Long Read - Tumblr Posts

For starters, I'm alive.

I don't really have a super grand speech at all planned out, but I do want to give you all the heads up that I kind of just want to talk and indulge in all other things I'm interested in from now on...

I honestly did feel stuck mentally because I had such projects that I was worried I would never get done to the point where it just put me in a place of worry where if I posted and/or talked about anything else, I would be judged for not doing something that I have given myself to do and have shown in the past to have the commitment in...

Does this mean everything I've shown commitment in in the past is all canceled? I'm not entirely sure, but the option is definitely present at this point...

I hope you all understand that I just kind of want to move on and say what I'm thinking and enjoy today's media and topics...

Thank you all for listening, you all have a nice day!

This post is about antisemitism. I'm going to put my cards on the table here. I am not Jewish, I am a Muslim. I have been spending a lot of time in predominantly left and leftist spaces for some years. I've been paying attention to what's being going on on this site too. I think the left, the right no matter what your politics are has a big problem with antisemitism. I've seen people constantly dismiss it, claim it isn't a priority, claim the effects aren't that bad.

Within the last 4 months, I have seen many Jewish people on the Internet , on this site and others leave or take down anything relating to being Jewish because of constant harrasment. This harrasment has had an upsurge but it is not new, I remember hearing the same canards and same false claims years and years ago. I keep seeing people betray a callousness to effects this political enviroment and hostility has on Jewish people.

They refuse to even push back against statements like 'they care more about the jews' or 'being a member of the chosen people means your better than everyone else and they're your slaves', 'there are too many jews in the government', 'there are no palestinians who are of jewish descent, have jewish family members or are jewish and this is propaganda''. I've seen people unable to speak about grief about those they trusted and respected turning out to be antisemites without being harrased over the i/p war.

I've seen a lot of antisemitism in Muslim spaces too, ranging from 'we're tolerant and this is how they repay us', to condenscension to 'some aren't bad but others are bloodthirsty and vengeful', and denial of any antisemitic attacks or crimes done by Muslims. I have also seen attempts to put a stop to this and defend against this and correct misinformation.

But the biggest problem I've seen is that their are a lot of people, who see this is wrong but don't do much about it, or think that it will somehow take away from calling for Palestinian liberation some who have saying this line for years others who have only just started saying it recently. In my experience it is generally not Palestinians saying this who are far more likely to push back against dehumanzing rhetoric than those who say , 'Oh we can't focus it now, Palestinians are dying.' In fact I seen anger against using phrases like 'free palestine' to hurt Jewish people as using the oppression of a people to be antisemities.'

People [in general] keep adding all kinds of caveats 'oh some are good', 'oh some are kids', like acknowledging the humanity of the Jewish people takes the lifeblood away from a Palestinian. In my experience openly saying one should listen to and defend Jewish people and Jewish communities from antisemitism without question is getting increasingly a volatile response. Simply saying that 'Oh what if they're a Zionist?' to just horrific biogtry is antisemitic and you should never deny what's happened to them is bad on that basis. Its used a dogwhistle to justify anything.

And here's the thing, I've spent the last 5 or so years trying to learn all I can about Judaism and Jewish culture, and the dissonance between what I now know and what I see around me has grown very wide. I don't know that much, but I keep seeing the same misinformation and lack of care as to how destructive it is. I keep seeing people assuming that antisemitism is someone else's problem to deal with. I keep seeing all kinds of monolithic, flattening and caricatures that bear no resemblance to the reality.

The most jarring thing was that there are people on this very site that if you had one should support and stand with Jewish people against antisemitism to make a fairer world that had learned a lot about why it is so rampant are now shying away from these statements. Jewish people are spoken about as if one event has obliterated any past or present of discrimination. As if their lives they have led have ceased to exist. The things that caused that atrocity and the current horrors were still around 5, 10 years ago. It wasn't out of nowhere.

I have seen those who have no issue with agreeing with neo-nazis and just violent hate and doxxing and shootings and so on and simply unpersoning Jews in their mind. This has happened many times before and unless there is a big change will happen many times again.

More and more Jewish people are ailenated and leaving places there otherwise went, changing how they live their lives and so on. To all those who are suffering from this. I'm sorry that this happening you shouldn't be treated in such a cruel way.

And to those of us who seen or noticed this withdrawal, we should try to prevent it. Its not enough to say that's wrong to some hateful statements we have work against a hostile and suspicious enviroment this hate flourishes in and give it no air to breathe and to water to drink from.

Antisemitism is not someone else's problem, its all of our problem. We should be vigilant in spotting it and then doing something about it. Many say this but there is a great need for action. Everywhere, on the social media, on the schools and workplaces in the place sof worship in the businesses, in the politics, in the media and so on.

I'm going to say this again, as because I am not Jewish I cannot be claimed to be priveleged and looking for attention by those denying the case. When I say volatile reaction, I mean there are people who viewed me talking about differences in theology between Judaism and Islam and the work of David Bar-Tzur in sign lanaguage interepretation Jewish settings and writings and community work with the Jewish Deaf community and how Judeo-Christian does not exist and is antisemitic and so on.

As first distaste as I spoke to them about it over multiple conversations and was met with increasing hostility and eventually claims that I was following 'degenarates' and that I was too 'kindhearted' and had become 'brainwashed' by 'Zionist media'. Which quickly changed form condescending pity to cold anger when I protested against this. When said I wasn't going to get disclaimers that some 'Jews are bad' all the time whenever I said anything about them and deemed what they were saying to be antisemitic, the conversation devolved from there.

In their eyes I'm object of suspicon for essentially sympathising too much with Jewish people and knowing 'too much'. Yes the considering the amount I knew to be a sign I was brainwashed. It was even insinuated that I lack faith in my own religion and so on. If I didn't like this, I could just walk away and ditch everything I have said and done then keep my head down. But those suffering from antisemitism can't do this as they are being targeted.

That's all I have to say. Please respond if you have anything you'd want to say to me.

HELP

OK my dearest 6 followers

I am on a valiant quest!!!! There was this book I read like 6 years ago; I don't remember the author, and I'm not totally sure about the title, but I think it was called Brave. It was reddish, had a big lighthouse on the cover from a wacky perspective, and the title was at the bottom in giant bold caps

I totally forgot about it apparently, and I have no idea where to find it. It doesn't even appear on the internet. I'm planning on going to the library later to see if I can find it

Here's a basic description of the plot juuust in case you've heard of it

(spoilers for this book that might not even exist)

Some mother with like 12 kids is dirt poor and hears that the ship her husband was on sank. She tells all her kids and they're all 'aw man'

and her oldest son is like 'thats bs' and goes out to Plymouth to find him (she's fine with this since hey less mouths to feed)

anyway he gets like halfway there when his little brother shows up and he's like WTF DUDE turns out the little bro was following him so that's neato dorito

they get there and beg around for a while, i think they found a dog and ate cabbage from the sewer, when some dudes come along and give them a bird in a cage and run away laughing. little bros sit there with this weird bird when the police or whatever show up and are like 'LITTLE RATS STOLE THAT MF BIRD' anyway they get framed and turns out the bird belonged to this cool guy who owns a lighthouse in the dangerous sea

so we have a whole father figure situation and the oldest kid learns to embrace himself and stuff, and tbh i don't remember how the end goes exactly but eventually he finds his father, cool bird guy dies at his lighthouse, its all sad the end maybe THANKS

EDIT: here’s my artist’s interpretation

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

A @campwillowpeakvn fanfiction 💚 'Camp WillowPeak' is a Murder Mystery Visual Novel that is in development for adults 18+, created by @papaziggy-devblog. Minors do not interact. Thank you to @queenlilithprime for their amazing artwork with my OC's counselor application 💜

Ebony shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the bus jostled its way up the winding mountain road to Camp WillowPeak. She let out a slight groan, trying to find a more comfortable position. “God, my ass fucking hurts. Could these seats be any more uncomfortable?” she thought, rolling her eyes. Glancing out the window, she watched the rugged landscape pass by, with towering peaks and dense forests stretching endlessly into the horizon.

She shook her head, scoffing slightly. “I could be sitting on the most plush cushions in the world, and my ass would still be hurting,” she mused, a faint smile tugging at her lips. The decision to sign up for this camp counselor gig was impulsive, a last-ditch effort to break free from the monotony that had gripped her life. Lately, everything felt like it was on a loop—each day blending into the next with mind-numbing predictability.

Meeting new people had become a challenge. It seemed like every time she met someone interesting, they either vanished after one meeting or started avoiding her like the plague. Even her existing friends seemed distant, caught up in their own lives, or ghosting her altogether. Ebony sighed, her gaze shifting from the window to the clipboard in her lap.

“Hopefully, I can meet some new people who won’t just up and vanish. Maybe make some new friends,” she thought, her eyes scanning the last bit of paperwork she needed to turn in once they arrived. She tucked a stray curl behind her ear—her vibrant red hair a striking contrast against her sun-kissed skin—and traced the edges of the pages absentmindedly.

The bus hit another bump, and Ebony winced, muttering a soft "Mierda," under her breath as she gripped the clipboard a bit tighter. The chatter of other counselors filled the bus, snippets of conversation and laughter creating a background hum. Glancing around, she noticed their faces showing both excitement and nervousness. The trip was a new beginning for all of them—a chance to escape their routines and discover something new.

Ebony glanced back down at the clipboard, her vibrant green eyes skimming over the list of questions she needed to fill out. The first line read: What is your name? She raised an eyebrow, a wry smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Didn't I fill this out already when I first signed up? When I filled out the counselor application a while back," she thought to herself, flipping through the pages. Sure enough, there it was—her original application, complete with all her information: name, age, height, likes and dislikes, and even her picture.

She chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Gotta love the redundancy," she mused, her sarcasm bringing a small sense of amusement amidst the monotony of paperwork. Returning to the first page, she filled in her name again—Ebony Ramírez—feeling a bit like a broken record. "Maybe they just want to make sure I'm still me," she thought with a smirk, amused by the absurdity of it all.

The next lines asked for her sex and gender identity. Ebony wrote 'Female' for both, her pen gliding smoothly over the paper. When she reached the line asking for pronouns, she filled in 'She/Her' without hesitation. "Straightforward enough," she thought, appreciating the camp's effort to be inclusive and respectful.

As she continued filling out the questions, Ebony's thoughts began to wander. She wondered what kind of people she’d meet here, what stories they might have to tell. She hoped that this experience would be more than just a job—an opportunity to truly connect with others.

"Maybe this time, things will be different," Ebony thought, a hint of optimism creeping into her mind. As the bus began to slow down before coming to a full stop, she glanced out the window. "Oh, looks like we're here!" she thought as she stood up, adjusting her shorts. As she did, the tattoo on her upper leg became visible—a beautifully detailed jaguar intertwined with lush tropical flowers like hibiscus and orchids.

With her clipboard in hand, Ebony made her way to the front of the bus and exited, stepping down onto the gravel. She walked over to the side of the bus where the luggage compartments were located, the ones typically used for storing passengers' belongings. After the bus driver opened the compartment, Ebony retrieved her duffel bag and then carefully pulled out her acoustic guitar in its case, handling it with a gentle touch.

Standing beside the bus, Ebony took a moment to take in her surroundings. Camp WillowPeak was nestled deep within the forest, surrounded by towering trees that stretched endlessly into the sky and dense foliage that created a thick, green canopy overhead. The air was fresh and crisp, filled with the scent of pine and earth, the kind of air that made you feel like you were miles away from civilization. It was peaceful—almost too peaceful, considering how remote the location was.

"Man, do they even have plumbing here?" she mused, a wry smile tugging at her lips. The thought of roughing it without modern conveniences wasn't exactly thrilling, but she couldn't help but find some humor in the situation. "Guess it's time to channel my inner wilderness goddess," she joked to herself, knowing full well she was more used to city life. But Ebony was no stranger to making the best of things, and this camp would be no different.

As she looked around, she noticed the other counselors beginning to gather their belongings. Some were chatting excitedly with nervous energy in their voices, while others appeared apprehensive, looking uncertainly at the unfamiliar surroundings. Ebony observed them quietly, taking mental notes of the group dynamics.

Two women approached the group, immediately catching Ebony's attention. The first stood tall at around 5'11", with striking red hair pulled into a neat bun. The vibrant color of her hair contrasted sharply with her sun-kissed complexion, and her deep brown eyes were sharp and focused, giving her an air of authority. She wore the camp's uniform—a green polo shirt with the Camp WillowPeak logo, paired with neatly pressed shorts. Despite her commanding presence, her expression was warm and welcoming, a friendly smile softening her otherwise professional demeanor as she surveyed the group.

Beside her was a shorter woman, standing at about 5'3". She had a warm, inviting presence, with rich, deep brown skin that seemed to glow in the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees. Her large, expressive amber eyes radiated kindness, and her dark brown braids were styled neatly into two buns on either side of her head. She, too, wore the camp uniform, though her relaxed posture and easy grace made her appear more approachable, like someone you could immediately trust.

"Welcome to Camp WillowPeak," the taller woman announced, her voice clear and confident, effortlessly drawing the group’s attention. "Everyone, hand your paperwork to Cammi here, and we can get started!" She gestured to the shorter woman beside her.

Cammi smiled brightly, her energy contagious as she waved to the group. "Hey! Just hand it over, and I'll get it sorted for you," she said, her cheerful tone putting everyone at ease. The counselors, including Ebony, handed over their paperwork as Cammi quickly organized the forms, placing them neatly on her clipboard with practiced efficiency.

"Thanks! For now, while we get this sorted, why don't you all get settled and pick out your cabins?" Cammi suggested, gesturing to the row of cabins nestled among the trees. "We'll have two counselors per cabin, so it'll be good for you to get to know one another before deciding."

Ebony watched as the two women turned and headed toward the main office, their confident strides setting a clear tone for the camp. "Hm, I guess those two must be in charge. Or at least, the red-haired one. Maybe the younger one is her assistant? She looks younger than me," Ebony thought, observing their dynamic with curiosity.

Taking a deep breath, Ebony glanced around at the other counselors. "Well, I guess I better start introducing myself," she thought, steeling herself for the inevitable socializing. Just as she turned around, she suddenly found herself bumping into someone. Or rather, bumping into what felt like an absolute wall of a man.

Ebony's eyes traveled upward, taking in a pair of vivid blue eyes set in a face framed by black hair streaked with distinct white highlights. She noticed the small red stud earrings on the flat, upper parts of his ears, adding a subtle touch of personality to his imposing appearance. His cheeks brightened slightly, perhaps realizing just how close he had gotten. Considering his massive size, Ebony wouldn’t have been surprised if he hadn’t seen her at all.

The height difference was immediately noticeable, with Ebony's gaze barely reaching below his shoulders. She took a step back and let out a small laugh, her voice carrying a smooth, slightly musical lilt. "Wow, I thought I’d be the tallest one here, but it looks like I’ve been outdone," she joked, flashing a friendly grin. Her words were colored with a unique and captivating accent, blending the softer tones of Arabic with the vibrant inflections of Caribbean Spanish. "It's not every day I have to look up at someone."

The man smiled down at her, his broad shoulders relaxing slightly as he realized he hadn’t knocked her over. "Ah! S-sorry! I didn't see you there, that's my bad," he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. His voice had a nervous edge to it, but there was genuine warmth behind it. "I’m Harper, and you?"

Ebony grinned, thinking, "I figured he didn’t see me. Thankfully, he seems pretty friendly, even if he’s a bit absent-minded." She chuckled, finding his bashful demeanor endearing. "No worries, Harper. I’m Ebony," she replied, extending her hand in a friendly gesture.

As Harper reached out to shake her hand, Ebony noticed how his large hand nearly enveloped hers. The touch was surprisingly gentle, though she couldn’t help but notice the faint burn scars on his skin, a reminder of some past injury. She squinted slightly, a puzzled expression crossing her face as something tugged at the back of her mind. "Wait... you look oddly familiar..." she mused aloud, her brow furrowing in thought. There was something about him that sparked a distant memory. "Say, do I know you? I feel like I remember you from somewhere..."

Harper’s cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink, and he quickly averted his gaze, nervously scratching his fingertips with his thumb. "N-nope! I definitely don’t think so! Can’t say I’ve ever seen you around before," he replied, his voice a bit higher than usual. The nervousness in his laugh only made Ebony more certain that she had seen him before.

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Ebony’s mind, and her eyes widened with realization. "No, I think I do remember!" she exclaimed, her voice tinged with excitement. She snapped her fingers, a wide grin spreading across her face. "God, it was months ago! At the grocery store!"

She placed a hand on her hip, shaking her head in disbelief as the memory flooded back. "Man, how could I ever forget that! You tripped and made a mess of the entire aisle!" Ebony laughed, the memory of the chaotic scene playing vividly in her mind. "I remember helping you up and trying to salvage what was still intact from your groceries while a worker came to clean up."

Harper’s face flushed a deeper shade of red as he continued to nervously scratch his fingertips with his thumb, clearly embarrassed by the memory. Ebony’s expression softened, and she tilted her head slightly. "Were you okay, though? I remember how bad that fall looked. It seemed like it hurt," she asked, her tone filled with genuine concern, her earlier amusement giving way to empathy.

Harper’s eyes widened briefly in surprise before he chuckled, trying to play it cool. "O-oh! You were worried about me? Nah, it didn’t really hurt... I’m pretty sturdy," he said with a laugh, a hint of amusement lacing his voice.

Ebony chuckled, shaking her head as she gave him a once-over, taking in his towering frame and solid build. "Makes sense. You look like someone who could take a hit or two," she teased, her green eyes gleaming with good humor.

Harper’s smile widened, and he seemed to relax even more as any lingering nervousness melted away. "Well, that, and I’m kind of used to it by now. I can be a bit scattered sometimes," he admitted, his tone light as he chuckled softly. His large hands, which had been fidgeting nervously a moment ago, stilled as he began to feel more comfortable.

After a brief pause, he glanced at her, his blue eyes curious. "So, have you decided who you want to be your cabin buddy yet?" he asked, his voice tinged with hopeful interest.

Ebony chuckled again, her tone teasing. "Well, I haven’t had the chance to talk to anyone else yet, but you seem pretty cool," she replied, flashing him a grin. "Besides, who needs to socialize with everyone? I could use a break from trying to impress people," she added with a light-hearted laugh, her tone carrying a hint of sarcasm that only made Harper smile more.

As her words sank in, Harper’s smile slowly faded into something softer, more genuine. His playful demeanor gave way to something more tender as he looked at her, a blush creeping across his cheeks. "R-really? Just like that?" he stammered, clearly touched by her sincerity, his blue eyes filled with an almost lovesick earnestness.

Ebony nodded, her smile reassuring. "Sure, why not? You seem alright to me," she said with a smile, her tone genuine. There was something in the way Harper looked at her that made her feel at ease, like they had known each other longer than just a few minutes.

Harper’s blush deepened, and he gave a shy smile, his sharp canines peeking out as he tried to contain his excitement. "I mean, I’m not going to complain. Pretty sure I just scored the best roomie of the bunch~," he said, his voice tinged with enthusiasm that he could barely keep in check.

Ebony smirked, leaning in a little closer, her eyes sparkling with a touch of mischief. "Best roomie, huh? I guess that makes you pretty lucky," she teased, her tone light but genuine. "Hope you’re ready to put up with me," she added with a wink.

Harper chuckled, the sound warm and full of genuine affection. "I think I can handle it. In fact, I’m looking forward to it," he said, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement and a touch of something deeper.

Ebony laughed, shaking her head in mock disbelief. "Have you even talked to anyone else?" she teased, raising an eyebrow, her voice dripping with playful skepticism.

Harper grinned, the blush still coloring his cheeks, as he met her gaze with a look of pure contentment. "Nope~," he admitted cheerfully, clearly pleased with how things were turning out. His expression softened as he looked at her, the contented smile on his face making it clear that, in his eyes, he had already won the lottery.

A moment of comfortable silence passed between them as Harper shifted slightly, glancing toward the row of cabins nestled among the trees. Seizing the opportunity to keep the conversation flowing, he spoke up, his voice light with excitement. "So, I think the cabins are first come, first serve," he suggested, his tone filled with anticipation. "Wanna head on over before all the good ones are gone?"

Ebony followed his gaze, glancing at the row of cabins, tilting her head slightly. "Don't they all look the same?" she questioned, a hint of skepticism in her voice as she tried to discern what made one better than the others.

Harper smiled, a mischievous glint lighting up his eyes. "Well, yeah, but it looks like there's one with a view of the lake. Thought it would be nice to snag that one before anyone else~."

Her eyes brightened at the idea, and a grin spread across her face. "Oh yeah, that does sound nice. Let's head over!" she exclaimed, her enthusiasm matching his. Without hesitation, they both began walking toward the cabins, eager to claim the one with the best view.

Chapter 3: The Start of Something New

A @campwillowpeakvn fanfiction 💚 'Camp WillowPeak' is a Murder Mystery Visual Novel that is in development for adults 18+, created by @papaziggy-devblog. Minors do not interact.

Chatting with Harper along the way, Ebony found him to be an alright guy. Despite his intimidating appearance—likely due to his towering height—he had a goofy, laid-back demeanor that put her at ease. His easygoing nature was a stark contrast to his imposing figure, and she found herself relaxing in his company. As they walked, she glanced up at him, her curiosity piqued.

"So, what made you want to sign up to be a counselor? No offense, but I don’t really get much of an outdoorsy vibe from you," she teased, her tone light and playful, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips.

Harper stuck out his tongue and winked at her, laughing. "Yeah, you’re kinda right. I have my reasons, though," he replied, trying to sound mysterious, though the twinkle in his blue eyes gave him away.

Ebony raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his vague response. "Oh yeah? And what might those be?" she pressed, leaning in slightly as if expecting some grand revelation.

Harper stuttered momentarily, trying to find the right words. As if buying time to come up with a plausible answer, he scratched the back of his neck. "Err... New experiences? Meeting new people? I, uh... was bored?" he finally admitted, though his tone lacked the conviction to make it entirely believable.

Ebony couldn’t help but laugh, nudging him with her elbow. "Not gonna lie, it sounds like you’re pulling all that out of your ass," she teased, her green eyes twinkling with amusement.

Harper joined in her laughter, shaking his head in mock defeat. "Aw, come on! I thought they were good reasons!" he shot back, grinning widely. "What’s your reason, then, if it’s so much better?" he added, cheekily challenging her.

Ebony grimaced playfully, realizing she might have set herself up for that. "Honestly? Meeting new people is actually one of my reasons," she admitted, a sheepish smile spreading across her face.

Harper laughed, his tone light and teasing. "Your reason is just as lame as mine!" he joked, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

Ebony laughed along with him, but her laughter gradually faded as she tried to defend herself. "Okay, but I'm serious! Lately, it feels like everyone’s been distancing themselves from me," she confessed, her voice softening. The weight of her words seemed to settle between them, and as she looked away, a flicker of sadness briefly dimmed the usual brightness in her green eyes. "And I don’t really know why," she added, her shoulders sagging slightly under the unspoken burden.

Harper’s expression softened, his eyes reflecting empathy as he listened. "So, I thought maybe here I could, I don’t know... make some new friends who won’t just up and poof on me," Ebony confessed, her voice tinged with vulnerability that she rarely let surface.

Harper, still focused on her, paused thoughtfully, letting the silence stretch for a moment before softly saying, "Oh..." A gentle smile began to spread across his face, the kind that lit up his eyes and revealed the sharp canines that added a unique charm to his expression. "I mean... can’t say I plan on going anywhere," he reassured her. "Unlike them, you can count on me to stick around~."

Ebony looked up at him in disbelief, her eyes searching his face for sincerity. Harper’s smile remained kind and genuine, his expression open and honest. He seemed almost earnest in his promise, as if the idea of leaving her side was unimaginable. "Really?" she asked, still somewhat skeptical. "How can you say that when we just met?"

Harper shrugged with a casualness that belied the intensity of his feelings. His smile never wavered, his eyes shining with a quiet determination. "Gut feeling. Come on, does this look like a face that would lie to you?" he asked, tilting his head slightly as he put on his most innocent expression, his features softening into a look of pure sincerity.

Ebony couldn’t resist teasing him, the corners of her mouth lifting into a mischievous grin. "Honestly? A little bit," she replied, her tone light, the earlier heaviness momentarily forgotten. She leaned in slightly, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "And you look like you’d be a little shit about it too."

Harper gasped theatrically, placing a hand over his chest as if he were truly wounded. "Mean!" he exclaimed, pouting in exaggerated disappointment. "Wow, I didn’t know my new roomie would be such a bully!"

Ebony struggled to keep a straight face as Harper paused, giving her a look of mock hurt that quickly dissolved into a sly smile. He stuck his tongue out, revealing the glint of his tongue piercing. "My Nonna raised me to be a man of my word. Guess I’ll just have to endure and stick around~."

That was it—Ebony couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer. "You’re such a dork," she said, shaking her head, clearly entertained by his antics.

Harper’s grin only grew wider as he leaned in slightly, his voice taking on a teasing lilt. "A dork, aaaaaaand your new buddy, yeah?" He fluttered his eyelashes dramatically, adding to the over-the-top charm.

Ebony’s laughter slowly subsided as she looked up at him, her green eyes still dancing with amusement. "Oh, but of course," she replied, her tone just as playful, fully embracing the lighthearted banter.

Harper’s smile brightened even more, satisfaction written all over his face. "Perfect~. I knew we’d get on great~," he said, his voice full of cheer, clearly thrilled with how their connection was shaping up.

As they reached the firepit, Ebony noticed that everyone was already there, busy setting things up and chatting among themselves. A circle of rustic wooden benches surrounded the firepit, and the air was filled with the crackling sound of wood and the murmur of voices. Glancing up at Harper, Ebony noticed a subtle shift in his demeanor. His typically cheerful expression faltered, and a shadow of displeasure crossed his face as he observed the gathered group.

Sensing something was off, Ebony instinctively stepped closer to him, her eyes searching his face with quiet concern. "Are you alright?" she asked softly, her voice gentle and reassuring.

Harper blinked, snapping out of his thoughts as he quickly looked away. "Ah, yeah... Won't lie, I'm not really that social of a person," he admitted, his tone subdued. Ebony tilted her head slightly, her concern deepening. "Oh? You seemed pretty comfortable earlier," she observed, her voice soft, genuinely trying to understand.

Harper looked down at her, a small smile playing on his lips. "Guess I'm just comfy with you," he said, his voice warm and sincere. As Harper said this, Ebony felt a slight flutter in her chest. She thought to herself, “Comfy with me, huh?” She couldn't help but feel a bit flattered and surprised by his words. 

Just then, two people approached Harper and Ebony, the displeased look returning to Harper's face as he stood protectively behind her. The guy leading the way had striking blue hair and a confident grin plastered on his face. He stood at about 5'10" and wore the camp's green polo shirt with cargo shorts and sandals, giving off a laid-back vibe. The girl beside him, significantly shorter at 4'8", had lush red hair cascading in soft waves and vibrant green eyes. She wore the same camp uniform, with knee-high white socks and black flats, adding a touch of contrast to her outfit.

The blue-haired guy greeted them with enthusiasm, "Heeey there, you two! We've all been waitin' on ya!" His voice carried a light-hearted tone as he pointed at each of them in turn. "You must be Ebony aaand Harper, yeah?"

Ebony smiled, nodding at the energetic greeting. "Yeah, that's us," she replied, her tone friendly but casual. She glanced at Harper, then back at the guy with blue hair, curious about who they were. "And you guys are?" she asked, prompting introductions.

The blue-haired guy continued with a smirk, "I'm Gavin, and this little cutie here is Sophie," he said, gesturing to the girl beside him. He then turned his attention back to Ebony, giving her an appraising look. "Though, gotta say, you're pretty cute yourself~," he added, his tone flirtatious.

Ebony felt a wave of annoyance wash over her. “Ugh, is this guy serious?” she thought, barely managing to keep her smile from turning into a frown. Meanwhile, Harper's expression darkened behind her, his eyes narrowing and jaw tightening, clearly not pleased with Gavin's boldness.

Sophie, noticing Gavin's flirtation, looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you really going to flirt with everyone you meet here?" she asked, her tone dripping with exasperation.

Gavin shrugged, seemingly unfazed by her comment. "Hey, can't score if I don't shoot my shots," he replied with a nonchalant grin, clearly enjoying himself.

Annoyed by Gavin's behavior, Sophie reached up and grabbed him by the ear, pulling hard enough to make him bend down in pain. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Gavin yelped, grimacing.

"Down, boy," Sophie commanded, her voice firm as she shot him a disapproving look. Ebony smirked to herself, amused by the scene. “Looks like someone’s got him on a short leash. Not that he doesn’t deserve it,” she thought, finding it hard not to laugh at Gavin's predicament.

Sophie, still gripping Gavin's ear, turned her attention back to Ebony and Harper. "It's nice to meet you! Everyone else is busy finishing setting up, but I'm sure they're all excited to meet you!" she said, her tone polite but firm. She gestured to the firepit behind her with her free hand. "We were actually just about to grab a bit more wood for the fire. If you want, you can head over to the s’mores station and start setting up?"

Ebony nodded, smiling. "Sure, sounds good!" she replied, grateful for the distraction from Gavin's antics. She glanced at Harper, who seemed relieved to move away from the encounter, and together they headed towards the s’mores station, leaving Sophie to deal with Gavin.

As Ebony and Harper headed over to the firepit, they spotted a foldable table set up with boxes of graham crackers, bags of generic brand chocolate, and marshmallows. Ebony couldn't resist making a quip. "Wow, they really went all out with the store-brand goodies. Guess we’re not getting the gourmet s’mores experience," she joked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Harper chuckled, picking up a piece of paper from the table. "Looks like there's even a little to-do list... Pretty much just skewering marshmallows and portioning out chocolate and crackers," he said, reading through the instructions.

"Sounds easy enough," Ebony replied with a shrug.

They got to work, methodically skewering marshmallows and setting out portions of chocolate and graham crackers. As they worked, Harper seemed to lighten up, his mood noticeably more cheerful.

Ebony observed him out of the corner of her eye, noticing how genuinely happy he seemed when it was just the two of them. “It’s like he’s a completely different person when we’re alone,” she thought. “He’s all smiles and laughs with me, but he looked almost irritated when Gavin and Sophie showed up.” She couldn’t help but wonder why Harper seemed so comfortable around her yet so visibly displeased with others. It was both flattering and a little puzzling, and it made her curious about the reasons behind his demeanor.

As they continued setting up, Ebony decided to strike up a conversation. "So, do you have any friends back home?" she asked casually, glancing over at Harper.

Harper looked up from the marshmallows, slightly caught off guard by the question. "Huh? Oh, yeah! I’ve got a nice little friend group back home. They’re pretty great," he replied with a smile.

Ebony nodded, her hands busy arranging the chocolate bars. “It’s good to know he has a support system back home,” she thought to herself. She felt a bit reassured, seeing that Harper had a life outside of this camp. It made her feel less worried about his earlier reactions and more curious about who he was beneath the surface.

As they continued working, skewering marshmallows and setting up the rest of the s'mores ingredients, Ebony decided to delve a little deeper. "What about a partner? Are you in a relationship?" she asked, trying to sound casual, though her curiosity was genuine.

Harper choked a bit on the marshmallow he was trying to sneakily eat, his eyes widening in surprise. Ebony couldn’t help but laugh, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Easy there, big guy. Didn’t mean to surprise you," she teased, patting him on the back.

Harper managed to swallow the marshmallow, coughing as his cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. "A-a partner? R-relationship? Erm, no, definitely not..." He looked down at Ebony, who had moved her hand away from his back, his eyes searching hers for a moment. "I, uh... Why... Why do you ask?" he stammered, clearly flustered.

Ebony smirked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Just curious~," she replied, drawing out the last word teasingly.

Harper raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her tone. "Oh, ooh, curious? And why would that be?~" he pressed, leaning in slightly, his interest piqued.

Ebony resumed skewering marshmallows, nudging him with her hips as she did. "Stick around like you promised and maybe you’ll find out~," she teased, giving him a sidelong glance.

Harper smirked, chuckling softly. "I guess I really don’t have a choice then~," he said, his voice light but sincere. He looked at her with a soft, almost tender expression. "Not like you’d be able to get rid of me anyway, Cara Mia."

Just then, the woman’s voice from earlier cut through the moment, calling out to the group. "Alright, everyone! Come on over and introduce yourselves!"

Harper’s expression turned annoyed, and he let out a sigh as he stood upright. "Damn, guess we gotta head on over..." he muttered, clearly reluctant to leave their conversation. Ebony gave him a knowing smile as they headed towards the firepit, ready to join the rest of the group.

--

When there are more updates to the game, I will continue writing this fanfiction. I would like to thank all those who have read this. I am grateful for your kindness. 🧡

Jason’s final monologue in Under the Red Hood is so impactful and important because he’s being honest. His speech hinges on the fact that he’s being open and honest with his feelings on how the last few years affected him. I’ve seen many people argue that because Jason is an unreliable narrator at times, that means he is an unreliable narrator all the time, therefore nothing he says can be trusted. Unfortunately, this feeds into the “anything can be canon behavior for Jason because he’s written so inconsistent therefore I don’t care and besides fanon is better anyway so there” argument where actual consistent character traits often get ignored.  

While, yes, Jason can be an unreliable narrator, and while, yes, Jason is written incredibly inconsistently, this doesn’t mean there’s nothing consistent about him. I remember a couple of years back, some people were arguing how absurd it was for Jason’s opening line to be: “Bruce, I forgive you for not saving me” because it would be impossible for anyone, especially “someone like Jason” to not hold a grudge against a person for not making it in time. They couldn’t buy the fact that someone could concede like that. Of course, Jason is lying here, how could he not, in some part, blame Bruce? But this completely side-steps that Jason does that all the time, pre and post-death. Some of his last words were forgiving Shelia for murdering him and apologizing to Bruce for not being good enough. He doesn't blame Catherine for forcing him into the parental role for both him and her and Jason usually places Willis strictly in the “it’s complicated” box. He constantly takes the fall in his tumultuous relationship with Bruce like his apology letter to the man at the end of TFZ. It’s not out of character for Jason not to place the blame on Bruce, but rather forgive him and dictate his ire to where the real blame falls: the Joker. Again, he doesn’t even place the blame fully where it belongs because he doesn’t mention Shelia’s role. (yes, DC wants us to forget about her role in his murder. Especially in UtRH as can be seen in all the bad robin!Jason rhetoric, but that outer world meddling affects the inner story) 

It’s a cop-out to claim that because Jason is unreliable at times and inconsistent at others that means you can subscribe whatever meaning you want to his words and actions. He’s not his own character anymore, he’s an OC to fit you’re narrative which strips him of his story. By saying he’s actually lying(whether over if he forgives Bruce or so he can blame Bruce later on because “he needs something to be angry over”), it strips away the farther-son tragedy of this moment.

Jason is having a contained breakdown. He’s trying to keep it together, and that’s why when his voice breaks on “doing it because–because he took me away from you” and he starts crying, it’s impactful. He’s raw and alive and it’s still not enough to be seen. He has no point to soften the blow with “I forgive you.” He has no reason to lie about that when trying to get his father to see him. If it was just about the joker then Jason could’ve said “I blame you for not saving me and to redeem yourself, you have to kill the Joker.” But Jason Doesn’t ask him to kill the Joker but instead demands to know why he’s free without consequence, why he is still breathing.

If Jason wanted “to push his goalpost farther with Bruce,” he would prey on Bruce’s blaring guilt complex. It’s incredibly telling and significant of Jason's character that he doesn’t do that in this moment. Therefore, we can assume that if Jason had succeed in killing the joker, he still wouldn’t use that to guilt Bruce.

Jason instead talks about how much he loved Bruce–still loves Bruce–and how the man meant the world to him, and how he feels used because he thought he meant the same to Bruce. By saying he’s lying in this moment to trick and ruin Bruce, you are undercutting some of Jason’s most consistent behaviors: his desire to love and be loved, his desire to be a part of a family, his desire to be important to someone, and how he will put up with almost any and all maltreatment to get that connection.

Jason “pushing his goalpost” further highlights how many don’t understand his emotional distress tied to his murder and instead want to place him solely in the “completely delusion” category where his victimhood is undermined. It’s not about getting Bruce to kill, at the end of the day, the ultimatum was to kill Jason, not the Joker, it’s about wanting his father to understand what he needs to feel safe. That is Jason’s request. Not the clown. Him. He’d rather his father kill him with his own hand so he’s not forced to live on the same earth any longer with and share the same air as his murderer. What makes this as an ultimatum is that Jason fully believes that Bruce loves him too much, therefore, the man would never kill him allowing Jason to achieve his peace. Whether you agree with Jason’s methods or not is a different matter, but that is the tension in this contained scene.

Furthermore, a lot of meta lately says that if Bruce had let Jason kill the Joker then he would guilt Bruce by saying “why would you let me do that? You tainted my soul and hands!” which ignores: 

A. Jason’s actual legitimate reason for wanting the Joker dead. The former belief falls back on the “Jason is so delusion and dramatic!” trope, the “he’s not the right kind of victim” trope because he’s angry instead of submissive and “actually has no good reason to be angry, he’s just being difficult for the sake of.” It completely undercuts Jason’s actual trauma with getting no justice. Bruce preaches Judge and Jury, but Jason got neither. So many victims get neither, and Jason’s anger represents that. What gives Bruce the right to say Jason’s not allowed to play his own executioner in relation to his victimhood when he never got the morals and ideals that Bruce himself preaches so thoroughly? 

And B. more obviously, Jason killed in UtRH before their big confrontation? Famously, the duffle bag of right-hand mans’ heads. He killed in front of Bruce already as well? Captain Nazi? Like, also in lost days, which is a prequel to UtRH, he kills? What’s the actual argument here? Loosely, It reminds me how everyone wants to blame the entirety of Jason’s takeover on pit madness. This “you’ve tainted me” argument sounds as if Jason is not aware of his actions and traumas. Not to say he’s completely sane or not delusional at times throughout his publishing history, but to think Jason would be pissed at Bruce for letting him kill the Joker is to dismissively say “no, you don’t know what you need, but I do.” 

No, the Joker being dead won’t fix everything, but with the joker dead, it would literally be removing a real-life constant trigger of Jason’s. Yes, Jason is a synecdoche for victims, but he is also that himself: a single victim. Joker is a stand-in for everyone who’s ever gotten away with a vicious crime free of judicial step-in or failure, but he also is just that: Jason’s murderer. Yes, they both metaphorically represent something bigger in this scene, but on a fundamental level, the Joker is also just the person tormenting Jason and nothing more. By saying Jason doesn’t actually want what he wants stands in for saying victims are too wrapped up in their trauma to understand what’s causing it. It’s mitigating and demeaning how bad it actually was/is. Jason’s murder in comics still holds such power over the mythos today even though “everyone’s died. He’s not special” for a reason and it’s because his life is actively shown to be affected by it.

Jason has been shown to have PTSD-induced panic attacks around the joker (Lost Days), and about the joker (famously the rebirth issue where Jason hallucinates murder victim him), it’s not far off the say that whenever Joker commits a mass atrocity, that it affects Jason in some way. 

And we canonically know that it does! In Lost Days, Jason breaks down in tears in the streets over all the families that have been and will be destroyed by the Joker. So that Survivor's Guilt train of thought is canon for him: “those people are never coming back, I’m here and I’m not supposed to be, but they’ll never return”-esque

No, killing the Joker won’t fix all of Jason’s issues and trauma surrounding his murder, but that’s obvious. Yet, have you ever been in a bad relationship and part of the issue is literally just being around that person? The healing process starts when you step away. You can’t heal in the same environment that’s harming you. This goes hand in hand with how Jason will only begin to heal as a person when away from Bruce because he’s such a dominating, constant trigger in Jason’s life (again, proven in canon when Jason backs away from Gotham and the Bats). No, the joker being dead won’t fix everything, but it will allow the process to begin where Jason isn’t constantly rehashing his trauma every time the Joker escapes. Jason has tried to heal on his own except the clown keeps coming after him. Whether it’s him attempting to burn off his face or in his mind when Bruce physically drags his murder to the forefront of Jason’s thoughts shoving him into a breakdown over how he’s trying so hard to heal. Part of the reason it’s so hard for Jason to move on is because his trigger buttons are constantly being held down for extreme amounts of time. It’s not that he heard or saw something that brought him back to his murder, it’s that Jason is literally being held in a constant state of panic, grief, fear, and unsafety.

By saying Jason is looking for something to be angry over and he’d find that in Bruce if he let him kill the clown, it frames the moment as a winning vs losing moment that Jason will always lose no matter what. This is a faulty understanding of how healing works and is reminiscent of Three Jokers. You can’t win at healing like Geoff Johns tries to say Barabara did and Jason failed at. Healing is something you do with ups and downs. At the end of the day, it’s a son yelling at his father to help him. It’s not about winning or losing, joker tries to make it about that (“everyone still loses”), but that frames the interaction in a much pettier light. This strips the moment of both Jason and Bruce's raw, exposed wire in water, vulnerable emotions. This looking to be angry argument is also reminiscent of the fandom's love for pit madness which strips Jason of his righteousness. Jason has very understandable reasons to be angry. His life was stripped and stolen away from him. It’s like when people say Robin Jason had anger issues which completely ignores what he was angry over! He hated rapists and pedophiles and big, authoritative tough guys who beat on women! He wasn’t angry all the time over everything; he had very real, systematic issues that upset him in overwhelming ways. Boiling him down to “he needs to be angry” wipes Jason of his motivations.

Jason doesn’t plan for a future. Really, he never even thought Bruce would kill for him in the end. When he first came back, sure, he thought Bruce would kill the joker and make Jason “the last person he ever hurt”, but in their final confrontation, Jason just asks “why on God’s earth is he still alive?” and then “I’m going to blow his deranged brains out and if you don’t like that you’ll have to kill me. Shoot me right in the face”: his ultimatum. In the confrontation, Jason doesn’t even believe he has a full claim to be upset over the Joker for just himself. He talks about Barabra being hurt by the clown and is pretty rescind to his murder in the fact that he says he was one of so many corpses filling dozens of graveyards made specifically by the Joker. Again, “last person he’d ever hurt,” Jason is fairly fine with being dead and doesn’t even think he deserves to be back, but because he wasn’t the last person the clown hurt he pushed that as his climax for why he’s angry. 

Really a better commentary focuses around “well, what does Jason think is going to happen after?” because Jason clearly doesn’t want to be alive. He sets up like four ways of suicide in his final scene. One of my mutuals a while ago posted their thoughts on what they wanted the after to be. They said they wanted to see a story where Jason killed Joker in this showdown. They believed he would probably enter this dissociated shock over the joker’s dead body, over the fact that it was just that easy, that it’s over. But, this fact would lead Jason to the realization that he doesn’t need Bruce to “save” him (i.e. protect him/keep him safe). This has literally been rotting in my head for months, you have no idea. And I truly see this as the outcome of the showdown if it had gone that way. Sure, Bruce didn’t stop him, but he also didn’t stand up to protect Jason from his murderer. Jason, just like in every other aspect of his entire life, had to protect himself. Once again, he has performed his own emotional labor, and that would probably break him away from Bruce’s chains. He got what he wanted and he didn’t need anyone else to do it for him. This interaction further shattering the heroic image he upheld Bruce to. I think that’s a much more realistic outcome based in Jason’s characterization rather than him throwing a fit over the fact the Joker’s dead therefore he has nothing else to be angry over when Jason is shown to be angry over a lot of other things as well.

He did learn :)

Not that anybody asked, but one of my favourite headcanons is that L was actually kind of a bad influence on Light. I think Light often mirrors the behaviours of people he looks up to a lot, both consciously and subconsciously. And I think he was often mirroring L's childish competitiveness and shadiness and turning everything into a game way more whenever they were together. And that then he was sort of terrified out of it and sobered into acting way more seriously again by his dad pretending to execute him at the start of the Yotsuba arc. And then Light starts mirroring Soichiro's ideals and behaviours very closely in that arc instead. Maybe just because he lost his Kira memories, but I think also because he really wants to appease his father and get back into his good graces again. And I think that Light suddenly stopping mimicking L and instead often scorning L's bad behaviour in the Yotsuba arc is a big part of the reason L gets really confused and depressed at that point. He relates way more to the mindgamey Kira Light that he half helped create and inspire than he does to the very serious and straitlaced Light that he actually ended up handcuffing himself to.

i don't know how you can "the curtains are just blue! ACAB lol" fucking Death Note of all pieces of media

this is a show for thirteen-year-old boys. the only writers I've seen who are less subtle about what they're going for were fucking Victorians.

athenasolives asked: Do you have any thoughts on meaning behind characters’ Japanese  pronouns (ie. Light using “boku”)? 

Yes!! I think the pronouns characters use are really interesting. As a disclaimer, I’m not a native Japanese speaker and have never lived in Japan myself, so my opinions are largely based on picking the brains of native-speaker friends and research. Unlike English, Japanese tends to omit “I” from sentences. Leaving in personal pronouns comes off as really odd and a sign that whoever is speaking that way is not a native speaker or that they’re on the arrogant/self important side. All of which is to say that personal pronoun choice is important and also interesting because they don’t usually come up in conversation unless for emphasis. As you mentioned Light, I’ll go over my thoughts on him specifically, but the subject of patterns of speech in DN in general could really just be its own tl;dr post, haha.

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Scheherezade

Here’s a short piece about Ryuk and Light and what it means to be a Greek chorus of one watching a tragedy in the making.

In truth, Ryuk isn’t sure if he could kill to save Light anymore, not without dying.

Ryuk loves him, in his own way — not as romance, and not as a parent loves a child, but as a precious thing to be witnessed and treasured. His moonlit pet, brilliant and hollow. He speaks with his eyes shut, thinking of distant things, and sleeps with his whole body beneath the blankets. When he pulls out his pen to kill, he twirls it twice, then falls silent as he scrolls through pages and pages of information, making his judgements.

He is seventeen years old. He is proud that he does his own laundry. Last week he spent thirty-seven minutes deciding whether or not to spare a triple-murderer for the sake of her pupal daughter, index finger pressed along the length of his lip, then wrote the name in a series of quick, deliberate strikes and turned the page with nothing more than a beat for the ink to dry.

Humans are filthy and depraved things, that’s what Ryuk has learned since he came down to their world, and Light is such a wonderful specimen of the species. He grows like a flower through shit.

Shinigami are not in the business of chronicling the lives of human beings, but Ryuk keeps a record of Light anyway. He stores it within the tunnels of his own mind. Perhaps one day he will repeat it to someone else and Light’s story will live on, but probably he’ll keep it just for himself.

Light doesn’t belong to the world. He’s made this very clear. He stands separate from it, declaring himself above and apart. He belongs, instead, to Ryuk. He doesn’t have friends anymore; he has only their talks at night, and the long walks to and from the school where Light learns about mathematics and emperors and kings.

Someday Ryuk will kill him. He’ll scrawl down his name and his heart will stop. He wasn’t there for the start, but he’ll be there to witness the end. This is how it should be. It is a promise and a mercy which Ryuk has designed: Light Yagami will not die alone.

just thinking about like. how incredibly fucked up it would be if light actually weren’t kira and L was basically torturing this random kid he’s decided to fixate on? i think there are actually a wide range of reasons someone might think they were unknowingly killing people based on the conditions L has set up, and this never really crosses anyone’s mind. he’s created a literal nightmare scenario and it’s real lucky for everyone involved that he was right.

This came to me because I was thinking about Death Note and listening to Sea Shanty, so 5 hours later, here we are. This is pretty much a crossover with Pirates of the Caribbean BTW lol.

Okay, setting is the Caribbean around the early 1700s, and the Royal British Navy is at war with the pirates.

Light is the 17 year old son of Navy officer Soichiro and his wife Sachiko, and has a little sister Sayu. While Soichiro is all about taking down pirates, Light enjoys the expedition part of sailing more. While Light didn't particularly like pirates, he was more than critical of the way the British handled things.

Because of his keen mind and skill, Light was offered to join an expedition with a very prestigious crew to find some buried treasure. Light of course accepted, and ended up being the main reason the treasure had been found. This embarrassed the crew, and they viewed Light as a threat to their positions.

So during a storm, the head of navigation, who was Light's idol, tried pushing him over board. Light fought back, but he was unarmed and the man had a sword. After having his eye slashed and blinded, Light was shoved off the boat and into the middle of the sea.

As he drowned, Light swore vengeance against the navy and promised to one day kill the entire crew of the ship he had been on.

Well as it turns out, yelling about revenge is a great way to attract the attention of a bored, shape-shifting reaper, who was responsible for taking the souls of drowned sailors. Deciding to have some fun, the reaper named Ryuk offered the human a deal. For possession of Light's soul, Ryuk would give Light the power of immortality.

Obviously, Light agrees.

After sitting adrift at sea for a few days, unable to die and having to listen to Ryuk bothering him in the form of a parrot, Light is rescued by a group of pirates. Having no where else to go, Light joins them as a cabin boy.

However the captain quickly notices Light's navigation skills, and Light begins to slowly move up the hierarchy. Things are quiet for around a year, finding small mounds of treasure and evading the navy as well as other pirates.

However, word of their success found it's way to other pirates, who decide to attack their lone ship. The captain dies in the crossfire, and Light ends up issuing out orders. It takes a risky maneuver jack sparrow style and trapping the ships on a sand bar for Light and his crew to come out victorious.

Light is elected the new captain as his creepy black parrot cackles in the background.

For 5 years Light grows his fire power and influence, owning 8 large ships with over 100 men on each. 3 years into his rise, Light had managed to kill the navigatior and his crew, and Light kept the navigators skull as a decoration for his cabin. His notoriety grew as well, the name Captain Kira and his oppressive fleet becoming well known and feared.

Enter L, who is considered the best treasure hunter in the world. He is hired by the crown to find the recently deceased Black Beard's treasure vault, and provided a map.

L ventures out with Watari, Soichiro Yagami, Shuichi Aizawa, Hideki Ide, Touta Matsuda, Kanzo Mogi, and Hirokazu Ukita from the Navy, as well as some lower ranked sailors.

Everything went well until they were attacked and surrounded by 3 of Kira's ships, with their captain standing before them.

Soichiro is shocked to see his presumed dead son alive and well, as is Aizawa and Matsuda, who had known Light before he disappeared. L lamented trusting that the information about the treasure had been kept secret.

L foiled Light's plans of stealing the map by informing Kira that only L had the location in his head. However, Light's smirk returned just as mean as ever.

"Well then, guess we'll be working together for the foreseeable future, won't we Lawliet?"

They end up making out lol

There: PIRATE AU

(Yes, I know Light doesn't have an eye patch in the last image lol)

It's interesting sometimes to think about how much the implied message behind Death Note is almost very much "maintain the status quo and it's foolish and fruitless to attempt to actually change the way things already work," even though it's also seemingly quite focused on challenging and questioning a lot of norms and values and institutions as well

about lenore from castlevania

tw : rape, abuse, toxic relationships, suicide

don’t get me wrong. lenore is a great character. i almost wrote was, but in the end, yes, she still is. 

but the way her relationship with hector evolved in season four is truly so f*cking messy. and this is, imo, the biggest problem with lenore.

i loved that she was this cute, seemingly soft vampire (even though it was too good to be true, yeah, i’m looking at you hector) but well, she is a vampire, part of an evil sisterhood with a super-evil vampire as its head. she had a mission, she did it in the most cruel way, that’s true, but she succeeded. i personnally despised people who use their power as she did with hector, who was abused, denied food and clothes, tortured (probably) and literally treated like a dog. it might be ~ sexy ~ in some situations (the bdsm vibes, not the abuse ofc) , it’s not supposed to be when you’re a prisoner.

that’s the key word here : hector was a prisoner. and lenore was his torturer. let’s not forget about this. PLEASE, LET’S NOT FORGET ABOUT THIS.

what happened at the end of season three is definitely super upsetting. it’s obviously very morally wrong as lenore tricked him, forced him to have s*x with her. yes, she forced him. i won’t listen any justification of what she did. it was morally SUPER wrong. it was r*pe. i only see two options here, from hector’s perspective : one) he wanted her because he developed feelings/some sort of comfort for/from lenore, or two) he didn’t and thought that having s*x with her would probably help him with his situation. 

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I can't believe I'm writing this. In light of S1 DSMP ending I want to say a couple of words about c!Punz, because boy oh boy I have stuff to say.

(I won't call it an analysis, mostly thoughts out-loud)

C!Punz had no one in the start and he had only c!Dream in the end. To be absolutely clear, even this is a great progress for them. They've been alone all the time before c!Dream.

He's a mercenary, of course his skills are advanced and mind is sharp, but he spend his whole life in need to kill to survive, to earn money. Of course they wanted power. The power that money gave them. That was once stripped from him. The control over his life and decisions that was taken away. Everything was compensated by money he received for blooded work he has done. Eventually his view of himself became twisted and saw himself as weapon of others.

Even on dsmp they weren't involved in conflicts on their own behalf often. They would ignore everything that wasn't affecting them directly.

But then there was c!Dream. A person who has found c!Punz, who cared about him for some reason that was beyond his understanding. And finally seen as a person rather than a weapon.

C!Punz is not the one to pull out c!Dream from the hole he was falling into, because they was in that hole already. They could not help him. They probably didn't even understood that what was going on with both of them is deeply wrong. That they both were falling. He was just extremely happy that he wasn't alone anymore.

He understands c!Dream's loneliness, but at the same time he doesn't. They never had people to care about them to lose, they were alone from the start and it's different.

But their loyalty and devotion to c!Dream played it's own role in helping don't fall deeper fast. They were in this hole together, and no one planned to let go, because with each other it was the highest they have been in a long time.

It helped c!Punz to view themselves differently, to finally be loved by someone, to be important, to understand emotions and attachments, connections with people. To finally change their values from power and money to a connection with someone. To put c!Dream as the most precious thing to them. To understand that they deserve to be loved and love themselves. His own emotion and decisions finally mattered, he had his control of his life back. And he actively chose c!Dream, no matter how impossible and dangerous his plans maybe sounded to him. They was on board with him, because it was c!Dream.

C!Dream was the ray of light in c!Punz's dark dark world that changed everything and they did everything in their power to repay him.

fuck it. c!punz + c!dream manifesto bc what else am i going to do at university. study ? nahhh 

the first thing i want to be clear about is that i like c!drunz. they’re a very important duo (they were explicitly paralleled with c!CLINGYDUO for god’s sake) and the point of this isn’t to diminish their importance to each other. i ALSO want to say that the point of this isn’t to be like, super aggressively /neg towards any one character (even tho i am, admittedly, a self-proclaimed c!drolo) or to demonize them. and finally, that this is just the way i see them, not necessarily the views of anyone else (though i’ve very much been inspired by talking to certain friends abt the Blorbos ™ for obvious reasons.)

all of that out of the way, onto the c!dream and c!punzisms . i have no plan for this post it’s probably gonna be messy as fuck . but i think first and foremost it’s important to acknowledge that c!dream and c!punz, each are characters with their own goals. a lot of the finale is about c!dream’s side of this, especially in terms of how much he lost sight of what he actually wanted (and i still have to do a rewatch of the 3rd finale stream just to parse through ALL THE SHIT HE SAID bc jfc man . what.) and how a lot of what he wanted were a lot simpler than he allowed himself to realize. 

but on the flip side of this, obviously, is c!punz. who also has his own motivations, and as is shown in the finale … these motivations exist in a space that is . in a lot of ways. directly incompatible with what c!dream actually wants. c!punz is representative of The Plan. he calls the desires that c!dream and c!tommy share “simple-minded.” he wants to unlock the secrets of the universe just because he can. 

(and it’s worth recognizing that c!dream’s initial reaction to the existence of supernatural powers beyond his understanding on the server was to freak the fuck out, to the point of the prison’s construction being EXPLICITLY as a result of said discovery. Does c!dream want to understand things in order to Fix Them? Certainly. but i would hardly characterize his initial response to the supenatural as being, uh, impassioned curiosity of the unknown, so to speak.) 

c!punz has motivations that aren’t c!dream’s motivations. that’s ,, kind of the point of a lot of what was going on in that last finale stream! c!punz wants to Know Shit. he wants to elevate himself above simple-minded desires. he really,,, wasn’t convinced or swayed the same way dream was when tommy tried to get him to have a heart to heart, and actively discouraged him from continuing to talk about what he actually wanted. and again this isn’t to say that c!punz didn’t care or that he was trying to hurt c!dream or otherwise was trying to act in a way that was malicious towards him but all that still happened you know and speaks to a fundamental difference in the driving forces between these two characters. c!dream and c!punz are each characters with DESIRES and MOTIVES and they’re,, not always on the same page w/ regards to what said desires and motives actually are. 

and, yk, it’s not to say that two characters with different motivations can’t work together or have a relationship that’s rendered completely impossible by their differing desires. but a lot of what defines c!dream and c!punz has a lot to do with c!punz As The Plan, which is significant when you consider how much of The Plan is about both outward and self-destruction for c!dream. this in itself doesn’t completely throw their relationship over a cliff, even if it’s a huge disparity that has a lot of implications when we consider how unaddressed it was by the characters until the last stream of the finale, where c!dream and c!punz are markedly NOT on the same page about what they want. but that kind of brings me to my other point of what’s…really important to c!drunz, at least to me. which is how it’s so often defined by inaction. 

because, yeah, c!punz was always on c!dream’s side (except for that period of time in Pogtopia where he wasn’t, lol.) and yeah, c!punz was the one person he trusted with a lot of the details about his plan to Save The World and whatever. but also the separation between the two was so important that it was quite literally the cornerstone that ended up ensuring their joint survival; it was crucial post-staged finale that no one knew they were working together. c!punz started on c!dream’s side because he was a mercenary for hire. a degree of alienation has always been a part of their dynamic down to the finale, and is also an extremely IMPORTANT part of their dynamic if we consider c!dream’s silence to c!punz calling them friends. 

i find the post-prison era to be most damning about this point in particular, but just look at staged finale in itself: one one hand, c!punz and c!dream were in on a plan to fool the entire server, which spoke a lot to the level of trust involved there. on the other hand, c!punz took a very active and physical role in literally locking c!dream up in his personal hell. c!ranboo took a more significant role after he was locked up than c!punz (which, like, again makes SENSE re. security. but. like. that absence still speaks volumes)–like c!punz as an enabler, c!punz as someone physically cut off from c!dream…that’s a pattern. 

and again, when we look at the state of them after the prison, the absence is even more damning. c!punz specifically (even when considering c!dream’s obvious role in the planning) gets c!dream killed twice in staged finale and then you know, has him metaphorically killed when he’s put in the prison. and then AFTER the prison, we have three specific cases at the very least: c!punz’s signal in the scrapped lore is what ends with c!dream being trapped by both of his torturers, c!punz’s involvement in the Las Nevadas revenge plan nearly gets c!dream killed either by the slime army or if he was in c!purpled’s position at the top of that tower, and his running away from Las Nevadas is explicitly what allowed c!tommy to stalk him for weeks and end up breaking in and killing him. Not to mention how that ends up leading up to both of them getting trapped in the prison with a nuke about to come down over the server. 

and obviously c!dream almost dying/literally dying in all of these post-prison scenarios isn’t Part Of The Plan or something that c!punz actually wants, right, but also…where was he? what did he do to prevent this from happening? c!dream was stalked for literal MONTHS after las nevadas and we see no mention of c!punz being around,,, at all? (we KNOW he wasn’t visibly around in any way considering c!tommy thought that c!punz was still on his side, even.) c!dream didn’t LEAVE the prison for weeks after LN and c!punz wasn’t around? this is with c!punz obviously knowing that c!dream was going to confront his TORTURER. and he wasn’t watching from the sidelines? like, forget c!tommy, c!sapnap found about c!dream’s place of residence IN JANUARY and was apparently still harassing him outside IN JUNE. people broke into that prison to threaten dream multiple times !! like ? 

and god it’s not to say that c!punz didn’t care–his anger speaks for itself–but it’s important to acknowledge that that distance existed and was actively detrimental to c!dream’s safety. fuck, the ANGER in itself was detrimental to c!dream. c!punz’s defining characteristic according to the cc is his anger, when he’s not putting on a persona for the rest of the server,,, and this anger was doing c!dream no favors. we could see that in the finale. we could see that as he literally spent months upon months wasting away in the prison AFTER RECLAIMING THE KEYCARDS and apparently just spent all his fucking time in that place. we can see that when c!punz’s anger leads to c!dream confronting LN which ends up with him staying in the prison without moving for weeks on end, when c!punz’s anger leads to him reviving c!dream minutes after he dies in front of c!clingyduo which ends up leading to the events that prompt them to nuke the fucking server. 

like, ultimately, c!dream and c!punz are characters that had each other and only each other in terms of people who knew the truth abt each other’s plans. they care about each other’s safety. they also have inherently incompatible individual motivations and were severely alienated from each other in ways that carried out throughout their relationship into the finale, and these differences are what defined finale c!dream and c!punz the way they ended up being. and yes, a lot of these decisions were exacerbated by the hostility of the environment they lived in and how being c!dream’s ally was a death sentence. yes, a lot of this has to do with the logical benefits of standing apart so that they could revive each other in case something went wrong. and yes, this has to do with c!dream’s being extremely fucking mentally ill and delusional from the beginning of when their partnership became more defined, after c!dream received the revive book, lost every other ally, and went on a paranoid spiral that ended up with him in pandora. but it’s the differences and the isolation that to me, make this pair in particular so compelling and IMPORTANT in canon. 

When there really was no other way - a different father-son dynamic in AC (rant)

This is a continuation of my other post, focusing a lot on the relationship between William and Desmond, where I talked about the abusive behavior, and how it seems to be lowkey condoned in a lot of media. Warning - this post is super long

One of the most popular defenses when it comes to parental abuse is the idea that “there was no other way”, that in order for the child to benefit in the long run you have to hurt them now. The real-world example would be medical procedures and certain types of physical therapy, that hurt no matter how gently you go about them, but they are important to the child’s well-being and/or survival.  In fiction, particularly in fantasy/sci-fi, it’s usually some type of training or skill, that has to be acquired in limited time, or ability, that can only be unlocked under pressure, that a child needs to survive because the world is more dangerous than ours.

While there are situations where this is plausible and works, still not excusing the fact of the abuse but making the person committing it less disgusting. the idea of “there was no other way” gets grossly misused. And, when William’s behavior towards Desmond is being shoehorned in that category, I get mad, because no, William is just abusive. What’s more, there IS a father-son relationship in AC-universe (albeit in the comic), that does fall under “there was no other way”. 

I’m talking about Nikolai Orlov and his son Kenya, Daniel Cross’ ancestors as portrayed by comic “Assassin’s Creed - The Chain”.   In 1926, Nikolai and Kenya live off the grid somewhere in the US, hiding form both Assassins and Templars. At one point in the comic, an 8-year-old Kenya is made to sleep outside as a punishment during winter until he manages to do his father’s bidding.

If we take the situation without context, it is a clear picture of parental abuse. However, I can name a few reasons, accurately presented in the comic, that make it “there was no other way” situation and why the same points don’t work for William and Desmond. The list of 5 (-ish) reasons is as follows: #0 - Do we know them? This is not an actual reason, that’s why it’s at #0, but it’s a good foundation - for us, Nikolai isn’t a new character, we are not introduced to him making his 8yo son sleep outside. There already was a 3-issue comic, that gave us an insight on his character and values, we have an opinion on him. 

William, on the other hand, gets an introduction by being an asshole to others and showing no normal human emotion in the face if his son being in a coma and his protege’s death. Granted, I’m not sure if the Ubisoft tried to make his connection to Des a surprise, but his first full introduction at the start of AC3 when we already know he is the father is… actually the same - him being an asshole.

Keep reading

A Desmond who feel for older than he is due to the knowledge that his ancestors memories gave him. Time travels back to any period and just decides to become a fisherman. He accidently becomes know as that old man with wisdom that fishes all the time even tho he isn't actual that old. Some people assume he just has very good features that make him seem younger than he is. Just a thought I had at 12 am again :0

I don’t know if you mean that I get to choose where he timetravels to or if you mean that he can freely time travel but think of the hilary of:

Desmond: the time-hopping fisherman

Everyone who sees him just thinks he’s some chill old(ish) man who likes to fish in the weirdest places.

Have a small fic for your 12 am musing XD

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Altaïr always sees him in Acre docks fishing and he doesn’t even know if people are allowed to fish there. The guards ignore him even though he heard whispers from the people near the docks that they all believe he’s… well… not all there in the head. Altaïr never approached him at all but, when he needed to hide after assassinating Sibrand, the fisherman simply smiled at him and patted the space next to him which, coincidentally, had an unused fishing rod. The guards didn’t even bother to look in their direction, too used to ignoring the fisherman. They didn’t say anything to one another and Altaïr simply said ‘my thanks’ before leaving once the coast was clear. But then he saw him in Cyprus, fishing as usual and that caught Altaïr’s interest. Because he kept on fishing even when Altaïr used the Apple to command everyone to return to their homes.

There was a fisherman who always fished on Tiber Island. Ezio had observed him for a few days just to be sure he wasn’t a Borgia spy or anything of the kind but all the fisherman did was fish for the entire day and then go to a small home on Tiber Island once the sky became too dark to continue to fish. Ezio wasn’t even sure if he caught any fish but he was just a harmless fisherman so Ezio didn’t bother him. Then a few of his recruits suddenly started getting better at observing and they all say that they got ‘tips’ from the lonely fisherman of Tiber Island. That caught Ezio's interest but he was too busy trying to dismantle the Borgia's influence in Rome to do anything about it by then. When Ezio finally talked to him after returning from Spain, finally ending his feud with the Borgia with Cesare’s ‘accident’, the fisherman turned to smile at him and patted the space next to him. Ezio sat and took the extra fishing rod that the fisherman gave him as he asked for the fisherman’s name. The fisherman was quiet for a moment before he finally answered, “Nowadays, I have so many names I don’t remember all of them anymore. But I guess… to you? I will always be Desmond.”

Ratonhnhaké:ton assumed he was part of the homestead. Just one of the many people trying to build a new life here on the homestead. Ratonhnhaké:ton introduced himself because it was the polite thing to do and because he was curious about all the people who made their life here in Achilles’ homestead. He was not one of the many people Ratonhnhaké:ton invited. He had been here even before Ratonhnhaké:ton and had even given Ratonhnhaké:ton fish to eat while he had been hunting during the time he stayed in Achilles’ stables. Now, it became a habit to fish with the lone fisherman at least once every time he was on the homestead. Fishing became a way for Ratonhnhaké:ton to simply breathe and rest for a bit. To remember the beauty of the world. So when Achilles told him that the homestead never had a fisherman, Ratonhnhaké:ton had wondered if he had been talking to a spirit this entire time. Yet, the fisherman was flesh and bones when he held his wrist. His skin was warm and he looked at Ratonhnhaké:ton with curious light brown eyes that seemed to glow in the sunlight. Ratonhnhaké:ton finally asked what he was doing here in the homestead and the fisherman simply replied with a smile, “Just fishing.”

Edward Kenway had seen the weirdest shite but this… this was strange. “What are you doing here, old man?!” “Fishing!” Yes, Edward could see that. That wasn’t the point. The point was… “You’re fishing in an abandoned ship covered in fog!” The laughter he heard was light and absent of any panic. That day, Edward Kenway wondered if they had accidentally boarded a ghost ship and they were now cursed as they found no gold in the ship but the fisherman stayed in Jackdaw and continued to fish even when Jackdaw gets boarded. Everyone just agrees that he was some kind of sea curse and that trying to throw him overboard would bring them bad luck.

Shay saw him every time he was in the homestead. A lone fisherman that always seemed to be fishing no matter the time or the weather. Liam ignored him so Shay ignored him as well. Until he returned from Lisbon, shaking and angry. The red haze in his mind had been so thick he barely heard someone call to him. Yet, he stopped and turned to where the voice had come from. It was the fisherman. He patted the space next to him and Shay wasn’t sure what made him walk toward him. The softness of his voice? The kindness in his smile? The understanding in his eyes? Shay didn’t know at all. His hands trembled as he took the extra fishing rod the fisherman handed to him. And Shay just… fished. In the warm silence between them, he could feel everything he tried to hold in finally let go. Tears fell from his eyes as his shoulders begin to tremble. He felt the fisherman’s hand rub his back as, for the first time since his father died, Shay cried once more.

Every time Arno leave the Parisian Brotherhood’s headquarters from the sewers, he would see him. A fisherman just… fishing away in the Seine river. Arno wasn’t sure if he was even part of the Brotherhood. None of the other Assassins that Arno worked with ever talked to him and he never saw the fisherman enter the sewer or even Café Théâtre. Arno just ignored him. Until Élise left him, too focused on avenging her father to even take the time to listen to Arno. And the Brotherhood… well… Arno had been debating if he should even report to the Brotherhood anymore. He just felt… so lost. Maybe that had been the reason why he finally approached the fisherman and asked him what he was fishing for. The fisherman simply patted the space next to him and handed Arno an extra fishing rod when the young Assassin sat. Instead of drinking the day away, Arno fished with a man he didn’t even know the name of, listening to the fisherman as he talked about a man he used to know who was faced with an impossible choice.

It was Jacob who approached him. The fisherman of Thames, they call him. All the gangs ignored him. Just another one of the poor men of London. But Jacob had been curious. He wanted the Rooks to be more than just any gang. He wanted them to be like the Ezio Auditore’s Brotherhood that his father used to tell him and Evie when they were children. But less restricted by the tenets. A… friendly neighborhood gang just like how his father described them when they were still young and didn’t know better. No matter what the books and journals Evie read say about the real Italian Brotherhood, Jacob didn’t care about that. His Rooks was based on what they heard when they were kids, not the brutal reality they live in. So, Jacob tried to talk to the fisherman to see what his deal was. If he was trying to fish to survive, he’d offer him a place with the Rooks. Maybe even get him something to eat that didn’t smell like Thames for once. Jacob and the fisherman sat for hours, fishing together. When Jacob returned to the train, Evie saw the expression on his face and asked what had happened with concern in her tone. Both Evie and Henry only grew more confused when Jacob replied with wide eyes, “I think I just talked to God, Evie.”

It was shameful for Bayek to admit it but it took a while before he noticed him. At first, it had been because he had been too focused on avenging Khemu. Then it was because he was busy trying to help Aya. But now… Well, he was still busy but it was hard not to notice the fisherman humming the same tune that has been stuck in his head ever since he left Siwa. He didn’t even realize that he had heard it from the fisherman until now. So when he asked what the fisherman was doing and all he got was that the fisherman was fishing, Bayek couldn’t help the exasperation in his voice as he said, “You’re fishing… in an oasis… in the middle of the desert.” The fisherman simply shrugged and replied that he wanted to try it out. Bayek couldn’t help but wonder if he was actually talking to a hallucination and there was really no fisherman and no oasis at all.

“I’m sorry, I know this is a very important conversation and all of that but who is that?” “That… is the fisherman.” “The fisherman?” “Yes.” “That’s all you’re going to give me?” “Yes.” “And you’re not going to explain why he’s fishing straight into that strange water-like gate that you just told me leads to Atlantis?” “……… Yes.” “… I need a drink.” “So do I.”

Eivor frowned as she entered an empty bureau, no Hytham at sight at all. She walked out of his small bureau and looked around. It was easy enough to find Hytham with his Hidden One robes. What she did not expect was finding him by the docks, fishing with a person she had never seen before. Perhaps someone who came to Ravensthorpe while she was away? She walked towards them and Hytham immediately turned to smile at her, asking her to sit and fish with them. She had wanted to say no, to tell him that she was looking for him to give him more medallions. Instead, she sat on Hytham’s other side and took the fishing rod that Hytham gave her. They spent the entire afternoon fishing and, by the end of it, Eivor wondered if perhaps one of the old gods have come to fish in Ravensthorpe.

(If it looks strange that this is not in chronological order but instead ordered by release, that’s because Desmond is time-hopping in that exact order)

Hades Game idea - Neoptolemus Keepsake

Keepsake

Scyrian ribbon => A hair ribbon that once belonged to Achilles during his time on the island of Skyros.

Description

Gain the feature of enemies either slowing down their attacks or having smaller fields of noticing Zagreus, except for bosses. Effects increase as keepsake levels rise.

Idea behind it

The ribbon slows enemies' attacks or makes them not notice Zagreus because of having a smaller detection field. The idea behind this is that it is disguising Zagreus similar to how Achilles was hidden on the island of Skyros away from the perception of the Greeks. This was originally something that Deidamia had and was given to Neoptolemus who will give it to Zagreus.

Dialogue

Similar to other keepsakes if you have it around certain figures they will comment on it. Off the idea that Pyrrhus is in the game he will comment on Zagreus having it on him, Achilles and Patroclus will I imagine question how Zagreus got his hands on a Scyrian hair ribbon. In my mind it could be the trigger to a plot line for Neoptolemus, so if you come across Patroclus and Achilles with the ribbon they will make a general comment on it but when you get back to the house Achilles will question Zagreus about it because he recognizes it. (Possibly Patroclus simply doesn’t recognize it or because he has taken tiny slips from the Lethe he doesn’t recall such a detail)