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dxxdhood · 3 months

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wait for me

pairing: waiter!dick grayson x gn!reader

summary: after getting stood up on a date, you notice the waiter who's been patiently watching you all evening.

tags: smut (18+), sub!dick grayson, dom!reader, teasing, dirty talk, humiliation, name-calling, slapping, handjob

wc: 1.9k

a/n: hey, hope you guys like this one! if anyone has any requests/thoughts, please send them in. i want to write more, but i really struggle with ideas haha

It’s not that bad, all things considered. You must have the intuition of a god for choosing a restaurant that allows free refills, because if you’ve had to pay for drinks this whole night, you’d have gone completely broke. Still, you can’t help feeling pretty shitty. There’s no way your date is running two hours late.

The place is a casual diner, serving a host of soups, sandwiches, and pastries that had you salivating earlier on in the night, but right now, you’re not exactly in the mood to browse the menu again. The diner doesn’t close until twelve, but it’s been almost deserted for the past hour, probably because it’s a weeknight and the average person has plenty better to do than wait on a person who’s made it obvious they’re not coming

Just as you’re about to get up and leave – for real this time – the waiter comes around to refill your drink. It’s a quarter till twelve, and at this point you know he probably wants to start cleaning up, but still he tops up your drink without saying anything. It’s a kindness, but a part of you just wishes he would kick you out already.

He’s been the only waiter on staff since you got here – even the manager knew this place would be empty – and you’re so glad he was, because if you ever want to show your face here again, all you have to do is avoid one person. It’s a shame that you feel too embarrassed to interact with him, though. He’s been nothing but polite, only asking if you were ready to order at the very beginning before quickly picking up on the fact that you were waiting on your date– the one that wasn’t coming.

You take a sip from your full drink, but you can’t stomach any more. Standing up, you try to avoid eye contact with the waiter, who’s relaxing behind the counter, as you step towards the exit. There’s a nagging feeling in the back of your head, like you’ve skipped a step or forgotten an important task. It dawns on you as you’re facing the exit: you forgot to tip him!

Well, you didn’t order a meal and you paid for your drink up front, so you’re not exactly sure if you were meant to tip him. Hell, you didn’t know if this restaurant accepted tips at all. But this waiter just watched you sit through quiet torture and the second-hand embarrassment was probably like stepping on glass.

“Hey,” you turn around. “Do I… Should I tip you?”

“Yeah, I was wondering that, too,” he says lightly. He purses his lips and stares to the side, “I’ve turned it over a few times in my head, and decided that nope! You don’t need to tip me. You have no lawful or moral obligation, I resolve you.”

You feel your eyes getting watery, so you focus on the dust in the crease between the wall and the floor. Him saying that only makes you feel worse, but it’d be too awkward to hand him the money now. It feels like there should be something you could do, some way you could thank him for keeping you company.

“How many people are staffed right now?” you ask.

He looks caught off guard, like he expected the interaction to end there. “Oh, just me and one other guy in the kitchen.”

“Let me help you close.”

His eyes widen, and you try to meet his gaze. He’s puzzled, probably trying to figure out what you get out of helping him. Eventually, he shrugs his shoulders and gets up from behind the counter.

“Yeah, why not,” he says with a fond smirk, gesturing to you to follow him.

He leads you to the supply closet, where the two of you grab cleaning spray, rags, and a broom. While you work on wiping down the tables and chairs, he counts the cash in the register.

“So, you always offer to clean up after yourself?” he starts, too focused on tallying up the earnings to notice you staring at him. The waiter, “Dick” according to his name tag, is very cute. You were trying to ignore him the best you could for the sake of your would-be date, but honestly, fuck that guy. Your waiter with the dashing smile and ruffled hair blows him out of the water, anyway.

“Just feeling extra polite tonight. You always accept help from customers?”

“You won’t believe this, but nobody’s offered,” he says with a snort. “Still, probably not the smartest idea on my part.”

You think about his words for a second as you wipe down a particularly stubborn stain. “I wouldn’t be able to rob you if I wanted to.”

It’s true, he looked well-muscled, even if on the leaner side. His eyes are playful as he narrows them at you. “Careful, they take security footage of this place, don't confess to any thoughts you may or may not have.”

You laugh, going back to cleaning before you start again. “Can’t believe you put off closing the diner just so you could watch me get stood up for an extra however many minutes.”

“Counterpoint: Can’t believe you let yourself get stood up for so long.” Dick finishes up at the register and grabs the broom. “You’re worth more than that.”

“Oh? And how do you know what I’m worth?” you say instinctively.

You watch his eyes widen from your peripheral vision, like he didn’t mean to say his last comment out loud. “I wasn’t trying to overstep, but, like, obviously you’re attractive. You could get anyone you wanted and–”

“You’ve been watching me all night, haven't you?” Filled with newfound confidence, you leave your rag and spray bottle and walk over to where Dick is sweeping the entrance.

Despite how friendly he’s been tonight, he deliberately avoids eye contact as he works. “Well, yeah, I needed to make sure you got your order once – if – you placed one–”

“No, no. I mean you were watching me,” you place a hand on his shoulder. “What, you wish you were the one I was going on a date with?”

And though you know you’re jumping to conclusions, he stiffens at your words and it’s clear you’ve caught him.

“I… I didn’t want to bother–” Dick starts, dropping the broom. You use the opening to push him against the wall, hearing the scratches of the brick against his button up shirt.

“That’s alright,” you whisper. “I don’t mind being bothered.”

You can feel his chest rise and fall as you press yourself closer to him. His eyes follow your every move, and you bring your face closer until it's only inches away from his.

You can feel the puffs of his inhales and exhales on your skin, and you’re about to completely close the gap between you two, but Dick beats you to it. He kisses you, and you pull back for a moment in surprise before sinking into the kiss.

His lips are so warm, and as he brings up a hand to pull you closer by the jaw, you notice how surprisingly soft his hands are. You try to deepen the kiss, nipping his lip in the process, and he lets out a gasp. Biting at his lip a little more, he giggles as he realizes you’re playing with him.

“You’re starting to bother me,” he quips, trying to keep his composure as you nip at the underside of his jaw. Just when he starts getting comfortable and relaxing into your kisses, you switch to biting at him, and he jolts.

“Maybe you deserve it. You need to learn better manners, sitting there, watching me all night. Bet you wish I would’ve shoved you against this wall a whole lot sooner, huh?” you whisper into his ear before going back to kissing down his neck. He moans at your words, but tries to muffle himself by pushing his face into his shoulder. You bring a hand up to his hair and tug to get him to pay attention to you.

“Right in front of everyone, too,” you continue, sliding a hand down his stomach to work on his jeans. “Just mark you, make you moan like a bitch while everyone else is watching.”

Biting his lip, Dick tries to ignore the effect your words have on him, but he’s still rutting against your hand as you’re unzipping him. He gives a small thrust against the air, whimpering as you wrap your hand around his cock.

“Shit, this all for me?” you breathe. You swear Dick can hear you smirk, even as he pinches his eyes shut.

“Don’t– Ah!” he gets cut off as you start stroking him slowly. “Don’t let– let it go to your head.”

“No, I think I’ll be just fine,” you quicken your pace, not giving him a second to get ready. “If I remember right, some slut thinks he’s hot enough to get me to fuck him just by, what, batting his eyes at me? From all the way across the diner?”

“Well–” He groans, arching his back against the wall. The sweat shines against his cheeks, you feel so lucky to be the cause of it. “Well I was right, wasn’t I?”

You chuckle, caught off guard. “Guess you are.”

You briefly remove your hand, and Dick grunts, irritated, before you spit in it and go back to forcefully jerking him off. His moans grow louder, and you can see him start to get lost, eyes growing distant while chasing his orgasm.

“Are you going to come already?” you say, slowing your pace to be more deliberate, but still keeping the pressure the same. After a moment of silence, you slap his balls and he lets out a yelp that melts into a groan.

“Answer me!” you shout, bringing your hand back up to pull at his hair.

“Ah– Yeah, y-yes!” he gasps. “You’re going to make me cum!”

“Good,” you say before you bite at his neck again, sucking a spot right under his jugular. The skin starts to deepen and you lick, tending to it before you nip at it again, just biting hard enough to draw a pinprick of blood.

Dick screams as he cums, thrusting into your fist at an uncontrolled pace. You work him through it, matching his speed until he falls back against the wall, spent. As he slides down the wall until he sits on the ground, you walk back to one of the chairs.

“Damn, not ready for round two?” you say, propping up your head on the top rail. He huffs through his nose, looking at you for a moment like he’s checking to see if you’re real. He seems to find what he’s looking for, giggling and resting his head on his knees.

“Oh my god, Dick, stop it. We need to go!” A tall, built man walks out of the kitchen, “Jason” according to his name tag. Looking sheepish, Dick is ready to defend himself, but Jason walks towards him, ignoring every word coming out of Dick’s mouth.

Dick hands you a napkin, gesturing a phone and mouthing the words “call me” as he’s dragged out of the building by Jason. In shock, you open up the napkin to find his name and his number hastily scribbled in ballpoint pen. Smirking to yourself, you only wish you knew how early on in the night Dick prepared this napkin for you. You could’ve saved the both of you two hours of waiting.

#smut #dc smut #gn reader #dom reader #sub character #dc #dc comics #gn!reader #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson #dick grayson x gn!reader #dick grayson smut #dick grayson x you #nightwing #nightwing smut #nightwing x reader #nightwing x gn!reader #nightwing x you

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ghcstao3 · 3 months

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Pirates!Ghoap au (I can't stop thinking about it - or about any other au but this one is so dear to me)

Hope you have a nice day ☺️

sort of inspired by the jack sparrow and angelica scene in potc stranger tides. because that is where my mind goes when Pirates

Ghost has spent many years cultivating his reputation as a revered, feared pirate, and for just as long he's had several people try to challenge that. Try to challenge him. Of course, they never succeed in such endeavours, but this is much different. This is a first.

No one has ever tried to impersonate him before.

His crew had just made port in one of their more frequent haunts, having barely gotten the chance to step foot on land before an old acquaintance is greeting Ghost with surprise—everyone thought he had already arrived, had already been drinking and picking off the idiots trying to fight him. Had already been spreading rumours of his next voyage; a teasing invitation, a dare for anyone to follow.

But obviously, such is not the case. It can't be, when Ghost is here, fresh off his ship, standing among the few men and women in this world that he trusts—not an ale nor scrap in sight.

So, rightfully confused, Ghost orders his crew to hang back while he investigates, and puts an end to whatever charade this may be.

Despite the piece of skull that obscures the lower half of Ghost's face—all part of his reputation, mostly, and he's glad to have it spark debate on whether or not the skull is real, and whether or not he's human—it's relatively easy to go undetected as he makes his way through the port village, his presence entirely unnoticed as he slips into the tavern that caters most to his... profession.

And just as it's not difficult to sneak around, it isn't hard to spot his impersonator; they're the centre of attention at the tavern tonight, and though Ghost can commend the guts it takes to attempt such an act, he's honestly offended that so many people believed it was really him.

Though, with as drunk as the crowd is, and if he squints just enough, Ghost supposes he could see how the mistake was made. Even still, Ghost isn't particularly pleased with the situation.

He hovers at the sidelines, melting into the shadows as he waits for the fake "Ghost" to catch his eye.

Ghost knows the moment they do, when he watches as they utter some excuse and make their leave. Ghost only follows with his eyes, at first, before deciding to push away from the wall, skirting along the edges of the crowd toward to the door the fake "Ghost" had exited through.

It leads to the back alley wedged between other buildings and darkened cobblestone streets. It reeks of refuse, and it's to no surprise of Ghost's own when moments after the door shuts behind him, the point of a cutlass is threatening his jugular.

He doesn't flinch, only shifts his gaze disinterestedly toward the owner of the sabre.

"Don't think you have much of a right to be doing that," Ghost drawls.

His imitator doesn't move for a long moment, cutlass held steady at Ghost's throat. Even in the dim light, Ghost can tell their eyes are blue, and suddenly he's again offended that this disguise was actually passed off as him.

Then the sword is finally lowered and sheathed. The fake's own tricorne and mask are removed (the skull is fake, Ghost thinks, no question about it), revealing a hideous hairstyle and a charming, shark-like grin.

"Was hopin' I might eventually get to meet the real Ghost," the man says, his voice tinged with genuine excitement.

Ghost... hadn't expected that.

"How long have you been doing this for?" Ghost demands, now irritated more than anything.

The man shrugs carelessly, casually, not in the slightest bit deterred. "Not long enough to damage your reputation, if that's what you're worried about. If anything, I've strengthened your reputation," he insists. Then he's offering his hand out to Ghost. "I'm John, by the way."

Ghost barely spares the gesture a glance. "I don't care. Why?"

John at least has the decency to act sheepish this time. "I had a proposition for you. Needed to get your attention somehow."

Ghost raises an eyebrow. His hand instinctually drifts to the pommel of his own sword. "And?"

John's gaze flickers to the movement and he hesitates, but only minutely. He then lifts his chin and rolls back his shoulders, and Ghost can almost see how John could have the gall to pull off the charade he had for who knows how long. "I want to join your cr—"

"No."

John scowls. "I wasn't finished," he snaps. "I want to join your crew. And if you let me, I can get you to that fountain of youth I hear you've been searching for. I swear it."

It's Ghost's turn to frown beneath his mask. Why would John want to help him for the measly reward of sailing with Ghost and his shipmates? Sure, some have called it an honour—but in exchange for guidance to a reward so mythical? There must be a catch. It doesn't make sense otherwise.

Ghost narrows his eyes, fingers curling around the pommel. "How can I trust you to make good on that promise?"

That toothy grin reappears, more mischievous in nature than Ghost is comfortable with. It warns him of trouble.

"S'pose there's only one way to find out," John muses. "Otherwise I might just continue what I've been doing. Maybe hitch a ride to another island, pretend to be you some more. Hurt everything you've built up. I've fooled enough people so far."

It takes a lot of restraint not to pull out his sword, and fight John right in the alleyway. But the man's right, as deranged as he may be—it's either bring him along, or continue on a fruitless journey to a place that may not even exist.

He doesn't want to accept the deal, but he can't afford to have John ruining his life's work, either.

With great reluctance, Ghost agrees to let John join his crew—he figures it should only be temporary, at best.

"I find out you're lying, I'll gut you," Ghost hisses, only once it's been settled. "I've yet to see a man capable of swimming with his intestines hanging out. Maybe you'd be a first."

John's grin transforms into something else, something Ghost can't quite place.

He hums. "Maybe. But I don't plan on finding out," John says. He nudges Ghost away from the tavern's back door before pushing it open, gesturing his arm out as if beckoning the pirate to enter. Then in a lowered voice, a tone Ghost isn't quite sure how to feel about, John purrs, "Captain."

Ghost is already beginning to think he had made the wrong choice.

#ask #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #soapghost #ghostsoap #ghost x soap #ghoap #alternate universe #writing

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dragonslayer-5fanfiction · 9 months

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Trent Lane x Reader

Okay, I've been meaning to out this out, but it's never been 100% to my liking. So I decided screw it, and I'm gonna put it out and maybe go back and fix it later. Edited, and edited, and edited.

My family had just moved to Lawndale, and I came down to spend time with them. I had just finished my Associates in Parapsychology, and got a job at a local newspaper. After finishing the associates, I decided to take a break from school, a little worn out. I am currently moving all of my stuff into my new room, and while everyone was unpacking their things, I headed out to explore our new town. In all of my wandering I made my way into a dingy basement full of punk- alt bands and people. The current band playing is called Mystik Spiral. They weren’t awful, but they weren’t necessarily good either. My eyes scanned the members of the band and I lingered on the lead singer. His hair was messy and he had tattoos dancing across his arms. He caught my eye and winked at me. The heat flushed up my body, before dancing brightly across my cheeks. I bit my lip and smiled, not being able to look away. Eventually the embarrassment won out and I looked away. Their set finished soon after, but my eyes stayed glued to my shoes.

“Hey.” A raspy voice pulled my attention from my shoes.

“Hey.” I responded rubbing my arm awkwardly.

“What did you think of our set?”

“It was good. A nice change from what I’m used to.” I smiled at the end, throwing him a wink. He chuckled.

“Trent.”

“Charlie.”

“Wanna get a bite to eat?” He asked, pointing behind him to the door.

“Sure.” I shrugged my shoulders. He smiled and I followed him out of the basement and out to where his bandmates were waiting. We made introductions on our way to a pizza place. Trent and I stayed out later than his bandmates, talking for hours. Eventually he drove me home and it was so late I had to sneak in. This is how the next few weeks went, us going out one or two nights a week, staying out late, and sneaking back in. Some nights I even just watch them practise while eating the food they ordered. Tonight though we found ourselves in his room just hanging out.

“So tell me about your family.” Trent prodded. I snorted, falling back onto his bed. He turned his head to look at me.

“Okay, so my parents are tightly wound, and somewhat distant. I'm the oldest of three. My next sister is a few years younger than me. She’s sarcastic, bleak, and sometimes a little too pessimistic. She’s honest though so…” I shrugged my shoulders, as I trailed off. “Then, I have my youngest sister. She is something else entirely. She’s popular, self-absorbed, but she’s also caring and pretty. Her priorities are just different from me and my other sister.” I sighed running my hand through my hair. “So really when it comes down to it, I’m the middle ground between the two of them.”

“Wow.” He drew out.

“Yeah.” I let out a sigh and sat up so I was closer to him. We just sat there in silence, before there was a knock on his door.

“Yeah?” he called.

“Hey, there’s this party my friend and I are invited to, and I was wondering if you would give us a ride?” A girl peeked her head in and asked.

“I don’t know Janey. I might be busy that night.” He turned from her to me. “Janey, this is Charlie. We met a little while ago, and we’ve been hanging out a lot.” I gave an awkward wave.

“Hi. Now what about the ride? Do you think you can do it?” Jane asked.

“Yeah. You’ll have to wake me up though.” She simply hummed and walked away.

I turned to Trent a wide smile stretching across my face. “That was nice of you.” I put my hand on his arm, trying to get him to look at me.

“Eh, it’s whatever. I’m gonna have to push our night back a bit though.” I lifted my hand and waved it dismissively.

I giggled a little, “It’s fine. Look at you being all..brotherly.” He groaned and pushed me away from him. But I saw a blush creep up his cheeks, when I started to laugh harder. The rest of the night we spend on his bed eating bad food, and talking about random things. By the time I checked the clock, it was one in the morning. We decided to call it a night because Trent’s eyes were starting to droop. He dropped me off outside my house. Before I climbed out of the car I turned to him, “Thanks for dropping me off.” I whispered, feeling a loud voice would shatter the atmosphere.

“No problem.” He smiled and I turned to open the door. “Charlie?” He whispered, placing his hand on my arm.

“Trent?” I turned back towards him holding my breath to see what he would do. He looked between me and my lips, before leaning closer. I froze in place, anticipating what was going to happen next.

“Your door is still locked.” He reached over me, and unlocked the door. “There.”

I let out a huff. “Thanks Trent.” My voice was monotone, and I climbed out of the car. “Bye.” I closed the door and waved as he drove off. When I got into the house, I went straight to my room only wanting to be there. I closed the door and almost punched the wall. I fell face first onto my bed, and screamed into my pillow. “AHHHHHHHHH! WHY????” I rolled over and stared at the ceiling until I found the energy to change into my pajamas. I replayed the moment over and over until I finally fell asleep. The next few days dragged on with no surprises, and lots of distractions for me.

Friday finally rolled around and because of the party I didn’t have to rush to get ready for my night with Trent. Daria said that she was hanging out with her friend tonight so I was left alone with Mom and Dad for a bit. It wasn’t too bad spending time with them, but Mom was trying to pry into my life, without outright asking the questions she wanted answers to. Finally there was a HONK from out front. I smiled and got up.

“That’s my ride. I’ll see you later.” I called out over my shoulder as I headed out the door. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He responded as I climbed into the car.

“How was the ride?” I asked, waiting to see if he would bring up what happened the other day.

“It was fine. They seemed excited about the party. I thought it looked lame.” He laughed at the end, but ended up coughing.

“Well that was very nice of you. Almost…” I brought my hand up to my chin thoughtfully stroking my fake beard, “...like a protective brother.” I smiled and turned towards him, he turned and smiled back at me. “Hey, eyes on the road.” I pointed out the windshield, and he turned his head. We just spent the night driving around town, and just talking about nothing. We ended up playing and singing our favourite songs terribly. It was nice to just let go. When he dropped me off, I sat there waiting to see what he would do tonight. As predicted, he did nothing. “Well this was a fun night. Thanks.” I leaned into the car, to say bye.

He smiled at me. “Me too.”

#trent lane x reader #trent lane #daria imagine #i love him in a weird way #trent lane imagine

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linkspooky · 2 years

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MAKI ZENIN AND NORITOSHI KAMO

More culling games analysis this week, in my continued to prove this arc is more than just fighting and there’s a lot of thought put up into the matchups between these characters. This meta will focus on why Noritoshi and Maki two characters who had almost zero interaction before this point are now teaming up together in the fight against Naoya. Though this fight is their first interaction to date, there are actually a lot of parallels already set up between them which I’ll elaborate on underneath he cut.

1. The Dutiful Son and the Rebellious Daughter

The first and most obvious difference between Noritoshi and Maki is established all the way back in the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc. Maki is the reject of the Zenin Clan. Her intentions towards the conservative are revolution and reform, she leaves with the intention of returning and taking over as the clan head. Most importantly her way of battling with corruption of the Zenin Clan is from the outside rather than from within.

Noritoshi when first introduced seems to be not only the literal opposite of Maki, a dutiful son, and obedient to the conservative faction of the clan, and even to the other Kyoto kids someone who is exremely strict on the rules, he is also shown to be obedient to the rules of the higher ups. Maki rebels, Noritoshi seems to keep his head down.

They are opposites even in how they decide to handle Itadori Yuji, Maki protects him right away without question, whereas Kamo on the surface seems to follow orders of the higher ups in regards to what to do about Yuji Itadori and even leads the charge against him in the battle arc.

While Maki is treated like a rebellious child and outcasted, Noritoshi curries a special favor with Gakuganji one of the biggest players in the conservative faction, and is even entrusted with special tasks by Gakuganji. Kamo’s clearly seen as a leader among his peers as well, and tries a little too hard to act in that role, to the point where is friends regard him as a stiff stick in the mud always lecturing people like Mai that they should behave more within the expectations of heirs to one of the three great clans.

Kamo’s projected role of the obedient son however, is shown to have more complexity than it at first seems. Yes unlike the revolutionary faction he does several things that seem to encourage the status quo and he seems overly obedient to both the elders and the conservative faction, but the first small detail revealed is that he has a reason for acting this way.

Kamo is actually born to similiar circusmtances as Maki, in that they are both designated as outcasts by births to their extremely traditional and restrcitive jujutsu clans. Maki is an outcast due to being without cursed technique, and Noritoshi is the son of a mistress who is looked down upon and tormented by the clan, and he himself was only welcomed because he was born with a cursed technique that was useful.

Noritoshi plays the rule of the dutiful Kamo heir, because quite literally his mother’s life is on the line. The only real difference between Maki and Noritoshi’s situation is that Noritoshi was born with the cursed technique of his clan and was welcomed into the clan (but only to be used and was seperated from his mother as a result), and Maki was born with no cursed technique in the Zenin clan that prizes cursed technique above everything else and then was eventually shunned until she left. And even after she left they did everything she could to become a sorcerer.

These seem like opposites but, first Kao isn’t like the chosen son of the clan, he’s a kid they took in because he was useful and are currently using him for their benefit. Maki and Kamo also have the same internal motivators, they are both outcasts to their clan, but their desire for reform comes from a desire to make these clans a better place for their loved ones. To explain briefly the terminology I’m using, an external motivator is an enemy to face or something on the outside that the character that the characters are fighting against.

An internal motivator is more often than not an emotional conflict deep isndie the characters, and sometimes contains a hidden motivation they won’t admit to out loud, therefore you know, internal.

Noritoshi and Maki’s external motivators are opposites, Noritoshi’s goal is to be the dutiful son and the ideal heir of the Kamo clan, and act in the interests of the three great families. Maki is the rebellious daughter of the Zenin Clan, and wants to from the outside smash the Zenin clan’s superiority in order to prove them wrong.

Their internal motivators are the same however, their family member was mistreated and abused by the clan, and Noritoshi and Maki both want to protect them. Maki wants to create a place Mai feels like she belongs in the Zenin clan, and Noritoshi wants to become clan head to make his mother a lowly mistress have a place in the house.

Noritoshi and Maki have practically identical motivations, and it’s only the means by which they hope to accomplish their goals that are complete opposites, and apparently opposed to one another. You can’t rebel without smashing tradition. You can’t obey tradition without quelling rebellion.

2. KYOTO VS TOKYO

Now o analyze a bit of the methods of Noritoshi and Maki. Maki’s seem a bit obvious, while her original goal was to essentially gain enough strength to ascend the ranks of sorcerer from rank 4 where she was stuck at, and even eventually surpass the clan head and force them to acknowledge her upon her return, tragic circumstance instead made her massacre the entire Zenin in an act of revenge after Mai’s death.

Either way, by surpassing the Zenin under Gojo’s tutelage, or destroying them, Maki’s methods were always from the outside. It makes sense because that is her role in the clan, due to not being born with cursed technique she was always going to be ostracized and treated as an outsider.

It also reflects the philosophy shared commonly among the Tokyo Students. The whole point of the Kyoto Goodwill event is to show the battling philosophies of the Kyoto Students taught by Utahime, and the Tokyo students taught by Gojo. The Tokyo students in general are staunch individualists, who not only follow Gojo’s philosophy of becoming strong enough to surpass the previous generation in order to support their goals, but also have a tendency to always fight alone, and try to accomplish everything through strength. Gojo’s students fight like Gojo does, who ever would have thought.

Kyoto students in general tend to value cooperation over individual strength. Due to that fact, they’re often regarded as individually weak, and yet they cooeprate far better as a collective whole than any of the Tokyo Students. Tokyo’s strategy in pretty much any crisis situation is for everyone to split up and go off on their own. The Kyoto students may no be powerhouses, but they have areas where they succeed in, one theyre just more cooperative in general.

For example, even someone like Noritoshi who is rying to be as strict of a traditionalist as possible, is trying to make a connection to Megumi here and sympathize with his circumstances.

There are a few key moments where Kyoto students show up, and it’s cooperation that wins the day, rather than a power-up. The biggest exmaple I can think of is, Todo showing up in the Mahito fight. If Todo were not capable of encouraging Yuji when he was at his lowest point, and if Todo and Yuji’s teamwork wasn’t so well developed and on point they would have lost the fight.

Maki is also, only able to gain strength to defeat her family because of Mai’s sacrifice. Maki left the cla to gain personal power because she wanted to be a jujutsu sorcerer, Mai stayed behind and resented Maki because she just wanted to have a sister. Without Mai’s sacrifice, Maki would have just died in that pit.

Mai’s sacrifice and her selflessness protects Maki at her lowest point when all the strength in the world doesn’t really matter. Of course, Maki and Mai only being able to work together when they are on their death bed, and Mai having to die for Maki to accomplish her strength, is actually something tragic.

To bridge to my next point: Indviidualism doesn’t always work, and collectivism doesn’t always work either. Jujutsu Kaisen isn’t a story about good vs evil, it’s about characters who represent both the good and bad aspects of certain ideas or philosophies attempting to find balance with other people.

Maki and Mai were set up to work together, but they coukdn’t find that balance in time and as a result Maki’s development became incredibly skewed, and even her victory against the Zenin clan was a pyrrhic victory with way too high a cost. Maki would rather have Mai, then the strength to defeat her enemies, and yet that’s what she wound up with because of her inability to find a comrpomise between herself and Mai.

Noritoshi’s efforts also similiarly failed, his cooperation with the Kamo clan led to absolutely nothing, he wasn’t able to reform the Kamo clan from the inside like he iwshed, nor could he use his influence to try to pettition the conservative faction to lighten their sentence on his friends. The conservative faction was just too embedded for him to change, quite literally a several thousand year man who is the villain of the story and the symbol of the traditional aspects fo Jujutsu Society running rampant over the youth, showed up, became the clan head, and kicked Kamo out.

Everything he did to gain favor and try to influence both the elders and the clan heads as an heir of the three great families, amounted to nothing. SO you have Maki, the extreme end of an outsider rebelling and her efforts fail. You have NOritoshi on he extreme end of playing politics from the inside in an attempt to gain power to make that change, also fail.

However, both Maki and Noritoshi are alive, and all is not lost because the chance of cooperation is still there. Noritoshi may not have received a great big power up like Maki, but he has a lot of strategic strenggths that Maki does not have. Maki is for he most part reactionary, you hit her, and she hits back, she doesn’t really think of the big picture. Also, like any Gojo student she does most of her fighting alone.

While Maki acts as the muscle in the fight against Naoya, it’s Noritoshi who mainly coordinates things. Noritoshi essentially starts playing what is the Megumi to Maki’s Yuji, by coordinating betwen the two of them, keeping communication up, and also most critically being able to set himself aside and act as a supporting role.

It’s Noritoshi being able to set himself aside, and give Maki higher priority that buys her a chance to recover. Noritoshi’s reasoning as well is that Maki gives a bigger contribution towards their group and the end objective as a whole so he has to priortize her life over his. He’s not just thinking of this fight, but the next one beyond that. Gojo says that cooperation is all well and good, but there’s notthing wrong with selfishness, and there’s no reason to hold yousrelf back from swinging fromt he fences. That’s true, and what’s equally true is that sometimes you need to cooperate and make sacrifices in order to achieve a bigger goal. At the moment Maki despite receiving a power up that allowed her to massacre all the Zenin, isn’t strong enough to take the evolved Naoya. The fight would be lost here without Nortisohi’s cooperative personality.

However, the sacrifice Noritoshi is trying to make here also reeks of suicidal ideation. It essentially read sa sNOritoshi has almost given up at this point and wants to sacrifice himself for a common goal they all share, because his desire as an individual to reunite with his mother and make the Kamo Clan accept her, is now completely lost.

Which is how in return he could also probably use Maki protecting his life, and not letting him throw himself away at this stage. It’s not that either one of them has the better philosophy, but rather a comrpomise between the two of them that will win the day.

#jjk 194 #jjk 194 spoilers #jujutsu kaisen #jjk meta #jujutsu kaisen meta #noritoshi kamo #maki zenin #spoilers warning

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koorinokujira · 2 months

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Ok this is just an idea, but who do you think would suit the trope s/he (reader) fell first, and s/he fell too late? it's just such an angsty idea i can't comprehend this gosh 😭😭

Oh, such drama! Such angst! But of course, I'll gladly deliver, Anon. Now, this actually made me think pretty hard, because let's be real- most of these people are probably very touch starved, because, you know, war. But I eventually came to the conclusion that it could be a few of our "less approachable/romanceable" leaders. So, our dearest Magoichi, Mitsunari... and honestly, I also decided to include Shingen (not saying he's unapproachable, we love our warlord dad). I chose him because he has great angst potential. So, happy reading! Well... not really happy, but hopefully enjoyable nonetheless.

💔 Too Little, Too Late - SB Imagines 💔

Ever since you met the one you fell so hard for, you felt nothing but affection. Sure, there were flaws, but you were willing to accept them, or try to help fix them if they could be fixed. You were loyal, devoted, and always willing to lend a hand. Hoping that maybe, just maybe, your efforts would be noticed and your love reciprocated. But it wasn't. Not until it was too late... but you aren't the one left to pick up the pieces.

💔 Magoichi 💔

Magoichi was always... fond of you. She didn't even realize it herself for the longest time- after all, relationships weren't exactly her forte. She had the Saika Faction to run, and even when she had time for herself between all those battles and price negotiations, she preferred to remain in solitude. Alone, as she was supposed to be. In her mind, at least.

She found you a bit strange, perhaps. Too good to be true. When she gave an order, you never hesitated and went for it. When she scolded you, you never complained and used it to become an even better soldier. Your skills with a rifle also weren't anything to scoff at. Really, you were a model member of the Faction. Always there, always willing to lend a hand. She appreciated it, as any superior would, though she rarely ever said anything out loud. Actions speak louder than words, after all. And she couldn't play favorites, nor allow herself to be anything but the strong leader everyone needs her to be. She had a legacy to carry.

But now, things are different. It all started innocently enough- she's been getting reports here and there that no one could find you. Of course, you always made sure to have all your tasks completed before sneaking out who knows where. And it happened only every once in a while, so there was no reason to worry. But slowly, it became more and more frequent, to the point where she just had to find out what was going on. Why would you sneak off like that? You were always more than content to spend your free time either alone or with the others- the Saika Faction was like family to you.

She feels your absence most of all, she realizes as she watches you leave from the encampment again, thinking that no one can see. It was like things got... grey, whenever you left. Dull, without that trademark friendly grin you gave her whenever she sent you out to do one thing or another. The way you'd pat your fellow warriors on the back and gave them uplifting words when they needed it. And the way your eyes softened when you talked to her- well, there weren't enough words to describe the feeling.

She hates this, hates this realization. That someone somehow bypassed the walls she built around her heart, and she didn't even notice. And she hates it even more at this moment, because the very reason she plans to follow you now is to check if you're not compromising the Faction somehow. Why else would you sneak off? The chances of you being a spy are small, of course... but never zero, and she owes the Faction at least this much.

Screw it all.

Magoichi makes sure to follow you at a good distance- your senses are not to be scoffed at, of course. You lead her across various paths, through a small forest, over a wooden bridge that's barely stable to walk on, and then... you get to a farm. A village is nearby, too. Everything around it has seen better days, but clearly, the place is still being tended to. There are crops, and Magoichi swears she hears some animals in the distance. But that's not what she focuses on, no.

She focuses on him. The kind looking farmer who looks to be only a bit older than you. You chat and laugh, with you giving him the same look you used to give her once upon a time. And he looks at you the same way. There is a certain... tenderness in the way you move, and the leader of the Saika Faction feels a strange ache in her chest.

You look happy.

And she has to turn away, feeling like a fool for the first time in a long while. Of course she missed all the signs, all the times you passed by her and "accidentally" brushed fingers with her, all the times you made a point to stay nearby after your tasks were finished. She never reciprocated... and so you eventually found someone who cares about you as much as you do about them.

It is a bittersweet feeling, this love. She looks at you one last time before heading back towards the hideout. It hurts badly, to finally let down her guard only to realize it was for nothing. But at the same time... it is strangely reassuring to know that despite her harsh exterior, someone still developed feelings for her, fleeting as they may have been. She knows they were true, this wasn't like that foolish vagabond that pestered her for affection. And she hopes that maybe, just maybe...

...there will be another who will disarm her with such ease. She will be ready this time.

💔 Mitsunari 💔

It's all so... stupid.

The war, the way he has to constantly fight to be respected, the fact that every single day he feels like he loses himself more and more... he hates it. He wants to scream, but how many times did he do that already? How many times did he lose his temper when someone even dared to think of going against him? And where has that gotten him? What was it all for?

Nothing.

If only he had a shoulder to cry on right now. Someone to tell him that all hope is not yet lost. He used to have that. But he took it for granted, and now it's gone. He would like to believe otherwise, of course, but as he stares back at your grave, he is reminded of the painful reality he's found himself in.

He knew these feelings before you died, of course. The deaths of Lord Hideyoshi and Lord Hanbe were more painful than a blade in his heart. The grief and thirst for revenge was what propelled him forward since then. And he'd keep going until he took Tokugawa's head, and everything would be right in the world. It was terrible, painful... but also simple. To him, at least.

But this... this is different. It started with rage, like before, but then it changed into something new. This pain, it's quiet. Instead of a raging tempest, it's a gentle breeze, bringing back the sweet smell of what he once held in his grasp. A soft requiem instead of a battlecry. And somehow, that makes his heart bleed more profusely than anything else before.

It was spring when he first met you, he remembers. He didn't really have time to appreciate the blooming flowers, though. His lord was already dead by that point, and it was all he could think of. And then you showed up, dragging him back to reality by force. You weren't like the others, walking on eggshells as to not upset him even further, no. You fearlessly locked eyes with him, introduced yourself and told him it was an honor to be serving in his army now. He was upset that someone interrupted his moment of quiet, of course, but something compelled him not to unsheathe his blade this time. He still remembers how he just grunted in annoyance and dismissed you without a word. Why even bother?

But you were hard at work, nonetheless. Fighting, doing as you're told, even showing an aptitude for strategy. With each battle won, you rose through the ranks, until he had to see you basically every single day. He would never admit it, but he found your presence refreshing. You were honest - too honest at times - and he never felt like you had some ulterior motive, unlike with a certain someone that acted as his right hand. Terribly stubborn, too; once he showed that he at least tolerates your presence, you refused to leave his side, taking it upon yourself to guard him.

No matter how much he ranted about how he wants to kill Ieyasu, no matter how unfriendly or harsh he was, no matter how much he was falling apart and being a terrible leader, you stuck by. Watching, listening. And more often than not, you had something to say, too. Usually something uplifting. Oh, how he hated you for not letting him wallow in misery back then. How you tried to get him to move on and fight for something else than revenge, that he had potential to even surpass those he missed so dearly. How dare you say such things?

And so he constantly dismissed you, belittled you for your naive hopes for a better tomorrow, for trusting in him so blindly. However, that was just his fear talking. The idea of having hope and it instantly getting shattered by this war, by his enemy, seemed much worse than the pain he was already feeling. He knew that pain, at least.

Mitsunari kept refusing to acknowledge you, despite the mounting feeling in his subconscious that he cared. And before he knew it... you sacrificed yourself. For a wounded brother in arms, despite being wounded yourself. You bought him time and lost all of your own by that deed. He wasn't even there to see it... he just saw your body getting carried into the castle and heard the story from the other soldiers.

Only when he picked up your bloodied blade that day did he realize how much he's really been holding back. He didn't just care, he... he loved. And it wasn't just about the comfort you provided, it was about... well, you. Your smile, the way you'd tap the hilt of your blade whenever you were thinking, the entertaining anecdotes you told him about the time you were still training as a warrior. Oh, and rain, you loved the rain. You'd stand in the middle of the courtyard during thunderstorms with the biggest smile on your face and come inside only after you looked like someone threw you into a lake, shaking with the cold. It makes you feel alive, you told him. Like you can finally breathe.

He kept that blade, using it instead of his own since then. The blade is a warrior's soul, after all. But it doesn't make it much better. He still feels that ache in his chest, even though it's been months. When Lord Hideyoshi died, he could feel angry, he had something to work towards. But there's no Ieyasu Tokugawa to blame this time. Only a battered blade of someone dear, a heart full of regrets and affections unsaid...

...and the flowers he could only place near your headstone now.

💔 Shingen 💔

Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. Not that the Lord of the Takeda clan would know such a phrase. But that doesn't stop him from feeling the crushing weight of its meaning. He's not used to such emotions anymore. When he loses someone, he's sad for a while, and then he moves on. As a leader, he can't afford to dwell on such things. He needs to move forward, lead his clan and help it thrive.

Except this time, he can't seem to shake it off.

And so here he is again, on the battlefield where it began and ended in what seemed like seconds. There's still a few places where grass hasn't really grown back yet after the ordeals of battle, but nature has mostly reclaimed it. There's a soft breeze blowing, and the sky is fairly clear. It's... peaceful. And yet, there's an ache in his heart that not even nature's beauty can cure.

As he sits down into the soft grass, he can't help but think back on the first time you two met. It was thanks to Yukimura, he remembers. You and his young mentee had become friends, and so it didn't take long for you to be dragged over to meet the Lord. Yukimura ranted and raved about how amazing of a fighter you are, while you just politely stood behind him. He remembers how respectful you were the entire time. And it didn't take too long for him to recognize your loyal, honorable ways, either. You were a great soldier.

But there were things he didn't notice fast enough. Like how your clear, formal tone started to soften whenever he discussed strategy with you. How the first thing you did when coming back from battle was to go see him and report personally, even if anyone else could have done it. And that one night when he couldn't sleep and found you in the courtyard, staring wistfully at the stars. You gave him such a kind smile that day, and invited him to join you. So he did. And it was a night that brought great comfort to his weary mind.

Why did he take it for granted?

Time went on, and the day of that fateful battle came. It seemed just like any other that the Takeda clan faced. Armed with both wits and weapons, the troops were ready. Yukimura was getting riled up, while Sasuke dropped his casual attitude and braced himself for the upcoming fight. And you stood proudly right at the front, ready to break through the enemy lines. However, no one expected how wrong it could get.

An ambush. They tore into the left flank, and the situation turned an organized battle into a chaotic bloodbath. There was confusion, screaming, and soldiers were dropping left and right. And as Lord Shingen tried to get a hold of the situation again, he didn't even notice the bow aimed at his back. But you did...

...and the arrow that should have hit him hit you instead.

He won't forget that terrible noise, followed by the thump of your body dropping on the ground. Seconds turned into eternity as he spun around and saw you, clutching the arrow in your chest. He didn't even notice how your fellow soldiers went after the bowman right after as he knelt down. The world seemed to go silent, interrupted only by the sound of you struggling to breathe. There were tears in your eyes and your hands trembled like they never did before. But it wasn't fear of death he saw in your eyes. It was regret.

And then you spoke. It was hard to understand... but he managed. You finally confessed. How much you admired him, and how his very presence made your days brighter. How you loved all his little quirks, and just... everything about him. How much it hurt that you were so close and yet so far. And then you just... apologized and begged him to forgive you for such dishonorable thoughts. But that if you were to die that day, you wanted to die with nothing left unsaid.

He remembers how your hands were still warm when he gently took them into his, realizing with horror that... he didn't want to let you go either. When did you become so important to him, and more importantly, why didn't he realize it sooner?! In his mind, he cursed whatever god made him so oblivious.

But on the outside, he simply shook his head.

"There is nothing to apologize for. I couldn't stop such a feeling even if I wanted to. But I don't. So please... keep it close, until we meet again. And then let me share it."

He still doesn't know how he spoke so calmly. Perhaps he hoped that those tears would stop running down your face, or that the wound in your chest would close with his comforting words. But all he got was a look of relief, before you took a last, shaky breath.

He looks up at the clouds lazily drifting above him, letting the memories flow. He hears birds chirping in the distance, and a white butterfly lands on the nearby flowers.

If only you could enjoy this scenery with him.

---

Whew, finally finished it! Many apologies for the delay. I felt super burnt out because of schoolwork, and these imagines gave me a bit of trouble.

Originally, Motonari was supposed to be here too (so the stories would be two scenarios where the reader lives, and two where they due), but after I wrote almost a 1000 words, I decided I hate it and that I need to practice writing him more before I do any scenarios with him lol. Our cold-hearted tactician will get his spotlight later, don't worry!

I have two more requests lined up right now, so I'll get to work again tomorrow.

Thanks for reading, and as always...

...have a spectacular day!

#sengoku basara #senbasa #ishida mitsunari #mitsunari ishida #magoichi saika #saika magoichi #takeda shingen #shingen takeda #senbasa fanfic #senbasa imagines #i am so sorry for bullying mitsunari like that but it's so easy #not me making myself sad by writing these

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aprettyspy · 1 year

Text

@fluffbruary Day 2 for the prompt 'trace'. Benoit Blanc comes home to his husband Phillip after his weekend at the Thrombeys

Voracious Mind

Phillip stared at the envelope of cash occupying the exact center point of his kitchen island. Two days ago he had dug out a tape measure from the depths of the hallway cupboard, finding it buried between a pair of en point shoes and a broken tennis racket. The wad of cash was exactly 2 ¾ " high and had been delivered three days previously. It remained sat in its unmarked, plain brown envelope. Benoit had opened it, read the accompanying note and thrown it all down where it still rested.

Not given to superstition as a general rule, something about this mysterious wad of cash made Phillip nervous. It was too much of a coincidence that it's delivery had occurred just 45 minutes after their ancient and dilapidated water heating system had finally given up with an impressive explosion that had brought with it a portion of their kitchen ceiling. As much as they both loved this apartment, it was bloody expensive to maintain.

Given that his husband had dashed out the door only a few hours later, and had sent exactly one text message since (It seems this case revolves around the name Hugh, my darling, but what a terrible name!), Phillip's hackles were well and truly risen.

His best attempts to distract himself with work, walks and a very long call to his daughter back in England had not worked. He was on guard, expecting something. He just couldn't pinpoint what.

He decided to assuage his building anxiety through the tried and tested medium of vigorous cleaning. He was head down, scrubbing the bath (when he did get home, Benoit would want to use it) and, yet again, resolved to replace these dark tiles when he heard the door slam.

"Darlin? Phil, darlin, you home?"

Phillip whipped off his cleaning pinny and tried to smooth his hair as he dashed down the hall in relief to have Benoit home safely.

"There you are my beautiful boy! My God but I've had some weekend!"

Phillip helped Benoit ease off his heavy wool coat and headed for the kettle.

Already down to his braces (twenty years in America and Phillip would never call them 'suspenders') and shirt sleeves, Benoit paced, pulling the braces down off his shoulders

"They were just the most terrible people, that Thrombey family, just awful. They were so rude to Marta - oh, did I tell you about Marta? Just the loveliest creature, you would adore her, we must invite her up, oh thank you-" Benoit took the tea Phillip handed him, "and just awful to one another." He shuddered at the memory.

Phillip took up his customary spot on the middle of the sofa. It was always like this after a case. Benoit's head processed and stored everything he had learned and he liked to do his expounding while on the move. His monologue continued uninterrupted, except by sips of tea. When that was finished, Benoit began to undo his shirt buttons. Phillip watched, knowing it was nearly his moment to step in. He had learned long ago that this exposition could wind his husband up even more, leading to a night of sleepless tossing and turning in the bed, followed by pacing and eventually a cigar on the terrace.

"Benoit." Phillip called softy. It went unheeded and the pacing continued, shirt now thrown to the sofa.

"- not one word of their Mother, not a single photograph in all that clutter-"

"Blanc!" Louder and more commanding. Benoit stopped and looked at his husband, eyebrows raised.

"Sit." Phillip ordered, indicating the floor between his legs where he sat on the sofa.

Benoit sat, relaxed back against the sofa and breathed deeply. "I'm sorry, darlin', they did infuriate me so."

"I know, but shush now." Phillip began to knead at his husband's tense shoulders. His strong musculature resisted the massage at first but Phillip persisted. He pushed Benoit to sit forward slightly and began working systematically down the muscles on either side of his husband's spine. As he worked, he listened to the evening out of breath, sensed the quieting of that extraordinary, voracious mind. Phillip used his index finger to trace back up Benoit's spine from lower back to the base of his skull and returned to work on the shoulders. Benoit's huge sigh let out all the stresses of the case. Phillip's own, private Benoit was back home with him again.

Phillip rested his forehead on his husband's now pliable broad shoulder.

"We need to go and buy a new water heater, love."

#fluffbruary 2023 #daniel craig #queer benoit blanc #benoit blanc/phillip #benoit blanc fanfic #fluff #knives out

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xaharadesert · 5 months

Text

Kidnapped MC Turned Bandit Leader — Headcanon Pt 2

Portia Devorak x MC

A/N: every time someone sends me an ask anonymously I get to neglect it for months without guilt :) please let me know if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes!

🧡Portia🧡

Absolutely inconsolable when you first went missing

This woman is not afraid to cry whenever she has too many emotions, which is perfectly healthy, aside from the fact that she was constantly dehydrated from the consistent tears

She feels useless since she’s pretty much stuck in Vesuvia waiting for her more powerful friends to help find you

A lot of time is spent pacing around the palace grounds (Nadia, of course, gave her time off) and unintentionally scaring off anyone who didn’t know her (when she wasn’t crying, she looked like she was gonna punch someone)

Fortunately for Portia, she has more healthy coping mechanisms than most of the people around her, and plenty of friends to help her through hard times

Although she never once gave up hope that you would come back, she got back to work pretty quickly and kept busy

She also decided that when you did get back, the two of you would need to celebrate

Honestly, she knew she was steering more into delusion with that last one, but she needed something positive to look forward to

If she couldn’t control any part of the search for you, then she could at least control what would happen when you got back

Luckily for Portia, her naive daydreams actually paid off when you suddenly returned a few months after your disappearance

It was Julian who alerted her to your presence at the Rowdy Raven, having sprinted all the way to her cottage when he first spotted you (he sprinted back to the tavern with her too, so he was thoroughly out of breath and wheezing on the floor for a good ten minutes when they returned)

Portia had spent a good deal of time thinking up a variety of opening lines for when she first saw you again, with a few options for each of the dozens of circumstances

But really, when she saw you, all of that left her head and she once again burst into tears

Doesn’t matter if you were sitting, standing, or dancing: Portia barrelled into you at speeds that even professional sprinters would be astonished by

It might have been a little painful for the both of you, but frankly Portia was so happy to see you that she didn’t even care

Absolutely no coherent sentences were exchanged; the two of you just sat on the floor, clinging to each other while she sobbed

Now, at this point your bandit gang was probably a bit curious, but respectfully kept their distance

Portia didn’t really notice, given that she didn’t care about anything other than the fact that you were back, and you were apparently okay

But it would definitely be a topic of discussion between you and Portia, as well as you and your gang, later

Portia wouldn’t calm down for the rest of the night— all plans for a celebration forgotten— so you would inevitably return to your shared home with a promise to your new friends to find them the following morning

Portia insisted that you have some homemade food, and wrapped you in blankets to cuddle

She sat beside you, really just basking in the fact that you were home

Eventually, she dozed off, and the two of you were stuck on the couch for the rest of the night

So waking up was a little painful, with sore muscles and faces puffy

But it was more than worth it to still be together

Breakfast came first, per Portia’s orders, but the conversation about where you had been came shortly after

Portia was torn between being mad, since you definitely could have come home sooner, and being astonished by your adventures

To her credit, she sat and listened with more patience than she had ever used in her life

And the first question out of her mouth was “when can I meet them?”

The “them” in question was your new gang of bandits that you were apparently now leading

Being one of the more open minded people in Vesuvia (not to mention being Julian’s sister), Portia was more than willing to give all of your new friends a fair chance before passing judgement on them

Although, she may have already been slightly biased since she was still pissed that you hadn’t come back sooner

But she could talk to you about that properly later

For now, it was time to learn all about your new life, and how exactly she could fit into it

And, yes, she would be fitting into it, because you had just become 20x cooler and there was no way she was ever letting you go now

#the arcana #arcana #the arcana game #the arcana headcanon #the arcana hc #Portia devorak #Portia arcana #Portia headcanon #Portia hc #Portia x mc #portia x apprentice

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canyon-tale · 1 year

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I feel like I'm asking too much I'M SORRY I just love this AU ;; I got some new questions, I think these would be like less paragraph and more easy answers to not bother you-

• Do Dream and Nightmare preen their wings from time to time? Taking in mind they have feathers instead of membrane

• Where did Epic and Cross meet?

• Is there an Error equivalent? And is he involved into the gang?

• How does the gang (mainly Cross, since you mentioned he lived with them) react to humans? Did Cross stop trusting them after the war with X!Gaster and them?

Never worry about sending in asks! They always make my day and they're honestly the best for me to collect the jumbled info I have in my brain and finally get it out without delaying it. So asks are really appreciated, feel free to send in as many as you like XD

Also you underestimate my ability to ramble! The answer to the Epic one turned long since I haven’t really talked about Epic’s place in the au until now and he’s actually one of my favs 👀

Answers under the cut!

• Do Dream and Nightmare preen their wings from time to time? Taking in mind they have feathers instead of membrane Dream is the only one with feathers but yes, he does preen them and he loves to get help with it! It a very nice bonding activity for him, and something I can see the Stars doing together a lot~

• Where did Epic and Cross meet? Epic and Cross technically meet for the first time twice! The very first time was in the XTale version before the current one, in which Cross was actually a completely normal Guardian covered fully with mostly black scales. The meetings were mostly between their respective Gasters but they ended up striking up a friendship that was progressing into something more, until Xtale once again reset and the new version of Cross remembered nothing of Epic until much later.

The second time is when the current version of Cross is kind of between factions. Dream has been trying to convince Cross to join his side as Cross grows less vengeful over his past, which eventually leads him to lose his Carnage claim. This in turn leads to Nightmare growing distrustful of Cross, eventually ordering the others to kill him as he's convinced the guardian has joined Dream's side.

Cross manages to escape, mostly due to Dust sparing him, and he ends up traveling between aus to stay hidden. It's during these travels where he eventually bumps into Epic, who at first doesn't recognize him but slowly connects the dots and figures out who he is. Epic himself is gathering intel from different aus and makes that his main excuse to tag along with Cross while trying to reconnect.

Cross is at first put off with having someone who knows a past version of him following him around, but eventually grows curious and closer with Epic. During this Cross is trying to decide who's side he's really on in the battle between Nightmare and Dream, still holding some loyalty to Night despite everything but also feeling a strong sense of trust towards Dream. Epic is a nice distraction from those troubling thoughts.

After everything, when Nightmare and Dream temporarily defeats the Stalker (impossible to defeat a god completely, but it got them off their tails for a while) and calls a tentative truce, Cross joins Nightmare again but also helps out the Stars when he can. Between that he also visits Epic who he quickly starts to see as his best friend, and someone he can keep to himself without all the drama between his flights, so it takes quite some time for the others to clue into their connection. Cross never quite remembers Epic from the point of view of his past self, he has some small memories and recollections, but not a lot. Epic never tells Cross that they were growing to be more than friends in the past, not wanting to influence Cross' feeling for him, but they do eventually reach that point in their friendship again <3

• Is there an Error equivalent? And is he involved into the gang? Yes there is! Error is part of Nightmare's flight, but he's rarely seen around the others in the beginning. He's a demi-god like Nightmare, but through a gifted claim rather than by blood. He's around Nightmare's size but can and will regulate his size to what he finds the most comfortable or convenient. He is also Nightmare's first mate, something that no one catches onto for the longest time and which pretty much makes Killer see him as a rival for a time (Killer was very determined to become Night's first mate, only to have his hopes crushed when he realized he already had one. It left him quite bitter with Error for a while!) Error also bit off one of Nightmare's tails off when they first met, which is why big void corrupt Night only has three tails instead of four!

• How does the gang (mainly Cross, since you mentioned he lived with them) react to humans? Did Cross stop trusting them after the war with X!Gaster and them? Generally speaking most of them dislike or are down right hostile towards humans since basically all of them have had bad past experiences. Cross is probably the most tolerable out of them all, he will act friendly or neutral but still have a hard time shaking off his distrust for them. He and Nightmare are the only ones who can fluently speak, write, and read the human language. I actually imagine that Cross would know more of the human language and struggle with draconic writing/reading, and easily stumble over his words at times. Killer, Dust, and Horror prefer to avoid humans and will attack without hesitation if they think they, or anyone in their flight, is being threatened.

#cross sans #epic sans #nightmare sans #dream sans #error sans #dragon!cross #dragon!epic #dragon!dream #dragon!nightmare #dragon!error #utmv dragon au

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whoredmode · 5 months

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ok well my eyes are glazing over from working on my big post so i’m gonna take a break and talk about my AU: santo ileso blues. it’s definitely a vague rewrite of the reboot, but i also took some inspiration from total control and undercover, of all things. something about the boss just disappearing and the saints having internal issues without them there is just really fascinating to me. anyway stuff is absolutely subject to change but this is the general plot outline i have rn.

so it opens on the end of the LoP story. autumn 2012. anteros has a decision to make: kill eric gryphon now, or let him live and hear him out. the actual canon decision is the latter. anteros lowers his gun and they talk, and this leads into the saints becoming an ultor-owned brand and into srtt.

in this AU, though, anteros decides to kill him.

he shoots eric through the head. the gunshot alerts jamie, who calls the masako, and anteros kills her too as she attempts to run. anteros must escape now, though, as the masako are closing in. he gets out, and as if on cue, troy pulls up and tells him to get in the car. they get out, barely, and begin to stockpile and pack all the cash and weapons they have. anteros has just set off something he may not be able to come back from. everything is about to come out: the truth about the relationships between the saints and ultor, between anteros and troy, and the things ultor’s been planning that the public is unaware of.

anteros is in a bad state of mind at this point, having just murdered the man who, whether he’d admit it or not, was giving him some semblance of guidance. he doesn’t know what to do. he’s so lost. he comes to the decision to just run. in some ways, he already knows this is the wrong choice, but the feeling of regret weighs so heavily on his mind. he can’t bear to look at the saints. what kind of leader is he? he can’t do anything without the words of someone else, without a superior to take orders from. so he and troy pack the car and leave before things begin to really blow up.

that night, already hours away from stilwater, anteros calls johnny on a burner phone. they’ve been wondering where he is, hearing that eric’s dead and seeing the masako crawling all over the ultor district and surrounding areas. anteros just apologizes to johnny, tells him he knows he’ll do a better job than he ever could, and hangs up. anteros breaks the phone. he and troy continue their escape.

back in stilwater, johnny is now leader. however, at this point, johnny’s still been dealing with his own issues following the still-recent death of aisha. he’s been a lot more volatile, driven by intense anger and grief. and now he’s suddenly in charge of the saints. something he didn’t ask for. pierce and shaundi try their best to offer help, but it doesn’t end up going over too well as none of them really know what to do. they aren’t sure why anteros has disappeared, nor do they realize what’s about to happen.

they turn on the TV to try to calm down for minute, but upon seeing the news they realize what’s been done. the story is still developing, but things are becoming clear through documents and photos in eric’s possession. the extent of the saints’ dealings with ultor is now public, the relationship between troy and anteros, the undisclosed work ultor’s been doing with their weapons manufacturing, and even with vague info being released about dex now, it’s clear just how much anteros had been hiding from them.

so in my canon, STAG was a part of ultor, and now with things in even more disarray, the remaining board members of ultor make the decision to release them earlier than planned. this obviously ends up triggering a war between ultor/STAG and the saints, similar to what eventually happens in the srtt rewrite, but to a somewhat different degree. it’s not a full city lockdown, but rather a targeted attack on the saints in an effort to get rid of them to improve their image (their PR department ofc already spinning all this shit as entirely the saints’ fault).

johnny ends up getting killed. shaundi and pierce try to save him but can’t, barely getting out of there in time to save themselves. this marks a stark change in shaundi especially. she wants to avenge johnny, and that means finding and killing anteros.

meanwhile in steelport (yes they’re involved in this too), the syndicate has been keeping an eye on stilwater. with the saints potentially being eradicated, this will open up another power vacuum for them to fill. however, some time around 2014 or so, kiki and viola succeed in their mission to kill loren and dex. killbane takes over the syndicate, and the twins leave as they have no personal connection to the organization. however, when they return to ultor, the company does not have the money to pay them in full. furious for not getting their earnings after having been on this mission for years, they decide to track down anteros. he’s the one who started this chain reaction, so he should be the one to pay them back.

over 10 years have passed since anteros and troy fled stilwater. they ended up in santo ileso, living out in the desert minding their business. keeping quiet. anteros has become an extremely sought-after hitman. he’s good at what he does. unlike how he was to those who knew him before, anteros is a quiet, foreboding presence in santo ileso. his face remains hidden behind a violet bandana, and his visage is that of a grim reaper. originally he did his work the old-fashioned way, but as the times changed, so did he. the wanted app exists, but it’s an unofficial app you have to jailbreak your phone to use. anyone involved in anything illegal in santo ileso has access to it in some way.

kevin, neenah, and eli are all still roommates. kevin and neenah are part of their respective gangs, while eli is a corporate law student. they get along well, and even consider each other friends, but i still want an obvious wall between them because of the different gangs and just generally different circles they’re in. i’ll talk about the changes i’ve made to the gangs and gang dynamics in a different post bc there’s several i’ve made. but regardless, they’ve all heard rumors about anteros since they’ve lived here forever, but they’ve never encountered him. he’s almost like an urban legend. however, since he’s never actually bothered the gangs in santo ileso and operates as his own thing, they’ve never had a reason to find him. but all that to say, the three still occasionally struggle with money. and that eventually leads into kevin and neenah deciding (without the other realizing) to take jobs on the wanted app.

so it’s the 2020s, and shaundi and pierce have finally figured out that anteros has to be somewhere in the southwest. santo ileso and its surrounding areas specifically. similarly, kiki and viola have also figured the same. however, with anteros and troy having made roots in the city for a decade now, they hear about shaundi and pierce’s arrival through their own underground connections. and, perhaps, anteros has his own connections to the nahualli, someone else who’s also like a myth in the city.

so anteros puts shaundi and pierce on the wanted app for an insanely high reward. kevin and neenah see these listings independently of each other, and decide to go for it. kevin was tracking pierce, neenah was tracking shaundi. they converge in the middle of the day, about to attack their respective target. but they’re shocked to see each other, and their confusion gives shaundi and pierce the upper hand. shaundi and pierce decide to kidnap them, because if they recognize their faces, clearly they know something about anteros. but then they just learn about the wanted app, but it’s a start. who else would put them there but him?

so that’s the basic outline of the plot. shaundi and pierce using kevin, neenah, and eventually eli to help them track down anteros, who is pretty much a ghost in santo ileso. eventually the twins get involved bc they’re looking for him too. there’s more internal drama as kevin and neenah have to deal with the fact they’re working things that could arguably be used to benefit their gang and not helping them, but i can go over that more when i talk about the specific gangs themselves.

#santo ileso blues au tag

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corruptratcat · 2 years

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Mikoto Kayano x gn!reader || A nice little date

Taking a stroll as you watched your legs move, still cautiously looking at your path as Mikoto held to your hand, feeling his soft hand as it held to yours gently. There was the sound of the wind accompanying you but still feeling the warmth of Mikoto in a way "Ah, we're here," Mikoto stopped at a boba shop, "It's your first time here, correct?" You nodded in response as Mikoto opened the door entering in.

He lead you to the counter, there were only a few customers ordering their drinks as you look up at the menu, there were so many bobas to choose from you were overwhelmed by the amount. Tapping Mikoto's shoulder as his head turned to you "Hm?", You point at the menu as Mikoto turns to the menu

"Oh, can't decide? Well, what about the most popular boba, black milk tea, if that's okay." Mikoto looks back at you "Sure," You moved a little closer to him.

"Usual please, oh and black milk tea as well, medium." While Mikoto was ordering you glanced around the area surrounding you, seeing the mostly white and pastel brown dominate the colors with comfy chairs from what you can see "Let's have a seat while they prepare our bobas," Mikoto went on to move and sit on a chair as you followed from behind and sat next to him on a high stool.

"So you go here a lot, like a lot, correct me if I'm wrong." You take a look at Mikoto casually tapping the table with his finger

"Oh yeah, I guess I do, well a lot of course," Mikoto giggled "Well, this is where I usually sat at, not sure why I did since there's much more comfortable places to sit but it's like..." Mikoto stared blankly at the ceiling

"Like what?"

"Like home, well not really but y'know even if there's a better place to well, I think you get the point." Mikoto was still staring at the ceiling as you rest your elbow on the table tilting your head to rest on your hand grabbing Mikoto's attention as you stare into his eyes as there's eye contact between you two, for a few seconds, just that.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Mikoto still deeply staring into your eyes.

"Can't I not appreciate how cute you look?" You smirked at him as you saw him look down, a tint of pink seen on his face

"Kayano's order, please grab your drinks here!" A person on the counter as he waved his hand, the counter had two drinks, obviously the drinks you and Mikoto had ordered "Well, seems that I'll have to grab our bobas first." Mikoto then stood up to walk over to the counter as you looked at the window, seeing drops of water start to fall.

Mikoto eventually approaches you as he placed a boba on the table, which you took since it's obviously yours as Mikoto hands you a straw and you took it as well. Mikoto sits at his seat and then breaks the middle area of the top with the straw as he starts drinking it. You copy what he did, pointing the sharp area of the straw and break the area where you fit the straw in.

"Oh, it's raining outside." Mikoto sighed as you start to sip on the straw

"Mhm," You replied as you start sipping the boba faster as you stop, placing the boba on the counter for a moment to go through your bag "Well, luckily I brought an umbrella," You close your bag as you take the boba and continue drinking it.

---

Both of you finish your bobas disposing them in a trashcan as you get your umbrella ready, "I'll carry the umbrella," Mikoto insisted as you nod your head handing him the umbrella as he goes outside and opens it, you join in as both of you walk.

"You can't deny, the rain is beautiful sometimes," Mikoto looks at the drops of water as his hand reaches out to feel a drop fall on the tip of his finger "Well uhh, not as beautiful as you right?" Mikoto tried to sound confident as he hears you giggle "Was it too cheesy?" Mikoto laughed it off as well.

"No, no, it's fine," You smile at him as you go on to go home after this nice little date.

#milgram x reader #milgram #mikoto kayano x reader #mikoto kayano #xreader #x reader

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megatraven · 1 year

Note

Prime and MC headcanons? ^-^

YES!!!!!

At first, Prime really can't stand MC. She doesn't notice right away that MC has Hera's potential, so she thinks she's just a human sticking her nose where it doesn't belong.

When she does realize though- following a wonderful display of MC being badass but also getting hurt because of it- she decides MC might be worth her salt, and it'd be a good bargaining chip in the future to keep her around. She won't reveal that MC is Hera right away.

The two of them grow closer now that Prime isn't intent on pushing her away and keeping her down. She starts to enjoy MC's company... but also begins to feel a little guilty about the secret she's keeping.

And the closer they get- first kiss, the first night they stay the night at MC's apartment, the first 'i love you's- the worse the guilt becomes. (Side note: MC says it first, and it forces Prime to re-evaluate her own feelings)

Eventually it comes out that Prime knows she's Hera's reincarnation, and MC is devastated. Their arguments, which had been few and far between leading up to this, pick back up, except this time it's MC on the attack, refusing to cooperate if she doesn't absolutely have to.

Prime apologizes and explains herself, the guilt she'd been feeling about keeping it secret for so long, but she also promises to protect it now, and more specifically, she promises to protect her.

It's a miserable time, but they wind up making up with one another, though MC makes her promise: no more secrets between them. Prime agrees with haste.

Yada yada Typhon finds out about MC having Hera's potential, and then reveals it to the gods in an attempt to get what he wants out of it, they defeat him and Prime becomes King of the monsters, etc, etc.

(Season 2 would be the Typhon and Hera reveal, Season 3 would be dealing with Echidna in the fallout and maybe befriending the gang?)

ANYWAYS

more to the point of headcanons:

-Prime is very openly affectionate when she actually has someone she cares about as she does MC, and she has NO shame whatsoever, she's all for public makeout sessions. She loves getting MC to blush, and loves flustering her even more

-MC is often caught staring at Prime, but to be fair to her, Prime is very hard to miss

-Once they become Official(tm), MC practically earns the respect of every monster in New York overnight

-Prime is 100% obsessed with MC's baking. Or really, anything MC makes. She's an amateur cook herself, she can make a simple meal or dessert, but she'd much rather watch MC be in her element.

-MC convinces Prime to watch her favorite TV shows, and Prime winds up just as invested if not more than MC

-Lots of MC sitting in her lap

-Lots of MC straddling her

-Prime is definitely more dominant-leaning in the bedroom, but hey, she knows how to take an order, too

-Prime can and will refer to MC as her own personal goddess

-They're a very touchy couple, especially when they're out, and especially when they're in the Boarback. Prime wants to make sure there's no doubt among any of the monsters that MC is hers; she is a little possessive, but MC finds it endearing more often than not

I could talk about Prime and MC all day but I'll go ahead and stop here 😳�� thank you for giving me a reason to talk about them

#lovestruck voltage #lovestruck #astoria: fate's kiss #astoria #chimera prime #prime x mc #prime #afk mc

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annon-guy2 · 8 months

Text

Video Game Idea - Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World Revised Edition Character Bios

Emil is a young boy who lost his parents in the Blood Purge thay occurred in the Port City of Palmacosta. He has a naive personality and an innocence that leads him to believe anything he's told. Generally a coward, he's not successful in anything that requires a great force of will. He possesses a great hatred for Lloyd, the one responsible for killing his parents.

Certain circumstances lead him to swear a contract to protect Marta as a Knight of Ratatosk. As a result, he can call upon the power of the Summon Spirit Ratatosk during battle, which causes him to act as a cruel and unforgiving warrior. It would pain him to see the vast difference between the person he was and the person he's become.

==============================

Marta is a young girl who lost her mother when Lloyd's party sent the Great Tree into chaos two years ago. She has a mysterious jewel known as "Ratatosk's Core" implanted in her forehead. Determined and unafraid to make her voice known, she is not satisfied unless she can think of things in absolutes due to her bad habit of seeing the world in terms of black and white.

She thinks of Emil, who saved her, as a knight in shing armor, and has decided that his typically cowardly and passive attitude are simply modesty that hides his true strength. She hates Colette, who killed her mother, and Lloyd, who attacked Palmacosta.

==============================

A Centurion who accompanies Marta, Tenebrae controls darkness. Though he seems composed and serious, he does have some humanlike traits, including and appreciation for humor. He is also know for making rather "spiteful" comments as well.

==============================

Richter is a young man currently searching for Ratatosk's Core for unknown reasons. Sarcastic to a point, he is relentless in the pursuit of his goal. He meets Emil on his questnto find Ratatosk's Core, and while he's disgusted to see such a cowardly character and passive attitude from him, he puts himself at his service.

Clearly, there must be some reason for this...

==============================

The Centurion who controls water, Aqua's talkative nature clashes with Tenebrae's taciturn demeanor. For reasons only known to her, Aqua sympathies with Richter's situation and has turned against Ratatosk to fight as his side.

==============================

Despite her innocent appearance, Alice possesses an extremely sadistic personality and a desire for power. She leads the Vanguard's combat unit, using the monsters she controls to fight for her.

She too seeks Ratatosk's Core, but doesn't particularly mind if she has to kill Marta, who she hates for reasons unknown, in order to do so.

She is rearly seen without her three most notable monsters, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. All three named after the heroes from the story of the 'Three Musketeers.'

==============================

The leader of thr Vanguard's espionage unit, Decus is madly in love with Alice, following her wherever she goes and willing to do anything for her, even at the expense of his own person. Due to his overly intense personality, this love for the combat unit captain manifests as stalker-like behavior.

His most notably, and infamous, "trademark" is his mail ordered cologne Eau De Seduction, which smells really awful and yet... Decus doesn't seem to think so somehow.

==============================

Colette is the Chosen of Regeneration and was the one who planted the new World Tree alongside Lloyd. As such, this makes Colette either a hero or an enemy to the citizens of the New World. Regardless of how others see her, Colette never gets down and never loses faith in Lloyd. Together, with Lloyd, Colette aims to set the world back on its track toward regeneration.

Currently, she seems to be searching for Lloyd after losing contact with him some time ago. This eventually leads her to Asgard, where she has a chance encounter with two young teenagers...

==============================

Raine was Lloyd and Colette's teacher and is also the older sister of Genis Sage. As a half-elf, life is not easy for Raine. Along with her younger brother, Raine sets out to trynand make the world a better place for half-elves, but when she learns about Lloyd's actions during the Blood Purge in Palmacosta, she decides to track him down.

Despite her occasional pragmatic outlook, Raine is calm, nurturing woman who cares deeply for those around her.

==============================

Genis in Raine's younger brother. As a close friend of Lloyd's, Genis is concerned about his recent actions and is adamant about tracking him down with his sister.

Genis may be young, but he has grown a lot since his last journey with Lloyd and Colette. Genis is feisty and eager to fight and alongside his sister, is a valuable member of any team.

==============================

When it comes to Sheena's assets, there is more than meets the eye. Sheen is the successor to the Chief of Mizuho and, as such, she has a full fleet of ninjas at her command. Sheena is a skilled fighter, as well as a summoner of thr Summon Spirits of the world. Sheens is a bit clumsy and has a fiery temper when she is not getting the respect she deserves.

Like the rest of her friends, Sheena is searching for Lloyd and wonders what has become of him.

==============================

Zelos, like Colette, is a Chosen One from days past. Where Colette is Sylvarant's Chosen, Zelos is the Chosen for Tethe'alla.

Zelos lives a carefree life and rarely takes anything seriously. Zelos has no interest in Emil, but for Marta he will do anything. In the presence of a beautiful lady, his true nature comes out, as he is quite the ladies man.

He also has a younger sister, Seles Wilder, who he cherishes dearly and will protect her at any cost. Zelos is also searching for Lloyd, who he trusts more than anyone, and is willing to defend his friend's good name from those who accuse him.

==============================

Presea may look like a young girl, but her appearance mearly disguises her adult maturity. Presea os currently working for Regal, hoping to rebuild her hometown of Ozette while continuing her work of woodcrafting and making special good luck charms.

Presea eventually comes to Emil and Marta's aid during a desperate time of need and proves to be a literal lifesaver.

==============================

Regal was once falsely imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Reluctant to break any laws or go against the system, Regal calmly and willfully serve his sentence.

Now a free man and as chairman of the Lorenzo Company, Regal is of high society, yet is uncorrupted by its greed and temptations. Regal's generosity knows no bounds and he is always willing to lend a helping hand.

==============================

Sometime after reuniting the two worlds and helping Colette plant the new World Tree, Lloyd Irving has gone off on a quest to collect Exspheres to ensure that they are never misused again for evil again.

However, Lloyd, in the name of the Church of Martel, is apparently responsible for the Blood Purge that killed many people in Palmacosta and as of now, has not given any explanation or his side of the story.

Currently, he is after the Centurion Cores for some unknown reason, even stealing the Centurion of Light's core in the process. This, along with the fact that he attacked Palmacosta, makes him Emil and Marta's enemy.

The question remains is why he would do such horrible things? Did he really commit these crimes or is there more to the story then Lloyd is willing to let on?

#Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World #Emil Castagnier #Marta Lualdi #Tenebrae #Richter Abend #Aqua #Alice #Decus #Colette Brunel #Raine Sage #Genis Sage #Sheena Fujibayashi #Zelos Wilder #Presea Combatir #Regal Bryant #Lloyd Irving #Video Game Idea

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transskywardsword · 7 months

Note

Continuing on from my last ask!! Btw I'm so very happy that you're okay with me infodumping and talking about Zelda, I just love this silly lil series sm <33

But, I totally agree with you on the idea that the royal family killed or just drove out the majority of the gerudo around the time of twilight princess. My reasoning for this is that in the child era timeline, Ganondorf's future plans against hyrule were exposed by oot link and zelda, leading to further persecution towards the gerudo. When hyrule learned of Ganondorf's traitorous ways, they instead just decided to deal with the gerudo as a whole, and that's why they're completely absent from the game. Also, I believe the gerudo and twili offer an extremely interesting parallel as both societies that suffered at the hand of hyrule :) as well as the whole 'we will continously punish those who are innocent and those who try to fight back against our tyranny' lmao.

And I have a good couple of ideas about the second Hyrulean Civil War!! Basically, the gerudo were completely innocent in this conflict and had only barely begun recovering when Ganondorf's future crimes had been uncovered. This led to another wave of war across hyrule that eventually also dragged the sheikah's actions to the light! But the sheikah are celebrated for their, well, war crimes, despite how much the entire tride hates their current standing amongst the royal family. In the events of the hyrule warriors time period, I like to imagine that the sheikah act as more of secret police instead of having an actual place in the army. They're still responsible for a large amount of the dark underbelly that war entailes and help take care of it in order to keep the royal families' pristine reputation. The gerudo cannot even be seen as fellow members of hyrule, thus the sheikah's true purpose is carefully kept under wraps while heralding their loyalty to the royal family.

I do like to believe that this is also the time period where the tensions between the sheikah and the royal family are beginning to reach a boiling point <3 they're extremely, EXTREMELY tired of being the scapegoats of the royal families dark intentions for hyrule and they'd like Out of all that shit, thank you very much lmao.

One key detail that I think is very interesting between hyrule and the gerudo is their approach towards fate and the destiny that they're forever intertwined with. One fascinating detail of the child era timeline is that fate is a very well known thing! It's not just some figurative fairytale, it's extremely real, and hyrule simply carries the glory of being able to write its story as they were the victors. Hyrule holds the fate in high esteem and holds an extremely strict rigidity towards following it, you cannot question, avoid, or attempt to bend your fate, to do so means harming hyrule and its people!

But, the gerudo have a very different approach to fate. Personally, I like to believe that the gerudo believe much more in the idea of fighting against fate and choosing your own path. Nothing is set in stone, such as the desert sand, time and fate often move in mysterious ways. The gerudo also hold fighting for oneself and people in very high esteem because of this, as well as believing that one can raise themselves back up from ruin. Fate is not set in stone and they are not painted in the same colors as the king that once ruled over them, they will rise above that legacy, there is no other option.

But onto Link!! I actually think recruitment efforts have been going on ever since he was only a toddler, but obviously, he was way too young to be drafted. For several years, the royal family was only ordering that adults and older teenagers be drafted into the budding hyrulean army, so at first- no one believed that Link would even have to serve any time until he was much, much older. But, as tensions worsened towards the gerudo and there were rumors of another gerudo king... there was a sudden drive to find the hero of prophecy. The princess and hero are always the same age, and Zelda is only about... 12 or 13 at this time? So they begin drafting younger and younger until Link, at only age 12, is recruited into the hyrulean army. And tbh? :( literally just my own headcanon here, but I don't think hw link had much, if any, family.

He was moreso raised by the entire village, but never really felt like he had a family that he could call his own. But nonetheless, tales of the goddesses, of Hylia, of fate and destiny, were things that he was very accustomed to from a young age. Despite that, Link never wanted to be drafted as he didn't want to leave the little bit of home that he felt like he had :( even if he felt distant from everyone else, it was still his and he didn't want to leave. Which makes it worse as I believe some of the village people would try to make it better by telling him that it was an honor to serve the royal family! It's an honor to fight and protect Hyrule! You must serve Hyrule, you have no choice.

Link didn't want to go as the unknown was terrifying, as was the world outside that had done nothing but promise him pain. It's not so much as Link DOESN'T want to learn how to fight, he's very much wants to protect what he cares about, he's just well aware from a young age that he has no control in the matter. The lack of control bothers him as well as the fear of everything leaving him behind and being drafted to a castle that he's never seen in his entire life! He doesn't want to go, and he really shouldn't, but the royal family is desperate and is actively trying to find the hero in a sea of similar young boys.

And yeaaaahhhhhhh hyrule and the gerudo are so busy going after each others necks that they don't even realize that they're not the true enemies of this story <33 Cia is an approaching storm that none of them are even prepared to approach! Rip the royal family, except for Zelda, I guess!

And yes I love 'gerudo raising link' fics!! I'm currently reading one rn of Ganondorf raising Link and it's been very fun so far :]] more than anything though, I just love the idea of lil itty bitty hw link being sent to the gerudo with a sheikah guide by his side and he's just, >:[ he's so grumpy that the chief immediately takes a shine to him LMAO one son boy allowed <333

(also hw Ganondorf totally isn't in hiding rn shhhuusshhhhhh he's totally not having a fucking Moment after realizing that the hero of prophecy JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE THE ONE IN GERUDO TOWN RIGHT THIS SECOND-)

(HE'S NOT MAD, NO, HE'S NOT. HE TOTALLY ISN'T GONNA TRY TO LEAD THE KID INTO THE DESERT SO HE'LL DIE, ONLY FOR THE KID TO SOMEHOW FUCKING FIND HIM ??? ??? ??)

SO sorry i took twenty million years to answer this, i got wrapped up in spider/fly and forgot about it T.T

love that we're on the same page abt twilight princess' lack of gerudo. i went into more detail in the ask abt the sheikah/gerudo about my thoughts on the gerudo in tp and i loooove getting to compare our ideas.

and yessss everything on the sheikah feels so right, you get it!!! the sheikah have done so much dirty work and they hate it, all of it, but you can't undo the past. good for them, wanting to fuck over the hylian gov, they deserve a little violence

the idea of the gerudo wanting to fight fate and choose their own path with the context of ganondorf is so, so interesting, i love it. also, "Nothing is set in stone, such as the desert sand" is a raw line omg.

and link didn't want ot leave the little family he had OWWWW and the villagers trying ot make it better by taking away his choice *clutches heart* his tie to control and agency and how he's never had it (and now never will) just kills meeee

and ganondorf just at a loss with this small hero child who is riGHT THERE?? RIGHT?? THERE?? is a wonderful image <3

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creampuffqueen · 2 years

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incoherent amphibia headcanons

it's my interpretation about what happened after the time skip so i get to decide the headcanons! or something like that.

read my rambling thoughts under the cut

marcy's dad's new job is located in houston, texas (bc for real that's where all of elon musk's californian workers are going and i think it would be hilarious is marcy's dad worked for elon musk)

sasha has siblings. several. she gives me huge 'middle child of divorce' vibes. so, in order, the waybright siblings are as follows: clara, sasha's older bio sister, alexandra, younger half sister, greta, younger half sister, nadia, younger half sister, and max, younger half brother. the half siblings all have the same father

marcy's shitty parent is her dad. sasha's shitty parent is her mom. not to say the other parents are fantastic, but those two are... not great

sasha had a terrible relationship with her siblings before amphibia, and absolutely despised her step mom. after amphibia she makes a point of repairing those relationships, and becomes very close to her family

except for her mom, who is toxic af. their relationship only gets slightly better when she moves out. even still, sasha really can't stand her

in high school, anne became the popular one. she's so kind and likable, most people do. even though sasha is on the cheer team, she doesn't like to associate with them a ton

while sasha is still active in cheer, she ends up joining speech and debate and model UN, and that's where she makes all her good friends

what causes the drifting between sasha and anne is the fact they don't share any classes freshman or sophomore years of high school. not spending that much time together naturally leads to drifting apart. it's not a falling out or anything, as they are still great friends, they just don't really see each other much, which opens the door for more new friends

every summer during their high school years, marcy flies down to spend a week or so with the girls. at first she's able to go visit during breaks as well, but eventually it's just limited to the summer. when the girls go to college they don't visit in person at all until after they graduate

marcy joins a lot of different art and writing clubs in high school. her parents want her to join things like math and science clubs, but she resists

anne is able to take a marine biology elective her freshman year, as it sounded kind of interesting

that summer before sophomore year, anne discovers a herpetology camp put on by the university of san diego. it's an expensive sleep away camp, but as soon as she hears it's about frogs, she leaps on it (hehe)

unfortunately she found out to late to attend, so she makes a deal with her parents: if she raises half of the funds, she can go next summer

so she does

summer before her junior year, anne goes to herpetology camp and falls in love

sasha has her first serious boyfriend her sophomore year. his name is jackson, he plays football, and he's super chill

sasha discovers she's bisexual when she's a junior in high school. she is the last to know. so after finding out, she cuts her hair into the iconic bisexual bob

sasha's boyfriend is chill with her being bi, but unfortunately the relationship ends when they are both seniors. he's going to play football for yale, and sasha is staying in la. they part on very good terms and continue to be friends

summer before her senior year, anne gets the opportunity, having attended the herpetology camp previously, to go on a two week trip to costa rica to learn and study frogs. she manages to raise enough money to go, and it's one of the best experiences of her life

this solidifies her wanting to study herpetology in college

anne attends the university of san diego and gets a degree in herpetology

sasha attends the university of california los angeles to get a degree in physcology (sorry guys i can't spell lmao)

marcy attends st. edwards, a private college in austin, tx, and gets a degree in web design (though she major hops a lot and ends up with minors in art and video game development)

(tumblr is a bitch and won't let me tell y'all abt pets or their reunion or falling in love and shit. damn it)

#amphibia #amphibia spoilers #i have so many Thoughts

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generic-cleric · 1 year

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Session 51

Session doc

Folder

Beware spoilers for Curse of Strahd may lie ahead

Hungry Like The Wolf

When we pick back up again, they come to the realization that they are sandwiched between a very aggressive ghost and a den of werewolves at night, in a world where we have established that some werewolves turn every night.

Jander also mentions that if they don’t want to draw attention to themselves from the Den, they should confront Arvid away from the den, which everyone thought sounded reasonable. They began discussing how they might go about doing that.

Okrin runs at Arvid and misty steps past him and continues running in that direction. Arvid turns around to chase Okrin, worked like a charm. The people who are with Arvid try to keep up with the party while they are following Okrin, leading the fight away from the den, with their ultimate plan getting near enough to the Tower at the Lake in case they need to rely on it for shelter.

I run a skill challenge with them, dodging various terrains, animals, and attacks from enemies, but the party successfully makes it to a open field perfect for the scuffle. On the way, Bedlam had noticed some kind of magic going off over Lake Zarovich, which intrigued everyone.

I gave Okrin a nice surprise round on Arvid, and the fight ensued. The rest of the party and Emil dealt with the two strangers with Arvid, while Okrin and Arvid traded blows. Emil shifted into his hybrid form and pretty much shredded one of the guys, so the second one disengaged and left the combat. No one decided to chase him because they heard him say something about not being paid enough for this kind of work.

With the two minions gone, the rest of the party shifted their focus to helping out Okrin. After the final blow had been landed, Arvid crumbled to dust, cursing Okrin the whole time. He’s off to respawn somewhere so they can do this whole song and dance again.

With all that over and done with, the party decides to spend the rest of the night in the tower and tackle the den in the day. During the night they spend some time talking to Emil and getting some insight into how the den is run and what to expect. They find out from Emil that there is a young Goliath in the pack who was taken from Okrin’s village when it had been destroyed. Emil also mentions his wife Zuleika.

When day broke, Okrin’s first order of business was to go hunting. He found like 14 pounds total of squirrel and fox meat. Happy with the Oregon Trail haul they made their way back to the den. I didn’t make them run another skill challenge, instead they just “spent the time to get there”.

When they entered the mouth of the cave, they were stopped by the two guards. Some incredible persuasion rolls as well as some just really solid points were made. The party had no idea that the werewolves were currently going through a food shortage. It also was helpful that the party was known around Barovia for bringing the wine back. After a lot of huffing and groaning, the guards let the party enter in order to hand out the meat.

They follow the sounds of someone playing the flute and go deeper into the cave to find an elderly gentleman. He’s sitting around the campfire with several wolves and playing his flute. Everyone was excited by this, particularly Bedlam who jumped at the opportunity to play some music with him and give him some squirrel meat. They even passed around their smoking pipes.

They casually make their way through the cave and eventually bump into Sorana, Kiril’s wife who gives them a bit of trouble. Through a series of charisma rolls, they are able to verbally disarm her pretty well and get her off their case, though she still isn’t helpful enough to assist them in locating Zuleika. Bedlam even convinced her that Zuleika was his cousin, which still didn’t help much, but they gave her some food and went on their way.

While snooping through the cave, they found and interesting room containing an underground spring, a few crates, and a big open gash in the ceiling, though not what they were searching for, so they move along.

They enter the next room and find quite the sight. Several cages containing children, one containing an adult man, and the other containing a malnourished werewolf in hybrid form. A woman kneels before the bars of the cage containing the hybrid werewolf and she is speaking quietly. The moment she hears the party enter the “room” she stands, whirls around, and hides something behind her back.

The party introduces themselves, she’s vaguely familiar with them. They open up with telling her about Emil and she is overjoyed. After Kiril had removed Emil from the pack, Zuleika had been told he was dead. She was somewhere between going out to find him and staying to challenge Kiril for position of pack leader

She was happy to tell them everything they wanted to know. They found out that, since Kiril has been in charge they have been kidnapping children and making them fight, the winner of the battle is turned into a werewolf. When Emil was Alpha, there were no child fights, is stead all of the children were turned. Zuleika expresses that she didn’t care for that tactic either. She also tells them that both Emil and Kiril feel the longevity of the pack hinges off of their alliance with Strahd, though Zuleika disagrees and would prefer if the werewolves worked independently from the vampire lord. When asked about the hybrid werewolf in the cage, Zuleika explains that Nicoletta (the werewolf) and Haliq (the man in the cage) are dating and she was planning on leaving the pack. When Kiril caught wind of it, he imprisoned them and is making efforts to starve her in order to eventually feed Haliq to her. Zuleika has been sneaking her bites of food here and there, but she’s getting to a pretty rough point. They ask her about Izek who they were expecting to find here as well, but she tells them their princess is in another wolf den. There is a pack that runs along Tsolenka pass known for robbing and killing travelers.

The party expresses to her that they would like to take the children to safety, and they offer to take Nicoletta and Haliq with them as well. Zuleika offers to tag along, just to make sure everything is alright and to avoid the ire of Kiril when he returns to find the prisoners gone.

They get to work releasing the captives from their cages. When they get to Haliq, he immediately asks them “Oh did Burgomaster Vallakovich send you to rescue me?” to which they had to break the news that “No, not really.” In truth, the burgomaster sent them for Izek, and they actually had no idea that Vagas’s valet was missing, or that he even had one. They have a good long talk with Haliq, making sure he isn’t going to ditch his werewolf girlfriend when she needs him the most, really laying the pressure on thick. He assures them that he plans to stick with Nicoletta and pursue a relationship with her. This appeased them, so they released him too.

They discuss how they might get out of here with everyone. They considered drowning everyone out via Puddles and that pool, but they didn’t want to scar the children anymore than they had already been. They decided to utilize the hole in the ceiling instead. Okrin misty steps to the rim and hauls himself out. He uses his rope and pitons to secure an escape for everyone below. Zuleika and Haliq help Nicoletta out. Ireena, Jander, and Vondal help as many children as they can carry. Bedlam has to enlist the help of one of the older children, who he finds out is 14 year old Ilya Krezkov, the missing son of the burgomaster in Krezk. Bedlam was super stoked because “I was going to get hired to save you! Guys, we’re ahead of schedule!”

Bedlam and Ilya have a short conversation. I don’t remember how, but they get to talking about the Abbey and Ilya mentions that it’s a creepy haunted place, one of those places the kids dare eachother to get close to. Bedlam says “Oh man, a werewolf den is like a way bigger deal than some dumb abbey. You tell all the kids back home that you escaped a werewolf den, you’re gonna be the coolest kid in Barovia.”

“You really think so?” Ilya asks sheepishly. “I know so.” Bedlam retorts assuredly.

They haul up the last of the children and are now standing on the rocky top of the cave and are able to see a pack of wolves coming up from the lake towards the den, and Zuleika tells them Kiril is returning. They quickly and quietly discuss where they should be taking the children. Vallaki or Krezk? They settle on Vallaki as the pack enters the cave.

We decide that was a good spot to end the session for the day!

#Curse of Strahd #Barovia #Ravenloft #dnd #dndiary #5e #session summary #session write up #session recap #dungeons and dragons #dm

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