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dulcewrites · 6 months

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ewan in the saltburn trailer is j sooo giving private school filthy rich aemond i love it

AND YES HE NEEDS HIS POC GF

I have been feeling…. less than inspired lately about hotd tbh but hopefully this will spark something. I know no one asked for this lol. This was inspired by Beyoncé’s Upgrade U. Honestly, I don't think Aemond would be much of a loser in a modern setting. He would be far too elusive and people would find him interesting simply based on that. But I am combining/changing some lore here so he is a #loser in this like I am assuming Ewan's character is Saltburn is.

Upgrade You

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x rich!reader (wc: 2k)

Summary: You have always enjoyed having a project to build or fix up and Aemond Targaryen is no different

You flick a spoolie brush over your brows as you finished up your makeup. The lights from your vanity mirror illuminating you as you put the last touches on your face.

"I don't get it," Melanie sighed as she hugged one of your pillows to her chest. She sat crossed legged on your California king bed. "You're like the smartest person I know. Why do you need to be tutored?"

"Everyone can improve themselves, no matter what someone's specialty may be. Remember that."

Melanie nodded enthusiastically. Sweet girl, you think. A little daft at times but nothing some time under your guidance cannot fix.

She tilts her head curiously. "You are pretty dressed up for a library meeting too."

"Another lesson," you fluff your curls then turn from the mirror to her. "Do not let anyone tell you that you are overdressed. Does the library have a dress code?"

Melanie shakes her head slowly.

"So, who is going to tell me to change?"

"... No one?"

"Exactly."

Melanie chews on her lip in thought as if she is taking mental notes in her head. Though she is not wrong you are quite dressed up just to be studying. But your advice was also not wrong; any moment to be noticed should be taken and made the most of. If are to come into contact with any of your peers, why not make the best impression possible. You also do not have in it in you to tell your new pupil about the real reason as to why you were making this little trip. Best move through life with your cards close to your chest as your mother tells you. You can only imagine how wide Melanie's hazel eyes would get if you told her what you had up your sleeve.

Much like how you help the girls around you cultivate their futures, you must look out for your own as well. Your phone dings, and you smile when you check the notification.

Aemond Targaryen.

Archaic, some would say. Sending the feminist movement back 50 years, many could argue. Being realistic is more how you would put it. You have money, sure. Your parents have afforded you all the opportunities they wanted you to have, and for that you are grateful. But you are not naive; this is still very much a man's world. No matter how much money you have, there will be people who will look at you and hate you for having the gall to want more. For having ideas and wanting to express them. For looking the way, you do - for using the way you look against them.

You may not be able to have a seat at the table... but you can have someone build another for you.

Your family may have resources and money. But they do not have 'my father can use company family buy his way into politics; my mom has ancestry that traces back to French royalty' reach.

Luckily for you, there is someone who does have that access.

A little rough around the edges, but nothing some TLC cannot fix. It was one of your best traits: finding the diamonds in the rough and polishing them off so they shine brighter than before.

You go over to your closet and open the double doors. As your eyes search over the different handbags, you call out back to Melanie.

"Watercolor Dior saddle or creme Bottega Jodie?"

"Dior," she calls back.

You check yourself in the mirror before existing the closet.

"Well," you twirl for Melanie. You run hand over your midi turtleneck dress. You knee length boots clanked around as you moved in a circle.

"Perfect," she beams.

She sees you out to your car. With the window rolled down, she waves you off like a mother seeing their child off for kindergarten.

"Happy studying!"

Sweet and simple, just how you like em.

———

You always thought the best thing about Oxford was how it looked in the fall. The leaves begun to change, sprite green to a blend of red, orange, purple, and brown. Made the most picturesque background. But it seemed like how gently the leaves fell from the trees was the only thing that was coming easily.

Maybe it was naivety on your part, but you thought when you showed up in four-inch patent leather Aquazzura heels and literally no books, Aemond would have got the hint. And yet, here you were talking about the components of stockholder’s equity, as if you cared.

"So," you interrupt him mid rant. "Any fun plans for Winter break? I know it is a while away, but everyone is already taking about what they are doing."

He wrinkles his nose, his glasses being pushes up in the process. "Probably just dinner with the family."

Right. The compound. At least that is what the Targaryen main home looks like. You of course needed to your research.

"Well, there is this crazy Christmas that happens before everyone leaves," you shuffle closer to him, and you hope he gets a whiff of your perfume. "Maybe we can go together?"

Aemond snorts and looks down bit sheepishly. "Highly doubt, I am invited."

You fight the urge to sigh wistfully. Cute, smart, wealthy as fuck... and apparently awfully insecure. Everyone throwing the party should be falling at their knees to have him around. But you have since understood during your time at Oxford that many students here do not understand the opportunities in front of them.

If Aemond had any real confidence, he'd say fuck it because he could buy everyone going if he wanted to. They ignore him because he allows them to. And then you realize he is one of those people; the delusional 'I want to get by on my merit not my name' kind of people.

Oh sweet, silly boy.

"That doesn't matter," you wave him off. "Besides, if anyone says anything, you can just say you're with me. Consider it a thank you for doing this for me."

You let your hand slip on his thigh and squeeze slightly.

"Better yet, let's call it a date."

Rhaenyra would think for the amount of money her family has; they would be able to afford stronger liquor. But she has a feeling that it has nothing to do with money, and more about the 'champagne only' rule Alicent liked.

The expansive backyard was decorated impeccably, as it always is for the annual holiday party that they throw. Twinkly lights in the trees, red and green everywhere, and even a frankly nouveau riche ice sculpture. The affair was black tie, and Rhaenyra could feel the eyes of some guess when she showed up in a red fitted suit. Taking small sips from her glass, she looks around the area. She swears the more years go on, the less she recognizes who is invited to things like this.

"Don't tell me step-mommy has put you in timeout."

She rolls her eyes when she hears a familiar voice. Daemon comes to stand next to her, with a small glass in his hand.

"No, you fucker," Rhaenyra then frowns. "Where did you get the scotch?"

"Why do you think I am in timeout?"

Her uncle always found a way around the rules. Rhaenyra blows air out of her cheeks in annoyance. She looks down at her watch; another rule is that they were required to stay at 2 hours. Only 45 minutes has passed since she arrived.

"Heard you are going to the company retreat this year," Daemon downs the rest of the drink and winces at the burning.

"Someone has to represent the family with dad," she shrugs, a small amount of smugness seeping into her tone. "He asked me to go."

"Hmmm," Daemon smirks at her smugness. "You and Aemond."

Rhaenyra blinks confused. "What?"

"Yup," he leans against the wall. "I suppose Viserys found a new muse."

Rhaenyra snorts at his words but then licks her lips nervously. It sounds cruel to think, but it was never something she ever really worried about - her father preferring her siblings over her. At least not something she worried about in her adulthood. Sure, as a girl, newly off the passing of her mother, seeing her father marry a woman only six years her senior rattled her. Aegon being born shortly after only made things more tense. But, and to his own detriment really, Viserys had made sure she came first.

"I did not know Aemond had an interest in the company in the first place."

"He didn't," Daemon's mouth pinches a little. "Not until... recently."

Rhaenyra follows her uncle's gaze out to where Aemond was standing. He always managed to look more grow up than his sibling, more than Helaena and Aegon. A mimicry that Rhaenyra thinks he picked up from his mother, but something seemed different now.

New haircut, no glasses, new suit. Armani? No, Tom Ford. With a Cartier tie clip and sparking cuff links to match. He is surrounded by some of the lawyers that work at the company.

"Looks like university has done him well," Rhaenyra tries to sound as even keeled as possible. "Good for him."

"No," Daemon sounds bored with her strained pleasantries. "That is what pussy does someone who has never got any before."

Rhaenyra blanches. The last thing she wants to think about is her younger brother having sex. She sets her champagne down in disgust.

"Don't be gross."

Daemon huffs before directing his attention towards the other side of the courtyard. His eyes zero in on Alicent, who tosses her auburn hair over her shoulder as she laughs with a young woman. A pretty young woman.

"Only met this semester and managed to get a holiday party invite, and a seat next to mother dearest. She must some charmer."

"You know," Rhaenyra starts. "Not every woman that is around this family is some sort of ruthless social climber."

"Of course, not every woman. Only the smart ones."

She sighs. That was not just pointed at the girl, but at Alicent too. Even though Alicent grew up with an even cushier life than they did. A type of old money that even the Targaryens had to give credence to. Strangely enough, Daemon seemed to take Viserys remarrying worse than Rhaenyra did. Even Rhaenyra over the years has grown to accept the fate that is their blended family. Accepted it enough to be cordial, albeit sometimes still awkward, with Alicent. They have forever been bonded in having to deal with the moods that come with Viserys Targaryen. But Daemon... it seems like he has never forgiven his brother for the act of moving on. He seemed to only grow more jaded since the divorce from Laena.

"How do you even know this?"

"Aemond told Aegon who told Helaena who told Rhaena who told Baela who told me."

Rhaenyra breaks her gaze from the two women. "Keeping tabs on your nephew that you barely speak to?"

Daemon gave her an empty smile. Almost a little cruel like he would crush her like a bug if it would not so pitiful. "You naive little thing. When you figure things out, let me know."

Rhaenyra wants to ask him what he means by that, but Daemon pushes himself off the wall he was leaning against to leave Rhaenyra alone.

Alone was a feeling she was used to. Rhaenyra often found solace in the loneliness that she found herself stuck in. If she did not find comfort in it, it would swallow her whole. Jaw unhinged and bloodthirsty.

Her eyes went back to the where Alicent and the girl were sitting, but Helaena seemed to replace the girl's place to speak with her mother. Instead of getting chummy with Alicent, the mystery woman had gone over to Aemond. Rhaenyra felt a little queasy watching them. Like watching two little dolls or those silly little cake toppers people get. Picture perfect like the stock photos that came in picture frames.

She shook her head at herself with an internal laugh. Here she was picking apart her baby brother's seemingly first real relationship; she was no better than Daemon if she did that. It was she told herself when she watched one of the wives of the company's lawyers come up to the girl and give her kiss on the cheek. Like they were old family friends.

Rhaenyra suddenly finds herself straightening out her jacket and her heels moving across the outdoor area. Might as well introduce herself... as a kind sister figure, of course.

She has a funny feeling she will be seeing this girl around more often.

#a reader fic? yeah I know lol #this is short but I got this idea #aemond getting the pretty woman treatment lmaoooo #aemond targaryen imagine #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond x reader #aemond targaryen fanfic #aemond targaryen #aemond x you #aemond x fem!reader #hotd fic #hotd angst #black!reader

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helianthus-tarot · 23 days

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SELF: What do you think will make you happy

The reading could be talking about things you think you need to have to be happy, or things you already have in your life that you are keeping because you think they will lead to happiness. Of course these 'things' can also be habits, actions, mentality and so on. The piles have similarities, so take your time; read the question to yourself and choose a pile.

I posted the extended version on my Patreon which includes what will actually make you happy ❤️ There are other 50+ fun and juicy readings on Patreon so definitely check it out!

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Instructions: Focus on the topic and ask yourself the question. Choose a number/picture that you feel the most drawn to or that you can’t stop looking at. Trust your intuition. May the message resonate. Let me know which pile you choose! Feedback is appreciated!

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PILE 1

What do you think will make you happy: 10 of Cups. 6 of Wands (why). The Chariot, 3 of Wands Rx (how).

This is interesting to me because usually this kind of energy does not appear for Pile 1s in my readings. For some of you, this may be something you’ll believe in the future; I kept saying ‘what will you think’ despite wanting to phrase it like the title. Your idea of happiness is pretty tied to relationships and feeling connected. Some of you think that a marriage or soulmate-like connection will make you happy, being in a union with someone who loves you will make you happy, and/or being able to build a family of your own, having kids or more kids will make you happy. For others of you, you think you’ll be happy if you have a community of your own, if you have a group of people with whom you can feel belonged; you think that having a friend group, a found family, or having a lot of connections will make you happy.

This belief probably has something to do with public/social image and external standards. It’s like society saying ‘you are successful if you have this and that’, and you adopt this belief and make it yours. Other people have it, so you feel like there’s something wrong with you if you don’t have it. It is seen as a sign of success, a sign that you are ‘making it’ in life, a sign that you are doing the right thing, or that you are living as you should be. Some of you genuinely desire connection(s), and society’s standard with regard to being in a relationship or having a big group of friends just makes your desire for connections stronger, i.e. the world just further affirms your belief that you need relationship(s) to be happy.

Some of you desire connection(s) because it makes you feel better about yourself, you think having it will make you feel better about the image you are presenting to the world (how the world sees you and your life), i.e. it’s ego-based. Some of you may also like the idea of being popular, of being one of those people who has a lot of friends and whatnot (something about this kind of life seems very idealised). It’s like seeing an influencer’s life and thinking how great their life is; they have a loving partner, many people love them, etc. Some of you probably do this, some of you want to be someone who other people can look at and say things like that about.

How does that belief influence you; it makes you have a one-track mind, it makes you focused on something specific (in this case, your connection(s) or the lack of it). You focus on this with stubbornness and persistence that are maybe misplaced, that are maybe better applied on a different path. ‘All or nothing’ energy, ‘either I get this or I will be less happy’, or ‘I need this to be happy and I want it so much’ kind of energy. There’s that slightly desperate and impatient energy to The Chariot. It’s like, you focus on it so much that you don’t consider or see other ways of being, other paths to choose. So it happens at the expense of other possibilities, it makes you miss those other possibilities/paths.

This can also make you more likely to force a connection or feel impatient when you haven’t got it yet, it can make you see a connection through a biased lens, make you stay in connections that aren’t good for you, or make you accept people who are not truly aligned with you, and anything similar to these. This pile also reminds me of people who ride or die for people who aren’t good for them, it reminds me of people who think it’s a virtue to withstand negative situations/treatment in a connection because it ‘proves’ how strong their love is and because they want it so much; I’m not saying every one of you do these, your pile just reminds me of these situations.

EXTENDED VERSION IS ON PATREON! What will actually make you happy? ❤️ And what steps can you take to feel happier? 🫂 There are also other 50+ fun and juicy readings on Patreon so definitely check it out!

PILE 2

What do you think will make you happy: 8 of Wands, 10 of Pentacles. The Lovers (why). Ace of Cups Rx, Queen of Wands (how).

This is a bit similar to the previous pile, but the previous pile is more emotional and idealistic. Your pile is more materialistic (I don’t mean this in a bad way) and concerns itself with longevity, things that last, something of quality. You think having these things will make you happy. Some of you are probably very career-oriented, full of aspirations and ambition, wanting to create a legacy for yourself, something of quality that you can be proud of; you think it will make you happy if you do these and get these things. For others of you, it’s similar, but the aspiration is more oriented towards having a particular relationship; a quality, long-term relationship or marriage (with children and grandchildren, for some of you, something traditional or old school love). There’s also a feeling of ‘if it doesn’t last, or if it isn’t the way I want it to be, I don’t want it’ vibe to you. It could be either that you think it’s important for something to match how you want it to be, or you think that you can only be happy with it IF it matches how you think it should be.

So this may also be the group of people who avoid getting into a connection if it doesn’t show a sign that it will last (or if it doesn’t meet your 10 of Pentacles standard). Some of you avoid romance completely, because marriage doesn’t last anyway. Some of you probably apply the same principle to other parts of your life, not only romance. It’s like, you dismiss things that are transitional, things that are temporary, things that don’t match the requirements, things that don’t fit your end goal. You have this belief because you value yourself and your needs, you know what you want and you don’t settle for less, doing this makes you happy (or you think so). Some of you also like the idea of a soulmate connection, so you are quite focused on meeting The One, or The Right Person, and may ignore those who you think don’t match the image you have in your mind. It can make you very self-focused, putting things/people in your life into ‘what serves you’ and ‘what doesn’t’ boxes. Some of you could dismiss or drop things/people too fast, too soon.

Some of you may also think that it will make you happy if you grow up (almost like shoving your innocence and naivety into a box), and focus on what’s actually useful, what can bring more gains in the future. Focusing on future stability, your requirements, the overall longevity of a path, et cetera, is not problematic. But it can be a problem if it comes from a desire to avoid pain and disappointment, or a skewed belief about how you should act in this world to be happy. It’s also a problem if it makes you closed-off. I feel like you are not totally wrong here, it’s probably correct that these things (quality things, things that last, stability, going after your goals, etc) can make you happy. But what may need some adjustment here is how you go about it, what you do when you do it, the mentality/motivation that is driving that behaviour, and/or what you are actively avoiding when you are in this energy.

PILE 3

What do you think will make you happy: The Sun Rx. 3 of Cups (why). The Lovers, Justice Rx, 7 of Pentacles Rx (how).

I wonder if many of you feel like you have to hide yourself in some way, your true self I mean. Some of you think that if you keep to yourself, if you tone down your personality, if you hide who you are, if you only show parts of you that are palatable — things will be better for you. Not necessarily that you will be happy, I don’t think you believe that either, but you probably think it can make life easier if you just don’t show yourself to people. This belief probably stems from your social experience and past interactions; people around you, friends or peers you have had. Some of you have been criticised, or picked apart, or your uniqueness, quirks or flaws have been cruelly pointed out. So gradually you started believing that it would be easier if you just hid those parts of you. A lot of you also desire a soulmate connection, not necessarily romantic, it’s mostly about the desire to have someone who understands you, and loves you for who you are, and who is compatible with you (because you haven’t met this type of person often, if at all).

Now this ‘hiding yourself’ can manifest in different ways for different people. Some of you probably just avoid social connections, avoid being in a group, avoid connecting with people. Instead of choosing to engage, you simply focus on seeking and waiting for the right connection or the ideal connection. This could make you end up not putting much effort into connections that you already have in your life. Because you don’t feel connected to those people, you could have a habit of ghosting them or not returning their effort. This is giving off the “I like deep talks, I don’t do small talks and avoid people who do” “we don’t share any similarities anyway” vibe, I’m not saying everyone who chose this pile acts like this. But some of you probably use that kind of belief as a defence mechanism to avoid showing up and making an effort to connect with people as who you are. Your rejection of others could stem from your belief that you won’t be accepted for who you are if you show yourself, so some of you create reasons why you don’t want it either (like my examples just now), or why it’s better if you don't show who you are to people. In reality, other people could actually be interested in getting to know the real you.

For another group of you; you guys actually participate in social situations and may keep some ‘friends’ or acquaintances, but you ‘hide’ yourself when you are among others, showing only the palatable sides of you, the nice and appropriate sides of you, the sides of you that you think people want to see, or that you think people can handle. The issue with this is you are not ‘attending’ as yourself and people can’t see you as a result. This can make it more difficult for people who are compatible with you to form meaningful connections with you, because they can’t see you. This reminds me of a short comic about two people (?) with blue skin choosing to wear masks, they didn’t want to show their blue skin because they thought it made them look different and weird. But wearing those masks only made it difficult for them to notice their similarity with each other, they kept missing each other in life. They would have connected with each other faster if they had seen who they were from the very beginning. It’s like that.

Some of you are perfectionists; you only allow yourself to show what you think are beautiful enough, perfect enough, ideal or good enough to show to the world. Like I said, some of you don’t actually believe doing thatcan make you happy, but you think it can make your life easier, or that it can make your interactions with the world more pleasant.

PILE 4

What do you think will make you happy: The Hierophant, 8 of Wands, 4 of Swords Rx, 8 of Pentacles. 6 of Swords, 5 of Wands (why). 9 of Pentacles (how).

This is a bit similar to Pile 2. A lot of you have this specific idea about how you should behave, what you should do in your life, how you should approach your life — but it’s very restricted and responsible, overly so. It’s like someone who believes they have to work hard and do this or do that non-stop in order to be happy. It’s like those people who believe they have to get into a university, then get a job in whatever typical or common field like medicine or engineering even when they actually don’t like these things, because these are what they should do, this is the normal path that everyone walks on. Something like that. Like rules, limitations or standards you put on yourself because you think that’s how things should be done for you to be happy. For some of you, this is related to a specific situation or life challenge that you are healing from at the moment. You want to move on from this thing desperately, so you tackle the challenge with this belief that you should stay strong, be mature about it and keep walking to get out of the situation.

This belief probably stems from what you have learned from your surroundings, or from always having to deal with challenges on your own in your life. Some of you are independent, overly so, or you are used to having to rely on yourself, or you are used to being the person other people rely on, the person who has to set an example or who has to take care of things. It’s giving the first child energy; who tells themself to behave responsibly, be mature, do what you need to do. There is a lot of forced maturity and restraint in this pile, like, you are making yourself work and keep working without rest, to be stern or to be tough through it all. You think this will eventually lead to happiness, somehow. Some of you also collect material achievements as rewards or as validation that you are doing ‘the right thing’, or that you are on the right path; whether or not these things truly make you happy, as long as they look pretty and presentable and valuable, you’ll use them as validation and as a reason to keep doing what you have been doing.

Some of you may not often let yourself process/dwell in your negative thoughts or negative feelings (about your situation and the challenges you are going through, or have had to go through). But it’s like putting a lid on a boiling pot of water, the water is still boiling, you just can’t see it, it’s still there. Some of you believe that you can preserve your happiness if you keep those things at the back of your mind, not dealing with them just yet, not succumbing to them just yet, because you need to be responsible and tough right now. That’s the feeling here. A lot of you are also exhausted, I think, battle-worn, overworked.

It’s not that you think doing these things are making you happy at the moment, I think you are focusing on the future, you think at the end of the tunnel there’s happiness and you just have to keep walking on this specific path, because that’s just how it is. ‘It is what it is’ can represent the vibe of this pile very well, ‘it is what it is, you cope, you push through’. I wonder if some of you are asking this question about your person instead of yourself, especially if you are a hetero woman, because I’m feeling masculine energy. Although this pile can also be about women (or people in general, really) who have had to rely on themselves a lot.

#pick a card #pick a pile #tarotblr #tarot readers #tarot community #divination #pick a picture #free tarot readings #pick an image #free tarot #pac #love tarot #self love #healing #shadow work #spiritual healing #spiritual journey

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queerfables · 8 months

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The Rules of the Twist

Given the themes of deception and sleight of hand in Good Omens season 2, I think most of us agree it's at least possible there's some kind of twist waiting to be revealed in season 3. We're bouncing around a lot of theories, but I wanted to take a step back and look at the general shape of what we might expect.

The big twist we've seen before in Good Omens is Crowley and Aziraphale's body swap. (Okay, technically it was an appearance swap. But that just doesn't sound as pithy.) Rather than anticipate an exact repeat of this trick, I'm considering the swap as a sort of model. What does it tell us about the rules Neil plays by when he pulls a twist in this story? What clues can we expect, and what can we not count on? Sure, there's no guarantee that a season 2 twist is going to map exactly onto what we've seen in the past, but I think it's a reasonable place to start. Take these as guidelines and take them with a grain of salt, but if you're sorting through all our fascinating Good Omens theories and trying to decide what you think, you might find them helpful.

So then, what are the rules?

Broadly speaking, Neil plays fair with twists. He foreshadows and includes enough hints for the audience to make a reasonable guess at what's going on, or at least to look back after the reveal and go, "oh, of course". But he still keeps some cards close to the chest.

During the body swap, there are two big gaps in the information we're given:

Key events happen off screen The swap happened between scenes, during a time that it was only suggested, not confirmed, that Crowley and Aziraphale would be together. The transition between these scenes also used film and tv conventions to make that passage of time "invisible" - we see Crowley and Aziraphale get on the bus, and then we see them in the morning going about their days separately, and we're conditioned to think nothing important could have happened in between.

Key tools (eg abilities, items, information) haven't been shown before The swap was not something we'd ever seen Crowley and Aziraphale do, and it wasn't something they'd ever talked about either. It fit comfortably into the established world building but it hadn't been specifically signposted as a possibility.

The other big twist that Good Omens pulled was the romance between Gabriel and Beelzebub as the explanation for Gabriel's disappearance from heaven. Both of these information gaps are involved here too. The offscreen event is obviously the meetings between Gabriel and Beelzebub that lead to them falling in love - up until Gabriel's flashback sequence, the only indication they'd ever met each other was a brief conversation at the airbase during Armageddon. The tool that we haven't seen before is Beelzebub's ability to create a fly vessel for Gabriel's memories (protecting him in much the same way that Crowley and Aziraphale protected each other with their body swap, in fact).

These are pretty big gaps, really. And given that Neil knew there'd be years between seasons 2 and 3, I expect he would have leaned pretty heavily into them if he wanted to hide something. So how do we predict a twist if we can't know where it is and haven't seen what it might involve?

Unanswered questions

This is the big one. Looking at where the furniture isn't, you might say.

What's interesting is that the questions that point to a twist aren't usually subtle or ambiguous. For the body swap, the two converging questions were: what did Agnes' last prophecy mean, and how could Crowley and Aziraphale survive their executions? In season two, some of the unanswered questions signposting Gabriel/Beelzebub were: how did Gabriel lose his memory, why was he carrying a box, what was the significance of the song he kept singing, who was he at the Resurrectionist with...

I think guesses about upcoming twists are most convincing when they seek to tie up loose threads from the show. For this reason, I'm a little skeptical of theories proposing the kiss between Crowley and Aziraphale involved some kind of twist. It isn't impossible, I just don't see any unanswered questions there. (Savvy readers may note that I too have speculated about a twist hidden in the kiss. I do find the possibility fun, but it's not a theory I'm seriously committed to). If I was going to really buy into one of these theories, I'd want it to explain one of my big unanswered questions other than "but how could they get into a fight that hurts me so deep in my soul?" That's definitely a question I have, but not technically a mystery.

It's worth noting that in the case of the body swap, we were initially given a false answer to the question "how did they survive their executions?" The angels and demons watching attribute it to Crowley and Aziraphale having "gone native", believing that their natures had fundamentally changed, making them immune to holy water and hellfire. It might be the case, then, that some of the apparently resolved questions this season warrant further investigation. Is there more to the story of Gabriel's disappearance than we know, for example?

2. Unexplained details

If examining an unanswered question is looking at where the furniture isn't, then this is where we take all the pieces of furniture piled up in storage and see if we've got anything that fits. Everything is fair game here: script, acting, music, props, sets, costumes, editing, camera angles, audio effects, visual effects, everything. If it's on the screen or coming through the speakers, it was put there on purpose by multiple teams of highly skilled and attentive creators all working together to create the final product.

I think you could probably do an entire meta on all the little details pointing towards the season 1 body swap, but here are some of the big ones:

"Crowley" sees the restored Bentley, but takes a taxi instead of driving it

"Aziraphale" circles "Crowley" when they order their ice creams, the way Crowley more typically moves around Aziraphale

"Crowley" says "tickety boo", an extraordinarily Aziraphalean phrase

The collar on "Crowley's" jacket is a beige tartan rather than its usual red

There are general differences in the ways David Tennant and Michael Sheen embody the characters throughout the swap

Similarly, Gabriel and Beelzebub's romance has lots of small details pointing to it. The big one that keeps showing up is the connection between Gabriel and flies. He mentions them and interacts with them repeatedly, and although it isn't obvious at first glance, there's a fly in the box that he carries to the bookshop. This all culminates in the reveal that it's the same fly, Beelzebub's gift to him.

Here's the problem, of course: if everything in the show is intentional and crafted with meticulous attention to detail, how do we know what actually matters? This is why I think it's so important to look at the unanswered questions first. There's a joy in seeking out Easter eggs and connecting all the dots, and sometimes you might strike gold this way, but there's also a lot of noise in the signal. It's helpful to know the general shape of what you're looking for, so you'll know when you've found it.

You can reverse engineer this. Start with details that jump out at you and then look for a puzzle they might explain. This works, but it's a little easier to get lost in the weeds, struggling to sort out what's significant and what's a fun reference to another piece of media or a hint to a question that's already been resolved. Going back to the twists we've already seen on this show, the unanswered questions around them were really big and obvious, so I think it's a good idea to ask: if I hadn't noticed this detail, would I have thought this was a mystery that needed solving?

Okay, but what do we do with this?

Well, maybe nothing. These criteria can't confirm or rule out any theories, after all. I'm laying it out like a rubric but it isn't really, I'm just describing a few storytelling patterns we've seen before and making some rough guesses about how they might show up again. If I were really serious about this I'd probably take a look at other examples of Neil's work and see how well my model holds up there, but the truth is I'm not really familiar with enough of his other works to do this. (Confession time: I was always more of a Pratchett fan).

The main reason that I've laid everything out like this is it informs my thinking when I stress test my own theories, and I figured other people might be interested in it. I'm also hoping it will help me to be able to refer back to this when I write meta in the future. For my own purposes, I find a breakdown like this helpful because it gives me a sense of how a writer approaches their story, where they'll tip their hand and where they'll hold things close. It's no guarantee and it wouldn't be any fun if it was, but in a lot of cases we're not aware of our own patterns, so it can be surprisingly illuminating.

#good omens #good omens meta #fable talks good omens

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r-is-typing · 2 months

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red | s.r

summary: in which red was their color

request: Hi lovely I saw your requests were open and was wondering could I please request for Spencer Reid - your part of the BAU and Spencer is in love with you but thinks nobody knows but ofcourse they all do. And one day when you’re working a case an officer flirts with you and jealous Reid comes out. Also welcome back to the world of writing I can’t wait to read your works ❤️

requested by: @justpeachy46

pairing: spencer reid x fem!reader

category: fluff with a little bit of sadness/jealousy (reid being a sad jealous man)

content warnings: spencer jealousy era, the bau being a bunch of teases

word count: 1.5k

send in your requests here!

Red. Red was the color of some of the cardigans in Spencer's closet. Red was the color of his favorite coffee mug in his kitchen. Red was the shade of lipstick he loved on his coworker (and the woman he had been pining over for the last 10 years) the most. Red also happened to be the color his face turned when he was faced with something he had experienced for the first time only weeks prior; jealousy. The team was in Buffalo, New York for a case. Typical serial abductor, nothing the team hadn't seen before. The case had wrapped up in a pretty decent amount of time - the Unsub being caught within a week, which the team felt relief when that happened. Not only could they get home as quick as they could, but it was a huge relief knowing that the horrible person who committed these crimes was locked up and people felt safe because of them.

Y/N was helping Emily pack up some of the case files and other things necessary for them to take back to Quantico for their evidence lockup. A door opened, Spencer walking through with two cups of coffee and a hot tea. "One coffee with light sugar, extra creamer, and one green tea with honey." Spencer gave the cups to the respective people.

Y/N took the tea eagerly, looking up at the man. "You, Spencer Reid, are a lifesaver. The New York air nipped at their skin, so the three who were left to pack up everything at the police station had the brilliant idea of getting hot drinks to warm themselves. "O-Of course, I know it's your favorite." Spencer awkwardly shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked at her, not missing the smirk and knowing glance that one Emily Prentiss gave to the both of them.

"Did you know that green tea is not only good for boosting your energy level, but is also helpful in controlling blood sugar levels by enhancing insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism?"

Y/N looked at Spencer as she took another sip. "Huh. Interesting. Is there anything you don't know, Genius?" She looked at him with a playful smirk, putting a manila folder into the cardboard box.

The door opened again and the three of them looked up. It was one of the local officers there in Buffalo. "So, I was thinking.." The man had walked over to Y/N, starting a conversation. Spencer stared at them as he held one of the folders, his knuckles turning white at how hard he gripped the folder.

He couldn't hear anything the guy was saying, but that didn't matter to him. What mattered to Spencer is what he could hear. Y/N's laugh as her head was thrown back, looking as if she was giggling up to the ceiling.

What could possibly be so funny?

Spencer definitely didn't miss the not-so-subtle pass of a piece of paper from the officer to Y/N. His best guess? His phone number. The only real question Spencer had; Would she even reach out to him or did she just take his number to let him down easy?

"Hotch just texted. Wheels up in 20."

Spencer had never been happier to know Emily than he felt in that moment. He was even thankful for Hotch that because of them having to board the jet so soon, Y/N snapped out of conversation and helped him and Emily finish packing the stuff to take back to the FBI building.

Once they boarded the jet, Y/N sat on the sofa that was normally Reid's spot, but everyone knew that when it came to her, he didn't care if she took it. Anyone else? Tough luck. Soft giggles and whispers took him out of the trance he was in when reading. Again, what could possibly be so funny?

Y/N stared intently at her phone, and Spencer couldn't help but notice the small blush that painted her face, where there usually was nothing.

"Kyle and Y/N sitting in a tree..."

JJ began to sing as she sat down next to Emily and across from Spencer and Morgan. "Sorry?" Spencer looked confused, but the other two just laughed at the blonde. "You didn't hear? That officer back in New York asked Y/N out. He's driving to Quantico this weekend and taking her to dinner, I think."

Spencer's fists turned white again as he gripped the book he was reading. "You alright there, genius?" Emily raised an eyebrow looking at Reid who just nodded. "Just fine." He spoke bluntly.

Before they knew it, Friday had rolled around and Y/N was getting ready for her dinner with Kyle when her phone buzzed. The text read:

From: Penelope Garcia

Hotch needs everyone back for final paperwork. Sorry, dollface.

Y/N sighed, sending her date a quick text as she walked to her car, making her way back to where she was just days ago. When she walked in the door, Penelope was quick to wrap her in a hug. "I'm so sorry about your date.." Spencer heard what the two women were talking about and couldn't help but smile.

His smile quickly disappeared seeing the familiar man walk in moments later, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Spencer watched as Y/N gasped, walking over to him and taking the flowers, hearing her give thanks to the man.

Spencer could feel his face heating up. He made a confused face mostly to himself. He didn't know what he was feeling but he didn't like it. The slow but building anger, the heat in his face, his fists instinctually curling into balls, and his eyebrows furrowing.

Before he could stop himself, he got up and walked to the pair. "Nice flowers." Spencer started to speak, the anger evident in his voice. "But, her favorite are daisies. I mean, do you even know her?" Spencer scoffed. Y/N looked up at him with a mix of confusion and shock in her eyes.

"Rei-"

Spencer held his hand up to Derek who tried to stop him from talking. "I mean, really. You meet her for maybe all of five minutes and decide she's the one you want and you don't know a single thing about her?" Spencer paused to take a breath and continue.

"Do you even know what her favorite color is, or her favorite song to listen to when she's sad, or her favorite movies depending on the mood she's in, or-or-"

"Reid." The stern voice of Hotch speaking would usually quiet Spencer down, but everyone could see how escalated his emotions were when not even Aaron Hotchner's voice could quiet him.

"Listen, if you want to ask out someone in the BAU, fine. Go right ahead, but not her. Okay? Anyone but her. I've been in love with her for years now, and this... I can't see this working out because you don't know her like I do."

Y/N couldn't help but giggle making Spencer turn to her quick. "Spencer..." She began. "This is Kyle. My best friend from high school. We haven't talked to each other in years, and so when he saw me in New York he gave me his number so we could catch up."

Spencer felt a mix of emotions was through him. Relief, embarrassment, and an emotion he could only describe as "How stupid could I be?". "But, JJ said-" Emily cut him off. "We knew Y/N couldn't hear us so we made a bet to see how fast it would take you to get jealous."

Spencer felt as if he had just seen a ghost for the first time. "I'm so sorry." He apologized profusely. Kyle shrugged it off, saying he understood the confusion. "And, listen, I got her these flowers because as far as I knew, they were her favorite." Kyle said, laughing softly.

Spencer looked towards Y/N who just stood there, staring at him and smiling. "I like daisies a lot. I, especially started liking them when you started to give them to me. They became my favorite because they were the first flowers you ever gave to me, Spencer." Spencer stood there in shock.

What?

"Oh, and for the record. Two things." Rhyan looked at him. "One, I like you too. Always have." Spencer looked at the girl in adoration.

"Two, jealousy is a really nice shade of red on you, Spence."

But, more importantly, red just so happened to be the color of the dress Y/N was wearing when she reciprocated Spencer's feelings; their color.

r is typing...

so, i'm gonna be honest... wasn't thinking i was gonna love this as much as i do! one of my new favorites for sure. thank you for the request! <3

r is signing off...

join the taglist here!

#requests open #reqs open #spencer reid x reader #request #criminal minds #spencer reid x fem!reader #r-is-typing #criminal minds x reader

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anthurak · 10 months

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So one of the amusing realizations I had watching Unhappy Campers is that while I love Helluva Boss as a whole and had a great time with this episode (great to finally see some Millie development and see how her and Moxxie deal with conflict), when it comes to deep-dive analysis and theory-crafting I’m pretty much only interested in talking about Loona and Octavia

And wouldn’t you know it, despite spending the whole episode napping in the I.M.P. boardroom and possibly doing some dry-erase graffiti, I still managed to find something that has some pretty interesting implications for our favorite Goth Wolf.

See, the big world-building development this episode is giving us our first look at the ‘Asmodean Crystals’ that were first alluded to in the season premiere, which allow travel between Hell and Earth and seem to be the standard way that demons are able to conduct business on Earth.

However, in addition to portaling to Earth, we learn in this episode that Asmodean Crystals also allow the demons wearing them to assume a human disguise. Definitely a useful ability, and also has some fun implications going forward; namely that if/when I.M.P. starts using an Asmoadean Crystal of their own (as hinted by Stolas’s research), we’ll probably get to see full-on human disguises/designs for Blitzo, Moxxie and Millie XD

However, what I find particularly intriguing about this reveal goes back to the first time we saw demons using human disguises; Spring Broken.

In hindsight, it’s pretty easy to guess that Verosika and her crew used one or more Asmoadean Crystals to get to Earth and back to Hell in this episode. What I’m curious about is whether the same is true of their disguises? Ergo, are Verosika, Vortex and the rest of her succubi/incubi crew able to assume human disguises on their own, or were those disguises simply created by the crystal(s) they were using? And if it’s the second option, then that has some VERY INTERESTING implications.

Because guess who has been shown taking a human disguise WITHOUT the use of an Asmoadean Crystal?

Yep. Loona.

Really, if it turns out that most demons have to use external means/devices to take on a human disguise, then Loona being able to disguise herself all on her own starts feeling VERY significant.

I mean, consider the fact that the only other demon we’ve seen specifically assume a human disguise all on their own is STOLAS. Heck, given how she doesn’t use one, it seems like not even Octavia can do it.

In hindsight, the way Loona gets a flashy transformation sequence alongside Stolas may have been a way of conveying that this is actually some pretty high-level shit Loona is pulling off.

As to where Loona may have picked up this ability? Well, reading between the lines we kind of have to assume that Loona must have taught herself how to use the Goetic Grimoire with little-to-no outside help (it’s hard to imagine Stolas giving her lessons) to the point where she knows how to use it better than even Octavia. So who’s to say she hasn’t picked up a few other tricks from that book as well...?

Basically, this is all giving yet more hints that Loona secretly has a serious talent for magic, and I think that could lead to some very FUN developments/twists down the line.

#helluva boss #helluva boss spoilers #helluva boss analysis #helluva boss theory #Loona #helluva loona #Stolas #helluva stolas #asmodean crystals #rambling about a character who didn't even speak in the newest episode XD #realizing that i'm pretty much only interested in talking about loona and octavia lol

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alotofpockets · 2 months

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The best | Mary Earps

Pairing: Mary Earps x Reader

Request: Where Mary gets her fifa best award

Woso masterlist | Words: 1K

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Today was a big day for your girlfriend, you were attending the FIFA Best Awards, where she was nominated for not one but two categories. Though before the award show started there she had a busy schedule, one you and her team followed along closely.

This wasn’t your world at all, but you loved supporting Mary in everything she did. While you were admiring your girlfriend in her element, you were filming bits and pieces of behind the scenes footage. Mary loved creating TikTok’s out of events like this to show the world what it was like from her perspective, and you loved helping her film.

Currently you were at a photoshoot. Mary was repping her own brand, a white tee with her quote ‘Be unapologetically yourself.’ paired with a black suede tracksuit. The whole day the group of you moved around the large building, besides the event it was also a big media day. Interviews, games, photoshoots, anything you could imagine, it was a part of today.

In each interview, Mary spoke with so much passion. Her passion was one of the things you loved most about her. She had many interests, and stood for a lot of things. The way she used her platform for the better, speaking out about mental health, and inspiring people was always incredible to watch.

After the final interviews were done, you all made it back to the hotel room where the stylist, and the hair and makeup crew were all waiting to glam both Mary and you up. You were getting dressed in the bathroom, while the team was working on getting Mary ready.

Once you were in your outfit, you came back into the main room and were met with Mary. She was dressed in a beautiful dress that fit her body perfectly. You hadn’t realised you were staring with your mouth open until you heard Mary's smug voice saying, “Like what you see?” Her comment makes you snap out of it and chuckle. “Yes I do. You look stunning, baby.” You walk closer to admire the dress she was showing off. “You look pretty incredible yourself.” The stylist had picked your outfit to have a slight match with Mary’s dress, so red touches all throughout the fit.

You took some pictures together before you headed to the final destination of the night, the award show. There were a lot of familiar faces in the audience, both players you had met through Mary, and ones you’ve idolised as a football fan yourself. The atmosphere was great, and everyone was incredibly supportive of the winners.

When the Women’s World XI section of the night started, you were sitting on the edge of your seat. Mary reached for your hand and held it tight, as the announcement started, and she squeezed it even tighter when her name was called as the goalkeeper. She stood up with tears in her eyes, and hugged you first before making her way to the stage, as the rest of the winners were being named.

The stage filled with the winning players, you watched proudly as your girlfriend admired the trophy in her hands. You knew how much this meant for her, and were so incredibly happy for her talent to be recognised by her fellow footballers.

Winning the goalkeeper position in the World XI made Mary think that she would not win the Best Women’s Goalkeeper award as well, because that would be too much. So, when her name was announced she was shocked. “You did it baby! I am so proud of you. Go, get up on that stage and accept the award.” She placed her hands on your cheeks and pressed a kiss onto your lips, before she made her way to the stage.

You watched your girlfriend accept her second award of the evening with a big smile on your face. In your eyes there was no one more deserving than her, of course you were biassed, but she has been playing incredibly well and deserved to be recognized for her hard work.

Mary walked up the the microphone for her speech, and you already knew you weren’t going to be able to hear it without shedding a tear,

“I think I talk about a lot obviously that it’s not been the easiest journey to get here, so I would say that I definitely took the scenic route.” Mary chuckled to the crowd at her own joke. “I had to wait a long time for this kind of success, but I think looking back now, it all makes total sense. Everything that I went through, I mean, we’re all humans, we all have struggles, right?” She was met with hundreds of nodding faces in the crowd. “But it just made me feel so much more prepared for the challenges we face today. And to be able to enjoy these moments so much more and realise how pretty unbelievable they are and to never take a single day for granted. So, if you’re struggling and you’re going through hell, keep going. And it’s never too late to be exactly who you are.”

Mary’s words, and the feelings behind them did indeed make you tear up. Your girlfriend’s journey hadn’t been easy, but she was paving the way for young girls aspiring to be just like her, as well as advocate for mental health. You couldn’t be more proud of her, to once again use her platform to talk about the tough moments, to let the world know it isn’t all just rose coloured.

After a long, and busy day you found yourself in the back of the car on the way back home. A sleeping Mary’s head laying on your shoulder, with two trophy cases laying in the trunk.

-----

💗 If you enjoyed this fic, please consider liking, commenting, and reblogging! You can also supporting me by leaving a tip 💗

#mary earps #mary earps x reader #mary earps imagine #woso imagine #woso imagines #woso fanfics #woso x reader

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atlasofthestaars · 4 months

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[MK X READER] New Era - Chapter .015

first part | previous part | next part

NOTE:

Yet again we’re hoping for less than three weeks update time. We’ll see how it goes now haha ^^

edit: I lost track of time. I keep on forgetting when I last updated.

Rain got in as a love interest, which does alter the story a bit!

Reminder that I like to do canon divergence <3

Would you guys like a collection of headcanons I’ve done for requests on AO3?? I usually don’t post them there because they’re pretty short but I can put them all into one book that I’ll update.

Also happy 100k+ words! I'm. I'm not ready to figure out how many words this will all be by the end.

FROM THE EYES OF SOMEONE WHO ENJOYS A MOMENT OF PEACE

“Things are getting rough.”

You stood upon the roof of a building, staring down at the destruction of the city around you. Outworlders mobbed the streets, terrorizing the innocent Earthrealmers. To describe it as “rough” was an understatement. It’s been two long years ever since the first invasions on Earthrealm started. It’s been nearly a year since you’ve moved out to the city along with the others to fend off where it was the worst.

Most of Earthrealm’s forces were sent here, along with Raiden, to defend the city. But there were a few that were scattered around the world to help other regions. Fujin and your father, for example, stayed behind to help the monks defend the Wu Shi along with others of the White Lotus. You missed both of them dearly, only being able to communicate with them occasionally.

You haven’t been able to visit Kung Lao’s grave in over a year. You only hoped that he understood why.

“Are you planning on going out again?” Liu Kang’s voice spoke. His voice dripped with concern. You turned your gaze away from the apocalyptic sight to your dear friend. It was a much better view than the one below. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at you. You sighed and nodded before turning your gaze down to the view below. As disturbing as it was, you felt guiltier turning a blind eye.

“I have to, I don’t think Raiden and Johnny Cage are enough to take down that extermination squad they’ve sent out.” You said, crossing your arms. A light breeze passed by, sending the smell of smoke your way. You grimaced at the acrid scent. No matter how long you’ve been here, you’re not sure if you’ll ever get used to it. Especially with how you’ve become so accustomed to the much cleaner air at the temple. “That, and Nightwolf said he would enjoy my help to help recruit the two Raiden has been getting information on.”

“New recruits?” Liu Kang inquired. You nodded gravely in response. A hint of distaste seemed to linger with his words along with some confusion. You didn’t blame him, ever since you’ve been out here, you’ve never really gone and sought out other help. Well, you’ve wanted to, but Raiden had been hesitant in dragging others into this whole affair.

As if they weren’t already. Still, you saw the logic within Raiden’s decision, even though it was flawed.

“Yes. Raiden says they have potential.” Out of the corner of your eye, you see your friend move. Was that a flinch? Or did he simply shift his weight? When you turned your gaze to check, you couldn’t tell. “I think it would be good to get more help. Our efforts are stretched out thin as it is.” You elaborate. Your hands go out to grasp at the concrete railing, gripping it tightly. You were certain by the time you let go of it, your hands would have the texture imprinted upon them.

“I still cannot believe that even after winning two tournaments and even I had nearly killed Shao Khan, it was not enough.” Liu Kang said, moving to stand closer to you. Bitterness coated his words. The distaste within his words felt strange, no matter how much more common it was becoming. You recalled back to the moment you had confronted him at Kung Lao’s grave. He was doing much better now, but you had felt like something had fundamentally changed within Liu Kang.

You could never truly pinpoint when that change happened. Was it when the invasions had started? Or maybe, was it when Kung Lao died? Part of you doubted it was either one of those, even if it sounded like it made sense. It was probably much earlier, maybe after Raiden had said Liu Kang was not the chosen one. Either way, he had changed. There was resentment that lingered in his soul, directed at Raiden. You could feel it with every interaction.

It worried you. Team morale was low enough as it were without the subtle drama between Liu Kang and Raiden. It was taxing enough to keep on a brave face in front of everyone, to pretend like everything would be alright. You didn’t know if you had enough spirit left in you to mend things together. With every day that you had to hide your dwindling confidence, you broke a little inside.

You should really talk to him, but you feared that it would lead to more issues. Maybe you were being irrational and over thinking things. You were all tired, maybe he was just irritated at how the world has essentially fallen apart.

Surely that must be it. Liu Kang was not one to dislike Raiden. If anything, he had been the one out of all three of you who had regarded him the highest. So it was illogical to think that he would suddenly dislike or even hate the god.

You were just being too worried. Maybe your logic has become weaker after pretending everything was alright for so long. That, and Liu Kang and Raiden were adults, or in Raiden’s case, more than an adult. They can figure out whatever dispute they had, if they even had one. They didn’t need you to coddle them. You had enough on your plate already, you could trust them.

Still, even with that conclusion, a pit of guilt formed in your stomach.

Warmth radiated from Liu Kang, a detail that you noted as you were drawn from your thoughts. It enveloped you in a sense of security. You closed your eyes, and for a moment you had nearly forgotten how terrible everything was. You felt safe. You only indulged yourself in the sensation for a moment before you opened your eyes and forced yourself to look at the destruction below. You didn’t deserve to feel safe and comforted in a world that needed your help.

“I can’t believe it either.” You replied after a long, long moment. You didn’t know what else to say, because what else could you say? It was unbelievable to you as much as it was to him how awful things were, even after all your efforts. It felt like a perpetual punishment for something you’ve never deserved. None of you deserved this, and yet you were all saddled with the heavy responsibility of it.

The two of you stood on the rooftop, looking out at the horrors of the world for a long while. It wasn’t as if you enjoyed seeing it. Not at all, but you couldn’t bear holding a smile for the others right now. Being alone with Liu Kang was better for your soul at the moment. None of you spoke, either not knowing how to or unwilling to break the fragile silence that settled over the two of you. It wasn’t until you realized how much time had passed that the silence had been broken.

“I need to get going now.” You informed Liu Kang. “Nightwolf will be waiting for me.” You turned away, moving to walk away from the man. Then, you felt him grasp your hand. His grip was firm, but not harsh. Just enough to keep you there, but you could still shake his grip off if you needed. But you didn’t. Your gaze trailed up from the grip to his arm then settled on his face. “Liu Kang?”

“I-” He began. His hand trembled. For what reason you had no idea why. Worried, you turned to face him fully. You placed a hand upon his, trying to quell whatever had caused him to shake. His hand settled between yours. His gaze lifted, and for a moment that stretched into eternity, he stared into your eyes. There was a fire that seemed to burn in his eyes, then it slowly burned away into embers. A soft flush appeared on his cheeks, and it seemed he even stopped breathing. You rubbed the back of his hand with your thumb, trying to coax the words out of him. His hand twitched before squeezing yours. “I just want you to stay safe.”

You could tell immediately that isn’t what he wanted to say.

“I will.” You said, reassuring him. You didn’t know what he wanted to say, you just knew those weren’t the words he wanted you to hear. But you held no judgement for the man. He could tell you what he wanted to say in due time. There was no need to rush him. You simply smiled at him. You lifted his hand and pressed it to your chest so he could hear your heart’s beat. “This heart of mine won’t stop beating anytime soon, okay?”

A shy smile spread across his lips as he nodded. His gaze fixated on where his hand was spread upon your chest, feeling the steady heart beat.You could feel how his hand grew a bit warmer, a side effect you knew from him getting a little emotional, whether it be from sadness, joy, anything really. You stood there, letting him feel the reminder that you were alive for a few moments more.

“Alright.” You said, gently removing his hand. Though the man was tough as nails, you delicately removed his hand. You moved it down to his side before sending him a smile. “I’ll be back soon, hopefully with new recruits.” You assured him, giving him a nod. “You better stay safe too, okay?” You watched as the monk nodded slowly.

You left him on that rooftop, feeling the warm gaze of your friend follow your form as you descended down back into the base.

Waking up today was the first time in a few days where you did not feel mired in heavy emotion. That was not to say you didn’t feel at least a little somber, but you at least did not feel desolate. You didn’t think your bed could handle another frenzied episode. Your fingertips traced the sewn up areas a little guiltily. You were still hoping that it was enough to not make others not mad at you.

The last thing you’d want is to ruin the apparent fragile relationship between Outworld and Earthrealm over something silly like this.

You felt a little better at the idea that perhaps not all of your memories would be so heavy and dark. You swung your legs over the bed, and you moved through your morning routine with some grace. It was a small boost of confidence, but one you sorely needed. Maybe it was a little silly, but you didn’t linger on that type of thought process for long.

As you stepped out of the bedroom, the last bits of your somber mood felt like they disintegrated when the sunlight touched you. You felt light, but there was still a slight chill in the air. It was hard to deny that you missed the warmth Liu Kang would give you within your memories. For a brief moment, you wondered if it would be silly to try and stand close to the god to feel if he had that same warmth.

Right on cue, the familiar taps of princess Kitana sounded from the far hallway. As both of you made eye contact, you shared a nod in understanding. Both of you met halfway, falling into familiar step as you walked by her side. It felt familiar. You weren’t sure if it was because you’ve walked by Liu Kang’s side for years, or because of the implications of your memories that you might have walked by her side before.

It felt nice to have a companion to walk with, either way.

“I noticed you went around with the actor.” Kitana spoke, a tinge of amusement in her voice. You couldn’t tell whether she was amused at the idea of the actor, or you being with the man. “Or, rather, he dragged you around.” She quipped. You held back an exasperated sigh at the memory. Even the princess had noticed that?

“Yes, he was rather…” You trailed off, trying to think of the proper words to express your feelings without making a bad impression of the actor for the princess. “...persistent.” You watched her eyebrows raise, and she nodded. The very hint of a laugh left her lips. You blinked, you weren’t certain if that was the first time you’ve heard her laugh.

“I can attest to that.” She replied, a tone in her voice indicating that she understood, even if just a fraction, how stubborn Johnny Cage could be. “The actor would not leave me alone the day after the banquet.” She peeked over to you, a thoughtful look on her face. “Forgive me for saying that I had the thought to smack some sense into him.”

“I take no offense, I understand just how he is like.” You said, a laugh escaping your lips. “He’s rather stubborn whenever he wishes, but he has a good heart.” You said, hand raising to cup your own cheek. Your smile slipped into something that felt sentimental before it bounced back into its more friendly state. You shrugged causally. “Even if it isn’t apparent at first.”

“Such praises are more comforting coming from you rather than his own mouth.” Kitana said, and you could detect what you could only describe as a teasing lilt to her voice. You smiled warmly at it, and you saw how her own smile seemed to grow a little less professional and a little more genuine. It was like watching a flower blossom.

“I can imagine so.” You laughed, bringing a hand to muffle it. You could imagine Johnny bragging about himself to the princess, and her probably being annoyed at it. Or amused. Either way, you had a feeling that the impression he left upon the princess was not the one he desired. “I just hope he didn’t irritate you. Like I mentioned, he means well.”

“While he is persistent as any other who attempts to court me, he is far less brutish.” Kitana reassured you, making you feel a bit better about his flirting, “And, if anything else, he is amusing enough to listen to.” You let out another chuckle at the image of Johnny thinking he was wooing princess Kitana when in reality she thought him closer to a court jester.

“Don’t let him know that.” You informed her, making her quirk up an eyebrow. “He’s an…entertainer in Earthrealm. His ego would swell with pride at the idea that he at least amuses you.” You couldn’t tell if it was the trick of the light or not, but you swore you saw her roll her eyes at the premise of Johnny Cage’s ego swelling even more.

“I’ll keep that information in mind.” Kitana replied, a light tone to her voice. With that, the both of you arrived at the entrance to the Great Hall. She turned to look at you fully, a small smile still gracing her lips. “Enjoy watching the match.” She said, and you granted her the same sentiment. She walked off, content with your response.

To your surprise, Raiden and Kung Lao were not around yet, leaving only the fire god waiting in the Great Hall. You looked around. For a moment, you considered the possibility that you had arrived earlier. You then were quick to doubt that idea due to your walk with princess Kitana. She seemed to be very diligent on routine, so you doubted that you both would have walked out early.

“Where is Raiden and Kung Lao?” You inquired, moreso thinking about the former than the latter. It wasn’t like you didn’t fret over Kung Lao, it was just that the lack of Raiden appearing was strange. While Kung Lao was typically early, it wasn’t as if he didn’t allow himself to take more time to himself. Raiden, on the other hand, was always early. Almost to a fault.

“I am not certain.” Liu Kang replied, his voice calm. You looked over to see him composed as ever. He caught your gaze, giving you a small smile in return. Subconsciously, you found yourself standing near him. You noted the warmth he radiated. It was familiar, the same aura he had back in your memories. “I would not fret over it, I am certain they will be here in due time.”

“I know.” You said, and yet you found yourself biting at a thumbnail. Your gaze was cast downwards as you contemplated over the whole ordeal. “It’s just…odd.” You admitted. “He usually would be here by now. By he, I mean Raiden. Kung Lao sometimes shows up simply on time.”

“Indeed.” Liu Kang nodded. You could feel his gaze still on you. It did not sear you, rather it felt gentle. It was much like how it would feel if you were to hover your hand over a candle to feel its warmth. “However, he is also not the type to show up late if it is an important event. I would not worry over it, it will simply cause more stress.”

“You’re right.” You replied. You felt called out at the last statement, but you knew it was for the best. After all, you weren’t the best at keeping yourself from not being stressed. It was supposed to be a friendly reminder. You took in a breath, straightening out your back before lifting your head up. You shouldn’t be stressed.

A silence settled over the two of you. This silence was different from the comforting one you were used to. It was tense, like a string being pulled far too taut. You supposed it was your fault, you and your busy mind. That, and you've been finding it harder and harder to try and separate the man you remembered the god in front of you.

“Have you been enjoying your stay in Outworld?” Liu Kang spoke. His voice was soft. It was like a droplet of water falling into a still pond. It was so deliberate, so delicate, how he broke the tension. You turned your gaze, and saw the smile he sent your way. It was bittersweet, the way he smiled. It was exactly the same way you remembered.

“I have.” You said. You weren’t keen on lying to the god, but you did feel a bit bad admitting it. You watched his face shift a tiny bit, but you couldn’t quite read if that had any significance. You turned away, finding it hard to see the way he smiled. “It’s very…different.” You told him. There was a hesitance to your words.

Certainly you were struggling to find the right words because you didn’t want to make it seem like you were suddenly forsaking Earthrealm, but there was also something else to it. You enjoyed Outworld, you truly did. But you weren’t naive to blindly praise it to a god. There were, for all you knew, probably a darker side to this place.

The memory of seeing Shao Khan for the first time still lingered in your mind.

“I’m glad you have been enjoying it.” Liu Kang replied, a pleased tone to his voice. You felt his heat grow a little more. Curious, you glanced over to him to see he has stepped over a bit. He was standing so close that he was nearly brushing your arm with his own. “I hope you continue to enjoy your stay here.”

“How has your experience been for this trip?” You asked quickly, not wanting the tension to settle back in the air. You forced yourself to look at him, meeting those glowing white eyes. You wondered, just briefly, what caused the warm mortal eyes you once knew to become godlike. Was this just a new world where Liu Kang was deemed a god? Or was there more reason to it?

“It has been lovely.” Liu Kang said, seeming satisfied with the eye contact you gave him. “Not much has changed since the last hundred years since Outworld functions differently, but something about this time around has been more…” There was a pause as the god seemed to search the air for the perfect word to say. “pleasant.”

“I see.” You replied, but the words felt like a lie on your tongue. You understood the joys of being here, but not the reason behind why it was more enjoyable. The little voice in your head told you that you should know though. And you felt just a little dumb for not knowing the reason. Still, you kept the smile upon your lips.

It was hard not to smile when Liu Kang was looking at you that way.

It didn’t take long for someone to show up. That person was Kung Lao. A broad smile spread across his lips as he sauntered in. As he laid eyes upon you and the god, his eyebrows raised as he looked around, probably searching for his fellow farmhand. When he did not see him, he walked over to you two and looked around once more, just to make sure.

“Where’s Raiden?” He asked, the confusion clear within his voice. You saw him cross his arms as once more, he scanned the room. He seemed more certain that his eyes were in the wrong rather than believe in the fact that his friend was simply not here. You supposed no one could blame him, you were just as unbelieving when you had arrived.

“He's just a little behind.” You excused, trying your best to not show in your voice that you had felt the same way. You didn't want to cause a fuss. “I am certain he shall show in due time.” You saw the fire god nod in agreement, which only made sense since he had been the one to share that same sentiment. At your reassurance, you saw Kung Lao shrug nonchalantly.

“I guess so.”

Some more time passed, and despite your own words, you felt yourself getting antsy with every minute that the diligent man did not arrive. Kenshi had arrived at this point, sending the group a curious glance upon noting the disappearance of the champion. You felt your intertwined hands fidget and clench and unclench. The stare that Kenshi sent your way did not help either. He could do very well with being less obvious.

Finally, to relieve your worries, Raiden finally showed up with Johnny Cage at his side. You sighed as you walked over to Raiden. Your eyes raked over the man. He looked rather unkempt. His clothes were a bit of a mess, and his hat was a bit crooked. He seemed to be nearly on edge. Your tongue clicked as you reached out, adjusting his clothes and hat for him.

“You had us worried.” You admit softly, making sure that the man was presentable. After all, at this point, many of Outworld’s citizens were keeping an eye on Earthrealm’s strong champion. You sent him a small smile, trying to reassure him since you could see how tense he was on his face. You watched as his mouth opened to say something, probably an excuse, but you laid a hand on his shoulder to quiet him. “Hey, you’re here, that’s what matters. Plus, you’re not late either. Don’t worry about it, it’ll leak into your fighting”

“You’re right.” Raiden said, nodding slowly. You could see the nervous energy in him seem to melt away. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath in before releasing it. A small flush covered his cheeks, perhaps still from how he had rushed to get ready this moment. When he opened his eyes, he sent you a sunny smile that warmed your heart. “I will do my best.”

“I know you will.” You told him. You watched as Kung Lao handed over a few items for Raiden and Johnny Cage to eat. You could always rely on him for that. Raiden seemed most grateful at the gesture. Chatter among the group seemed to calm the former farmhand, and it was not very long until the usual proceedings occurred.

“Young Raiden.” Sindel spoke, gazing down at Raiden. You were impressed with how she kept her smile seeming this warm and cordial despite the trend of her champions being taken down by Raiden no matter how the odds seemed. “You have…bested all the champions thus far with grace skill.” The empress commended, though there was almost a slight strain to her voice as she admitted it, it was very subtle, hardly noticeable. “Let us see if this next contender can match your might.”

Surprisingly, after being absent yesterday, General Khan was back to announce the next champion.

“The next challenger is another one of my officers, Motaro.” The general spoke, his voice booming and echoing off the walls of the hall. The sound of hooves caught your attention, and you turned to see a centuarian walk into the halls. His stride was confident, and he walked in with his arms crossed. His gaze was tilted down already, almost glaring down at Raiden who was forced to look up at his opponent.

Despite being an officer, he lacked the same armor that both Kotal and Reiko had donned, being fully bare on his upper body. Only a silver belt concealing where a horse body fused into a human body was present as any sort of protection, and even then it was more decorative than anything. That is, until you spied the back of his horse body. A metallic tail more akin to a lizard’s was attached there. Your eyes lingered on the curve of his horns, finding them interesting. It seems that centaurians were not a simply a human fused with a horse body as Earthrealmers would believe.

You believe you’ve seen this man before, but whatever feeling you had was much weaker than it was for any other person you’ve met. Maybe this man was in your life for but a brief moment…still, if he was, it was strange your brain even felt like it recognized him.

“Motaro is one of the centaurian’s finest.” General Shao bragged, seeming more enthusiastic to talk about Motaro compared to Kotal from the other day. Motaro lifted his head up to bask in the speech, an almost pleased look on his face. “With the tenacity of a bull and the might of one of the best warriors I have fought alongside, he is one of the best warriors in the legion.”

“Little man.” Motaro addressed Raiden curtly. He snorted as he continued to look down at the farmhand. His countenance returned to the look he had previously, but it was marred with a near sneer. His gaze felt nearly as sharp as his metallic tail did. You watched as Raiden took the comment in stride, bowing to his opponent, not fearing despite the size difference between them both.

“It is an honor to fight you.” Raiden told his opponent. You smiled at how polite he was to his opponents, even despite the lack of respect he was granted in return. Still, you wondered if that would remain that way in the future. While the thought of Raiden trying to smack talk his opponents was funny to think of, you hoped that nothing would hurt Raiden enough to take him in that direction.

Motaro’s fighting style was unique, suffice to say. His unusual body type, at least compared to what Raiden had normally fought against. He would charge in a brutish manner, using brute force to try and make the champion cower. Despite his bulk, he also maintained a lot of the battlefield control when Raiden tried to create space by being able to shoot projectiles from the metallic tail that you had spied earlier.

Still, even with the trickiness of the fight, Raiden’s wit led him to victory. When he needed to close the gap, he would teleport behind Motaro. Due to Motaro’s body, he struggled to turn around and face the man before he was met with lightning that was strong enough to stagger even him. Sometimes, Raiden would realize that he would have to match the reckless nature of Motaro and surge right at him, catching the other man off guard.

It was no surprise to you to see that Motaro eventually collapsed. Taking deep breaths, Raiden looked down on his opponent, an ironic twist on the dynamic before. Except for Raiden, there was no hint of malice or disrespect in his eyes. Only warmth glimmered within his.

“Thank you for the match.” Raiden told him humbly, a soft smile on his lips. You watched him reach out to try and attempt to help up his opponent instinctively. He almost seemed to flinch when he retracted it when Motaro denied the help. There was a mixture between a scoff and a huff from the centaurian, but ultimately he nodded before he walked off. You eyed the tail that almost seemed to drag on the floor, making a slight scratching sound.

“Congratulations on a well fought match.” You said, walking up to the once again successful champion. His smile seemed to grow as you walked towards him with a delighted expression. It was almost like seeing a child light up when you gave them the sweetest candy in the world. “Your technique is improving everyday.”

“I can only thank you, Lord Liu Kang, and the monks for preparing me for these moments.” Raiden replied, seeming to fall back onto his habit of being far too humble. You sighed and shook your head in disapproval of how he still didn’t consider his own skills into the fray. Still, it was endearing enough that you still smiled.

“Do not forget how much hard work you have also put in, Raiden.” Liu Kang reminded him, practically taking the words out of your mouth. You saw the god’s eyes flick over to you for a moment. Whether that was in reference to how you and Raiden had often stayed up late training or if it was a reference to how the god knew what was what you were going to say, you could not tell.

“Yeah man, you killed it out there, even with sleeping in.” Johnny hopped into the conversation. You elbowed the actor at the mention of him sleeping in, maybe a little harsher than you should have after seeing how flushed the champion’s cheeks became. You heard the American clear his throat. “You gotta give yourself some credit, Raidude.”

“I will try.” Raiden said, a bit of hesitance in his voice. While it did seem to partially stem from the insistence from all of you that he should be giving himself more credit, you could also sense the hesitance coming due to the nickname Johnny had called him. You would never admit it, but the fact that even the kindest of your mentees seemed to hold a slight disdain towards the actor’s nicknames never failed to amuse you. Yet, all the same, the enthusiasm in him wanting to succeed and work hard on whatever his criticisms were shone through.

After discussion with Liu Kang, like usual, your little group dispersed once more. For a moment, you swore you saw Kung Lao linger for a moment before he seemed to walk off with Raiden. You weren’t sure if your eyes were seeing things correctly, though. The man who did stick around was Kenshi, who soon found his way by your side.

“Ready?” The ex yakuza member inquired. His eyebrows were raised as he looked at you. The way he gazed at you seemed to tell you more words than he said, like how he was willing to wait for you if you weren’t. You supposed it only made sense, from what Kenshi had told you before, that the Yakuza would need to be subtle and communicate with others with even the slightest nod. Still, it was almost like a fresh breath of air compared to the others who seemed like an open book compared to the man beside you.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” You told him with a confident nod. Then, the both of you set off. The difference between the walk to Sun Do with Kenshi compared to Johnny was almost night and day. While it wasn’t completely silent, you both only had some chatter here and there. It didn’t feel like small talk, and comforting silence filled the air otherwise.

You took this time to try and sneak some glances Kenshi’s way while he seemed to remain vigilant in staring on the path ahead. Out of all your champions, you considered the man beside you to be the one you understood the least. While you did attempt to get closer to the man through food, there was still a lot you had left to learn about him. He wasn’t as eager to dispense knowledge as the others, even if he wasn’t totally private about the past.

The reason why Kenshi was so vastly different in this timeline compared to the other three was beyond you. It was a mystery you’ve been trying to unravel since you’ve met the man. His backstory was completely different, and the lack of powers he had previously made you question a lot about this life. Different backstories weren’t anything new, per se, but it was still strange how…different it was. From your memories of the world before, you could conclude that perhaps his lack of powers was from how he did not wield Sento.

You’ve considered confronting Johnny about giving the swordsman the sword back, after all the actor had it for a rather petty reason, but you’ve never gotten too far in your plans. You couldn’t guarantee that talking to the actor would do any good, that man was rather stubborn, even in the face of reason sometimes. But there was also another reason you’ve held yourself back.

You were afraid that the sword would doom Kenshi to some kind of tragic fate. Your memories of Kenshi's previous story were hazy. You couldn’t tell if it was because you simply didn’t remember, or if it was because you never sought out to ask too much about it in the past. Either way, you were upset with yourself over it.

What you did know for certain, despite the lack of memories, was that in your previous life, he had been blinded due an incident that had something to do with the sword. Yes, he did gain powers that enabled him to be more than he was, but thought of losing his eyesight because of it and you potentially being the catalyst for that was more than you thought you could bear. It wasn’t as if you could warn Kenshi of the dangers, you’d sound insane.

Plus, you knew with the significance of that sword, your warnings might go unheeded. You had a sense that the ex yakuza member was selfless enough to be a martyr for the sake of his clan. The thought of him giving up his eyesight willingly squeezed your heart.

You were willing to craft a hat for Kung Lao, there were no flaws behind that as far as you could tell. But Kenshi’s weapon had a lot more weight to it. You wouldn’t know if the consequences behind that influence were the same, and if they would be less than the positives. There was a lot more to consider. Even if your decision that you would err on the side of caution, you still felt guilty that you could not help and provide the weapon that the man beside you craved.

“You’re glancing at me a lot, should I be flattered or concerned?” Kenshi inquired, snapping you out of your thoughts. You found that you were now meeting the swordsman’s gaze who held you with an intrigued look. With a scene that felt all too familiar, you felt your face heat up again. How you’ve let yourself space out and stare so obviously at your companion two days in a row, you had no idea.

“Flattered, I suppose?” You said, awkwardness soaking your words after you cleared your throat. You found yourself unable to maintain eye contact. Suddenly, the blue sky speckled with clouds seemed interesting. You felt your hand creep up to the side of your neck and press against it. Compared to the heat of your face, your hand felt like an ice cube.

You didn’t know what excuse to say, or if you even should. Obviously, you couldn’t tell him the real reason why you were taking what you thought was sneaky glances. If you weren’t telling the god who took you in about your memories, you weren’t going to tell Kenshi. The issue was that now, you had no idea what excuse to even say, and you put yourself in a rather awkward situation because of it.

Despite this, it seemed that you didn’t have to. You heard a chuckle, and took a cautious peek to see Kenshi looking at you with a gaze that seemed free of judgement. His cheeks were tinged with pink. It seemed whatever excuse he had gleaned from what little you said satisfied him. You weren’t sure what his assumptions were, but at this point, you figured you were far too deep to ask what he thought it was.

This was the consequences of your lack of sneakiness, you supposed. You didn’t find yourself too upset though. It seemed to make him pleased enough, and that was enough for you.

The rest of the walk to Sun Do left you feeling just a little lighter.

You both wandered into the city, deliberately leading him in a different direction you had gone with both Johnny and Raiden. You didn’t need to retread those places, you knew very well that you wouldn’t find the gift for Bi-Han you wanted in those shops. It would only waste precious time. You both went from shop to shop, peering at possible gift ideas with careful eyes.

Shopping with Kenshi was much different than the other two. With Raiden, he had been far too passive. He seemed to enjoy peering at the wares and agreeing with you more than scrutinizing the items. He4 didn’t provide any meaningful feedback in terms of whether the gift was appropriate or if it felt right. You didn’t blame him, you had a feeling he was far too elated by simply being in the heart of the capital. That, and he was the one who invited you to explore rather than shop.

With Johnny, he had a completely different taste than you did. He often criticized your choices for being too “tame” or not flashy enough. Perhaps it wasn’t the worst opinion, you had gone for subtler gifts, but the gifts he offered before the ribbon had all been rather…gaudy and definitely didn’t fit the Lin Kuei. It was almost a miracle he had spotted the ribbon and offered it up.

Kenshi, on the other hand, was almost like the perfect shopping companion. His tastes seemed to align with what you were searching for, so that was a far better companion than Johnny. Not only that, but he was very inquisitive and seemed to take every comment you said to heart. You couldn’t resist a smile as you realized this nature was the exact reason why you had chosen Kenshi in particular to critique your cooking.

“How about this?” Kenshi inquired, lifting up an intricate blue sash. You hummed as you leaned in close to peer at the fabric. You plucked the item that was draped over his hands, your fingertips brushing against the inked surface. You lifted up, studying the details. Then, you squinted at it more as you tried to imagine Bi-Han wearing this sash. Your nose wrinkled at the fact that you could not conjure up that image.

“I think we should stray away from accessories like this.” You concluded. “I don’t think Bi-Han would find himself wearing anything in accompaniment to his uniform.” You explained. The swordsman nodded as he took your words into consideration. You handed back the sash to him so he could place it back. With careful precision, he folded the sash before delicately placing it back into its former spot. Had you not known the man, you would have never guessed his dark past with how he carried himself in his actions.

You scanned the area, looking for other ideas while Kenshi also perused the store. Nothing in particular for the grandmaster caught your eye. This store was mostly filled with accessories, which was not the type of gift you could imagine giving Bi-Han. And yet, despite this, something did catch your eye. You walked closer to get a look.

It was a set of five rings. Though they looked initially plain, the closer you inspected them, you saw the beauty within the craftsmanship. They were intricately engraved, small patterns dancing along the metal. But the part that caught the eye the most was the gorgeous gems set into each of them. Each one had a different color, gold, pink, blue, green, and red. You marveled over the rings and were pleasantly surprised to see that the rings had some minor magic, so they could be resized on their own.

You looked and saw they had a special deal if you bought the whole set. Your eyes lingered on the rings for a moment more. How perfect this would be as a gift for your champions. A smile appeared on your face as you thought about it. You glanced back at the bag where you held your gold. Maybe if you had left over gold you could come back for these.

“I don’t think this place has what I’m looking for.” You told the swordsman, striding over to him. You stood slightly in the way of the rings. You didn’t think he’d notice them since it didn’t align with the idea you had for Bi-Han. But still, you wanted to keep it a surprise, just in case. Luckily, it seemed that Kenshi hadn’t noticed where you had gone.

“I agree, especially since this place is geared towards accessories.” Kenshi replied. He nodded in the direction of the door, his hand gesturing for you to lead the way. You did just that, managing to glance back at the rings one last time. You knew that if you did, Kenshi would be likely to notice with how much he’s been noticing your stares. Then again, you supposed that’s because your stares towards the swordsman were rather…obvious. Still, you wouldn’t put it past him to notice the little things.

And so, both you and the ex yakuza member were back on the streets. But not for long. This time, Kenshi pointed out a shop. At first, you hesitated, gazing at all the porcelain cups and teapots. You weren’t certain if these ceramics would be an ideal gift, but then your eyes landed on a particular teapot set in the window. You were so fascinated by it that you stepped inside to get a better look.

The teapot set in question was delftware styled. The blue painted ceramic was decorated to be depicting a snowy wonderland with snow leopards as the main focus. Your eyes studied the set carefully, marveling over it. It had some gold accents around the rim, giving it that extra pop. It even came with a little tea pet, a snow leopard. At first, you couldn’t imagine gifting Bi-Han such an item, but the more you marveled over it, the more you couldn’t imagine giving him anything else.

“With the way you’re looking at that, I think I did my job.” Kenshi remarked, walking up next to you. You smiled over to him, and you saw on his face a very pleased expression. He crossed his arms as he took his gaze from you over to the set. “It’s miraculous how cheap these items are here, back in Earthrealm, these would be worth a fortune.”

“I can’t believe it either.” You agreed with a nod. You eyed the price. It definitely was cheaper than you would expect, but the quality didn’t seem terrible despite it. Looking at it for a few more moments, you nodded once more. “I think this is the one.” You told your companion. Kenshi hummed, his eyes lingering on your decided gift before pointing to something else.

“While we’re at it, you should probably get him some tea.” The swordsman recommended. Your eyes landed on the displays of various teas they had. You walked over, noting how they felt similar in style to the dried teas you served for Madam Bo. On a closer look, some of the teas even appeared to be the same. For a brief moment, you wondered whether a long time ago Earthrealm had some of their teas imported here. It didn’t seem too far off an idea.

You scanned the various teas they had on display. For a moment, you considered picking a tea unique to Outworld. But then you considered how awful it’d feel to gift something that he might enjoy, but then never be able to savor once again in his lifetime. For that reason, you decided it might be better to chose something that he may be able to get at home.

One particular tea caught your eye.

You grabbed the box of the high quality tea, inspecting it. You had never considered this to be made into tea. You couldn’t help but to smile down at the box, too amazed at the fact that tea was a thing. You held it up to show to Kenshi who quirked up a brow.

“Parsley tea?” He asked, eyeing the box carefully. His voice sounded skeptical. You shrugged, but you already knew that the moment you had laid eyes on this particular type of tea, you were going to buy it. Something within you simply told you that it just fit him. That, and you couldn’t deny that you were interested in how it tasted. From the look Kenshi gave you, he seemed to know you were already set in your ways.

With a little pep in your step, you walked over to the Outworlder at the counter. After discussing which set you wanted along with the parsley tea, you soon found yourself back onto the streets with a very nicely wrapped gift in your hands. As you were walking back, satisfied with your findings today, you spied the shop with the rings you had looked at earlier.

“Could you hold this for a moment?” You asked the man. You swiftly handed him the gift and quickly walked off into the shop, ignoring the perplexed look the swordsman had sent you. You couldn’t blame him, you had said you only needed one more gift.

Stepping inside, you were thrilled to see that the rings you had your eye on were still there. Elated, you quickly asked the clerk for the rings. The centaruian seemed more than happy to oblige, giving you a few boxes to carry them in. You slipped the gold one on, eyeing how the light seemed to reflect off of it perfectly. The rest you slipped into your bag. You wanted to keep them a surprise for now.

Checking the money you had left, you were delighted to see you had enough to buy one more gift. That would be reserved for Liu Kang.

“Find everything you needed?” Kenshi inquired. He peered at you, his eye catching the sight of your new found accessory. You nodded, beaming happily at the man. You reached out, hands extended to take back the boxes. Despite this, you found the man pulled away from you, boxes clutched securely to his own chest. “It’s fine, I don’t mind carrying them.” He insisted.

“I don’t want to burden you with them.” You said, furrowing your brows. You made a reach for the boxes again, but the man simply side stepped your attempt. You sighed, placing a hand on your hip. “This is rather childish of you, Kenshi.” You chided, trying to see if you could convince him to give back the gifts. And yet, despite your words, the man was adamant. You sighed once more, shaking your head. “If you insist.”

“I do.” The swordsman quipped back, a victorious tone in his voice. You resisted an eye roll and made your way back to the palace. Once there, you led the ex yakuza member back to your room since he insisted on helping them carry them back all the way back there. As you finally regained the packages, you peered at him for a moment before opening your door. “Wait a moment for me, okay?” You asked.

You stepped into the room, placing your packages along with the other gifts you’ve bought. You removed the rings from the bags, admiring them once more. For a moment, you considered bringing them all in so you could give them at dinner time, but then you paused, remembering you hadn’t gotten Liu Kang’s gift quite yet and how awkward it might seem. Plus, you fancied the idea of giving the gifts privately. It would seem more personal that way.

“Thank you for waiting.” You said as you strode out. You placed your hands behind your back, hiding the little box. You supposed you were as sneaky as a toddler attempting to hide whatever mess they’ve made, because Kenshi quickly sent you a questioning look and leaned over to try and peek. “Here.” You handed over the box, scanning his features for his reaction. “A gift.”

“You didn’t have to.” Kenshi said, his voice shocked. He tried to hand back the box to you, but you pushed into his hands. After that, he relented. He scanned the box, probably trying to guess the present before he opened the box. You felt elated as you watched his surprised reaction to the ring. He lifted it up, watching with amazement as he slipped it onto his finger and it fit perfectly. “This is…” He trailed off, trying to find the right words.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” You remarked. You held up your hand to showcase your golden ring. “I thought this would be the perfect present for all of us.” You then gestured to the red ring. “I chose that color specifically for you.”

“Why red?” Kenshi inquired, looking between the ring on his hand and you. You smiled at him, a small laugh leaving your lips as you looked directly into his eyes.

“Simple. I think it matches your eyes wonderfully.” You explain to him. A soft flush appeared on Kenshi’s face, and he appeared to have been stunned into silence. His mouth closed, then opened, then closed once more. Then, a soft smile appeared on his face as his gaze cast downwards to the ring on his hand once more.

“Thank you.” Kenshi mumbled softly. You grinned at him and placed a hand on his arm.

“No problem, I’m glad you like the gift.” You told him. “Now let’s go, I’m hungry.” You walked off, leading the way. You missed the fond gaze Kenshi sent you way, taking one more glance between the ring and you before following you.

Dinner went smoothly, and it was just as delicious as before. You were tempted to make plans to go shopping for some Outworld type of seasonings before you left so you could cook up some food the reminded you of this place. Maybe if you had left over money after Liu Kang’s gift.

It was yet another wonderful night in the garden. You basked in the moonlight as you waited patiently for the princess to emerge from the palace. You perked up as you heard the familiar sound of heels, and smiled as your eyes landed on the princess.

Oddly enough, there was not the more prestigious and refined look that she usually held. Her face held something that reminded you of the first time you encountered her here. She seemed…upset. You raised your eyebrows as she drew near. When she noted you in the spot, her face shifted, masking her previous attitude with a smile.

It reminded you of Empress Sindel’s smile towards Raiden.

“Are you alright?” You inquired, testing the waters. You saw her smile strain, like a string being pulled nearly too taut. Her hands, which had been folded in her lap, squeezed together as if she were squeezing out her frustration.

“I’m fine.” Mileena replied, her words clipped. You couldn’t sense any hostility within her words, but you could tell that asking about her situation would probably be unwise. You didn’t blame her, you weren’t that close after all. You nodded slowly, taking her attitude into consideration. “How have you been?” She inquired quickly, eager to divert the topic of conversation.

“I’ve been fine, I went and shopped more today.” You told her with a smile. You could read the signs of her frayed nerves and played along with her plan, changing the conversation away from herself. You saw her eyes dart to your hands. You looked down and saw the ring. You lifted your hand to showcase it, allowing her to get a better view.

“I can see that.” The princess observed. She leaned in closer, analyzing the accessory and how it fit on your finger. You saw her expression change slightly, going from a more fake look to a more genuine smile. She looked at it for a few moments more before leaning back and looking at you. “It suits you, you have a good eye.”

“Thank you.” You replied, staring down at the golden gem which shone so prettily in the moonlight. You smiled, still feeling the high of making a satisfying purchase. You paused, considering what to talk about next due to her slightly antsy mood. “How was your day, princess? I’m excited to see how you fare against Earthrealm’s champion tomorrow.”

“My day was alright.” Mileena replied, her eyes looking away into the garden. There was almost an empty tone to her voice, as if she were not telling the entire truth. She rolled her shoulders back as she cleared her throat. “I…” She began, then paused, her face scrunching a bit as she seemed to ponder on the words she would say next. “I am interested to see how I fare against him as well.” She replied, the same smile from earlier appearing on her lips.

You couldn’t tell entirely, but you could sense the aversion towards the topic of fighting. Was it that she was nervous? You scanned her. No, it didn’t seem so. But the reason behind her distaste towards the topic was one you weren’t certain of.

You couldn’t quite ask her about it either.

“What story would you like to hear today?” You inquired, quickly changing the subject. You saw her posture relax a bit, and what must be a breath of relief left her lips. Very subtle actions, but actions you noticed. You suspicions were definitely correct, she had some type of issue with fighting Raiden, or the topic of it.

“Anything light hearted would do.” The princess requested, the relief of the topic change showing on her face. You pondered on this, humming as you considered the various stories and movies you’ve seen. What could possibly cheer her up? You smiled as you recalled the first movie you saw and turned to face her.

“Alright, then how about this one?”

That night, you didn’t quite know why she was upset, but you knew you uplifted her spirits.

part sixteen

tagged - @bonezisded @lollipopin @simpxinnie @zhivaxo @koisuko

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xamiipholia · 15 days

Text

Since it’s been a year since Burning Shores came out, some thoughts on Seyka:

TL;DR: Great character, really happy with her as a love interest for Aloy. They do some really interesting things with her that I never really see addressed so I wanted to talk about them.

She is tangibly shown to be much more of a match for Aloy through gameplay. Compared to other npcs, she solves things faster, does more damage, is a much more formidable melee combatant, faster climber - she even has a fucking Valor Surge using her Focus that does pretty significant tear damage to large machines like Slaughterspines. Environmental storytelling- Seyka’s skiff has at least 2-3 Tiderippers’ worth of parts, meaning she’s been out on her own killing the things to build boat motors, and she has some ambient dialogue that strongly suggests she’s fought and killed Slaugterspines before. Is some of this npc tech advancements in Burning Shores? Maybe, but it feels intentional.

Seyka has a natural probing curiosity about the old world that for the most part Aloy’s other companions didn’t have without some significant hand-holding from Aloy to get them started, and some of her close friend (but not base team) characters just don’t have at all. I don’t mean this as a moral judgement, everyone is different and has different strengths and priorities , but it’s absolutely critical that a partner for Aloy have that kind of curiosity - it’s such a big part of her character. While she lives in this new world, she’s never going to be entirely a part of it. Like she says, she finds belonging in individuals, and not really the tribes. I don’t really see Aloy settling down in Meridian or Mother’s Heart. She needs to have a life of exploration and discovery and Seyka seems cut from that cloth too, whether she was always that way or being marooned gave her a fresh perspective.

Seyka did risk death using the focus and decided to do it anyway- in Rheng’s notes he calls for capital punishment for her. The threat is never *too* present but honestly I think that’s a broader critique of the series and pretty consistent with the writing of conflicts in Horizon. I agree they could have played up the dramatic tension a bit, but this is a person who weighed the risk of a military execution by a totalitarian state and immediately decided it was worth it to save her sister and others. I think Aloy can intimately relate, given what she went through for Beta.

Even though it’s a DLC, she has a TON of screen time, probably comparable to Kotallo in HFW, and Horizon does SO much storytelling through gameplay and ambient dialogue. I think she’s given a LOT of narrative space to breathe. She’s also has her own musical cues and leitmotifs that do a ton of foreshadowing work through the DLC - in terms of musical cues and framing she’s very associated with the acoustic guitar, and the flute melody in ‘Her Sky, Her Sea’ has for Aloy and Seyka the same function that ‘It Can’t Last’ does for Ellie and Dina in TLOU2 - next time you play Burning Shores, listen for it. That and the guitar cues from ‘The Idea of Home’ and ‘For His Entertainment’ do a lot of emotional work. It’s great stuff.

Okay and lastly- YMMV on this one - I’ve def talked about it with friends before but I don’t think I’ve said it on Tumblr. I’m a firm believer that meta narratives and the way that stories are situated and created in our own world matter and that art deserves to be taken seriously and dissected. I love Horizon, but it, and Aloy as a protagonist, are absolutely drenched in white savior and colonial storytelling tropes. Every time I play Frozen Wilds, all I can think of is Jack Sparrow going “and then they made me their chief”. There’s a lot of iffy stuff in the games, as much as I absolutely love them. We’ll have to see how H3 goes, but Burning Shores is MUCH better about this and honestly Seyka is a huge part of it. The story centers itself on a queer woman of color who is pretty tangibly presented as Aloy’s equal with her own strengths and weaknesses throughout the story and takes the lead just as often if not more than Aloy does, which I find really refreshing. It doesn’t entirely fix Aloy’s white savior issues but I think it’s a really good move for the narrative that continues the themes found in HFW about community and connection.

Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds (2017)

#Seyka #horizon forbidden west #hfw #aloy #horizon #horizon zero dawn #guerrilla games #hzd #horizon burning shores #hfw seyka #horizon critical #The musical leitmotifs are gooooood shit #It was one of the things that really hooked me with the dlc because Horizon had never done that for a character relationship before #Also the last point is not a personal attack #I like lots of vaguely problematic things

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myrmica · 2 months

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mer my dear mutual mer i would like to ask you how do i get into lifesteal

HELLO FARLANDS!! you've come to the right place. Step into my office.

this is an interesting question with a variety of different answers. a lot of the time people seem to direct you towards videos rather than stream vods, which does makes sense, because they're more accessible and the barrier to entry is definitely less daunting.

but lifesteal videos aren't episodic, they're designed for a viewer to be able to jump in with little to no context at any moment. they throw a lot of information at you fast as hell, and events spanning hours and hours of footage are condensed down in ways where most of the meat gets cut off. i have a hard time absorbing information from or remembering what happens in lifesteal videos because of the editing styles... i don't claim that this isn't in large part a taste thing, but in videos you miss the complicated character moments, and the sense of pacing/chronology, and all of the things that happen that don't translate well to video logic. and you don't get to see (as much of) the dimension of things where the fact that everyone is trying to make videos can be character and story relevant information. all of these things are what make lifesteal season 4 my favorite minecraft roleplay ever in the world. i guess i would say that i do like lifesteal videos, but mostly in relation to the livestreams.

all of which means that while pretty much any lifesteal video ever produced can make for a perfectly serviceable starting point, it doesn't really get you any of the things about lifesteal --i-- care about. and you're asking ME. So.

what is the deal with lifesteal in general?

you probably know at least some of this already, but for the sake of the thing:

lifesteal is a server based around a mechanic where, upon killing someone, you gain one of the hearts off of their health bar up to a maximum of 20. if you lose all of your hearts you're banned, but this is temporary and players can be revived. it's also a server where you're free to steal and destroy builds to your heart's content, and people toy with breaking the rules they do have often. so it naturally follows that lifestealers are generally interested in pvp, and have a social system where the most important relationships are your teammates, who come before basically anything else. lifesteal IS roleplay but it isn't scripted, and what they mean by unscripted is that the outcomes of a conflict can't be predetermined, because that would defeat the point—if something goes wrong, it goes wrong. (and hopefully, it goes right for somebody else.)

why season 4?

short answer, because it's the one that has the guys i care about in the situations i care about. the long answer is at 9k words and not even close to done yet so you're gonna have to wait a bit on that one.

the medium answer: while you could go back and watch through season 3 in detail, or try to just start watching season 5 and keep up with stuff live as it happens, that's not what i did. i have it on good authority that the mer guide to lifesteal season 4 works, because i did that, and also because my friend whose initial reaction to lifesteal was "wow this subz guy is loud..." and then radio silence for months has since sat through 30 hours of princezam building stream of his own free will. see review below:

lifesteal can be sort of an acquired taste. i think a lot of the time it either clicks for you or it doesn't, or you have to see the right thing and then suddenly the appeal starts making sense.

luckily, the aftermath of zam betraying mapicc & ro in season 4 tends to have this effect on people, and it's a good jumping in point! i didn't actually start watching season 4 chronologically, i started by bouncing around the last couple weeks of the season and quickly discovering that it was bonkers fucking crazy and i needed to know more about this "eclipse federation" thing... so i don't really think knowing how it ends makes it less fun to watch, and if you wanted to just poke around at random and see what's up i wouldn't stop you. i went back and sat through everything between that aforementioned betrayal and the end of season 4 chronologically after i already knew how things ended up and it's thoroughly enjoyable that way. maybe even better than the alternative, because you're less likely to get caught up in how frustrating some of it can be. but if you would rather know as little as possible going in you can definitely give it a shot, and i do think there are parts that are probably even more fun if you don't know what's coming.

how do i do that though?

and here is my gift to you. when i watched through season 4 all i had to go off of was the vod archive spreadsheet, which is great & wonderful & awesome & the best thing ever, but it does kinda just have you clicking links blindfolded if you don't already know what's going on.

so eventually i started keeping track of vods as i watched, in a google doc. it has clips and/or timestamps and summaries for basically every vod in the second half of season 4. it's a little embarrassing because it records a bunch of my initial reactions to stuff but c'est la vie. it's also 85 pages long (it was 105! i edited my notes down!), but again you can jump around to get a lay of the land if you want, and how much stuff you skip is completely at your own discretion. have at it.

#m #lifesteal #lifesteal smp #lssmp #asks

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genshingorlsrevengeance · 13 days

Note

Request: How about some jealousy headcannons for Velvet , Eleanor, and Magilou?

(Tales of Berseria) Velvet, Eleanor, Magilou Jealousy HC's

Honestly, I was waiting until I had access to the skit sprites, and now that I have, it's time to UNLEASH the Berseria asks that's been laying dormant for nearly a year.

Velvet's jealousy is quiet, and very terrifying.

Thinking about it logically, she really shouldn't be that angry about S/O simply talking to other people than her.

She was a Daemon after all. And yet, S/O chose to stay with her despite that.

And right now, they were doing anything but that.

It takes a long while for the jealousy to build up, but it's nearly ready to blow up.

S/O notices her glaring at them, and the person they're talking to.

After a few moments, Velvet realizes she's staring and quickly looks away, acting like nothing is happening.

S/O walks after her, with Velvet continuing to walk despite her name being called.

(S/O) "Velvet?"

(Velvet) "What?"

(S/O) "Are you alright?"

She stops walking and glares at them again.

(Velvet) "Fine. Why?"

(S/O) "You...just looked a little angry is all-"

Her eyes narrow as her fists clench.

(Velvet) "A little?"

(S/O) "O-Okay, really angry! I'm sorry I haven't had much time for you lately, I've just been trying to get supplies and-"

(Velvet) "I said it's fine. Better for us to be stocked up anyway than wasting time."

She tries to play it off, but S/O knows her better than anyone at this point.

(S/O) "Well, I could use your help carrying some of it back to our rooms. And...I'd like to have some time alone with you, actually. There's this pretty spot near the inn we can sit down at!"

Velvet simply sighs and her shoulders relax a little.

Choosing to not mention the blush on her cheeks, S/O gently grabs her hand and squeezes it for reassurance.

Velvet says nothing else and lets them hold it for a few more seconds before slowly letting go.

(Velvet) "Come on, show me where we're putting the supplies."

Eleanor feels guilty for even thinking about being jealous.

The two of them were busy, especially on a journey like this, romance was almost impossible. She knew this, and yet...

Eleanor pouts when she sees S/O speaking to the other members of the group and goes off to be alone for a moment.

Maybe some fresh air would clear her head.

The sun was about to set, watching it glisten along the coastline they were on.

(Eleanor) "Maybe during the voyage, we could...-"

(S/O) "Eleanor?"

Eleanor nearly jumps out of her skin when she hears S/O voice come from behind.

(S/O) "Are you okay? You look upset."

(Eleanor) "A-Ah...Don't worry I-..."

Eleanor thought S/O was too busy to notice her lately, yet the fact they noticed her leaving in a crowded inn made her guilt grow.

She cuts herself off before simply sighing and clearing her throat.

(Eleanor) "I'd like to get dinner with you, if you don't mind."

(S/O) "Oh, sure. I can grab the others and-"

S/O immediately noticed Eleanor's body posture change, both her hands going behind her back.

S/O gently smiles at her before nodding.

(S/O) "There's nothing wrong with being a little selfish. Where do you want to go? My treat, tonight."

Eleanor smiled back and nodded.

(Eleanor) "I recall seeing an interesting food stand in town. Perhaps they're still open?"

Magilou doesn't really get that jealous.

She knows when people are lying or being serious.

She also is very much aware of herself, and how she truly feels.

Not to mention the incredible circumstances she and S/O found themselves in, going to assassinate a world leader.

With that being said, it would be remiss of her to not embarrass her S/O at every opportunity.

That was a sign of true love!

S/O is simply talking to Eizen regarding the Van Eltia.

And that was the time to strike.

(Magilou) "S/OOOOOOOOOOO!"

Magilou called out for S/O's name as she extended her hands and nearly tackling them to the floor.

Barely fending Magilou off of them, S/O stared at Magilou who began flailing at them.

Eizen gives Magilou an extremely unamused look while S/O tries to shut her up, with everyone looking at their direction.

The crew, port workers, the rest of the group, everyone's attention was on them.

(S/O) "W-What are you doing, Magilou?!"

(Magilou) "You barely spend time with me at all lately! As your beloved, I demand that you give me attention too!"

(S/O) "We were literally just talking ten minutes ago!"

(Magilou) "It's not enough!"

(Eizen) "Are you done? S/O has to get the supplies on the ship before sunset."

(Magilou) "This is a matter of the heart, Eizen! You wouldn't understand, for you do not possess a maiden of your own!"

(S/O) "I'll talk with you once I'm done, Magi! Just give me a few-"

(Magilou) "UGH! You wound me, S/O!"

(Velvet) "I'm about to give you a wound if you keep this noise up."

(Magilou) "Believe me, you'll understand my feelings once you have someone to call your own!"

#tales of berseria x reader #tales of berseria imagines #tales of berseria headcanons #velvet crowe x reader #eleanor hume x reader #magilou mayvin x reader #velvet crowe #eleanor hume #magilou mayvin

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devillime · 4 months

Text

Okay I’d like to talk about the treatment of the side characters and how empty the world feels so this is not proof read or anything this is a rant

Firstly

The world

We know that other students are there i understand that making a game takes time but for crying out loud the whole world of devildom feels so empty and yes we have the Little D’s but they are mainly in the castle with barbatos so they are practically diavolo servants like barbatos and even the recent event we are helping barbatos with serving nobles

NOBLES

Which is just baffling to me because games like arcana twilight that came out after obey me and are clearly inspired by obey me at least feels alive do we see full body sprites no of course not but we this

We can see what the characters look like to get a better understanding of how they look yet in obey me nothing really now I know if I remember CORRECTLY Nightbringer will be a continuation of the original game but it’s honestly stupid how a game like a obey me that been out longer than arcana twilight feels so empty

I’m asking for but if you want to write a good story and make me fee apart of it then take a moment to let us explore how the world works on OUR own.

Secondly

The side characters

Don’t get me wrong I love the brothers but I also love the side characters just as much but it’s ridiculous on how little screen time they have now is crazy not to mention the treatment of the new characters

First diavolo HES THE FUTURE KING OF HELL FOR CRYING OUT LOUD I believe he should get enough screen time but no the devs go against it

And before anyone say “well originally the side characters weren’t dateable” I only started playing after they were dateable but are doing some research the “side characters” have been dateable for a good while to the point they technically be considered they are perusing the mc minus Luke

So why are they still getting shit on by the devs? Probably because when most people think of the game they think of the brothers but honestly which character peaked your interest before playing the game because for me it was diavolo

And don’t get me started on the new characters this is more of a pet peeve with the fandom but why do you guys mischaracterize Mephistopheles and Raphael? Raphael has a similar if not same personality as belphie yet a lot of people say belphie is being cute while Raphael is being rude and Mephistopheles I’m sorry Lucifer fans but think of it from Mephistopheles perspective I’d be piss to if I was born to practically be someone right hand man only to get cased aside for something new?

A lot of you guys had mischaracterize thirteen when she came out but the devs oh god we barely seen thirteen and Mephistopheles in Nightbringer now Raphael I can kinda understand but the two that are in devildom with us don’t show up? That’s a joke like seriously

At this point why did they add them if they don’t appear as much hell I dare say obey me could have been a yandere otome game where the brothers became yandere after making a pact with the mc and the side characters like Solomon and Mephistopheles noticed this and try and help us but Solomon can’t tell Simeon and Luke because another war might break out again

But that’s all I have to say I brought up the world building or lack of in the official obey me server and people seem to say “but it be more pressure on the devs” I get that but this game gets a lot of money and I’m pretty sure it’s more pressure if they can’t keep the story straight because after lesson 40 I’m pretty sure we all have questions

And please PLEASE LET US SEE THE SIDE CHARACTERS MORE IN THE ANIME PLEASE

Rant off

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cookierunauprompts · 2 months

Note

Maybe another siren shadow milk post? On reader cookie and siren S.Ms relationship and what shenanigans they get up to?

Like, Reader Cookie would be sailing and out of nowhere shadow milk jumps in like "Whats up bbg?" And they talk?

Not doing a prompt for this one but this gives me an excuse to ramble about the lore of the Beast Hunters AU!! Starting off with Shadow Milk and Reader's relationship.

Their relationship is rather... hm, I'd say complicated? For one, they're bound together by their contract. But on the other hand... well, Shadow Milk has kept Reader safe from more than just the Licorice Sea, hell, maybe he's even fallen in love with his little Songbird. As for Reader's feelings? Well, they consider him to be their closest companion in some kind of way.

Now, onto World building! ahem...

Long ago, monsters roamed and ruled over the Dessert world, terrorizing Cookies and the like... That was, until five Cookies with great power were baked into existence by the witches. These Heroes wielded a great power baked into the Soul Jam that they wielded, but as always... Great Power begets corruption.

One by one, the heroes succumbed to and fused with the darkness within the Soul Jam. No longer were they cookies, but beasts. The lights that remained from the remnants of the Soul Jam quickly split off back to the Witches, who then commanded them to find new heroes to defend against the beasts.

And so, the Lights did. They found new Heroes, and thus the Great Beast War began... And by the end of it, the Legendary Beasts were sealed away. But, something happened to the Heroes as well. In order to gain the upper hand during the war, they had fused with their lights.

Now more like spiritual protectors, they guided their newly formed kingdoms and territories as if they were kings and queens. Some of them were more present in the lives of their cookies, while others took a more observant and guiding role.

But just a few decades later or so, the seal upon the Legendary Beasts weakened... Allowing them to escape back into the Dessert World to reek havoc once more. Seeing this, the heroes set out to find a new set of saviors for cookie kind... Most of them, anyways.

So far, only two of the five have selected heroes...

At least they have friends to help them with their journey, right?

( In case you're wondering, the selected are Gingerbrave(White Lily)(and he's bringing his bestie's Strawberry and Wizard) and Princess Cookie(Hollyberry)(Knight Cookie of course, is tagging along with her), Pure Vanilla, Dark Cacao and Golden Cheese haven't selected their selected yet... Though rumor has it that Dark Cacao had selected someone but revoked his selection.)

And now, onto what the Beasts are!

As we already know, Shadow Milk is a Siren, but what about the others?

Well, so far I have Eternal Sugar as a harpy, Burning Spice as some kind of insect-cookie fusion thingy and Silent Salt as a spirit of sorts. I haven't figured out what kind of Monster Mystic Flour would have become yet... Maybe a Dragon? Who knows.

And that's pretty much all for this post.-

Ah wait, Gingerbrave lore.

So, in this AU Gingerbrave is White Lily's son! She created him mainly to see if she could but also to eventually wield the light of Freedom in her place as a successor. The main reason I did this was because Gingerbrave is very freedom coded to me, and he's silly.

Also he might be part faerie??? I dunno, he's been Fourteen mentally and physically for quite a while though.

I'll probably expand on the Gingerlore later though.

and now that's all! also, drop who you think the other heroes are gonna select because I think it'd be interesting to see who you all pick.

#not a prompt #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cookie run au #crk #cr kingdom #shadow milk cookie #beast yeast #Beast Hunters AU #silent salt cookie #mystic flour cookie #eternal sugar cookie #burning spice cookie #white lily cookie #gingerbrave #princess cookie #shadow milk cookie x reader

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spiteless-xo · 9 months

Note

for the NSFW prompt: Jean + 7 👀

yay, my first jean request!! thank you!! 🥰

sorry, i got really carried away with this one, also the "plot" is all over the place 🙏

list of prompts

╰┈➤ smut prompts - 7. “Can you guys just fuck already?”

ft. jean/fem!reader cw. unedited, not proofread, explicit sexual content (dirty talk, vaginal sex, jean's got a big dick), explicit language. 2,509 words.

you hate jean kirstein.

you absolutely cannot stand him. between his stupid smug grin and his stupid fucking mullet and all of his stupid little quips -- you don't see a world where you and jean could ever be friends.

especially not when each time he rattles your nerves, you start to feel an aching need between your thighs.

that's why it's particularly frustrating when your best friend starts dating his best friend.

"come on," mikasa urges, practically dragging you up the stairs to eren and jean's shared apartment. "it'll be fun, i promise!"

"mika, i still don't understand why i have to come. you know jean and i don't get along."

"catan is a four-player game," she sighs. "and besides, he likes you"

"he likes me?" you repeat incredulously. "do you hear what you're saying right now?"

she just smiles at you before rapping her knuckles softly on the door to their apartment. "he does," she insists. "you don't see what he's like when you're not around."

the door swings open and mikasa is snatched from the space in front of you. she squeals in delight as eren pulls her into his chest, spinning her around the small entryway to his apartment.

"hi, eren," you say, smiling politely as he litters mikasa's face with kisses.

"hey squirt," he teases, burying his face into mikasa's neck as he looks over her shoulder at you. "ready to play some games?"

mikasa and eren are in that annoying stage of their relationship where they can't seem to keep their hands off of each other. even as you follow them into the apartment, shutting the door behind you, eren keeps one hand firmly grasping her ass while she presses her cheek into his bicep.

a loud groan from the dining room interrupts your thoughts. "you didn't tell me she was coming," jean huffs.

"trust me, i didn't want to," you hiss through clenched teeth, following the lovebirds toward the dining room table where the boys have set up the game.

you settle into an open seat next to jean, scootching your chair a bit away from him and toward mikasa, who's practically sitting on eren's lap. jean casts you a dark look, taking a long sip from his beer, and you avoid his gaze by looking down at the board.

eren quickly explains the game and you begin playing. it's relatively simple, as far as boardgames go: collect resources, build roads and settlements, and collect points -- easy.

the most difficult part of the game proves to be trading resources with your fellow players. mikasa will give you anything you ask for if she has it (but she rarely does), eren haggles you to get a better deal for himself, and jean completely denies any of your requests -- which is a problem, because he's the only player that can generate brick.

"i'll give you two sheep for a brick," you offer, desperate.

"nah, i don't think so," he tsks, tapping his cards on the table as he grins at you.

frowning, you look back down at your deck. "what about a sheep, a rock, and wheat -- that's a development card."

"i know what it is," jean says, "and i'm not interested."

you huff, annoyed, and press at your temple with your fingers. "what can i give you to get you to trade me a brick?"

you see something flash across his face and just as he's opening his mouth to speak, you cut him off. "don't be gross."

"i wasn't gonna," he protests, but he's smirking at you. "i was just gonna say, that's a pretty shit deal for you -- what if i give you my wood, too?"

"ew, jean, i said, don't be gross," you hiss and he breaks out into laughter.

"how is that gross?"

"you know exactly what i mean! you're talking about your dick!"

"why are you thinking about my dick?"

"i'm not!"

mikasa sighs from beside you, hand wrapped around eren's shoulders as she plays with the tufts on hair on the nape of his neck. "you guys are making it hard to play."

"yeah, no kidding," eren sighs, looking over at you with a smirk. "do you want us to leave you two alone? if you guys fuck out all of this frustration, maybe we can actually play the game."

your eyes widen comically at eren's comment and you feel your face burning in embarrassment. "we're not going to -- i don't want to --"

you stumble around your words, panicked, as eren and mikasa give you the same look.

in your desperation, you glance over to jean. he has his cheek sucked into his mouth, jaw tight and face flushed as he looks down at the game board. why is he blushing?

"yeah, let's leave," eren decides, kissing mikasa quickly on the cheek before standing up from his seat. he helps mikasa up from hers before the two of them escape out the front door, leaving you and jean alone in the dining room.

you shake you head in confusion, still gaping in shock. "what the fuck are they thinking?" you wonder out loud, pushing your chair further away from where jean's seated. "we're not going to do that."

jean, uncharacteristically, stays quiet. he nods to himself, eyes still focused on the board before he stands up from his seat and walks over to the living room.

"they probably just wanted to go fuck," he calls from the other room. "i saw mikasa grabbing his dick under the table."

you grimace at the thought.

"come watch tv if you wanna, they won't be back for a while."

you tap your nails on the table in thought, glancing between the front door and the doorway where jean disappeared into the living room. with a heavy sigh, you get up from your seat and go to join him -- what could be the harm in that?

and of course, jean's sitting in the centre of the couch, legs sprawled open as he slumps against the seat. with a huff, you squish yourself into the far end of the couch, your knee lightly brushing against his as you do so.

"can you stop manspreading?" you hiss, and he just spreads his legs open further. "holy fuck."

"what's your problem?" he snaps.

"what's my problem?" you repeat, looking over at him incredulously. "what does that mean?"

"i mean, you're always acting like you can't fucking stand me."

"i can't."

"well, why not?"

your eyebrows raise in amusement at the opportunity to finally air your grievances to the man that's been a solid thorn in your side since you first met. you twist in your seat, facing him completely with your back against the armrest of the couch and begin to count off your fingers.

"you're always making fun of me, you always --"

"shit," he hisses, cutting you off, "i didn't think you had a list."

he almost looks hurt, so you snap your mouth shut. you lower your hands back down to your lap, suddenly feeling awkward as he looks over at you carefully.

"you really don't like me?" this time, he sounds vulnerable.

"i just think that you can be kind of mean to me, sometimes," you say quietly.

"i'm flirting with you -- you know that, right?"

you look up at him in confusion, brows furrowed, and you catch that same look on his face after eren's comment at the table: cheek sucked into his mouth with a faint blush across his cheeks.

"no, you're not."

"yes, i am," he insists with a laugh.

"well, then why are you so rude?"

"i'm not very good at flirting, i guess," he sighs, clasping his hands together behind his head as he looks over at you. "i think you're cute."

you look away quickly, feeling the burn of embarrassment on your cheeks. "uh, thanks... i think you're cute, too," you stammer, cringing from how awkward you sound.

thankfully, he laughs. "even though i'm mean to you?"

and now you feel heat flooding between your legs as you admit something that you've been keeping to yourself, all this time.

"especially, because you're mean to me."

your eyes dart up to gauge his expression and you catch his eyebrows raising into his hairline and his mouth falling open.

"well, shit, i guess i'm not that bad at flirting, after all."

you hum in response, fidgeting as jean inches closer. he wraps one arm around the back of your seat while the other presses into the armrest behind you, caging you into the couch between his long, sturdy arms.

"so what are we gonna do about it?" he asks, rolling his tongue across his lip as he looks at you.

"do about what?"

"your little crush," he teases and you roll your eyes in annoyance. "oh, come on. eren and mikasa are going to be gone for a while -- why don't you let me be mean to you a little bit more."

you swallow thickly. "what do you mean?"

"why don't you let me --" he leans in until his cheek is pressed against yours, breathing hot air against the shell of your ear as chills run down your spine. "-- bully that pretty little pussy open with my big, mean cock."

"you're always talking about your dick," you grumble, but it's half-hearted and weak.

he laughs, sliding his warm palms down your arms to your hips, hooking his fingers into the waistband of your leggings as you squirm.

"how long have you wanted this?" he asks, eyes glinting in delight as you lift you hips up off the couch, allowing him space to slide your leggings down and off of your legs.

you offer a strangled whimper in response, embarrassed as jean holds your thighs open, looking down between your legs at your already glistening pussy.

"wow, you're so wet already," he grins. he rubs small circles with his thumb on your inner thigh as his other hand moves to his belt, undoing it deftly as he watches you squirm below him.

"a-are you sure they're not going to come back?" you ask, glancing nervously behind him at the closed door.

"maybe they will," he shrugs, and your eyes dart back in time to watch him slip a hand into his briefs. your breath catches in your throat as he pulls his thick cock out from the top of the elastic waistband and your thighs squeeze around his hips in need.

"you like that?" he laughs, stroking his length with one hand while he pushes your thighs open with the other. "god, who knew all i needed was a few minutes alone with you to get what i wanted?"

you frown up at him, but you dissolve into gasping moans when you feel the heavy weight of his cock slapping against your clit.

"think you can take me?" he coos, and you swallow thickly.

"let's find out."

jean rolls his tongue against his cheek, looking at you in amusement as he nods. "yeah, let's find out."

he slides the head of his cock against your folds, smearing a mix of your arousal and his precum as he groans.

"shit, you're so fucking wet. you really do like it when i'm mean to you, huh?"

you reach forward, grabbing jean's biceps and feeling them flex against your palms. "you're so hot," you babble mindlessly and he laughs.

"you're cute," he says, clicking his tongue as he lines the head of his cock up against your entrance. "so fucking cute."

you feel the ache of your pussy stretching around the thick head of his cock -- it's a lot -- almost too much -- but he stills inside of you, shushing you softly.

"relax," he says, his voice dipping down to just a whisper. he rocks his hips gently, nudging himself into you a bit more each time and you whimper at the feeling.

"you're so fucking tight," he groans, head dropping forward onto your shoulder as he pushes into you. he breathes hard above you, still fully clothed as you lay half-naked on the couch beneath him.

you shift your hands from his arms to his back, grabbing tight fistfuls of his shirt as he rocks his hips against you.

"more," you beg softly, just a whisper into his ear. "please."

he wraps his arms tightly around your waist, holding himself up with his forearms as he sinks a little further into you. you cry out from the stretch, legs squeezing against his hips as his cock pushes against the tight walls of your cunt.

"i'm gonna fuck this little pussy open for me," he grunts, picking up speed as he thrusts into you. "make it mine."

he slides into you completely, hips pressed flush against yours, and he pauses. your pussy clenches around his length, desperate for him to make good on his promise and you can feel him twitching inside of you in response.

"fuck," he hisses, lifting his head off of your shoulder to look down at you. "you ready?"

you blink up at him, uncertain, and he leans down to press a soft kiss into your mouth. you whimper into the kiss, hands trailing up from his back to tangle in the long strands of his stupid fucking mullet.

he takes that as a yes and you start to feel him move his hips. a slow drag backward that makes your toes curl and your back arch off the couch, before slamming forward and causing you to cry out.

"you like that?" he grunts, keeping that same pace, fucking you open the way he told you he would.

the room fills with the sound of skin slapping against skin and the slick squelching of his cock pushing into you. you claw hard at his back, trying to ground yourself as each thrust knocks the air from your lungs.

his hands slide from your waist down to your thighs, pressing them up against your chest and folding you in half so he can fuck you even deeper.

you can't breathe -- you can hardly speak -- you can feel drool running down your chin from the way your mouth is hung open -- you're in absolute bliss.

you can feel the tightening in your gut as jean's cock hits that sensitive spot inside your cunt. you rake your nails into his back, babbling out his name incoherently in some sort of warning for your quickly-approaching orgasm.

"gonna cum?" he coos, and that's what does it for you.

with a breathless cry, you cum around his cock. your pussy clenches around him rhythmically as he keeps forcing himself into you, pounding his hips against your thighs as his balls slap against your ass.

"holy shit," he hisses, clenching his eyes shut and throwing his head back. "you're squeezing me so tight --"

with a strangled groan, he presses his hips flush against your thighs, and in the aftershocks of your orgasm, you can feel his cock twitching inside of you -- spilling hot cum against the swollen walls of your cunt as you pulse around him.

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