#HORRIFYING. i would simply pass away tbh!!!!

[restinslices]

Hello! I don’t care about which format, just whatever works for you!

I’m not sure any of them would mind tbh but imma still try and give them different reactions slightly

Bi-Han has heard of vampires before, but he’s never actually met one and he wasn’t sure how he felt. Vampires came with many complications and if they decided to backstab you, there was a good chance the victim wasn’t seeing the next day. Maybe Bi-Han was worried about this because he’s done his fair share of stabbing people in the back. Maybe he was just being paranoid. He didn’t know what it was but when he found out, he started to distance himself a bit and I wouldn’t be surprised if he said some not so kind words when he found out.

Bi-Han would be very conflicted. His strategist way of thinking would say “keep them close enough so you can watch them. A vampire would be an excellent ally” but the boyfriend part of him would say “they’re your partner. Don’t be an asshole”. He’d land on keeping them close enough so he wouldn’t lose them and letting his brain figure out what to do next as time passed.

Bi-Han wouldn’t be bothered by things like seeing his partner feeding. I don’t think he’d wanna watch the whole thing but if he caught the end of it, he wouldn’t be too bothered. If it was his enemies though, he’d take delight in watching them be torn apart and being used for food. Feeding on him is definitely not happening. He hates feeling like a juice box or like a leech is always on him, so the answer is no. The weaknesses might bother him simply because he thinks they’re stupid. Sunlight? Yeah, now he knew why they lived in an area that was never that bright and why they always did things at night but it was still bothersome. Way more bothersome since he knew what was up. He’s not sure why. Either way, he’d definitely use their strengths and abilities to his advantage. He likes them so it’s not like he’s just using them, but now there’s no hiding things like their super strength so they can unleash it all now. He needs all the help he can get when it comes to the war that’s coming.

Bi-Han isn’t sure about becoming a vampire though. His partner has offered and he’s always said no. Not because he doesn’t want it though. The strength, speed, flight, and all that other shit sounds great. It’d give him a huge boost. But the weaknesses is something he’s not sure he could deal with. Plus, he doesn’t know if he’d stay a cyromancer. He’s grown up with these powers and he doesn’t want them taken away. He doesn’t care what he’d get in return. His answer will stay no, but if he finds out his powers won’t be affected or they’ll be stronger, then there’s a huge chance he might say yes.

He keeps them around for multiple reasons. He’s not a complete asshole and is just using them, but he does have a bigger plot.

Kuai Liang isn’t necessarily shocked. I think Kuai Liang is smart enough to pick up on certain hints but he didn’t let himself believe them. His idea of vampires is skewed by the scary stories his father used to tell but his partner doesn’t match those stories. Vampires are supposed to be horrifying and blood sucking creatures. His partner wasn’t like that. They made jokes and laughed and got in close quarters with people without murdering them. So when they confess to being a vampire, he doesn’t believe them until they show proof.

Kuai Liang, like his brothers, is conflicted now. He’s not sure if he should distance himself in case they turn out to be some manipulative freak that’s tricked him this whole time, or stay close to them. After all, he never sensed any treachery and they didn’t have to confess at all but this could’ve been apart of whatever game they were playing. He’d especially be on edge if this was around the same time Bi-Han was revealed to be a traitor. He’d slowly get closer to them again. He would need time to think and time to watch how his partner reacted. He definitely wasn’t expecting them to be sad but understanding. Thankfully though, at some point they’d be back to normal.

Kuai Liang makes sure to be careful around them now. He doesn’t use his pyromancy when he’s close to them, since fire can kill any person but it’s especially dangerous for vampires. When it comes to feeding, he’s not helping out much. The whole luring people thing just isn’t for him and honestly it’s not his job. You can eat however many enemies you want but when it comes to normal people living their lives? He will not be participating. Besides that, now that he knows the quirks they had has something to do with their condition, it’s weirdly calming. He has answers for everything now. For example, he likes that he knows why they’re so against morning dates. At first it was just something he thought was a bit peculiar. Now he knows the real reason and he likes not being in the dark. After thought; no he’s not being drank from. His blood probably burns their mouth.

Kuai Liang does not want the bite. It’s a definite no. Kuai Liang is someone that is comforted by death. It’s an ending everyone is supposed to experience and after death he hopes he can be reunited with his father and anyone else he’s lost (or the people he will inevitably lose because this is Mortal Kombat). A life that has no ending is unnatural to him and it would defeat the whole purpose of living. You live and hope you make your mark so you’re remembered. There’s no point on doing that if you’ll never leave.

He’s a bit suspicious at first but once that suspicion ends, it’s back to normal for him.

Tomas has only heard of vampires through stories and the media so his idea of them is also skewed. I don’t think he’s as suspicious as Kuai Liang though. He’s mostly confused. Why lie to him? How long have they been alive? Why choose him as a boyfriend? What other abilities do vampires have? Have they ever used their abilities on him? Did they ever think about about drinking from him? It quickly becomes a game of 20 questions and that’s not even enough to fill his curiosity. He had to know how much he thought he knew was true and how much was fiction. He had to know why he got picked to be their boyfriend out of everyone, especially if they’ve been alive for thousands of years.

Tomas doesn’t pull away as much. Sure, he needs a minute to think but he does that by their side. There’s no real point in pulling away. They might leave and he didn’t want that. The best course of action was to think about what he wanted while still being near them and asking for space on days where he needed it. At some point he’d decide he still wanted them and they’d go back to normal. He’d probably come to this conclusion quicker than the other two. Tomas mainly care for if he feels appreciated and loved. He doesn’t care much for species or other trivial things.

Tomas is mainly fascinated with having a vampire partner. I mean, come on! They can fly! He can too but that’s not the point. Vampires have such interesting powers and they can differ depending on who it is. He’s gonna ask 50 million questions with little to no shame. He’s just very curious and he’s especially curious about how they even became a vampire. If it was traumatizing then he’ll drop it until they’re ready to share. As for feeding, he doesn’t ask. He knows it’s probably random humans being drank from and he doesn’t really wanna know about that. When it comes to drinking from him, the answer is no. I know I’ve said no for all of the, but I don’t think any of them would like being someone’s source of food. Plus it would tire them out and they have to be at their peak at all times.

Tomas isn’t sure if he wants the bite. He’s someone who is also comforted by death and the idea he’ll see his lost loved ones at some point. At the same time being a vampire would be cool and it’d let him spend forever with the person he loves. The answer would be no at first, but as he gets older he knows he has to make a choice. He’s just not sure what that choice will be. He’d give himself a time limit. Something like “I have to make a definite decision by the time I’m 40”.

Adjusts to it easier than the others. He has 100+ questions to ask but it’s Tomas so who’s bothered?

Overall, they still care for their partner and end up keeping them around even if it’s for different reasons. These men have magic. A set of fangs may spook them but they’ll get over it

#mk1 #mk1 2023 #mortal kombat 1 #bi han sub zero #kuai liang scorpion #bi han #tomas vrbada smoke #kuai liang #kuai liang mk1 #tomas vrbada #bi han x reader #bi han mortal kombat #bi han mk #scorpion kuai liang #tomas vrbada mk1

[artkadukan]

Idk, murder explosion and cookies? Also ye can choose the genre I don't know much about them

I think I got a bit too carried away-

this doesn’t really have a plot tbh I’m just sleep deprived.

[the words you told me are in italics]

It didn’t matter if it was 12pm, or 12am, according to a certain Ms. Jenkins, she swore to dedicate any spare time she had to the Warren’s family murder case. Fuelled with caffeine, almond cookies and a laptop by her side, she would spend time investigating the infamous case which was closed over a decade ago.

Why was she researching a case which was long forgotten about, you may ask? Sometimes, she would tell you that it was for her criminology paper, other times she would say it was just to pass the summer. Yet, only she knew the real reason why, a reason which I hope you won’t be too bothered by. 

You see, in the year of 1996, the entire Warren family of 5 were murdered by a person from New Hampton, who was known by the alias the ‘Dawn Killer’, for they were known to kill their victims just before the day began. The series of murders were known as the ‘Dawn Killings’, of which the Warren’s family case was the most famous, because of the pure and utter grotesque nature of it.

Of course, all murders are violent and gory, but this killing was so graceful and artistic in a way that it was entirely unsettling, it was sure to make anyone want to claw their eyes out. 

The policemen who found the bodies described it to be the ‘most horrifying and unsettling thing they had ever seen in their career’. Each body had been found in a different room with their abdomens ripped open, their body covered in an explosion of red blood, and each one had an eerily realistic portrait of them painted on the bare wall above them, allegedly with their own blood.

None of the victims before the Warrens had gotten this star treatment, and nobody figured out why to this day.  Of course they didn’t, Ms. Jenkins was too clever to figure out, even for the top CIA officers. 

She didn’t really have a reason for the series of murders, no, she was just a plain psychopath, to put it simply. She sipped on her cappuccino, frowning as she looked over the pictures of the crime scene, disappointed at how the eyes didn’t align perfect in one of the bloody paintings, or how the nose was crooked in another.

‘I could have done a much better job, if I had the time’, she muttered to herself, thinking about she ever even got away with such a crime. 

Perhaps, in another life, she’ll finally be able to paint with blood as well as she paints with acrylics.

#I seriously have no idea what I just wrote. #this. This is terrible. #I think there’s actually something wrong with me help #aho writes

[korgidorgi]

The Avengers reactions to You getting into a fight at school

Warnings: cursing

Reader wrote to be female (pronouns are only used like once so i mean, anyone can read it ig). (Thinking I'm writing an actual fic out of this)

(idk what/where this gif is from)

(Also I don't own any of the Gifs used)

You got into a fight because some girl was being a bitch to someone you like 😏 (it can be whoever you want, irl crush, Peter, MJ, etc. your life, not mine)

You don't normally pick fights with people so this is like, a big thing for you

The bitch hit you first

You dodged her second attack

and broke her nose

You ended the fight

You ditch school and come back to the tower

Peter told Tony

Tony told everyone else

Peter saw everything go down

Fucking snitch

Don't worry, your crush helped you clean up after :) (you were bleeding a bit)

Tony:

Not too happy about hearing about it

He was passive-agressive to you when you got back to the tower, made you ✨uncomfy✨(He's scary when he's upset ok? He also lowkey has an army of robots)

He finally asks you about what happened and you tell him

Teases you about doing it to get Peter's attention (whether that's true or not, you deny it)

He's very much like a dad about the whole situation

Steve:

When he asks you about what happens, you start cursing

Comes at you about cursing

"Language."

"Sorry, BuT sTiLl!"

Crosses his arms at you, trying to be angry with you

Is secretly proud of you for standing up for someone because, he too, is a goody two-shoes and probably would have done something similar

Picks up that it may have been your crush who compelled you to do it but doesn't bring that up

Bruce:

Indirect about approaching you about it

When he does bring it up, he's a lot more calm than Tony, but gives you a mini lecture

"If that had been me approaching that situation, I never would have because the Big Guy would have probably killed them and we don't want that."

Makes sure you're ok tho

Natasha:

You can't tell if she's disappointed, proud, angry, what

She simply asks what happened, casually springing the topic on you right as your taking a sip of your favorite drink (you choke on it)

At first, she just listens intensely which scares you a bit, but is secretly proud of you that you stopped a fight with one hit (strong bby :3)

She gets you to tell her why you started bickering in the first place and you just come out and tell her about your crush

She encourages you to ask this certain someone out ;)

Clint:

Stalks you from the vents for a little bit before dropping down to interrogate you

Damn near break his nose

At first he scolds you for fighting, but loosens up

"If you were one of my kids-"

He's said too much

You weren't supposed to know he has a whole ass secret family (let's just pretend okay?)

Oh well, cat's out of the bag now

He tells you to not tell anyone what he said

Crawls back into the vent and disappears

Thor:

Isn't the best judge of scenarios like this because things are so much different on Asgard

Praises you for doing the right thing

The two of you talk about fights you've been in and the worst injuries the two of you have sustained (Thor wins that obviously)

You excitedly tell him how it felt getting hit for someone and he fangirls with you as well

He offers you alcohol (despite you being a bit young) (Do you take it?)

Tony yells from the other room

"Don't encourage her, Thor!"

Bucky:

Doesn't really approach you about it, he doesn't really talk with you much tbh (he doesn't really talk with anyone other than Steve, or younger people) (Look, idc if the timeline's screwed up)

Kinda proud you took a punch for someone tho

Gives you a thumbs-up when you pass him after talking with Steve about it

Sam:

Much like Steve, he's a bit stern with you, crossing his arms

Tells you to not do stupid shit like that (without him)

He only loosens up when you tell him that this certain someone has unconsentually stolen your heart

Won't stop teasing you about your crush but doesn't spread it to the other Avengers

Rhodey:

"You fucking what!?"

High-fives you when you tell him the story

Also encourages you about the ordeal like Thor

He's a bad influence on you

"You shouldda just gone in, hit her, and been like 'Boom, you looking for this?'"

Everyone in earshot just freezes and just blankly stares at him

"Not funny, okay. Bad joke."

Tony looks at him, daring him to encourage this behavior

Wanda:

She doesn't confront you about it, more like you race up to her and giddily tell her about it

Asks if you're okay (which you confirm)

Lowkey wants to see what it looked like

"If you want you can look in my head if you wanna see it it was sO aWeSoMe!"

Refuses your offer but looks anyways because she's curious

Nearly freaks out at your memory when you get hit

Very satisfied when you hit the bitch back though

Sees your crush that way, she'll talk with you about your crush when you bring it up later, she doesn't want to ruin your excitement

(I'm considering her a possible crush insert too now so maybe she already saw it and is like, still horrified you'd do that for her bc she doesn't think shes really worth getting sucker punched for so let's do this:)

(She's concerned that you're excited about taking a hit for her but thinks its sweet)

Peter:

He fucking SAW IT HAPPEN! (Ned saw it too)

He freaked out and helped you clean up outside before you buggered off to clean up elsewhere (with the help of your crush, unless it was him, then he leads you somewhere to help clean you up better)

Doesn't know whether to be horrified or impressed

When he tells Tony, he's screaming about what happened and is really blown away by the incident

Really worried about you afterward

Regretted telling Tony because he thought you'd kill him for it (I mean, you might ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯ )

Won't shut up about it for the next 3 weeks

Vision:

He really only brought up that you looked different

Asked if you got hurt somehow because of the bruise and cut on your face

You tell him what happened

Doesn't really understand why you of all people would get into a fight

Warns against the (obvious) results of taking physical damage

Isn't much of a supporter or disciplinary figure on this whole ordeal, very neutral

#avengers x reader #x fem reader #tony stark #marvel #fanfiction #steve rogers #natasha romanoff #vision #wanda maximoff #peter parker #sam wilsom #thor odinson #clint barton #bruce banner #bucky barnes #rhodey #headcanon

[lady-of-the-lotus]

Xue Yang has brought Xiao Xingchen back to life. With the daozhang having no memory of the day he died, the two couldn't be happier.

But as for Song Lan…

Trapped in a paperman form by Xue Yang and imprisoned in a glass jar, he’s forced to watch his greatest enemy play house with a still-healing Xiao Xingchen.

Something Xue Yang is doing a horrifically good job of.

Xuexiao & unrequited Songxiao - M (T tbh) - 2.4k - Read on AO3! This is actually pretty fluffy, so be warned

* * * *

The jar is as tall and wide as a man’s hand. Inverted, it sits on the windowsill facing the Coffin House’s only room, giving Song Lan a full view of the bed.

Xue Yang has placed the jar there on purpose, he knows. So that he can’t help but watch Xue Yang lie beside Xingchen every night, watch him hold him when he wakes from the nightmares he’s been plagued with since his return, watch him smooth his sweaty hair from his face, watch him whisper the terror away and pull him close.

As a fierce corpse he had been compelled to stand by while Xue Yang committed atrocities, but worse was watching Xingchen awaken with a gasping cry in the center of a demonic array, was the horrifying realization that Xingchen remembers nothing of that world-shattering day six years before, remembers nothing of the monster’s true face.

He had stood there and watched as Xingchen clung to the monster, watched Xue Yang put his foul hands on him and lift him from the bloodstained array, watched Xue Yang carry him into the house while Song Lan remained outside in the rain.

And then, the next morning, as Xingchen slept, worn out from the ritual, Song Lan had been forced to stand motionless and silent in the courtyard while Xue Yang removed his consciousness and inserted it into a paperman. Heaved Song Lan's body into a coffin like so much trash, tucked his paperman form inside his robe, and gone inside to Xingchen as if nothing had happened.

“A neighborhood girl tripped and fell,” he heard Xue Yang telling Xingchen, who was awoken by the single cry of agony Xue Yang had allowed him. “A bit of a whiner. I helped her find her mother.”

And then he had placed the little paperman under the jar, and Song Lan, unable to close his nonexistent eyes, and too horrified to look away, had watched.

Watched Xue Yang slide into bed beside Xingchen.

Watched him stroke his hair.

Watched him brush a possessive thumb over each empty eye socket.

Watched him eye Song Lan as he tied on the blindfold, smirking, as if mocking Song Lan for what had happened on Baoshan Sanren’s mountain.

But almost worse is the sickening domesticity.

The monster cooks. He cleans. He shops. He sits very still while Xingchen braids his hair, the one thing Xingchen seems to be interested in since his return. He sits for hours simply watching Xingchen meditate, devouring him with his eyes as he fidgets with his own hair, pulling it out of Xingchen's careful braids.

And Xingchen—

Song Lan rests his head on the cold glass of the jar’s walls.

Xingchen is just as beautiful as he’s remembered all these years. Just as good, just as pure. A wraithlike figure in white, something not of this world. Something better than this world. A creature of moonlight and mist sharing a bed with a beast.

At least his nightmares have gradually stopped as time goes on. Nothing to do with the monster beside him, Song Lan knows. The nightmares can’t be about anyone other than Xue Yang himself. And the gradual lightening of Xingchen’s tone when he speaks, the growing frequency of his smiles, his blooming interest in the world around him, have nothing to do with Xue Yang. If Song Lan could never bring Xiao Xingchen out of his dark moods, if he always relied on a street performer, a storyteller, a passing dog or child or even a cathartic thunderstorm, there is no way that Xue Yang ever could.

The pleasure Song Lan takes in knowing the monster has not completely erased the melancholy is blotted out by guilt at his own feelings.

One day, after Xingchen has not left that tainted bed for three days, Xue Yang removes the glass jar and lifts Song Lan off the windowsill.

“Here, daozhang,” he says, digging a fingernail into Song Lan’s fragile paper leg, daring him to try to escape, “I made you a paperman. Remember those?”

“A-Qing used to love them…”

A shadow crosses Xue Yang’s face. “I promised you I’ll find a way to bring her back too, daozhang. But only once you’re fully better. We don’t want her to worry about you, do we?”

“No…”

“Then here. Take this.” Xue Yang sets Song Lan down in Xingchen’s cupped palms.

A shudder runs through Song Lan at the touch of Xingchen’s skin. For the first time since he’s died, he can feel warmth. Xingchen’s solemn white face is mere inches away as Xingchen lifts Song Lan, one fingertip running around the edges of Song Lan’s paper body. Frantically he jumps up and down in Xingchen’s palm, trying to signal to him, trying to let him know something is wrong, very wrong—

“It’s waving at you,” says Xue Yang, and Xingchen smiles for the first time in days.

And now Song Lan watches them leave for night-hunts together, watches them return happy and breathless with blood speckling the hem of their robes, watches Xue Yang fixedly stare at Xingchen as he undresses, stripping him naked with his repugnant gaze.

Watches the oblivious Xingchen leave the monster gifts, watches the monster sneer at the jar each morning as he takes the candy off the bed, watches the monster slip the candy in his mouth as if he’s consuming a part of Xingchen himself.

“I bought you seeds,” Xue Yang tells Xingchen one morning, a month after Xingchen returned, a year, a decade; Song Lan can’t tell. He can’t sleep, has no respite from his thoughts, and the days and night have blurred into a hazy nightmare. “I thought you might like to garden.”

Xingchen’s face lights up.

Song Lan has never seen him smile like that before.

“You remembered,” he says softly.

Xue Yang grins at Xingchen, winking at Song Lan. “I promised you a garden, daozhang, and I keep my word.”

Song Lan is filled with a cold rage, though he’s not sure whom it’s directed at. Xingchen had always wanted a garden, to put down literal and figurative roots, to sow life after so many years spent with a blade in his hand.

It seems like a lifetime ago since he’d told this to Song Lan, lying awake one one night during their travels. Whispered it to him as if it were a dark secret, as if he didn’t think he should have those desires, as if settling down was selfish, as if it meant he could no longer help people.

That was the night they had first spoken of founding their own sect. Of what it would mean. Song Lan had promised Xingchen a garden on the sect grounds…

A flower garden, Song Lan had promised. Xingchen had wanted a vegetable garden like the ones back on his mountain, but Song Lan had preferred flowers. No filthy fertilizer needed, no rotting compost or constant care. They would be away frequently, he had pointed out, training new disciples and night-hunting, and Xingchen wouldn’t have time to tend to a vegetable garden….

And Xingchen had agreed, he reminds himself. Xingchen agreed to a flower garden...

Xue Yang has torn up a large section of the sunniest part of the courtyard, right outside Song Lan’s window. Song Lan watches as they till the earth, watches as they spread fertilizer, watches as Xingchen plants seeds.

Watches him squeeze the monster’s hand in thanks. Watches the terrible joy on the monster’s face as he realizes the success of his manipulation. Watches Xingchen’s delight as he feels the first shoots poke up through the earth. Watches him work for hours side by side with the monster, weeding and watering and pinching insects off the leaves.

Watches Xingchen’s smiles grow more and more frequent, hears his laughter come more readily.

Watches him turn the Coffin House into a home.

The first buds are hanging fat and yellow on the vine when Xingchen turns to Xue Yang. They're in bed early, bathed in the soft pink glow of sunset, lying there listening to Xue Yang tell stories. Xue Yang is in just his trousers, Xingchen in his thin white inner robe, made pink by the blushing light. Song Lan cannot feel the air but the evening seems warm, the door left open with a quiet breeze rustling the poems left on the table.

“Chengmei,” he hears Xingchen say, “I…”

“What is it?” Xue Yang nuzzles Xingchen’s neck, and Song Lan wishes he had a mouth to scream with. The sight of the foul creature touching Xingchen, soiling him with his filth—

Song Lan had never dared so much as touch Xingchen. Song Lan had never dared lay so much as a finger on him, no matter how much he may have confusingly wanted to. Song Lan had treated him as he deserved to be treated—

Xingchen’s voice is soft. “…Thank you for my garden.”

“Our garden,” Xue Yang says, almost teasingly. He’s playing with Xingchen’s hair, twirling the silken black strands around his finger, sliding it over his lip as if he likes the feel of its smoothness. “The flowers are about to open, I think, not that I know the first thing about gardening.”

“I think you’ve done wonderfully.”

“Well, those farming books helped.”

Xingchen swallows. Song Lan knows that swallow. He wants to ask something, and he’s not sure how it will be received. “I….”

“Don’t be shy, daozhang.” Xue Yang presses his face against the spotless white marble of Xingchen’s throat, inhaling deeply. “I know you want a new roof with jade tiles and red trim, maybe a gold-leaf tea set...”

Xingchen laughs. “Not exactly. I was, well…”

He blushes.

Song Lan has never seen him blush like that before.

Xingchen’s hand moves slightly, resting gently on Xue Yang’s waist, and the monster sits up with a start, biting his lip with a sharp white tooth. “All that wet dew on the buds give you ideas?” he says, and it’s so vulgar, so completely unmoored from anything preceding it, that Song Lan, stoic as he is, would have gasped had he any lungs.

And Xingchen laughs.

A red-faced, embarrassed laugh, but a laugh with mirth in it too. “That’s not quite —”

Xue Yang pins him to bed and kisses him full on the mouth.

Song Lan mentally holds his breath. Xingchen will shove him away, scratch him, fling him off him with words of icy reprobation—

Xingchen wraps his legs around Xue Yang and kisses him back.

A chill of horror freezes Song Lan’s paper body.

“I’ve waited for this for years,” Xue Yang breathes, and Xingchen pulls him down closer, devouring his mouth with his, fingers curling into Xue Yang’s bare back, leaving faint pink lines in the scarred skin.

“So is this why you brought me back?” Xingchen asks when he finally pulls away.

Song Lan has never heard him be so teasing before.

Xue Yang’s eyes widen. In all their years together, it’s the first time Song Lan has seen that shade of alarm on him. “You know I’ve never once so much—all I did was, you were the one who—I would have been more than fine simply—”

“I’m joking, A-Mei,” says Xingchen, and, smiling, he pulls Xue Yang back down, rolls him over on his back—

Song Lan looks away.

Tries to, anyway.

But merely hearing Xingchen whisper endearments to the monster, hear the pants and moans and whimpers, is even worse. There is no way it can be as dreadful as his imagination makes things out to be—

Xue Yang, spread out under Xingchen, looks Song Lan dead in the face and grins.

And Xingchen, pale skin flushed pink, back arched, lost to all thought other than the beast beneath him—

Song Lan looks away again.

It seems like an eternity before the bed stops rocking into the wall, before the pants and gasps die down to a dreamy hum.

“I missed you,” Xue Yang murmurs into Xingchen’s mouth, holding him tightly to his chest, fingers buried deep in his hair. “I never thought that..I never…”

“I’m not going anywhere, Chengmei…not before we harvest, anyway. I want to taste the sweet peas I worked so hard on.”

Xue Yang pulls away from Xingchen.

Xingchen sits up, reaching for him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“I was just joking, A-Mei.” Xingchen’s hand slides down Xue Yang’s bare arm, clasping his wrist. “This is our home now. We can even adopt a dog if you want.”

Xue Yang swallows hard, but his lips twitch. He looks at Song Lan again, but his eyes dart away quickly, as if the monster is actually capable of true emotion. “I’m more of a cat person myself.”

“Two cats, then.” Xingchen sits behind Xue Yang, sliding his arms around him. “We can name them Yin and Yang.”

Xue Yang laughs. “Is that the best you got?”

Xingchen wrinkles his nose. Song Lan has never seen him so relaxed before. “You come up with the names, then, and I’ll find the kittens.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Xue Yang rises, gently untangling Xingchen’s hand. Naked, he pads to the door and stands gazing out over the starlit courtyard. The once-grim courtyard has erupted in a riot of life over the past few months, each coffin an island in a sea of greenery, with wayward vines twining up over Song Lan’s window and framing the panes.

“Look,” he says, almost inaudibly. “The buds are opening…”

Xingchen wraps himself in his robe and comes to stand beside Xue Yang. “ ‘Look’?”

Xue Yang grins suddenly and grabs Xingchen’s wrist, tugging him out into the moon-drenched garden. He whispers something Song Lan can’t catch and Xingchen laughs, the laugh floating in to Song Lan on the soft night breeze.

“Yellow flowers,” he hears Xue Yang saying. “Yellow flowers clinging to green vines wound around tall bamboo trellises, purple buds on the end of thick drooping stems, a carpet of green waving in the breeze…”

“I never knew you were such a poet, Chengmei.”

“You’re rubbing off on me, daozhang…” He raises a suggestive eyebrow, then hesitates, as if fearing he’s gone too far.

But Xingchen laughs, so hard Xue Yang has to slip his arms around him to keep him upright. And Xingchen trips, dragging them both down into a row of bok choy.

Song Lan looks away, but Xingchen’s laugh is all around him, dancing through the garden, filling the small glass jar.

He's ever heard him laugh like that before.

AO3! If you liked this, spare a reblog for a humble fic writer? 👉👈

#mdzsnet #xiao xingchen #xue yang #song lan #xuexiao #mdzs #the untamed #fymdzs #dailyuntamed

[supercasey]

So I've been playing The Hades Game like fucking mad for the last few weeks, and although I'm not very far in it (at least, I don’t think I am; I’ve only beat Hades once!), I'm absolutely in love with it! Anyways, a certain idea has been kicking around in my head for awhile now, so I thought I'd share it with y'all; feel free to tell me what you think of it! (Warning: spoilers for when you beat Hades the first time!)

Anyways, I've already seen a really cool AU post for if Demeter raised Zagreus on the surface by herself (which you can find HERE; please check it out, the outfit for Zag alone is an amazing concept, and I love the artwork!!!) but I keep thinking about an AU where, after Zagreus dies at birth, Persephone runs away and takes his wrapped up body with her.

On the surface, she reconnects/reunites with her mother Demeter, and with her aid, the two of them manage to resurrect the newborn baby, though now he has more white in his hair than anything else. After that, Persephone sends Hades a letter to tell him that Zagreus is alive and well (because she actually has some fucking class), before proceeding to raise Zagreus on the surface with her mother, far away from the entrance to hell. The Olympians also help her out a bit, but mostly they just help by hiding Zagreus when it’s necessary.

(The rest is under a cut ‘cus this got a bit long, sorry!)

Years pass in relative peace, until Zagreus is about as old as he is in-game (I think he’s around 20-25ish???) and is living well, working with his mom and grandma to take care of their gardens and live peacefully away from mankind; he especially loves tending to the animals and guiding lost mortals to safety. However, one day while foraging for fruit in the deepest corners of his mother’s signature garden, Zagreus happens across a strange man in long robes, who introduces himself as Thanatos.

The two men get along swimmingly from minute one, and after agreeing to meet with each other again soon, they leave and tell their families/friends all about the experience, having no clue who they are to each other. After all, Thanatos was told growing up that his lord’s first wife died giving birth to their first and only child, who was a stillborn, and Zagreus thinks his father died of disease (his mom didn’t have to heart to tell him anything bad about his dad). Needless to say, they’re gonna be in for quite the shock soon.

Cue Hades losing his shit and calling on Thanatos, Megaera, and Achilles to go find his progeny and bring him home; he gives them special permission to leave the Underworld without any resistance, trusting Than to lead the way back to Zagreus. Achilles is less than thrilled to be performing such a morally grey task for his master, but Meg and Than are eager to prove themselves, so he begrudgingly agrees to help, even if it hurts his conscience to do so.

Persephone and Demeter also freak the hell out on their end, scared shitless by the fact that Death incarnate has just met their son/grandson, and they’re worried that he plans on coming back again soon. Demeter suggests sending Zagreus to live with the Olympians until this all blows over, but Persephone disagrees, wanting her son to stay nearby in case he grows ill (it’s implied that she’s a bit overprotective of him, mostly because she’s afraid of him dying again; this also means she refuses to let him know that he’s in any danger, believing it would only make things worse for him in the long-run). Frustrated but understanding her daughter’s pain all too well, Demeter at least convinces her to call on the Olympians for aid, which Persephone agrees to do.

The gods promise to help of course, but... well, they're low-key lying; they wanna see how this plays out first.

After several days of traveling through hell (literally), the “let’s kidnap Zagreus” gang makes it to the surface, and they immediately head to Persephone’s garden. All this time, Zagreus has no idea that he’s being targeted, so he goes about his chores as usual, only to run into Than again, and hey, he brought some more friends for him to meet! Zagreus is friendly with all of them, being raised to be very polite by his guardians, and while he’s busy chatting with Than and Achilles, he doesn’t notice Meg sneaking behind him. Just as Zagreus is rattling on about how the animals have been faring this summer, Meg stabs Zagreus in the back with a blade coated in Hades’s blood, cursing him to belong to the Underworld again.

With Zagreus now unconscious from a sedative that was mixed with the blood, the trio hurry off with him back to the Underworld, but not without Persephone seeing what they’ve done to her son. Horrified, she begins to sob, and winter arrives in the mortal world without so much as a fall season in-between this and the summertime.

When Zagreus comes to, he finds himself in a bedroom similar to the one he has in the game, but it’s much cleaner and has less objects of personal value to him. Hades is standing at the foot of his bed when he wakes up, and very calmly, Hades tells Zagreus that he’s his father, and that from now on, Zagreus will be living in the Underworld with him and his people, where he so obviously belongs. It’s a shame his mother can’t be here, of course, but they just need to wait awhile, that’s all; surely she’ll come to her senses and return home soon, now that her husband and son are here.

Zagreus jumps out of bed and faces his father as soon as he’s done monologuing, ready to tell him off for what he’s done, but to his shock, Hades hugs him as soon as he’s on his feet, and admits that he’s waited for this day for a long, long time. He asks his son to please just accept that this is his home now, and despite still being a bit surprised (and subtly hugging Hades back because Longing), Zagreus tells him straight up that he can’t, that he has to get home, especially with winter coming in a few months!

Dejected but not overly surprised, Hades simply nods in acceptance, but he still warns Zagreus that it’s no use trying to fight it; he’s stuck here, now and forever, so he may as well get comfortable and try getting along with him, because no one’s going anywhere anytime soon. Zagreus is horrified, but he nods nonetheless, unsure of what to say or do just yet.

Later that night, as Zagreus is struggling to sleep in this new, unfamiliar place, Achilles comes to him and apologizes about what’s happened, and although he can’t magically fix everything for him, he tells Zagreus that it actually is supposedly possible to escape; it’s just that no one’s ever done it before. Driven by his desire for freedom and the thought of reuniting with his mother, Zagreus tells Achilles that he’s going to find a way out, no matter the cost. Achilles congratulates him on his tenacity, but warns him that it won’t be easy. Still, he’s willing to help Zagreus as much as he can.

From then on, I imagine the game playing out very differently from the original, with a rather frazzled and scared Zagreus trying to get home to his mom and grandma, but with none of his training from Achilles in this AU, he has to rely on something his mother taught him; his connection with earth and all it’s inhabitants. Or, in his case, his connection with the spirits of animals (a cross of his dad and mom’s powers). That’s right, I’m making The Hades Game into a fucking Pokemon-ripoff, but still with some rouge-like elements mixed in (mostly with Zagreus not keeping his animals after runs).

Having royally fucked up in not stepping in sooner to protect Zagreus, the gods end up helping him out by sending down animals associated with them for the young god to tame for a run (I’ll come up with them later). They usually offer a selection to choose from, and from there Zagreus can build up a team and use it to try and escape the Underworld.

To replace weapons, I like to think he’d have “signature” animals that can help him out for any of his runs, specifically ones from Achilles, Poseidon, Zeus, Demeter (once he reaches the surface at least once), and eventually even Hades gives him one if they bond together enough ((yes, it’s Cerberus... kinda; it’s a puppy version of him, otherwise he’d be OP as fuck)). Zagreus’s signature animals can all be given names, and they keep certain skills that they pick up through enough experience battling in the Underworld for Zagreus.

As for story-line stuff, Zagreus ends up in a very fish out of water situation as he tries to get to know everyone in Hades’s house (he’s still our kindhearted Zag, after all, and he knows most of them aren’t to blame, not even really Than!) while also focusing on his goal to get home to his mom. Hades ends up being a lot nicer to him in this AU, perhaps overly so, as he’s trying to make his son like him more in order to make up for lost time (and fill the hole in his heart that Zag’s initial death as an infant and Persephone leaving with him created). It’s part of the reason he’s even letting Zagreus try to escape; he wants him to learn that it won’t work on his own terms (and maybe also scare the kid so bad that he comes running to him for comfort afterwards).

Also, I should really note that Zagreus is 100% a sweet country farm boy in this AU, and he has no idea what the fuck is going on with pretty much anything in the Underworld, much to everyone’s astonishment. For example:

Meg: Gods, it must be weird getting used to everything down here, huh? Sick of stepping in bat shit yet? Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, and Dusa’s pretty good about cleaning it up to begin with. Zagreus: I mean, I guess? It’s not that different from chicken shit tbh. Meg: What the fuck is a chicken???

After that... yeah, I dunno. I’ll try playing Hades some more, see if I think up anything else that could be interesting, but for now, I hope at least someone ends up liking this dumb AU (if not, I’ll still like it... might even try my hand at drawing for it a bit tbh). Again, please check out the person who’s post/art I linked earlier in the post, ‘cus their art is really awesome and inspired me to include Demeter more in this AU!

#supercasey ramblings #hades game #zagreus #zagreus hades #thanatos #hades #persephone #demeter #megaera #achilles #hades farmboy au #i dunno what else to fucking call it #thanzag #if ya squint

[alltheworldsinmyhead]

                                 SOON YOU’LL GET BETTER

      time's running out for Riza. and they can do nothing else, but face this truth.

                                                     ao3

{AN: This is easily the most personal story that I have ever written. My mom died of cancer almost two months ago and I needed to cope with that, hence this fic. Tbh, I don't even think it can strictly be called fanfiction - I simply used those characters to channel my personal trauma. Sorry not sorry for that. It feels very weird to post it publicly, but I decided to do it, cause the fact that this doc was somewhere on the hard drive of my laptop was driving me mad. Also... I feel like the topic of death and dying is not discussed often enough nor openly enough. I certainly hope that this story will maybe help someone who's going through something similar to what I'm going through. Or maybe will help someone to understand how it feels to say goodbye. How heavy this grief is. 

The title comes from Taylor Swift's Soon You'll Get Better, cause this song is by far the most accurate description of what's going on in the head of some who has a sick parent that I have ever seen.}

__________________________________________________________

When you're feeling lost I'll leave my love

Hidden in the sun

For when the darkness comes

- Colbie Caillat

RIZA

The house’s so quiet and feels so inviting that she could cry from the sheer relief of coming inside. There are no flames dancing in the fireplace but she still feels warmth worming underneath her skin, replacing the bone-chilling coldness of the rain outside. With a sigh, she kicks off her shoes before putting them neatly in the corner and stepping on the white plush carpet in the corridor. She wiggles her toes in it, enjoying the texture against her battered feet.

Soft material makes her steps almost soundless as she makes her way through the first floor and climbs up the stairs. Even Koya doesn’t lift his little ginger head from where he’s sleeping, in his wicker basket by the doors of her younger daughter.

Riza gently pushes the door, letting them open slightly. The light from the corridor spills inside the room, framing Sara’s bed in silver; her little face so pale in the poor lighting, dark hair messy and thumb inside her mouth.

It’s been a few years since she last did it, since she last came back to the childish comfort of this coping mechanism.  Riza was sure that she has it well behind her, those moths of coating Sara’s hand in foul-smelling ointments or wrapping it with ribbons.

Despite her best wishes, she can do nothing but take a few steps closer and then another few and then suddenly she’s on her knees right next to the bed. Carpet in her little daughter’s room is blue, Amestrian royal blue, deep and soft. Her girl loves this color. Wears it in her hair and on her clothes and all her pet animals are blue too.  But as Riza watches her sleeping face, she thinks pink would be a shade much better suited for Sara, with her rosy cheeks and flowery innocence of a child shielded from any possible harm, any dangerous blow.

That’s what they have been doing all this time, her and Roy. Spreading an umbrella above their girls’ heads, building glass castles on the clouds for them and keeping them safe at all cost.

Riza gently touches Sara’s still-chubby hand and contemplates pulling her thumb from in between her lips, but ultimately decides against it.

Her daughter will need all the comfort she can get soon.

*

Sometimes she feels like she has spent most of her life waiting.

When she was six years old and her mom went into labor, nobody suspected that it won’t be a quick thing, devoid of complications. Tereza Hawkeye was a strong woman, used to hard work on the farm and running the house for her absent-minded husband. Riza remembers her red, calloused hands and freckles that would appear on the bridge of her nose during summer months; remembers her smile and the smell of her hair.  There wasn’t a soul that would look at her and guess that Tereza was born in the aristocratic circles of Central City, with an army of servants ready to attend to her every whim and silk dresses in her closet, that she could rise very, very high if she didn’t decide to so-called ‘’follow her heart’’, run away with the young alchemist and settle down with him in the village on the countryside, forgotten by god and men alike.

To be honest, Riza never thought much about her mother until she became a mother herself. Trying to put together fragments of Tereza in her head the way one could play with a jigsaw puzzle, she looked through few faded photographs she had left and recollected even more faded pictures in her memory. And the more she thought about it and the more she watched Roy and Grumman playing chess together, the more she pondered of how much of a hopeless romantic really was in her mother. Because it seemed to her Tereza could be as well a perfectly pragmatic young woman who just plainly decided she preferred to be barefoot and pregnant at the edge of the world than to be pushed on the board according to the whims of her father – even as a queen.

No matter her motives, Tereza married Berthold Hawkeye and gave him a daughter before dying in childbirth along with their son.

And Riza remembers that waiting all too well; small blonde girl sitting forgotten and omitted on an armchair in the corridor, clutching her teddy bear close to her chest, her face pressed to the faded material. She remembers screams behind the wall, remembers how her father stormed inside, remembers the sound of the door shutting close. Remembers long hours of pressing her fingers to her closed eyelids just to see stars exploding. Sometimes she feels like maybe she never left this armchair, never hoped off to kiss her mother’s soft, cold cheek goodbye.

And then years and years of silence, of wind blowing inside the house and playing with endless pages of her fathers’ notes laying discarded on every surface. Of silence in which they both were trapped, like flies in a jar full of honey, which they shared for so long she thought she will never speak again. Until a pretty boy from Central City appeared on their creaking doorstep, with his laughing dark eyes and a suitcase. He bowed in front of her politely and asked about her name.

And she said ‘’Riza’’, even though only her mother ever called her that, even though she was ‘’Tereza’’ in her birth certificate.

And he smiled widely.

‘’What a beautiful name.’’

Forget fire alchemy;  the warmth she felt in that moment was incomparable with any other before and after.

At least her daughters won’t be left to her own devices after she’s gone. At least she has given them a better father than hers. At least this, at least that, all bitter, all making her choke.

*

They tell them first thing in the morning.

Time for deception and avoiding this topic is over. They wasted it on constructing elaborate lies instead of trying to find the right words and it’s so, so hard now. Riza grips Roy’s hand tightly under the table during the breakfast and opens her mouth before he has a chance to.

“I’m sick, girls.”

The harsh, ugly truth. Cruel military honesty.

Sara whips her head up to stare at her in shock, her eyes round like coins and confused. She drops her fork; it slips from in-between her fingers and lands with a clatter on the porcelain plate, spraying her blouse with yellow of scrambled eggs. But, as Riza takes a look at her older daughter, she thinks Eli as well could’ve, on the contrary, turned into a stone. She doesn’t even blink. She just sits perfectly still, her hand suspended in the air, reaching for a bread roll.

A heartbeat passes, maybe two.

“Girls-“

Eli’s hand slaps down on the table.

“How sick?”

Sara’s bottom lip starts to tremble. Dear god, please don’t let her cry. – thinks Riza desperately, feeling something welling up in her chest. She feels like a grenade about to burst and kill everyone in the room.  Maybe that’s truer than she suspected.

She tries to answer and, horrified, finds that she cannot seem to find any words.

“Very sick, Eli.” – says Roy instead; quietly, gently, he reaches out to caress Sara’s cheek and here they are, rolling down her perfect, pink skin. Tears, one after another.

Riza cannot breathe, cannot think even.

Eli slowly lowers her eyes, until they stay stuck on her plate; she is so, so beautiful like that, lost in thought. Forget blonde hair and sun-kissed complexion of Hawkeye’s, forget her blooming breasts and round face – she has never looked more like Roy right now, when Riza can almost see the gears in her head turning, her brilliant mind putting facts in order.

“I knew it. I knew it and yet… I didn’t want to know it.” – Eli’s voice is very quiet, barely above whisper, but she commands the attention of everyone. Even Sara stops biting on her lip to look at her. – “You stopped working and god, all those trips. The trip all the way to Xing, that you didn’t take us – you were visiting Al and Mai, right? To ask if they can do anything.”

Riza suddenly has an urge to laugh. To cry also, but mostly to laugh. Her eyes find Roy and there it is, their common understanding how could we thought we can ever keep anything a secret from them?

Even if they don’t know, they do. Sara’s finger stuck in her mouth, how big of a crybaby she became lately, her ever-brave and ever-bold firecracker of a girl.  The stare of Eli’s watchful eyes analyzing every action and change in their daily routine.

“You are too smart for us, darling.” The corners’ of Roy’s lips twitch as if he was about to smile. “We never give you enough credit.”

Eli takes a shaky breath and barks a sad, little laugh before burying her face in her hands for a moment. When she raises her head up, her amber eyes are shiny.

“I don’t think I am, honestly. If I was, I would know what to tell you –“

“Are you going to die, mommy?”

Silence falls like a knife, cutting Eli’s sentence in half and freezing Riza’s brain. Sara is standing now, hands planted flat on the table and she leans towards her; tears still rolling down her cheeks and nose already red, she asked her question with the dead seriousness, crashing violently with the high, birdy pitch of her voice.

Ishbal was one, never-ending bloodbath that she will never manage to atone for. Working under Bradley was a constant, day by day struggle, when her body felt like a taunt bow-string, never relaxing, always on alert. During five minutes when she thought Lust had killed Roy she barely felt  alive at all. Promised Day was a nightmare. Her first miscarriage sent her into the very depths of despair. Sitting with Roy in that room and hearing the results of the tests, seeing his face and the light gone from his eyes, she was sure there will be nothing more harder than that. But having lived through it all, Riza realizes has never felt more broken, more helpless and devastated, than now; when she has to gently cradle her youngest daughter’s face in her hands, look her in the eyes and say, without any turn-backs or bullshit excuses:

“Yes.”

*

There are more than a few things that she loves about her life. She loves their house in Central; cozy, bright and without fancy high ceilings and big windows that would put her bodyguard instincts into overdrive. She loves her dogs; their simplicity and loyalty, how they always come over to greet her home, how they appreciate a good scratch between their ears and how they all remind her of dear Hayate somehow. There are days that she even loves Central City, its hustle and bustle, and all the memories – good and bad alike – that she made here.

But above all, she loves her family and each and every person that form it. She suspects she will never stop marveling at the miracle that happened to her at some point; that the lonely, sad little girl growing up as alone as a child can possibly be, ended up surrounded by so many people loving her and caring for her. So many people to say goodbye to.

She considers herself lucky. More than lucky – the luckiest.

It doesn’t think any of this makes is easy. On the contrary -  she thinks it would be easier if she was not so generously gifted by fate. The biggest struggle, as she learns in time, is to not say I’m fine all the time, not repeating it as a foolish parrot round the clock. She respects Roy and girls too much to maim them with this fool’s gold phrase, but it’s so difficult. She finds herself biting on her tongue more often than not, several times a day, until there are scars on the soft tissue that refuse to heal.

Cause she is not fine.

*

Where it hurts most,  asks her Roy one time, desperately, in the dead of the night; his arms around her, holding her upright from behind and his lips on the back of her neck as she sags above the toilet. At this point, she can’t remember how much time has passed since she started vomiting, the room is spinning in front of her eyes and she too bone-deep tired to even try faking anything, and so maybe that’s why she actually answers him.

She slowly wills her arms to raise up, until her hands are up in the air, high enough so he can see.

“This.” She says, voice small and throat scraped raw, but she knows he would understand anyway.

This never-ending shaking, twitching, trembling, as if somebody was electrocuting her limbs all the damn time. Her treacherous hands that used to be so sure and reliable holding a gun, finger concrete-still on the trigger, and which now did not even allow her to braid her daughters’ hair. She misses their sureness and, even more than that, the sign of them simply makes her scared. Everything is more real, more tangible, seeing this tremble.

And then she starts to vomit again, with blood this time, and she doesn’t want to remember anything else from what followed, but she recalls how it ended; the blissful, cool sheets, the wet rag on her forehead. Roy on his knees by the bed, kissing her every finger and knuckle and line on her palms.

*

They go to Dalisay in June, just four of them. The road is longer and harder than Riza hoped it would be, with pain running up and down her spine like an electric current, her hands struggling to turn the pages of the book - but it’s nice anyway, so nice.

She cannot read and is too tired to talk really, so she just sits with legs resting on the opposite sofa and head nested on Roy’s shoulder, listening to Sara’s baby-bird-twitting. Her girl spends the whole journey standing up with her palms pressed to the glass, looking out of the window and asking about everything – what is this station, what is this city, how many hours ahead of us, are these sheep, mommy look, mommy look. And Riza obliges, slowly turning her head in the direction of the outside and nobody has to know that she doesn’t look at the sheep, or horses, or little farms, but she just watches Sara; her eyes gleaming, her cheeks cherry pink, dark hair curling around her face.

Eli has an alchemy book on her lap, opened right at the middle, but it’s more for the show as she’s not reading either. From time to time, she scratches Mochi’s head or pets Koya gently, but most of the time she just stays silent. Riza feels her eyes on her, as her skin tingles from the intensity of this state, with the familiar desperation, love, and longing. How to burn someone’s face in your memory, in your heart? If you stare long enough, can you remember for forever?

So, the only voices in their compartment – a nice one, really, with comfortable sofas and wooden floors and curtains, private, for what she’s more than thankful – are Sara’s questions and Roy’s answers. He knows everything about the landscape outside and Riza wonders how weird it must feel for him, going down this old memory lane with them, taking the same train that he used to take as a little boy and then teenager, but many years later, with his family and his dear, dying wife. She doesn’t know what kind of feelings it must evoke – she was always the one waiting on the train station after all, static and longing.

He tells Sara – this is river Enola, do you know where it starts? This village is called Priam, they have a sunflower festival every summer, yes, we can go see it. Yes, this blue thing is a lake, lake Moore. It’s very big. Like, hm, from your school to the park? No honey, I don’t think whales live there. Dolphins neither. But there are many other fish.

Riza skids closer to him, feeling his arm gently wrapping around her, his fingers rubbing circles on her hip. He must take comfort in knowing at least this, answering at least those questions. For Roy’s action-driven nature it must be torture to drift with her like that, time slipping from in between their fingers like water. But he slows down to stay by her side as long as they have left, wills his blood and heart to match the rhythms of hers. He is no longer her wildfire, but a rock, solemn and still.

Unflinching.

*

Dalisay’s somehow just like in her memory and completely different at once, and it makes her head spin. The streets are busier, livelier – with the opening of new train lines and the discovery of rare elements in the area nearby, her sleepy little village has never been so awake. But the air still smells like honeysuckle and strawberries, the grass is so shockingly green compared to the one in Central.

It’s a new world, altogether. It’s almost like they crossed some barrier and entered a foreign land.

And her daughters explore it eagerly, even Eli losing that worried expression from the train in order to curiously peek around the corners and listen to people talking with a melodic, longish intonation that Riza has abandoned long ago, somewhere between the first and second year of the Academy. Sara basically vibrates with energy as she runs from one stall to another on the farmer’s market, begging Roy for sugared almonds or a pack of mint candies.

As the girls lead the way, the two of them slowly stroll, step by step. Riza holds onto Roy’s arm, but she feels so light that it surprises even herself. The pains more bearable like that. She can almost convince herself that the girls are a little smaller, that they are still a First Family, that it’s just a regular Saturday like thousands before and thousands after. The sun’s so warm and honeysuckle so sweet, and they take a break here and hide in the shade for a second.

“I have dreamed of taking you on that damn market, you know.” – Roy whispers into her ear and she just has to laugh at the irritation at his voice. –“ But I never had enough money or guts to do it.”

“To be honest, I think guts were the bigger issue.” – she waves her hand at the crowd and the stalls. – “ The only thing you could’ve bought me here back then were carrots probably.”

He chuckles lightly, gently sneaking one arm around her waist to stabilize her, as the smooth street turns into a cobblestone path. She wonders briefly if he even notices those small acts of care that he performs or if they are something completely instinctual. Her heart swells at the thought and she turns her head slightly and presses a kiss just below his jawline.

“What was that for?” he asks softly, caressing her cheek with a free hand in return.

“Everything.” She simply states and rests her head on his shoulder as they continue to stroll at snail’s pace, in silence this time. She is sure he understands. They never really needed many words between them anyway.

Bathed in the warm light of the setting sun, they make their way forward.

*

There were snakes in Ishbal. Or, she supposes, there are snakes in Ishbal, since they have proven to be far more resilient than Ishbalans.

Upon entering the front, the first thing higher-ups did, was presenting  her with a pair of military boots and forbidding her to ever take them off. They were monstrous things, made from tough, boiled leather, with an extra protective layer around the ankle; they weighted a ton and made her feet cook inside, turned her skin white, slimy and wrinkly. But she and everyone else would dutifully wear them every day, even in their sleep, mindful of the alternative.

Sand vipers like dark and cool places, just like humans in the desert. They are small and sleek, their bodies fashioned for zig-zaging through the golden dunes and escaping from sunlight. If they bite you, you don’t even feel it at first; you go on with your life, resume your duties. But after two hours or so, you start to shiver violently. Then, in mere minutes,  you lose your balance. Then your sight, your hearing. And then you die, just like that. It takes maybe an hour from the first tremble. You don’t have any time to say goodbye, to write a letter to your loved ones.  You are gone before you can feel yourself slipping away.

More Amestrians died from this goddamn venom than from any Ishabalan resistance, that’s for sure.

Riza’s sickness is kinda like that.

It takes time to unravel, gives her a room to breathe, gives Roy and the girls and even herself some hope against all reason, because how can she die if she still can walk and talk and smile? If she cooked a dinner yesterday and tended to the flowers in the garden in the afternoon?

Yes, she can.

Yes, she does.

One morning, she doesn’t get up.

I still have time to say goodbye, I still have some time, I still do. - she keeps on thinking right until it runs out.

ROY

In the end, after Havoc and Catalina take sobbing Sara away to their flat, it’s only Roy and Eli, alone.  Her, curled on the bed by Riza’s right side. Him, kneeling on the floor next to the bed by Riza’s left side. Each holding her hand.

It’s very late and very quiet, no sound besides Riza’s heavy breathing. She has lost consciousness days ago and ever since then, Roy has been staring into her unseeing eyes and trying to spot just a spark of awareness in them, just a little bit of brightness. It’s all for naught, of course. Her eyes are still brown, but they are no longer hers. He doesn’t know where his wife went to, but she’s not here. He told that Eli a thousand times and more and she would always nod in understanding and then lay back down on the folded sheets and resume tracing gentle circles on Riza’s limp hand.

So he gave up trying to talk her out of staying. Besides, her presence gives him comfort, he cannot deny it; she’s the other set of heartbeat in the room that is not going to go silent any time soon. And she’s the only one who can possibly come close to understanding what he feels, no matter how different was Riza’s role in her life compared to the one in his.

Riza, Riza, Riza. Slipping through their fingers so damn quickly. He keeps on begging for just one more smile from her, just one more word that means anything; not the delirious babbling that she sometimes lets out, not those screams full of fury when they try to move her. She just went under so quickly and violently that it makes his head spin.

‘’Life is no more than a candle burning in the darkness, about to get blown away at any moment.’’ – Eli whispers, breaking the silence.

Roy almost smiles at that. They’ve been playing this game of quotes ever since she was six, but recently, she started to win more than lose. His bright girl.

“I don’t know.’’ – he admits, his eyes trained on Riza’s face. God, she is still so beautiful. Her skin is clammy from sweat, lips half-opened and cheeks hollow and she remains the only woman he has ever had eyes for. – ‘’Who wrote it?’’

‘’Mom said it.’’

Eli’s voice is heavy and, when he takes a look at her, he realizes she’s on the verge of tears.

“She did?’’

‘’Yeah. She also said I should cherish the light as soon as it lasts. But - papa, this is - so hard.’’ – his daughter lowers her head, her hair falling down and obscuring her face from him, but he can still hear her choked sobs. Her shoulders are shaking. She hasn’t called him ‘’papa’ since Sara was born.

She does not deserve this, crosses his mind. Maybe it’s my punishment for all the things I did, but she’s innocent. She’s good. She does not deserve this.

He wonders what he can say to her to make it easier for her and finds himself empty-handed and terrified. So he settles for the only thing he can say.

‘’I know, baby. I know.’’

He holds out his free hand and she takes it. Her grip is strong and sure, and he thinks, once again when did she grow up, when did it happen? Five minutes ago she used to have two long braids and missing front teeth. Ten minutes ago she used to be a sleeping babe by Riza’s breast, cheeks pink and brows constantly furrowed, as if she was pondering about the universe’s biggest questions. And now she’s here, they’re both here, holding hands in a circle and waiting in silence for the candle to burn out.

*

‘’She wanted to say goodbye so badly. We had so much time and wasted it all.’’

‘’We did not waste any time, dad. I don’t think you can ever really say goodbye to someone like that.’’

*

Riza dies before the morning comes, choking on the blood flooding in her lungs and flashing the whites of her eyes in desperate attempt to catch yet another breath. Roy does not cry; instead, he stays solemn and still as a stone, his voice loud and clear, telling her how he remembers when they first met.

“What a life we had, my love. You can go now, rest.”

He can feel his heart beating in his throat.

Eli sobs helplessly, clutching Riza’s hand to her chest.

“I love you mom, I love you, I love you.”

Maybe Eli is right. What more can you say than that? I love you, I will miss you. And Riza already knows all of that, wherever she is.

“You don’t have to be brave anymore, Riza.” - He tells her, every word dipped in honey of years well-lived.

And then there is only silence, uninterrupted, ringing in his ears like a gunshot.

He can swear that his wife last breath was a sigh of relief.

ELIZABETH

Dawn finds Elizabeth curled on the swings in the garden.

She has laid down here after mom died, hours ago; slipped out of the house just when the lights of uncle Jean’s car appeared on the driveway. In part, she wanted to give them all the space to say their goodbyes and didn’t feel like she was needed inside. In another part, she just wanted to be somewhere else for a while.

Nobody told her that death had its own smell.

And nobody told her that her mom’s corpse will still be soft and warm after she passes away. That, if one would not look for it, you could even not notice she wasn’t breathing.

Elizabeth sat on the bed and felt as mom’s hand in hers was growing colder and all she could think of is that it’s still her mom.

And so she fled, her feet wet from the morning dew and sobs still tearing through her body.

She’s not crying now; it feels like she has run out of tears, to be honest.

Somewhere, at the back of her mind, she’s thinking: there are mom’s clothes hanging in the closet. Her shoes put neatly on the shelves by the door. Her favorite mug, the one with chipped rim, on her bedside table. Her favorite perfume, the one in a blue glass bottle,  in the bathroom.

What we’re supposed to do with all of that?

What am I supposed to do, when she’s gone?

Now it’s only her and sunrise, light caressing her face like her mom sometimes used to do, when she was tucking her in.  She closes her eyes and she can almost see that; moonlight coloring mom’s hair silver and her soft, low voice wishing her goodnight. The smell of her shampoo. The quiet rhythm of her steps on the carpet as she was leaving, the sound of the door shutting close because Elizabeth never wanted the ajar.

Mom used to sing to her when she was sick. Soon you’ll get better. Soon it’ll get better.

Elizabeth pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them. Maybe she can pretend it’s not real, if only for now. Maybe she can forget that their time has run out.

Maybe she can just – close her eyes and think about her mom, about her face and her voice.

Ooo-ah, you’ll get better soon.

Despite the morning chill, for a moment, all she feels is warmth.

#royai #royai fanfiction #royai au #royai fic #fma #fma:b fanfiction

[makeste]

Top 10 Favorite Deku Moments

so it’s Deku’s birthday today!! and since he is the best boy in the world and I love him, I am going to do one of those “top ten favorite...” lists for him just like I did for Kacchan back in April. these are going to be in chronological order, and the last two will be spoilers, so I’ll label them to make sure no one gets caught unawares.

happy birthday Deku. and this post turned out to be super long, like 4000 words, so I’m sorry, but you deserve it though.

1. “Most of the top heroes show signs of greatness even as children.”

okay so before I get started, let me just warn y’all upfront that a full four out of ten of these moments will involve Bakugou. I’ve said before that the relationship between Izuku and Katsuki is full stop my favorite part of the series, and this is absolutely still true, so yeah.

that being said, what makes this particular scene one of my favorites isn’t just that it’s an important moment between them (I’ll get into that relationship more two entries down); it also just so happens that this is the crucial moment which everything else in the series can ultimately be traced back to. this is the moment that inspires All Might to hand his power down to a quirkless middle-schooler, because despite being virtually powerless, Izuku proves that he has the heart and soul of a hero. he moves without thinking, without any kind of plan. it’s extraordinarily stupid, and incredibly selfless. it doesn’t matter to him that he has no way to actually fight this villain. it doesn’t matter that less than an hour ago, Bakugou was taunting him and burning his notebook. it doesn’t matter that he could easily be hurt or killed. the only thing that matters is that someone needs help. that’s it. it’s that simple. 

what makes Izuku a hero is that he is literally incapable of standing by and not taking action in moments like this. he acts on reflex to save others. his instinct in moments of danger and despair is to help, in any way he can. that’s the core of his character. and it shines through in this moment, and All Might sees it immediately, and it spurs him to take action, and from here on out everything changes.

2. “He didn’t utilize his full power. He just concentrated it into his fingertip...!”

fast-forward to the first day of superhero school, and our boy finds himself immediately in a tight spot again because his teacher is a stern and unsympathetic asshole whose way of showing consideration for his students is to mercy-expel anyone he deems not up to par. problem is, Izuku can’t actually use his new quirk without blowing himself up from the inside out, and he’s competing against what is probably the most gifted group of students U.A. has ever had. this is what is commonly referred to as “a pickle.” a jam. a quandary, if you will. if he breaks all his bones to pass the test, Aizawa will flunk him anyway. what’s a little green hero to do.

Izuku solves this problem in a typical Izuku fashion, meaning that his solution is somehow reckless, self-sacrificing, and frankly brilliant in its simplicity. rather than break all of his bones, Izuku sacrifices one (1) bone in order to launch a baseball into space, thus proving he can adapt his quirk to be useful without taking himself out and just adding to the problem. it’s worth noting that this is only his second-ever time using One for All, too. the fact that he has never had a quirk in his life up til this point and yet manages to control OFA to this degree on just his second go-around is damn impressive.

but what’s even more impressive is the way he simply outsmarts the test here. he calmly takes in the situation, thinks about the options at his disposal, and arrives at a logical solution that most people wouldn’t even have considered, because it involves intentionally breaking his own finger, which is an absurdly self-destructive thing to do just to pass a damn fitness test. but it works!! and it impresses the shit out of Aizawa too. and I just really love this moment because it’s such a perfect example of Deku both being smart and also just plain not giving a fuck and being the plussest ultra ever omfg.

3. “I can’t say much. But you should know this, at least...!”

so now we come to the second moment on this list involving Kacchan, and already there is a pattern emerging here: namely, that these moments of conflict and then reconciliation between the two of them inevitably end up being some of the most pivotal moments in the series. this particular scene comes on the heels of their battle in All Might’s first hero class, during which Deku soundly defeats Bakugou and makes it clear beyond all doubt that HE IS HERE!! and not going anywhere and Bakugou is just going to have to deal. Bakugou does a very poor job of dealing, however, and spends the rest of the afternoon super-quiet and caught up in his inferiority complex and convinced that Deku has been hiding this from him their whole childhood just to fuck with him.

most people, when put in a similar situation, would be all “fucking serves you right tbh” and just brush it right off. but Izuku doesn’t. or more accurately, I should say that he can’t. once again he acts on pure instinct when Kacchan’s welfare is involved, and this time it results in him blurting out his biggest secret -- a secret he was sworn to by All Might himself -- simply because he can’t stand to see Kacchan so miserable and he can’t bear the thought of him believing that Izuku really had been tricking him.

this is so extraordinary to me for a number of reasons. first and foremost, because Izuku’s altruism knows absolutely no bounds. he and Kacchan are on possibly the worst terms any two people could be on. he has absolutely no obligation to tell him this. but he does, anyway! just to make him feel better! second, there’s the fact that he doesn’t intend to do it, but it just comes blurting out. Izuku’s feelings toward Kacchan are complicated, as we know. and yet whatever the reason may be, Izuku demonstrates again and again that it’s a relationship he wants to hold onto, and he does his best to protect and preserve what little pieces of it he can. 

and lastly, this is now the second example of what will become a well-established theme in the series of Izuku going out of his way to save Katsuki. he does this again and again. he tries to help him after he falls from the log bridge. he rushes to save him from the sludge monster. he tells him about his quirk. he nearly fails their final exam because he goes back for him after All Might knocks him out. he runs into a forest full of villains to try and save him in spite of having two broken arms. he goes to Kamino with Kirishima and the others knowing full well it could get him expelled. and he fights him at night in Ground Beta even though they get into trouble for it later, because he sees how much pain Katsuki is in and he can’t turn his back on him. 

over and over again he puts himself in harm’s way for Katsuki’s sake, fully expecting no gratification to ever come from it, but doing it anyway. because he’s a hero, and because heroes don’t ask whether or not someone deserves to be saved. they just save them. this to me is the most incredible aspect of Izuku’s character. his heart is just that big. he is exceptionally, impossibly selfless and forgiving and good. and that’s just who he is. and Bakugou is lucky enough to be on the receiving end of that, whether he likes it or not, and ultimately over the course of these repeated encounters, he ends up changing for the better himself. and this moment in particular will, eventually, lead to the two of them actually reconciling for realsies when Bakugou finally figures it out and is subsequently inducted into the OFA Scooby Squad of Destiny. so yeah. this scene is so fucking important I can’t even begin. god I really went off on a tangent there. anyways.

4. “And Todoroki... isn’t you!”

so here’s another battle which highlights Izuku’s willingness to go to absurd and horrifying lengths to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. this entire fight is nothing short of ridiculous. Deku is ridiculous. let me break it down for you. Todoroki comes up to Deku before this fight and is all “hey I made a vow to never use my left side in battle because my dad only had me to use me as a tool to defeat All Might and he basically ruined my life.” in response, Deku says he’s aiming to become the strongest hero and so he’ll definitely win. he then proceeds to break his own fingers to blast Todoroki with repeated OFA attacks, all the while screaming at him that everyone is going all out and doing their best, and it’s arrogant and disrespectful of Todo to think he can beat their determination with only half of his power. 

Deku has absolutely zero regard for his own well-being in this fight -- by the end of the battle his bones are in splinters -- and his teachers observe that even if he does win, he won’t be in any kind of shape to move on to the next match. basically, he throws aside all of his own ambitions and even his own sense of self-preservation (if he even has one; it’s honestly debatable at this point you guys), all for the sole purpose of helping Todoroki realize that his power is his own and not his father’s, and to break free of the revenge-tinted tunnel vision keeping him from following his own dreams. the whole thing leaves Todoroki awestruck, and even though Deku eventually loses the fight, he gains a friend for life, and Todo fans everywhere are in his debt. 

real fucked up what he did to his fingers, though. but it just goes to show that nobody is perfect.

5. “I’m here to save you, Iida!”

I freaking love this moment you guys, and I can’t even explain why. except that who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned last-minute shounen save? Iida is seconds away from meeting his death at the hands of the world’s most annoyingly long-winded Ninjas Turtles cosplayer when Deku drops in out of nowhere and just socks the guy square in the jaw. it is satisfying as fuck. honestly that would have been awesome enough, but what makes it even better is that Horikoshi goes into some detail to explain that Deku didn’t just coincidentally happen to find Iida at the exact crucial moment, but actually used his Big Hero Brain to deduce Iida’s location through a series of shrewd observations and insightful hunches. and he turns out to be bang on the money, and that moment where Stain is reeling from the punch and Iida is looking up at him like, “Midoriya?!” and Deku sticks the landing in slow motion and says “Bingo!” in fucking English is just so fucking badass, guys. not to mention that this is also the debut of his Shoot Style on top of everything else. to sum up, this is one of the best entrances in the entire series, and just one of the coolest things Deku has ever done, IMO. you’re cool, Deku.

6. “You clocked me with all of your heart.”

yeah so you may at this point be sensing a pattern with some of these moments. yet again Deku does something stupid and risky because he sees Kacchan in trouble and all logic and reason immediately fly out the window. in this case it’s even more ridiculous, because Katsuki is not actually in any real danger at all, and by going back for him Izuku completely loses sight of what Katsuki got himself all beat up for in the first place. and yet he does it anyway! again! without thinking! like, he makes it maybe two steps away, and then he overhears Kacchan’s teary-eyed overdramatic and determined speech, and he immediately goes “oh fuck this I can’t do this” and turns back and grins maniacally at All Might before soundly punching the shit out of him. it is complete nonsense. there is no reason for it. Katsuki himself is furious when he finds out about it later. but does Deku care?? no, he does not care. and do I? no I do not because it’s the best and I love it.

7. “Let’s do our best, okay?”

this scene is feels city you guys. feels o’clock. zero dark feels. I almost put the “you’re next” scene here instead, but in the end this scene won out because (1) hug!! and (2) this is really the continuation of all of those emotions anyway, and it’s where the catharsis is at.

so let’s break this down since there’s a ton going on here. Deku is wrestling with the grief of knowing that All Might the hero, the Symbol of Peace, is gone forever. the pillar he and the rest of the world relied on to always be there isn’t there, any more. that sense of security is gone. and that’s a hard enough thing to come to grips with on its own, but put it together with the knowledge that he is the one who needs to step up now and fill those shoes, before he ever expected to, before he’s ready, and I can only begin to imagine how overwhelmed he must feel. and then on top of that!! All Might tells him he’s proud of him and relieved that he made it out of Kamino unharmed! and he tells him that he’s going to be there for him and that they’ll face the challenges up ahead together.

so for poor Deku, when you put that all together, we’ve got (a) that sense of loss, (b) fear and anxiety over the unknown difficulties to come, (c) various imposter syndrome feelings that he might not be good enough to handle it, (d) whatever misplaced guilt he may be dealing with for being one of the reasons All Might lost his power, however inevitable it might have been, and last but not least, (e) the deeply profound and humbling feeling of being loved and supported by the man he loves like a father, and knowing that no matter how scary things get, he won’t have to do this alone. so in spite of everything else, there’s that sense of relief and gratitude there too. he can do this. it will be okay. his dad is there.

all of that emotion, packed in one tearful hug. no wonder the kid is crying his eyes out. I would be too. in fact I did, and have no shame in doing so, and I would do it again. good job Horikoshi.

8. “This fight may very well have been a meaningless one... but...”

motherfucker did I not warn you there would be four different BakuDeku moments in this?? and that’s with me reining myself in too to be quite frank. that’s just how it is. it’s my list!! 

anyway, so I’m not sure whether or not an entire fight counts as a “moment”, but I’m putting it out there anyway because I’m incapable of narrowing this down any more than that. I could have an entire separate list of Top Ten Deku VS Kacchan Part 2 Moments and I’m sure I would still wind up leaving something out. I love all of it. the whole damn thing. it’s such a huge turning point for them both. they finally sort everything out. truth bombs being hurled left and right. it’s so good. agh.

but here are some of Deku’s highlights: (1) immediately shifting from trying to talk Kacchan down to fighting him outright with no hesitation once he realizes what the fight is actually about, (2) despite knowing how Kacchan feels, allowing himself to be just a bit selfish for once and get caught up in his own rival feels and trying to prove his worth as All Might’s successor, (3) complimenting Kacchan in the middle of the fight because of course he does, (4) openly admitting how much he admired Kacchan growing up and that he thought he was amazing, (5) getting so worked up that he loses control for a moment and jumps to 8% in one of the most badass moments of the whole series, (6) acknowledging to himself that even though he really shouldn’t, he kinda digs Kacchan’s rougher “I’LL KILL YOU, ASSHOLE” side anyway and emulates it without thinking when he forgets himself and that Kacchan is his image of victory, and lastly, (7) being a sneaky bastard and throwing a punch in with his shoot style knowing full well it will catch Kacchan off guard, which it fucking does.

Deku goes hog wild in this fight. he has a grand old time and even manages to achieve a new power-up, because he and Kacchan always do manage to bring out the best in each other, when they’re not bringing out the worst. you can’t watch this fight and fail to notice how insanely fired up Deku is compared to his usual fights. he is into it. he is ready and willing to throw down. he is here to kick ass and take names!! this is the impact Kacchan has on him. thirty fucking seconds into his therapy fight and Deku's maximum power output has increased by a whopping 60%. holy shit. mad lads.

it’s something not lost on All Might, who wraps things up by patiently explaining to the two of them how much they can learn from each other. and the whole thing concludes with the two of them becoming, as All Might puts it, “proper rivals.” that’s right, their rivalry is now officially approved and sanctioned by the motherfucking Symbol of Peace. well done, boys. these two are going to be absolutely terrifying when they grow up.

***SPOILERS FOR THE MANGA PAST THIS POINT***

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9. “...But you were there.”

okay so I have this indecisive kind of thing going on with whether or not I think All Might is actually going to die, and whether or not I want to see it happen. some weeks, like this particular week, I am on the side of BITCH DON’T YOU DARE because everything is goddamn sad enough as it is, Horikoshi, and I don’t need any more reasons to lie awake at night crying over fictional characters! but then there are other days when I think about how devastatingly, breathtakingly heartbreaking it would be, and for some reason I think, shit, yeah, he’s gotta do it. go ahead and hurt us good. make us feel things. leave no survivors. just fucking wreck our shit, go on ahead.

but then I read this scene again and think, there’s something so incredibly powerful about the fact that All Might started out the series believing he was going to die and being resigned to that fate and making preparations for it, only to be completely blindsided by the love he has for this boy and what that ends up doing to him. his love for Izuku gives him the strength to fight against fate. it gives him the resolve to look the grim reaper in the eye and say “to hell with this, I’m going to live.” it’s his reason to keep going. it’s his purpose. and god but that’s some powerful shit. characters saying “fuck you” to destiny? I am weak as hell for that, hell yes give me more. give me all of that.

and then Deku in this scene. pleading with All Might to keep living. “you have to live to see that moment, when I can tell the world, ‘I am here!’” promising him that no matter what happens, when the time comes, they’ll bend fate together. “without fail.” and just, holy fuck. when he says it, you really believe they can do it. because if anyone can figure out a way to conquer the inevitable, it’s this kid.

10. “Senpai... if I said that I would give you my quirk, would you...?”

last but not least, today just happens to be Mirio’s birthday as well, so it only seems fitting to end with this moment, which in the span of a single page neatly sums up why both of these kids are worthy beyond a doubt of being the next Symbol of Peace. Deku selflessly tries to offer Mirio his quirk, and Mirio instantly rejects him. doesn’t even know what’s going on, really, but just rejects the offer out of hand. “no thanks. then you would be the one subjected to this hardship.” and we can’t very well fucking have that, now can we. nope. not on Mirio’s watch. never mind that he just lost his quirk and his mentor within the span of the past twenty four hours. he wastes no time in coming to Deku’s aid in spite of that, assuring him that he did great and that everything will be just fine. so just smile already!!

but the fact that Deku was even willing to make the offer just once again goes to show how astonishingly good he is. he knows better than anyone what it’s like to be quirkless and powerless. he knows exactly what Mirio is going through. what’s more, Mirio is absolutely right that Deku did fucking amazing and totally saved the day and without him they would have all been screwed! but all Deku can see in this moment is how deserving Mirio is, and so he decides that in order to help him, he’s prepared to make what for him is the ultimate sacrifice. the power that All Might gave him. his dream of becoming the greatest hero. everything he’s worked for up to this point. he’s prepared to throw all of that away if Mirio just says the word. there truly isn’t a selfish bone in this kid’s body.

but Mirio says no. because Mirio is also selfless. in conclusion we had just better hope the two of them never wind up reaching a door together at the same time, because the ensuing battle of who holds it open for whom could singlehandedly bring this series to a dead halt. the ultimate stalemate. they are too good and we don’t deserve them.

so anyways, that’s it! happy birthday kid. and here’s one more for the road.

11. “Dear Midoriya...”

a story in three acts. character development. growth. god bless.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #all might #bakudeku #bnha meta #character rant #essay #makeste reads bnha #bakugou's birthday post was only 2800 words #I don't know if I'm getting more long-winded or if it's just that I rant about bakugou more often in general #and deku not as much #so I ended up having more to say #that could well be it #anyways this should tide me over for a nice long while now lol #deku meta #bnha top ten #bnha ranking

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

The Secret Life of Pets 2

This is gonna be short and sweet, just like I would prefer this movie to be. I know *I’m* the weirdo because I go see all these kids’ movies when I have no kids, hang around no kids, and have less than no interest in kid things. so is it really my fault if a kids’ movie doesn’t grab me? No. BUT, I think we can all agree, there’s a sliding scale that exists from Pixar’s best to The Emoji Movie, and it makes a big difference which end of the scale you end up on. So where does The Secret Life of Pets 2 end up on this scale? Well...

Somewhere below Cars 3 and above your lesser Land Before Times probably. I wanted to like it, I really did - it features Patton Oswalt, my literal comedy hero, as main character Max (replacing Louis CK from the first film, and good riddance) plus a great supporting cast including Harrison Ford(!), Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, and Eric Stonestreet. But a lot of it feels kinda...soulless? The overall feel is the kind of easy-to-swallow sugary sweetness of a Saturday morning cartoon paired with a bowl of Lucky Charms. There’s nothing WRONG with it, for sure! But I was hoping for something a little more emotionally resonant and what I got was a barely related A, B, and C plot that felt disjointed and evaporated as quickly as your hearts, stars, clovers, horseshoes, and blue moons. 

Like the first movie (which I admit I haven’t seen), this one follows the adventures of Max and the various pets that live in his high rise in NYC, including rabbit Snowball (Kevin Hart), floofy pomeranian Gidget (Jenny Slate), and aloof cat Chloe (Lake Bell). Max is super anxious because of all these new changes in his life - his humans have a kid now and he wants to protect him from EVERYTHING, which is stressful for a little guy! But when he heads out to the country for a family vacation, he meets tough dog Rooster (Harrison Ford) who teaches him a little something about getting in touch with his wild side. Other, completely separate and unrelated things are also happening with Snowball and Chloe + Gidget, but they are pretty lackluster tbh.

Some thoughts:

Right away I’m gonna say it, I feel very superior simply based on the way this film presents cats vs. dogs. Like maybe it’s because cats are just not really my jam, but this film does NOTHING to promote positive cat propaganda. These cats are horrifying nightmares.

While I don’t love the animated character design for everyone, I do have to confess, I find Max’s design so unbelievably charming and cute.

Of the supporting cast, Jenny Slate is by far my favorite, taking what could be a twee, ridiculous part and infusing it with a lot of warmth and humor.

Who leaves their windows open all day in Manhattan?? When they’re NOT HOME?? Is that a thing? That can’t be a thing. 

Also what building are these people living in that they can all afford to 1) live in an apartment by themselves and 2) own a car in the middle of Manhattan? I know rent control is a thing but I am side-eyeing hard here.

As in all underwhelming movies, there is one moment that made me laugh upsettingly hard, because even in the darkest places you can find gems. The noise that the turkey on the farm makes, which is CLEARLY just a person making a fake turkey noise, was so face-splittingly funny to me, I’m still not over it.

The one really great aspect of the film is everything about the Max and Rooster interactions. Harrison Ford is pitch perfect as the gruff, begrudging mentor figure for an overwhelmed and anxious Patton Oswalt. Ford’s lines are by far the funniest in his deadpan grandpa voice, and Oswalt’s vibrating energy playing off that is a delight. Plus, this plot thread is the only one that is focused on a character actually growing and changing, so there are some actual emotional depths to plumb here. Basically I loved this A-plot and wish that it had been the focus of the entire movie. You could have easily done a full fish-out-of-water city dog in the scary countryside thing for 90 minutes and had the growth and change occur a little slower. 

There’s an entire subplot with a tiger that makes not a lick of sense, wastes a very game Nick Kroll who’s trying to inject some amount of liveliness into the proceedings, and barely even delivers on a resolution. It feels very “we’re running out of ideas in the 11th season of a CBS sitcom.”

There is a series of dog and kid videos in the end credits of the film, taken from Youtube presumably, and they are funnier and more charming than at least half the movie. That’s not a great sign. 

Did I Cry? Yeah, no.

Even for pet lovers like myself this was pretty disappointing. I’d watch the 30-minute version of just Max and Rooster’s scenes on repeat every Christmas, but other than that, you’re probably safe to give this one a pass.

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

#119in2019 #the secret life of pets 2 #tslop2 #secret life of pets 2 #animation #patton oswalt #harrison ford #kevin hart #tiffany haddish #jenny slate #movie reviews #film reviews #animated movies

[simonjadis]

I've always felt divided on shaming others for shipping "problematic ships." Don't get me wrong. I get the icky implications of Reylo but at the same time, well, I don't want to be that "No Fun Allowed" guy to teens and young adults who are just chilling. Sure, plenty of those shippers can be problematic (see how Finn is villainized unlike Kylo) but they don't speak for everyone.

That is super fair!

To be honest, I don’t really see Reylo as falling under the major “problematic” umbrellas. Imo, most Reylo shippers are thirsting after one or both parties, which is fine. My Star Wars OTP is Sheev/Vader. I don’t ship Reylo but it’s not a NOTP for me by any means. (I find Kylo and Snek disappointing as characters and as the only Dark Side representation in the series, but Kylo has nice hair and nicer tatas)

I remember seeing arguments after TFA came out where people equated Kylo’s (attempted!) mind-reading to sexual assault or to abuse. While it’s very fair to not want to ship someone with their abuser, I think that an enemy from the opposing faction is a very different concept, and that fantasy violence between enemies should not be misconstrued (remember the hubub about Mystique vs Apocalypse in 2016? That kind of sentiment is what made female superheroes relegated to having long-range energy powers and then passing out for decades. Let’s not go back to that).

I absolutely agree that it’s horrifying to see Finn, who has literally done nothing wrong, be villainized. It’s always a mistake to pretend that a rival ship is awful so that you can feel more secure about your own, but it’s extra bad when it’s the series’ first leading black character. That said, from my perception, I don’t think that those condemning Finn represent the majority of Reylos.

More generally, I think that what someone ships, in their imagination, only rarely reflects who they are as a person or their real-life values. It’s pretend.

While we’re right to judge books, films, shows, and games on things like representation, those pieces of media are not the same as fanfic, let alone smutfic. Fanworks are distinct in multiple ways.

Gonna get into this: cw for a reference to incest

For example, when Supernatural first launched, I watched the pilot live in 2005 (I am 1000 years old) and immediately shipped the only two actual characters, who both happened to be hot guys: Sam and Dean.

(Note: I don’t actually ship them anymore, but tbh I haven’t watched the show since Season 8 and even before that, I had grown to despise them both – one of the perils of writing a very long-running show with lots of personal drama is that characters do things that cannot be forgiven by some viewers. But that’s irrelevant.)

Only later would I learn that they were largely inspired and even named after Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, two bisexual main characters from On The Road who were lovers, and who were based upon real men who were also lovers. (Which goes into part of why Supernatural is fucked up – notably, Castiel was also inspired by Constantine; another case of a straight character based upon a bi character, and that’s without getting into the issues with race, gender, and worldbuilding)

At that point, fandom culture (in my experience at the time) only treated incest as a squick – something that some people personally disliked, as one might be turned off by mpreg or watersports, etc.

Why wasn’t it a squick for me? Who knows tbh. I have zero brothers and I’m gay, so I never had to develop a feeling of aversion like that.That’s my best guess. I didn’t exactly fetishize those ships, but if there were only two hot dudes in a story, I didn’t think anything of it.

(Note: I think that incest ships may be specifically appealing to some fans because the bond between the characters is already secure? A similar appeal to the “found family” trope but the opposite thing. That’s just a theory)

However, upon coming to Tumblr, once I got over my culture shock of seeing people treat imaginary pairings as not squicks but moral indictments, I did come to understand where a lot of people are coming from with this!

For some people, it’s not just a personal squick, it’s an extra-strong aversion because they’re leery of incest being fetishized (for example, most real-life twins do not find twincest jokes funny!). More often, it’s people who were abused in real-world incest and cannot fathom why it would be someone’s kink or even factor into someone’s ship.

The solution to any sort of ship that’s going to remind someone of the worst moments of their lives is to do what I did in bold, above: use a content warning. If your fic contains sex abuse or incest or whatever, please tag your work. The same is true with fanart. If you want to share your other media with friends or the fandom at large but worry that your kinks may be off-putting, literally just make a second art/writing account or a separate blog to share those.

Don’t deliberately take people bag to the worst moments of their lives.

HOWEVER

We’ve seen a lot of people write about how they don’t want to see fandom treated like Catholicism (or, alternatively, as Protestantism; the word that they’re looking for is orthodoxy).

People have every right to ship whatever vile things they like. That goes for things that personally horrify or squick me. All that they need to do is be respectful in public spaces and to upload their work/commentary in the appropriate places with the appropriate tags, warnings, and readmores.

I think that people who don’t feel especially powerful or in control in life are the ones who get the biggest kick out of things like gatekeeping, exclusionist rhetoric, and being fandom police. Others are simply well-intentioned but became carried away. Not all antis are bad people, but it’s not a healthy thing about which to frame your personality and your online brand.

Your personal dislike of something doesn’t make you a morally superior person. As someone who hates mushrooms, I know that it’s tempting to believe otherwise, but it’s true.

And wielding social justice language as a cudgel, especially one that just happens to validate your opinions on a piece of fiction, is disingenuous and harmful in so many ways.

Ships (or kinks, etc) don’t equate to someone’s real-life values.

(Side note: anyone else notice that people who wouldn’t bat an eye at someone writing Age-Appropriate Wolf fanfic, when the characters are highschoolers but played by adults, are quick to condemn people who ship cartoon teens together, even though those teens are literally ink on paper and are absolutely voiced by and drawn like adults? I’m not sure what that’s all about, but it needs to stop. It’s literally just pretend!)

(Other side note: I understand that a lot of people are uncomfortable with shipping real people, even though said shipping has been a part of culture for millennia. My thoughts on that is: literally just act like an adult about it! Don’t tweet them fic or fanart, and don’t show it to them at conventions or whatever. The same thing goes for actors who play fictional characters. Talk show hosts should also maybe stop showing fanart for shock value but that’s a whole other conversation)

If you’ve gotten carried away with fandom-policing or something else, hey, that’s part of being a person. I’ve done it too! What matters is to be a better person. Making mistakes and becoming a better person are part of what it means to exist.

#anon ask #fandom #shipping #I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS #my post #anon #ask

[calliecat93]

RWBY V6 CH6 Review: Alone in the Woods

Have you ever felt terrified of an episode? Well, that’s a silly question! We’re watching RWBY! Of course we have! But man this may be the most worried about what’s going to happen that I’ve been for a long while. I could say that about the whole volume so far tbf, but MAN have been concerned. So after the outright uncomfortable atmosphere that the last episode presented, what does this one have in store for us? Lets find out.

Overview

Night has come, and our heroes aren't doing great. WBY looks outright ready to pass out as they sit infront of the fire as Ruby checks in on Qrow, whose mood is no better. The good news is that the storm is clearing up and all should be clear by morning. Ruby however is more concerned about if Qrow is doing okay, especially since she sees that he's found a bottle of alcohol. But Qrow shrugs it off, telling her to get everyone to sleep and that he'll wake them up in the morning. During this, Maria is reading the owners journals and as with all the other places, the Brunswick Farm owners were people trying to make a life for themselves, but they didn't make it. Everyone goes to bed... well except Maria who refuses to follow Qrow's orders. Maria is such a blessing.

Morning soon arrives, Ruby being awakened when she hears a bottle that Qrow had shatter. She realizes that they overslept and goes to get up her uncle... who now has a couple more bottles than eh previously had. She isn't happy about this. She looks outright... frustrated tbh. She can't shake him awake so, clearly mad, she simply tosses a bottle at the wall and that wakes Qrow up. It's... an interesting reaction. IDK any alcoholics or had family or friends who became alcoholics, an Thank God for it. But this felt... real. Lie this is how it is when someone you care about is too deep in their alcoholism. Ruby's clearly seen this before, as V5 also hinted. Only this time instead of being annoyed,s he's frustrated and tired of it. But as Qrow comes to, she calms down and hugs him, telling him that he can talk to her or Yang if anything is wrong. Qrow again just brushes it off, wanting to get out of the place. It's such a small, but impactful scene that really amps up the concern for Qrow.

The group gets ready to connect the wagon (I know there's a name for those things but I can't thin of it) to Yang's bike and get out, though all of them are clearly tired. It's not made any better when Qrow's bad luck hits and causes a flat tire. This seems to be the last straw for him as he goes off in a huff. Ruby seems to be the only one not delirious aside form Maria, saying that they can find a spare. But Yang isn't keen on it, pointing out their bad luck. Crashes, storms, monsters, it just looks like something doesn't want them to get to Atlas. It feels like no matter what, they always have to fight in order to pull through. When Ruby says that this is what they signed up for, Oscar makes a very strong point. They signed up to save the world, not to delay the inevitable.

Weiss brings back up the point that she brought up last time, why are they even going to Atlas? Ruby is again shocked that this is even a consideration, but Yang and Blake agree. The Relics may be in vaults currently, so why not just leave the lamp where they are? It could take her who knows how long ti find it if they just drop it down the well. I'd argue that since the Grimm re attracted to them, it wouldn't be too long, but then again she hasn't found the Beacon Relic, so... and even then,t hat's not the point. It's pretty clear that all that the others want to do is just give up on this whole thing and be done with it. Their eyes are lifeless. Their talk is in complete monotone. They look outright lifeless as they tell Ruby to just drop the Relic, all of them tired...

Throughout this, Ruby just looks outright horrified at what she's hearing... but soon she starts to think about this. She walks towards the well, also admitting that she herself is also tired. She takes off the Relic, holding it above the well with trembling hands. Her eyes too look lifeless and her expression emotionless... before she lets out a sigh. She slowly pulls back her hand, seeming to decide that no matter how tired she is, she can't just abandon the Relic until it's safe in Atlas. Unfortunately, she gets startled by a pair of glowing red eyes and that is enough to snap her out of her tired state... but also drop the Relic. She panics, even as the others say that it's fine and that her exhaustion is making her see things. Qrow starts to have Oscar work to fix the tire, but Ruby finally realizes that something is wrong and puts her foot down. She angrily refuses to go anywhere without the Relic. The girls, while still emotionless, agree to go down with her as Qrow angrily goes back into the house, ordering Oscar to fix the tire.

As the girls go through the caverns below, Maria continues to read through the journals. As she reads on, there is clear tension as the girls turn off their Scroll lights to find the lamp glow. Ruby outright even gets Crescent Rose out. SH finally finds the glow of the lamp and runs to grab it... as Maria stumbles upon a page titled The Apathy. One that clearly startles her. Why? Well when Ruby gets the Relic, she also finds the source of the glowing eyes... a horde of Grimm. But not like an that we've seen before. These look humanoid, kinda like the rider part of the Nuckalavee, and... it is creepy. Really, REALLY creepy. Ruby screams as she runs out, which snaps the other three out of their trances. Thy get ready to fight... but their weapons suddenly feel heavy and they once again start feeling tired.

Maria appears, telling them that they have to run. They do so, The Apathy giving chase. They are slow, heck it feels a LOT like a zombie horde. Considering their skeleton-like designs, I imagine that it was intentional. It doesn't help that throughout, all the girls keep feeling the same exhausted feeling. They finally make it into the same cellar that was locked before, but the feeling finally get the better of them. Only Ruby and Maria seem to have any kind of will left and worst, Blake is the farthest back and seems to resign herself to being killed as the Grimm close in. Ruby tries to crawl over to her, and the scene is just... creepy. In her state, Blake already looks lie she's dead. Motionless, wide but empty eyed, her weapon discarded as the horde start to close in on her. Poor Ruby can't get over to her and the others are in no state to help, so all that she can do is scream out Blake's name... and that is enough to activate her eyes for a brief moment. It kills a couple of the Grimm and again breaks everyone out of their daze. Ruby gets Blake and all that they have to do now is get out.

Unfortunately if you recall, the cellar is locked. Yang gets ready to go and break it open... but The Apathy still has plenty of numbers as they again cast their spell. Everyone but Maria goes down, Yang outright panicking ad she screams no while just steps away from the door. But Maria seems to realize something as she crawls over to Ruby. She asks her what her eye color is, to which Ruby replies silver. This makes Maria outright happy as she asks Ruby if she has a family and loved ones. Why? She tells her to focus on the way that they make her feel To focus those feelings as she speaks of how life is a beautiful thing. How life is precious. And how it must be protected. With all of that in mind, Ruby regains her resolve, her eyes flashing. She gets back up and this time, without and provicaiton from trauma or fear, unleashes her Silver Eyes power.

The eyes kill the Grimm, allowing everyone to regain their will. Yang breaks open the door and they all find themselves in the bar where Qrow unsurprisingly is. He's clearly drunken himself into a stupor however, grouchy and seeming detached form everything going on. The objective now is to get out of there as Maria, Yang, ad Blake run outside to where Oscar has fixed the tire. But Weiss isn't ready to go yet. She grabs several alcohol bottles and shatter them at the cellar door. The Apathy start to emerge... and Weiss sets everything ablaze. She and Ruby drag Qrow out, who argues and fights back... until he finally sees the burning Grimm. He's shocked into silence seeming to realize how badly he let himself go, as everyone loads up. Yang drives them all away form the Farm, which continues to burn...

Maria reveals what caused the farms downfall. They came upon financial hardships so hoping to save costs on hiring a Huntsman, the owner went and captured two of The Apathy. He locked them into the cellar, hoping that their influence would keep everyone calm and therefore the negative emotions wouldn't draw any further Grimm in. No Grimm, no Huntsmen needed. But unfortunately, the rest of the horde seeked out their own and their presence soon sucked out all of the residents wills to live. Maria just seems sad as she realizes all of this, throwing the book into the snow. Weiss and Yang apologize for how they acted, resolving to not give up until the Relic is safe in Atlas. Maria feels guilty for not realizing what was happening sooner having never seen a settlement die like Brunswick did.

Ruby however has her own questions. She realizes that Maria knows quite a lot about the Grimm an asks how. But that's not all. She remembers how Maria knew exactly what to do in order to get Ruby to release her eyes power. That's right guys, Ruby is finally asking about the Silver Eyes. She ass how Maria knew about this. Maria answers her question, and he gives the answer that we had all been waiting for since this volume began. Yes my friends, our assumptions have finally been confirmed. Maria was indeed a Silver Eyed Warrior.

Review

Damn man, just... DAMN. Okay, we have quite a bit to talk about. So lets keep the scary part out of the way, and then we'll get to the part I REALLY want to talk about.

This episode didn't go the route that I was expecting. I thought that it was going to be some kind of dream Grimm or a Headless Horseman Grimm. I did NOT expect Zombie Horde Grimm. I also thought that this would be some kind of nightmare episode, but nope! And I'm not complaining, in hindsight that would require a LOOOT of time. Having the cast give into apathy and slowly lose their resolve to continue the fight And even the will to live? That is more horrifying then any nightmare could be, especially since none of them even seed aware of it until Ruby snapped out of it. The Apathy may very well be the most terrifying Grimm in the show, They aren't as vicious as say a Beowulf or Ursa, or even as powerful. But they kill you by simply draining your will power, and as this episode demonstrated, that is more lethal than any Grimm attack so far could ever be.

Because of the apathy, the darkest thoughts of the cast really come out. Qrow becomes more drunk than usual and as I already said, it's pretty uncomfortable and realistic. Especially at the end where he's just full out angry and detached, getting angry at Weiss when she breaks the bottles. The look of horror on his face when he finally sees the Grimm and realizes just how badly he let himself slip is... it's shocking. Yang wants to outright quit after all their bad luck and the recent revelations. Weiss gets the idea in everyone's heads after thinking about it last chapter, and this time doesn't snap out of it. Oscar points out that all that they are doing is delaying their inevitable demise since Salem can't die. Everyone is questioning why they should continue the fight at this rate. Even Ruby even if just briefly, gives in and nearly discards the Relic, showing that even she has her limits.

The entire episode is very creepy and outright depressing. The girls emotionless eyes did NOT help. There was no life int hem, or even in their voices. There was just... nothing. They all almost died because of the Grimm making them not care anymore. And all of this happened because one guy wanted to save money. IDK if he did it out of desperation, greed or both but because of it, everyone died. It's a pitiful situation regardless of the motive. I felt like Maria did, just exasperated. It really further demonstrates how hopeless it seems to be for those outside the Kingdoms. Like what we saw with the girls? Imagine that with a small group of people. Imagine that with a whole city. It's a terrifying. Apathy can be a very dangerous thing, for both those who receive it and those who feel it. IDK if I can ever watch RvB, a show that has tons of it, the same way again... God probably none of them would survive The Apathy... well maybe Caboose would. Grif would be a goner though, although maybe already being apathetic would make him immune or... and I'm getting off track XD Sorry!

So yeah creepy as Hell. The atmosphere and acing were just right. It still had some light moments, like Maria refusing to go to bed and both Blake and Oscar being too tired to make food despite wanting it. That is such a mood. But overall the atmosphere was an uncomfortable as last week, only with plenty of fear for our heroes lives sprinkled in. Very, very well done.

But lets get to the real star of this episode: Ruby. In the past, I expressed how I felt that she got the shaft VERY badly in V5. Clearly, CRWBY is fixing that. Throughout these past six chapters, Ruby has been such an amazing character. Still optimistic and good-intention but she's showing much more of her development and growth. She's stepped up as a leader and is keeping alert. She's questioning things and thinking for herself, but still doing her best to take care of her team. She's frustrated at Qrow and upset about the revelations about Ozpin, but she's not letting them control her. She's outright trying her best to get Qrow to open up infact. She's the only one who gave a damn about Oscar and tried to comfort him, even if Qrow shot her efforts down. And in this episode? Despite The Apathy's effects on her, she refuses to give up. Even as she holds the Relic over the well, her hands are trembling in doubt. She was pulling it away from the well, deciding to keep fighting and go to Atlas because it is the right thing to do. But she also put her foot down, showing frustration with Qrow and REFUSING to leave without the Relic despite everyone around her not caring.

Then we have the climax. First, her attempt to save Blake. Weiss and Yang seem to just give up and even Blake resigns herself to death. But Ruby, despite being weighed down, still tries her damnest to save her teammate. And then when she herself is finally brought down, Maria is able to give her the exact encouragement that she needed. Maria got her to think about the happiness and love that her family and friends give her. That life is a precious, beautiful thing. She signed up for this to save lives and make the world better in any way that she can. That is what motivates her. That is why she is where she is. And it is what gave her the strength to break free and use her powers of her own will. And finally at the end, she FINALLY asks about the eyes. Sure it's not to Ozpin, but it IS to someone who clearly knows and can give her at least some kind of answer.

Maria s exactly the kind of character that Ruby NEEDS to help her along. Maria is a sassy old lady, but also wise, knowledgeable, and also seems to care about saving other lives. She seemed just sad when reading about what happened to the farm. Infact that was where her focus was, finding out what happened that cost so many their lives. It seems like, to me, the Silver Eye powers are fulled by the desire to protect and live. It is fulled by positive emotions, which make sense since the Grimm are fueled by negative emotion. It's hwy Maria got on the girls in Chapter  for spewing negativity, It's why she's been so far overall very positive, even though clearly SOMETHING happened that cost her her eyes. She is the wise, but kindly person that Ruby currently needs. Ozpin's shadiness and current broken state can't do that right now. Maria is such a welcome addition to the cast, and so far her inclusion has been so good and looks to be leading to even greater things. I frekain' love her.

Going back to Ruby though.. this is what I have been wanting form her since Volume 3. It feels like the multiple timelines and other characters needing the focus is why Ruby got shafted so badly. There was clearly so much going on that something had to be put on pause, and Ruby ended up being the one to get it. This has everything that I have been wanting to see from her. Her growth as a leader, her encouraging nature in spite of all the bad luck, her questioning things and showing some semblance of frustration and anger, her learning about the Silver Eyes. This is the Ruby Rose that I have been waiting for. I've been incredibly patient with CRWBY getting to this, and it is FINALLY paying off. You guys have no idea how happy I was when Ruby willingly used the eyes. How she refused to give up despite everything and everyone around her trying to provoke her. How she is still resolved to do good no matter what. I'm still hoping for her to open up more about her more negative feelings and have a breakdown so that she can move forward, but right now? This is very much the right direction for her, and I could not be happier about my favorite character right now.

Final Thoughts

This volume continues to give. This chapter was creepy and unsettling, but also tense and impactful. It had an awesome if horrifying Grimm concept that is going to haunt my nightmares. It had one Hell of an end and let us see the true dark feelings of most of the characters. It did wonders for Maria as well. Ut this chapter was especially great because of Ruby. She is truly showing the inspiring figure that she is meant to be as she continues to step up as a leader and try to do what's right. I feel like the missteps with her in V5 have now been amended, and hopefully we'll see things continue to go uphill as we reach the halfway mark. Awesome chapter and I loved every single second of it! Well done CRWBY!

#rwby #rwby6 #rwby reviews #callie reviews

[afellowgoodsir]

The Strangers (2008) Explanation/Opinions

Okay so completely ignoring the sequel to this (The Strangers: Prey at Night) which was kinda trash tbh ((but that’s a conversation for another day)), this movie was amazing. This is my take on the movie, most of this is just my personal beliefs and obviously SPOILERS!!!

SO LISTEN

A lot of people think that the killers were being illogical throughout the whole movie, which at first glance is perfectly reasonable, on multiple occasions one of them will reveal themselves to Kristen or James and then allow them to get away without attempting to kill them. Well, let’s be perfectly clear here that their main goal was never just to kill the couple. More than anything, it’s incredibly apparent that the strangers wanted to scare them. They wanted to make them as terrified and desperate as they possibly could before they ultimately killed them. That’s why the strangers prolonged killing the couple for as long as they did. 

Another thing that comes up a lot is moments like in this scene:

At no point in this scene did Kristen ever see the masked man standing behind her, and it was clearly not his goal at that time for her to know that he was in the house. So....why bother going inside and watching her at all? Control. If not fear, the strangers were all about control. During the entire movie, Kristen and James’s lives were in their hands constantly,  whether they knew it or not. They always had the choice to kill them, or to let them live just a little bit longer. That’s a power that Kristen and James never had and never could have, no matter how much they wanted to. And the strangers knew that. They thrived on the idea that they could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and there would be no one around to stop them. It was all about control over the situation.

But then, you may be wondering, if they liked control so much, then why take so many risks? Why remove their masks and show Kristen and James their faces, only to let Kristen live later on? Why create witnesses by stopping and talking with the Mormons? Simply put, the thrill of not being caught. Let’s face it, this was not the strangers first time doing this. They knew what they were doing, they knew that no matter how many risks they took, how many close calls there were, they wouldn’t get caught. Kristen, despite being alive at the end of the movie, was on a timer, and they knew it. It didn’t matter that the masked-man had left her there in the hallway alive, because he knew that there was no chance of her living to get to a hospital under any circumstances, let alone be able to describe the events of the night to police. Which is another form of control if you think about it, they had control over the fact that she’d live, even if it was just for a bit, they had control over the misplaced hope that she would get out of that situation alive and tell help to catch the people who murdered her lover. And the Mormons were just children. They were children who would only maybe be able to identify a few features of the random woman who’d asked them for a pamphlet, or the make and model of the truck she was in. They would be no more help to catching the strangers than Kristen would. 

Another thing people get confused about a lot is in the first scene featuring one of the strangers, where Doll face (the blonde one) knocks on the door not wearing her mask. She asks “Is Tamara here?” James tells her she has the wrong house, she asks if he’s sure, and then she leaves quickly. Later on when Kristen is home alone she knocks again asking “Is Tamara home?” I’ve heard several theories of people believing that she did this as a scare tactic. Unlike most of the things the strangers do in the movie, i don’t think that this was driven mainly by the intent to scare the couple. Instead, i think that she was simply seeing if anybody was home in the simplest way possible. This can be backed up by a line that she says near the end of the film: 

It was a bit confusing to me at first, why she bothered knocking twice, but now i think that it’s because James had left only a little bit earlier to go buy some more cigarettes for Kristen. It’s possible that they were unsure whether or not Kristen was still in the house, so Doll face knocked and asked about Tamara again, and when Kristen answered she once again asked “Are you sure?” and then could be heard running off. I do however believe that her asking if she was sure was more so to creep Kristen out, which she seemed successful in. It’s also possible that she was using this time as a distraction so that one of the other strangers could get inside the house while Kristen’s attention was diverted. 

Okay now that I've gotten past the ever so confusing ideology of the strangers, i’m going to talk about the brilliance in the directing. The director, Bryan Bertino, did an excellent job in conveying the idea that Kristen and James were completely isolated from the rest of the world. As James states at one point, “Since we've been here, I haven't heard a dog bark...or a car pass. Nothing. Just us and them.” On top of this, Bertino’s ability to use silence in his favor is outstanding. I think it’s pretty safe to say that everyone is tired of jump scares from music, right? The Strangers gave a nice break from this, instead deciding to focus on the eeriness of silence. In my opinion, he did it well. It allowed him to set up realistic, creepy, and horrifying scenarios revolving around the home invasion. Scenarios, that honestly aren’t far fetched at all.  

Please note that i am not a director or a film student, nor do i have any experience in film at all, these are just some random ass theories that i have about the movie lmao

Also i kinda want to write one about why the sequel is nothing like this and how the director kind of fucked up with his decisions in it but idk.. what do you guys think?

#the strangers #the strangers 2008 #the strangers prey at night #the strangers 2 #liv tyler #scott speedman #gemma ward #kip weeks #laura mongolis #glenn howerton #bailee madison #christina hendricks #emma bellomy #martin henderson #damian maffei #lewis pullman #lea enslin #bryan bertino #horror movie #thriller #review #suspense #murder #doll face #masked man #pinupgirl

[nighthaunting]

I have an interesting idea for you: Based on the timeless isle daily quest about the history of the world. What if Darion Mograine had become the new Lich King instead of Bolvar? The man's all about self-sacrifice, retribution and atonement. The Ebon Blade backed by the Scourge work machine can only be an asset... what fun to contemplate~! :D

i have so many feelings about darion becoming lich king! 

like, i understand that bringing bolvar back was a last-minute thing because they realized that if arthas died and the threat of the scourge was finished forever, they’d never be able to bring it back into the storyline. and i do actually like bolvar as lich king insofar as what i imagine his struggles are trying to remain somewhat moral and reasonable while contending with the weight of both arthas’ and ner’zhul’s legacies and the ‘memory’ of their wills in the scourge. (and obviously not always managing to negotiate that slippery slope, if legion is any indication).

but also, darion’s whole life has been self-sacrifice. its very bleak, but i fully imagine him being raised by alexandros with the idea that darion can somehow achieve greatness and it will ‘make up’ for elena’s death and what alexandros feels was elena’s lost potential. which is a hell of a thing to teach a little kid, when it boils down to ‘you have to succeed because otherwise your mother died for nothing’. especially considering alexandros is the one who’s really At Fault for elena dying in the first place, and although arguments could be made that at least part of his shitty parenting was a result of him knowing that and being guilty about it. the result is that darion grew up to be a person who is highly skilled, highly intelligent, highly ambitious, and with very very little self-worth. the omnipresent idea that elena sacrificed herself so he could live made a very deep impression on darion. and so the combined notion that self-sacrifice for a loved one is the greatest expression of love, as well as the idea that he himself needed to be held to a higher standard to be ‘worthy’ of that sacrifice (and thus, worthy of love) literally drove him to suicide at the first light’s hope. 

and to sort of segue into a tangent for a moment, tirion absolutely did not know that darion’s idea of what the greatest expression of love was when he told darion that ‘only a greater act of love can undo an act of evil’. and tirion was honestly horrified that darion took his advice like that, even if it did save the argent dawn. 

the way i imagine it is like this: tirion and darion are at icecrown’s summit after arthas has been defeated. terenas’ ghost tells them that there must always be a lich king. bolvar died at the wrathgate, and his soul rests now, saved from the darkness of the shadowlands by the red dragonflight’s cleansing fire. the helm of domination rests on the ground between them, and tirion picks it up, contemplating the dimly-glittering jewel and the cold ridges of saronite that make up the helm’s faceplate. tirion would never ask anyone to make a sacrifice he himself would not, and so he intends to assume arthas’ place as lich king. darion stops him. tirion is still mortal, and still one of the living, there’s no reason he should resign himself to undeath when he has the option not to. darion is already dead, and has already served as the lich king’s right hand before he was freed at the second battle for light’s hope. he knows the workings of the scourge, and the necromancy to control them, and has been tied to arthas and ner’zhul’s wills before and broken free. he tells tirion to give him the helm, and tirion does.

i don’t tbh imagine darion deciding to go into the ice, because that was half a writer’s decision to store up the scourge until they wanted to make storylines for it again, and half because i imagine bolvar was still like, tremendously injured by being plagued/burned/tortured. so darion just takes off his own helmet, and for the first time in a long time tirion sees his bare face again. still painfully young, kept hidden behind armour for a reason, and it makes tirion’s heart ache a bit. and then darion slides the helm of domination over his face, and his eyes close, and then open again, the gemstone set into the helm’s faceplate sparking with a new glow, and the lichfire in darion’s eyes more pronounced than before. as he turns away from tirion to take his seat on the frozen throne, tirion grabs him by the arm and pulls him into a hug. its slightly awkward, but tirion doesnt want to let him go without reminding him that tirion is there for him. 

and so darion sits the frozen throne. he doesnt allow the ice to take him, because barring kel’thuzad’s shade that wanders the shadowlands, he knows more about the scourge than anyone even nominally alive at this point. he begins calling the scourge back to icecrown. he summons koltira and thassarian and tells them simply: any death knight who isn’t willing to serve him now is free to leave and make their own ends, but he is still highlord of their order, and he wants them to assist in managing the scourge. i feel like the majority of them accept that, because i have a lot of feelings about darion having the respect and honest admiration of his knights. he tried very hard to be a good boss for them, and they’re willing to stay in his service now that he’s lich king. 

they set out to contain the scourge. its a Process, to say the least. the undead themselves are easy to manage, because the psychic might of the lich king can reach nearly across the whole of azeroth. its the living cultists that are the problem, and darion issues an ultimatum, return to icecrown and serve the scourge, or die. 

i think things are a bit different in this, that there’s not so much a Great Secret that the lich king still exists, so much as its well known that the ebon blade moved into icecrown and is working on destroying the leftover plague caches and containing all the random scourge and so forth. naxxramas gets cleaned up. acherus is moved to hang out over the shadow vault or maybe even the argent tournament grounds once the argent crusade decamps. 

its a bit confused, but as i understand it the val’kyr and so forth went looking for work because bolvar was sleeping/moping/whatever and some of them just left. darion doesn’t allow this. he has his death knights to think about, and the val’kyr were their spirit healers, so he very swiftly re-establishes the lich king’s vigil so his knights can be raised by the val’kyr if they should fall. 

sylvanas doesnt throw herself off of icecrown, sylvanas isnt particularly welcome in icecrown. no one is quite sure if sylvanas knew about the wrathgate or not, but what is known is that she had approved research on the new plague, and darion isn’t about that plague life. as the leaders of the two undead factions, they write very terse letters to each other, and darion moves his efforts to gather up all the scourge’s necromancers along that much quicker, once he realizes that sylvanas is hunting them too. 

and so time passes. in chronicles its made pretty explicitly clear that deathwing hesitated to emerge while arthas was active bc the lich king is such a badass, but when bolvar decided to ‘sleep’ instead of doing anything he took his chance. i feel like darion is a balance between the two approaches to lich kinging: he’s not sleeping in the throne, he’s out and about in icecrown working to restructure and manage his kingdom, because he was raised from birth to be a highlord and he takes his responsibilities seriously. but he’s not plaguing things and being gratuitously evil and actively building his army. so deathwing probably pops up eventually, but perhaps it takes a while longer than in canon, so there’s more time for things to heal post-wrath. 

i don’t really see things being Very different than in canon beyond that? arthas knew the legion would eventually come for azeroth, and his plan to kill everyone and make the scourge super powerful was half motivated by his own crazypants ideas and half because he’d decided that the best way to fight the legion was with a world unified in undeath under his rule. darion inherits this knowledge, and at least part of his rebuilding of icecrown is motivated with the legion’s eventual invasion in mind. he doesnt know when it will be, but he warns tirion that the legion will someday return, and at some point or another he probably set the cult of the damned (or what’s left of it at least) to attempting to find ways to un-plague things so the lands can be healed, just like the cenarion circle and argent dawn and earthen ring have been attempting to do. 

this got really long, but i adore the idea of lich king darion? he has such a practical mentality most of the time, he’d try making the best of it, especially since he isnt saddled down with any more angst over being undead than he had before, and repairing the scourge and fixing things the scourge broke was the way he intended to atone Anyways. 

but also, i leave you with this mental image: three lich kings’ worth of rage being brought down on kil’jaeden’s head when he invades azeroth. ner’zhul’s fury at being used and lied to lingering on as a memory within the lich king’s power. arthas’ despair and pain at failing to save his kingdom from ruin before he went mad and destroyed the rest of it himself. darion’s faith, that even when he’d never shown skill with it the light would guide him to set things right; and darion’s love, that he’d lay down his life without hesitation for the people he cares about. 

#replies #knightofacherus #world of warcraft #darion mograine #lich king darion is one of my favorite aus honestly #my writing

[sufferthesea]

Can you do some headcanons for Kakashi, Iruka, and Gai and if they started getting love notes from a secret admirer?

asdfghjkl you’re like the sweetest person ever!!! I love you!! 🍓 Also this is so me, you have no idea. 

Hey guess who can’t write short stuff? It me. These always turn into headcanon-scenarios. But it’s not going under the cut, sorry! Please forgive misspellings and errors. I started watching Death Note on a whim while editing this. 

KAKASHI, IRUKA AND GAI GETTING LOVE NOTES FROM AN ADMIRER 

KAKASHI

I feel like Kakashi isn’t a stranger to randos fawning over him. Either they’re in awe because “it’s Kakashi, the Copy Ninja!”, or they somehow sneak a peek at him maskless, or they spend 30 seconds around him (let’s face it, he’s that cool) but he doesn’t think about it much because it’s all very shallow to him. He doesn’t like the attention and most people don’t know the “real Kakashi”, so he feels that most people’s idea of him is very false and inaccurate. His mindset is, “They love me for who they’ve made me out to be, but they would hate me for who I actually am.” 

When Kakashi first finds a love note from a secret admirer, he’s not sure what to do about it. He’s gotten confessions of love before but he’s always ignored them because - as stated - they’re seemingly shallow and only confess to loving the person everyone thinks he is. But this letter seems different - it doesn’t gush about his abilities, or how sexy he is because of the air of mystery around him, or simply fangirl because he’s Kakashi of the Sharingan. The letter doesn’t try to explain away his issues (”I know you’re like this because of what happened, but …”) and it doesn’t come across as someone with a savior complex (”I know that if you let me, I can heal you with my love!”) so he’s pretty intrigued. Who is this person? How do they know him, and how have they managed to cut through all the nonsense the village praises him for? 

It kind of scares him if this person seems to know a truer version of Kakashi. He’s afraid of being found out, afraid of people seeing he’s scared and weak and royally messed up. But he’s also drawn to this mysterious writer - how did they manage to see right through him? Does he know them? And he’s really curious depending on where he finds the letter. If it’s delivered to him through the post, he’ll figure it’s just someone who’s seen him on his walk home/has known him for a while and knows where he lives. If it’s given to him via a teammate or by the Hokage during a meeting, he’ll be kind of suspicious. (”How do they know who I’m working with? Is it … one of them?” Then he’ll study all the people he’s working with or that passes in and out of the Hokage building and see if any of their eyes linger a bit too long on him.) If he finds it in his book or his gear, he’ll be bound and determined to find out who it is because how the heck did they get into his stuff without him noticing?! 

After a couple of notes (and failed attempts to figure out who it is), Kakashi has 2 tactics he goes for. The first is to enlist Pakkun and the rest of his ninken into sniffing out the culprit. He’ll give them the letters to pick up the scent and then send them off into the village. The ninken try to pick up clues in the note (if there is any perfume or lotions, or certain smells that’d only be present at a particular shop or area of Konoha - such as ramen or varnish or flowers). (But I imagine the letter writer is too scared about being discovered, so each and every letter smells different and the ninken can’t figure out who it is for the life of them. How many different perfumes and lotions does this person own? Do they write these at restaurants and cafes? “LISTEN KAKASHI, FIVE PEOPLE HAVE HANDLED THIS LETTER BEFORE YOU GOT IT, OKAY? THE ORIGINAL SCENT IS GONE. SO UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO CHASE DOWN THE MAILMAN LIKE SOME KIND OF COMMON DOG, YOU’RE NOT GOING TO FIGURE THIS OUT.”) 

His other tactic is to leave his own notes where he’s found the love letters. If they’re in his stuff, he figures that the person will find his notes when they go to hide theirs. He’ll tuck some into his scroll pouches, pockets, in the pages of Icha Icha, wherever he found them. (But he’s kind of nervous about it and doesn’t want the person to miss his letter - so he’ll leave another piece of paper that says something like “Check front left pocket” or “Go to page 138”, asdghjkl Kakashi that defeats the purpose of “finding” the letter on your own!!) 

If it’s delivered through the post, he’ll hand over his own letter to the mailman and say, “Give this to the person who sends me these notes.” (But that’s super vague and Kakashi gets a lot of mail from people - even though he hardly reads it, and it sits in a pile on his table - so the mailman is like “??? Sure??” and there’s a 100% chance it ends up going to someone like Kotetsu or Gai or even Tsunade and everyone is really confused and Kakashi is horrified because they’ve just read his love letter?!?!? It happened like once, and Kakashi is now so paranoid and embarrassed that he either stops this idea altogether or gives the mailman the most serious, deadpan look and says, “GIVE THIS TO THE PERSON WHO SENDS ME THESE *flips love note*, OKAY?”) 

(Or he’ll write a note and give it to Lady Tsunade and just say, “This … goes to whoever’s been leaving me notes …” And she’s like, “Uh-huh … You know, you’d think with all of your capabilities, you’d have found out who it is by now.” And he’s like, “?? Wait, do YOU know?” And she’s like, “Hello? I give you these letters all the time; I sit in this office all day and see who comes in and out of the building from that window. For a guy who can copy every jutsu with his Sharingan, you sure aren’t all that observant. Maybe if you uncovered that half of your face for a while you’d be able to see who it is. But it’s none of my business …”) 

Kakashi is basically just a huge dork and tries to play it cool but inside he’s freaking out because there’s somebody out there in the village who is leaving him love notes and it’s driving him insane because he DOESN’T KNOW WHO IT IS. He knows he tells a lot of people to “let things go”, but this is something he needs to know and he probably won’t stop until he finds his secret admirer. (And when he FINALLY finds them, he’s so flippin’ nervous he’ll mess things up and that once they spend time around him they’ll realize he’s a loser and give up, so he almost wishes he hadn’t figured it out.)

IRUKA

Iruka has had his fair share of women flirting with him. Usually single moms, aunts, or grannies of the kids in his class that show up during Parent-Teacher Conferences/school events (like graduation), but that’s about it. He is pretty oblivious with most of the flirting tactics the women employ, but a few of the more bolder ones make him a little nervous so he tries his best to brush them off. (”Dinner? Oh, aha ha ha … I’m sorry but I’m incredibly busy grading homework tonight … and for the rest of the week. But I’ll see you at the next Parent-Teacher Conference!”) What a dork. (He hates this memory, but half of his coworkers will randomly bring up the time a drunk obaasan was having a good time at one of the village’s summer festivals and followed him around all night, pinching his face, grabbing his butt, and playing with his ponytail. Genma volunteered him to “walk the poor woman home” at the end of the night and Iruka was horrified to find out how strong such a small and old woman was, because he had to basically fight her off when she tried to drag him inside. RIP.) 

When Iruka first gets a love note from a secret admirer, his first thought is, “Oh, please don’t let it be a student.” He’s very likable and personable and more than one student has developed a crush on him. It’s always a little awkward for him but he does his best to discourage them and let them down gently. So when he reads the note and sees that the handwriting and the level of skill the writing took, he gives a huge sigh of relief because oh my gosh, it’s not a student, thank goodness. But now he has a new question - who IS it from? Another teacher? A parent? (Urck, he’s not sure how he feels about dating a student’s mom tbh.) Someone else? His list of suspects narrows depending on where he found it - in his desk drawer, hidden between a stack of ungraded homework assignments, or delivered to his classroom by a teacher’s aide. 

The note makes him quite flustered, ngl. Whether it’s super articulate and poetic, or just a short and blunt note, he’s blushing like mad because someone out there took the time to write it and leave it for him to find. (For a moment he thinks it’s a mistake and it’s meant for another teacher but - nope! His name is on the front, it’s definitely for him. He also wonders if it’s a prank by his co-workers since they know how he feels about women flirting with him but something about this seems genuine.) He hides his note somewhere close - either on his person or in his bag - and thinks about it for the rest of the day until he can do some investigative work. 

Iruka is, like, 10000x more per perceptive now and he pays attention to everything and everyone. He needs to know if his admirer left the note themselves, or if they had someone else drop it off. He’s almost suspicious of anyone who comes by his classroom and even briefly thinks that one of the kids was employed by their parent to hide the note in his desk. He has so many wild conspiracies running through his head, and he seems a bit like a madman. (Like … imagine the Pepe Silvia scene from It’s Always Sunny.) So anyway, he mostly watches intently and keeps track of who comes into his classroom, who has access to his papers, and who seems to be acting strange. (It drives him absolutely bonkers if he finds ANOTHER love note and didn’t even see anyone leave it!! How could he miss it?!) 

People at the Academy notice how weird he’s acting and he finally breaks down and confesses to one or two close friends that he’s been trying to figure out who’s leaving him notes (he may or may not leave out the “love” part). They agree to help him figure it out, but they think this is really funny because of how stressed and flattered he is. Mostly they’re not much help because they end up delivering a few love letters to Iruka hidden between copies of assignments, shrug and say, “Oh I don’t know, I got this from so-and-so in the break room. Must’ve been stuck in there earlier.” They have their own suspicions but don’t say anything because it’s more fun to let him figure it out. 

Finally Iruka is near his breaking point, so he ends up stalking around the Academy, practically harassing everyone there as he watches their every move. He hangs around the break room and copy room, watching with eagle eyes to see anyone shuffling love letters into his mailbox or papers. 90% of the teachers have no idea what’s going on, and the people who do know think it’s hilarious and terrifying. 

Lord help the person Iruka catches hiding the love notes in his papers. He runs over to them, grabs the note, shoves it in their face, laughing hysterically as he says, “I CAUGHT YOU! FINALLY! IT WAS YOU THE WHOLE TIME!” If the person he caught is only the delivery person for the secret admirer, they’d probably quit right then. (”Are you sure you like this guy? He’s so weird. You should’ve seen him when he saw me with your letter! I’m never doing that again!!”) They’d also straight up tell him, “Yeah, I left them for you but I didn’t write them. And I took a vow of silence so I can’t tell you who they’re from.” And after a lot of confusion and begging on Iruka’s part, the delivery person would give up and say, “OKAY. I can’t tell you who it is but if you write a letter, I can get it to them …” (Cue the fastest letter writing in the history of the world and Iruka frantically saying, “Here! Take it! Let me know what they say!”) 

If it IS the secret admirer he’s caught, they’re probably horrified - especially since Iruka wasn’t very subtle and there were other people in the room with them … and now they’re all staring … and now they all know they were writing love notes … to Iruka … It’s so embarrassing omg. But once he’s calmed down, he’s blushing again because this is the person who was writing love notes to him oh my gosh they’re so cute !!! and he gets enough sense in him to talk to them in private and ask about the letters, and about themselves, and he’s still so confused why they like him but he’s happy he found them - and everyone else is happy too because HE FINALLY STOPPED FOLLOWING THEM AROUND AND WATCHING THEIR EVERY MOVE, THEY’RE FINALLY FREE!!! Iruka gets a little overzealous sometimes …

MAITO GAI

First reaction: crying about how youthful it is to receive love notes. Second reaction: a hearty chuckle of success because he realizes no one can resist the Green Beast of Konoha. Third reaction: he shoves the letter into Kakashi’s face and asks, “Did YOU receive such a youthful and lovely letter, filled to the brim with kind words and compliments, signed anonymously - too shy to reveal their true selves?! There is something so wonderful about the unsure confession of love by a secret admirer.” Everyone is in shock that not only does someone like Gai, but they’re actually writing him love notes. 

Gai is probably the type to make an assumption about who wrote the letter, find himself around them, give a “knowing” laugh when they say/do something contradictory to liking him, wink, give a thumbs up and say, “Don’t worry about it … We both know the truth. There’s no need to be shy!” And they ?? have no idea ?? what he’s talking about ?? (Tenten looks on in secondhand embarrassment, trying to gingerly break the news, “Gai-sensei … I don’t think it was them …” Gai is confused because, no - he’s sure it’s them. Right? It’s obvious. They’re just shy! Gai they’re not shy, they’re wondering why the Green Beast of Konoha is trying to make the moves on them when they have done absolutely nothing to indicate that they’re interested.) 

Rock Lee is just as invested in this as Gai because he thinks it’s so lovely; Neji is wondering who in the world would send a love note to his teacher; Tenten very surprised but also intrigued; they all end up helping Gai find his secret admirer because they’re all curious (and Gai definitely sees this as an opportunity to turn it into a training exercise in information gathering, stealth tactics, and teamwork - as well as trying to one-up Kakashi by proving that he too has hoards of fangirls). (”Gai-sensei, it was ONE note …”) 

Gai’s secret admirer would have to be pretty creative and sneaky to get the notes to him if they didn’t want to get caught, especially now that he’s looking for them. They probably do something ridiculous like tie the note to a bird, set the bird off towards the training fields, train the bird to steal something/pester the genin or Gai until they can’t take it anymore so they’ll grab the bird and find the note (all the while the secret admirer watches from a distance as Gai reads the letter). Or they tack love letters on the trees all along the path Gai takes when he jogs in the morning, so that only he can find them. He is both in awe by their dedication, and really impressed because only he and Rock Lee get up that early to train - so this person knows his schedule pretty well. (Is it really a crush if you haven’t stalked them a little bit?) 

Gai respects boundaries and he understands some people are more reserved about their feelings (he’s been friends with Kakashi since forever), so he won’t try to do anything to embarrass or publicly out his secret admirer. As stated above, he may get a little ahead of himself and start hinting towards someone that he knows it’s them - even if it’s not. But as soon as he understands that’s not the person, he backs off and apologizes, saying, “I’m sorry - I thought you were the person I’d been corresponding with.” (He doesn’t want so many other people to know this person has a crush on him - it’s not his secret to tell, so he tells little lies like that they’re a penpal or something.) 

He isn’t super perturbed if he can’t immediately find this secret admirer. There are some moments when he clenches his fist in frustration because he just wants to meet them - but he also enjoys the surprise of finding a new letter for him on the training field, waiting for him at the counter of a weapons shop, or even slipped under the door of his apartment. (He cried once when he got a poem instead of a letter, and it compared his green jumpsuit to the “comforting forests outside the village”, his hair to “the blackest of starless skies, still aglow with the halo of a new moon” and his smile to “the most radiant beam of sunshine to warm the hearts” of those around him.) He saves all of these and keeps them where he can read them every day. The poems he tacks to his fridge door, and the very first one he received he keeps in his vest pocket. 

Since this secret admirer knows Gai’s schedule pretty well, they’ve been watching him to make sure he doesn’t catch them leaving notes - and they’ve seen him mistakenly think a few other shinobi/civilians were writing the love notes. They can see that he isn’t turned off or weirded out by it all, so they gain some confidence and decide to reveal themselves. They show up to the training grounds at 4am (when Gai shows up to start his morning routine) and Gai is there alone, already training. He notices them right away but doesn’t say anything so he won’t scare them off. When they get close enough, he stops his training and looks at them, giving them a gentle smile. Nervously, they approach and shove a final letter at him. He reads it and then grins at them, “So it’s you. I’ve been waiting for you to show up. Would you like to take a walk?”

Gai totally walks them down the same path he jogs every day and he points at every tree that used to have a love note attached to it, recounts which note it was, and he’ll tell them his favorite part about the note, and when they get to the end of the walk he’ll pull out the very first letter he got so they could see he kept it “close to my heart, where it belongs!” And then, in a final act (with his genin watching from the bushes), Gai pulls out another piece of paper, unfolds it, and proudly starts reading a poem that HE wrote for his secret admirer. Rock Lee cries, Neji shakes his head seemingly in resignation (but he’s secretly happy for his teacher), and Tenten is honestly surprised at how talented Gai is (”Who knew he would write like that? Do you think he ever did a writing competition with Kakashi-sensei?” Don’t give him any ideas, Tenten). Of course, after all of this Gai would ask his secret admirer if they were okay with other people knowing who wrote the letters. If yes, then he’d proudly tell everyone so he could brag about their talent and their kindness. If not, then he’d quietly keep the letters to himself and when people asked about it, he’d just say he hadn’t figured it out yet but he would eventually. (Way too sweet, 10/10 best person ever.)

#naruto headcanons #iruka headcanons #kakashi headcanons #maito gai headcanons #iruka #iruka umino #umino iruka #kakashi #kakashi hatake #hatake kakashi #maito gai #might guy #thecalamityqueen #thetoxicstrawberry #berry #Berry is the Best #naruto sfw headcanons #iruka sfw headcanons #kakashi sfw headcanons #maito gai sfw headcanons #might guy sfw headcanons #mine 44 #long post for ts #akimi.writes

[talizorahs]

hello, yes, i would like to hear more about avery

!!! im honestly so flattered ur interested in her, tbh she’s one of my favourite dragon age ocs

her whole arc through origins revolves around loss and how inept she is at dealing with it. i base this in her noble upbringing, closeness with her father and how she was sheltered from the lifestyle she is forced into as a warden. literally, she is the epitome of classism and privilege and her behaviour reflects that. she doesn’t even want to become a warden, didn’t want to leave her family, and how quickly she is cornered into it with their sudden deaths sends her literally quite mad.

she hates duncan, she hates alistair, she hates how she can’t go searching for fergus after ostagar, she hates the mud and the humidity of the wilds, and especially the responsibility and the whole grey warden duty. if she had it her way, she’d continue going on fishing, hunting and hiking trips with her father in the free marches, attend balls and noble parties with her mother, train with fergus and help raise her nephew.

as the sensation of loss passes and she accepts that this is her routine now, old leather and dirty boots, she still struggles to accept her family is gone and that the attention she received from her family and being a noble, is also gone. she is a national traitor and nobody treats her like a cousland anymore, just a criminal. that she never quite deals with well, as a result, she often will act out and make controversial decisions just to receive attention for it. notably from wynne or alistair, the voices of holy reason. their criticism becomes substitute for the special attention she used to receive under the cousland banner.

for example, she cares little for the dalish vs. werewolves debate and slaughters them all anyway, taking whoever is left as allies but only because alistair intervenes. she kills connor, kills zevran, personally kills loghain with no remorse or hesitation, insults anora, etc., etc.. the only thing she does take time for is tracking down howe in denerim and you can be sure she murders him like a dog. yet, it doesn’t make her feel any better, she continues to badly deal with her warden responsibilities as a murderous tyrant. firstly, because she was forced into this position, and secondly, as she has lost everything that was ever important to her.

when it becomes obvious, however, alistair’s position as royal blood gives her opportunity to seize that same noble power again, she relents. this is during the redcliffe debacle which for avery happens at the very end of her arc with the urn of sacred ashes. as such, she plans to take the throne, and the public will let her. to them, she is the tragic grey warden, having lost her family to a corrupt arl, and does whatever it takes to unite thedas and stop the blight. only the party and her (reluctant) allies know how tyrannical she is and how, if she seized power again, it wouldn’t get much better for ferelden. anything she learned as a cousland noble is gone to the resentment of losing them and her grey warden journey.

the person who takes the brunt of this understanding is morrigan, who for the most part of origins, actually remains avery’s friend. she uses her to kill flemeth, in a way, as morrigan can recognise giving her some positive recognition, even if it is a lie, will be enough to draw avery in. she doesn’t need to act out for morrigan’s attention, simply spend time with her, away from the others’ eyes and ears. when the pressure isn’t on her shoulders, however, avery is just a scared young woman - she is only just twenty when she is thrown into being a warden - and reminds morrigan of her upbringing. manipulation turns into shreds of genuine compassion, morrigan eventually offering advice, which is when redcliffe and haven come around.

avery changes when the throne is in sight, and morrigan notices. the other members of the party do too. some have only remained around to follow alistair hoping he will actually do the right thing and unite ferelden against the blight, like wynne, leliana and oghren. sten is rather impartial but does end up siding with alistair. they manage to sway morrigan when the landsmeet drops and avery reveals her ambitions for nobility again. she detests anora, insults her and removes her from the picture in front of the court, and proposes herself as queen instead with alistair by her side. needless to say the latter is horrified, but the view of the public is their powerful duo has gotten ferelden this far, it can continue beyond the blight.

on the night of the battle of denerim, rather than talk of the dark ritual, the party plots to remove avery from power. it ends up playing out that morrigan lies about the ritual and bedding alistair, with avery thinking herself safe during the battle due to the baby. here, morrigan’s self-interest comes below the interests of ferelden, a development i attribute to her pity of avery during their travels. their relationship did change her views albeit only a little bit. pride has it that avery demands the final blow, and with it, takes her own life to end the blight. alistair takes the throne alone, avery with five minutes as queen, attributing herself the title “the blood queen”.

SO THAT’S AVERY FOR U and her tyrannical adventures through ferelden. it was interesting for me to examine such a character, i just liked thinking about the implications of noble privilege and different motivations. all of my wardens before avery have been reluctant heroes, or just heroes, but i’ve never had such a conceited warden before. her relationships are interesting to explore, especially the one with morrigan as it is quite unique for both characters. avery seeks a mother-daughter relationship out of it and morrigan eventually ends up relenting to that idea. maybe she becomes kieran, in a sense, and horrifies morrigan enough she can’t fathom raising a child just yet. she feels responsible, in part, for not deterring avery from the throne. i mean, she seized it technically, the reality of how close they got to having a tyrannical probable dictator on the throne struck them all hard.

devil’s advocate characters are just super fun for me. i don’t necessarily support any of avery’s decisions personally, she is deeply flawed and just plain evil. i didn’t make her to be controversial, either, it just was a plausible character for me that i wanted to explore.

THANK U SO MUCH FOR ASKING ME THO I MEAN IT. i’m so glad you like her bc i definitely worked super hard on fitting her into canon and considering all of this tiny interactions which led the story to where i wanted to go. UR LOVELY THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! i hope you like her too

#ohgreywardan #avery #ocs #BOIIII #im so sorry i write so much #BUT THANK U!!! #answered

[syrvses-blog]

❝ ┅ THIS GOT LONG. | QUESTIONNAIRE. |

everything you could ever want to know about syrus is under the cut.

death tw, smoking tw, alochol mention

❝ ┅ BASICS.

Full name: seung-jun han

Any nicknames?: syrus (please call him that), hades

Age: 27 (holla @ yo ridiculously young mob boss)

Birthday/Zodiac sign: january 7 // capricorn

Height: 6′2

Any tattoos, piercings?: no piercings, but he does have a few tattoos. the first and most prominent one reads “you will always be fond of me. i represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to admit” located on his right rib cage. this was done both because he is a nerd for classical literature and because the quote reminds him of his father, whom he never wants to become. he also has ( these ) two, in honor of cronus (eye) and his deceased best friend (rose), who died in a similar time span.

❝ ┅ FAVORITES.

Sound: yasmin’s voice…jk jk the small sounds that echo against the walls of a silent space. a clock ticking, methodical and orderly. the scribbling of a wooden pencil, curious and erratic. the turning of a novel’s page and the certain sense of completion, of progress that comes with it. the muffled bass of club nyra hammering below his feet. the various beats of life in the dead of stillness that keeps him on task, keeps him enthralled in his work.

Color: surprise, surprise, black. but, likewise – white. in fact, his flat above club nyra is nearly completely white with tiny pops of color, such as that in the green apples that sit on the marble counters of the kitchen area. even more surprising, he’s also rather fond of warm neutrals, such as those found on his blog. in complete contrast to his flat, his actual apartment that can be found in ever changing locations across nyc is very warm, very home-y, and washed in those soft oranges and browns.

Person: may he rest in peace, cronus. though his friend found deceased years ago does come in as a close second, no one has altered his life more than harvey johnson. the first father figure in his life to ever truly love him as son, to ever truly look at him and not see a tool or a potential weapon, but as a human being. he has fought for years to preserve the work cronus has done to promote the olympians, and he will continue to work tirelessly for the man who proved to him not all is bad in the world syrus was raised in.

Memory: for his twelfth birthday, his father took him and his now deceased friend to the metropolitan museum of art. whenever the story was shared (by his friend more so than syrus, who rarely speaks of his past), his friend would always claim that the museum “broke” syrus, who had always been a more reserved, professional person. this is because in those few hours, syrus was, for one of the few times in his life, a kid. having always been a nerd and especially a nerd for things that are old, being surrounded by so much history and being able to see the influences of the history he read on the artwork made him genuinely giddy. though his friend and father certainly weren’t as enthused as he was, they entertained him by allowing him to drag them around as he rattled on about certain eras and certain paintings and possible influences. he has a particular memory of a tour guide with long, dark hair and a friendly voice joking to her clients that they should simply follow him around instead of her as their group passed him by. this whole ordeal was a complete surprise to him, seeing as he thought his father was simply taking him and his friend out to breakfast, and though he usually isn’t a fan of surprises, this one was undoubtedly appreciated.

Place: he has three. the first is the metropolitan museum of art for the reasons described earlier. the second is the new york public library. it is no secret or shock that syrus is obsessed with books and with reading, so a place stocked with millions of books is a dream come true for the man. every single time he walks in he has a moment similar to the one in beauty and the beast when the beast guides belle into the library. of his few complaints about being a mob boss, not being able to read more is definitely one of them. continuing forward, his third and final favorite place is club nyra, minutes before it opens. he has a circular couch in corner raised up a few inches that he usually does business with other club owners in, and occasionally he’ll slide into the white leather seats with some paperwork for the club before the doors allow the mass of people to flow in. in his seat in the intersection, he can view the bartender wiping down the bar in the middle back of the club one final time and the dj readying the track list in the other far end. with the dancers stretching and julian speaking to one of the various workers and the faint smell of vanilla (proven to make people happier) in the air, it truly is a priceless scene. once the doors open at 11 pm sharp, the setting isn’t ruined by the influx of people. instead, it is enhanced, for seeing the success of the club he rebuilt essentially on his own brings him a joy little else can bring.

Vice: oh, syrus and his nicotine. he knows what it’s doing to his body and he knows that he’ll probably pass due to lung cancer if he lives long enough to develop it, but the addiction doesn’t seem to care. he doesn’t drink, primarily because he genuinely doesn’t like alcohol aside from a few of the club nyra speciality drinks and he will sip on wine to seem professional. likewise, he doesn’t dabble in any other drugs, nor is he a slave to sex. his only physical vice, truly, is the packet of cigarettes in his suit jacket’s pocket. to steal madi’s (current medusa/octavia) idea of my favorite vice for syrus, since nicotine is certainly his favorite vice, i have to admit–i love how unfeeling and unempathetic syrus is in times of betrayal or when people fail to meet his expectations of perfection. in my head he truly is horrifying when in “scary syrus” mode. if a character is having a meeting with syrus and they know they’ve disappointed him, they should be prepared for the absolute coldest aura surrounding a merciless man who won’t accept excuses, regardless of how valid they are. this is my favorite vice primarily because it’s so much fun to write and fits how i originally conceived syrus to be all the time (like honestly i was going to originally use these gifs a lot tbh). but, then he sort of turned into a very formal, very intelligent CEO with a Nerd Dad part tucked under all that professionalism and distance. i still love him with all my life, but there is something so satisfying about writing syrus when he is in his pique of ruthlessness.

❝ ┅ HAVE THEY EVER...

Been in love?: he has never been in love, nope! nor does he ever see himself being in love or getting married. to revive an old meme, my thoughts and feelings towards this are ( x ).

Done drugs?: his entire list of drug use starts and ends with his cigarettes.

Killed someone?: yes, of course. he is a mob boss, after all. he has killed 17 people and could tell you the names of all of them. names are actually quite important to syrus, seeing as he’s unusually terrible with them unless he has a reason to remember them. when he was younger, part of his training with his father was memorizing the names of everyone in the olympians. unfortunately, because syrus’ mother disappeared when he was two and he didn’t know the cause of her disappearance was something that would be so important to his beliefs until 18 years later, he never learned her name and doesn’t know it now. he also has no real way to learn her name, being that he has no contact with his family in korea and little access to the conventional methods of finding her name.

Betrayed someone’s trust?: aside from the whole “splitting from old olympus,” never.

Had their heart broken?: with the death of cronus and his friend, yes. but, in the implied sense of via the loss (whether it be through break up or through some other method) of a significant other, nope.

Lost someone?: far too many people.

❝ ┅ DO THEY...

Have any pets?: ah yes, the infamous dog megara (but her friends call her “meg”) – a border collie that he loves more than life itself. he adopted the dog when meg was quite young, probably around 1-2 years old, after his father passed away seven years ago. he absolutely adores and would happily be with her over most human beings.

Have a family they still talk to?: they’re all dead or chillin’ out in korea, so nah! the only family he would want to talk to even would be his mother, but being that she died when he was two, it would be sort of a difficult situation without a medium. perhaps he would also enjoy speaking to his extended family, seeing as he doesn’t know the name of his mother and would rather enjoy having that knowledge.

Have a best friend?: that’s…iffy territory? like, he trusts julian/dionysus quite a bit because he does manage club nyra but that’s definitely a very father/son relationship despite syrus being the younger of the two. likewise, he’s rather close with octavia/medusa and felicia/cerberus, though the former is certainly more of a working relationship and he’s sleeping with the latter despite also having a working relationship. continuing, he’s also decent friends with kit/icarus, though it’s more of an unconventional friendship. friends are quite difficult for him with his position and personality, but best friends are particularly hard to come by since that implies a certain level of trust that syrus hasn’t had with anyone since that friend.

Want to get married and/or have kids?: as mentioned earlier, syrus, at this very moment, never sees himself getting married. but, if he did find the right person (insert finger guns), he’d happily marry. he simply would never predict this for himself since he has issues with trusting people completely due to being ridiculously independent/worried about endangering those he’s close to. as for kids? oh god, though syrus is really just Dad somewhere under all that formal business talk, he is absolutely horrible with children. perhaps it is because he doesn’t quite know how to communicate with people who do not understand his language. but, i’m sure if (when) he does marry, he’ll be so enraptured with the person he’s with, he’d be more than glad to have children with them.

Want to leave?: if this question was posed not even ten years ago, syrus would have most certainly confirmed that he did want to leave and was planning on opening his own business in a place as far away as korea. but, being that he now has club nyra and a duty to protect cronus’ legacy from crumbling under the wrong hands, he could never picture himself leaving. his sense of duty to cronus and to the people who depend on him is far too strong for him to allow himself to fade away. he simply must protect his people, must protect the few things in life that keep him from falling into a state of complete roboticism.

❝ ┅ THIS OR THAT?

Phone call or text? face to face conversation? yes? no? anyways, though he sees the appeal and necessity of both with texts doing well for quick updates, organizing plans, and stealth operations, he prefers to call. when in “scary syrus” mode, as i like to call it, he can be rather terse. but, with the people he actually would like to call for reasons other than business, he can become very loquacious and quite the storyteller. furthermore, he enjoys hearing people’s voices when they speak, it adds on a sense of reality to the conversation.

Wealth or loyalty? regardless of the fact that syrus is a wealthy man himself and does enjoy the comfort of wealth, at the end of the day, he’d take loyalty over wealth without second thought. he may be seen as the ultimate traitor to old olympus, but his loyalty to cronus and to the people who follow him under new olympus spans far beyond the average human and he values loyalty from others just the same. though all human life is irreplaceable to syrus, those that prove themselves loyal to a strong cause and prepared to meet the expectations required to further that cause are especially valued.

Love or lust? n…either? syrus doesn’t have feelings–only a strong moral compass. joking, joking mostly. on a serious note, though he remains largely unaware of the benefits of love and how much he would love being in love at the moment, once he does get a hold of himself – love, all the way. lust is nice and he certainly won’t complain about it, but ultimately he would much prefer to be in love than in lust. wow i’m making him sound so soft those of y’all who don’t know syrus are going to be So Surprised when you interact with him and He’s So Not Soft.

5 Friends or 100 Acquaintances? 100 acquaintances, or “contacts,” as syrus would refer to them as. 100 people for him to reach out to to help advertise a new night at club nyra or to potentially persuade into doing something for the furthering of new olympus. in syrus’ mind, friends either leave with too much information or die and shake him out of his phlegmatic state. but, if he has 100 loyal acquaintances who know him to be trustworthy, then he’s set.

Summer or winter? winter!! wow, hades, you’re so surprising. albeit that summer is arguably a more profitable time for club nyra, syrus without a doubt prefers winter. this may be because i don’t think he owns a short sleeved shirt and his typical attire is a full on suit, or it may be because he runs both of his spaces at a below average temperature and enjoys it completely. winter is the time of year when the temperature outside matches the temperature of his homes, if not is far colder (which may be better).

❝ ┅ OTHERS.

Wanted plots/connections:

everyone: comes to new olympus k bye

new olympus: i’d love to plot with how and why the other character came to new olympus. what did syrus offer, whether it be an actual offer such as safety or just what made him seem better over zeus? did they have a past together or something? also, syrus makes a very good trainer if you need someone to help your character learn to punch someone.

old olympus: syrus grew up in the mob, so if your character has been in the olympians for a while, then chances are they knew each other. did they work together? did they get along/not get along? was syrus just some mystical figure in the background?

titans: this is a tad harder being that the titans were in germany for so long. but, if they’re a more recent titan addition, i’d love to have some like tension-y thing with syrus if they were active members of the olympians. he’d feel a little miffed that they chose to join the titans but skipped out on new olympus.

neutral: someone could be his neighbor at wherever his apartment is now! furthermore, if they are ex-olympians, we can develop a past from there. anything with club nyra could work out too!! whether it be someone was hitting on your character drunk and syrus kicked them out or they’re just regulars at club nyra.

anyone: my son adopts your child because syrus needs a million fake kids. also possible is to play off of syrus’ dad side where syrus finds your character drunk/hurt/etc and takes care of them. alternatively, we could have our characters start a book club.

#olympustalk #originally my graphic was gonna be so extra #but then i decided to be hip and trendy and with the kids #❝ ┅ ɪ ᴅᴏɴᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏɴᴠɪɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴏʀ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇᴍ | ᴇᴅɪᴛs. | #* #i guess we are tagging it too ?? #eh the more in the talk tag the merrier