#i feel like his name is really symbolic and so I did a little digging and my hunch seems to be right

[macdenlover]

My fucking god. There is so much to take apart.

This episode gave us a peak into Dennis’s mind and it’s the closest thing we’re gonna get to putting him under a microscope like a little bug and studying him in a lab. It isn’t what I expected from this episode but man oh man am i glad to have it. There’s a few things we need to establish first that’s gonna be the basis of my analysis. Dennis is angry, but he ultimately uses that anger to mask fear, pain, and every other emotion that he doesn’t allow himself to feel. Also, the entirety of the episode— every little detail was intentionally conjured by Dennis’s mind either consciously or subconsciously so none of it is off the table to dig into.

There’s two big things at play here— one, his desperate need for control; and two, his instinct to self sabotage. This episode did one hell of a job at showing how woven together the two are.

The essence of Dennis’s character is this impenetrable shell he’s built to protect the vulnerable part that sits at his core, and we finally got to see HOW he builds that shell piece by piece. This is the pressure-cooking of the diamond— if you apply enough pressure it’ll harden the shell.

Everything is thrown out of balance when Dennis learns about his high blood pressure, but what really bothers him about that is the inevitability of aging— something we’ve seen him be insecure about for many seasons. But what’s different about this episode is that while his usual fear of aging comes from vanity, this time it’s combined with Dennis being so afraid of the world around him changing and leaving him behind. This follows the thematic trajectory of this season— all the characters struggling to cope with inevitable change. 

A stress-free day at the beach is a pipe dream. Happiness is something so hopelessly distant from him that he builds a fantasy about chasing it while never getting there— sabotaging the plan because he either thinks it’s too impossible, something he doesn’t deserve, or both. This is not the first time we’ve seen this from him. In The Gang Saves The Day, the rest of the gang’s fantasies revolve around them finally getting their dream ending, while Dennis’s stuck out from the others as a barely comprehendible mess of his own misery. (I’m gonna rewatch this episode soon and give you a full breakdown of my thoughts). Dennis self sabotages in his own fantasies because he can’t imagine a reality where he is capable of getting what he wants. Dissatisfaction is something so permanent to him, and Dennis Takes a Mental health day is all about him trying to cling to things that are permanent to regain his sense of control. He is creating uncertainty in his own fantasy so that he can be certain about it. He is such a broken man and it is such a fucked up cycle— one thing continues feeding into the other. “The pin’s the key to the phone, the phone’s the key to the car.” 

The primary source of his frustration in this episode was the automated systems, which I think holds place to represent more than one thing. It’s a symbol of the changing world that he can’t control or escape from, but it also represents the parts of himself he’s fighting against. He forms systems in his life that are so methodical and complicated that it gets in the way of his ability to have real human connections. They went right on the nose with it in this ep by having him spelling out his own name as an acronym in a fit of rage. Subconscious Dennis’s d.e.n.n.i.s. system is fucking crazy. 

D- “Deliver me from this”

E - “Engage with human”

N - “Nightmare”

N - “NIGHTMARE”

I - “Is this real?”

S - “Somebody help me”

If you interpret this as his frustration with not only the state of the world but himself and his perpetual loneliness it gets incredibly heartbreaking. Guys I’m really tearing up here. 

His interactions with others in this episode also say so much about him and the inner conflicts he’s experiencing. He knows he establishes control by taking his frustration out on other people, but he simultaneously struggles with that making him a bad person. He yells at the customer service workers and then APOLOGIZES and reassures them that it’s not them who he’s really mad at. He doesn’t mean to take it out on them. (Potentially wild implications for Dennis woobifiers here.) He wants to take his frustration out on people who he believes deserve it, like the CEO. He gets to see himself as a hero in this story even if he’s miserable. If happiness is a pipe dream, he can settle for second best which is the rush he gets from taking his pain out on the guy who fucked him over. But he is simultaneously the person he spent his entire fantasy craving a real human connection with. He doesn’t know how to do that. It got weird and a little sexual (he definitely wanted to fuck that guy till the room stank). he is vindicated with violence at the end, which is ultimately what he will always resort to because it gives him the sense of power that desperately needs to make the frustration, vulnerability, and weakness go away (mentally AND physically). This is his cycle. 

I’m not sure Dennis could have an episode where he breaks down and cries and has a huge cathartic moment and then goes back to his regular self the next episode the way Mac and Charlie have. Dennis is a whole other can of worms. RCG are comfortable with exploring different sides to these characters as long as they are kept in a state of limbo for the length of the show, but letting Dennis openly express his feelings (even to himself) might make it impossible to come back from because this is literally the entire crux of his character. The last time he opened up emotionally he fled to another state only come back a year later more hostile and emotionally distant than ever. They had to put a hard reset on him after season 12 because they knew that version of him didn’t have longevity in the show. I WISH so fucking bad that they would explore the vulnerable parts of him more explicitly on the show but for now I will settle for being a little vulture and picking it out of the carcass of this season. 

#iasip #i had a lot of thoughts about this ep #this is just my raw opinions #i call this my 2:00 am autism + adhd combo move #would you believe it if i said i had more that i cut out 😭 #tell me ur thoughts pleaseee

[candycorncrave]

So. Let's talk about Penacony and birds.

-Spoilers for the 2.1 quest (and possibly some of 2.2 if my theories and findings are correct)

Hey all! I'm not too good at starting these essay type things, so we're just gonna dive right in. Disclaimer, these are all just theories complied from random (not very in depth) research I did, and my own thoughts, so take it all with a grain of salt. I just wanted to put this out here for funsies!

With that out of the way, let's dive in!

From very early on into the Penacony quests, there was something that just kept nagging at me. Robin's name, (mixed with the fact that shes a singer.) The family's crest being a Nightingale. Aventurine's design very clearly representing a peacock. Ratio's owls.

There were just too many bird references for this all to be a coincidence, so I decided to do some research on bird symbolism and meaning.

And here are some very interesting things I found!

Now a lot of this is quite clear cut, so I won't go into alot of explanation, but I do find the "rebirth" part quite interesting, especially since it is hinted during the 2.1 quest that she came back from "death".

Let's start with Robin, since she's one of the more obvious ones: "Above all, the robin red-breast is a symbol of spring song and good fortune. Additionally, it also symbolises passion, a new beginning, and re-birth. Therefore, if the bird flies into your life you will be blessed with happiness and joy. Subsequently, most of the symbolism of robins is centred on their spiritual meaning which is believed to be a symbol of divine sacrifice." In native American culture, Robins also have strong ties with family and "heart centered connections."

Next up are Owls: Now this one is also pretty obvious. Dr Ratio's design has very heavy Greek inspiration, and owls in Greek mythology are very clearly tied with Athena, knowledge, and wisdom.

The thing I found interesting about this was all over Sunday's mansion, there are owls decorating a lot of the furniture. Could this have been foreshadowing for his "betrayal" and assisting Sunday? I'm not sure. In my opinion, that seems like quite a length to go to mislead players- especially since it's such a niche detail that most people probably won't think twice about. Maybe it will have more meaning in 2.2. Guess we'll wait and see!

3rd, Another obvious one, Black Swan: They symbolize the opposite of what the white swan does, naturally, so death, danger, destruction, suffering, chaos, mystery, etc.

Even more than that though, "The black swan theory of events is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight."

Another one I don't feel the need to dig that deep into. It all pretty much checks out with what we've seen of her character and the events of the story so far. Black Swan is a scary lady....

4th, Let's talk about Peacocks: Now we all know peacocks are commonly associated with general wealth, pride, and flamboyance. I thought that was all there really was to it being such a big contributor to Aventurine's design. But I decided to dig a little deeper and. Oh boy.

Peacocks can also symbolize both death, and life. Now at face value this is quite contrasting, but when you apply it to Adventurine's character- it makes quite a lot of sense. A single coin flip between life and death that keeps landing face up, and yet, it's a gamble he never hesitates to make. Moreso, peacocks can symbolize the freedom and liberation of the soul. (OUCH)

And Let's finish off the doozy. Nightingales: The symbol of the family and the bird constantly following Sunday around and watching everything the entire quest without a sound.

"Nightingales are symbolic of beauty, melody, creativity, purity, and the expression of oneself freely. They are also symbolic of darkness, mysticism, spiritual awakening, and renewal."

Now I found that the latter is often meant when you see a nightingale in your dreams. It is also mentioned if they do not speak back to you in a dream you will soon be betrayed.

,,,, How intriguing.

Also intriguing, Bloodhounds are very well known to be hunting dogs, and birds are prey for dogs.

And speaking of prey,,, are fish not considered birds' prey? And Sparkle, who we see fish around every time she shows up, was the "victim" in Black Swan's quest.

Anyways. I could be grasping at straws with that last part, but I do feel there is alot of stuff going on here with animal symbolism, especially more to dig into with Gallagher and Sparkle. It's all very intriguing

If you read all this here's a cookie! 🍪 Thanks for your time :) I hope you enjoyed the ramblings of a madman. Please feel free to add anything or comment your thoughts! I'd love to discuss

#honkai star rail #hsr #honkai posting #honkai breakdown #honkai theory #hsr theories #hsr 2.1 #hsr 2.0 #black swan hsr #robin hsr #sunday hsr #aventurine #aventurine hsr #dr ratio #veritas ratio #rambles #all of this information was found of google top searches btw #i did NOT dig for these #like its actually insane #but anyways

[wigglesdtuff]

I still can't believe people don't think she's vital to the endgame. She is SO important in finding the one piece and figuring out whats up with the void century. They seriously could not do it without her, or at least it would be a whole lot harder. And even then, she's a valued member of the crew regardless. They love her and she loves them and that's all that matters.

"Also ask me about how i'm convinced robin and luffy are half siblings" oh my god i'm so curious about this, please do give me the run down

I don't know how to answer two asks at once, forgive me but this is also for @tomorrowcomest0day

OKAY Thank you for waiting, I had to run an errand and then bought a coffee SO HERE WE GO!

I actually have so many thoughts about this you have no idea. I'm very normal about Nico Robin.

PREFACE: Okay so this is a very silly theory that is almost entirely opinion based/gut feeling related. I'm not an expert at anything and this is not at all in-depth. It does not change the core of the story in any way with regards to Luffy and Robin’s relationship. To me, it already reads as a sibling relationship, and I find it incredibly endearing and sweet - the found family aspect being super important. I just also think it would be very sweet if Robin had a little actual family left after the events of Ohara, especially someone who she already very much cares about. SPOILER WARNING. THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR EGGHEAD, SO AS A PRECAUTION I SUGGEST BEING CAUGHT UP!

At a glance, Luffy and Robin are polar opposites. Luffy is loud, boisterous and impetuous. Robin is quiet, reserved and calculated. HOWEVER, these are two sides of the same coin. They are both very intelligent, but where Robin is incredibly book smart, Luffy has intuition that could rival the gods. There is an overlap where, inexplicably, they understand each other without really having to say anything - moreso than some of the other Straw Hats. The most common example being in Zou when Luffy was trying to recall the name of Marco from the Whitebeard pirates. 

They share a wavelength, and it’s not just this. Luffy has always been particularly blunt - so has Robin. Even as far back as Ohara.

I can dig up examples of Robin and Luffy both being blunt/grim, but I think if you’ve watched the series/read up until this point you’ve seen it. Luffy tells Coby in the first episode that he hates him. He tells Shirahoshi he doesn’t like her because she cries. Robin’s entire schtick is that she says something out of pocket. 

Coming back to the notion that they're polar opposites and yet two sides of the same coin: The potential Sun and Moon symbolism. This one I won't go too much into, because it's entirely conjecture, but we know Luffy is the Sun God, but what in the world is up with Robin's DF and why does it seem like it's in the moon carvings?

Nothing is really confirmed because I don't think they've really discussed Demonio, but if we get a reveal later that the Hana Hana no Mi is ALSO more than just a paramecia, I would just not be surprised. In any case, the potential for the Sun and Moon siblings is just fun to me, so take that with a grain of salt (like this entire post).

Monkey D Dragon - The deadbeat dad himself. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was two for two. So we know a fun little tidbit from one of the more recent chapters, and that's the fact that not only did he know of Ohara's existence (and subsequent nonexistence), he visited to pay his respects and promptly started the Revolutionary Army as a direct result of the Buster Call on Ohara. It's not evidence of any familial connection, but it's also not not evidence, you know? He is of age, and the only mention of Nico Olvia’s husband is vague and alludes to him possibly being dead, but we have no confirmation on that yet. Olvia has white hair, which Robin very clearly does not. She, Luffy and Dragon all have the same hair color. It’s a common hair color, so again. Not evidence. But also not not evidence. We know he was looking for her since she was the survivor of Ohara, but that could always be a cover. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he started the revolutionary army because of Ohara and sought the one survivor for 20 years, that’s all I’m saying here. It very well could be, but a girl can dream.

I HIT ENTER TOO SOON I CAN'T USE TUMBLR

IN SHORT: They are the Sun and the Moon to me, and I think that it's an entirely possible reveal, but it also means nothing to the overall story. She is already his sister tbh. Robin deserves all the family and love in the world, and Luffy also does. I WISH I was better at putting things together, but here are some thoughts LOL. Thank you for coming to my poorly written out Ted Talk, Tumblr really messed up my train of thought.

#nico robin #one piece #silly goofy theory #one piece spoilers #wtt asks #okay I can probably come up with more I was gonna organize this better but I accidentally clicked Ctrl + enter instead of shift + enter #I feel like a dingus #embarrassing! #but I love them both #I think luffy deserves a sibling who is present in his life LOL and not dead or thought to be dead #and robin deserves love #full stop

[dittolicous]

part three of raging stealth black!sanji i guess! (part one - part two)

sanji is very aware that he's just a means to an end. that he's being lied to and used and manipulated. he was given a butchered version of his 'life history' to make up for his amnesia, which included the strawhats abandoning him when he proved too weak and got hurt, something which he had no frame of reference to doubt when he first awoke from death

but if vinsmoke judge is anything, its being ridiculously bad at foresight and little details

honestly, how did he really expect to hide the relative truth with the strawhats being such big names? their journey has been documented, and while its clearly got some biases, sanji can read between the lines. little details are his *job*, thats all espionage is!

so, yeah. he knows hes being used to get the strawhat pirates, knows that he and his siblings are nothing but manufactured tools

it just adds another coal to the growing fire pit of rage in his stomach. its really all he can feel these days, this growing red hot anger, so bright that he perpetually, endlessly fights to keep flames from dancing along his form. he cant place it at first, has no reason to dislike his fathers hand on his shoulder the night he finally awakens, yet the weight lights something within him. his skin prickles where the hand had rested. he wants to scratch it off, to remove the tainted section of his body

he says nothing. good children are seen and not heard.... hes good, yes? right? thats... what he wants?

(can he even want? everything is so empty, so quiet... why-why-why-)

his brother's hollow laughter, the smell of bins full of rotting food, the bubble-filled cloning tubes, the taste of his sisters poison in the air as it lays waste to their enemies, the joyous smile on his fathers face...

sanji also knows he shouldn't be able to feel, yet he can very clearly name this white hot feeling taking root deep within him - rage, unabashed and uncontrollable

when hes not dreaming of sea salt, citrus, or distant laughter, he dreams of vinsmoke blood staining the ground, of satisfaction as his heels dig into ribs, of inflicting every wound they ever gave him right back at them (an odd thing, his waking mind supplies, seeing as his family has never hurt him...), of crushing the shells to the sailing snails which house this tyrannical kingdom

he had hoped to exorcize the demons haunting his dream by gathering knowledge, hence why he sought outside information sources (ie where ever judge deemed worth attacking), surely these unbiased sources would clear away this doubt that should never have exsisted!

instead the roots of his vitriol are set. there is no going back to sanji that woke to his family's supposedly loving faces

they are warmongers, destroyers... liars... they take more than they could ever need or desire... he isn't a son or brother, hes nothing more than another plunder of victory. a walking symbol of their prowess

what do these fools even hope to achieve with their senseless grapples for power? kingdoms?? glory of germa66? scientific might?

don't make him laugh

sanji might only be a means to an end, but so are they, not that those arrogent buffoons even realize

(he cannot say how he knows nor does he really care, but the danger of the world government runs deeper than any outsider could ever grasp - the five shadowy beasts of his dreams tell him so with guttural voices and air-tainting bloodlust)

all too soon it becomes clear that life is nothing but pointless suffering, engineered by tyrants just like vinsmoke judge, just like the shadow beasts whos screams having him waking in cold-sweats, there is no end... they are only free from this horrible cycle in the embrace of death. the dead cannot bleed nor starve nor struggling to breath through grief filled lungs. life is children sobbing over the prone form of their parents or hollowed faces taking mouthfuls of poisoned water to quiet aching stomachs...

the vinsmokes take blindly and foolishly, they took everything from him, took his life, his memories, his heart, left him nothing but a tense anger that leaves his muscles aching and fingers twitching to destroy, pride blinding them to the encroaching cliff into hell

if they wish for hell so badly, who is sanji to deny them? he will bring down the flames of hell and rip clean through the earth to deliver them personally. every sensless act of violence, every life taken without a blink of an eye, every drop of blood the fed the ground, sanji shall return tenfold, yet deny them the relief of death just as they stole him from his

he'll go along with their little plan to draw out the strawhat pirates, give them the easy satisfaction they desire, and just when they feel victory by the tips of their fingers.... they will learn what life is truly like by sanji's very own hands

(and if he holds tightly to the fleeting moments of calm like a balm on his burned exoskeleton, brought on by the face of his former captain or flashes of green from the perpetually lost swordsmen, no one has to know

none of it will matter in the end)

#one piece #vinsmoke sanji #blackleg sanji #one piece sanji #sanji #vague suicidal ideation #this bitch is DEPRESSED and that depression takes the form of anger #=) not that i would know what thats like hahahaha.... ha... #burning rage au

[bathsaltsmcgee]

Lore in the Merch

Okay, so as I'm sure everyone has probably already heard, the latest line of merch from Vivziepop just dropped this morning on Shark Robot, and as I was perusing the list, figuring out exactly what it was that I was going to snag for myself, I found something that I thought was just a hair interesting.

Okay, so in the t-shirt line, there are a bunch of glow in the dark tees featuring various hazbin and helluva characters in the style of tarot cards, which were, to be fair, exceptionally neat.

And yes, I've already ordered one.

However, as I was admiring the designs later in the evening to make sure I got the one I wanted, just in case I missed any, I noticed that there were little numbers on each of the designs.

Numbers for tarot cards.

One quick trip to google later, I realized they were all for corresponding tarot cards from the major arcana, which, admittedly, does make a great deal of sense, all things considered.

It would be a little weird if they were supposed to be tarot cards and didn't have the numbers in the design.

That, I will assent.

In any case, I did a little digging and I found that Beelzebub was the sun, Blitz was the moon, Charlie and Vaggie were the strength card, Human Loona was the chariot, and Alastor was the devil.

And while my first response was 'yeah, that tracks', when I started to think about it, to really think about it, I realized that perhaps there was more here than just a funny little reference to a tarot card deck.

For example, Stolas got the star card for his tarot card number, and if one digs into the deeper meaning of what the star represents in the arcana, there are a number of parallels with his story and character that tie in with the star card. Finding new meaning, holding a new sense of self, discovering a new sense of purpose, getting away from your crazy ass ex-wife, just to name a few.

So, it makes sense that he'd get the star card.

Furthermore, Angel Dust got the hanged man card for his number, which also makes sense because, from my understanding, it's all about taking pause to reevaluate your strategy on life and consider whether or not this is the right way to go before taking the next step. 'The thinking that got into this mess won't get you out of it and it's time for a change' sort of card. So, considering his horrible life as a pornstar/ prostitute/ stripper and wanting to get away from it all by making a split second decision and submitting to the Happy Hotel for redemption treatment instead of just continuing on the way he's been would be more than enough to qualify him for the Hanged Man.

So, what does the card for Alastor mean?

Sure, it's easy to write it off with a 'well, he's the Devil of the show' sort of thing, but I suspect it has far more to do with his own way of thinking than it does anything else. I'm not an expert on tarot, but from what I can glean, the devil card has something to do with being trapped or restricted or held back by something that keeps you from being your best self; self-imposed limitations, or a lack of power, or feeling like you're not in control, or there's some external force that making someone feel like they're powerless to affect their situation, so they might as well not even try to change it, which, honestly, doesn't sound like Alastor at all, given what little we know about him thus far.

it sounds like something he might inflict, sure, but not something he'd be going through himself personally.

However, given the nature of the other cards and how those arcanas are linked to the individual character's arcs, logic dictates that the symbolism of the arcana are directly tied to the characters and their struggles.

So, what gives here?

Is Alastor really trapped a prison of his own making?

Does he actually feel powerless about his situation, which is why he outrightly dismissed Charlie's redemption scheme because, in his mind, it's far too late to change and there's no undoing what's been done?

Is that what's really going on here?

Or am I overthinking things again?

Well, either way, they hid lore in the merch.

I just wanted to point that out.

Furthermore, if they actually did foreshadow future character developments within the tarot card shirts for a show that has yet to premiere, I will officially be impressed.

That was clever.

#hazbin hotel #alastor #merch #they hid lore in the merch y'all #tarot #tarot cards #arcana #major arcana #the devil #the devil tarot #hazbin alastor

[artwithoutblood]

I have decided to assign all the galleria girlies Einsturzende Neubauten songs. They can’t escape it. I wish to inflict music on others and also the sound of my own voice. ☝️🧐

For Dorian I pick Stella Maris and The Garden. (Fun fact: Stella Maris means “star of the sea” which often refers to Mary, but is also an alternate name for the Northern Star sailors used to navigate. Polaris. I keep coming back to this symbol. They are trying to find each other.

In the Garden the 4 rivers flowed from Eden. It’s interesting how the song slowly goes from calm and repetitive to mounting desperate grief.)

For Erebus I wanted to give him Blume (probably how gentle yet foreboding it is, how there’s literally a director with a megaphone, and poetic flower imagery). “If you know my name, don’t speak it out. It holds power.”

Or Silence Is Sexy. exaggerated cigarette inhales and rhythmic military tapping 

Or Insomnia. very ambient and sinister, droning, troubled

For Aeron Insomnia fits a little better though as they don’t ever sleep or really rest, only stare, and have bad daydreams.

 “Insomnia on a new moon night Being caught in circular reasoning In well-known confusions Without replenishment of conclusions

 … Can't stop On an empty new moon night Is a lot It's all far too much Way too much to sleep The thoughts have night tours I never put her down

So they are there and sing their song Of all the things I ever lost Of keys, innocence, good friends About perspectives, account balances Some things are just temporary

Lots and lots of dark stuff Too much Way too much to sleep Far too much to dream about”

Or Total Eclipse Of The Sun. A very calm chill avant garde song about destruction. 

I’m still debating which of the two gets Nagorny Karabakh, a beautiful contemplative song about self isolation and taking refuge yet still asking to be visited. There are asides to war in the Middle East like being trapped between. (This song is very romanticised, was written in the 90s (?) before the current escalation, and is not intended to trivialise the horrors happening right now.)

For Genesis’ dissonant music maybe something more industrial noise like one of the clanging metal songs off Kollaps, or the last few minutes of Armenia off Halber Mensch. The early stuff is not really my cup of tea and I’m not too familiar with it. Had to dig for something. But I knew something in there might suit him. They’re very experimental and discordant, literally banging or using tools on scrap metal in some performances.

Der Tod Ist Ein Dandy is probably what the Arcana was trying to unleash on the world. 

Or these unholy screams during a trippy performance of Stagger Lee while Blixa Bargeld was still in the Bad Seeds. Volume warning - flashing lights warning - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yapiXJsTNPA

Over time Blixa actually somewhat scarred his vocal cords with his trademark screams.

Or a upbeat song like Let’s Do It A Dada for when he’s just being a silly energetic guy jumpin around

Kayn, Ambrose, Adonis, I haven’t really picked anything for them yet.

I dunno man I just be talking

this is a lot to respond to but i did listen to all of these! good band. feel free viewers to interpret these songs and add your own for characters!

#dorian ask #erebus ask #aeron ask #genesis ask

[fourseasonsfigs]

Love Surrounding

Here we have a pair of Junzhe figs that are all about celebrating love.

This fig set reminds me of this interview question and Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun's responses:

One of the great things about being a Junzhe fan, is that all of our merch celebrates love in one form or another. It's really delightful.

Speaking of delightful, these two figs seem to be a combination of all sorts of great fandom nods.

First, the two of them are sporting pink hair, so this is clearly meant to be post Happy Camp pink powder! Gong Jun is here wearing a "Happy and Love" sweatshirt.

Gong Jun wore this cheerful Happy and Love sweatshirt during the filming of Legend of Anle. The fig maker kept the sentiment but also made it JZP themed with the orange symbol.

Zhehan is wearing a Surround-theme shirt, inspired by his Surround single released on May 7, 2021:

I can't help but mention here that Gong Jun actually wore a surround-themed shirt on the 5-month anniversary of the release of Surround, also during the filming of Legend of Anle:

Thank you RealGe forthe pics!

I feel like I've seen Zhehan wearing an outfit like this somewhere before. The fig maker clearly took the base clothing inspiration from something specific, but I couldn't find anything in my (badly organized) picture folder. If I find it, I'll come back and update this post!

Found! Through the sharp eyes of a very clever fandom friend, HERE is the inspiration for Zhehan's outfit:

Even the pose and everything. Wow! The fig maker did indeed switch up the Lanvin name, but everything else is right on. Fantastic!

I've had this set for a very long time, and just hadn't gotten around to posting about them, mostly because I was trying to dig up that picture of Zhehan. I figured they're well overdue a nice long post, so they're getting one!

These two cuties are too wobbly to get to pose for more than a few seconds at a time, so I popped them onto fig stands with some fig stickers.

They look like they're high-fiving here!

Gong Jun is quite a bit taller here in this set than Zhehan, and the volume the fig maker gave his hair lends it even a little more height in the back.

Case in point, with the larger hair diameter making his head look quite a bit bigger. I'm a big fan of Junjun's hair swooped off his face and touseled a bit, so I approve.

Their little pose with their feet turned in is very cute.

I missed out on buying this fig set at the time, so I had to hunt it down on Xianyu. Well worth it.

The detail on the shoes is just charming.

The expressions are so bright and cheerful!

Yes I love the little JZ on their feet. Did you notice the little notch detail on Zhehan's pants? You probably saw it before, but I'm not sure I registered it until just now.

I was hoping with the cute foot positions they'd be super stable figs just standing around, but no, they turned out to be a bit wobbly.

Oops, the top-down view here is more like an angled-top view, but it's still good enough to see the hair and the cute little details on the outfits.

Speaking of cute, these box cards are adorable!

What a sweet set! I really like this one, I'm glad I was able to track it down.

Material: PVC

Fig Count: 467

Scene Count: 31

Rating: ...say bye bye to all the troubles

#junzhe #gong jun #zhang zhehan #word of honor cast #shl cast #figthusiast

[nihils-trolls]

From the Top

Yumech Dibiki | Wisp's Hollow | 4 sweeps of age

Here they sat again at the table- small, square sheets of old parchment laid out in front of them. Yumech was wholly frustrated with this exercise already, having failed miserably the last few times. It's evident just by the tired expression on their face.

"Maybe you should take a break. It's getting late, and your other studies are just as important."

Their mentor sits across from them, patiently keeping an eye on them to make sure everything goes smoothly. He can't really teach them anything else until they have this concept down.

Slightly stubborn as they are though, the young troll shakes their head. [One more time,] they say. [It won't be bad like last time, promise.]

The elder sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. However, he doesn't stop them.

"At least I figured out you have an affinity for the light domain. But I could have done without the blinding explosion."

His remarks make Yumech shrink slightly, the instructions of the exercise playing again through their head.

The mark of a mage is not their name, nor is it their sign or seal. It is something that represents their very being, and is unique for each user. To figure it out, all you have to do is pour yourself- or rather, your mana- onto the sheet here. But take caution: You must control the flow just right. Too much can cause an accident, and too little will cause nothing to happen at all.

Control. Without control, there's not much a mage can do besides hurt themself. As their mentor mentioned, the last attempt of this exercise ended with a literal 'flash bang.'

They pick up a sheet and close their eyes, focusing again. It's not that hard, just do it already.

"Think about it like a faucet, Yu," their mentor speaks up. "What you've done so far is cranked the handle all the way open, letting the water run full force. Not great, but you don't want it to just trickle either."

They open their eyes to try again. No explosions this time, but it does not go as they'd hoped. Upon pouring a bit of himself out on the page, the sheet sprouts roots and stems- the latter of which start twisting and shifting around the paper.

Yumech drops it immediately as to not be caught in the growth. As it clatters to the floor, the sprig bolts upright- roots digging into and through the flooring. It keeps growing to the size of a sapling, leaves and all- standing tall within the dining room.

Radinn chuckles before turning to Yumech again. "Interesting, I've never taught someone with such a talent for life, either. Try again, maybe dial it back just a tad more."

They slouch over and sigh, defeated. [I can't do it. This is stupid.]

"Hm." He feigns pondering for a moment. "Disagree with you, lad. This is vital learning experience right here, for me and you." Radinn shifts to lean back in his seat.

"Magic is fickle. In practicing any area or domain, you're going to fail. Likely very often. But how you view that failure is important. It's important to learn what not to do, so that in going forward, you can avoid those previous mistakes."

"Eventually, the craft will become second nature to you- like breathing. So try one more time, from the top. Then you will go take a break, regardless of how it turns out." He gestures to another sheet of parchment, encouraging them onward.

[Fine. One more time.]

They pick up another sheet, staring blankly at it for a moment. Hesitating. They already knew how to let their mana flow, but controlling it has been trial and error. Mostly, error. They want to keep learning about magic, but this is getting annoying.

... One more try, they repeat to themself.

Slowly, something begins to form on the page. It starts out faint, but over the next few seconds becomes darker- almost like ink is bleeding through the paper. It swirls before setting, taking the form of some unknown symbol.

Radinn peers over, and smiles warmly. "Well, there you go. Remember that feeling you've got there, and how you did that. I'll give you a few more of those squares so you can practice a bit, and then we can get started on more advanced subjects."

He hands Yumech a few more scraps of the same parchment, then moves to stand and stretch some. They have been at this for some time tonight.

"Now, go back hive to get some rest, alright?"

#nihil writes #yumech stuff #just something quick while I'm thinkin about it #edit: smh. I went over this like 3 times and still didn't catch all my mistakes

[grimm-rider]

Entry 21

In the Dancing Hut we made preparations for our final confrontation against Rasputin. Shopping at Glagonargs, and casting long-lasting spells, that sort of thing. And after some consideration, I thought of a solution to a little problem I’d been contending with for when we faced Rasputin again.

That is: we knew he had some healing magic, probably some fairly powerful healing magic. And he knows my condition. I didn’t doubt he’d take advantage of it, if only out of spite.

But Master Keisuke had given me the solution already, months ago. I just hadn’t thought of it because back then it wouldn’t have worked. Because back then I hadn’t been giving thanks to the Pallid Princess for my gifts. But now I have been worshiping her for some time. So, in theory, the crystal’s ability to convert positive energy should work for me.

But I decided I needed to test it first, not go in blind. So I roped Edeya into my test. She already knew about the Pallid Crystal after all. I knew that revealing that the crystal worked for me would be basically telling her that I worship Urgathoa, since she’d identified the crystal when we last spoke about it, but honestly? I’m a necromancer, that’s not really a huge revelation.

Besides, I was only really keeping my worship secret early on because it would have caused a lot of drama and would have made it more difficult for us to work together. I don’t feel so much like that’s the case now, so I don’t really care if the others know or not anymore. Of course, I also keep my worship of Norgorber secret on principal, god of secrets and all that, but that’s not really a requirement and more just feels respectful. Also his worship is illegal in, like, a lot of places. So that’s a pretty good reason to not just wear his symbol out in the open or anything like that.

Anyways, Edeya agreed to help me, and I explained to her that I needed her to use a weak healing spell on me so that I could test if the Pallid Crystal would work. She did as I directed. And it worked! The positive energy was funneled through the crystal and came out as its opposite, washing me in the familiar cool relief of negative energy rather than the searing pain of positive energy. I told her that I was going to be wearing that in the fight against Rasputin, although I tucked it under my clothes so he wouldn’t see it. Let him hit me with a Heal spell. It would be funny.

Edeya asked if this was a new occurrence. I said yeah, it was a new thing. She asked if it was a good new thing, and I confirmed that it was a good new thing.

I don’t know what the others would think about it, but it’s been pretty good for me so far. That desecrate ability Urgathoa gifted me allowed me to make Ivan, and he’s certainly had his moments—even if Rasputin still went and showed me up by making a Dullahan with a fucking Nightmare mount.

I’m not over that.

And I mean even if I didn’t get any boons, I can worship who I want. I like worshiping Norgorber. He aligns well with me. The boons are just a nice bonus proving that I’m doing well.

Anyways, gods aside, after a bit we were done with our prep work and ready to return to Paulina’s graveyard to speak to the Tombstone Fairy.

She was there, digging new graves for the freshly fallen—many familiar faces amongst them, being people we’d killed ourselves.

I produced the body of the man we needed her to revive, and she worked her magic.

After a number of minutes, he sat up screaming, ranting about Rasputin. It took a moment for him to calm and look around, registering where he was. He cursed, saying Rasputin literally shot him in the back.

The man we’d been calling M introduced himself as Viktor Miloslav. He was a mechanic who worked with Rasputin and some other guy named Nikola Tesla in building the World Engine. Which was itself a machine that ran on a mixture of machinery and magic to create a demiplane.

We produced the blueprints, which we’d found in the Abbott House, and gave them to him to look over. He declared that he knew how to shut down the four towers so that the cathedral in the center of the camp would become visible. It would remain visible for an hour before the machinery reset itself.

And hour would be plenty of time…hopefully.

We agreed to go with him to each of the towers to help him shut them down.

The first two were uneventful, although after the second one I noticed he was getting pensive. He seemed twitchy and bothered by the things he was seeing as a result of his work. If I was reading him right, he had the look of a man who was about to do something desperate to himself. Probably right after he finished shutting down the machines.

As if to confirm my theory, after the third tower Viktor tripped on the path between the third and forth towers, falling into a snow drift. As he stood, I saw him pocket a gun which had fallen to the side of the road.

No one else called him on it. No one else seemed to be making any moves to talk him down from whatever he was about to do.

I began to realize I was probably the only one who had read his body language, and seen him pick up the gun.

I can’t say I cared what this man did to himself. How he dies is his own business. If he doesn’t want to live to see a world without Rasputin, that’s up to him.

But he was going to do it in front of my friends, and that was going to upset them. Nestian is so focused on protecting people, and Edeya has her thing about redemption…it would be cruel of me to just let this all unfold in front of them without stepping in.

So I casually said to him that even the best men can be manipulated by men like Rasputin—those with silver tongues. Viktor said I sounded like I spoke from experience. I told him quite honestly that I have been told I have a silver tongue—and I haven’t always used it for the kindest purposes. But today I hoped I was doing something good. That last part was maybe laying it on a bit thick, but I wanted to get the point across that someone could make something better of themselves.

Viktor asked how a man like him could hope to repent when we’d brought these horrors into the world—things not meant to exist on Earth. I pointed out that he was taking a good first step, helping to stop Rasputin and get rid of these abominations as he viewed them. Viktor was quiet for a long contemplative moment, then I saw him subtly dispose of the gun. He told me that perhaps he would have to be here when we got back, to see this through to the end. I told him that’s the spirit—after all we needed someone to bear witness to our victory.

After my…pep talk, of sorts, we arrived to the final tower. Viktor made sure we were prepared, and then shut it down. The cathedral appeared where the ruins in the center of the camp had been—both magnificent and terrible.

It only remained in the camp for a moment, before the ground began to shudder, and the entire building began to rise up into the sky. Thousands of feet into the air.

A single beam of light breaking through the gloom of the camp signaled where we could rise up to enter the demiplane.

On the ground below us, the remaining Russian soldiers and monsters gathered to hinder us—not that they stood any sort of chance.

Aenland led the charge with Nevra and Ivan, cutting a bloody swath straight through the center of our enemies. I followed with Talsune and Roscoe, breathing a stream of fire down on those unfortunate enough to be below us. Cesseer darted forward, almost faster than the eye could follow, taking out enemies as she ran, and reaching the light even before the dragonkin. When she stood in the light, it began to lift her skywards, as if gravity had been reversed. Anastasia followed not far behind, along with Edeya. Finally, Nestian cast Cheetah’s Sprint on himself and burst through anyone left in the crowd that dared get in his way still, shooting like a bullet from the tower into the beam of light.

We landed outside the large doors to this grand cathedral to some unknown god. As we approached four figures from the stained glass animated and pulled away from their windows, standing to hinder us.

But worse was what was bound to the front door. A spirit was crucified across the entryway, staring at us with burning hatred.

A crucifixion spirit. A phantom born of the suffering of one who died in torment, killed by being crucified, who bears a particular grudge against casters of divine magic and wishes to see them suffer in the way it has suffered.

Unfortunately, Nestian and I both have magic that falls into the category of ‘divine’ magic. His is more like ‘the divinity of the natural world’, and I don’t know where my magic comes from but everything that reacts to divine casters reacts to me so it’s some sort of ‘divine’ magic.

The spirit went after Nestian first, using its powers to pull Nestian’s soul from his body, and forcefully crucify it, overlaid over the spirit. Nestian’s body fell limp to the ground—not dead, but not entirely alive either.

I immediately directed Roscoe to kill the spirit. That thing needed to be gone immediately. It was dangerous. And it had Nestian in its clutches.

An instant later, Nestian gasped, his soul snapping back into his body as he shrugged off the spirit’s hold over him.

I cast Destruction on the Crucifixion Spirit anyways for good measure.

The four stained glass beings were closing in, one causing a deep bleeding gash across Nevra’s scales. Anastasia said something about us ‘angering the saints’, I don’t really know what she was talking about but it seemed to be in reference to whoever the glass was meant to depict.

Aenland shoot a flurry of arrows at the glass figures, shattering three of them.

And then I quit being terribly aware of what was going on as the spirit pulled my soul out next, hanging me over the doorway. The pain was excruciating—like being doused in positive energy just constantly.

It didn’t last long. I distantly heard a gunshot, and then a moment later I snapped back into my body, on the ground at Talsune’s feet. Roscoe had destroyed the spirit. And Cesseer had shattered the last glass figure.

So there was nothing standing in the way of us entering the cathedral proper.

I did take a moment to heal myself and Nestian’s souls though. Our bodies were unharmed, but the damage the spirit had done was to our souls—much like when I use my own Soul Siphon ability on people. Thankfully I don’t just know how to damage a soul, but how to heal one as well. So I fixed us both up.

Then we entered the cathedral.

And were immediately met by the most unexpected sight any of us could have imagined. Baba Yaga, standing over the corpse of the Erosdaemon—Rasputin’s most recent lover.

She told us that we’d been taking too long, so she decided to break herself out and take care of things on her own. There was nothing left to do here, so now we could feel free to leave.

I was confused, but didn’t immediately clock what was going on.

Nestian, however, did.

He began to approach ‘our kindly grandmother’, offering his arm as though he were trying to help any regular old woman. Baba Yaga told Nestian that he wasn’t listening to her, and that it was time to leave.

Nestian told her that it was unwise to wear Baba Yaga’s face.

The figure cursed, then dropped the illusion. The corpse vanished, and where Baba Yaga had stood, we now saw the Erosdaemon. She quickly summoned four other daemons, and began her assault.

Which was short-lived as Aenland shot a volley of arrows into the heartbreak daemon and killed her instantly—immediately returning her summons back to where they’d come from.

Ahead of us was a very unsteady looking pile of pews, which we surmised were going to fall when we approached. I cast spell resistance on myself because I realized we were getting closer with each step to Rasputin, and I wanted to have that on when we faced him. I also put Oracle’s Vessel on Talsune so I could heal him myself in a pinch (I’d already put it on Nestian and it was hilariously useful).

We approached the pews, and they fell as predicted. We all avoided them, and saw on the opposite side that the three Nosferatu we’d heard about were awaiting us. The Brothers Three taunted us, invoking the Pallid Princess’ name, and in particularly taunted me as being less smiled upon by our shared mistress.

Then they smote Aenland, Edeya, and Nestian, and filled the room with negative energy using their channel energy powers. It did a lot less than they expected since they hadn’t expected Talsune and Nestian to both heal from it. So joke’s on them.

Then Roscoe entered the room and started shooting the nearest brother. The entire building starting in the room had a Desecrate effect—which empowered all of Rasputin’s little undead, but it empowered mine too.

One of the vampires turned and tried to dominate Nestian, but he was immune to it. The look on the vampire’s face was priceless. These guys really thought we weren’t going to upgrade our tricks when we knew they had our shadows to learn what we had up our sleeves beforehand.

Aenland shot off all his arrows on the vampire that smote him—but a few missed due to it being empowered against him. Very unusual for Aenland’s generally sharp aim. Nestian followed up against the same vampire with a little more luck, severely injuring him and forcing him into his swarm form. The swarm of bats retreated up the stairs—biting and injuring Nestian, Edeya, and especially Aenland along the way.

I cast Destruction on the nearest Nosferatu, the same one who Roscoe had shot and who was cockily telling me how the Pallid Princess favored them. Talsune followed my spell up with a devastating sword swing, although the vampire somehow still clung to his undeath.

The Nosferatu followed up my attacks by trying to grab me, but I was too fast for him and avoided his touch. No vampire bites for me today, thanks. Like I said, these aren’t the sexy kind of vampires.

Then we heard a sound coming from beyond the nosferatu—where Rasputin and his remaining minions were in some kind of ritual, frozen in a stasis we couldn’t get through to harm them. The World Engine overflowed with power, and we were all struck with a massive amount of acidic energy.

That was something we were going to have to figure out how to stop, because we couldn’t keep fighting with it blasting us every few seconds.

There was also an overpowering smell of decay and disease which had been growing. Very Urgathoa, I can’t say I was terribly surprised. But after the World Engine went off, the source made itself known. A gods-damned Daughter of Urgathoa appeared at the bottom of the stairs to one of the towers. She looked around after asking the brothers why she had been called, then addressed me directly, informing me that Urgathoa knew my quarrel was only with the nosferatu—but she didn’t like my friends. So the Daughter turned and tried to shoot Edeya with Enervation.

But Nestian did as Nestian does and pulled her out of the way, taking the hit instead. Which was hilarious, because Oracle’s Vessel. He got empowered by the spell rather than having his soul sundered by it. The Daughter of Urgathoa seemed dumbfounded by this revelation.

I heard an amused chuckle in the back of my mind. I think their mother found that particular turnabout funny as well.

While I was focused on the Daughter, Talsune cut through the Nosferatu we’d been fighting, separating him into his swarm form. Then he stepped away from the swarm to avoid us being overwhelmed and bitten like the others had been—smart move, partner.

This gave me the freedom to figure out what to do about the Daughter of Urgathoa—preferably without fighting my goddess’ highest ranked followers. I turned to the Daughter, and told her that I had things handled here. Then I cast Dismissal. Because I had surmised that the brothers had summoned the Daughters of Urgathoa here, they weren’t created by Rasputin like most of the other undead in this place.

The Daughter failed to resist my magic’s pull. As she faded back to Abbadon she agreed that perhaps I did have this handled. Then she vanished.

Unfortunately…two more Daughters of Urgathoa came down the stairs a moment later. I told the others that I could dismiss them like I had the other one, and asked them to focus on the last vampire. I wouldn’t be torn up if they killed the Daughters of Urgathoa themselves without my directing or help, but I’d rather just send them back to the Pallid Princess and leave her children intact.

Aenland dealt with the third brother, popping him into swarm form as well, then seemingly on a lark he began attacking the World Engine. His attacks caused it to temporarily shut down—avoiding another blast like before. Edeya surmised that if we did enough damage it would cause it to shut down momentarily, although it would always power back on so long as it had its power source (Baba Yaga).

Cesseer had nothing else to attack, so she ran past me and told me that I might be going non-lethal, but she wasn’t. I gave her no complaints, as I said above. Cesseer began slashing and kicking the Daughter nearest me. Anastasia followed that up with a bullet to the Daughter’s head—but being undead that only slowed her down, didn’t kill her.

The other Daughter, the one not occupied with Cesseer and Anastasia, began slashing at Nestian with her scythe arm.

I focused and cast Dismissal on that Daughter first, removing the immediate threat to Nestian. She gave me a nod of acknowledgment before vanishing. Then I tried to finish things with a quickened Dismissal on the final Daughter, but she stubbornly resisted the call back to Abbadon. And made me waste some of my most powerful magic.

A moment later Aenland finished the final Daughter off.

Two out of three wasn’t bad. And no one can blame the others for killing the third one—she was trying to kill them first.

The vampires had all fled to their coffins and would be a later problem, as they wouldn’t recuperate enough to join into another battle for at least a full day. We’d have killed Rasputin and done something about this demiplane by then.

We got into position, ready to strike when the stasis on Rasputin and his followers was to fall.

The purple energy fell, and Rasputin looked around at all of us. He bemoaned that he thought he’d have time to finish his ritual—he’d thought it would take us weeks to figure out how to get into his demiplane, and he’d have time to ascend with mythic power.

So now he intended to deal with us himself—in style. With a soundtrack and everything.

What is with me and knowing guys who make their own soundtracks for their demiplane? First Master Keisuke, now Rasputin. It’s not a complaint, honestly I like the flair for the dramatic. If I ever make a demiplane I’m adding music too.

Hm, maybe that’s what it is, I just hang around people with very similar tastes. And those tastes are being dramatic stylish necromancers.

Anyways. We had been ready for when the stasis energy dispersed, and when it did most of us threw our attacks onto the nearest undead sniper. Everyone but Nestian, who threw a fireball into the back of the room and caught three snipers and Rasputin himself.

Then I ordered Roscoe to not bother with the small-fries and to go after Rasputin. He laid into him—negative energy and all. Our magic might be similar, but he clearly didn’t share my affliction. Too bad for him.

Rasputin retaliated. He crushed a diamond and cast miracle. He cast a spell on us that damaged and gravely weakened us depending on how much of the Black Rider’s power we had left. Aenland was the only one left unaffected, having already used up all of the power granted by Baba Yaga before entering this battle. Nestian and I still had some small dregs of power left, and Edeya still had her entire reservoir of power left and was therefore the most badly affected.

Afterwards Rasputin called upon our stolen shadows, summoning seven Shadow Demons to face us. They looked like the twisted silhouettes of each of us, possessed by the demon that had stolen our shadow.

Then Rasputin turned his full attention on me. ‘Calio, let’s dance’ he said as he tried to cast a Destruction spell on me. But that spell resistance I’d cast on myself came in handy, absorbing the spell and leaving me completely unharmed. I laughed and agreed to his dance, casting my own Destruction spell back at Rasputin. Mine hit, because apparently any spell resistance he had was only against morally good creatures and guess what? I still don’t give a shit about the universe’s morality bullshit. Although Rasputin still resisted the worst of the damage, he did take some—cuts appearing across his body as I invoked Norgorber to kill the unkillable. I asked him if that was a good enough dance for him, and he complained about the spell feeling like a thousand paper cuts. I didn’t bother correcting him that it was actually shortswords—although I did quickly shoot down the idea that the god I’d invoked was the King in Yellow. I’m not going anywhere near that.

Talsune followed my spell up with a burst of flame breath aimed at Rasputin, which he partially dodged out of the way of, but he did get a little scorched.

Then Aenland’s arrows went zipping past me, and killed three of the snipers in one fell swoop. He had apparently decided to clear the masses.

Which was good, because the snipers on Rasputin’s command began aiming solely for Edeya. She managed to take hit after hit, but there’s only so much one body can take. Inevitably she fell—not dead, but unconscious and bleeding profusely. As she fell Rasputin said to her ‘sorry cousin, but you are one of us. I know you’re the most dangerous.’

Nestian ran to her side and funneled a potion into her mouth, managing to get her back on her feet enough for her to cast Heal on herself and return to the fight in earnest. Which was good, because I don’t have any healing that isn’t Breath of Life, and I’d rather she not die just so that I can heal her.

 Nestian kept Edeya by his side for the entire rest of the fight, keeping anything else from hitting her.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t really focused on that at the time. I only noticed it later, after Nestian was already by Edeya’s side and Edeya was fully healed. Because at that same moment the Shadow Demons were trying to Magic Jar each of us. They had a pretty dismal success rate—until one aimed for Talsune. It slithered its way into my partner’s mind. Talsune’s thoughts were smothered, replaced by the oily voice of the living shadow that promised me nothing but malice and harm.

I was somewhere between blind panic and rage at this creature’s invasion into Talsune’s head.

Illivor said something about needing to go to Edeya—I was vaguely aware of Edeya still bleeding out at that point and agreed with her that was for the best. She flew off, and the thing inside of Talsune forced him to take a swing at Illivor—but she was small and quick and the creature probably wasn’t used to Talsune’s form, so it missed.

This horror only lasted for a moment. One moment of drowning in shadows as the mental link between my partner and I was corrupted by a demon, one moment of rage at my friend being ripped from me—before Anastasia shot Talsune and dispelled the possession effect, flinging the demon out of Talsune and back to the edge of the room where it had been before.

At that same moment Roscoe was continuing to follow my initial orders to shoot Rasputin, and Ivan had helped Cesseer to shut down the World Engine for another short moment. In frustration with my pets peppering him with bullets and smashing his machines, Rasputin ordered his remaining snipers to destroy Ivan and Roscoe.

Talsune was looking rough after Anastasia shot him—not something I’m upset with her over, I’m extremely grateful that she expelled that demon from him. But between that and Rasputin’s orders to destroy my undead, I decided some healing was in order. So I cast a mass inflict critical wounds, hitting myself, Talsune, Ivan, Roscoe, and Rasputin for good measure. Rasputin resisted the damage more or less, but the rest of us healed a good chunk. Then Talsune breathed another breath of fire at Rasputin, which caused him to use up his Moment of Prescience to avoid the burst of flame. I’m calling that a win, since he would have been hit head on if he hadn’t used a spell to avoid it.

A burst of electricity shot through the coils that made up the World Engine, as well as the last two remaining snipers, as Aenland had Nevra breath lightning. Then Aenland killed one of the two surviving snipers with his arrows, although one managed to survive the onslaught somehow.

And then the three headed dragon Radimir appeared. Aenland had warned us that he had been in the back of the room, invisible, casting a Dominate spell. But there was little any of us could do about it. Now he released his spell. On Nestian. Unaware that he was immune. The look on the dragon’s face was priceless.

Nestian promised the dragon that he was going to die today.

My original orders to Ivan no longer applied since he didn’t have a machine to hit anymore, so I had him step in to take a slash at Rasputin, honestly not really expecting much given his previous showing in battle. I was mostly trying to annoy him and force him to have to concentrate on his spellcasting.

Instead, he beheaded the man in a single clean swipe.

So the first Rasputin kill went to Ivan, apparently. I hadn’t even had him do a Death’s Calling yet.

Afterwards the remaining sniper shot the Dullahan, as per their orders to destroy my undead—especially since he just slayed their master. Which, fair, but also fuck you.

Anastasia took aim and fired a deadly accurate shot into one of the three headed dragon’s heads. It was probably cathartic after all the emotional turmoil he’d put her through—she deserved it.

I didn’t get long to focus on that, however, as the shadow that had temporarily possessed Talsune attacked both me and my partner. On my orders the shadow was shot multiple times by Roscoe. I wanted that shadow dead dearly for what it had done—but not as much as I wanted Rasputin permanently dead.

Rasputin rose back up, reattaching his head to his body and revitalizing entirely. He looked good as new, whereas we’d been wading through multiple fights throughout the day.

At least he was down four snipers this time.

Rasputin locked eyes with me and said he was sick of these games, then he reached out and touched Ivan with a Heal spell, damaging Ivan to the brink of destruction.

Immediately afterwards the ground split open beneath us and sickly green flames licked at us as he cast a quickened Flame Strike. Ivan was destroyed instantly, his body dragged into the green fiery depths by shadowy hands. Me, Talsune, Aenland, Nevra, and Roscoe all got caught in the unnatural flames as well.

Aenland came out of the flames firing, his arrows killing the final sniper and peppering Radimir with shots.

I was incensed at the destruction of Ivan. I’d liked that Dullahan. He’d been made using Urgathoa’s gift, and wielding Urgathoa’s weapon. He was as much a piece of art as a pet made to serve me. And Rasputin tore that away from me. I told Rasputin to quit breaking my toys, then cast Horrid Wilting on him and half the Shadow Demons. Three of the demons died instantly, including the bastard who’d possessed Talsune, and it badly injured the rest.

Rasputin shot back that I’d just killed him, but I rightly pointed out that Rasputin had killed me first. Rasputin said fine, then now we were even and could stop this.

Did he really think that? That just because we’d evened up the number of times we’d killed each other we could just pack up and stop the fight and go home like none of this happened?

I was going to respond, but then the others expressed their confusion over Rasputin having killed me before, and I realized with everything that happened with Radimir and Anastasia the day before it had kind of slipped my mind to tell anyone what I’d talked to Rasputin about. So I told them it was a long story and I’d explain later.

Rasputin, petty bitch that he is, said it wasn’t that long of a story: I’d spurned Rasputin so he’d killed me. Exasperated, I said fine, if you wanted to give them the abridged version that was it.

With all said and done I followed up my Horrid Wilting with a quickened Boneshaker. Because I can be a petty bitch too.

Talsune couldn’t breathe fire at Rasputin again, so instead he stepped over to one of the coils and smashed it, shutting down the World Engine for another brief moment of respite.

Rasputin used some internal power to move unusually fast, and turned to the three headed dragon. He told him to get out there, then teleported him to the other side of the room—right next to Nestian. The dragon made three breath weapon attacks against Nestian and Edeya—which Nestian dodged entirely, and Edeya used the Black Rider’s power to protect herself from, taking some damage from Rasputin’s ongoing spell, but entirely negating the fire breath and getting rid of the negative effects he’d imbued on her for her powers, now that she’d used them.

Nestian turned and laid into the dragon, slaying it, then followed up in a whirlwind of slashes—killing all three of the remaining Shadow Demons surrounding him and Edeya. In an instant they went from being surrounded by four enemies to being surrounded by none—excluding Radimir’s body, which was slowly regenerating. But I had a plan for that. The same one I’d used on trolls so many times before.

Cesseer darted into the middle of the World Engine coils while it was shut down, resisted Rasputin’s Anti-life Shell with her spell resistance, and landed a flying drop kick on him. Honestly if this hadn’t been such a dire situation, Cesseer fighting Rasputin would have been kinda hot.

Then, suddenly his entropic shield shattered, as Anastasia shot her father—making it easier for her, Roscoe, and Aenland to land a hit on him.

So I had Roscoe follow her lead, firing four more negative energy bullets into Rasputin’s head. And his body slumped a second time. My undead: 2, Rasputin: 0.

Okay Rasputin does have 1 if you count him destroying Ivan, but that doesn’t sound as impressive.

This time death only lasted a split second, before Rasputin rose once more—even more infuriated that my undead had killed him a second time.

But he aimed his anger at Cesseer, who was next to him still. He cast a Harm spell on her.

Thankfully she resisted the worst of it.

Then he shot a quickened dispel at me, removing the Nine Lives spell Edeya had cast on me—leaving me far more vulnerable. I was pissed because it was just more of him destroying my cool things. I told him as much, and he complained that now I’d killed him twice. I told him to do a better job not dying.

Aenland made a comment that was basically ‘just kiss already’, and Edeya noted that she was pretty sure we already had. I decided to ignore the peanut gallery.

Instead, I decided to remedy the ‘keeps being killed by Calio’s undead’ problem by just killing him personally. I hit Rasputin with a Destruction spell, which tore him to shreds this time rather than just leaving small cuts. And I followed it up with a quickened Boneshaker, which I used to snap his neck and at the same time drag him away from Cesseer to avoid a repeat of him popping up and casting Harm on her.

Talsune knew my plan for taking out Radimir permanently, and while Rasputin was down he took the last vial of acid I had long ago squirreled away in the bag of holding, then he flew across the room to the three headed dragon. Talsune threw the vial on the dying dragon, shutting off his regeneration and killing him permanently.

Nevra breathed lightning on the World Engine’s coils again. Once it was safely shut down again, Aenland mentioned that he thought Baba Yaga was being held upstairs and asked if we had things handled down here. We agreed to him scouting ahead, so Nevra and Aenland darted past Rasputin and his anti-life shell using the extra room I’d made by dragging him to the side, and they disappeared up the stairs.

Cesseer stepped forward and readied an attack for when Rasputin returned to life. Nestian approached, but couldn’t get into attack range due to the anti-life field. Roscoe and Anastasia readied a shot for when he came back as well.

In the moments before Rasputin rose again, there was a noise from the World Engine, and then it shut down entirely.

Rasputin rose again, but he was beginning to show signs of strain. There were holes in his skin in places, like old wounds reopened, and his movements were more erratic. Rasputin said something about how he couldn’t hear his mother anymore. I was too far away to attack him, but he was immediately hit by Cesseer, Roscoe, and Anastasia’s attacks—and Anastasia dispelled his anti-life shell, leaving him vulnerable to Nestian and Talsune.

Immediately after, Rasputin crushed a second diamond to use one final miracle.

He momentarily reactivated the World Engine, and energy burst from it, hitting all of us.

Almost everyone resisted as the demiplane tried to banish us back to the material plane. Except for Talsune, who began fading away from under me as the energy engulfed him. He promised me that we would see each other again when this was all over.

He was gone before I could tell if he was worried about losing another rider while he was sent far away, where he couldn’t help. I had to hope that he had faith in my abilities—and my persistent survivability.

Aenland popped back out of the stairwell once the energy cleared up and declared to us all that he had procured Baba Yaga. Then he seemed to realize we were still fighting, and he flew in on Nevra and stabbed Rasputin at unusually close range for him.

This time everyone prepared to strike him when he rose again. I trudged over from the other side of the room and readied a mass inflict spell. Nestian prepared to bring down his axe. Cesseer was ready with her shotel, and Roscoe and Anastasia had guns at the ready. Rasputin rose again—only to be immediately cut down. He was dogpiled, slain by Nestian’s axe before he even had a chance to react.

This happened a second time, everyone dogpiled him the moment he rose from the grave and he went down again.

The final time he got up was different from all the others times. I could feel it. He had no power. He was a regular human, lacking any of the magic that had made him so impressive. Nestian and Nevra impaled him on one of the coils, and I began walking towards him, casting Death Clutch as I did. I ripped his heart from his body.

Weakly, his final words were ‘it looks like you’re breaking my heart again, Calio….’

…

I don’t feel bad. He was a shitty human being, and I doubt I had any genuine feelings for him the first time around, no matter how much alike we might have been in…certain ways. I think it would be easier if I could just remember the life I had before. If I could remember what things had been like with him, or even just why I’d betrayed him and Elvana, I think it would be easier for me to not care.

Anastasia told us that we should destroy all signs of this place. She formulated a plan that involved stringing up a bunch of grenades that we would set off after we’d jumped off the edge of the cathedral. She gave us these parachute things, which worked like manual featherfall. She also reminded us of these victory cigars that Dimitri had given us, telling us that we had to celebrate properly when we killed Rasputin. I offered my Spark cantrip to anyone who wanted to partake in the cigars—I lit my own first, because I was definitely not saying no to a victory cigar.

Then we all threw ourselves off the side of the flying cathedral, pulled the string on the explosives, and the entire place went down in a fiery explosion. I dove through the air, free falling for a time with Roscoe swooping around me, before I pulled the cord on my parachute and my decent slowed as a large cloth thing popped out of the backpack and caught the wind. I drifted to the ground, then removed the pack and made a beeline for the Dancing Hut, the others right there with me.

In front of the Hut was a lone Mirror Man. Reflected in its mirror was the fake Edeya.

She was looking at our handiwork with a satisfying look of horror on her face, as the cathedral crashed to the ground.

We stopped before the Mirror Man. Mirror Edeya told us that she had a message for us. Then she vanished from the mirror, and a new image replaced her visage.

Queen Elvana herself.

This was our first chance in my memory to actually have words with the Queen.

I smirked at her and with as much sweet venom as I could muster said ‘hello again, my Queen’.

Aenland took the more directly annoying route, borrowing Rasputin’s nickname for his sister and saying ‘hello, Elvie’—which almost made me lose my cool and burst out laughing, not gonna lie.

Nestian was the only one who had actual words for the Queen rather than poking the hornet’s nest—go figure. Nestian told her that her days were numbered.

Elvana took us all in with the cool disregard of a monarch who has never had to consider anyone below herself before, and wasn’t going to start now.  Although I definitely saw a twitch of annoyance at my and Aenland’s jabs.

When she spoke, she didn’t acknowledge anything we’d had to say to her. Instead, she thanked us for killing her ‘useless brother’, and told us that ‘as thanks’ she would give us one chance to return home to our families, and she would leave our friends and families untouched. But if we returned to Irrisen, we would die like everyone else.

Then with a fury I think most monarchs would find unbecoming, she punched the mirror on her end and shattered it.

Mirror Edeya’s features returned to the mirror. She seemed almost uncertain, almost awkward, as she confirmed that was the message, before she vanished from the Mirror Man and it slumped lifeless to the ground, its mirror shattered.

We all entered the Dancing Hut to decide what to do next. That would be difficult—we had found Baba Yaga, but not two keys back to Golarian, unlike the last ventures.

But hopefully our questions will be answered, because as we began to unwind in the Hut a familiar old voice spoke to us. Baba Yaga addressed us, saying how good it was to finally, formally, meet her four riders.

#pathfinder #reign of winter #journal entry

[damelucyjo]

Are we ready to meet the blueprint for why Ted’s the way he is??

Buckle up guys, it’s a rough one!! And yeah, I’m gonna use this still because I’m salty they gave it to us then never had them interact in this scene! 😡

Episode 11 - Mom City

Of course he knows everyone in the area

Love to see Chery Barnabyl still living life 😂

‘Hey, Teddy’ 🥹 we knew it!!

YYEEEAAAHHH!!

(Was the the shortest opening we’ve had??)

Didn’t have Nate working as a waiter on my bingo card

I absolutely love how sarcastic & dry Jade is 😂

These boys have grown so much! Then now being the ones to ask him back 🥰

More lore for Bumbercatch 🫡😂

His face when he thought it was Ted but Ted doesn’t know 🥺

Omfg Issac’s face at the suggestion of 25 of each 😂 Kola, you gorgeous man!

She’s the reason he eats peanut butter from the jar! How cute

‘The one with the line under the nuclear power symbol, that’s for making cookies and chicken. The three squiggly lines let you burn a pizza. And the key symbol there, that makes the whole thing beep until Beard comes over and fixes it for me.’ Still makes me laugh as this is how I talk about my oven 😂

Oop was that mention of Mother’s Day a little dig at her Teddy?? 🫣

She’s been in London a week and never said anything?! Very suspicious 🤔

Eww mom, don’t mention sex 😂

Gosh he’s so much like his mum, huh. Bet that really pisses him off 😂 & been around one another for 5 minutes and he’s already had enough! I know that feeling 🫣😂

I must say, casting Becky Ann was a brilliant choice. She and Jason kinda look alike to me!!

MBetter Trent’ They should have made Roy do all the press conferences always 😂

Oh poor Jamie. He’s so lost and broken 🥺 there is absolutely no trace of the Jamie we were first introduced to!

Do we think Ted has mentioned Rebecca to him mum before?? That was a very interesting look on her face when she walked in behind him 🤔

HER FIRST INTERACTION WITH REBECCA WAS A JOKE JUST LIKE REBECCA’S FIRST INTERACTION WITH TED WAS A JOKE!!!

And she lifted her fucking hands up 😂😂

Oh and Ted is having a hard time with them meeting just like Rebecca did

But now they’ve met each others mothers 👀 must be serious! 😉

and of course her name is Dorothy!! As if it’s be anything else 🥰

‘I can’t believe I’m finally getting to meet the woman who created one of the nicest humans I’ve ever met’ The perfect thing to say to your future mother-in-law. Just saying!

A simple line to show Ted has always been a people pleaser 👍🏼

Hannah’s laugh 😂

‘Sure, if you want me to respond’ Jason’s face 😂 as if that’s not the exact thing Ted would say! Mothers really can be a blueprint!!

Look at Rebecca, offering to show her around rather than getting someone else to do it. Growth, people!

Nice callback!!

She’s a Dani fan 🫡 aren’t we all!! 😂

‘Where-are-you-from?’ ‘Surrey’ ‘Oh, I thought you said ‘sorry’’ 😂😂 Ted’s groan of suffering 😂

Look at all these boys, absolutely loving story time with Mama Lasso

I still don’t know how I feel about them using Oklahoma 🤷🏻‍♀️ feels weird to me

Look at these two, watching story time and chatting together like an old married couple 🥰

She wouldn’t say that, Ted! She be much more creative 😂

I love how he doesn’t question her going off to buy a horse. Makes perfect sense! 😂

Yes, Trent, I’d love to talk with you, but first I must tell you that your hair is fabulous 😂 Dottie, you’re so real!

Dani’s huge smile 😂

Yeah, I’m with you boys 😂

Jamie, love, you’re worrying everyone 🥺

‘Shouting is Roy’s love language’ boy only has 2 volumes 😂

Bets on how many times Phil & Brett had to do this before they could get through it without laughing

Oh Jamie 🥺 Phil is amazing and he absolutely breaks my heart. He certainly deserves all the awards this season!!

‘Where the fuck are me wings, Roy’ 😂 how they ever got a take of him grabbing his face without them loosing it is amazing

‘You missed a good one’ 😂 obsessed that it’s actually a thing that Will is always there somewhere. And Charlie’s ‘dammit’ reaction 👌🏼 brilliant

Hugs Boson. He’s still in there somewhere!

‘I do believe in second chances, Ted. That’s why I’m still married, and all my sons are alive’ Julie! What did you do?! 🫢

Woah! Don’t hold back, Beard!

Everyone so excited to meet his mum 🥹 it’s beautiful

‘Weirdo Beard-o!’ ‘Lodi Dodi!’ Oh they’re cute!! Would have loved to have gotten a name slip there though

GROUP HUG! 😂

Of course Beard has a song about Ted’s mum 😂

Oh Ted is not doing well 🫣😂

The fucking pipes. I bloody love Katy and Barbara has quickly become one of my favourites 🥰

Roy Kent. Sleeps with a woman then can’t stop telling her she looks nice 🫡 Never change, sir.

Silly pants 🥹 why is that so adorable??

So like mother like son then, huh

I love how Mae has basically had a moment with everyone on this show 😂

Beards description of love is somehow perfect for him 😂

Aww, he’s so excited to show her a picture 🥹 knowing he didn’t have a great relationship with his own mum it’s adorable to see he’s close with Ted’s

Mae, coming with with the words of wisdom and reciting poetry out of nowhere. What a queen!!

‘Your mum’s the bollocks’ the highest level of praise one can be given from a Londoner 😂😂

The age old argument over whose taking the bed

(Though this whole thing over the one bedroom is a choice considering the actual flat they use for Ted’s is a 2 bed place apparently)

See, my spidey senses are a tingling! You come all the way to England to see your son, then chose to stay behind instead of going with him?? 🤔 what’s your angle, Dottie

Her being so defensive that she wasn’t the one having sex makes me think Ted’s shown he had a problem with her relationships in the past…

Manchesterians 😂 I think I’m gonna cal then this from now on 😂

Aww, mama’s worried about ya, Teddy 🥺

‘Let me guess, it’s all my fault’ so he’s not the only one who distrusts therapists then… interesting

She loves tea 👀 just like her future daughter-in-law. Wait, what? I didn’t say anything… 👀

Whilst I’m loving that Rebecca is using the bus now, I’m very sad we don’t get to actually see it 🙁

Oh, Jamie 😢

‘You should see him in drag’ 😂

I must admit I’m over things whole ‘do you know who this is’ bit 🫠

I know it’s a whole plot point, but I love how Keeley just tags along to these trips away

And I’m guessing Rebecca has hired KJPR for the club, even if she is funding it…

‘It’s like a draw without a home’ 🤔

Jamie falling apart until he hears they’re shit talking his hair online 😂

So who chose You’ve Got Mail for movie night then?? Seems like a very strange choice…

So they’re not together? I’m confused. I think Roy is too 😂 ‘yeah, and she just looks very nice’

‘Nora Ephron’ ‘I’m saying my apology’ ‘Who?’ ‘Carl Bernstein’s ex’ I will admit I don’t get this at all 🫣😂

Look at these boys proper into it 😂 Hell yeah indeed, Issac!

Could have done without another Sam & Rebecca moment, personally. It feels like a little too ‘look! Did you notice this is what we did too!’ for me

What are the chances Somewhere Over The Rainbow scores this scene, too 🤷🏻‍♀️

Aww, Leslie! 😂

Even Roy is tearing up!!

I feel it’s going to be important to something that he said he prefers Sleepless In Seattle 👀

I just want to say, too, that it was plain rude to release the still of Ted & Rebecca during this scene, but not show them interact at all. Disrespectful, actually.

Okay, I get that it’s to show a younger Jamie, but I could have done without him spitting off the bridge thanks 🤢

Aww, they care about him so much. It’s adorable 🥰

😂 bet these kids had the time of their life’s swearing so much 😂

The episode is literally called ‘Mom City’ and I knew they were going to Manchester and that there was going to be a scene in Jamie’s childhood bedroom. So why was I surprised to meet Jamie’s mum?? 😂

That was cute though

Of course she has a Jamie wall in her living room 😂

Roy, stop staring!! 😂

Simon is a little Ted-ish, don’t you think??

Jade is so real 🫡😂

She just wants him to do what he does best and makes him happy 🥹 Who knew Nate’s relationship would end up being one of the sweetest on the show 🤷🏻‍♀️

Nate, she didn’t mean… You missed the point there, bud 😂

This whole scene is wonderful to watch. Phil certainly does deserve all the awards for this season!! He’s made Jamie so believable throughout this show 🥰 Easily could have gone OTT with it

THE FUCKING POSTERS!! 😂😂😂 I mean, he did tell him he had a poster of him on his wall!

🥹 Sometimes all you need is a talk and a cuddle with your mum 🥹

Also toerag is such a mum thing to call someone 😂

SEXY LITTlE BABY CALL BACK!! 😜

Look at Roy, trying to talk about his feelings 🥹 You’ve come a long way my friend 🫡

They really do need to have that conversation though

Aww, he’s such a mummy’s boy 🥰 it’s cute

Why is he being so weird with him mum 😂 is it payback for the comment he made about his sister last week?? 😂

This bit about Keeley being on the TV whenever they’re away somewhere is actually brilliant 😂

‘I went to the bathroom and ended up outside and now I can’t get back in the building’ 👌🏼 love it

Oh Ted 🥺

Dance it out, Becca! 😂

Wouldn’t Rebecca have known that if she practically grew up with Richmond AFC?? 🤔

Look at our girly, willingly sharing a story about her dad 🥹 we’ve all come so far! 😂

Love a four-octave vocal range mention in honour of Hannah 🫡

And the talent for flipping straights 😜😂

COME ON, RICHMOND!!

Leslie too afraid to movie in case he jinxes it 😂

And I say it every time, but looking excited about football is Hannah’s greatest acting performance 😂

‘Van damn he’s been good today’ was a good joke, but his name change meant they missed out on a mask of Zoreaux one 😂

‘Come on, James’ 🥺

At least they’re finally showing that he really is good in goal, too

I’m all for Nate’s story, but I couldn’t care less about this other guy 🫢

‘I played hurt all the time’ ‘You can’t walk up stairs’ 😂😂 omfg

Another nod to Hannah with the scary Freddy Kruger mention 🫡😂

‘And as we all know, hurt people hurt people’ 👀 say it louder for the ones in the back

You don’t need your dad, Jamie. You’ve had everything you’ve needed in the last few years from the guy kneeling beside you 🥹

Nice to see cocky, prideful Jamie again 🥰

Hannah grabbing Jeremy’s face 😂😂

I just noticed Keeley’s dress! Love her into everything she is

I’m not crying, I just need a moment 🥹 I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to watch this scene without getting teary 🥹

Are those his dad’s mates? 👀🤷🏻‍♀️ if not, who are they??

Omg is he in rehab?! 🥹 ARE MY EYES EVER GOIJG TO STOP LEAKING!!

The sheer power of this show that they mange to get all these big names within the football world is amazing!

Oh, the boys are happy & proud!! But them carrying Will did me in 😂

(Psst, why didn’t we see the ‘grown ups’ celebrating with them? Again, disrespectful!)

SO MUCH FUCKING LOVE IN THE ROOM, BABES! Am I getting teary again… 🥹 maybe

Aww, is karaoke their celebration go to?! I love it

Brendan acting his arse off, too! Another case of ‘no words needed’

These three are just absolutely glorious together 🥰 I wish we’d had more of it

And we’re gifted with Brett’s gorgeous smile! What more could we want!

Another wonderful callback with Ted in the window 👍🏼 looking in on a good thing this time

Look at these cuties being cute 🥰 and of course his apology letter is 60 pages long 😂

I’ve watched this scene a few times now and yes, I have teared up AGAIN every time. Learning how they became friends, a little bit more about Beard’s backstory, being told exactly what time of a person Ted is and always has been 🥺🥺🥺 I MEAN!! Just the tears in Brendan’s eyes alone kills me!!

AND THE FOREHEAD TOUCH INTO A HUG!!! This scene is probably my favourite in this episode

Sweet baby Jesus Teddy said a bad word! 🫢

Apparently I’m not going to stop crying now either 😢 Goodness me you’ve been holding that in a long time, haven’t you, Ted!

Okay Dottie, you can have a fuck you from me too! That’s a low blow using Henry like that

‘Cause I know he’s gonna leave’ OKAY pause. I’m crying too much right now 😫

Knowing now that they’ve had the necessary talk, I’d give anything to see them again! It’s a shame we only got Dottie for 1 episode

Record scratch! Did not see Bex and Ms Kakes turning up at Rebecca’s on my bingo card! But I’m excited to see what shit they can bring on Rupert (if we ever get to see it next week) 👀

This Sam Ryder song is very Queen inspired. I’m a fan!

We love love a note and a disappearance from a mum on this show ✌🏼

📢 He’s not wearing a Richmond jumper at work 📢 👀

Oh the parallels of him meeting her in his office this time

Their easy banter means everything to me 🥰

SHE’S NOT GOT ANYTHING BECAUSE SHE DOES’T KEEP SECRETS FROM HIM ANYMORE 📢📢

‘I got one’ 🫢

HOW DO DO YOU END AN EPISODE LIKE THAT?! Bloody rude!! And theres only 1 obvious thing that his truth bomb is going to be, and I don’t like it one bit!!

But ending the episode with Brandi Carlile singing ‘Home’ means you’re forgiven slightly.

I actually really liked this episode. Meeting Dottie was very interesting, and I think it was great for Ted to finally start a necessary conversation with her.

This is going to be a long fucking week waiting for the next episode. As always, I go into them with no expectations, but I can’t help but feel they’ve got a fair amount to cover in this finale… it better be like 90 minutes long or some shit 🤞🏼

Anyway, I’m gonna go listen to Home by Brandi on repeat and cook a shepherds pie ✌🏼

#Ted Lasso #Ted Lasso Live Blogging

[27emailsicantsend]

Hi! Why do you think 'kids' tv shows add so many meta stuff? The motif/theories/meta things I saw with GMW, HSMTMTS, JATP etc is something I don't see with adults/teen shows. Whats your input on that?

Hi anon! I love this question and I also apologize, I might have loved it too much because I wrote a much longer answer than I was anticipating lol.Any chance I can get about talking about how underrated these shows are, I will absolutely take.

I can firmly agree with you on the stance that some of these “kids” shows seem a lot deeper and have more layers than even adult tv. It’s so funny because I was literally thinking about this the other day. I needed a new show to hyperfixate on while I waited for hsmtmts to come back and I saw the new Emily Osment show on netflix (Pretty Smart). I thought it looked cute and it wasn’t bad, but it definitely did not hold any depth. It was interesting though, because it was a comedy AND they tried to aim for deep moments, symbolism, and potentially future callbacks. However, it lacked something really crucial: heart.

I know that sounds bad, but hear me out. These shows that are getting aired, especially things like girl meets world, andi mack, and hsmtmts are coming from producers who have previous works out to base their shows off of. They have really big shoes to fill, like Andi Mack’s producer was the creator of Lizzie McGuire or creating a show that’s a one off of the hsm franchise. It almost makes these pieces passion projects, where the producers want to make something really great and worthwhile, because they have large names to live up to. Their writing needs to solid and the show needs to feel worthwhile for all audience members involved. I also believe that these showrunners just have a gift for making tv that feels exciting and new to watch. It’s so easy to see how excited their audience gets every week digging through all of the symbolism and meta- an excited audience means more showtime and more praises toward the program (and who wouldn’t want to know their show is enjoyable??) It’s interesting to me because the care towards these shows is almost tangible with how much depth, parallels, and meta is involved.

The issue, I think, lies in the programming the show runners have been allotted to use. They probably got “reasonably” good contracts with Disney, as well as the means to have a highly viewed and produced show (Disney has a lot of popularity and money, so they can accommodate this need). However, this also means that ultimately Disney has the final say. So some of the shows, at times, can feel a little “dumbed down” and cheesy because the showrunners probably feel a need to reach a wider audience. They’re creating shows meant for people in their 20’s-30’s and are having to draw in a core audience of 5-13 at the same time. That is a LARGE shoe to fill, which is why these shows sometimes feel like they give you whiplash. GMW did that to me for sure with Riley. She would be really serious and have these amazing on screen moments that showed her acting chops and then they would make her do something “kiddish” and it would feel like a complete reversal of her character. The most unfortunate part of all of this, is it doesn’t matter how much love and passion the showrunner, audience, or anyone else shows, disney will always be the final decision maker. And if they don’t feel like enough of their “demographic is watching” and the numbers aren’t as high up as they want, the show gets cancelled.

I think the show runners are on a really limited platform that holds their potential back in order to give that platform money. It’s like you can tell the writers are trying to push the absolute limits of what they can do to make these shows meaningful and impactful for their intended audience (people in their 20’s-30’s), but then they hit a glass ceiling and have to come back down for Disney’s core audience (5-13). As scary as it might be for them to sign on with a platform that isn’t as big or might not have as much access to the budget and viewership disney does (it is currently the largest tv company), I think it could really benefit their shows for everyone involved. The writers could make their shows complete pieces without them getting cut too soon, they could be created for their intended audience, and they wouldn’t be confined creatively towards how deep their show can go. Disney+ was a really positive direction for the writing of hsmtmts. It’s like that glass ceiling was pushed just a little higher and you can tell because the story feels more complete and mature (not to mention it survived and got a 4th season… something timothy was worried about).

Ultimately, I think the meta comes from that “heart” piece I mentioned at the beginning of this post. Again, these shows have big shoes to fill if they don’t want to completely dissapoint the older audience that will absolutely come back for them. It’s fun getting to interact and theorize with the shows as well. It makes them feel like they’re a part of you and not just something you casually engage with from time to time. I watch the show with full focus because I don’t want to miss anything and then I watch again and again and again to theorize and contemplate what’s coming up next. I don’t know one tv runner who would hate the idea of a really engaged audience that basically promotes the show for you because of how actively they are in trying to discover all of the nuances of each episode from week to week. That, my friend, is good tv.

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #andi mack #am #gmw #girl meets world

[halfeviltotty]

Osomatsu X Erina/OC/Self Insert

Disclaimer: These are personalized fics for @girlymatsu and use some of his personal details such as parts of his background. So this isn’t one size fit all and isn’t intended to be.

There is sexual content or suggestive themes but no other triggers that I can think of.

“Say, doctor.” Osomatsu announces into the room to Choromatsu’s turnt back. “Put your dick away, I need advice.” Osomatsu rolls his eyes and digs the wax out of his ear while Choromatsu gets all of his shrieking insults out of his system. “I mean it, I need advice!” Choromatsu’s cursing his name and bloodline and all of that bullshit but Osomatsu doesn’t care because he’s in a serious dilemma!

“You’re disgusting, Osomatsu! Did you know that?! You’re the worst – we all hope you die.” Osomatsu waves his little brother off. “That’s the thing I wanted to talk to you about!” Osomatsu drags his body past Choromatsu who’s just beginning to put up those magazines and pull his pants up. “What? That we all want you dead? It’s true, we’re all counting the days down until you slip on a banana peel off a cliff. Hurry up, bastard.”

That makes sense. Osomatsu knows that’s probably the truth so he’s not even going to dispute it or think about the implications on how that’s going to affect his fragile psyche. At the moment only one thing is on his mind and it’s your smile as he lies down on his back. The cushions don’t feel as soft without Osomatsu’s head on your lap and it doesn’t feel as nice when he stares up to the ceiling without making eye contact. You wouldn’t have said something like that to Osomatsu, in fact in the back of his head Osomatsu can hear your voice, “I’m not.” And Osomatsu would ask you to clarify what you mean. To repeat those words because in his mind they’d be a confession. “I’m not waiting for you to die, I want live with you as long as possible.”

Osomatsu sighs heavily as the blood rushes to his cheeks and the world goes pastel. Everything about you is cute, you’re smart, your comedic timing is one of the best Osomatsu’s ever seen before and he works with some real professionals, and…Osomatsu lets his mind drift just for a moment about your body but his mind immediately jumps back to the memory of your laughter. “Choromatsu-sensei I have a problem.” Osomatsu announces once more with both of his hands gripping the pine symbol on this red hoodie. Right where his heart is. “What’s wrong?” Choromatsu’s heaving a sigh, “I think I might be broken.” Osomatsu begins.

“Yes, you definitely are a broken person but we’ve been over that. What’s wrong?” Osomatsu wishes his brother would be kinder but he swallows down the comment. “Well I’ve been hanging out with Erina-chan a lot lately.” Choromatsu groans and nods, “Yeah?”

“Well…” Osomatsu fidgets more with his hoodie because it’s hard to put these emotions into words. His heart is beating so rapidly as he imagines what kind of things you’d say right now. What are you doing? Where are you? Can Osomatsu join you when he’s finished getting advice? Would you smile and accept him? Will you eventually leave? What is he going to do if you go? These are things that worry him a lot, in fact more than they probably should but aren’t you so cute? Is he being selfish because Osomatsu wants to keep you all to himself forever? That he wants to be the only one you think about? When you hear a funny joke could it be Osomatsu you think to repeat it to first? When you hear good news or bad news can Osomatsu be the one you turn to first? The one you wake up next to in the morning, the one you show your tamagotchi grin to, the one who holds your hand, who kisses you?

“When I’m with Erina I feel really different – sometimes in a good way. It’s like a crush but kind of painful? With Totoko-chan I always knew none of us had a real shot but this is different.” Osomatsu begins after a long period of thought. “It’s easier to deal with fake rejection than real rejection…and that scares me? But I don’t know, I get so happy when I see her so I kind of want to ask her out even though I’m afraid?”

Choromatsu glares at his brother and plops onto the floor loudly. “And you’re looking for advice, right?” Osomatsu turns over to Choromatsu and nods with puppy dog eyes. “I like her.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that Osomatsu-niisan?” Choromatsu says with pseudo aggression. “Everyone can see you love her, so why not go confess?” Osomatsu’s surprised just how adorable his little brother can be, wow that guy really does have some redeemable qualities to him. “Should I?” Choromatsu nods excitedly, “Yeah! You definitely should!”

“Do you mean it?!” Choromatsu continues nodding.

“For real?!” Osomatsu sits up and Choromatsu keeps bobbing his head in agreement.

“Like, right now?!”

“Yes!” Choromatsu’s patience is waning but Osomatsu’s too excited and too much of a bully to let up.

“Seriously?!”

“Get the fuck outta here!”  Choromatsu uppercuts Osomatsu and storms out of the room. “Thanks Chorofappsky-sensei!”

“Die!”

#osomatsu matsuno x reader #osomatsu matsuno x oc #roros fics #roros requests #we got minifics at the house #mr osomatsu #and look viri choromatsu is here too!

[land-of-holly]

Rings of Power Episode 3 Liveblog

Very interested to see which things they expect to be relevant in the "Previously On". Looks like a lot of Harfoots and Halbrand's backstory. And the Elf racism against the Men of the "Southlands" (Which is just English for "Harad" except, they're not IN Harad, they're the greater Lake Nurn area in what will eventually become Mordor.

I paid a lot more attention to the soundtrack this time and it really is great!

Oh no Arondir has been captured by Orcs!

Shit they have a lot of prisoners

So there IS a character named Adar. Fuck.

So it's episode three and Arondir, the first and only Black elf, is in chains subject to forced labor. HOW WE FEELING FOLKS?

What are they digging for?

Catapult wakeup for a nightmare that wasn't even hers! (Unless it was)

Galadriel is a smart cookie. You always need to know where you stand with you "rescuers"

There's something weird that bugs me about the Numenorean chest armor. Like it doesn't quite fit right

Elendil's just gonna turn her over to the government???

ELDAR

Numenor is very pretty

Eeee I like the collapsing sails on the boat.

"These men are not like you." Starting the stratification of Men plot early and hard.

So the relationship between Elves and Numenor is at least shaped like what is to be expected in Elendil's time.

Is anyone good ever a "Chancellor"???

Elves apparently get pushed to the front of the agenda.

Looks like Halbrand's protocol instincts are a little off.

Lol she introduces herself with full rank and title I love it.

They do not go to Middle-earth "on an Elf's behalf", note.

DID GALADRIEL JUST THREATEN TO SLAY SOME KIN IF SHE DOESN'T GET A BOAT TO MIDDLE EARTH??

God I love Tar Miriel so much.

Galadriel know what she wants and she is LASER FOCUSED. Poor Halbrand just wants to survive.

Miriel and Pharazon seem to get along...okay. Doubt that a greybeard like that is getting a consensual romance out of it though

The sea is always right! Do not disrespect the sea!

I LOVE MIRIEL SO MUCH DID I MENTION.

It's ETYMOLGY TIME bitches!!

She's a kindred spirit with Azula. "The sea cannot commit treason"

This sword is reputedly Narsil. Not sure why it's being handed out now but maybe it's symbolic of something.

Oh man the orcs have a lot of Elf prisoners

At least they acknowledge it's a word with a meaning in sindarin even if they won't name the language for some reason.

Don't get between an elf and his tree

JESUS it took a while for that second shoe to drop

Arondir is a consequentialist!

Lol byeeeeee Galadriel!

Her dress is so pretty

So are Elendil's new clothes

We interrupt this broadcast for some glamour shots of Galadriel riding on the beach. They are beautifully shot, tbf

Halbrand has moxie, I'll give him that.

With what money is Halbrand buying everyone drinks??? Is Elendil giving him a stipend?

Yeah the Numenoreans are racist as fuck, as expected. Oddly, they don't look any phenotypically different from Halbrand to me. Maybe there just wasn't a way to make that look nonproblematic on screen I guess.

Oh god, they're trapped in that alley with him

Eyy, the Elros tapestry!

OHHHH so that's why Miriel's title is "Queen-regent". Tar Palantir is in functional exile but still alive.

I suppose Galadriel would be literate in Black Speech, it comes in handy

Hobbit halloween!

I personally think this show strikes a decent balance between the Harfoots genuinely caring for everyone, and having to make sacrifices for the good of the tribe. Like, they're obviously honestly trying.

Poppy says this, and yet somehow I have a feeling she's going to lose this argument

Ooh, blackmail

The names continue to be, like, modern Shire hobbit word salad, but I suppose decisions were made and it can't be helped. They don't even have burrows!

Apparently Harfoot parties are even better than Woodelf parties in the shenanigan department

Poppy's entire family is dead??

Seems the recollection of the dead might double as a list of "so don't FUCKING do this shit in the future"

The dangers of reading by firelight

Secret's out! Plot can move on!

I love that Nori's stepmom is genuinely trying so hard to understand her, but she"s also desperately afraid for her family's survival

Elendil? wasn't even post captain before now???

ANARION LIVES! I would have had a harder time liking Earien if she'd replaced him.

Stop trying to control Isildur's life! Let him do his own thing! Man if I were him I'd steal a tree too, I cannot WAIT.

I'm glad Earien has her own stuff going on, I wouldn't want her to be JUST a daughter and sister

Did Galadriel ride all the way to Armenelos just to talk to Halbrand in prison?

Halbrand king of the Southlands confirmed

Galadriel just flat out told him "Your life is going badly because you're acting below your station"

Are "fate" and "destiny" really not sufficient words to describe Eru acting on the world?

So Miriel does talk to her dad. She's playing both sides? LOVE THIS WOMAN SO MUCH

Is poor Poppy just pulling her own cart all by herself?

See, I can totally see this kind of punishment in the precarious life of the Harfoots. They're not being kicked out as such, but the community is going to spend fewer resources on making sure they can keep up.

Ninja attack right outta the background!

Oh gosh he took their entire tarp down

Okay I cannot take the Warg seriously, it looks like an inbred chihuahua on steroids and sounds like one too.

Silvan elves can murder you with a fuckin tree root

Shit, looks like they've got air support as well

So let's meet this Adar guy. Plot sense says this isn't Sauron yet, just another lieutenant. Hopefully he's at least interesting as a character and not bland horrorevil.

#rings of power #rings of power spoilers #rings of power s1e3 #rings of power liveblog

[smoulderingocean]

Behind the Name- Nick Blaine

The name Nick Blaine is layered with much significance. Below is explanation of some of that significance, for both his first name and his last name.

The meaning of the name Nick/Nicholas: 

From the Greek name Νικολαος (Nikolaos) which meant "victory of the people" from Greek νικη (nike) "victory" and λαος (laos) "people". 

Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. 

He is the patron saint of children, wolves, sailors, and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents. 

The meaning of the name Blaine:

Scottish : Anglicized form of the Gaelic personal name Bláán, a diminutive of blá ‘yellow’. 

Chiefly recorded in Ayrshire and Wigtownshire, it derives from the pre-10th century Old Gaelic "Mac Gille Blaan", meaning the son of the follower of St. Blaan, an early Celtic saint. Several miracles are related of him, among them the restoration of a dead boy to life.

Blaine is also a (busy) border town in the state of Washington, sharing the boundary with Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. This border town contains a monument to Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. It is called the Peace Arch. Inscribed on the Peace Arch includes “Children of a Common Mother” on the American side, and “Brethren dwelling together in unity” on the Canadian side. Within the arch, above an open gate reads the words “May these gates never be closed” on the eastern side and on the western side “1814 Open 100 Years 1914″.  

#the handmaid's tale #behind the name #i feel like his name is really symbolic and so I did a little digging and my hunch seems to be right #i got most of this from behind the name and wikipedia #i can do more of these if people like this one #nick blaine #nick x june

[secretsofblackthornhall]

Emma to Diary

Dear Diary — that’s how you’re supposed to start off, right? I feel kind of silly writing this, since I never thought I’d keep a diary, but what can I say. I guess Tatiana Lightwood inspired me. I feel like I should give the diary a name though, something friendly, so I can write “Dear Clara” or “Dear Bruce” instead of Dear Diary. Bruce is growing on me, actually.

So I thought I could use this to organize my thoughts. I’ve been jotting things down in little notebooks the whole time Jules and I have been traveling. (Did you know that there are a lot of fey creatures who have been incorrectly classified as demonic by the Clave? Like Curupiras? Most of the old bestiaries direly need correcting.)

It’s actually quite odd to be standing still after rushing around the globe for nearly a year. Julian has really thrown himself into this whole restoration project. I think it appeals to his sense of care and deliberation. He loves working with his hands (and I like watching him work with his hands) and figuring out projects. In addition to everything else, he’s painting a mural in the ballroom. He won’t let me in to see it. He says it’s a surprise so I have to live in suspense, I guess!

I really hope that when this place is all fixed up it does something to de-creepify the place. I joked about it to Dru when I wrote to her but I still get that sense that things are lurking in every shadow. Even when I turn my witchlight up to its brightest, it just highlights the weird cracks in the walls and the strange stains on the plaster. I can’t explain it but I feel like a long time ago, something awful happened here. It’s in the chills up and down my spine, and in the strange way the glass in the windows fogs up for no reason, or the odd cold spot halfway up the stairs. I keep wanting to reach for Cortana, but this isn’t the kind of thing you can fight. It’s just a feeling.

And sometimes it isn’t there — I spent a perfectly normal afternoon today digging through boxes in what used to be the kitchen. We pulled a lot of them up from the cellar (which is so spidery I will plan to refer to it from now on as Spidertown. I haven’t seen this many spiders since Thule. *shudder*)

Some of the boxes have perfectly normal stuff in them. There’s some beautiful silverware and china that belonged to someone named Barbara Pangborn (must have married a Lightwood or Blackthorn.) Fancy linens and tablecloths with the Blackthorn symbol of thorns woven around the edges as a border. A big box of broken toys and china dolls marked “Grace Blackthorn.” There was a runed dagger shoved down among the broken doll heads so my guess is she was a little girl just starting training. Aw! (Though the doll heads are creepy.)

Julian came in when I was partway through unpacking, and decided to help by cleaning out the fireplace grate. He got completely covered in soot and was coughing, so I dragged him into the modern wing, pulled off his shirt, and started mopping him off. And well, he was shirtless and dirty and looking at me with those gorgeous blue-green eyes and what can I say?

I jumped him. We backed into the bedroom kissing like crazy and toppled onto the bed and got soot all over the sheets and it was worth it. (And that’s all the details you get, Bruce. Stop asking.)

I can’t believe I ever thought Jules and I were just friends. It’s almost like I loved him so much I couldn’t see all of it, how big it was. I was standing inside it, looking for that kind of love without realizing I was surrounded by it. Does that make sense, Bruce? I’m not a writer so I’m probably terrible at expressing this kind of thing! I know I often feel like I should tell Julian I love him more, but he never says anything about it, and so I try to tell him in other ways than words. The way I curl up against him when we sleep, the way I come up behind him and hug him when he’s concentrating on something (not when he’s painting, though, or there’d be splotches on all the canvases!) The way — wait a second. Is that someone knocking on the door?

[One hour later]

Bruce! You’re not going to believe it but Cristina is here! And Mark and Kieran are with her! I don’t even know how Kieran managed to get away from Faerieland — something about him making a vow to the land that he’d be here for less than three sunsets — but I’m so happy to see them! Cristina and I danced around like maniacs and hugged each other, and somehow Mark and Kieran managed to convince Julian we should go out tonight and see London. We’re all going to wear clothes from the Super Groovy Sixties closet and hit as many pubs as we can. I can’t wait, Jules and I need a break. London, here we come! Prepare yourself for Partying Shadowhunters!*

*And a faerie King.

#secrets of blackthorn hall #sobh #emma carstairs #julian blackthorn

[golden-wingseos]

“uh oh.”

when they accidentally embarrass themselves in front of their crush... [y/n].

featuring —

✧ bennett, chongyun, diluc, zhongli (separate) x gn!reader

warnings ―

✧ not proofread, blood (not graphic, but mentions), mentions of death

notes ―

✧ woke up at 5am, had this idea, wrote it all at 5am... went back to sleep 😻

𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐓  -: ✧ :-゜・．

he was living life, actually talking to you until...

until he accidentally. slipped. and fell flat on his face. and what makes it even worse? the moment he got up, he slipped again. right on his bottom

to anybody else—maybe that wasn’t too bad! yeah! it’s okay, chin up king!

no. absolutely not. because he was about to confess to you. he had the flowers (a single windwheel aster) ready! 

“ah, bennett, are you okay?” you smiled, holding your hand out to him as he short-circuited, his life replaying through his very eyes as he prepared to dig his grave and hop right in

“your nose is a little red, here,” pulling out a handkerchief, you let bennett wipe his slightly bloody nose as you handed him a cute band-aid for future needs

“a-ah, thank you! [y/n]!” bennett cradled the band-aid you gave him, his heart still pounding in his chest—but now, it was at least two times faster

hmm, even if he did brutally embarrass himself in front of you and messed up his confession... at least you gave him a band-aid!

don’t be surprised when he goes home to tell his expecting-dads... 

“hey bennett, did you do it? did ya confess?”

“no! but i got a band-aid!”

“. . . oh you bet they like you, benny!” one of his dads laughed, slapping bennett’s back as the adolescent boy lurched forward upon impact

feeling his now dry nose, bennett’s mouth hung agape at the thought

you liking him? wow... did anybody want to like him?

well, he could only hope!

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐘𝐔𝐍  -: ✧ :-゜・．

you bet it—he accidentally (was fed) jueyun chilis!

xingqiu was having the time of his life. but chongyun? king was partying on top of tables, announcing his profound love for you, sobbing because he thought you didn’t like him... you name it

glaring at xingqiu, you mouthed ‘i’ll kill you’ while chongyun was joining xinyan’s performance as the orange-eyed fellow winced under your stare, whistling innocently while you chased to catch up to chongyun

“oi! chongyun! you can’t interrupt xinyan’s—“

“[y/nnn]! i missed you!” the boy immediately turned around, rushing towards you with his hands outstretched for a hug

“you just saw me like five minutes ago...”

“i love you, hehe.”

was he even listening? your eyes widened at the use of the ‘l’ word. seriously? how could he throw it around so easily? even when you two weren’t even dating!

“i... um... yes,” you nodded, patting his back stiffly as he hugged you. you had never been this close to chongyun before, for he often held everyone at arm’s length to not trigger his condition

and yet, as he embraced you. you noticed the sky blue light of his hair, the scent of mint and the many popsicles he ate fanning off of the white garments of his clothing

xingqiu—who watched from afar—merely smirked, patting himself on the back as he opened up a book as to not look obvious with his staring

“another one for the great xingqiu!” he quietly snickered.

and once he cooled down, chongyun’s HORROR when he heard the rumors from walking down liyue’s streets. older women giggling at him for how cute he was while he slowly went insane

what did they mean he hugged you? and confessed his love? what!? you didn’t mention any of those things! neither did the usually-teasing xingqiu

and oh boy... the pure embarrassment he feels when the mr. zhongli confirms those rumors... he has to go scarf down four popsicles or else he’d trigger his condition again

“i’m so sorry [y/n] i’m so sorry [y/n] i’m so sorry [y/n]—“

ah. you hummed, nodding at his apologies as you made an observation

he was cute with his condition triggered and without

𝐃𝐈𝐋𝐔𝐂  -: ✧ :-゜・．

how did the diluc of mondstadt get embarrassed? well, you see, it was kaeya! why of course it was kaeya... kaeya was the source of all of diluc’s problems /hj

he was just bartending for angel’s share, you know, the usual. and then, you came in!

you bet his crimson eyes did a double-take. you drink?! even he didn’t know that

and once he saw the oh-so-familiar irritable blue hair of his (regrettably) brother, his eyes narrowed at the sight. was this a date?

his suspicions were confirmed to be true by kaeya, who simply grinned as you were oblivious to the silent fight the brothers were having, their eyes darting around as to symbolize the words they could not share with your presence here

“ah, [y/n]. what can i get you?”

“uh, apple cider is fine,” you smiled, sending the red-head’s heart racing at least at 200000 beats per minute

“hm, quite good taste, dear!” kaeya smirked, wrapping an arm around your shoulder as diluc deadpanned, his irritation growing as he clutched his hands a bit too tight around the glass cup, shattering it with the mere squeeze of his fingers

oh crap. diluc thought.

oh crap. kaeya thought.

the WAY diluc wanted to bash his skull in. he would’ve handed kaeya his claymore, his eyes devoid of any emotion as all he could muster out was “do it, kaeya. kill me.”

kaeya’s widened eyes quickly turned crinkle as he laughed, getting kicked out of the tavern as you watched the entire exchange silently, your face contorting into confusion, then worry, then back to confusion

“i—uh, sorry, i’ll remake your drink...” diluc cleared his throat, a light blush dusting his face as he ignored the shattered shards on the floor, fixing you up another apple cider as he practically heard kaeya’s taunting voice in his ears

“yEaH. i’Ll rEmAkE yOuR dRiNk.”

now diluc really wants to bash his skull in.

𝐙𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐈  -: ✧ :-゜・．

he didn’t get embarrassed during the time. only until he went home, replayed it in his mind, screamed into a pillow, and prepared to go into a solitary hideout did he realize how much he messed up

it was just a normal day for the ex-archon—walking through liyue with you by his side as he utilized his knowledge in informing you about the ways of the harbor, and ultimately, life!

and while you walked towards a restaurant, zhongli being the gentleman he is, held the door for you

of course, if it weren’t for trying to push on a pull-door. 

he made it blatantly obvious too, trying his best to push through the laws of engineering as you stared, a small smile dusting your face like the golden light that’d shine through liyue harbor

he merely said ‘oh’ once he pulled it, opening it for you without a care in the world as his gentlemanly duties were always first

but oh boy did his amber eyes morph in embarrassment while he sat alone in his home, his face buried into his pillow as he could not bear this—this travesty of his past self

did you notice? probably. is that why you smiled at him? oh crap! he’s such a fool, a big fool. stop. get rid of it. get rid of the memories

at least the others (bennett, chongyun, diluc) can forget about it once they die. but oh boy—zhongli? he’s gonna remember that for another century

but hey... at least he was considerate? ah hah?

“no,” his voice was muffled against the fluffy texture of his pillows, his eyes scrunched in embarrassment as he forced himself to fall asleep

ah... how you had him in such a trance you could bring even him to embarrassment

#genshin x reader #genshin headcanons #genshin scenarios #genshin imagines #bennett x reader #chongyun x reader #diluc x reader #zhongli x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact imagines #genshin #genshin impact #chongyun #bennett #diluc #zhongli #zhongli headcanons #genshin diluc #gi diluc #genshin bennett