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thisblogisaboutabook · 2 months

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Rainy Season - Part 3

Storm Warning

Azriel Eris x Reader

We’ve got a time jump and are swapping points of view for this chapter y’all.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4

3 months later

Eris Vanserra hated the Summer Court. The humidity anywhere outside of the temperature regulated zones of Adriata, the way his hair clung to his forehead and caused curls to form in his otherwise immaculate hair, but most of all it was just insulting to be so bothered by the heat itself when he quite literally had fire in his veins. He couldn’t get out of here fast enough.

Tarquin strode alongside Eris through the open air lower levels of his keep, three of his guards and two of Eris’ own flanking them several feet behind, one could almost forget they were there if not for the “click clack” of feet echoing through the halls. Eris would be lying if he said he didn’t have to try very hard to focus on the mundane talk of trade routes and port authorities instead of getting lost to the sounds of crashing waves and gulls outside.

Tarquin broached the riveting subject of tariffs on imports from the continent as the first rumble of thunder boomed in the distance. Now that - Eris enjoyed that aspect of the court. Autumn had no shortage of rain but the turbulence of storms often mirrored his own inner peril - made him feel less alone in the world. And truthfully, there was nothing like taking cover from the rain and listening to the rumble outside, watching the lightning dance across the skies as the loud cracks of thunder commanded the attention of anyone within earshot.

“Have your people felt the same effects, High Lord?” Tarquin broke Eris from yet another drift of his thoughts. He really should have brought a secretary or advisor along for this meeting.

Sparing Eris from the embarrassment of asking Tarquin to repeat his last three minutes of speech a cry broke through the hall. The battle cry of a…. Child?

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Followed by a yelp of “ow!”

Eris’ head jerked as he found himself drifting toward the action.

Turning a corner he found a woman laying on the ground, curled into a ball - a child of no more than 10 with a large jagged stick standing over her with his chest puffed out, pure smug joy on his face.

Eris looked to Tarquin who only grinned with satisfaction. Eris gaped before Tarquin quietly whispered, “just watch.”

The woman didn’t move. The child’s look of satisfaction slowly turning to that of concern as she lay there. He bent over the woman placing a hand on her shoulder, his brows knit together. “Lady L/N?”

So focused on the woman on the ground before him, the boy didn’t notice her arm slowly sneak around him and “Oof!” The kid let out a startled breath as she grabbed his ankle, ripping it out from beneath him, effectively leaving the child on his behind.

The female lept up into a crouching position. Her tanned, muscled thighs pushing her up to stand effortlessly. “And that, little ones, is why you never let your guard down with an adversary.”

Eris turned, wondering how he could have missed the group of children sitting on the other end of the room watching the scene unfold.

The boy remained on his behind, hands resting on his forehead in defeat.

“Hey-“ She reached a hand out to help him up. “You did a great job. You quite literally swept me off my feet! Nobody has done that in quite some time.” She paused, sadness twisting her features as if her own words struck her before shifting back to that of a proud instructor. “In fact - I have something for you.”

She reached into the pocket of her calf-length, flowy pants and reaching handing him a shell. “Add this to your leather strap.” She tapped a leather bracelet on his wrist, one shell already strung on it. “You did great, kid.” The boy gave her a genuine smile as he returned to the rest of his classmates.

Eris shifted involuntarily. How much had he wished for someone to say those words to him when he was a child?

Tarquin chuckled “An excellent motivator. Shells. Who knew?”

Eris gave a small smile - brief but genuine before adjusting back into his usual mask. The instructor turned to face them and cauldron damn him if she wasn’t the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen. Radiant skin that came from plenty of time in the sun, silky hair that practically begged to have fingers run through it, a soft and curvy yet toned build. A body that told him she indulged herself in what she enjoyed but was active enough to define her plush features, likely blessed with great genetics - lithe yet perfectly squeezable in all his favorite places.

“High Lord.” Her voice carried to him like an ocean breeze. She bowed her head in a respectful greeting, long lashes fluttering. “How may I be of service?”

“Lady L/N,” Tarquin beamed. “It’s a pleasure to introduce you to Eris Vanserra, High Lord of the Autumn Court.”

Her brow puzzled for a brief moment before bowing her head again. “It’s an honor to meet you, High Lord.”

“A pleasure to meet you as well, lady.” Eris replied sincerely, meeting her bright eyes. “I didn’t realize Tarquin was hoarding such beauty within his keep.”

“We have many treasures in our court, High Lord. She is one of our brightest.”

Rather than blushing, the female held her head high, giving a polite “Thank you, High Lord.”

“We must be getting to lunch now. Have a pleasant rest of your class, Lady L/N.” He turned to the children with a stern look “And children, behave for her.” following the reminder with a smile and cheeky wink.

—————

It was hours later that Eris was released from meetings for the day. Unfortunately, there was still more to be discussed that would have to wait for tomorrow. Making the way to his guest suite, Eris found himself wondering about the instructor from earlier. Something about her felt vaguely familiar but he couldn’t quite place it.

After changing out of his stuffy clothes into something more befitting of the climate, Eris paced his room. He’d forgotten how much longer daylight lasted here than in his own court, with several hours remaining before dusk. He supposed he could brave the heat and take a stroll through the palace grounds, preferably without his entourage of guards.

Relieving the pair from their duties, Eris wandered through the gardens and toward a small grove of trees on the other side of the palace grounds. He could hear running water from a garden tributary that likely connected into the river that emptied into Adriata’s harbor.

Sauntering through the grove, he was pleased to find reprieve from the heat, the cool air wafting off of the stream and shade from the trees turning the grove into a private oasis. It wasn’t particularly trekked through. “Finally.” he thought to himself. A moment of peace.

Situating himself on an iron bench, Eris looked up, only to find that through a thicket of cattails, Lady L/N was standing on a rock upstream, eyes closed and balancing on one leg. Given her steady, intentional breathing he supposed she was meditating. It was odd - seeing her like this - strangely intimate to see someone in such an isolated state of catharsis, unaware of his own presence before her. The sun rays shone through cracks in the leaves, shrouding her in tiny fragments of light that made her tanned skin near golden. Her hair was wind blown from the breeze winding through the grove off the ocean, and she’d changed into a thin cotton sundress. Gods, maybe the Summer Court wasn’t so bad after all. The way it effortlessly flowed over her body perfectly accentuating her ample curves, and those tanned, toned legs - yeah, he should probably leave.

After momentary internal warring he began to stand but before he could sneak off, she gasped. Clutching her arms to her rib cage. “MOTHER FUCKER!” she screamed. Vulgar words coming from such a pretty mouth.

What an interesting method of meditation.

She took several breaths before resuming her position. Another minute went by when she audibly growled. “Bastard!!” She clutched herself again, keeling over. Finally she sat down on the rock, the hem of her dress soaking in the stream’s rippling water, and pressed her head into her hands. Eris thought she was crying.

He really should leave but - memories of his mother crying over the years flashed into his mind. All the years that she only had he or Lucien to console her, kindered spirits brought together by Beron’s casual cruelty. His other brothers being the emotionally void carbon copies of their father they were, paid no mind to their mother’s plight.

Yet still, he didn’t know her. She didn’t know him. She likely didn’t want him bothering her.

Against his better judgement, he found himself drawn in by her familiarity and approached. As he drew closer, he realized her sobs were not sobs at all. She was muttering the raunchiest, most vile slew of curses that he’d ever heard. Lucien would enjoy this female.

As he approached, she jerked her head up. The lovely, collected face from earlier twisted into one of contempt. He wondered if she knew that, that face was, well, adorable like a fierce little kitten. Although, something told him to tread carefully. She may look adorable but he’d bet good coin that her bite matched that of a lions.

“What do you want?” She spat.

Eris only smirked. “And here I thought you were a lady.”

Baiting her. Genius idea, Eris.

“Only within the palace.”

“You’re still on palace grounds.” Shrugging with the statement, Eris put his hands in his pockets - damn these Summer Court linens really were comfortable.

“Well, I was alone until you intruded.” she murmured, not meeting his eyes.

“Did you win Tarquin’s good graces with such manners?”

Her expression filled with ire as she looked up at him. “Did you take your throne by being such a prick?”

Eris couldn’t help but laugh at her bravado. This female either REALLY didn’t like him or truly didn’t care about consequences. “Ah, so you do know who I am.”

“You’re a High Lord. Of course I know-“

Her words cut off as she clutched her ribs again, tighter this time. A shudder escaping her. This time the pain seemed to last longer. And this time he could have sworn her voice cracked as she swore.

“Hey” Eris stepped into the creek, not bothering to step out of his sandals. Before he could hesitate he crouched down before her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Breathe.”

The thing was, he recognized that pain well. It has been centuries but damn he remembered it so clearly.

“Breathe through it. Think of something that makes you smile.”

She clutched herself harder, shaking her head. “Think of the look on your student’s face when you gave him that shell today.”

She breathed in deeply this time instead of letting out another curse.

“Good. Hold for three beats.”

“Now let the breath out.”

She breathed out. “In again.” He instructed. She followed suit. “Now out.”

As her breath steadied, she met his eyes - momentarily soft, a little broken, before ire crossed them again.

“For fucks sake, High Lord.” She spat. “I came here to meditate. I know how to breathe.”

She sure as shit seemed to have forgotten how to for a moment there, but he kept that to himself.

He only let out a soft laugh.

“There she is.”

She scowled in return.

“So, Lady L/N” he began, standing and extending a hand to help her up.

“Y/N.” She interjected, taking his hand. “Call me Y/N.”

Y/N. Fitting, he thought. The kind of name a tropical storm would be given.

Wait. Y/N L/N. Oh, he knew exactly why she was so familiar now. No wonder she’d given him that puzzled look in the palace. And, if Eris recalled correctly, his brother actually was rather fond of her - in a friendly and platonic sort of way. Though in his tales of the Night Court he’d certainly never mentioned the fact that she looked like a gods damned deity.

He led her out of the creek, not quite ready to drop her delicate hand. “So, Y/N, tell me about this idiot mate that let the Summer Court’s brightest treasure go.”

She gaped, jaw dropping into a look of genuine shock. “How-“

“I had one too. I believe you know her.”

—————

Eris and Y/N spent hours talking in the grove. He gave her all the details of his mate, Morrigan. How it killed him to leave her that fated day. Had he touched her, his mate, Beron would have claimed her as Autumn Court property requiring a Blood Duel for the Night Court to retrieve her. Though, Beron would have ensured she never left unharmed. That aside, Eris didn’t want that blood on her hands, the blood of a blood duel or any battles over her. He didn’t want it on his hands either. It killed him to feel her pain down the bond starting from their forced engagement and through the torture her father had inflicted upon her, and the trauma that lingered thereafter. The gut-wrenching, immobilizing pain that only a mate could feel shooting through to them.

He never wanted her to feel that pain. If it hurt him that badly to only feel it down the bond, he couldn’t imagine the strife she’d felt. He wanted to run to her, to comfort her, to tell her everything he couldn’t risk saying. He was too young to face the ramifications from his father and he had his mother and Lucien to protect in those days. So he protected her in the only way he knew how to at the time. Through cold, calculated indifference. He still regretted it.

As time went on, the mask he wore became heavier and heavier, burying that bond deeper within himself. It took him until after the war with Hybern to finally lay it all out to her. Y/N never knew any of that part of the story. She knew Mor and Eris had made amends but nothing of their bond, and she knew that Mor was happily committed to Emerie, an Illyrian female now. He was happy for his mate, as happy as a rejected mate could be.

Eris never claimed to have been in the right. In fact, what he did to Mor was wrong. The way he spoke to her as if she was no more than a common whore when facing her in front of his father at the High Lord’s meeting. Yes, it was an act but it was never okay. He’d live with that for the rest of his days. His apologies to her since never felt like enough.

Y/N empathized with Eris. He could see that she was torn but her gaze toward him softened although, never into that of pity. He liked that about her.

She shared the story of her mating bond with Azriel. And how the waves of anger and grief down the bond had increased in strength recently as she had continued healing. She laughed bitterly at the typical trajectory of females in her situation getting better over time while unfaithful males seemed to spiral as it went on. She didn’t say who he had cheated on her with but Eris had his suspicions. The Shadowsinger apparently had a thing for Vanserra mates. She laughed and cried over the hours they talked. They’d eventually ended up back in a palace seating area for a drink.

Eris hadn’t been so open with someone like this in so long that it felt foreign. Hell, opening up always felt unnatural for him. Perhaps he was stupid for sharing with her. After all, mating bonds could make people do crazy things. She could always take Azriel back and share the details of his little sob stories with the Night Court.

She’d occasionally let out a sharp breath as small jolts of emotion came rolling in. It was nearing dusk when she finally huffed, slapping her hands on her thighs saying, “Enough! This tea is weak. I need something stronger.” Pouring them each a glass of brandy, and another, and another.

As the conversation shifted from the heavier topics to lighter ones, Eris let it slip that he wasn’t fond of the summer court and found all of the sand and humidity to be unpleasant at best.

Her inhibitions were down and if Eris were being honest with himself, his were too. He hadn’t drank much since becoming a High Lord though he often felt the need for a stiff drink. No, there was too much work to be done and he was still getting his own inner circle acclimated. Trust was harder to give in the Autumn Court, especially after being under his father’s rule for so long. There were plenty of good people in the castle but just as many were corrupted under Beron’s rule. Weeding them out was consuming more of his time than anticipated.

Somehow, after their fourth drink, Y/N dragged him out onto the beach, determined to show him all the merits of the crusty, sand-infested shores.

Admittedly, her joy was contagious but he was going to make her work for any positive reaction.

“Okay!” She eagerly squealed. “First - sand castles! Have you ever built one?”

“I live in a castle.” Eris feigned boredom, inspecting his nails. “It seems unnecessary to build one out of… that.” his nose scrunched up, lip curling into a sneer as he gestured to the sand surrounding them.

“Ughhh.” Her eyes rolled back into her head as her little sun dress blew in the wind. And damn if he wouldn’t love to see her eyes going back into her head like that in other circumstances.

He was a gentlemale but a male nevertheless.

“Being High Lord doesn’t mean you have to be such a bore, but fine… No sand castles. Maybe next time!”

Next time. He liked the thought of that. My how far she’d come from practically snarling at him just this morning.

“Look!” She squealed, bringing her hands to her chest and clapping with excitement. “Dolphins! Now I know you don’t have those in the Autumn Court, Eris Vanserra.”

Fuck, his name sounded so good coming off of her lips.

He couldn’t resist smiling at her enthusiasm and then at the dolphins. They swam so peacefully in a pod through the harbor. One even let a young water wraith trail alongside it as a hand carefully gripped onto its dorsal fin as the creature pulled her along.

“The wraiths and dolphins coexist well together.” Y/N mused wistfully. “There’s a common misconception that they are territorial due to food supply but they have plenty in the harbor.”

She smiled softly. “The younger wraiths tend to bond with them and the dolphins have even been known to protect them from certain dangers.”

As the pair continued walking along the shore, the conversation occasionally faltered as Y/N would stare off distantly, as if looking for something that wasn’t there.

His heart ached for her. From what he’d gathered during their talk, she’d left the Shadowsinger, but the heart is slow to heal after losing a mate in any capacity.

Eris nudged her with his shoulder. “Hey little minx, where’d you go?”

Coming back to reality she halted. “Oh! Oh my gods. The sun is setting and you have to come with me! Hurry.”

She grabbed his wrist and he didn’t hesitate to follow along as she all but dragged him down the beach. “Hurry! We’ll miss them!”

They ran until reaching a secluded inlet of the bay. They climbed up a small rocky ledge where she sat, dangling her feet over the edge. “There’s an underwater cave-“ she breathed heavy, catching her breath. “here, beneath us and every night-“ another pause to breathe. “something magical happens as the sun sets.”

Eris, catching his own breath, waited patiently for more details but she only dropped a small pebble into the water and as she did, a rainbow of luminescent fish rippled to life below the surface. There had to be thousands of them, leisurely swimming out of the cave as if they were just waking up. Shades of bright pink, green, blue, orange, and purple lit up the small inlet. Eris was awestruck, so awestruck in fact that he didn’t hesitate planting his ass next to her on the crusty sand-coated ledge.

With a wave of her wrist she pulled a bottle of rum out from the pocket realm, tugging the cork out with her teeth and taking a swig, then handing it over to him.

They sat in silence as the remaining fish left the inlet and the remaining colors of the sunset disappeared into night. Clouds began rolling in as they drank and began chatting again. Much like that morning, thunder rolled in but this time he was disappointed to hear it. He didn’t want the evening to end, wasn’t ready to let her go quite yet.

He wished he’d had a warning before the ocean winds blew this wild, beautiful storm into his life that morning. Something to brace himself against the inevitable fallout of the precarious situation he found himself in. It was a storm he was prepared to ride out and he had a feeling it would be worth whatever debris she’d leave him with.

The base of the distant thunder rumbling, the cymbal-like crash of waves on the shore, and singing of the creatures of summer nights blended together into a beautiful melody that flowed through Eris. Quickly he stood, extending a hand to her. “Dance with me, Y/N?”

She froze, that distant look crossing her eyes again for a second. He braced himself for her decline but the life returned to her eyes as a smile graced her full lips. She accepted his hand and didn’t hesitate as he tucked her into his chest, her warmth and scent lulling him into a state of bliss.

No, Eris Vanserra did not hate the Summer Court at all.

————————

This was a long one and I know it wasn’t from our girls POV but I hope you all enjoyed it 🥹 Stay tuned for more! Her story is not done yet.

Tags:

@going-through-shit @kalulakunundrum @lisanna2000 @fxckmiup @sheblogs @emryb @one-big-fangirl @historygeekqueen @isa1b2h3 @bigcreatorwombatdreamer @theravenphoenix26 @sidthedollface2 @i-am-infinite @caraaaaugh @evergreenlark @darkbloodsly @piceous21 @anxious-study

#sarah j maas #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #azriel #a court of silver flames #a court of frost and starlight #a court of mist and fury #a court of wings and ruin #azriel shadowsinger #azriel x reader #eris x reader #summer court #tarquin #eris vanserra #eris x oc #eris vandaddy #inspired by Hunter Hayes #storm warning Hunter Hayes

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vandal-flower · 3 months

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The Type of Boyfriend that Will...

Blue Lock boys that will...

Characters: Various.

Notes: Go ahead, interrogate me in my inbox.

Go to war for you

Had it not been for his soccer career, he'll enlist himself in the army just so he can go to war for you.

Other moments are where there is a cockroach in the room and decides to kill it for you. He might be the type to complain about it, but that doesn't stop him from getting the job done.

If you ever have an argument with a girl that might get physical, be prepared to see him put on a cheap wig just to brawl her for you. Or in some cases, there is no wig.

Annoying neighbours next door that won't shut up when you want to go to sleep. Don't worry, he's got you.

He kisses you goodbye as his battle on the pitch is soon to set, and reminds you to take care of the kids while he's gone. Said kids are the house plants and/or pets.

So, yes. He'll go to war for you.

Seishiro Nagi, Shouei Barou, Rensuke Kunigami, Itoshi Bros, Ryusei Shidou, Oliver Aiku... + your favourites.

Sacrifice himself for you

When I mean sacrifice, I mean sacrifice.

When mosquito season rolls in, he'll stay up all night just to prevent them from stinging you. You have to remind him that you bought the latest mosquito repellent, but that won't stop him.

He'll give you his charger, even if his phone is on the verge of dying. He'll give you the warmest blanket, even if he's freezing cold. He's willing to watch the scary scenes, so you don't have to.

You remind him that he does not have to do all these things for you, but he's too stubborn to even listen to you.

His teammates often tease him for his behaviour, but he takes it with the widest smile known to man.

If it means he has to jump in the pool, in winter, fully clothed, just to get your hair tie, he'll do it in a heart beat.

Yoichi Isagi, Meguru Bachira, Rensuke Kunigami, Reo Mikage, Alexis Ness, Oliver Aiku... + your favourites.

Put his all for you

This man, could be the tiredest man on Earth, but he'll give his all to you.

He's too tired to cook, but you're hungry. Expect dinner in a few minutes. The store is closing in 3 minutes, give him 1 minute minimum. Nothing is stopping him.

You wonder how far he'll go to such lengths in order to satisfy your needs. Do remind him that he too should take a break. But do remember, there is a 50% he'll listen.

If you have not noticed, his love language is acts of service. He is your royal knight, your right hand man, the fanfic secretary you'll definitely get with. You know the drill.

He dedicates his goals to you as a way to say "I love you" on the pitch. And also as a way to say he's better than anyone else.

Yoichi Isagi, Hyoma Chigiri, Reo Mikage, Shouei Barou, Rensuke Kunigami, Itoshi Bros, Michael Kaiser... + your favourites.

Stay with you

When times are tough, he's here with you.

If you wish to be held, he'll hold you. If you wish to have space, he'll give you space. If you want someone to rant to, his ears are wide open. You want a shoulder to cry on, have his it's dry.

He may or may not understand what you are going through, but the fact that he stays with you, shows that he cares.

There were times in his life where there was no one for him to run to. An experience he does not wish upon you, his lover.

If it means just gently rubbing your back, giving you something to eat, listening to your soft or loud cries. He'll do it.

As long as it means he's staying with you, so don't have to be alone like he was.

All of them. (For our peace of mind)

Hi.

My inbox is open. Check out my Rules.

#blue lock #bllk #blue lock x reader #bllk x reader #isagi yoichi #bachira meguru #rin itoshi #sae itoshi #kunigami rensuke #shidou ryusei #chigiri hyoma #nagi seishiro #reo mikage #barou shouei #michael kaiser #alexis ness #oliver aiku #vandal-flower

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jals-stuff · 4 months

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Longing.

Yuta Okkotsu x f!reader

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Warning: this work contains spoilers for JJK season 2 and some spoilers for the Culling Games arc.

Content warnings: dark themes, mentions of blood/death/corpses, reader has a sad backstory, very (tiny) slight fluff

Synopsis: The line between an inherited cursed technique and an actual curse can be very blurry, sometimes. But it seems like meeting him changed the course of your life, even just a bit.

Word count: 4.7k approximately

Note: This is my first published work, written with three feeble hours of sleep, anxiety and a cough. Please be gentle :^) if you wish to be added to the taglist, please ask in the comments

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | ENDING

English is not my mother tongue, so if I've made any mistakes, please do not stone me to death !

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The only thing you can hear from where you’re sitting is the rumbling noise of battle. It’s all you’ve heard for a few days and in all honesty, you just wish it would stop, but you’re stuck in the culling games, much like many others. Frankly enough, you have no clue what’s happening; you had finally decided to go out of your apartment to buy some clothing, and all of a sudden, a column that looked like a huge veil was spread around your city. It probably wasn’t the right day to go out, you thought to yourself. The unluckiest part of your day was that your apartment was located a few metres outside of the barrier.

Since the culling games had started— unbeknownst to you of course, you had no interest nor knowledge in whoever Kenjaku or Satoru Gojo was or in what was happening in the Jujutsu society at this very moment, you had been sitting in the same spot, at the very back of an underground garage. Your knees were close to your chest, you were hugging them as if your life depended on how strong this embrace was, as if they were the sole thing keeping you alive at this very moment.

But the way you were sitting was not the main issue. You weren’t alone in this underground room, or rather your body was not the only one resting here; the room was filled with an astronomical amount of lifeless bodies, all of them either mangled to death, headless, cut in half, some had their faces or some limbs missing. The floor was painted red, and you were sitting in this room, surrounded by all of these now empty shells, yet you had killed none of them. Not directly, at least.

“Rule 10: Players may transfer any number of points between one another.”

For the first time today, you’d heard something other than the raging tornado of violence that was happening outside, and it wasn’t the last of your surprises, as another person seemed to be making their way towards you. Their steps were very calm and assured, and for a second you thought they hadn’t noticed the bloody corpses you had left in your way through the building, quite like Tom Thumb would have. As the noise got closer, it seemed like the air around you grew rarer, like it was getting expelled from your lungs and somehow you couldn’t breathe it back in. As if you were about to suffocate.

The steps sounded like the steady ticking of a clock, and the sinister aura emanating from the noise in the nearby corridor only made it seem like the clock intended to show you that you were getting closer to death. You would’ve cried, screamed in fear, or ran away but… it had always been your goal.

To you, death was like this one ex that dumped you but you couldn’t stop thinking of. You pursue them, stalk them, follow them around, taunt them even, you beg for them to take you back, to embrace you just this once, please- but they never do. It’s like their eyes are always on someone else, it doesn’t matter who as long as it isn’t you, and all you can do is cry your heart out and plead, keep pleading, surely your efforts will not go unnoticed.

You’re brought out of your thoughts by another sound: a slight swift in the air, a sword cutting through it. You swiftly get back on your feet and avoid it, your eyes locking on the attacker. He’s just between tall and short, his white top is covered in splashes of blood and a part of his soft-looking black hair is tucked behind his ear. You can’t quite catch the colour of his eyes due to how dark the room is, but you do notice his dark undereyes, as if sleep was fleeing him the same way death was fleeing you. He takes a careful step back and watches you for a second.

“Kogane.”

His voice is really soft, you thought, eyeing him. Kogane appears next to him.

“Player name: (L/N) (Y/N). Points: 202.”

The young man’s eyes fill with anger as he realises how many points you’ve collected, and it takes him less than half a second to close the distance between the two of you and go in for another slash. Once again, you avoid it, jumping right above it and barely making it. His cursed energy seemed way higher than the other ones’... like a special grade’s. You can tell he firmly believes you’re the cold-blooded murderer who unalived all of these people laying on the floor around you, and it drives him completely insane. His hand slowly raises, and he brings the ring he’s wearing closer to his face; he’s about to do something and you have to act quickly.

“Wait! I won’t attack you, please!” You plead with him and hope he listens to you. He looks at the lifeless human remains around you, and his tired eyes lock back on your face in disbelief. He clearly doesn’t buy it. “I-I’m not the one who killed them, I promise! If you attack me, you’ll die, so don’t attack me!”

Something in his behaviour changes, and it seems like he’s having déjà vu, though you couldn’t tell if he is, for you have never met this man in your life. You decide to shoot your shot, and tell him what’s up.

“Or rather… I did, but unwillingly.” You correct yourself, still feeling this awful pang of guilt. He looks around for a second, and you try to stand in his shoes: you wouldn’t believe yourself either. Perhaps you had sensed that he was stronger than the ones you had killed before, tremendously so, and this was your desperate attempt at escaping punishment. He looks up at you without a word, his eyes still filled with this detached, yet angry glare. You slowly extend a hand to him, making sure your movements are noticeable and not too sudden.

“No tricks, I promise, point your katana against my thumb, please.”

He carefully does as you suggested, the tip of his blade grazing your thumb slightly, yet it doesn’t bleed. It takes him a bit to understand that his own thumb is bleeding instead, and he’s a little taken aback by this situation. Was this a way for you to explain your technique to empower it, or were you telling him only in order to avoid his own demise to be brought by none other than his own blade? You slowly retract your hand and hold it to your chest.

“If you had landed a hit on me earlier, you would’ve ended up like the others…” You sigh as you look around you, recalling each and every hit these men were so eager to give you and how this same behaviour brought them doom. The young man in front of you seems like he could make sense of what you said, but remains cautious as he takes a good look at you. Your eyes are afflicted with the same sleepless dark circles his own eyes bear, and your expression makes it rather obvious that you do not wish to remain here any longer. He sheathes his sword back in a sigh, crossing his arms, his expression remaining unchanged.

“I’ve been sent here to carry out an execution, your execution. But if what you’re saying is true, we’re going to have an issue.” It wasn’t a surprise to you, the higher-ups of the Jujutsu society somehow always had beef with your clan for… reasons? None of it was really clear to you, but it seemed like all of it was about your inherited cursed technique, Longing. It seemed more like a curse than anything else really. It was a rather passive capacity that messed with luck itself, the capacity to acquire literally anything, to manifest any event you wished for, except the one thing you wanted most.

For as long as you recall, you grew up surrounded by your loved ones. The traditional mansion you lived in was fully made of wood, and its gardens had flowers in abundance. How good does it feel to have room for all of your family in the same building? The answer is: amazing; you didn’t have any siblings but you could see your cousins whenever you wanted to, dinners were always so lively, there was always something to do. Times were good when you were so blissfully ignorant of the curse your family bore.

Your mother was the first to set an example for your eyes. Of course it must’ve happened in the past as well, but you were still a child when you noticed it. You had heard your mother blame herself countless times because of her dearest wish without understanding what it meant. “Why did I have to wish for this? Why couldn’t it be anything else?!” she’d weep some nights, soaking her pillow and covers in tears, but oddly enough, only when your father was not around.

It was only fair to admit your father was a good-looking man. A tall, rather muscular man with luscious, long black hair that fell on his shoulders like a weeping willow’s branches gently floating with the wind. Born in a rich family, the dowry his family brought to yours was absolutely not negligible. All your mother had ever really wished for was a good, happy marriage. And this is where you understood the Longing would deny her exactly that. Though everything was perfect on the surface, he was a selfish man; moreover, he had embarrassed your mother countless times when faced with younger women, his hands always grabbing at inappropriate places.

Yes, your parents’ marriage was everything but happy, at least to your mother. You gradually noticed that most members of your family were in the same situation as your mother, and you realised the Longing was the cause. But even with the majority of your family being truly unhappy, you hadn’t seen the worst of it yet. Jujutsu society’s higher-ups deemed this “technique” a little too threatening, and had decided that, out of pure precaution, wiping your clan was the best option. Of course, the (L/N) clan did not belong to the Big Three clans, so it didn’t really matter to them.

And so, one night, the sounds of swords clashing and people screaming woke you up. Mixed feelings, anxiety and curiosity growing inside of your heart; you decided to peek through the keyhole… The first things your eyes locked on were the gigantic rhododendron in the garden: it was on fire. The poor blossoms were driven by the heat and the wind, as if desperate to seek shelter, only to fall on the floor and get trampled on by Jujutsu sorcerers that had been sent to carry on your whole family’s execution. You sneaked outside of your room and ran to the first room that looked like it had been ransacked already.

The cellar had been through a lot, or so it seemed, and you decided to settle here, discreetly climbing inside an empty barrel of wine that was already half-destroyed; this way the executioners wouldn’t know you were in here. You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to ignore the pungent smell of burning flesh and your mother’s familiar, usually gentle voice being reduced to a horrendous screech that seemed non ending, if not interrupted occasionally as if her lungs kept being stripped of the air filling them, yet the agony was harrowing enough to force her into a disgraceful display of atrocious, senseless screaming.

You couldn’t tell for how long you’d been crouching in your hiding spot. The cries and screams had stopped for a long time already, but you could swear you still heard them, as if your mind was playing them on repeat to engrave this moment in your very existence. You slowly but surely got out of the cellar, and only then could you measure the damage. No survivors in sight, the whole garden was burnt to the ground and the smell of freshly cooked flesh was still lingering in the air. You began retching and ran back to the cellar to collect yourself, panting heavily as you felt your head grow colder and the corners of your vision seemed to get darker.

The time came to face reality, and no one could do it but you. Slowly, hesitantly, you stepped out of the cellar once more and walked carefully, your legs trembling in fear that any step taken without caution would break the floor and dump you inside a bottomless pit where all you’d be able to do while falling is reminding yourself of your family’s termination. Every step you took filled you with dread and angst; what if the bad guys were still here? And what if they were waiting for you? There was absolutely no way they knew about your survival but… what if?

But you were brought out of your overthinking by a faint whisper. Did someone see you? Was it over already? You decide to get a closer look and, to your surprise, it’s one of your older cousins. Relief flooded in your system as you rushed to his side. Things were going to be just fine, right? Surely, your cousin would survive, and everything was going to be fine, right?! But you fell down from the high of this temporary illusion when he coughed up a worrying amount of blood on the floor. He gave you pleading eyes, and reached for one of his pockets. Medicine? Did he want medicine? You'd give him what he needs, right on the spot! You were so grateful until he weakly, slowly handed you a small knife. You didn't understand.

What were you supposed to do with it? Did he want you to cut some medicinal herbs for him? Maybe dice some food so that he could eat? But the truth was far from this shroud of lies you willingly put in front of your eyes: he was asking you to finish him off. He must've been in great pain with how pale and exhausted he looked, but to ask a little girl like you to take his life, you couldn't imagine how bad it was. You took the blade with shaky hands and looked at him in utter terror, your vision blurry from the tears forming in your eyes. You could feel your hands getting colder by the second and your body getting numb, but you somehow understood; he was asking for one final kind gesture, a bloody, painful one, but kind nonetheless.

You gently held his head, trembling and unsure, hesitant— was this really necessary? Were there no means for him to survive? If you somehow managed to mend his wounds, he could make it and you wouldn’t be alone, but was the risk worth taking? He sure seemed like he was in pain, he must’ve been, for hours even. It felt like your neck was freezing, like your whole body was plunged into glacial water and none of it could respond the way you intended it to, drops of cold sweat running free on your skin as if they were racing to be the first one to come crashing on the floor. But once again, your thoughts were interrupted by a loud groan coming from him, a pained one, and then a long sigh.

…and then silence.

You softly shake him, but get no response. His eyes are still half-opened, and his mouth is agape, chin covered in his own spit and blood. The view was nasty, and you thought you were going to throw up at the sight. Guilt built up inside you; why didn’t you finish him off? It was the only thing that was asked of you, a gentle gesture of relief so he could peacefully go, but you denied him that, as if life itself refused to indulge in this last request of his. It was his dearest wish, in the end.

You stand back up and look at his lifeless body, struck by horror and confusion at the same time; a feeling you’d get used to rapidly. The sun was barely rising when you decided to leave the cellar, and you realised you had spent much more time than you thought, kneeling at your cousin’s deathbed. You stumbled back to the main building and started searching the rooms for a survivor, anyone. Surely someone managed to stay hidden, right? There absolutely had to be at least one survivor. And so, for the most part of the morning, you did exactly what the executioners did before you: you searched every nook and cranny of your family’s house, internally begging the gods to let you find at least one person, but to no avail. The Gods are selfish and cruel, and you were about to learn it the hard way.

A few panting noises and a groan came from a nearby room. “Finally!” you almost exclaimed out loud, the weight of loneliness that cradled your heart was about to lift! One step into the room was all it took to shatter whatever illusions you still had about the gods listening to your prayers. In fact, they had listened, there was a survivor… but for how long? You quickly kneeled near the wounded family member and, as you gently caught their head, you realised. “Mother..?” your eyes were probably playing tricks on you. That had to be it, right? It couldn’t be her, not your mother, not like this, not here and not now! But the look in her eyes bore the same tone your cousin’s did, except… it was far more tender.

Her mouth was filled with blood and her jaw was broken beyond reconstruction— even a cursed technique reversal probably could not heal the amount of tiny fragments the impacts on her bones had turned her jaw into, but her eyes spoke for themselves. “I’m glad you’re alive.” you guessed, and you suddenly decided that you couldn’t handle this view anymore. For her sake, and yours, you gently cupped your mother’s cheek and helped her close her eyes as you swiftly planted the blade in the side of her neck, effectively killing her. You sat, alone with your thoughts, your mother’s lifeless body resting on your knees, surrounded by empty shells of what used to be a warm, happy family: your family. And on this day, you wished nothing more but the sweet release of death, and that was exactly what you wouldn’t get.

The violent noises from the outside world brought you out of your thoughts, and you realised you’d been reminiscing for far too long. The young executioner was still standing near you, staying at a cautious enough distance to make sure you wouldn’t try anything, and you felt like you should give him at least a reasonable amount of explanation. “Longing,” you started, and he gave you a puzzled look. “That’s the name of my family’s innate technique, but… I would say it’s more of a curse. It messes with the laws of physics, of rationality… it can give you anything you desire, except what you desire most.” Of course, to any outsider, it would sound absolutely unreal, but he, in the past, had been cursed with his own love for his childhood friend and, unbeknownst to you, understood the burden a curse implies.

He didn’t know what to do with you. He considered bringing you back to Jujutsu High, but it was clear you’d be imprisoned or trapped there for as long as your life would go on, and he had enough empathy for you to know you didn’t deserve this. Letting you go would definitely put him in a bad situation with the higher-ups, and he definitely couldn’t bring you with him everywhere he went, like some kind of stray he picked up on the side of the road. Taking you back to Jujutsu high would’ve been the safest option to follow if Gojo hadn’t been sealed; he could’ve taken you in as a student on a whim, and the higher-ups would’ve been unable to do anything about it, as per usual… but this would play out smoothly if Yuji and Megumi could find the “Angel”.

“So, here’s what we’re going to do, (Y/N).” He said in the gentlest voice he could muster, trying not to seem threatening to you. Hearing him say your name surprised you at first, but you quickly recalled he had been sent to execute you, so the fact that he was aware of it wasn’t really that surprising anymore. He had a really soft, soothing voice, and it eerily contrasted with his sinister aura and gloomy appearance, but you paid no mind, and simply decided that he was trying to be reassuring. “You’re coming with me, and I’m really sorry that you don’t have a choice.”

Your heart dropped a little at his words, knowing he might simply bring you back to Jujutsu High, where the higher-ups would have you imprisoned or sealed until you died, which was not exactly the life you had intended to live. You took a small step back, and the young man instantly felt the rush of terror that went through your body. He gently grabbed your arm, carefully wrapping his fingers around it and making sure not to seem aggressive in the least. “My friends are looking for a certain player as we speak. If we can find her, I’ll bring you back to Jujutsu High.” You frowned and took a sharp breath in. Even if he couldn’t kill you, his strength certainly was great enough to drag you wherever he wished to. It was over.

“I promise I won’t let them imprison you, alright?” He gently said, letting go of your arm slowly. “Huh…?” your voice came out barely louder than a whisper, and, despite the coldness of his body, gave you a warm smile. “I know what it’s like to be cursed, and I’m not your enemy, alright? Let’s cooperate together, I promise you’ll be okay.” You felt your tears coming out on their own; not even a sob to accompany them. When was the last time anyone had told you you’d be okay? You simply could not recall it and, for a split second, you saw your executioner as the light shining at the end of the tunnel. You would’ve grabbed onto his dirty, bloody top if you didn’t know better. He, however, started panicking.

“D-did I say something wrong? Hey—” You shook your head ‘no’, sniffing loudly and wiping your tears with your sleeves, but they kept coming out. It was even worse when he decided to gently give you a head pat, his hand resting against the top of your head gently, and it was too much for you to handle. You started sobbing loudly and trembling, and gripping your own shirt to fiddle with it, like a child; like the child you were never allowed to be. He seemed to understand that your tears were probably a mixture, lots of bottled up emotions flooding out at the same time. “I’m Okkotsu Yuta,” he says, patting your head one more time, “you’ll be okay, (Y/N).” You nodded and, even though you barely knew him at all, as a lost child would do, you trusted Yuuta to do whatever was right.

You followed Yuta out of the building, and at long last, you put the pieces of the puzzle together. The small amount of time you spent with Yuta inside this building helped you forget about the deafening screams coming from the outside, but it all came back to you as soon as you took a step out. Bodies seemed to be sprouting out of the floor everywhere, like some sort of invasive flora; parts of the buildings were dyed red— and it was not paint, you guessed; but mostly, it seemed like the city was now completely silent. Your steps were still cautious as you didn’t know what lurked nearby.

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about the others, they’re all dead.” Yuuta said with a gentle smile, hoping to reassure you once more, but the feelings were mixed. His voice was so calm and soft, yet his aura was sinister, terrifying even. It reeked of death, and so it was oddly comforting to you, it felt like you were closer to your goal. And so, instead of standing there, petrified, as you should’ve, you brought your hand to your chest and let out a sigh of relief, giving him a genuine smile. “Phew, I’m glad, thank you, Okkotsu.”

Needless to say, it was not the reaction Yuta was used to, but your friendliness seemed to get to him, as he chuckled slightly, probably elated that you weren’t too scared of him. With that, he started walking, and you followed him like a lost duckling. You had no idea where he was headed, but you somehow already trusted him. Even though the other people in your district were all dead, you couldn’t help but feel uneasy, and the sun was setting, which absolutely did not help. Yuta noticed it and offered his hand, and you took it without thinking twice, letting out a small, surprised squeak at the coldness of his skin, it almost felt like he was already dead.

After a while, he stopped in front of what seemed to be a large hole in the floor; you guessed it was a result of the fights that had been going on for a while— an easy guess if you simply take a look at your surroundings, where buildings seem like the smallest gust of wind would make what was left of the walls give in. “Can you jump this far?” Yuta asked, and you obviously shook your head. Sure, you had cursed energy, but no training at all. It was like giving a child some ingredients with no recipe: the chances of failure were almost guaranteed. He adjusted the strap holding his sword and turned towards you, then, taking you off guard, he picked you up in his arms as if you weighed absolutely nothing.

“Ah!” You yelped, startled, and it made him chuckle a little bit, before he took a few steps back. “You’ll be fine. Just hold on and don’t move too much.” You did as you were told and wrapped your arms around his neck before he started running and jumped. It took all of your brain cells not to accidentally move, and you wondered why he’d jump inside such a huge hole… before realising he had closed the gap with the other side and landed safely. You were absolutely clueless and your legs were trembling a bit out of stress, even if you knew you were safe now. “See? It wasn’t that bad.” He said with a gentle smile.

…it felt really odd. It still felt like this guy had death itself attached to him, the air around him felt so heavy it could just crush you, and his insane strength made him all the more intimidating. But his smile was so genuine and kind, you couldn’t take your eyes off him, and it did occur to you that it would lead to an embarrassing situation but right now, you didn’t care, you just wanted to look at his gentle smile for a bit longer. You had been deprived of that since this horrific night years ago, and you didn’t want to let go now. Yuta, however, was a bit confused as to why you were looking at him with almost literal stars in your eyes, like a child seeing fireworks for the first time. He supposed you might’ve been lost in thought. “..are you alright?” He asked, a bit puzzled, and you blinked several times before realising he was talking to you.

“Oh. OH, I’m- I’m sorry,” you said as he put you back down. “I.. I don’t know what came over me.” He wouldn’t have given you this confused look if your face didn’t have such an obvious blush on it, and to spare you more embarrassment, he turned his back to you and offered his hand again, which you gladly accepted. He began walking towards a destination that was unknown to you, but you followed him without a word or a doubt. Yuta’s cold hand in yours felt warm and reassuring, guiding you through this empty battlefield populated by only corpses, vehicle wrecks and the remains of tall buildings threatening to collapse at once.

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taglist: @ilofbred @imshittingforyelena @anqelically

#yuuta x reader #yuuta okkotsu x reader #yuta okkotsu x reader #yuta x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk yuuta okkotsu #jjk yuta okkotsu #jjk yuta #jjk yuuta

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wheredidhiseyebrowsgo · 2 months

Note

please give me fic recs where Derek is a big brother / dad figure to Issac with Sterek too, but without the pack calling Stiles mom, just pack feels or Derek found family feels.

I know these fics exists, they have to, I NEED THEM pretty please.

I think so!

Family Ties by Big_Hazard

(1/1 I 1,681 I General)

Isaac comes home from Paris and Derek makes a big change for both of their lives.

Brothers (a word so unfamiliar to Derek he probably couldn't spell it) by Nerdgoddess

(1/1 I 2,797 I General)

Derek Hale hasn't been a brother in a long time. He hasn't been a big brother for even longer. But slowly, with the help of the pack, he learns.

4 times in which Derek acts like a big brother + 1 time he gets treated like one.

The Barriers Within Yourself by Reinamy

(1/1 I 2,977 I Teen)

It all comes down to Isaac messing up.

People Don't Regress into Babies, do they? by TylerM

(1/1 I 4,962 I General)

If there had ever been a time in Derek's life where he could have foreshadowed holding a crying baby on his hip as he tried to coo at him in a comforting manner while Peter uselessly laughed at him, he most definitely would have prevented it.

You see Derek has no idea how this happened. And by this, he means Isaac somehow magically turning into a toddler.

Repeat, a toddler.

- Or the one where Isaac magically gets turned into a baby and Derek has to look after him.

Can’t Walk Around With Open Wounds by BetoWrites

(5/5 I 8,075 I Mature)

It’s the holiday season, but Isaac isn’t in the mood to celebrate. Years after the Battle of the Nogistsune, he continues to be haunted by ghosts of a life he can barely recognize.

Upon his return to Beacon Hills, he discovers that — for better or for worse — he’s not the only one.

I Think Isaac Hale Sounds Nice by courtinator

(6/6 I 11,760 I General)

Derek sets out to begin the process of adopting Isaac, but it proves to be a little more difficult than he thought.

(to us) your ghost is born by stenoscope

(6/? I 14,169 I Teen)

“Shut up,” Boyd says easily, spearing a sausage on his fork. “It’d be a lot for anyone.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Isaac. We love you. Shut up.”

Isaac shuts up.

it begins with lies by sunmoontruth

(21/21 I 103,651 I Teen)

“We’re supposed to be the protectors of Beacon Hills,” Derek says. “You raised me to care about people, so that’s what I’m doing.”

Talia’s lips twitch a little, this soft frown that Derek hates to be the cause of. But he needs his mom to hear him, needs her to understand that they have the power to do something, and, therefore, they should. He needs her to understand that the abundance of caution has gone on for five years too long. He needs her to understand that the people of this town – this kid included – need someone to look out for them, and it should be this family.

Talia says, slowly, “I’ll check it out.”

—

Or the Hale fire never happens, the family fosters Isaac, and a war breaks out as a consequence

#teen wolf #sterek #stiles stilinski #derek hale #isaac lahey #derek and isaac #anon #fluff

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nataliawrites · 1 year

Text

TikTok on the Clock // Daniel Ricciardo

One of the best things to come out of the pandemic lockdown was finally giving in to the urge to download TikTok. You had quickly grown addicted to scrolling through the mix of eclectic videos that popped up on your “for you page” and soon enough decided to start posting some yourself.

It did not take long for Formula 1 fans to make the connection between your account and who your boyfriend is — Daniel Ricciardo was many things but subtle was not one of them and he had a tendency to “accidentally” interrupt you while you filmed.

You kept the account going long after restrictions eased and hopped on many of the trends that made their rounds on the app. This year, you were feeling slightly evil. You have been putting together a compilation of hilarious (if you did say so yourself) pranks that you pulled on your boyfriend since the season began and were just about to hit upload as the countdown began.

You put down your phone and turn to give Daniel your full attention.

Ten

Nine

Eight

Seven

Six

Five

Four

Three

Two

One

His lips taste like champagne.

Happy New Year!

“Hey Dan?”

“Mmh.”

“Maybe stay off TikTok for a bit.”

“What did you do?”

One

You loved the Australian Grand Prix. Your boyfriend’s home race was a spectacle on the track and a great opportunity to spend time with his family off the track.

As usual, you flew out to Perth a bit early before switching coasts for the race. You were busy in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner as you prepared to host everyone that evening. When everything was mostly done, you started recording on your phone and leaned it against the wall inconspicuously before calling for your boyfriend.

“Hey, babe?” You pour a heaping pile of salt on a spoon.

“Yeah?” You can hear Daniel from across the house.

“Can you come taste my sauce?” You dunk the spoon in a pot of your tomato sauce and pick up just enough to hide the salt.

He basically runs to the kitchen, “test taster reporting for duty.”

You bring the spoon to his mouth, “I used your nonna’s recipe.”

His eyes screw shut and his mouth puckers, “my-my nonna’s recipe?”

“Your mom shared it with me. Isn’t it delicious?”

“Yeah,” his voice cracks. “Delicious.”

You look at his face again and fight a losing battle not to laugh as he desperately tries not to offend you and his grandma.

You reach towards your phone as giggles escape you.

Daniel finally realizes he’s been tricked, “are you serious?”

You point the camera towards your boyfriend, “you should’ve seen your face.”

“You’re so mean to me,” he pouts.

Two

“Babe?” You questioned coming through the front door. You had spent the day loading up on groceries and stopping by a few boutiques that caught your eye. This was the perfect opportunity to finally pull one over on your boyfriend.

“I’m in here,” you drop your bags in the foyer and follow Daniel’s voice to where he’s lying on the living room sectional.

Your phone is stuck in your bra, the camera just peaking over your shirt. “My car told me I needed windshield wiper fluid while I was out.”

He lowers his phone but keeps his focus on it.

“So I pulled into a gas station and the guy working there gave me a really good deal. He told me I got it for 50 percent off and it was only $150 for me because of how sweet I was.”

Daniel’s head snaps up as he drops his phone.

“$150?”

“Yeah.”

“You paid $150?”

“Yeah …”

“For windshield wiper fluid?”

“Yeah? He told me it was a good deal!”

“Love,” you can’t tell if he wants to laugh or cry, “I could’ve done that for free. He ripped you off.”

“But it was 50 percent off?”

“It costs less than $5 to buy and then you just pour it in!” He gestures wildly, “this is my fault. How do I race for a living and literally collect cars without teaching my girlfriend how to change her own windshield wiper fluid?”

By this point you’re silently laughing which Daniel finally notices.

“Really? Really?” He turns around to face the back of the couch, “don’t talk to me.”

“Awww, baby. Don’t be mad at me,” you coo. “I think it’s cute how protective you got.”

“Still mad at you.” It’s hard to take him seriously with his face shoved into the leather couch, muffling his voice.

Three

You walk into the gym, your phone hidden in the pocket of your leggings, and take in the view of you shirtless boyfriend.

The fans will appreciate this one.

“Dan?”

He pauses his juggling on the stationary bike.

“My back’s really been bothering since I came back from my run. Do you think you can help me stretch it or something?”

He gets off the bike and walks toward you, “do you want me to call Michael? He won’t mind coming over to help with your back.”

“Don’t bother him. It’s nothing major,” you turn away from your boyfriend and quickly stick two pieces of pasta between your molars while he can’t see, “just need to loosen it up a bit.”

“Okay …” he spreads his palms across your back and applies some careful pressure. You bite down on the pasta, timing the crack with his movements.

“Oh my god.” You let your body go limp.

“Love? Are you okay?” He tries to hold you up but you collapse on the padded floor of the gym.

“Is it your back? What did I do? I knew we should’ve just called Michael. Oh my god.”

You take pity on your boyfriend, not wanting him to think that he actually broke your back for longer than a few seconds, “it was just pasta.”

“What?”

“The sound. It was just me biting pasta. It’s a prank trend.”

He lets go of your body and you fully drop to the floor.

“Are.” He pelts you with one of the balls he was juggling.

“You.” And another.

“Kidding.” And another.

“Me?” And another.

You run out of the gym laughing as he continues to chase you through the house, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“I thought I broke your back!”

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girlbossblackbeard · 7 months

Text

S2 TRAILER ANALYSIS WITH 1 BILLION SCREENSHOTS

obligatory warning that this post is gonna be SOOOOOOOOOOOOO foolishly long and rambling with all my silly little theories and thoughts and if you ALSO have silly little theories and thoughts you should ABSOLUTELY share them here please!!!! we can clown so much harder when our cacophonous honking harmonizes!!!!!!!

NOW ONTO THE POST (putting it under a read more so tumblr doesn't literally explode):

-the revenge looks BUSTED AF: i don't know if this is from general disrepair when ed is in his kraken era or if she was in a battle but her sails are all dirty in the opening shot of the trailer, and later we see stede on her deck with tattered sails and ropes everywhere, AND i'm like 99% sure that the shot of buttons ziplining from one ship to another is him going from the Chinese warfleet ship to the revenge, which i'm guessing is essentially stuck bc the sails are so torn they would never be able to catch the wind strongly enough to move her. I also wonder if the shot of roach shooting a canon at something is him shooting a canon at her since we had all those allusions to her exploding from samba, vico, and david on twitter all those months ago

-stede's earring: he DOES NOT HAVE THE EARRING when we see him lying on the deck next to roach and sighing dramatically nor does he have it during his conversation with Olu about stede dumping him, but he DOES have the earring in later shots like the beach english fight and when he's talking about being a failure his whole life which means WE WILL GET TO SEE STEDE GET HIS EAR PIERCED!!!!!!!!!! we'll get to see him make the decision to look even hotter and who knows who does the piercing for him idk!!!!!! @sluterastede had a dastardly beautiful thought in her brain about ed giving stede the piercing and stede making groaning noises and izzy once again thinking they're flapping their jacks right there on the deck in front of god and everybody!!!!!

-stede is spilling his heart out ("i let him down. i should've just told him how i feel") to susan on her ship (you can tell it's her by the long hair)

-interesting that there's a drawing of a donkey next to ed's wanted poster considering s1 had the line "a rich donkey is still a donkey". also i can't really read what the surrounding posters say other than "WANTED 20 GUINEAS". is this in the republic of pirates?

-stede says "i will find him" meaning ed may be actively avoiding stede at the beginning of the season???? (or the basic laws of travel physics have finally caught up to them)

-"look, captain, you know blackbeard's gonna murder you" i just think it's interesting that Olu is referring to him as blackbeard again even though ed told everyone in his pink robe era to call him ed. like it makes sense that he'd say blackbeard considering ed is on a rampage but it just made my brain wheels start spinning

-the Kraken crew are eating cake :)

-ed is holding a torch while letting the storm rain down on him: i don't think the laugh we hear is his because i don't think his mouth is even open during that slow-mo shot

-STEDE with a TEAR in his EYE as he says "i think i hurt him pretty bad"

-ed sobbing on the floor while the little bride cake topper is next to his head

-ed choking on the weed smoke i'm ACTUALLY crying, but also: where the fuck is ed when he's sitting in the chair smoking??? i thought it was on deck at first bc above his head is really dark and it looks like the lanterns we see on the deck of the revenge but there's a chandelier too?? it might be whatever shop Anne Bonny and her friend "you two know each other?" run bc behind ed in that chair is just a bunch of random furniture and a chandelier like we see when ed and stede are at the market. in fact, i think ed is smoking with Anne Bonny because I think that's her hand in the corner of that shot:

-"no more booze, no more drugs, and no more _____" not sure what the end of that sentence could be but we know that the "stede" that was put in there is NOT what he actually says!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-"you two know each other?" now hold on a sec because it kinda sounds like stede met Anne Bonny and Co. separately from Ed/before that market scene (maybe in the teaser clip of Anne on Stede's lap??) WHAT IF WE GET THE AITA SCENARIO WHERE ED AND STEDE TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR VERSION OF EVENTS AND NO ONE REALIZES THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT EACH OTHER UNTIL THAT MOMENT BC THEY'RE BOTH SO BIASED ABOUT ONE ANOTHER

-the evil guy definitely got his nose sliced off by Jackie. good for her :D I also don't think the evil guy is Hornigold, i'm still holding onto my theory that the man in the white rags we saw in the teaser and this trailer is hornigold's "ghost" that ed needs to contend with to find his inner peace or whatever a la stede with nigel's "ghost". but i DO think the evil guy is the rich prince dude from that leaked audition tape from rhys's friend. if memory serves, the guy wants to buy his way into the pirate lifestyle but he's pompous and entitled which makes him reckless. based off the production stills we also got today, he still had a nose when he went into Spanish Jackie's...but i don't think he leaves with one. so because he gets butthurt over invading a space that was NOT meant for him and faces the consequences of purposely disobeying their customs, he defects to the english navy and goes on a rampage against all piracy, very MRA energy :/ also, later izzy says to him "you don't know the first thing about piracy" which would further support that this guy just tried to buy his way in

-izzy gets an honest-to-god pegleg but he doesn't start the season off with it because we see him in several shots with both legs, like the wedding raid and swordfighting stede on the beach. unsure if he loses it due to infection from the toe situation or if he gets shot in the knee like i've seen some posts talk about, but @sluterastede mentioned that one of the leaked audition tapes for archie included dialogue about an amputation so maybe that character has to uh. Get Her Roach On

-as i mentioned before with the teaser analysis, izzy is clearly training stede for something and now im guessing it's the english but like we kinda knew that !

-olu is in a bar fight??

-THE "ED GETS CAUGHT IN A BUCKET ON A ROPE DURING THE STORM AND GOES OVERBOARD" THEORY IS OUT. THE "ED TIES HIMSELF TO A MF BIG ASS ROCK AND JUMPS OFF A GOD DAMN CLIFF TO GO ON SOME SOUL-SEARCHING JOURNEY UNDER THE SEA" THEORY IS IN. and what the FUCK is the rag man doing with ed up on that cliff hello?????? if my theory is correct and that is in fact hornigold's ghost or whatever, what advice or harmful shit is he saying that makes ed do that?????????????????????? but do note the large rock with the rope around it in the first pic

-the revenge crew is blowing up SOMETHING on the side of a building. maybe to cause a distraction or gain access inside the building? is it the side of Spanish Jackie's?? also hiiiiiiii lucius <3

-"our entire escape relies on this" i'm just assuming they're trying to escape from the english bc that seems to be the Big Bad of the season??

-not plot related but during the rope swinging training session izzy slaps stede on the ass and makes this face (sir??????):

>he also has his pegleg here so their mentorship may ramp up after izzy is out of commission for hand-to-hand combat. maybe izzy was supposed to have a larger fighting role alongside ed in defeating the english but once he became incapacitated he realized he would need to train someone else up for the job so ed would be sufficiently protected. but it also had to be someone izzy knew would be willing to die for ed to save his life if it came to that, just like izzy would

-"i've been a failure my whole life. it's not so bad once you get used to it" is stede talking to ed here? is that ed's hair in the corner of the frame??

>side note: as mentioned above, stede also has his earring by this point!!

-"you're going through that 'if i was a regular dude' phase" first of all, SPANISH JACKIE AND EDWARD TEACH BEST FRIENDS TRUTHERS RISE UP. second, why would ed be considered a regular dude now?? how did he lose his reputation? did he willingly give it up or was it taken from him? is this permanent or just temporary? or did he fake his own death with the cliff and the rock thing so he could retire and live a more normal life?? the swede doesn't seem scared of him at all in the final clip from the trailer, straight up asking him if he's poor and going "back to basics". of course, that could just be a power trip from being one of Jackie's newest husbands (or at least her waitstaff)

-possibly totally minor/just a continuity error thing, but: ed has a red ring. we saw it in s1 as he picks up the rather fine cashmere and we see it as ed dramatically drapes himself across the ship's helm with his head on his hand. we do not see it in the scene where he's smoking (see above) or the scene where he's talking to the rabbit. now, if you'll allow me a little bit of clownery for a moment, red has been explicitly coded in this show to be a symbol of love/the heart, especially as it pertains to edward like his red silk scarf as a metaphor for his heart in s1. what if. what if he. gave the red ring (his heart) to. SomeOne. because.....................because his heart belongs to st--[GUNSHOTS]

-olu, jim, and archie with garlic around their necks and making a cross with their fingers - clearly they think someone is a vampire on the ship. @sluterastede proposed it could be izzy, especially if he's on the brink of death due to an infection and frenchie managed to spread his superstitions to other people on the ship!

-THIS FUCKIN GUY. WHO ARE YOU??? it seems like he kidnaps stede and his crew and throws a party on the ship and drugs the drinks which is why everyone is kinda tripping/laughing in some parts. but then everyone gets tied down (stede to the mast, wee john's hands get squished, olu and roach's heads get squished, and jim and archie's feet get secured to the ship's railing i think??). also that wide shot is definitely the rando dude hitting some shrill high note at the same moment the revenge crew cry out in pain from all the squishing (except maybe jim and archie - they might just be laughing at the others bc they're badasses and this pain is nothing). also don't know what the guy is looking at when we first see him but im thinking maybe it's a wanted poster of stede and he's looking at the description of the gentleman pirate to confirm it's the dude right in front of him/that he's captured?? also i think roach is wearing flowers from the drug party in his apron when he fires that canon, so maybe he's tripping too and shoots a canon?? i need a prayer circle for the revenge's safety at this time

-stede has a bullet hole???????????????? did ed fucking shoot him in the heart?????????????????????????? he also notably does NOT have the earring in this scene but he does have the sexy stiddies (blue) shirt like we see in the other shot where he DOES have the earring. maybe this weirdo dude pierces stede's ear bc he thinks stede needs to look more piratey?? or stede gets absolutely sloshed (or drugged) and gets his ear pierced idk !!! maybe jim does it bc they're effortlessly cool and has a bunch of ear piercings!!!

-idk if this is a coincidence or not but i'm pretty sure stede in his training scenes with izzy is wearing the clothes he wore in that final shot of s1 as he rows to find the crew on the island (white linen shirt, dark pants, brown belt and boots). so either costume changes are happening later in the season, they're reusing outfits like normal people do, or the training montage happens extremely early on in the season

-so originally with the teaser trailer i thought ed falling in the water was followed by the shot of ed coming out of the water on the beach. i don't know if i fully believe that anymore because ed is NOT wearing his jacket on the cliff (see above), but he IS wearing it as he comes up out of the water, so either it's two different events and ed just spends a lot of time in the water this season or he puts his jacket on before jumping off the cliff

-ed his holding his right side as he slashes that dude on the beach so he definitely got hurt in battle but i hope it's not him getting stabbed bc ur supposed to cleverly take the sword on the left where all the unimportant bits are :(((

-I VERY STRONGLY BELIEVE that the person in the scene where stede turns around and shoots his gun into the air and everyone else on deck suddenly draws their weapons against that person is our boy lucius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he's wearing a beret?????????? @sluterastede proposed that lucius got picked up by the english navy after getting thrown overboard and that's why we see him in the english navy garb (which we later see frenchie in too?? i believe an infiltration fuckery is afoot). also the fact that the shot immediately after this one is of Black Pete doing a happy little fist pump which i'm choosing to interpret as a cute little easter egg symbolizing Pete gets reunited with his love. i also also also believe lucius is in the shot of buttons about to zipline from one ship to the other. i missed him :')

-okay i know i said in an earlier post that stede running across the beach was romantic but i changed my mind and i think izzy is just making stede do cardio as part of his training lol. his outfit matches the one he's wearing when swordfighting izzy in that earlier wideshot and i think he even still has the scarf belt and the full beard in both scenes (explained at the end of this post via production stills) so maybe they have an honest to god training montage that takes course over several days and we get an incredible 80s powerballad to play on top of it while stede thinks of ed to motivate him or whatever. david jenkins hire me to help write season 3 i have ideas

-i think jim is behind stede as he breaks into the weirdly religious room we saw in the teaser when stede punches that guy??

-ed is pretty bloodied in the shot of stede leaning over him and saying VERY worriedly "ed????" so my theory is that ed got hurt in battle or he was taken captive by the Chinese warfleet and stede was worried he was grievously injured. however, once ed comes to and realizes who's kneeling over him, he gets pissed and headbutts stede because he's still mad at him for breaking his heart, and maybe his hands are restrained/his body is too weak so he can't push stede away. or maybe they had to begrudgingly work together on some mission and stede fucked it up and ed got hurt so he's mad about that idk!! ALSO HE'S WEARING THE CRAVAT HELLO

-ed in buttons's shirt looking so PEACEFUL what the HELL. obviously it's from the same general time as him being in Spanish Jackie's when she's talking to him about being a regular dude and later when the swede asks him if he's poor addkjfajdfhlkefh i fucking love this show and its writing so much. but ed says "no, i'm just trying something different man >:/" so i wonder if this is ed at the end of s2 or if this is more towards the middle as he's still in the thick of his healing journey. maybe buttons teaches ed about meditation and/or the tai chi he practiced with the Chinese warfleet crew??

-the BTS production still of ed with his "trust no one" tattoo also features what i believe is the treasure chest we see jim carrying off the ship in the shot where fang is smashing two dudes' heads together!

-i also think the BTS production still of stede with the beard is early on in ep 1 because he has a full beard (that im hoping someone on the revenge bullies him into shaving off to the scruff we see in the rest of the promo materials) and ALSO because he's wearing a long red scarf around his waist, which we never see again in any of the other promo material - except, however, around his neck as a makeshift cravat:

>it's the same exact material and everything! my guess is he gets his ass handed to him in a fight (maybe against izzy??) and his scarf belt gets destroyed, so he repurposes the shredded fabric into his necktie

-there's literal gold bars in the background of this production still lmao the kraken crew got BUSY during ed's goth era

>speaking of, the fucking hair dye dripping down izzy's forehead in this production still:

*sad clown noises*

in conclusion:

WE'RE BACK BABEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

anyway that's my second dissertation on less than 2 minutes of content that turned out to be quite literally 6 pages long :)

#ofmd #our flag means death #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #edward teach #stede bonnet #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd season 2 #ofmd s2 trailer #izzy hands #the swede #spanish jackie #jim jimenez #oluwande boodhari #wee john feeney #ofmd spoilers #i don't know what i need to be evaluated for but it's SOMETHING and it's PREVALENT #i spent a collective 5 hours making this post what the whole actual fuck

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battlecrypodcastofficial · 6 months

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The first production meetings are being scheduled and we're diving into character work. For those curious as to what Battle Cry: Captivity is about, here is season one's summary:

Deep below the surface of a hidden realm, humans are enslaved and forced to fight against beasts of myth and legend. Stripped of their names, these unwilling combatants have no choice but to kill to survive, all for the entertainment of a bloodthirsty audience. However, the seeds of rebellion are taking root, and one determined party of misfits will claw their way to freedom, or be crushed in the process.

#battle cry podcast #fantasy podcast #podcast #battle cry season 1 #battle cry: captivity #battle cry #audio drama #audio drama podcast

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revel-inbluehues · 4 months

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This is very much an essay. Consider this my praise for s2ep9. I'll fangirl in another post.

Xie Lian acknowledged that he's never seen Hua Cheng angry, but he approached him without any fear or worry. Even after he was unexpectedly paralysed, he still didn't doubt the fact that HC would never hurt. While he was confused and nervous, he still trusted HC with his life, despite having been out into a paralysis, and doesn't doubt HC's intentions for even a second.

Hua Cheng is angrier than we've ever seen him. He wasn't fazed at all by anything in season 1 except when XL mentioned being hurt or was hurt. He had, in the previous episodes, watched as the love of his existence discredit himself and hold back his tears. Even earlier, HC had accidently hurt him. Now, he gets to vent the anger at himself for his helplessness, anger at the Lang Qianqiu for his ignorance and anger at Qi Rong for his schemes. He is angry and one of the many people who hurt and mocked XL was in front of him. With every insult against XL, HC only gets angrier.

For the next part, I'd like to mention that LQQ in his daruma form is adorable and I laughed when he jumped out like a pokeball.

Onto the more serious look, LQQ is angry as well, but a lot more confused and the donghua team did a great job at expressing. He shifted between denial, confusion, reassurance and anger as he battles the words between XL and QR, and the donghua team did brilliantly to express this. The music was appropriately dramatic. It feels sharp, more like battle music, and paused and played at the right moments to increase the drama. He'd rather trust the man he thinks murdered his whole family rather than face the possibility that he condemned the wrong person and he lived a large portion of his life based on a lie, hating a person who might not have deserved and letting the men who did commit the murder get away with it (to some extent). Even Prince Anle was honoured as a friend of the king in death rather than a traitor to the nation.

Speaking of XL's words to LQQ, the fact that he yelled against QR's words the moment he could talk was a testament to his nerves and desperation and a shock to both LQQ and QR. It is an absolutely absurd situation from LQQ's view. He's watching a man argue that he was the guilty party behind the murders when normally, people would be trying to blame each other and prove themselves innocent. It's very obvious the XL is hiding something but LQQ chooses not to chase the answers and settles with XL's story because if it isn't true, then he would have to reevaluate the past few centuries and face the reality that his personal feelings blinded him to the facts, not that anyone can quite blame him for it. Meanwhile, Qi Rong is shocked because, from his view, a random man showed up and called him a liar, despite him very much telling the truth, or what he believes to be the truth.

When Xie Lian is talking about his second demotion, I love how they cut to HC, softer now that he was looking XL. HC knows exactly why his 'heart was uncertain' but he is also clearly hoping that part of it was because XL missed Wu Ming and he mourned him. The implications is something that novel readers can see and cry about; XL's second shackle was his own punishment for getting Wu Ming killed and it was sign that he did care for Wu Ming, the nameless ghost, his last believer. However, HC doesn't know that. He can only hope that he occupied a modicum of XL's heart but never think of asking because he's afraid of the answer. His love may be unconditional, but rejection would hurt and meaning nothing to XL would be a painful existence for him. In a single frame, I see the love, hope and adoration that HC has for XL.

There are a lot of good Hualian scenes in this episode. There is a lot more casual touches, where Xie Lian is trying to calm HC down and HC is too angry to be panicking about it. The irony is absolutely not lost when QR asks about who'd worship XL and make statues of him while HC, XL's most devoted follower who carved thousands of statues of him, was standing right there.

XL takes every one of QR's insults with a smile because he genuinely isn't offended. It's hard to be insulted by children's jabs after everything he went through. To him, it isn't a big deal, while HC was only getting progressively angrier at QR for insulting him. The moment QR insulted HC, however, was when XL instantly turned to violence, striking before he could fully finish. It wasn't that big of an insult, calling HC blind, but it was enough of a transgression that XL slapped him like a fly. To XL, HC quickly became someone he cared for, respected and wanted by his side, for what was probably the first time in forever. It only makes sense for XL to be viciously protective of the first person that he cared for on a personal level rather than 'the world should be protected' stance. Meanwhile, HC was genuinely surprised by XL's actions. While he would protect XL against everything, he was never expecting that protection returned but HC, in his insecurity and devotion, does not fully understand the fact that, while true devotion can be one-sided, true love can't be. XL does care deeply for HC, a fact that he hasn't comprehended yet.

Even when Hua Cheng blocks Feng Xin with E-Ming, he is extremely gentle. He knows that all of this is going to hurt XL but it needed to happen and Hua Cheng was there to catch. It was also fascinating to see Lang Qianqiu realise that he won't be able to stop Xie Lian from killing Qi Rong if it came down to it and there was a true worry that he might never find out the truth if Xie Lian got through him. On the other hand, Xie Lian was truly desperate; this was a secret he buried, and faced 100 years in a coffin to ensure that it stayed buried. Now, without much of a warning, all of it was coming out and Xie Lian is panicking.

One of my favourite parts in this episode is Qi Rong himself. His voice actor did a brilliant job at portraying the wild, manic and immature personality of Qi Rong. He is somewhat intelligent; you can't survive 800 years without some serious planning, and he did plot the gilded banquet along with other skirmishes everywhere else. However, he is childish and arrogant in a way that the other ghosts aren't. He's powerful enough to stand above other ghosts and too weak to stand as equals with the calamities, so despite his attempt to escape his mediocrity compared to certain others (e.g., Xie Lian and Hua Cheng) failed. His immaturity shines through in the animation. He is the most animated and restless character so far, moving constantly and expressing himself in his limbs a lot more than others. It makes him feel a lot less composed than the others, and his actions cement that. He crawls around, he holds his knees, and he gets red in the face when people don't respond to his riling. It gives a much more maniachal yet silly vision of him. While it doesn't make him a completely terrifying presence like White No-Face, he does make people weary with his antics. He is definitely one of the characters that I hate as people but love as character. I think Qi Rong was the part where the entire donghua team truly and absolutely outdid themselves, even though I do think they do an amazing job every day.

#heaven official's blessing #tgcf donghua #tgcf season 2 #tgcf #hua cheng #mxtx tgcf #tgcf spoilers #xie lian #heaven's official blessing #tian guan ci fu #san lang #lang qianqiu #qi rong #night touring green lantern #crimson rain sought flower #four great calamities

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cherllyio · 1 month

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Pigsy and MK, father/son scenarios, bc i am sucker for it.'

I have 4 scenarios in mind, so just scroll to whichever ones you find interesting

Also, if you wanna draw or use any of the scenarios in any way, im completly happy with that!

Just tag me, so i can reblog it and love it forever :)

Nuwa and Wukong suck at parenting, Pigsy is amazing at it.(listen i love Wukong being a dad to MK, but Pigsy is legit his dad)

Pigys' Parental Strengh

Flashbacks of Pigsy raising MK

Pigsy being scared Nuwa will take MK away form him

Scenario 1: "Nuwa and Wukong suck at parenting, Pigsy is amazing at it"

I really want a scene where Nuwa(for whatever reason) and Wukong are trying to be good parental figures towards MK. So they make him some food, bc nothing could possible go wrong with that, right?

Yea- they end up giving MK something he is deadly allergic to. So pigsy (who ofc knows this)has to save MK.

Example 2: "Parental strength".

So, lets say MK is battling this bad guy, right? But, he ends up pretty badly hurt, and it seems like he is about to loose. Yet, at the last second, Pigsys parental strength kicks into high gear, and he absolutly inalites the bad guy.

While yelling something along the line of: " DONT YOU DARE TRY TO HURT MY SON." (omg i would cry)

Scenario 3: "Flashback of Pigsy raising MK"

I just want a flashback of sort, where we see like Pigsy raising MK.

Taking MK to his first day of school

Making noddles together

Teaching MK how to drive

Pigsy putting MK to sleep

Signing the adoption papers

AAH! GOD IM CRYING AGAIN

Scenario 4: "Pigsy being scared Nuwa will take MK away from him"

This is the one i see as the most "plausible", and maybe something that could be devoted to an entire ep in season 5. Because:

Pigsy has just accepted MK as his son, and they are both so happy for it.

But now, Nuwa may come into the picture, and she is the closest MK has to a "biological parent", and that would terrify Pigsy.

So Pigsy would start to deny he is MK's dad again, accdently pushing him away. He just wants what is best for MK, and he thinks for MK to be happy he has to be with his "real parent".

"uuuh, kid you know im not your-"

Which would just confuse MK, because Pigsy is his REAL parent. He is the one who raised him, and has loved MK his whole life.

And how would Pigsy realise this? WITH THE HELP OF THE FLASHBACK SCENE I MENTIONED BEFORE, WOOOOOO.

(i just want a MK and Pigsy centered ep in season 5, please)

#lego monkie kid #lmk #lmk mk #lmk theory #lmk analysis #lmk nuwa #lmk pigsy #lmk dadsy #lmk wukong #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkey king #lmk swk #lego monkie kid sun wukong #lego monkey king #lmk season 5 #lmk season 4 #lmk season four #lmk meme #lmk fanfiction

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ridingtorohan · 6 months

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Subtle ways the Warriors Trio know you

Spoilers for AOT Seasons 1-3.

Annie knows you in ways she doesn't know herself. Knows how you boil your tea, how you lace up your boots, right down to the wrinkles in your sleeves. How your hair falls when you sleep, what words someone says to make you laugh a little wider, a little longer. The thin scars, the long and deep gashes, each individual freckle and mole- she knows it. Knows each quality of yours that makes you a real person.

Whispers of a life that you've never told her, words never spoken to her. Every little thing, she's memorized and tucked away inside her head. You're the closest thing to a friend that she has, that she wants.

Sometimes she'll slip a fork onto your plate when she sees that you forgot yours, or trains a little differently with you when you're paired up.

When you join up with the Military Police with her, her fingers clench around her gear, heart skittering in her chest. For every way that she knows you, it doesn't compare to the real thing.

Reiner knows you like he's supposed to. Mission first, friend second. Knows the way you hold yourself, each defensive posture. Knows how fragile your wrists are under his hands, knows the exact words to use that'll make you see red. Knows it all because once he nurtured it from you, scabbed it over with kind words and friendly slaps to the back.

He knows each weakness like he knows his oaths, knows how you sway in battle. The right position to hook his foot under and sweep you out. Knows every ache and bruise, what makes you cry or rage, has tempered you back when the days were too hard.

Every story you've told him about friends - family - siblings - lovers, he's ushered it into a slot designed just for you. He's the one you go to when you wake up, frightened by terrors in the dark, when titan feet rumble the earth.

Reiner makes you feel safe in ways that you haven't in years. But he knows just how to make you bleed, even if all he wants to do is make it stop.

Bertholdt knows you like he does his gear. Reliant, steadfast, how to sway into the wind, the exact pitch he has to do to run up buildings. He's seen the frustrations and anger that seems through your anger, the raw drive that pushes you forward.

Hears your every word, every dream that lingers in your head and mouth, knows the way you sharpen your blades. Feels it echo, echo inside his head, drumming and insistent. Has practiced beat for beat every word that you've said.

Despite what they're here to do, what he's sworn to, he sees you and admires you for it. The strength and resolve that lingers. How you hold yourself in check, devoted to the mission. All things he wants to learn for himself, better himself by learning from you.

No matter your final grade, or your skill in battle, it's your character that he admires most. Each thing that gives purpose, each muffled fit of laughter. How your words settle over his skin like armour. He truly sees you as a friend, someone he admires.

Which makes it all the worse when he sees you and he has to explain exactly the right way to counter each move you make.

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purplecritter · 1 year

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theories/thoughts/analysis about touchstarved after playing the demo a few times

Under the cut because it got long (I exceeded the post character limit...) Also spoilers btw. PS: All the links are to posts on the official social media accounts or their kickstarter, with the exception of the animated trailer screenshots that I got from here.

(Happy one month since demo dropped!)

Mhin

I'm starting with them because I play favorites.

Mhin's silhouette [1, 2] in the animated trailer [screenshot] highlights the crying eye (guilt? pain? blood? Their pupils almost seem to glow red, I wonder if it's connected) and the beak (in a way that reminds me of the skull of a bird rather than a live one).

The red choice connected to them is about asking if they're a scientist: their precision is almost surgical, though when asked if they've studied anatomy or medicine their reply is “Not quite” so it must be something similar enough.

When Vere complains about their first encounter with Mhin, he mentions that their dagger (visible in their in-game art) is an antique. Perhaps they inherited it, maybe from a mentor? It’s a curious choice of weapon for a hunter: stilettos (it’s described as such in the demo) aren’t ineffective in battle (especially if wielded by a physically strong fighter, which they absolutely are), but they are favored by assassins because they’re easy to conceal, they strike precisely and deeply but without letting much blood leak from the needle-thin wound.

As far as design goes, the clasps on their hood looks like a mix between the quaternary celtic knot and the triquetra / trinity knot. Symbolically, the latter is associated to the Triple Goddess (more on this in Leander’s section) or three elements, while the former represents the four elements or the four seasons or the four cardinal directions, and is often used as a symbol of protection.

Their fatal flaw is that they “resist change at all costs”. I'm led to believe that they became a Monster instead of being born one. I think it either happened not that long ago or they lost control over it recently, and that's what spurred them on their search for a cure. Them being described as “outcast” also makes me think that they could have been exiled from wherever they came from, perhaps because the people found out that “a monster hides within their frame”.

When questioning them about Ais, they say “I'm not going to risk my life in the hopes that any of them is different” which shows that they’re distancing themself from their situation (i.e., being/becoming a Monster).

Their hate towards Monsters could be either a projection of the hate they feel towards themself (if they were aware that there was a Monster inside of them before they lost control and hurt someone, for example) or just because one took over them and by extension they hate every Monster because of it. If the “lost control and hurt someone” thing is true I'll also add that they might be working as a Hunter as a way to try and atone. It could also be a way to expel the more violent instincts (I’m assuming they have some) into something productive.

The “they're afraid of being hurt. Or worse” on their relationship chart with Kuras feels to me like they're afraid of hurting him, also because when you ask them how they get along with him during the demo, they say “Few people are willing to help others; fewer when there's any risk involved” and I'm choosing to interpret that they think of themself as the risk. I know I'm really pushing it on this aspect but the “If you stay too close to me, you'll get hurt”+“Find someone safer to ask for help” only fuels me more. Their monstrous form also looks less defined and more liquid compared to the others, maybe because it's not as developed so it doesn't look as solid?

Vere is also said to be often provoking Mhin in order to make them lose control: he's confident in himself enough to think that he'd have the upper hand in a fight with Monster!Mhin, probably because they're a skilled hunter but they don't have that much experience over their monstrous side. Mhin dislikes Vere because he’s “the embodiment of everything [they] hate about Monsters”: while Mhin holds back from their nature and seeks a cure, Vere wants to give in to his instincts without restraints.

In the demo, they get defensive when questioned about the Senobium, but when they say “Whatever you're looking for, the cost may be higher than what you're willing to pay” I think they're speaking from experience.

It's interesting that it's implied that they slept with Leander once. Judging by the comment about the Wet Wick being the “perfect combination for making mistakes”, they're not enthusiastic about it. I’m guessing that they don't like that Leander has seen them with their guard down? Or they

Unless I missed something, it's unknown where in Eridia they're staying. I'll say it's probably in a different direction from the Wet Wick since they make a point of saying that they're only going there to protect Kuras (instead of, for example, “I live nearby anyways so I'll take the same road”).

The flowers in their pin design look similar to cornus kousa, or some other type of dogwood, symbolizing hope, resilience, renewal (I also found: rebirth, new life, strength, regret). After a long and grueling winter, Eridia greets the first dogwood blossoms with relief. These flowers are known to cling tenaciously to life even in the worst conditions, from barren wastelands to ruins perpetually shrouded in Fogfall… Really poetic meaning! I imagine Mhin as the dogwood flower, persisting even after the Tragic Backstory that made them lonely (“barren wastelands”) and their Monster Form (“shrouded in fogfall”)

Leander

Leander's silhouette [1, 2] in the animated trailer [screenshot] highlights only his eyes (they share the color of his magic -> maybe it's how he uses magic that contributes to him being “monstrous”?).

Nothing to note about his red choice except that it is unlocked by generally following his lead (taking the flower when he offers it, touching him without hesitation).

Speaking of his magic, an Alchemist MC notes that it extraordinarily powerful, enough that he doesn't need incantations or spell circles to cast it. Kuras mentioned that Leander prefers the company of those similar to him and that the Bloodhounds are mostly people who've endured the hardships of Lowtown, so I can't help but wonder if Leander was always a natural at magic, or if he did receive training but was later cast out, or maybe he left by choice?

A recurrent symbol in Leander's design is the triangle, as a detail mostly (on his coat, boots, dangling from his belt), but there's also one that looks like the alchemical symbol for earth (🜃) attached to the brooch on his chest; another symbol for earth is, you guessed it, the serpent, whose other meaning is duplicitous nature as well as renewal and rebirth. This connects to the ouroboros (present in his earring as well as in the background of the sticker and charm kickstarter rewards), symbolizing the cycle of death and rebirth and with relevance in alchemy as the “all in one”. The same theme is also present in the symbol of the triple moon (on his belt) symbolizing the stages of birth life and death and more in general three aspects united in one; the white lilies symbolizing renewal, regrowth, rebirth. The green feels fitting too, since it's often used to symbolize health and abundance.

Alongside the little triangle shape, attached to his belt there are a key (which is not the room key he gave MC), the head of which reminds me of two snakes knotted together; there's also a... I have no clue what that glowing red globe-spike is actually. It's the only other red item (along with the gem on the earring sword hilt) on Leander, but in some of the concept art it was green instead, so I think it's at least somewhat connected to his magic or the source of it. The shape of it combined with the red glow reminds me of Eridia’s towers’ architecture but that’s probably a stretch. I also feel like the symbol on the central part of the triple moon belt buckle is relevant: it immediately reminded me of a spell circle, and after doing some digging in sacred geometry, I’ve found that its 6 petal-like shapes (lilies also have 6 petals...) look similar to the hexafoil, “germ of life”, or the central part of the “seed of life”, which is connected to the divine creation of the world in 7 days/phases; a series of interconnected hexafoils make the “flower of life”, the meaning of which is creation (both in general and of the universe itself), and that everything’s interconnected to everything else... I couldn’t help but think of the “As above, so below” tagline in the Bloodhounds' poster; the sentence has so many interpretations in alchemy/esotericism but the gist of it is, “things in the higher realms of existence are just like in the lower/earthly plane” and “what happens in a large scale also happens in a small scale” and “common material things can make pure spiritual things”.

Overall, I'm thinking that all the green-glowing details on his outfit might be arcane foci, to help him cast magic without using incantations. As of right now, I’m willing to bet that Leander's connected to the Allmother (the traveler in the cart prayed to her) and/or the Abbess (the leader of the Senobium, I think): many of the aforementioned symbols also have ties to femininity and/or feminine qualities.

Other big things in his design are the eyebags and scar that goes from the cheek to the arm. I don’t have much to say on those, probably the scar is going to be connected to some important backstory event and the eyebags are a clue to suggest that there’s something troubling behind the bright and positive persona that he presents as.

If we want to take the name literally (I do), we could assume that Leander and his Bloodhounds are not simply a group of mercenaries, but mercenaries with a cause. Hounds are a breed specifically intended to track something specific (or someone specific) by scent. Given the animosity shown by them at the mere mention of the Senobium, it could have something to do with that, but perhaps it's also something more personal to Leander.

Let's get to the biggest red flag of the green-themed man: “Fatal flaw: [REDACTED]” and “Not all Monsters are inhuman”. There's also the fact that Vere doesn't trust his behaviour (I'll get to it in his section but I would generally trust Vere's words to be truthful). It’s also worth noting that in the first scene he makes an appearance in, he’s presented almost as a performer, a subtle-not-so-subtle hint that he can work his audience really skillfully. Overall, he seems too good to be true, and to quote Leander himself in the demo, “Things that seem too good to be true are often just that.” I don't think he's malevolent per se, but I also believe he's a very good liar (or at least, good at keeping his cards close to his pillowy bosom chest) and he can be a lot more ruthless than he lets on.

I already said it in Mhin's section but it's implied that the two of them slept together once, and I can't help but wonder if Leander also tried the whole "let me touch you so I can see what curses you but also you can tie me down if you want wink wink" tactic with them.

I get the feeling that he also slept with Ais? “He sure likes it when others take control”+“He's not so bad once you get to know him”. The bartender didn't joke about the room being used often huh (i’m saying this lighthearted and teasingly, nothing against it lol).

He's obviously staying at the Wet Wick with the rest of the Bloodhounds, and it happens often enough that the bartender/owner is familiar with their habits. I wonder if he also as a house of his own or not.

The flowers (in-game art, animated trailer, pin design, charm and sticker design) are white lilies, symbolizing devotion, sympathy and faith (I also found: renewal/rebirth/reregrowth and purity. Nothing says “I love you” as clearly as white lilies—ironic, since they’re some of the region’s most poisonous flowers. Some mages believe that these lilies contain a mysterious magic, but attempts to harness this power have only resulted in lethal poisonings. A not-so-veiled warning to be careful of what lies behind Leander’s charming facade... And considering that he seems to like when MC defers to him, I could imagine the (metaphorical... unless?) lethal poisoning in a possible bad end!

Kuras

Kuras' silhouette [1, 2] in the animated trailer [screenshot] highlights the several eyes (truth and secrets being very important themes in his route, he's also described as “observer”) and his tears (his guilt).

No red choice for Kuras, but there is various flavour text depending on choices. First and most notably, the Unnamed MC notes that something about him feels familiar: this could simply be a hint about him being divine in nature, or it might mean something more, I'm still uncertain. Moreover, depending on dialogue, one of his scenes towards the end of the demo plays out slightly differently, and it shows the more playful side of him (which I absolutely didn’t expect, but I enjoyed that).

As far as appearance goes, his human form and his divine form have many similarities: this post does a very good job of showing them, but additionally I'll say that his halo (silhouette, charm and sticker design) reminds me of the shape of his earrings.

There are a few lines that imply that being in Kuras' vicinity feels physically warmer. It could be just a standard “MC likes him so being near makes them feel all warm and fuzzy” but I think it's more to do with his angelic nature having a comforting effect on people. Something that could be connected to that is the theme of fire (“eldritch flames”, also visible in the charm and sticker design), which symbolically is the element that purifies souls and reveals the truth.

His clinic seems very neat, for someone who works with numerous patients for the whole day. Moreover, his clothes stay unnaturally devoid of any sign of dirt. His appearance is also very curated, so I think that part of it is him being thorough about cleaning and part of it might be a consequence of his magic. Additionally, during the 16/04/23 Q&A stream with the devs (timestamp: 49:32), they (jokingly) said that Kuras doesn’t even put his hair up while performing surgeries, which to me also means that he doesn’t need to do it because he’s supernaturally clean and hygienic.

There's no clear mention of him having magic in the first place, but I don't think he could've completely reattached MC's arm so flawlessly any other way.

I wouldn't think much of it if it were any other character but Kuras' birthday being January 1st makes me think that he picked the date on purpose... or randomly, considering it doesn’t seem to be important to him.

During the 16/04/23 Q&A stream with the devs (timestamp: 41:24), it was noted that Kuras’ name was deliberately chosen, I think implying that it probably has a meaning behind it, though I can’t say what as of now (my search only revealed that kurash is a type of wrestling in Central Asia, and that there’s a deity called Kura in a region of Syria).

I think it's a known fact in Eridia that Kuras is not simply human (“Only the most desperate or the foolish would dare lay a hand on me”), so it's interesting that he chose to not disclose that to the MC. Granted, they've interacted for less than a day now and information is the currency. I also wonder if he’s always been a doctor or if he chose to become one at a certain point... I guess it would depend: is he “repentant” for something he did before settling in Eridia, or after?

Ais also thinks that Kuras used to be more outgoing but the reason he doesn’t really open up a lot to people anymore is because he “must’ve been burned”, which is an interesting insight. I lean more towards thinking that he’s been burned after becoming a resident in Eridia.

There's nothing that strikes me as peculiar regarding his relationships with the other characters,with two exceptions. Kuras' self-inflicted exile is centuries old, and combined with the fact that he (occasionally and begrudgingly?) works with the Senobium, it might be plenty of reason for Vere to hate him. I think that Kuras might've witnessed how he came to be captured (or actively took part in it), and that event is what feeds his mistrust towards Vere. Secondly, it’s said that he “looks forward to Ais helping around his clinic”: does Ais use the Seaspring’s healing powers on some patients (“I help him in the clinic sometimes”)? I wonder if the smokey scent when the MC wakes in Kuras’ clinic was because he’d been there recently.

He lives in one of the more populated areas, probably because 1) more easy for patients to reach him and 2) he likes meeting people.

The flowers in his pin design look like magnolias, symbolizing longevity, grace, divinity (I also found: eternity, perseverance, purity). The elegant magnolia’s therapeutic properties are vital in such a dangerous world. The Senobium cultivates a small magnolia grove, though few make it past the imposing gates to enjoy the rejuvenating blossoms… Of course the medicinal aspect reflects Kuras well. And there’s the connection to him being employed in some form by the Senobium too, the gates could definitely be a metaphor for how he keeps the true extent of his powers at bay

Ais

Ais' silhouette [1, 2] in the animated trailer [screenshot] highlights his tattoo (Ocudeus' tentacles) and his eyes (the Groupmind's effect).

If MC’s been talking defiantly to him throughout the demo, the red choice connected to Ais also consists of rebelling to him, which he clearly enjoys (he’s said to dislike easy fights, so that’s probably it).

An Unnamed MC will note that Ocudeus’s presence/calling in the Seaspring feels familiar, and that his tattoo feels unnatural and it seems to move when they’re not looking... I’ll say that the tattoo isn’t a regular one, and might be the physical manifestation of the metaphorical mark that the bond with Ocudeus left on Ais. This also explains why in the silhouette of his monstrous form the tentacle tattoo is extended beyond what it normally looks like (it reaches his face, and over half of his chest).

The very prominent eye theme (charm and sticker design, Ocudeus possibly meaning “eye god” if it’s latin) and feeling of being watched (+“Got eyes in the back of my head”), plus the fact that the red-eyed woman knew what MC was seeking as well as their name, makes me believe that Ocudeus' area of influence is very extensive. As a consequence of the Groupmind, it's likely that apart from sharing thoughts (and identity?) those connected also share what they see to Ocudeus/Ais.

The notes left on the pillars are interesting. The topmost and middle one I feel are more useful to the player and serve as casual worldbuilding, but the bottommost one is the most curious imo: decoding the scrawling results in “never wish on a shooting star he's always listening”. Initially I thought that the “he” referred to Ocudeus, but it doesn't feel correct (Ocudeus always watches, it doesn't listen).

During the 16/04/23 Q&A stream with the devs (timestamp: 36:32), Ais was said to be the first character that they created, and the rest of the cast was built around him for cohesiveness. This is interesting to me, as from the demo I thought that “central” role would fit Leander more.

Speaking of Leander, both of them have a like/dislike relationship with each other (Leander because “the assassination attempts are funny, until they’re not” and Ais because he “won’t hesitate to put Leander in his place when the time comes”). Leander seems to be uncomfortable about the effects that the Seaspring has on people, while Ais talks about “a time where Leander's resolve will be tested, same for anyone in this plane or the next”... I wonder how soon that time is going to be 👀. I already noted this in Leander’s section but I think they also slept together at one point or another.

Same topic, different character: Vere. It’s cute that they’re so fond of each other [1, 2], and I’m very curious to know how they met. They probably bonded because of compatible personalities, but I also think that they like each other because they’re both dangerous, and being with someone who is also as dangerous feels... Fitting, safe, maybe?

The fact that he's “not as in control of his powers as he thought” is also interesting to me, since his nonchalance doesn't seem to be because he's lazy but because he's extremely confident. Perhaps he got too sure of himself and lost sight of the risks?

Ais is described as “renegade”, which by definition is someone who betrays a principle/alliance. I have no doubt that this is connected to the reason why he's a “gang leader without the gang members”, and probably to how he came to bond with Ocudeus. Because he's also said to dislike isolation, I lean more towards saying that he didn't willingly let his (former?) members go, my theory is either they left on their own (perhaps they were scared of Ocudeus, or they didn't approve of it) or he accidentally disposed of them (either because he wasn't in control of Ocudeus / the Soulless, or because Ocudeus felt hungry and they were conveniently nearby). Either way, it must have hurt him, since he's not at all willing to talk about it beyond “Gang took a walk”.

I’m very curious about Mhin saying “Monsters like [Ais] don't know or care about what they have”... What does (did?) Ais have? Could it be in reference to him letting his former gang/companions go away in favor of siding with Ocudeus and/or the Seaspring?

He lives at the Seaspring, though I wonder if he sleeps in a pile near those cushions, cuddling the Soulless, or if he has more personal quarters further in. There's a cave entrance visible on the other side of the bloody water, but that feels more for Ocudeus rather than Ais himself.

The flowers in his pin design are spider lilies, symbolizing mourning, goodbyes, lost memories (I also found: death, abandonment, new beginnings). Eerily beautiful, red spider lilies bear the sorrow of loss and farewells. Eridians believe these flowers shepherd lost spirits into the afterlife. The city has seen a sudden increase in these unearthly flowers, leaving many puzzled about their meaning… Very fitting with Ocudeus’ domain of losing memories and thus, beginning a new life! I’m not sure if we should be taking the increase in flowers literally, or just metaphorically as there’s many in the Groupmind

Vere

Vere's silhouette [1, 2] in the animated trailer [screenshot] highlights the eyes again (“windows to the soul” and all that), his fangs (him being the most openly aggressive) and the collar and chains (the thing that binds him to the Senobium's will).

I haven’t been able to not get his red choice [edit: “hidden ending”, not a red choice], but from my understanding of what others have said it’s based on how you talk to him and not on your actions. I’d love to say more but since I don’t know exactly influences it, I don’t have much to talk about regarding that🥹

“Not quite human, not quite monster. Seems we’re both--” I wonder if he was about to finish the sentence with ‘cursed’?

He has unique dialogue for each of MC’s backstories: to an Alchemist he says “The misery born of your mistreatment haunts you. I understand what it’s like to be used and thrown away. I’ll give your life new meaning”; to an Unnamed “You poor thing, misled by those you trusted most. You caused so much suffering unknowingly. I know that pain. I can help you forget it all”; to a Hound “The betrayal, the loss of hope, the sheer desperation that drives you still to search and search to no end. I could give you something new to live for”. Apart from showing that he knows stuff he’s not supposed to, I’m more interested about what he says to Alchemist and Hound: he knows the pain of causing suffering unknowingly, and he knows what it’s like to be used and then discarded. His powers seems to be seeing through people, I’d say almost mind-reading (“You can’t hide anything from me.”), but I think soul reading is a more fitting definition. I feel that all of the comments related to MC's backstory have more to do with what they experienced/felt than just objective facts, plus the way he says “All that suffering has made your soul so irresistibile...”, it makes me think that he's reading MC’S present and past emotions through their soul.

The most apparent part of his design is that he’s half showing, half hiding. His outfit makes the harness very visible, yet he hid the leash from the MC for as long as possible, and he didn't let them close enough to touch it. His pants are fully cover one side and show skin on the other. The sheer fabrics look very cool on their own but I like to think they're also part of the "half show, half hide" thing he has going on. An Alchemist MC will note that the collar seems to be enchanted, while other backstories will simply say that the lock seems easy enough to open.

In the charms and stickers design, there's his chain in the background, and it's broken. Metaphorically and literally, “breaking free from the chains” symbolizes putting an end to what holds someone captive, but also finding freedom to be oneself. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but I think a freed Vere would also feel free to not hide so much of himself. On that note, I'm extremely curious about what he draws on his sketchbook. Also in the charm and stickers design, as well as in the Nintendo Switch port art, is the key that he stole from the MC. It's curious that they included it instead of a more personal object like his sketchbook (present in the Switch port art but not in the stickers), but it might just be a fun nod to the demo or maybe he'll develop a habit of stealing the key again in the full game, so I don't think I should read too much into that.

Neither Vere or Kuras of them gives too many juicy details about their mutual hate towards each other during the demo, but from the additional info [1, 2] published on Tumblr, I think it might have to do with the fact that both of them have been confined in Eridia for centuries, and perhaps Kuras even contributed to the capture of Vere, too.

He’s defined as a “charlatan”, which by definition means “someone who decieves through false claims”. It fits with him saying “If I were you, I wouldn’t trust a word I say” and “Information is a luxury [...] If you valued my words you'd have taken them seriously”. This feels like a recurring theme for Vere: Ais also says, “Vere is one of the most honest people you'll meet. Just don't listen to a single thing he says”. Despite the very obvious predatory/mischievous nature of Vere, I think that he is very honest about the things he says: it’s about reading between the lines.

His very evident distaste towards Leander might be connected to this, seeing that Leander seems to be hiding a lot.

Vere clearly likes Ais, but as soon as MC asks more, he warns them about how dangerous he and the Seaspring are. I think both are true: Ais being “a good person” doesn’t exclude the fact that he is dangerous.

It could be a stretch, but I wonder if Vere lives/stays in the building that he was chained to?

The flowers in his pin design look like some type of lilies, perhaps wood lily are a type of amaryllis that symbolizes passion, allure, pride ( when researching the wood lilies, I also found: danger, determination). Local legends conflict on the origins of the amaryllis. Whether they sprang from the spilt blood of a scorned lover or were born of an ancient Senobian ritual gone awry, the truth behind these flowers is knowledge long forgotten… or held by a privileged few. Like Kuras, his flower mirrors the connection to the Senobium though it remains vague about how exactly they became involved... In the greek myth, Amaryllis consulted an oracle to win the love of the shepherd Alteo: she walked to his house every day, piercing her heart with a golden arrow, and on the 30th day flowers bloomed from her blood. Alteo became enamoured with the maiden and the flowers that bore her name... I wonder how Touchstarved’s version of the myth is different than ours, and which character Vere is more akin to?

Nothing on Sen or Elyon for now since there's too little info on both, but I'm looking forward to putting them under a microscope too 👀

(bangs pots and pans) please share your theories/thoughts if you read this far? 👉👈

#if anyone wants screenshots re: the in-game dialogue that i refer to lmk and i'll provide #full disclosure i wouldn't have thought of kuras birthday if it weren't for sysba in attollo... oh eldritch beings exiled on earth #i wanted to put the link to the q&a twitch stream but unfortunately there's no vod so you'll have to take my word :( sorry #i also hope that the links to the kickstarter images work since at one point before posting this they all broke... lmk in case and i'll edit #anyways can you tell i'm positively obsessed and i'm this close to counting the days until 2025?#i had fun playing and writing this heehe #touchstarved #touchstarved vn #touchstarved game #ais #ais touchstarved #kuras #kuras touchstarved #leander #leander touchstarved #mhin #mhin touchstarved #vere #vere touchstarved #touchstarved analysis #touchstarved theory #touchstarved spoilers #visual novels #vns #long post #ps: i'm not an expert about any of these but i'm most unsure about the flowers... i tried #edit: corrected an imprecision and added links/timestamps to the q&a vod!#my posts

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sapphic-agent · 7 months

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Let's Talk About Izuku Midoriya

As most of you know, Izuku is my favorite character in the show. But dismissing my bias for a second, there are a lot of issues with his character. Mainly, how it's handled within the story and the negative affect it tends to have on the overall plot.

What I think really dampens Izuku's character is a lack of depth. Fellow Izu fans hold your fire... let me finish.

The lack of depth wasn't always a problem. In season 1, he tends to have a lot of lines that indicate complex emotions. When he's walking home after Bakugou's suicide-baiting, he shows at least a little contempt for what was said even if he tries not to take it to heart. Hell, even during the suicide baiting itself, he reacts with anger and intends to stand up to Bakugou even if he is forced into silence by fear. During the bus ride to the USJ, Kaminari and Asui are (rightfully) observing that Bakugou is a dick and Izuku is surprised at the swap in their roles. In the Battle Trials, he's guilty when Bakugou accuses him of purposely hiding his quirk, but also confronts and outsmarts him, knowing that beating Bakugou (standing up to him) is the only way he can even start to become a hero.

(This is evidence that at some point Izuku was aware that Bakugou's actions weren't alright and wanted to condemn them, he just didn't have the strength or confidence to go through with it. This entirely disappears later in the series with no reconciliation of those feelings)

We don't get many scenes like this later on. Izuku takes Bakugou's insults and attacks with no reaction or just a nervous one. And we never, ever see him attempt to stand up for himself against him.

And no, I don't count Deku vs Kacchan Part 2. Izuku was practically forced to defend himself as Bakugou would have attacked him either way, and his entire role in the fight is going on and on about his admiration for Bakugou. Izuku isn't standing up to Bakugou, he's being placed in a situation where he's forced to help develop him. The entire episode is solely for Bakugou's benefit while shoving Izuku into a corner.

But even taking a step away from Bakugou for a minute, Izuku also becomes more one dimensional in regards to Uraraka.

I've said this before answering an ask, but in the beginning of the show Izuku was the one who was attracted to Uraraka. He was flustered by her kindness and reacted bashfully to her hero suit. And for some reason this... goes away. The last time he gets even slightly embarrassed around her is the licensing exam when she appears jealous of Camie (Toga). Not only that, it feels like all of that transferred to Uraraka. She was the one who ended up becoming bashful and flushed and embarrassed, which would make sense if Izuku's feelings didn't almost entire disappear. It does both their characters a disservice; Uraraka is reduced to a more one-dimensional love interest (don't @ me for this, she has her moments and I love her) and Izuku loses another aspect of his character.

I would even say this is present with Todoroki on some level. Izuku was supposed to be his first real friend and they barely interact. Which is even worse considering they're both part of the "main trio." It would have been so easy to play them off of one another since they're supposedly best friends and should be the closest two in that trio. Their friendship was one of the starting points of the entire series and their connection is an integral part of both their characters. Yet they both interact more with Bakugou than one another.

(For comparison, look at Bakugou and Kirishima. They're in a multitude of scenes together and we see how their relationship develops over time. We see their companionship and how Bakugou comes to trust and rely on him. We don't get anywhere close to that with Izuku and Todoroki.)

Over the seasons/volumes (whichever you consume), Horikoshi has dumbed Izuku's character down to crying, defending others, and being self-sacrificing. And these aren't inherently bad traits for a main character, but they weren't all he had in the beginning. He had more personality and he had stronger feelings. Taking that away from him cheapened his character.

Another failing of Izuku's character is how him being quirkless is blatantly ignored by the series.

This was an integral part of his character. It's what separated him from the vast majority of people in the show. It destroyed the only dream he ever had. He was discriminated against for it. It defined his entire existence for the first fourteen years of his life.

And it's never talked about.

Okay, I shouldn't say that. It is used to draw parallels between him and Shinsou (and Aoyama later on). But other than that, Izuku really doesn't acknowledge it. For someone who would grapple with not being good enough for OFA, him not really dwelling on being quirkless is odd.

In a series about the corruption of society, it's strange that the discrimination the main character faced from that society isn't talked about. In fact, outside of Melissa (she's legit the only character who was born quirkless and stayed quirkless, everyone else who's listed quirkless had their quirks taken away or received a quirk later), the series doesn't really introduce quirkless people at all even though they make up 20% of the population (and that isn't a small number by any means, that would be 1.6 billion people in 2023).

Yet this issue that was very present in the beginning of the show is just... swept under the rug. Like everything Izuku went through because of it just doesn't matter. A four year old came to the realization that he was beneath his peers by society's standards, but Izuku just doesn't talk or think about it ever again.

It not only ignores the very real trauma and struggle the main character went through, it also shuns a very important piece of world building. Having Izuku born quirkless was the perfect way to introduce this problem with society. But no, other than his dream being ruined and Bakugou's bullying, Izuku doesn't struggle with this in any other way. We only have vague implications of what he went through growing up quirkless so we can't imagine what it's like for the other 1.6 billion people.

This ties into his lack of depth, but a lot of the time it feels like Izuku's only relevance is to be a prop for other characters. Bakugou is obviously the main one and I went over this in the apology analysis. But Izuku doesn't respond to his apology in any way, we never get to see his thinking or how he was affected, and then he faints at the end. Izuku is a puppet in place to further Bakugou's development. This is also present in Deku vs Kacchan Part 2; all his thoughts are centered around admitting Bakugou and propping him up.

As much as I hate it, it somewhat makes sense for Bakugou. But it's utter insanity that this is extended to Endeavor as well.

Back during the Sports Festival, Izuku displayed disdain for Endeavor. He was aware of what an awful person he was and how he hurt Todoroki. Yet for some reason he then tells Todoroki that he thinks he's ready to forgive him.

This is completely out of character for Izuku. For one, he never inserts himself into others' business unless it's to defend them. And up until that point he hadn't said a word about Endeavor; not to comfort Todoroki and not to abhor his actions. So why in the world would the first thing out of his mouth about him be that Todoroki seems ready to forgive him?

It's almost like he's acting as a mouthpiece for Horikoshi, indirectly telling the audience that Todoroki no longer holds any resentment for Endeavor. Izuku's relevance in this scene as Todoroki's best friend should not have been to assume that he's ready to forgive his abuser.

He also verbally defends Endeavor against Dabi. Even though he knows how abusive and neglectful Endeavor was to his children. Condoning Endeavor while disparaging Dabi makes no sense for Izuku's character. He was defending Shoto too which makes sense, but there was no reason to add Endeavor into that. Just because Endeavor was his mentor (for like three weeks if that) doesn't erase what he's done.

To make Izuku ignorant of this was a slap to the face of his entire character.

Even in his own major arc, Izuku gets the shaft. Dark Deku was a major let down because there was hardly a deeper dive into his character. He was on his own with the past OFA holders for weeks and we barely see him talk to them. Him cutting contact with Toshinori when we didn't even get to see them interact much made no sense (Toshi didn't even try to find him afterwards which was so out of character). The top 3 heroes allowed him- a fifteen year old student- to run on his own without even trying to talk him out of it.

And what's supposed to be an honest attempt to get him to come back and trust him turned into 1A a) physically attacking and ganging up on him and b) allowing Bakugou to goad and insult him. And he wasn't even close with all of 1A for nineteen of them to do this. This should have been restricted to Iida, Todoroki, and Uraraka (and maybe Tsu and Aoyama). He has issues with showing vulnerability in front of people, why om Earth would it make sense to blindside him with his entire class?

(The only part of Dark Deku I truly enjoyed was Uraraka sticking up for him at UA and Kota and that woman he saved earlier running to comfort him and show their gratitude. Although Eri not being there is very weird.)

Like I said above, I love Izuku. But I absolutely hate the way he's been handled by his author. He deserved an actual well thought out character arc and a lot more focus and attention. He deserved to have more intricate, complex relationships with other characters that weren't his childhood bully. He deserved to be treated well in his own story.

#izuku midoriya critical #i love him okay #i just don't love how he's written #izuku deserves better #mha critical #bnha critical #anti bakugou katsuki #anti enji todoroki #anti endeavor #long post

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