cash under the table from the ol' grannies of Ikebukuro and not reporting it to the government? Does Yamada Odd Jobs even have a business license? This is doubtful, considering that Ichirou is breaking child labor laws by employing Saburou. (Children under the age of 15 cannot be employed for the kind of work the BBs do.) Unless Saburou is not listed as an employee, which means that Ichirou is either paying him off the record (tax fraud!) or not paying him at all (also illegal!). There's also some questionableness about him employing Jirou, as children under the age of 18 cannot be employed for anything that is dangerous or harmful, and any jobs involving rapping with the country's weapon of choice would certainly qualify as dangerous. This whole operation is a lawyer's nightmare. Like father, like son.

Jirou - Do you seriously think Jirou knows how to calculate and file taxes? Hoo baby. This is, of course, assuming that Ichirou (as his employer) doesn't do it for him and also assuming, of course, that Ichirou pays Jirou and pays taxes, both of which I'm not sure we can comfortably decide on our own.

Saburou - Saburou is one of the very few people in this list capable of filing taxes and simultaneously one of the even fewer people in this list capable of creating an offshore account in the Cayman Islands in which to hide his ill-gotten wealth.

Samatoki - Samatoki works for the Katen-gumi yakuza, an organized crime syndicate, but yet he doesn't smuggle weapons, doesn't deal drugs, doesn't extort the locals for money, doesn't act as a pimp for sex workers, doesn't own any casinos, and doesn't loanshark. In fact, he's made clear his disdain for almost all of the things on this list and beats up those who do happen to do the activities on this list. So what exactly does this gang do that's actually criminal? By process of elimination, it's probably tax fraud. They probably own a bunch of restaurants and other small businesses as fronts and just, like, pay half taxes on everything. Scandalous.

Juuto - I cannot look at Juuto and say with a straight face that he doesn't commit some kind of tax fraud.

Riou - He doesn't pay property tax on the land he camps on. I doubt he owns it, so this is less tax fraud and more being a squatter. Either way, illegal.

Ramuda - I don't think Ramuda has a legal government identity - or rather, he probably does, but it's shared with all the clones. This means that while another clone is owning his shop and business (and thus paying property tax, personal income tax, and enterprise tax), he and the other clones are still, presumably, eating food and thus all paying consumption tax. Ramuda's legal identity is therefore paying MORE taxes than anyone else. Does this count as negative fraud?

Gentarou - Assuming that Gentarou is not his legal name, Gentarou is apparently filing taxes under someone else's name which definitely counts.

Dice - Dice is a freeter, and so the matter of his income tax is left up to his various employers. I am positive that the Tobaris did not pay income tax for that smuggling operation he ran in FP/M+ chapters 1 - 4, meaning that Dice has once again unknowingly committed a crime.

Jakurai - Jakurai seems like the one person who would sincerely do all his taxes and, moreover, do them correctly.

Hifumi - Prior to the H Age, Hifumi was a good boy who filed all his taxes properly. Now that the local government office is overrun by women, Hifumi is too terrified to go file for a tax return, which can be necessary if an employee makes over 20,000,000 yen a year. I don't know how much Hifumi makes, but this isn't outside of the realm of possibility. Tax fraud! (Or he just makes Doppo do it. Or there's electronic filing. But shh.)

Doppo - I think his employers would just handle all his income tax by withholding it from his salary, as is standard. There might be some screwy-dewyness from the amount of overtime he works, but this is really on his employer, not him.

Sasara - He would do it only once, and never again, just to say "Tax fraud? More like I'm tax flawed, am I right?"

Roshou - Roshou might run into trouble as an employee of Rei, who is most certainly not filing taxes. This is kind of fraud by proxy.

Rei - Yeah.

Kuukou - As a priest, Kuukou may be exempt from paying income tax for activities that are "related to the purpose of the organization [of the Buddhist temple]" (page 167), but this necessitates that Kuukou has an income. Certainly, we've seen him buy things before, but... where does the money come from? Presumably, he has an allowance from his father or is actually paid by his father for whatever priestly duties he does (cleaning the temple...?), and so the question then becomes whether or not those activities count as religious (I'm going to hazard a guess that cleaning does not count) and whether or not his father handles the bookkeeping correctly, as I don't trust Kuukou to handle his own taxes.

Juushi - I bet he has Hitoya help him with his income taxes. He's a good kid who wouldn't mess it up on purpose.

Hitoya - Hitoya writes off both Kuukou and Juushi as dependents, which probably isn't legal as Juushi almost certainly makes more than 480,000 a year. It also isn't legal in the sense that they're not financially dependent on Hitoya, but his argument is that they're emotionally dependent on him, which should qualify him for an even larger deduction.

Final takeaway:

[Image description: Griffin McElroy holding up a sign that has been edited to read, "I don't understand taxes and at this point I'm too afraid to ask." End description.]

#not a translation #asks #hypmic asks