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makeste · 5 months

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Plus One For All

so guys. can we talk about how there’s somebody chilling out inside of Katsuki’s mind who’s not supposed to be there.

hello there Mister All Might Vestige sir. you should not exist, just FYI. you’re not some Nighteye-type plot hallucination. because if you were, you would not be appearing here as Cloud Might, a version of yourself whom Katsuki has never met and has no frame of reference for. ergo he did not imagine you. ergo you are, in fact, real.

which means Katsuki has One For All.

because that’s the only way he could have a Vestige -- which is indisputably what this is -- inside of him. he has OFA. so. where did he get it. how does he have it. and why is it only making its presence known now.

let’s discuss.

okay so I’m going to try and lay this all out as clearly as possible while also attempting to be as succinct as I can. but knowing me, I’m probably going to wind up sacrificing the latter in pursuit of the former. I’ll do my best though. here goes.

1. Heroes Rising is canon.

which is a fact we’ve recently been reminded of not once, but twice -- first with the appearance of Katsuma and Mahoro in chapter 405, and then in chapter 406 with the “Bakugou no Kacchan” callback. the timing of this almost certainly isn’t coincidental. Horikoshi wants this to be fresh in our minds.

mind you, it is extremely unusual for movies, even technically!canon ones, to actually be relevant to the plot. but BnHA may be one of the few exceptions. we’ve already seen movie 1 impact the series both with Star & Stripe’s backstory, and with Deku’s new gauntlets. so there’s precedent, and it’s something I am paying very close attention to.

2. Deku giving OFA to Bakugou is canon.

just in case anyone here hasn’t yet seen or been spoiled for Heroes Rising, that is in fact what happens in that film! so yeah, that certainly seems like an extremely relevant detail right about now.

3. we never found out why and how Deku got OFA back at the end of the movie.

okay so I was looking for a clip to link before we discuss this next part, but I unfortunately couldn’t find one that hadn’t been edited to avoid copyright issues, so you’ll just have to make do with this.

skip ahead to about 7:10 for the relevant part. for the purposes of this theory, we’re just going to ignore everything All Might says here, because tbh he has no fucking clue what’s actually going on and is just guessing wildly lol. however, I do want you to take note of one thing which will be important later. and that’s the fact that, when OFA “returns” to Deku’s body, it’s only his body which starts glowing, and notably not Kacchan’s. the latter just keeps lying there unglowingly. nothing to indicate any kind of transfer is actually happening between him and Deku, in other words.

moving on.

4. OFA and AFO are probably the same quirk.

as summarized here and here. which is relevant because if they are the same quirk, or close to it, then OFA can most likely do anything AFO can do. so file that away for later.

5. AFO was able to split his quirk and give it to Tomura while still keeping a piece of it for himself.

what’s more, he was able to do the same with Garaki/Ujiko’s quirk, and presumably other quirks as well. while it’s possible that this quirk duplication has nothing to do with AFO and is simply something Garaki was able to figure out using ~*~Science~*~, I think it’s more likely that the two of them used AFO’s quirk in some way to accomplish this feat. particularly since Tomura not only received AFO, but a bunch of its stored up quirkdata as well, such as the information stored in Ragdoll’s stolen Search quirk.

6. OFA responds to Deku’s feelings and desires.

or at least this is the case according to Banjou in chapter 213. recall this interesting conversation on how Deku first activated Blackwhip.

he was thinking that he wanted to capture Monoma, and so OFA obediently activated his “capture Monoma” quirk. despite him being unaware he even had said quirk. it responded to his need, even though he wasn’t consciously trying to activate anything.

now then, let’s revisit that scene in Heroes Rising one more time.

7. during the climax of Heroes Rising, Deku was NOT thinking, “I need to give OFA to Kacchan.”

here’s the scene one more time for reference. this time you’re gonna want to skip to about 3:57.

here’s where we are going to get extremely technical, because this scene right here is the key to everything. Deku’s lines in this scene are, and I quote: “a way we can protect [everyone]... there’s just one way...!” but he very notably does not specify exactly what that “one way” is.

until we get to this scene a minute or so later, which spells it out for us very clearly.

two One For Alls. as in, “with two One For Alls, we could win this battle and save everyone.”

that’s what he was thinking at the moment of the “transfer.” NOT, “give OFA to Kacchan.” but, “we need two One For Alls.”

which, I think, may have made all the difference.

8. OFA created a copy of itself to share with Kacchan, so that both of them could have OFA and use the two OFAs to defeat Nine.

let’s recap. OFA is AFO. AFO can clone itself. so it stands to reason that OFA can presumably clone itself as well. and that’s exactly what Deku wanted to do. make a second One For All.

he didn’t know that he could do that. but as previously established in the Blackwhip incident, OFA is more than capable of making its own executive decisions in key moments just like this in order to help him out.

which would mean that what we saw at the end of Heroes Rising was not OFA being transferred from Bakugou back over to Deku. it was actually just Deku’s OFA briefly self-activating (possibly in response to his delirious apology to All Might -- kind of a “no worries bro, you’ve still got your quirk actually, so go back to sleep and stop stressing over it” type of thing). and Kacchan’s OFA doing... absolutely nothing. it didn’t actually transfer back into Deku. it didn’t actually go anywhere.

let me repeat that: it didn’t actually go anywhere.

in other words, Kacchan still has OFA. and has had it ever since Heroes Rising. he just didn’t realize it. and neither did anybody else.

9. Kacchan’s OFA went dormant once Nine was defeated.

okay, so. remember all of this exposition from chapter 304?

basically, if someone who already has a quirk receives OFA, using it will slowly destroy their body until it kills them. the Vestiges learned this from All Might while he was researching the past generations of OFA in chapter 241, incidentally. Heroes Rising takes place right around this same time (immediately following MVA if I recall). so by the time the film’s climax rolled around, the Vestiges would have known that giving OFA to Kacchan could have devastating consequences down the line if they did not take action immediately after the fight.

so they did.

once Nine was defeated, the Vestiges shut the whole thing down. the crisis was averted, and they no longer had need of a second OFA. they have this boy who is way too similar to Deku in terms of his willingness to put himself in harm’s way in order to achieve his goals. and they absolutely do not want any harm befalling this boy. more on that momentarily.

so they go dark. and they even seal his memory so that he’s no longer aware of even having the quirk. they are essentially in sleep mode. and if circumstances hadn’t eventually become desperate enough to force their hand, they might have remained inactive for the rest of Katsuki’s life.

now, you might be wondering to yourself, “why is OFA willing to go to such unusual lengths in order to protect Katsuki?” and well, the answer to that is pretty simple.

10. Kacchan does not have the same version of OFA as Deku.

Deku is ninth gen. Katsuki, however, is tenth gen. which means that his version of OFA has one additional Vestige. a Vestige whose presence immediately explains why OFA is so goddamn determined to protect him at all costs.

:’)

long story short, while Deku’s version of OFA has proven itself all too willing to enable him in his increasingly suicidal mission, Katsuki’s version of OFA is very much a different story, on account of it being under the management of what I’m guessing is the most willful Vestige ever to exist. and said management being just the slightest bit unhinged when it comes to Katsuki’s safety in particular. seriously, you can’t tell me this is not exactly how a Deku!Vestige would behave. “oh hell no. no OFA for you!! and no memories either, because you can’t be trusted, goddammit. we never should have done this. what the hell were we thinking. if anything happens to him I will kill everyone in this room and then myself.”

so yeah. dormant.

right up until they literally couldn’t afford to be anymore.

11. OFA can self-activate in moments of crisis to protect its user.

Sports Festival. chapter 33. Deku vs. Shinsou.

aw yeah. it’s all coming together.

12. OFA reactivated itself in order to save Katsuki’s life.

I would now like to briefly draw your attention to this scene from chapter 405, in which Edgeshot explains how Katsuki was finally saved. please note my man is very clear that he did not restart Katsuki’s heart himself. he was basically just performing quirk CPR up until Katsuki’s own quirk returned him to life apropros of nothing.

“what brought you back... was the power you’ve honed.”

except... that should have been impossible. because Katsuki was dead. meaning he should not have been able to activate his quirk on his own, on account of the whole “being dead” thing.

however, if he by chance had a quirk with just enough of a mind of its own to activate in critical situations in order to help its user. situations like being forced under mind control. or, perhaps, being stabbed through the heart. well then. that would certainly go a long way towards explaining all of this.

and oh hey, when exactly was it that we saw this guy, again?

oh? it happened at the exact moment when his heart was stabbed through? you don’t say. well that certainly is interesting.

in summary:

Deku cloned his quirk in Heroes Rising and gave Kacchan a copy of OFA. owing to the hyperprotective Deku!Vestige inside Kacchan’s copy of OFA, it shut itself down once Nine was defeated, and all of Katsuki’s memories of having OFA were deliberately wiped, or sealed away. OFA itself remained inactive until TomurAFO stabbed Katsuki through the heart, at which point OFA was forced to reactivate itself to save his life. which it did, by forcibly restarting his heart.

that’s it. no idea how close to the money any of this is, but I think it would explain most of the lingering mysteries and questions about what exactly is going on with Katsuki. and I’ll throw in one last observation as well -- Katsuki has a nine in his name (BaKUgou), but not a ten. which I know sort of contradicts what I was saying earlier about him being the tenth gen, lol. but he both is and isn’t. if Deku split his quirk, Kacchan would in theory receive everything that’s currently in Deku’s quirk right now, and that includes Deku’s own power that he’s been adding to the mix. so he’d still have the Deku!Vestige. but he’s also still ninth gen, because he and Deku are sharing that distinction now. or at least I think the argument could be made at any rate.

so yeah. I’ve been obsessing over all of this for the past few days lol. what do you guys think?

#bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #one for all #bnha meta #bnha theory #bakugou meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #it's also possible that I put way too much thought into this and in actuality katsuki is just using the OFA embers #or something else along those lines #we'll see lol #but in the meantime it's fun to speculate

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zippidi-dooda · 3 months

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You couldn't even complete a coherent though at first.

Just a minute ago you had been above ground with a hand full of other heroes, searching the hideout of a powerful villain, arguing with your "friend" Dynamite the whole way. It was unclear how this had happened seeing as your mind was red with rage just from looking at the red-eyed nuisance. But you knew that he had caused the ground to crumble beneath you after letting lose a cannon of a blast in the wrong direction.

You would've expected him to hold back his insults to prioritize getting back to the others safely, but no. He just had to keep arguing with you.

Needless to say, you couldn't help biting back.

"I-Ooh! I hate you so very much Bakugou Katsuki!" You snapped, clenching your fists and gritting your teeth.

"Yeah, see if I care!" The steadily rising pro hero barked in response.

"If it weren't for you we wouldn't be stuck in this mess in the first place!"

"Shut the hell up already. Your yapping isn't gonna accomplish anything."

"Oh really?" You scoffed sarcastically.

The blond man now chose to ignore you, setting off a loud explosion at the crumbled dirt walls encasing you instead.

"What are you doing!?" Alarmed, you grabbed his arm tightly. "Did you forget that your dumb quirk is what got us here in the first place?"

He gripped onto the hand you placed on him and seethed, "If it's what got us here, then it can get us out. Now, fuck off."

"Of all the people I'd ever have to get trapped with, it just had to be you!"

"Let. Go." Bakugou rose his free hand, setting off small explosions in attempts to scare you.

You inhaled deeply, nerves igniting. "Oh ho, leave it to Mr. Pro to want to start a fight in this situation. We need to find a way out of here, genius, not dig our grave deeper!"

"I'm not scared to beat up a girl. Let go of me."

"Oh yeah, then hit me with your best shot, you lousy, aggrogant, obnoxious, cocky little son of a-mph?!"

Before you knew it, Bakugou's lips were pressed against yours in an angry kiss.

At first, you didn't know what to do.

Was this real? You wondered.

But then, you felt his strong hands tangling into your hair and pulling you closer and you felt yourself melting into him.

"Bakugou...?" You breathed, as he pulled back for air.

For a second, his eyes simply stared into yours, brows knit together in confusion and anxiety. And you found yourself getting lost in them for the first time, noticing how bright and beautiful they were. How he was.

You weren't sure what exactly the burning feeling coursing though you was right now, you had felt it each time you'd look at this man. Every time you heard a mention of his name. The tell-tale sign that you hated him. Just, it was different now.

Was it just the adrenaline? Or perhaps something else? Something you didn't want to acknowledge.

"Fuck, shit!" He said, hands now trembling and beginning to slip away from you. "Y/N, I-I'm ...?"

Well, whatever that feeling was, you could figure it out later.

For now, you squeezed your eyes shut and wrapped your arms around Bakugou's neck, pressing your lips against his once more in a passionate kiss.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bakugou katsuki #mha #mha bakugou #bakugou x reader #x reader #enemies to lovers #bnha #bnha bakugou

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littlequackerman · 9 months

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Diluc Ragnvindr x Reader- Replaced (hurt/comfort??)

You quickly found your abilities became obsolete when Lumine arrived in Mondstadt. Feeling hopeless, you run away, only to be caught by a certain red haired wine tycoon.

(A/n: Ohhhhh my god i actually finished this thing. i started it while i was having a breakdown and finished it yesterday. im actually rlly proud of it lol)

I tried to keep this one as gn as possible and i think i did good. reader has a vision and is in the Knights, id say theyre around as high in the ranks as amber if that makes sense lol.

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You had worked hard for years to rise to your position in the Knights of Favonius. Although you weren't as high up in the ranks as people like Kaeya or Jean, you pulled your weight and always got the job done. You wielded your weapon with confidence and always did your best to help protect the people of Mondstadt. This had taken you some time, but your efforts had clearly paid off. You were a highly respected and valued member of the Knights of Favonius.

So how come Lumine had barely been in Mondstadt for two weeks and had already risen to your level in the ranks?

No, she wasn't just at your level of hard earned respect- she had surpassed it. Everyone was talking about her. She just showed up in Mondstadt and became a knight (even though it was honorary), a process that everyone else had to work at for years before successfully completing and earning their titles.

You watched as your fellow knights and citizens of the City of Freedom grew to quickly adore her and completely forget about all of the effort you had put in.

You weren't an idiot. You had never been on her level. You weren't all powerful, and you weren't a perfect fighter. You certainly had no reason to be famous. But Lumine was the only person anyone in the Knights was talking about, praising her for deeds like defeating abyss mages and wiping out hilichurl camps, all things you had done many times in the past and hadn't received as much praise as her for accomplishing.

Then, she truly began to replace you. Jean gave tasks normally assigned to you to her, telling you to go home early for the day or go help out with busywork. Usually on the rare occasion you had nothing to do for the day, you would accompany Kaeya on missions, but of course he was busy with her as well.

And soon, so was Diluc.

You and Diluc had been friends for several years at that point. Although he was normally serious and straightforward, this part of him would crack a little around you. In the last year or two, however, you had found yourself falling for the man.

How could you not? He was dedicated to protecting Mondstadt. He was disciplined and successful, despite all of the hardship he had endured in his late teens with his father and brother. He was caring. And not to mention absolutely gorgeous. But you had always thought he was a bit out of your league, and that he deserved someone on his level.

Like Lumine.

You saw how close they had gotten, how his identity as the Darknight Hero was revealed to her so quickly, while it had taken years for him to tell you about that part of him- and he had only told you about it because you had caught him putting on his mask as he left the tavern one night. You thought you had come to accept that there was no way he'd love you back, but seeing them get so close stirred feelings within you you thought you had gotten rid of.

For a while, you did nothing, trying to be happy for the girl working so hard to protect the city. As every day passed of going into work and being promptly told you weren't needed, you began to feel worse and worse, growing more and more hopeless with every mention of her name.

All of your insecurities came to a climax during the final fight against Stormterror. When you realized something was going on, you rushed to the Knights of Favonius's headquarters for a briefing. When you asked Jean how you could help, clutching your weapon, declaring you could and would help fight Dvalin, she said you could just stay in Mondstadt and help make sure nothing happened to the citizens.

This was the final straw. A part of you felt selfish, knowing how important it was that the city was protected by capable fighters, but part of you was hurt. Normally you would have gone along to fight a massive threat, but this time you were simply left to hold down the fort.

And when it was all over, when Stormterror was defeated and the city was safe, Lumine was hailed as a hero. You weren't surprised at that point, she had done everything recently, of course she would defeat one of the Four Winds.

You had enough. The night after the battle, as the city was filled with a mixture of celebration and festivity at the quelled threat, and solemn rebuilding of broken homes and businesses, you took the opportunity to leave unnoticed. You wrote a note saying you were quitting the knights and not coming back into the city for a while and left it on Jean's desk. You packed up some of your belongings into a bag- just some clothes, rations, and first aid supplies- and left the city.

You spent a while wandering the continent, venturing into Liyue, seeing pieces of nature you hadn't expected to see so soon in your life and fighting enemies tougher than ones you had fought before. After a while, you decided to wander closer to Mondstadt for a little bit, never going close to the city itself and avoiding the knights whenever you heard they would be near. You continued to fulfill your oath of protecting people, defeating enemy after enemy that threatened innocents. You fought regisvines, mercenaries and treasure hoarders, and even a hypostasis and emerged victorious from each fight, albeit with some relatively minor injuries. Perhaps some sad part of you still wanted to prove yourself. You grew exponentially during this time, and you didn't even know how long you had been gone- was it one month? Two? It didn't matter. It seemed doubtful that anyone had even noticed you were gone.

You were wandering through the woods a little ways away from Springvale one night when you heard two children crying out for help. Running to the source of the sound, you discovered two children being targeted by two abyss mages and some hilichurls. You saw one of the abyss mages charging a blast of fire to shoot at the kids, and without thinking, you placed yourself in front of the children, taking most of the blast. You charged at the monsters, quickly taking out the hilichurls with a few hits and moving on to the mages. As you told the children to run back into Springvale, a figure appeared behind you. A male voice that sounded fairly familiar called out to you.

"Those are abyss mages! They're much more dangerous than hilichurls! You stay with the kids!"

You didn't even turn to face the figure as you responded.

"I know what they are, I've beat way worse! I'll handle this! I'm more than capable of beating a few abyss mages!" You shouted, grunting as you defeated the first mage. A few minutes later you slayed the other one as well. You turned and rushed over to the kids, checking them for any injuries. When you looked up at the mysterious figure, you were horrified to realize you knew who it was.

It was the Darknight Hero, also known as Diluc Ragnvindr.

"Y/N! Where have you been, everyone's been worried about you! Didn't you realize disappearing like that would have everyone worried sick?!"

You felt a pang of guilt at his words. Maybe people really did miss you… but if they truly cared, they wouldn't have replaced you. They wouldn't have thrown you away, you thought.

"Listen, Dilu- I mean, Darknight Hero. I wasn't needed anymore, so I left. It doesn't matter. And anyways, that's not our priority right now. We should make sure these kids get back into Springvale safely."

He grunted. "Alright. I'll go with you into Springvale, but once we drop off these two we need to have a serious discussion about some things."

You and Diluc walked the kids back into Springvale, telling their parents about what had happened and making sure they got into their homes safely. As you two walked out of the town, it almost felt like the air itself was suffocating you. You considered just running away, but that probably wouldn't help much. He could catch up with you.

What did he think about you now? He probably hated you for running away. He had probably completely replaced you with Lumine by now. They were probably dating.

After what felt like an eternity of walking through the woods, you and Diluc made it to the Windrise tree. As you gazed up at the tree, Diluc broke the silence.

"So where have you been all this time?"

"I walked to Liyue. I travelled through there for a while but wanted to stop near home for a little bit. I plan on seeing the rest of Liyue, going through the Chasm, and then going to Sumeru later this month."

"Why exactly did you have to leave so suddenly? You never told me you were planning to visit Liyue. I would've said goodbye to you before you left."

As he said that, he turned his gaze towards the sky. He looked… regretful?

"I wasn't planning on it."

"So you just randomly decided to travel to another nation one night?"

"Not exactly."

He suddenly turned towards you and looked straight into your eyes.

"So why did you leave, y/n? Did someone tell you to leave? Were you threatened? What aren't you telling me?!?"

As he spoke, he started to sound more frenzied. Although seeing his tough facade fade sometimes was nice to watch, this was scary. You started to feel guilty for leaving without telling him.

"Diluc, nobody threatened me. I left because Mondstadt and the Knights don't need me. They found someone better and I got tired of feeling useless every day." You shifted and looked towards the ground. "I've done more while traveling this last month or two than I have in so long. Since Lumine got here I haven't had an opportunity to use my weapon, but I've gotten to fight so many more things and help so many more people than I did back in Mondstadt during the Stormterror crisis. And I doubt anyone truly missed me. If they said they did, they probably just said it out of courtesy. I'm sure they'll all be fine, they have Lumine now." As you mentioned her name, you felt spite run through your veins. "She can clearly do so much more than I ever could."

You lifted your head to look at Diluc. He had a look of shock on his face, and didn't say anything for a second. Then he finally spoke.

"So you're saying you left because you were jealous of the Traveler?"

Your tone changed to something angrier, sharper.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Diluc sighed. "I'm sorry that they all made you feel that way. But rest assured, nobody meant to replace you. I'm sure they didn't realize what they were doing. You could never be replaced, y/n-"

"How could you POSSIBLY say that I could never be replaced when you replaced me too!"

You didn't even realize you were shouting at Diluc.

"What are you talking about, y/n? I could never replace you! You are a wonderful person, why would I ever want someone else in my life?"

"You did replace me, Diluc! Just like everyone else did! You completely stopped visiting me when she got here! Whenever I tried to find you, you were with her! You abandoned me for her!"

At this point, you were starting to cry as you yelled at him. "And I can't even be angry at her because you deserve someone like her! You deserve someone so much better than me! She's perfect- she's beautiful, and so strong, and has accomplished so much, and everyone loves her, and look at me! I'm never going to compare to her! It's no wonder you're in love with her…"

Although you said the last part of your rant under your breath, he still heard what you said.

"Y/n. Please. Look at me."

You looked at him.

"I am afraid I must apologize to you. I am so, so sorry for how I've treated you recently, and I'm so sorry it took all this for me to realize my mistakes. I promise you, I never meant to replace you with Lumine. The truth is, I've been busy recently with her because we've been investigating the Abyss Order. The Abyss Order manipulated Dvalin into attacking the city, and I was busy trying to get to the bottom of the situation without worrying the citizens of Mondstadt. I should've tried to make time for you, and I know sorry probably isn't enough, but I'm afraid it's all I have to give at this moment."

Suddenly, it all made sense. You should've figured he'd be trying to help with the Stormterror threat. And of course she would be able to help with that. You felt some of the jealousy fade away, but some of it still clung on to your heart, a weight waiting to be lifted.

"And another thing."

He looked away from you, glancing at the ground.

"Your notion that I am in love with Lumine is incorrect. Although I now consider her a good friend, the feelings I hold towards her and you are different. You mean much more to me than she ever has. The entire time we were out chasing after the Abyss, you were all I could think about, and when you disappeared I was terrified for you. So please trust me when I say she is not the one I love, but you are."

You were in disbelief. Did Diluc really just say he felt the same way towards you?

"Wait, Diluc. Did you just- are you saying that you have feelings for me?"

Although his head was turned away from you, you could see a blush spread across his face.

"Yes, that…is what I'm trying to say. I've grown to love you in the time we've spent together. I tried to ignore it for the sake of our friendship but as more and more time has passed it has become increasingly difficult to ignore. If this damages our relationship so be it. You deserve to know the truth."

Stunned, your mind went blank of a reply for a moment. You took a deep breath before replying.

"Diluc, I… I love you too. I'm so, so sorry I left without telling you, and I'm so sorry I was jealous of you and Lumine, and I'm so sorry for making you worry about me, and I love you so much, I- I-"

At this point you were crying and couldn't form a proper sentence. You looked down, hiding your head in your hands, too embarrassed to look at Diluc. He wrapped his arms around you and put one hand on the back of your head, pulling you into a warm embrace. Although he was generally standoffish, you had to admit he was a great hugger. You sobbed in his arms for a while, letting out months worth of stress. You kept babbling little "I'm sorrys" and other incoherent apologies, but he kept his arms around you the whole time, comforting you and assuring you that it was okay and he loved you. After a while you stopped crying, and at that point the sun was beginning to rise. You and Diluc stood under the great Windrise Tree and watched the sun slowly rise among the cloudscape.

"If you want to keep traveling I won't stop you, but I think you should stop by the Knight's headquarters and tell Jean and Kaeya that you're okay. They've all been worried about you."

"Yeah, you're right, I probably should. But I wanna stay with you for now…" you said as you leaned into him once again. You suddenly let out a loud yawn, realizing how tired you were from a night of fighting and crying. Diluc also noticed your sleepiness.

"Do you want to go back to the winery with me to get some sleep?"

"Yes. That would be absolutely wonderful. I'm exhausted."

"Then let's go."

You and Diluc walked back to the Dawn Winery in the light of the early morning sun, holding hands and talking about everything that had happened while you were apart. When you got back to the winery, you slept through much of the day in your lover's arms, and spent the rest of it making up for lost time, telling stories of your adventures and eating food Adelinde brought you.

It felt like a burden had been lifted off of you, and you could finally enjoy days of peace with Diluc without standing in the shadow of another person.

Bonus:

The next day, Diluc took you to the Knights of Favonius's headquarters. Everyone was surprised, but pleased at your return. Diluc explained why you had left to your superiors, and they rushed to apologize to you.

It turned out that right after you left for Liyue, so did Lumine as she sought the Geo Archon. And with two of their best workers gone, the Knights were barely coping with rebuilding the city from Stormterror's damages.

You could tell they were truly remorseful for how they had treated you the last few months, with even the normally aloof Kaeya looking grim as the situation was explained to him.

It also turned out that you weren't the only one fed up with their actions after Lumine's arrival. Many other knights felt like they had been cast aside after the Traveler's arrival. You were just the only one to leave.

You weren't sure if you could forgive them just yet, and you knew you wanted to travel some more before officially returning to the knights.

But now you knew how truly important you were to your friends in the Knights, and you had a loving boyfriend to boot. Overall, things were finally starting to look up for you, and you knew that no matter how far you traveled from your homeland, you would have people waiting for you when you got home.

Finding the one you loved had truly led to the ending you deserved.

#hooooly shit i finished it #diluc x reader #genshin x reader #genshin imagines #genshin impact x reader #diluc x y/n #diluc ragnivindr x reader #genshin x y/n #gender neutral reader #hurt/comfort #slight angst #diluc ragnvindr #genshin diluc

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aashi-heartfilia · 9 months

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Shigaraki is Deku's villain and AFO is Bakugo's

Isn't it kind of obvious? This is the same Horikoshi who planned heroes rising as an ending for MHA and that was Bakugo and Deku sharing OFA to defeat the main villain. Why would he do the same thing again when he himself stated that the real story has moved beyond this?!

I will not go over the relationship of Deku and Shigaraki and how they are nemesis, yada yada but I would go over a possible ending for Bakugo's character arc.

So, BakuDeku has always been about Winning and Saving where Bakugo has been the face for Winning and vice versa but that's also their main weakness. Deku is always too focused on saving while Bakugo's ultimate focus is winning. That's not right.

The story explicitly tells us that an abundance of either of them is wrong. Deku's self sacrificial nature is wrong (vigilante Deku arc) and only running after victory like Bakugo is also wrong.

And the perfect victory that Bakugo wants will require both winning and saving. For Bakugo to reach the peak of his character arc, he'll have to learn to save people (and that has already started with Bakugo rising) and the same for Deku who'll have to focus more on the winning part.

Deku has to defeat Shigaraki, there is no if-else or but in that but he'll also have to save the innocent child crying inside of him. As for Bakugo, he has to achieve the perfect victory but that cannot be accomplished without him saving someone.

And who could be a better person than All Might?

The main point of Bakugo's arc was his guilt about his actions. His actions led to the downfall of All Might, as a hero, him bullying Midoriya because of his own weaknesses etc.

Currently All Might is taking on AFO all alone because everyone else is literally down for the count but it's also high time, that people start to rise and help All Might.

Shigaraki's problem with the hero system is that it relies too much on heroes to do all the saving work while the common folks, the civilians do nothing but pass by a little boy who looked battered and bruised.

Now AM doesn't have any powers and yet he chose to fight! That should inspire everyone who was saved by him at one point or another and that inspiration and team work should come from Bakugo.

I don't know how but I feel like something big will happen, like Bakugo waking up and realising AM is fighting alone and he inspires everyone to go save AM. Teamwork and arrogance were his biggest weaknesses, and he will conquer them.

There are two demon lords after all, Tomura Shigaraki and AFO, so it would be rather poetic if Bakugo teams up with everyone (civilians) to defeat AFO while Deku defeats Shigaraki at the same time and that marks the end of MHA in the most epic way possible.

MHA is a story about love and connection.

About how anyone could be a "Hero"

And that includes civilians and common folks.

All Might has been saving people his entire life...

and now it's high time, that those people stand up to save him.

Just how long do they plan to be AUDIENCE?

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alpaca-clouds · 8 months

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Great Men Theory - And Why It Sucks

When I already rant on my Sundays about historical misconceptions and how history is taught wrong, I cannot help but also talk about the entire Great Men Theory and how much it has influenced how we teach history to... basically everyone. This entire fucking theory goes back to a dude called Thomas Carlyle, who wrote in one of his books:

Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here. They were the leaders of men, these great ones; the modellers, patterns, and in a wide sense creators, of whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do or to attain; all things that we see standing accomplished in the world are properly the outer material result, the practical realisation and embodiment, of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the world: the soul of the whole world's history, it may justly be considered, were the history of these.

And sadly... This way of talking about history is nice and convinient, no matter how factually wrong it is. Because instead of having to explore historical society and what made people back then "tick", you can can do: "And then this one dude did this. And this other big dude did that." And done.

Before I knew about this theory, I already encountered it. In the way many German kids will encounter it. Nazi Germany. Because while we have this big thing going about "rememberance culture" and what not... Yeah, we mostly talk about Nazi Germany, as if Hitler and some of his dude friends, like Himmler and Göbbels, did stuff and nobody else could've done something about it. And we will talk about the few folks who tried to do something about it. This leaves many under the impression that actually Hitler and his fellow friends were subjucating the German populus, who were unable to do a thing about the Holocaust or the war. And that... Just is not how it played out in reality. Most people in Germany at the time supported Hitler, knew about the Holocaust and were A-Okay with it.

And this is something that happens again and again in the way we talk about history. We talk about the big dudes and whatever they did or didn't do. Either as heroes or as villains. But we leave out all the people who were there to either enforce their policies, suffer from it, or rise up against it.

This creates a version of history, in which 99,99999% of all people were basically just "NPCs" in a game played by the few. Which not only does wrong by this majority of people, who might as well have had a hand in some of the things happening, but it also is used as a constant propaganda tool. Be it to ignore, how many attrocities have been supported and partaken in by a lot of people, so folks today do not need to deal with that fallout. Or be it to ignore the man, who have fought for a better outcome - often to either make protest seem senseless, or to make those few great man seem more heroic. (See also: Basically any anti-colonialist movement that got erased from history.)

I am not even denying that those in power had a bigger influence on history than anyone else. But not because they were born with some traits that made it so, but for the most part, because they were born into power through their bloodline, or at least into riches.

And it does not mean that nobody else had an influence, even if we like to forget the "everyone else" usually.

#history #history rant #great men theory #we still teach history wrong #power to the people

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dynamightgod · 2 years

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Nothing Else Matters

Pairing: Bakugou x Reader

Warnings: soft, fem reader, fluffy, nervous Bakugou, crushes, Bakugou is whipped

Summary: After an interview for Pro Hero Mag, Bakugou reflects in his office on his humble beginnings with his wife.

"I like it, hey baby, I like it, oh sugar, I like it pretty baby give it all to me, I like the way you wear your hair, I like the stylish clothes you wear, the way you kiss me, I feel gone, give me all your loving all night long."

-I like by Guy

"You shouldn't have answered that last question like that!" Mine, Bakugou's assistant ranted in his ear, even through the phone her shrill voice made him roll his eyes. He slams his keys down on his desk, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder as he shucks off his gauntlets and hero gear.

" 'm not gonna lie Mine. They asked me about my greatest accomplishment and I told them."

"But your fans want to hear about your accomplishments as a hero, they already aren't very fond of your wife-"

"The fangirls. And for the record, my real fans love my wife. So they'll be happy as hell with my answer. I'm not changing it and if you cut it ill post a video of me fucking her to prove my point." He ends the call just before he can physically hear her blood boiling.

Katsuki Bakugou, number one hero and heart throb to the world. But as he sits down at his desk and picks up his phone, there's only one person he wants to talk to.

He's tired and overworked and you're in America doing press with Charge bolt as you're one of his favorite designers(he actually set you up with Katsuki, a debt he never let the explosion hero forget) you were due back in two days but after the interview and the fight with Mine, he needs you. He needs just you.

You pick up on the third ring, yawning softly, he can hear the sheets of the bed you're in rustling as you stretch. He wishes he could join you.

"Kat? It's late here honey, are you okay?" He can hear the worry in your sleep laced voice. God he hates how his stomach still flips just from your voice again. He let's out a soft whine, in turn making you coo and shush him softly. Something is bugging him, you can tell, but ever patient you wait for his lead.

"I'm fine…..I just….I wanna hear you tell me again." His voice cracks softly. "Tell me about the night we met." You chuckled, this was his go to for reassurance. He could never hear your side of the story enough and quite frankly you loved your love story as much as he did.

"Well Denki set us up together. It was a double date with him and Jirou and you and me." Bakugou smiled, relaxing under the lull of your voice. "You looked so nervous," you giggle through the phone causing him to break into an uncharacteristic grin that was reserved for only you. "Your eyes practically bulged when you saw me. I watched you do a double take." Katsuki chuckled, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair.

"You've always been so incredibly sexy. I couldn't take my eyes off you." He hums, a light blush painting his cheeks as he thinks about the first time he met you. "It was that black dress, spaghetti straps with the open back and the slit up the side. You carried that super small purse and I remember thinking how stupid it was cuz you couldn't fit anything in it." He grinned when he heard you laugh through the phone. "Those heels, the strappy ones that wound around your ankles and tied in the back….you were irresistible. It was over for me right then." He says the last part quietly, something he would admit only to you. He conjured that image of you to his mind, heart racing and blood rising to his cheeks as he thought about your smile, the way you moved, how soft your lips were when he pecked you good night. God he had been so embarrassing.

"I thought you didn't like me. You were so nervous remember?" He grunts in confirmation.

"I said 'lunch' hoping you would get that I wanted to buy you lunch the next day because I knew I had to see you again. I needed to-"

"Katsuki do you know when I knew you were the one for me?" You interrupt him. You had never explicitly told him the moment, though he always said it was at first sight for him. He knew it had taken you some time to adjust to him and get to know him, but he had never really asked about this. Not until now. Too content with the fact that you wanted him just as much as he loved you.

"N….no."

"We had been dating casually for a couple weeks. After the dinner party. I had texted you before my first flight to London for the Pro Hero Fall Fashion Show." He remembers that day well. He went to see you, not content with letting you go and not saying good bye first. "You came to the airport, no security, no press, dressed like normal, people were shocked because you didn't even try to hide who you were, you just kept moving." He smiles remembering the ass chewing he got for the stunt from his team later. "You brought me flowers and kissed my cheek and told me to have a safe flight…..it was so normal. As though we had been doing that for years and would do it for the rest of our lives…..that moment was when I knew I couldn't live without you."

Bakugou takes a deep breath, his heart clenching in his chest.

"Baby I just want to hold you. I miss you so much. It's like I'm not living. Not really when you're gone."

"I know love, but it's only two more days and I'll be home."

"And you're fucking staying. You promised. No out of the country trips for the rest of the year. We got….things….to do." He waits for it to click for you and when it does he laughs at the sound of you thrashing and throwing yourself around with excitement.

"I can't wait to get started. I'd love to have a little boy that looks just like you. A mini Katsuki!"

"Baby ill be happy with whatever we have as long as they come from you and they're healthy."

"I love you so much Kat."

"I love you too baby. Go back to sleep, 'm sorry for waking you….." you yawn again, settling down in bed. "Oh one more thing before you go?" You hum, waiting for him to continue. "Watch the interview tomorrow. I want you to see it."

********

You woke up feeling empty, the call from Katsuki had put you in such a great mood that it almost felt like he was there. But as you stretched out and opened your eyes to your cold bed you're filled with sadness. But only a couple more days and then you'd be with your hero again.

Thinking of him reminds you of the interview. It should have been posted by now so you type in the link to it on your phone and sit on the edge of your hotel bed to watch it.

It starts normally, you smile as Katsuki grumpily answers the female reporter, roll your eyes when she flirts because can she not see your name tattooed on his chest or the ring on his finger? But then it gets to the last question and a stunned, endearing emotion sweeps through you.

"So Dynamight. The fans have a final question. What is your greatest accomplishment? What would you say that is?"

"Marrying my wife." He doesn't miss a beat or even wait for her to finish. The reporter flounders, obviously not prepared for that response.

"Well, we mean professionally and career wise-"

"Nothing else matters." His face is set, tone flat and serious, no room for argument. He meant it and that was that. You feel yourself falling in love all over. The way this man is always about YOU. You've never been loved like he loves you. It makes you just want him all the more.

Just as you're about to turn it off and call him your phone pings, there's a new photo on his official Instagram and you immediately click on it.

It's a picture of you. From the first night you met, you didn't even know he had this picture. He's holding you close, one hand on your waist, the other in yours as you dance. He leans close as if he's whispering to you and you're blushing and grinning.

The caption reads: "Nothing else matters."

#my hero academia fanfic #bakugou x reader #bakugou x y/n #my hero acedamia #my hero fanfiction #bakugou katsuki #katsuki x y/n #Spotify

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yzafre · 1 month

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Thinking about 2012!Leo and Rise!Leo, and how if you look at them in the first episodes of their respective season 1 they actually are so much the same character at the base just with different upbringing, but what ends up making them different at the end of their series is actually a result of a thing they have in common:

That is, their tendency to emulate and play a role (which I've loved every post where I've seen people talk about this). Except their different upbringings meant they had very different role models (their tv show of choice and their dads) (especially their dads) and so the archetypes they developed themselves into changed.

2012!Leo was growing into, ehhh, I guess you could call it a Noble Warrior archetype? Whereas rise!Leo was going more, like, Trickster Hero. Which I think means that even if rise!Leo was able to reach the very end of his arc they would have functioned very differently as leaders, but in ways that were still very true to their characters!

(Admittedly everything has to be speculation and extrapolation on where characters were going in Rise, but...)

And I know I'm probably just rehashing ground others have already tread but I can't stop thinking about how that would play out. And also how in a crossover I kinda think even at their best the two Leos would maybe drive each other a bit crazy at first until they understood each other.

Like yes, yeah, 2012!Leo helping the newer/younger iteration work through his issues and insecurities to reach his full potential is GREAT, I always love reading it, but ALSO sometimes I want to see two developed leaders with different specialties (personal battle skills and commanding a flat-out fight vs ...idk how to put this, creative strategies and tactics? pseudo-diplomatic nonsense? ...defeating an enemy vs accomplishing a goal? the difference is this thing I can feel but am having trouble putting into words). I just think it would be interesting to see their different approaches to problem solving bounce off each other, whether they were working together or in a VS. situation.

#look I keep having this conversation on loop in my brain #I'm hoping by typing it out and dropping it into the void #my brain will SHUT UP about it #I just finished a 2012 watch-through a month or so back #and I have a lot of thoughts about it I'm turning over in my brain #like a puzzle box #occasionally that pings over to comparing the two iterations I've watched #ALSO the moment I went 'rise!Leo is a trickster hero'#is also the moment I went 'lol no wonder people keep grabbing epic the musical songs for animatics'#tmnt #rottmnt #tmnt 2012 #yza talks about a thing

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serickswrites · 1 year

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Just Exist III

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Days and days, or perhaps it was weeks and weeks later, Hero got up from their stool before Villain had risen. Got up and went to where Villain was. They stared down at the sleeping Villain, not sure how they wanted to go about this.

“Jesus, Hero, gave me a fright,” Villain said as they startled.

“S-S-Sorry,” Hero whispered, instantly regretting what they were doing.

“It’s all good. We’ve all been there before. What time is it? Do you want breakfast?” Villain leapt out of bed, their energy already rising.

Hero followed along behind Villain, not sure what to say. Or how to say it.

It was only when Villain had a steaming mug of coffee in one hand, spatula in the other did Hero speak again.

“What are my orders?” Hero said softly.

“What?” Villain cocked an eyebrow as they stirred the eggs in the pan.

“My orders, what are they?” Hero tried not to duck their head too much. But they felt like disappearing. Not existing. Maybe they had worn out their welcome with Villain.

“I gave them to you already.” Villain sipped their coffee. “Seems like you’re having a hard time with them though.”

“I don’t understand?” Hero tried to fight the tears that were filling their eyes.

Villain set a plate full of eggs, toast, and bacon in front of Hero. They set another steaming mug of coffee down. They added cream and sugar. “Hero, I told you to exist here. Those are your orders. Just exist.”

Hero started to cry. They didn’t know how to exist without someone telling them what to do. Ordering them around. Giving them missions and objectives to accomplish. “I...I can’t.”

“You can. And you will. I’ll help you. And it will be no pressure. How does that sound?”

Hero nodded, realizing that Villain wasn’t saying they couldn’t do anything. But that they could do anything. Such freedom was something Hero had only ever imagined. And now that it was within their grasp, they weren’t sure what to do. But they would try. Try to just exist.

Tags: @percyjacksonstransbrother @blipblipbloop @mistythedritten

@stuffandatherstuff @batdog102 @lilflowerwriter @tiny-daggers-up-to-heaven @bluebearcandy @otherwiseiamnotallowedtoscroll @severeblizzardsoul @the-blind-one-speaks @whump-dump @potato-wolf164 @omen-the-undying-kaizoku @a-place-to-put-poetry @yeahimobsessedwithencanto @whyamihereanyway25 @adalarovenor @lunenyx98 @wannarunawayfromhere @nightsshadow1 @psychomarine0311 @hugs4zhongli @qualityrabbitsoup @justalostshadeofblue @whatinteresthave @cafesho @wimbeldonsoot @moschinski @delightfulsoulalpaca @writingstation @itarobattemon @bliss757 @d-cs @pic-star01 @st0rmm @shadowcatp269 @melancholic-bookworm @pigeonwhumps @wankusbonkus @whumppsychology @smuwfy-side-blog @keeper-of-all-the-random-things @random-writers-sideblog @jkl-uwu @coolstormyskies03-blog @stayasleepanddream @strawberry-seed28 @doublericenobeans @warpweft @thedeepvoidinmyheart @sweetpeathecat @valeexpris606 @dodo-docs @adalarovenor

#serickswrites #writeblr #hero #villain #hero x villain #hero x villain community #queue

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bayleymania · 2 years

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November 24th, 2021 / October 19th, 2022

It's so interesting how MJF's first reaction to heard his childhood heroes saying they are "disappointed" is looking confused. He calls himself a generational talent, the fastest rising star in wrestling history, he even calls himseld "the best in the world", so it baffles him how people he respected (or still does), don't immediatly praise and congratulate him for everything he has accomplish until now, especially considering he is just 26 years old. He can't believe this people he used to look up to actually say they are disappointed... but the thing is that both Punk and Regal did something not many people do: they pointed out his flaws and why he still isn't the great wrestler he already think he is. They explained why he still has a long way to be everything he wants to be and everything he is actually capable of being. But his immediat confusion after he hears them express disappointment is a very interesting thing that expresses how highly he thinks of himself (as he should)... absolutely wonderful.

#AEW #MJF #Maxwell Jacob Friedman #CM Punk #William Regal #overanalyzing MJF #is she ever going to shut up about this feud? no #Baysexuality #aewgifs

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deludedfantasy · 9 months

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Trimax Vol 9 Ch 1-3

On the one hand, I'm loving the Wolfwood centric chapters because I think he's such an interesting character. On the other hand, I know what's coming and the looming presence of vol 10 haunts me the further in I get. But here are some thoughts on Wolfwood and Livio from the first half of this volume.

Ch 1

Omg more baby Wolfwood!!! And a baby Livio!!!

Damn, Wolfwood is very determined to get across this bridge. I wonder why the guard looked like he recognized him though.

Wolfwood is such an annoying big brother, just tossing things at poor crying Livio’s head. Notice though that he’s just trying to feed him and keep him hydrated. He’s always been disguising his sweetness and care as rudeness.

Oh Wolfwood, he’s just trying to give Livio’s life meaning when he doesn’t feel like he’s worth anything. I wonder how long he’s been at the orphanage to be so familiar with that feeling of being worthless that he treats it so casually. It’s certainly not as new or raw as it is for Livio.

Oh yay, Livio!! He saved that girl and now he feels accomplished!

Livio’s eyes looking all blank and empty while he’s standing in a dark alley…it’s so ominous. I really gotta give Nightow here that we haven’t spent a lot of time with young Livio and he’s already making me feel a lot of emotions about him.

Oh no. OH NO. This doesn’t get any easier to handle on second read. Livio looks so scared of himself when he sees the blood on his hands and especially the look on Jasmine’s face when she sees him afterwards.

And still, Wolfwood is defending him! Once you’re his friend, once he cares about you, that’s it. He’s in it for the long haul. In reality, he has such a big heart, and the Eye of Michael tried so hard to kill that part of him.

So, Wolfwood comes home to find it besieged by the man he once thought of as a brother, who he barely recognizes anymore. It’s pretty grim, and Livio himself looks like he has mixed feelings about being back.

Oh? I thought Livio was part of the Eye of Michael. Why was he thrown out? Also, isn’t Chapel the head? Can’t he just…reinstate him if he wants, without this whole proving himself charade? This is Chapel though so I don’t know why I’m expecting anything different.

Also more reasons I want to hunt Chapel for sport. His love for his family is what kept Wolfwood human and what motivated him for all these years. It’s the best thing about him. (Though there’s some foreshadowing to him saying these attachments are fatal…I’m gonna take a break to sob in the corner for a sec, brb)

Where did these children get a gun from??? Actually, on this planet, I don’t know why I’m even asking that question, guns are everywhere. But still.

These mercenaries are the worst of the worst. Like, calling children worthless and being so willing to kill them for just some money, just to get a rise out of someone. Says a lot about the Eye of Michael that this is who they hire.

But hey, Livio comes to the rescue! Though whether it was actually to save the kid or just to see what was going on remains to be seen.

Ch 2

So the orphanage kids vaguely recognize Wolfwood as someone they think they know, though he’s older than he should be. Thus begins the question that has been plaguing me for months: how old is Wolfwood???

Wolfwood comes in and fucks shit up, as usual. But the big thing here, as many people have pointed out, he’s giving them a chance. He’s not shooting to kill. He’s living up to Vash’s, and now his own, philosophy. To the bitter end, he’s going to try and be a better person.

But these guys are horrible. Like I said, the worst example of humanity to contrast Wolfwood (who at least in Vash’s eyes is something like the shining example of humanity in all its complexity). The mercenaries shoot their “friend” rather than save him to get a bigger share. As if we needed any more reminding what Wolfwood is up against.

Wolfwood is really playing up the action hero bit this time. And you know what, it’s so cool.

But he totally learned that fake-out shooting background trick from when Vash rescued. They’re learning from each other. (Aaaaand I’ve made myself sad again)

I love a good callback! Wolfwood once told Vash this and told him he’d have to make a choice. But now we know he was also talking about himself. He hasn’t had a lot of options over the years, especially once he joined the Eye. But now, it’s time for him to make a choice. He has to decide who he is, whose side he’s on, and what he’s willing to do to protect what he loves.

I hate to say this, but for once Chapel has a teeny tiny point. Wolfwood doesn’t have room for doubt here, and he is a man who has had a lot of doubts over the course of the story, both about Vash’s actions and his own. There isn’t any more time to run away from his situation. He has to face it head on and with surety.

Exactly, Chapel! Wolfwood hasn’t changed, he’s stayed true to himself and the man he wants to be. He’s not using his true powers because that would mean killing and above all, Wolfwood is done being a murderer. Before he was killing to protect his family, but now he’s decided that’s enough. For them, he’ll stop and he’ll save them without giving up another piece of his soul.

Okay, Chapel, I get that you want him to be an efficient killer, but Wolfwood is 100% maiming these guys to get through them. Like, they are not coming out of this unscathed, in the slightest. He’s very much putting them out of commission as well.

LIVIO CAUGHT A ROCKET AND REDIRECTED IT WITH HIS BARE HANDS???? INSANE!!!

On the one hand, yay Livio saved the orphanage! On the other hand, he did it because orders and also because Chapel isn’t done using the orphanage to torment Wolfwood.

Ch 3

Awww, the kids remember Wolfwood and think of him as a protector. Because that’s who he is at heart!!!

“We have to rely on ourselves. We cannot rely on someone who isn’t here.” BUT HE IS!!!! AND HE CAME BECAUSE HE LOVES HIS HOME SO MUCH.

Has Wolfwood been wondering for all these years what happened to Livio? Did he literally only in the last few months find out that he’s also a member of the Eye? Either way, it’s a gut punch for him to be confronted by him and realize how much he’s changed. That crybaby Livio has so wholeheartedly taken to being a killer, when Wolfwood once tried so hard to protect him from that.

Poor Livio. No Man’s Land is such a cruel world that people just beat up helpless kids for being in the way. He left the orphanage, a place where he was safe and loved, because he felt like he was a danger, because he felt like he didn’t deserve their love and care. Livio himself isn’t much of a fighter, but he doesn’t even try to defend himself. This is just what he believes a monster like himself deserves.

The Razlo notes are so ominous, but Livio just laughs at them. They’re violent but they’re also offering to protect him, and he just shrugs it off. He doesn’t want anything at all.

My favorite, though, is “I’ll be your fangs.” Perhaps like Double Fang?

As Livio is being badly beaten, he thinks of saving Jasmine, but he’s also overcome by how much he just doesn’t care anymore. He’s sick of being a punching bag and of being helpless. What does it matter now if he’s violent if at least it gets the hurt to stop?

I love that Razlo is literally represented as a dark shadow the first time Livio meets him because he’s literally Livio’s dark shadow, the part of himself he’s been afraid of for so long.

Notice how we can only see one of Razlo’s eyes, his left one. The same side of Livio’s face that’s covered in blood and the same side of his face he wears his skull mask on. He’s literally split in two, between life and death, purity and blood.

Okay, but how did Razlo know about the Eye? Was it because they’d come to the orphanage recruiting while Livio was there? But they obviously don’t present themselves as a cult of assassins when they come (at least, I assume they don’t, because I can’t imagine Ms. Melanie willing giving children to them otherwise), so how would Razlo know that they would fit in there?

I forgot Wolfwood goes for a kill shot here! Although, he knows he’s up against the Eye so it’s not gonna keep Livio down forever. But imagine reading this as it was coming out and thinking Wolfwood actually killed him! Because it certainly reads that way.

#trigun #trigunbookclub

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tripleyeeet · 3 months

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hi i'd like to talk about post game zay because she's been on my mind a lot more lately.

to put things simply, zayis is an absolute wreck after the events of the game.

after finally experiencing the fatigue of fighting for months on end and being the hero for so many people, she essentially becomes a shell of herself.

unable to process the grief of so many things, she eventually confides in halsin, resulting in her following him to this new makeshift grove. a place in the woods where him and all the children begin to make this beautiful life together. a place that's kind and safe and the perfect place for zayis to properly heal.

and at first, it's hard. having to readjust to this new lifestyle. after growing so used to the hardships of mere survival and the constant stimulation of travel, it almost feels borderline impossible to sit still. without the constant chatter of voices rattling wants and needs within her ears, for the first time, she's actually forced to sit with her thoughts —to hear her deepest desires break free and begin to taunt her with what ifs.

specifically the question of what if she stayed? what if, instead of running away, she remained in baldur's gate alongside astarion? would her opinions of him change? would she still be so defiant of her feelings? or would his continued presence change her mindset?

at first she tells herself no. but then, after thinking about it, she's met with the realization that yes, if she had stayed, things would've been different.

because by the time they'd accomplished their end goal, she could feel that shift already happening. the one where, instead of looking at astarion with only lust or guilt or anger, she was looking at him with admiration. all the underlying feelings she fought to hide slowly coming to fruition the closer they came to the end.

but then the battle happened and she lost her leg and was met with another realization:

things would never be the same for her. which meant, the feelings astarion harboured towards her were most likely already changing.

morphing into feelings of disgust at the thought of settling down and caring for her.

considering he was always vocal about his hatred for weakness, she knew the second she had to relearn how to function he’d view her differently.

so she didn’t follow him when he inevitably ran from the sun. not even when wyll asked if she wanted help finding him.

instead all she did was find a good healer who eventually referred her to an artificer that could craft her a new leg.

then she followed halsin out into the woods where she slept for a week before having to be dragged out of bed, kicking and screaming.

“the sun always rises, youngling,” halsin had said. “some days brighter than others.”

and despite wanting to deny it, she couldn’t.

because even though life was anything but fair, it still existed.

she still existed, which meant she needed to live again.

so, little by little, she tried her best to get back to the old zay. waking up each morning in order to help halsin with the kid.

foraging with itch and scratch.

cooking dinner with halsin.

reading to all the kids just as her brother had done for her while growing up.

and little by little, she healed. not completely, but enough so that when she astarion’s face again, smiling at her from across the campfire a few months later, all she feels is relief.

#i really just needed to lore dump sorry #zayis #knife fight

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melonpalooza · 8 months

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ALRIGHT IM BACK WITH MORE HAIR PROPAGANDA!!!

Benefits of Raph getting a hair:

-while resting head ontop of chompy, chompy gets bonus scritches

- looks absolutely amazing I mean he would look great with a hair. Whether 5-o clock shadow, goate (he would grow one solely to mess with Leo), beard (like his dad! :D) or some other hair style.

-Can finally accomplish looking like the Disney princess he was always meant to be (I mean he literally talks to pidegons, rats, and his father is dead so he’s already half way there!)

-While Mona attacking Raph by accident does sound bad… at least she’s on top of him? Maybe she will be able to learn how rare it is for mutated turtles to grow hair

-Leo and Donnie bullying privileges

(Leo: WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BROTHER, YOU…VILE EVIL SPAWN

Raph : *eating cereal*

Leo: *screeches ferally*

Donnie: What’s wrong with Leo?

Raph: *turns over to look at Donnie*

Donnie: Ah…I see.

Raph: He has the same expression as a cat crossing paths with a cucumber. )

(I think in Star Trek ppl with goaties are evil right? Okay I might be wrong about that *shrug*)

Mikey benefits:

-Beads!!!! HAIR CLIPS!!!! DYING HAIR SO MANY DIFFERENT COLORS!!!!

- Getting bullied by Rise Mikey

- is able to do that one hair flip thingy they have in the movies (he does it to annoy Raph a lot)

-looking like a Cryptid

- Different hairstyles!! Ponytail, braids, pigtails, (being able to brush all of the hair to the front and then proceed to wet said hair. You then will successfully look like the girl from the ring. Then go wait out into the hallway for your brother to walk back to his bedroom, and then he gets jump scared hehehehehehehe)

his father is dead so he’s already half way there!

STOOOOP ALJSDASD.

i think when she realizes it's a beard and not some parasitic plant or smth I think she would like poke and prod it a lot. Get very very curious about it. And when she notices none of his brothers have a beard she'd just go :0

Can you imagine that it all just does grow in one day? ;lkajdas i would react like Leo too if I woke up and my brother just has a fully grown beard lmaooo. I know nothing abt Star Trek but it sounds like something that can happen? I'm pretty sure the goatees do make an appearance in an episode of Space Heroes. I'm like 50% sure????

Man imagine if I gave cope!Mikey long luscious hair. neon!Mikey would cope and seethe and mald in that order a;lskdjasdas I have long hair and when I braid it I can easily use it as a whip when I flip my hair to annoy my brother. Mikey definitely would do this to Raph.

And he would 100%%% make himself look like Sadako to scare ppl. He just stands in a dark room/hallway and waits for someone to turn on the lights. He would dodge in time if on reflex they try to punch him dw aod;jasdasd

#tlrda asks #melon speaks

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hylias-library · 1 year

Text

I wrote this on a whim at work after a 16 hours shift with maybe 4 hours of sleep. But I had to get this out of my system. Also the title probably doesn't fit but I can't be bothered to English correctly right now.

Please bear with my sleep deprived essay

(Not an x reader)

It was nighttime already. The Chain asleep soundly huddled up together to keep warm within the cave they chose to be their resting place for the time being.

There was a gentle blue glow, coming from the master sword carried by the chosen hero. Sky.

The glow soon morphed into humanoid shape. Clad in a cloak of obsidian and diamond, just like the rest of her form, but still transparent with no real body to show. A soul, like she was supposed to be now.

Fi hasn't been able to get out of the sword for a while. One of her Masters was usually awake, taking watch, preventing her from getting out. Her gaze wandered over the group, mind occupied with memories of previous adventures with each of the heroes.

Her calculations showed a 24% chance that any of them would wake before sunrise. So now it was her time now to watch over them, like they always kept watching over her during their adventures together.

She watched the Champion, an unpleasant feeling surfacing. She couldn't pinpoint what it meant. Fi concluded she probably felt sorry.

This master had needed to pull her a second, even a third time, and she had to refuse to let him handle her at first.

Wild had not found himself again yet. So she needed him to find back to his original strength, to his confidence in himself before they could journey together again.

He may not have been the person be was before her 100 year long wait. But regardless, he was still worthy of the title hero.

By then, she was weakened. Having stayed by the side of many Masters, having fought evil together each and every time she got pulled.

She kept breaking, piecing herself together time and time again with Wilds help. His courage gave her the strength to go on. And she was thankful he never lost his trust in her.

Fi's gaze stuck with Sky. Her first master. The one she was actually capable talking to.

She remembered their adventure, the hardships, and the good moments. And their parting. She had felt what Hylians would have called happiness when their journey ended. But there still was a lingering hint of sadness when her consciousness faded.

She had promised Master Link to meet in another life. They both held their promise.

Her ghostly appearance hovered over the group.

Fi felt the desire to tell her Masters how proud she was of their accomplishments, though that was not possible for she no longer had a voice to speak. A soul had no need for such things.

Her journey with Sky had ended, her role as guide fulfilled. No matter how high the percentage was to want to speak to her Master again, she knew the boundaries. It wasn’t her turn anymore.

Her cloaked arm gently touched Sky's cheek, a small smile spreading on his lips as he slept soundly. Safely.

Her lips mirrored Sky's smile, yet her eyes still held the cold look of the blade she was supposed to be.

As she lifted her head, she predicted the sunrise to start within the next 15 minutes. Her time was almost over.

She knew she wouldn't be able to materialize anymore after this night. Having been worn out and weakened after thousands of years of existence.

By now, Fi knew her Masters were safe with each other, and she no longer had to worry about them, for this was their last adventure together.

Gathering her last bits of strength, Fi settled for a final goodbye...

Sky felt a strange gust of wind on his face, startling him awake, sleep still tugging at the edges of his consciousness.

The last bits of a light blue glow disappeared in the light of the rising sun.

A whisper being carried through the wind.

Farewell... Master Link...

Sky's hand found its way towards the hilt of his sword, fingers gently caressing it.

His mind must have been playing tricks on him.

#linked universe #lu #linkeduniverse #lu sky #lu wild #lu chain #lu fi #linked universe chain #linked universe sky #linked universe wild #linked universe fi

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inkedinfantasy · 9 months

Text

My FFXIV Swap gift for @faunflower! It was really cool getting to learn more about Lou; I hope I did her justice! ^_^

Under the cut since it got kinda long: some Emet-Selch POV of the Rak'tika segment of Shadowbringers MSQ. 👀

Another day, another jaunt into the far corners of Norvrandt following in the footsteps of the Warrior of Light and his companions.

Not for long, of course. He was still quite unwelcome among their party, and while that might not ordinarily deter him, being confronted by the Night’s Blessed did. He was here to observe, after all, not share in their hapless conflicts with the First’s residents. And so he withdrew, content to watch from afar, at least until they managed to track down Rak’tika’s Lightwarden.

He had no doubt they’d find it, between the Warrior of Light’s uncommon tenacity and Lou’s…ambition? Audacity? Whatever you wished to call it. It was simply a matter of time until the lot of them could manage to put all the pieces together. For him, at least, all that meant was another exceptionally dull wait.

He watched idly as the Warrior and his friends ran hither and yon playing the good little ever-dutiful heroes. He wondered if Lou was regretting her insistence on traveling with them yet.

Probably not. Like called to like with this self-sacrificial adventurer sort, solving all the star’s problems with endless patience and enthusiasm. Most likely she was having the time of her life.

He certainly lacked the patience to even keep observing such things secondhand. He retreated further into the forest, nearer to the Viis village where he could doze off and await their coming once they worked out how to avoid being skewered by Ronka’s guardians.

It was just his luck that he was about to drift off when he spotted familiar figures in the distance, heading in the direction of the village. Just as expected, the Viis of Fanow did not suffer any trespassers to approach, descending on the group as soon as they’d trekked far enough into the forest.

The first warrior to attempt to land a blow met only Lou’s shield. The attacker leapt back defensively, spear still at the ready, but Lou made no move to counterattack, shouting something he couldn’t make out from his distance. She appeared to be attempting to talk the Viis down, a hand held out placatingly. The Viis warrior relaxed her stance minutely, sheathing her weapon entirely when the Miqo’te woman presented a seal they had surely gone to exhaustive lengths to acquire.

Their attackers appeased, they sheathed their weapons and continued down the path of azure flowers, approaching close enough now to make out what they were saying.

“‘Tis a boon to have a cooler head prevail, met so oft as we are with strife,” the Elezen man was remarking to Lou.

“A cooler head” wasn’t the phrase he’d use to describe the woman who’d tried to take on a Lightwarden singlehandedly armed only with a scavenged sword and a suicidal plot. Overconfident, perhaps. Rash, even. But level-headed? He scoffed to himself.

Still, progress was progress. Even as he watched them pass, he did not deign to rise from his spot, certain by now it would still be some time before they managed to accomplish anything of note.

* * *

Waiting, waiting, waiting. One of the truest curses of immortality in this shattered world was the sheer tedium of it, if you asked him. The Warrior and his allies had set off to traipse through yet more ruins, having pinpointed the Lightwarden’s location and lacking only the means to get there. Presumably, they had achieved something, if they were indeed the source of the brief fluctuation he’d felt in the Lifestream.

Half asleep once more as he was, he had neglected to note the quiet figures approaching until they were already upon him. A misstep, for all that there was naught in this forest that could truly pose a threat to him. He briefly lamented the futility of his search for even the most fleeting peace and quiet before opening his eyes to find a spear already at his throat.

“Who are you, and why are you here?” the Viis warrior demanded.

“Are you with the allies of Ronka?” another asked, a touch less suspiciously.

He glanced towards Fanow and smirked. “I suppose you could say that."

* * *

The mood was somber as he was marched into Fanow proper, the Viis declaring that they had apprehended him, taking him as an associate. The gunbreaker scoffed loudly at the prospect.

For his part, he merely took the scene in, eyebrow raised. “I needn’t be an associate to hear the clamor you’ve been raising all across the forest. What trouble have you gotten into this time?”

The quiet stretched on, nobody wanting to put it into words. Lou was the one that finally spoke up, explaining the whole story. The Eulmorans. The antidote. Their friend’s sacrifice.

Unfortunate, but hardly an unexpected outcome, considering the usual nature of their escapades. “I see. My condolences.”

“There was more.”

All attention snapped to the Warrior of Light, no one seeming to have expected him to speak up. He picked up the account where Lou had left off, mentioning the gale of wind that had come from the pit where their friend had fallen, explaining the spell she had saved herself with once before.

“How very interesting. I had thought I sensed a disturbance to the Lifestream just earlier.” He paused. “Only the once, mind you. Suggesting she is still adrift.”

At that faces fell once more, the brief spark of hope that had lit in Lou’s eyes dying out. As they knew well, if they had dealt with this spell before, locating one particular soul amidst the Lifestream would be an impossible task for any one of them, no matter their skill with magic.

However…

He affected a put-upon sigh. “Very well, then. I’ll go and fetch her.”

The gunbreaker rounded on him immediately. “And just why in the hells should we trust—”

“You could get her out? Truly?”

Lou’s voice interrupted the man’s snarl, and a heavy, charged silence descended.

“I can,” he said. “An unambiguously helpful gesture as a peace offering, we can call it, hmm? What say you?”

This time, she hesitated, looking to the tense, unhappy group. “If we have the chance to save her, we should take it,” she offered softly.

The gunbreaker sighed. “I suppose we’ve no other options.”

“Splendid. Now, take this.” He summoned a small aetherial lamp with a snap of creation magic. “You’ll need to find a suitable spot with strong enough resonance with the Lifestream. This will glow bright and steady when you find one. When you do, all you need to do is whistle.” He held the lamp out in Lou’s direction.

Lou studied his face with a serious expression, brow furrowed and mouth pressed into a flat, wary line as she accepted it from him, their fingers just barely brushing as he handed it over. He offered her only a wry smile in return, and she brushed past him towards the village’s exit without saying anything more, the others following in her wake in equal silence.

It was only a few minutes before he heard her piercing whistle ring out, and he arrived to find the lot of them crowded suspiciously around the spot that she had chosen, watching his approach with distrustful eyes.

“Now then, some space, if you please.” He tapped into his power, reaching out for the familiar flow of the Lifestream, quickly latching on to a robust, smooth current. Lou had chosen well, it seemed.

He closed his eyes, his focus sharpening, deepening. With two Wardens absorbed, the Warrior of Light’s soul was already a veritable beacon, scorching and bleaching away the color of every other soul in his vicinity. Even for someone with his sight, it took no small amount of concentration to pick out any other tiny sparks of color amidst the all-consuming Light. Casting his awareness into the Lifestream dulled its brilliance ever so slightly, enough to pick out their Miqo’te friend’s soul and summon it forth.

She appeared in a radiant glow that near-mirrored the Warrior’s soul, the lights of the others’ souls like moths to a flame as they rushed forth at once to tend to her.

Withdrawing his awareness back to the physical realm, the small constellation of souls surrounding him winked back into sharper view, gaining definition, his concentration holding just enough to make them out.

He observed them, idly, and froze.

Just for a moment, a split second before he released the hold on his soul sight, he could have sworn he spotted a color that he had not seen for a long, long, time, a color he would have known anywhere.

His eyes snapped open, and his gaze immediately met blue eyes staring at him warily.

It had been Lou’s soul he was staring at.

She’d quickly turned her attention back to the others, but he still felt off-kilter, whatever inane, sentimental exchange they were having buzzing in his periphery without comprehension. If they would only be quiet…

“And is there anything you’d like to say to me?” he interjected before they could keep going on. “Some word of thanks, perhaps?”

He’d slid right back into lofty and irritable, wishing he could catch another glimpse of what he’d seen—what he thought he’d seen—through the overwhelming brightness of the Warrior’s aether.

The Miqo’te woman at least had the decency to thank him, though the conversation after that turned to the Qitana Ravel and Rak’tika’s Lightwarden. The Warrior and his companions set off back towards Fanow, none of them eager to remain in his presence, friendly gesture or no. Only Lou lingered, arms folded, staring resolutely at the ground with a pensive expression.

Unable to help himself, he reached for his soul sight once more, colors flaring to life in more distinctness with the Warrior’s distance. With this new clarity, there was no denying it. Her soul was the precise color of Azem’s, and seeing it again so near made his heart clench in icy shock.

“Thank you.”

Lou’s voice shattered his sudden crisis, and he realized she was staring at him again. He schooled his expression into something dry and composed. “Uncritical gratitude? I may faint dead away on the spot.”

“I’m trying to be polite, you know. I’m grateful you saved Y’shtola, and it means a lot to me—to us—that you’d offer.”

“Hmm, I’m not certain your friends would share the sentiment, but it is most heartening to hear, nevertheless,” he said, pressing a hand to his chest theatrically.

She scoffed, but hid the faintest hint of a smile.

* * *

And just like that, mere bells after unceremoniously pulling one of their own from the Lifestream, the Warrior of Light and his companions had felled another Lightwarden. No one could say they lacked dedication, to be sure.

He had expected that dedication would carry them out of the Qitana Ravel promptly once their business was concluded, self-righteously satisfied with a job well done and ready to start their hunt anew.

Instead, they continued deeper into the ruins.

Honestly. He’d spent an age painstakingly making his way through the decrepit tunnels snaking all throughout the temple only to find them lingering over a room of old murals. He could hear their conversation echoing off the stone well before he even entered the chamber, speculating about the age of the paint and ancient wisdom or some such.

Well. If they were so interested in history, he had a thing or two he could tell them.

And perhaps, if he were lucky, Lou would find the sound of it a bit familiar.

* * *

They’d taken the revelation poorly, as he’d expected they would. It mattered little. They could carry on in their hushed, concerned murmurs about the truth of Hydaelyn’s nature; theirs were not the thoughts he cared to hear.

Lou, in stark contrast to the others, had not appeared particularly shaken by the idea. “Primal” did not carry the same weight for her, being as she was a native of the First, he supposed. As the others carried on with their fretting, she had turned her attention back to the murals, staring at the crude, faded depiction of Amaurot on the wall, entirely absorbed in the image. Her expression was not quite recognition, but something near enough to it to encourage him.

Paying the others no more mind, he sidled up behind her. “Something catch your eye?” he murmured.

She let out a startled gasp and drew back. “Something catch yours?” she countered. “Skulking around like that?”

“Merely taking in the artwork.” He looked up at the mural she had been studying, examining it as if he had not seen it countless times before, as if he could not recreate it from memory. “Ah, the glorious city of Amaurot. When the world was whole, you could find no finer place on the star.”

“Is that so?” Her tone was skeptical. “Did you look?”

It was cheeky and presumptuous and such an Azem question that he nearly laughed. “Oh, you’d be surprised. Amaurot was my home, but circumstances led me to see more of the star than most.”

“Circumstances? Of what sort?” This had captured her attention, her tone holding a hint of interest, and that, too, was achingly familiar. He dared to push further.

“The circumstances were not a what but a who. There was…a dear friend of mine who was ever getting themselves into trouble, and would call upon me for aid wherever they might have been. They were a traveler, a representative of our people to the rest of the star.”

“That sounds wonderful,” she said, almost to herself.

“It was,” he said, far more quietly. His gaze remained fixed on the mural, but he could feel her watching him, truly examining him for the first time since they’d met.

“You followed us down here,” she said at last. “You went to the trouble of recounting the stories of all these paintings.” “I did,” he said. “And?”

“You want to remember. You want us to remember.”

He said nothing.

She sighed, a hint of disappointment in the sound. “If you would speak about the world as you remember it, would you tell me more of the places you’ve seen?” she asked softly.

The voices echoing off the cavern’s walls grew suddenly louder, the sound of feet scraping against stone approaching them. He did not need to turn back to feel the weight of several other gazes on him. He turned to face Lou instead, offering a small smile. “Perhaps later. It would seem you have other places to be.”

Her eyes darted past him to the others and back to his face. “I will hold you to that, Emet-Selch.”

They parted there, Lou exiting with the others without another word.

He lingered a moment longer, casting one last glance over each of the murals. The images had clearly been foreign to her, but she was full of questions after seeing them, which was almost more than he’d dared to hope. It was yet one more incentive to ingratiate himself to the Warrior’s companions, to see what might be uncovered should she continue to ponder.

He had spent countless lifetimes without so much as a hope of ever finding something like this. He could stand to wait a little longer.

#ffxiv #ffxivswap #shadowbringers #my writing

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dndfantasygirl · 21 days

Text

Little Red Rogue (Chapter 7: Slow Dancing in the Dark)

Rating: Mature Word count: 2.6k Pairing: Astarion x Female Tav (named) Warnings: violence, strong language, innuendo

Summary: Astarion and Ruby get into a fight.

*Link to AO3 Post

*Link to Previous Chapter

Give me reasons we should be complete You should be with him, I can't compete You looked at me like I was someone else, oh well Can't you see?

~Slow Dancing in the Dark, Joji

----------------------------------------

As the party ventured into the foreboding depths of the Underdark, a sense of oppression hung heavy in the air. The absence of sunlight, that life-giving force, seemed to cast a pall over the group's spirits. Despite their numerous accomplishments and triumphs in the face of danger, the perpetual darkness gnawed at their morale.

Yet amidst this gloom, there was one beacon of unwavering positivity: Ruby. Her boundless optimism and compassionate nature seemed undiminished by the oppressive surroundings. While the others grumbled and brooded, Ruby's infectious energy refused to be dampened.

As they navigated the twisting passages and cavernous expanses of the Underdark, Ruby found opportunities to extend her hand in aid, not once, but twice.

However, this relentless display of generosity began to wear on Astarion's patience.

As Ruby agreed to aid the deep gnome in her quest to save her clan, Astarion felt a twinge of exasperation claw at his insides. With a saccharine smile plastered on his face, he took her aside, his voice dripping with false sweetness that belied the growing tension between them.

"Darling," he began, his tone deceptively soft, "might I remind you that we're not heroes?"

Ruby met his gaze with a mischievous glint in her eye, her response quick and sharp, laced with a hint of playful defiance. "Might I remind you that I'm a monster hunter?" she retorted, her smile cheeky and unapologetic. "It's not that big of a deal anyway. We already promised the Myconids we'd bring them back Nere's head. Halsin told us that's where the entrance is to the Shadow-Cursed Lands."

As Ruby's defiance flashed in her eyes, Astarion's gut twisted with a sense of foreboding. He knew deep down that this clash of wills was a harbinger of trouble, yet he couldn't bring himself to back down.

A weariness settled over him like a heavy cloak. For too long, others dictated his actions, and defined him by their terms rather than his own. But now, faced with the dhampir's unyielding determination, a fire ignited within him, a stubborn resolve to assert his own autonomy.

"All I'm saying is…I don't care," he declared, his words lacking conviction even to his own ears. He watched as Ruby's smirk faltered, replaced by a look of disappointment and frustration.

"Is it really that big of a deal, Astarion?" Ruby's voice was tinged with exasperation, her arms crossed tightly over her chest in a defensive gesture.

Astarion felt a surge of frustration rising within him. "Of course, it's a big deal, darling!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up dramatically. "We have multiple powerful people after us, a parasite in our brains, not to mention we can possibly turn into a mind flayer at a moment's notice."

Ruby's hands remained raised in a placating gesture as she tried to diffuse the tension between them. "I get that, Astarion, but-"

"But what, Ruby?" Astarion interrupted, his frustration bubbling to the surface. "You're always so preoccupied with playing savior to every sorry soul that stumbles your way with their sob stories. I don't care about their problems, I care about mine and right now, I'm more concerned about turning into a brain-eating squid."

As his words hung in the air, heavy with frustration and resentment, Ruby's lip began to quiver, a sight that stirred something foreign in Astarion's undead heart.

"Aestar, we're nowhere near Cazador. You can stop wearing your mask," Ruby murmured softly, her voice trembling with emotion.

Astarion's gaze hardened, his resolve unyielding. "This isn't a mask, Ruby. This is me. This is who I am."

Ruby shook her head in disbelief, her eyes brimming with compassion as she began to approach him gently. But as she reached out a hand in a gesture of comfort, Astarion instinctively took a step back, his defenses still firmly in place.

The hurt in Ruby's eyes cut through him like a knife, a stark reminder of the walls he had built around himself to protect his fractured soul. But even as he recoiled from her touch, a part of him longed to tear down those walls, to let her in and share the burden of his fears and insecurities.

"But you do care, Astarion," the dhampir insisted, her voice soft but unwavering. "You don't have to hide that part of you anymore."

As the vampire spawn's mind wrestled with conflicting emotions, a flicker of doubt momentarily pierced the armor of his stoicism. For a fleeting moment, vulnerability crept into his thoughts, like a crack in the facade he had painstakingly built over centuries. But before he could fully grapple with this vulnerability, it was drowned out by a rising tide of frustration and anger.

"I don't care!" he snapped, the words bursting forth with a venomous edge. "How many times do you need me to tell you that before you can get it through your head? I'm not you, Ruby. I don't have a bleeding heart. Mine doesn't even beat. If you'd endured even a fraction of what I have, perhaps then you'd comprehend why I am as I am."

The bitterness in his voice hung heavy in the air, a sharp contrast to the gentle sincerity in Ruby's eyes. With each word, Astarion felt the walls around his heart grow taller, the distance between them widening with every passing moment.

"Even though it doesn't beat, you still have one…and I've seen you use it," she declared, her voice trembling with raw emotion. A surge of guilt washed over Astarion as he met her gaze, her words piercing through the icy armor he had erected around his heart. In that moment, he couldn't deny the truth in her words, nor could he suppress the flicker of warmth that stirred within him at her unwavering belief in his capacity for compassion.

But before he could respond, Ruby unleashed a torrent of anguish and defiance, her own wounds laid bare for all to see.

"I might not have been through some of the shit you've been through, but don't downplay what I've went through either," she continued, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry you've been tortured for as long as you were and I don't know where to even start when I say I'd do anything to take that pain away from you. But that doesn't give you the right to be a complete and utter asshole to everyone who cares about you!"

Ruby's tears flowed freely now, leaving glistening trails down her cheeks as she wiped them away with a sudden, desperate motion.

"And if you despise my 'bleeding heart' so much, why are you still here? Nobody's forcing you to stay."

Her final words struck a chord within him, stirring a tumult of conflicting emotions. He could feel the pull of freedom beckoning to him, whispering promises of escape from the tangled web of obligations and responsibilities that bound him to this motley group of adventurers. He was free from Cazador...for now. He could simply vanish into the shadows, leaving behind the complexities and dangers of their journey without a second glance.

But then, there was the matter of the tadpole—the insidious parasite lurking within his mind. Despite his fears, he had yet to succumb to its monstrous influence, the transformation into a grotesque squid eluding him thus far.

Yet, even as he entertained the idea of fleeing, a nagging realization gnawed at the edges of his consciousness. Despite his best efforts to maintain his aloof facade, he couldn't deny the truth that lay buried deep within his undead heart. He needed Ruby and the others. He needed their protection, their...companionship.

She must have seen the hurt flash across his eyes, for her own widened in realization. Without another word, she turned on her heel and fled, leaving Astarion standing in silence, his thoughts swirling in turmoil. In that moment of profound vulnerability, he realized just how much he had come to rely on the bond they shared.

As he watched her disappear into the darkness, a sense of longing welled up within him. With a heavy sigh, Astarion knew that despite his inner turmoil, he couldn't deny the undeniable truth—he belonged with them, for better or for worse.

----------------------------------------

The oppressive darkness of the Underdark enveloped Astarion like a suffocating shroud, its weight pressing down upon him with each passing moment. In this lightless abyss, time seemed to lose all meaning, the boundary between night and day blurred into an indistinct haze of perpetual gloom. Yet, amidst the suffocating darkness, a flicker of light danced in the distance—a small fire pit, its feeble glow casting shadows against the cavern walls.

Sitting alone cross-legged in front of his tent, Astarion's nimble fingers moved deftly as he stitched up a hole in one of his shirts, the rhythmic motion a soothing distraction from the turmoil of his thoughts.

He glanced to the side, his gaze drawn inexorably towards the flickering light of the fire pit. There, bathed in the warm glow of the flames, he caught sight of Ruby and Wyll, their figures illuminated against the backdrop of darkness. They stumbled into view, their laughter echoing through the cavern like a beacon of light in the oppressive gloom.

Astarion's undead heart sank like a stone in his stomach as he heard the genuine chuckle that had once been reserved solely for him. It reverberated through the cavern, a bittersweet reminder of the connection he once shared with Ruby. Envy clawed at him, its tendrils winding their way through his cold, undead flesh as he listened to their conversation from a distance.

"I had fun, Ruby. I hope you will join me again in the future?" Wyll's voice carried a warmth and sincerity that cut through the darkness like a ray of light.

Ruby's response, filled with enthusiasm and her usual sweet smile, only served to fuel the flames of Astarion's envy. He watched in silence as Wyll planted a gentle kiss on her cheek, the gesture causing her face to flush with color.

As Ruby turned to face the vampire spawn, her eyes brimming with affection and warmth, he met her gaze for a fleeting moment before redirecting his attention to the task at hand. His lips curled into a sardonic smirk, a mask of nonchalance concealing the tumult of emotions roiling beneath the surface.

"Did you find his blade?" Astarion's voice dripped with mockery, his words a calculated barb aimed at Ruby's perceived indiscretion.

Ruby's sweet smile faltered, replaced by a scowl as she crossed her arms defiantly across her chest, her frustration evident in the set of her jaw.

Astarion chuckled softly as he set aside the sewing supplies and rose to his feet, closing the distance between them with languid grace. "You're not answering me," he observed. "I take it you did. Tell me, darling. Was it a dagger? Perhaps a shortsword?"

Ruby bristled at his taunting tone, her patience wearing thin as she shot back, "I did nothing of the sort and even if I did, it's none of your business."

Astarion's dark chuckle reverberated through the dimly lit cavern, a chilling echo of amusement tinged with malice. "Really?" he clicked his tongue, his voice dripping with disdain. "A shame. Judging by that little token of affection he bestowed upon you, I'd wager you're not exactly being truthful."

The vampire spawn knew he was pushing her buttons, his words calculated to provoke a reaction. There was no logical reason for him to antagonize her other than the fact that he was consumed by envy, a festering seed of resentment toward the one person in their group he did not trust at all. Was it childish? Perhaps. Did he care? Not in the slightest.

"I'm sick and tired of you being such an ass all of a sudden," Ruby retorted.

"Oh, darling. I've always been one, that's nothing new," Astarion countered flippantly, his smirk widening into a self-satisfied grin.

He expected her to lash out, to succumb to the mounting tension between them and either try to throw herself at him out of sexual frustration or lash out with a punch. Yet, to his surprise, Ruby's reaction was not what he anticipated. Instead of lust or aggression, she regarded him with genuine sadness, her violet eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

With hesitant tenderness, she reached out and placed a hand on his ivory cheek, her touch gentle yet filled with a silent plea for understanding. Astarion felt his carefully constructed mask begin to slip once again in the face of her compassion, the walls around his heart crumbling beneath the weight of her silent empathy.

Her eyes searched his, delving beneath the facade of indifference he so meticulously maintained.

"I'm done fighting with you about this. Stop trying to push away the few people who care about you."

Astarion's defenses wavered as Ruby's words washed over him. He broke eye contact, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his features as he crossed his arms defensively. Despite his instinct to retreat, he found himself unable to pull away from her touch.

"You don't know how they truly feel about me," he muttered.

Ruby refused to let him retreat into the shadows, her determination shining through as she forced him to meet her gaze once again. "You're right, I don't know how they truly feel," she conceded, her voice steady and unwavering. "But I do know how I feel, and I care about you, Astarion. Whether you like it or not. Whether you believe it or not, I do. Don't push me away. I want to help you."

Astarion felt a knot form in his throat, a surge of conflicting emotions threatening to overwhelm him. For a moment, he found himself lost in the depths of Ruby's violet eyes. But even as her gaze offered him solace and understanding, a wave of self-loathing crashed over him like a tidal wave, drowning out the flicker of hope that dared to stir within him.

He didn't deserve her kindness, he knew that much. Not after the way he'd treated her, the walls he had built to keep her at arm's length. She cared for him, believed in him, even when he couldn't find it in himself to believe in his own worth. But he didn't deserve that either. He was a monster, plain and simple, and no amount of kindness could erase the bloodstains that marked his past.

With a heavy heart, he pulled away from her touch. He began to retreat to his tent for the night, each step a silent testament to the chasm that lay between them, a gaping void he feared he could never bridge.

"Oh, just slink back to your monster hunter, why don't you?" he muttered bitterly. "You two were repulsively made for each other anyway."

Glancing back at her over his shoulder, he saw the look of disbelief and concern etched upon her features. She didn't believe him, he could see that much, but he didn't need her to. She didn't deserve him, didn't deserve the burden of his darkness weighing upon her gentle soul. All she could see was the good inside of him, looking past every questionable thing he'd done. He didn't understand it, couldn't comprehend how she could still find goodness in him when he knew all too well the depths of his own depravity.

If she'd only known the extent of the horrors he'd caused, the lives he had snuffed out without remorse, she'd leave him without a second thought. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth, couldn't bear to see the look of revulsion and horror that would surely cloud her eyes if she knew the monster he truly was.

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