#I am reborn everyday

[feeldirt]

In meditation with death to die is to be reborn beyond flesh

Sermons are already so spiritual, but with music intertwined... How can your wrath not be heard? I was standing in the kitchen when I played your song, warming up my leftover soup. I stole some headphones from my boss. I wanted to hear every single sound you created. From start to finish, my blood was evaporating at the same time my feet were buried deep in the Georgia red clay where my loved ones lay, dead. In deep meditation with death. I began to cry.

 

If I wasn’t stuck in this kitchen in this house

I would’ve started wailing, a war cry.

A scream of loss would’ve filled this house.

There’s something at the bottom of my belly where all the evil goes. I never let her out. The last time music made me this way was when I saw Dis Fig live, and before that, when I saw her with you.

 

On this full moon, I am reminded death is all around; she follows me; she has taken, but I refuse to die while my heart is still beating.

I live for ME.

I live for those who are gone.

When my time comes when my flesh is rotten

I’ll be reborn for the last time.

[chishigure]

What if I made Souji in MHR (Monster Hunter Rise)?

What if?

[threepandas]

Bad End: Cultivation

The rope creaked softly, suffering under the weight it was not meant to bear, as it stretched out, seemlingly endless into the mist. This had once been a bridge. The entrance to this lonely place. Humble as it was, the simple rope bridge had once stood for time immemorial. A path of safety above Soul Eater mists below.

Terrible creatures and unspeakable monsters dwelled down there. Things that devoured. Even the mists themselves, were said to drive men mad. Cause hallucinations and aggression. Qi draining in nature. It was like a living thing that digested you slowly.

Unless, of course, you could escape.

Or, it was said, if you were like the legendary immortal who had founded this temple. HE had apparently just walked. Refused the mist's their hold on him. Then climbed the cliff face to this mountain top. I somewhat doubted that tale. But then again, staring down at the rolling mists... it seemed impossible that ANYONE could have ever survived them.

The bridge creaked on, in the soft breeze. There were days it's groans sounded like the cries of a beast in pain. Tortured. When the wind rattled and dragged at what remained of its form. Trying to pull it from it's post. Down, down, down to it's final end.

There was a boot print. Terrible and damning. Cracked, IMPRINTED, deep into the base of the pillar that once held up one side. Far away, the bridge must surely still be stable. Both pillars standing tall, like gaurds. Like brothers. But here?

One powerful kick.

And the bridge had disappeared out from underneath all those that stood upon it.

Everyday... every day I come. Every day I look upon this bridge. Upon the boot, a terrible sin imprinted into stone, and I tell myself I do not recognize the size of it. That my suspicions are wrong. My instincts surely lying. Because... because if I do not?

What can I do? What could I POSSIBLY hope to do? If my suspicions WERE correct? If in this place, lives a monster? I am not stronger them him. Without him, I would be utterly alone. He has insured I am all but dependant on him. Not teaching me how to cook nor clean, farm nor fight. All practical skills are lessons for another day. Forever another day.

Yet...

Yet, I MUST know.

I torture myself with this. The wondering. The questions I do not not ask, for fear he will not even bother hiding behind lies. I stare at the old, long dried blood that stains where the bridge once ended. The shimmering heavenly gold. Somehow... some horrified, gut wrenched, SCREAMING instinct... knows it to be the blood of Tree Fruit.

It is the blood of the unborn. Those that will never get the chance, now. They... they were not even apart of anyone's body. Were wholly seperate, dependent and their protectors for survival. Were FRUIT for God's sake. Just as I had been. Souls reborn, not from flesh, but clean and new, from a Divine Tree. Ascendant from some other place.

I don't know WHY they were taken from the Tree. Why I was. My memory is spotty. It was too soon. I had not forgotten yet. Was not READY yet. It should have been safest to stay there. Be born into the world. Yet... they were on this bridge, instead. Attacked. The blood of infants stains the stones and will never wash clean. I can not... I was still FRUIT, then.

I can not REMEMBER.

And so I come. Again and again, before this rope. That stretchs out into the mists. Above far more terrible things. And try to recall. Make sense of it this terrible thing before me. This bridge. A long, worn, straining rope. With old, well-worn wooden planks, weathered by the ages, that... that hang like bodies.

Strung up in an endless row.

That whisper as they clack and groan with suffering in the wind, "A crime. A crime. Great evil was committed here!"

I tell myself... like a child hiding from monsters they KNOW are real. Trembling and blood soaked, terrified, as they crawl as far back into some small dark place as they can... I... I do not want to compare the boot print in that stone to Lei's. That they would be different sizes, even if I did.

I do not convince myself.

I never do.

"Shimei, this disciple wonderd where you were..." calls out a familiar voice. Deep in the way dangerous waters are deep. Smooth and placid at the surface. With something deadly I can not see, far, far below. "This one has found you at the bridge again. What captivates you so? You missed your morning snack. Should be on your way to early morning meditations."

My smile is more of a grimace, as I turn.

There are days... when forgetting is easy. When the tranquility of this place seeps itself into my bones. The comfort he deliberately arranges for me. The scheduled repetition. It is... trance-like.

Sitting with tea and snacks. Watching the early morning's sunlight dance off the distant mist. As birds wake and dew settles. The world hushed. Cup warm in my hand. Coat dropped over my shoulders. It is beautiful. The meditation garden is beautiful. EVERYTHING here is beautiful.

It is the fact that it is... empty, that bothers me.

This was not a temple built for two people. Remote as it must be in the world. The sect built this place for a reason. And each day that passes? I am more convinced that reason was to have a place to fall back too. The temple is lovely... but more then that? It is a FORTRESS.

Difficulty getting here is not even a fraction of the defens it holds.

So WHY?

WHY are there only two people here?

I nod, stepping towards my "shixong" as he insists I call him, dispite there being just the two of us. His hand reaching out to take my arm, guide me. I no longer need help navigating these halls. But he does not stop. Clings to his excuses to coddle and touch. It is a fight I can not win. I pick my battles. But, before his hand reaches my sleeve. Knife!

A throwing knife, shrieks near silent through the air as it cuts between us. Nearly removing Lei's fingers as it does. I jerk away, startled. He whips around towards the bridge.

"GET AWAY FROM THAT CHILD!"

The voice that roars that command has the distinct rasp of old age. Sure enough, a figure in flowing robes surges forward from the mist, running light as a feather across the single rope that remains of the bridge. Long white hair and beard. A wrinkled face, more accustomed to smiling, now turned into a fierce and determined scowl. The robes of a Grand Master.

There are a handful of warriors following him.

But the one that I can not look away from... it's... it's like looking through the lense of a half forgotten dream. Blurred by angles all wrong. But oh... oh how could I forget that face? The one that stares at me with such fierce and fearful determination?

...Shijie?

More then an older sister, less then a mother. Whisperd promises, muffled by liquid, from long ago. I know that face. KNEW it. It once smiled down at me, as I grew upon my branch, and promised we would be family. Loved me. Beautiful and patient, as she whispered about all the wonders of world.

I was...

Oh.

I was supposed to go with HER.

Be raised by HER. A little sister, a daughter, someone she could guide and grow with. My memories struggle to come together, but faced with familiar faces? They TRY. Especially as power begins to surge around me. Terrible and familiar. The beginnings of a fight.

Someone on my branch. Not my sister. Pale as morning mist and just as untouchable. He seemed lonely. I was lonely. Far from other Fruit, an awkward thing, high up, and on an old twisting branch. That had missed all nipping and cultivation by being accidentally hidden by the leaves surrounding it. The fruit was supposed to grow lower to the ground, where it could be watched. Safe.

But I happened anyway.

And I was alone.

No others to spend my time with. No disciples to come and care for me, day to day. So when the mist man came? I clumsily... reached out. Pat pat. There, there. I'm here, "dude". (I... can not remember what that word meant. But I know I knew it. It was friendly, I think.)

He was surprised to find me, up there.

I don't not think he told anyone.

I...I think he was supposed too?

But it did not matter in the end. Someone else found his hiding spot. Found me. There was much shouting and alarm. Elders, I think. Doctors, to insure I was well. Great relief, that I was a hardly little thing, developing as I should. After that? I had constant visitors. None that seemed very interesting... until... until my Shijie.

They were looking, I think, through interested parties for a match. Who would adopt me. Then there was softness. Sweet, golden days. The mist man visited. Anger from him? Not at me. Displeased. Covetous? I did not understand. Something wrong was growing but I was unborn... did not have a name yet for the sensation.

Just that is was...Dark.

Then it was night time. A beautiful moon through the branches. Smoke, black and terrifying. Screaming and the clash of swords. Unbearable heat, climbing and climbing. Lights blinking out. Dying? Were... were they dying? The great Tree, divine and holy, groaning in agony. Wood popping from heat. Splintering from blows.

Feet upon my branch. Running, running, running. Falling too their knees. Swordsman's hands. Bloody, wrong, not my shijie. Where is my shijie? Sister! SISTER?! I am being pulled. No. No, it is not time. It is too soon. The Fruit is not ready.

The hands do not care.

I am torn out by the roots.

Where the Tree should be... is nothing. I SCREAM. It hurts! A void. The ocean of life gone, gone, GONE! Already I am starving. Destabilizing. Dying again. Scared! Please! I am-!

A hand wraps around the raw nerves of my roots. They are wrong. I know them, but they are WRONG. Where is shijie? Sister... SISTER! Please!! Energy floods back in, as though it never stopped. But... but it is not clean. Like brackish water after so long in clear springs, I choke as I try to adjust.

Moving.

Running.

Where is the Divine Tree? I want to go home.

Others join. Burned. Bleeding. They have Fruit too. I have never been so close to others. They sound nervous too. Scared. But they have their family. Why do I not? There is some plan. A bridge that goes on and on. Below us are terrible things. They are talking? The end in sight.

"-viously you can't... -ep her, she's not your child. Y.. -eat thing protecting her th.. -ll be so relieved you have her child. N.. -all we have to... -ait out this..."

Something ugly is rising. Danger. DANGER. No, no, NO. STOP. Run! Bad thing is coming! I don't-! I can't-! Covetous, terrible, tar-like WRONG! Seeping up like festering! Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!!

The sound of a sword being drawn.

I am tucked close. Cradled like something precious. As a blade sings destruction through the air. A shocked and betrayed cry. Confusion. I can see horror on faces, feel terror from the other Fruit. Two of them are dead. CRUNCH. The bridge violently lists to the side, weight no longer equally supported.

Time seems to slow... as ancient metal slides free of stone.

Half those on the bridge are gone in an instant, as the floor swings out from below them like a trapdoor. Those that remain? Are the souls fast enough to grab the rail that still remains. The boards, as they fall. They hang above certain death, as their friends fall screaming in primal fear, to horrific death below.

How long can they hold on?

Especially with only one hand?

A few already lost their grip on their Fruit in the sudden shift. Can only stare in numb and mind blank horror, soul deep agony, as the bright little lights fall... and fall... and fall...

Inside my Fruit I SCREAM.

I do not remember after that. Only being born. It is a blur of trauma my mind must have refused to keep. D..Damn it. DAMN IT! I jerk away from Lei. I had known. I hadn't WANTED to know... but I had KNOWN.

The Grand Master attacks. His blade crashing like the might of a wrathful god against Lei's. Sending him sliding back. The master pressing his advantage, warriors rushing to fan out between the fighters and me.

Arms. Soft yet unimaginably powerful, the scent of tea and the medicinal flowers she proudly grew for the sect, I was pulled into an embrace. My head tucked against her neck. Arms bordering on too tight. As though I would disappear at any moment.

"Shimei.." my shijie whispered, a wounded sound. "This sister has you. We have come to rescue you. The traitor will never hurt you again. Come!"

This felt right. I nod. Follow her towards the bridge.

"Thief."

Lei's snarls. Never has there been an uglier, more venomous sound. One of the warriors, acting as a shield, dies preventing my sister from being speared through the heart from behind. Desperately, she scoops me up. Breaking into a sprint.

"Do you truely think you can take this one's Disciple from him? His WORLD!?" An unhinged laugh echoed along side the clash on blades. "There is NOWHERE you can hide her, that I will not find! She is MINE! Belongs with ME! You can run but there is NO WHERE you can hide!"

I cling to my sister as she jumps up on the rope, racing away from the gilded cage that was my only home. Over her shoulder, Lei is locked in combat. The ugly something I had always known was there, finally out in the air between us. Demonic energy spilled from him like radiation. Sickening and every bit as caustic. His eyes wild as they lock onto me.

"I'm going to BURN everything that gets in my way, my disciple." He croons, the grin spreading across his face a thing that will haunt me. "Just like before. NOTHING will keep you away from me. Nothing! I am going to hunt you down, drag you to ascension, then spend the rest of time making you MINE."

"And nothing will stop me, child. Not even you. Why?"

"Because I LOVE You."

[risingsoleil]

do more of linzin funny moments with their kids!😭

I present to you a few fun moments Linzin has with each of their kids when they're tiny:

Kang

He's doing his homework at the table.

"Mommy. Mommy! MOMMY!!!"

Footsteps come closer. "Don't shout. Use your indoor voice."

Kang wiggles in his seat. "When were you and Daddy born?"

"He was born in 119, and I was in 120."

"Did you meet Avatar Kyoshi?"

She makes a face. "No. She was reborn as Grandpa Aang."

Scribbles filled the blank lines, his tongue poking out at the corner of his mouth. He paused. "Ok. Were you alive when the Fire Nation attacked?"

Lin puts a hand on her hip. "How old do you think I am?"

Kang blinks. "Enough to know all the Avatars."

She mentally facepalms.

"Did Daddy get meet Avatar Wan before you then?"

Areum

She's sitting in Lin's lap at an event and turns to face her mother. Lin is engrossed in a conversation with a colleague, who also happens to be a mother. So it doesn't surprise Lin's colleague when she sees Areum suddenly turning and playing with the betrothal necklace.

"Mommy." Her fingers trace the designs.

"Hold on, sweetie. Mommy is talking to someone."

Areum pouts and grumbles under her breath until the lady finally leaves the table.

"Mommy," she groans.

"What is it?"

She points at the necklace. "I want one too."

Lin touches it for a moment, trying to remember which necklace she's wearing. Immediately she knows. "Then you need to marry someone from the Water Tribe to make you one when they want to marry you."

"I don't wanna wait."

A few days pass and Areum goes up to Tenzin.

"Daddy, can you make me a 'get married' necklace?"

He picks her up and holds her in his arms. "A what?"

"A necklace like Mommy's. The one you gave her when you got married," she explains and Tenzin 'ah's in understanding. "I asked the boy in my class, but he doesn't know how to."

Tenzin frowns. "Which boy?! He's not going to make you any necklace."

"Why not?"

"Bc you're not getting married, sweetie. Especially not to whoever this boy is."

"But--"

"No buts. I'll make you a 'get married' necklace."

Jin

Lin is working weird hours and Jin has been asking her and Tenzin everyday what time she's supposed to come home. Every day, Lin makes sure to write a note or tell him what time she's going to come home.

Today is a good day bc Mommy is coming home earlier! She's not coming home in the middle of the night. That means she can cook and play and go out on Oogi.

"I'll be home at 15:30."

Tenzin hears loud sobbing coming from the window and goes out to investigate. He sees his son, tears streaming down his face and cheeks red. His poor boy inherited his red-face syndrome.

Tenzin kneels next to his boy and holds him. "Why are you crying, Jin? Did something happen? Are you hurt?"

"MOMMY'S LATE. SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HER!! SHE SHOULD BE HOME BY NOW!"

He checks the clock. "It's only 15:31, son."

"THAT'S A MINUTE LATE, DADDY!!!"

It takes 20 mins for him to calm down his son (desserts did it for him, and he's willing to pay the price for a sugar crash later on). Finally, they hear metal boots clanking and Jin perks up, running to the person he's missed all day.

Jin hugs her and demands to know why she was late. He frowns at her for breaking her promise and not being home at 15:30 like she promised.

Lin rubs his back. "Alright, what will make you feel better?"

"I want dragon beard candy for breakfast. I can stay up late like you and Daddy. We go to the top of Kyoshi Bridge."

"Well, we can't do that all in one day. But we'll do that."

"And I want a baby brother."

Tenzin trips over air in the background.

Lin looks at Tenzin, then her son.

"Why do you want a little brother? You have your sister."

"So i can be a big brother. MeiMei is too mean."

"Well..." And she knows her husband is listening closely. "Daddy and I have to talk about it."

"Hmph."

Mei

It's summer and Tenzin is sure there's a heat wave rolling over Republic City this year. He's meditating without a shirt on because he's probably going to sweat with all the humidity surrounding the island.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Peaceful.

The air shifts and a tiny body climbs on top of him.

"Daddy, look at me."

He doesn't open his eyes. "Sweetie, I'm meditating."

The small figure climbs off of his back, but stands at his side and traces her fingers down the back of his head, along his back. She follows the lines until she can't reach.

"Mommy wants to know why you don't have your shirt on."

"Because it's hot."

Her hand disappears. "Okay."

For the next ten minutes, Mei doesn't disturb him. Then he feels her sit next to him. A swell of pride fills his heart.

'She's meditating with me. She's so sweet. My little baby girl. I love her so much.' he thinks.

Then he hears a new voice.

"Why is her shirt off?"

His eyes open immediately and he peers over at his firstborn. Sure enough, her shirt was thrown off to the side and she's sitting topless like him on the pavilion. From behind, Tenzin can see Lin holding their son on her hip and giving him that "what the hell?" look.

Before Tenzin can answer, his daughter pipes up,

"Daddy says it's hot, that's why he's not wearing a shirt. It's hot, so I took off my shirt too."

Lin sighs.

Why do kids take everything literally?

[mushroominawaterbottle]

Pookies beloveds do you jnow that cats the musical is the best thing ever created and all the songs are so good and the entire point of the musical is that they are a community and despite it being really weird and having a cat orgy it also has amazing set design, even if it all just happens in the same place and in that one scene when Alonzo kicks a ball and it hits Mr Mistoffeles it was actually an accident and he was meant to catch it and in the 2015 brazilian adaptation in Rio de Janeiro, Rum Tum Tugger holds Mr Mistoffeles' jacket for him so he can dance and also the guy who plays him does a little voice crack while singing and sometimes i repeat it to stim and also do you know that the guy who plays Old Deuteronomy voices that one guy in the Nightmare before Christmas and i headcannon that Victoria is deaf because she is a white cat with blue eyes and its really common for them to be deaf and also i dressed up as Mr Mistoffeles to go to school when i was like 14 and also i think that the 2019 version was really bad not only because of the cgi but because they fundamentally misunderstood the enture story because it makes absolutely no sense that Victoria is the protagonist, the whole point of the thing is that there is no protagonist and that all of them have i am songs instead of i want songs and also the decision to remove Jemima and Demeter and Cassandra and Jellilorum and Etcetera and Electra and leaving only Bombalurina was a horrible idea and making her evil is just fucking up her character, she just think that Macavity is hot she doenst agree with him and also having him sing his own song was so fucking stupid and he was there all the time wich makes no sense because they say in the song that tahy can never find Macavity and he is a ginger cat so why the fuck is he brown, the only person who did a good job was the guy who played Skimbleshanks and thats because he is a trained dancer and not a random celebrity, also they made fun of Bustoffer Jones wich is stupid because in the musical all the cats respect him because he eats everyday and having all the cats singing their own songs was horrible, it took away all of the meaning of all of them being a group, also them making Mr Mistoffeles sing and be all shy was the worts thing ever, Rum Tum Tugger singing his song was to show that he cared about him and trusted him to bring Old Deuteronomy back safely and also he decends from the sky in a sparkling jacket and shoots lightning from his hands, that was a discervice to his characther and dont even talk aboyt beautiful ghosts because this song took away the entire meaning off memory, Grizabella wants to go back to the past so bad that she is willing to do anything for it wich is why she is the chosen for the Jellicle choice and gets to be reborn , the important thing wasnt that it was Victoria who held her hand, the important thing was that no one stopped her, meaning that she had been accepted back in, wich is why in the movie her charactherisation is shit because she would never back away from touch, touch is all she wants, touch means that she is loved and is part of the Jellicles. Also there is way too little dance in the movie. Cats is a ballet. You cant take this out of it. What the fuck do you mean the Mr Mistoffeles song is 1 minute long and he doenst even dance. Where are the piruettes you cunt. Also all the male cats having crushes on Victoria is incredibly out of characther. And they took away my girl Demeter. She had fucking PTSD and it made the viewer understand how evil Macavity trully was and also she sang beautifully and erasing her interactions with Munkustrap was a crime. They fucking had Gus sing his own song instead of Jellilorum wich is stupid because it showed that they cared about him even when he is too old to dance. And Mungojerrie and Rumpleteaser didnt even had their dance routine.

[paleturtlecherryblossom-blog]

My thought on the Rise of Ning, Pt 3

I finished 24 episodes of The Rise of Ning, and I wanna add in my two cents about the storyline so far, which, considering that I wake up everyday at 6 am to catch up on, is pretty damn good XD:

I was very pleased they adapted a scene of Lu Jiaxue observing Yining’s calligraphy and noticing that it bears a heavy similarity to Luo Shenyuan’s. This is an often emphasized point in the novel, given how prized a skill calligraphy was for scholars/officials back then, the fact that Yining can replicate his style is indicative of how very close they are. Now whether that’s a sibling thing or not, is anyone’s guess ;) hehehe

At this point, many of the drama plot lines are very different from those in the novel. But the one thing that the drama preserves in full glory, despite all the plotline modifications, is the sheer depth of Luo Shenyuan’s yearning for Luo Yining! And it’s just so!!! The way she is his most important consideration, the detail with which he prepares everything for her in the event of his death, and the extreme passion he is clearly repressing every moment sitting next to her… I’m so very satisfied, I’m giving five stars just for this alone.

Another thing this drama does excellently is to more subtly portray Yining’s extreme levels of attachment to him: the way in all her visuals of the future, he is eternally just accompanying her, reading to her, living with her (girl has truly never accounted for a possible future husband and sister-in-law in all these dreams lolol), her headlong jump into the river to avoid implicating him, even though she has to have heavy trauma of falling off high places… Also her keenness in noticing all the girls who are trying to marry him, while he couldn’t care less. (Also I daresay her determination to matchmake for him is also her oblivious way of staking a claim on her San-ge)

Also, shame they made Lu Jiaxue and Zhao Mingzhu adoptive sibling, putting them on the same generational level. This is because there is a point in the novel where our hot pining Marquis Lu becomes Yining’s godfather without having a clear idea of who she is, and the way he manipulates that seniority is truly a delicious read.

Notably the drama ALSO preserves the forceful and unpleasant aspects of his obsession with regaining Yining; in the novel, he truly cannot conceive that she has a whole life and family she will protect above him. Also in the novel, Yining is reborn in the Luo family after twenty years as a wandering spirit, so by that time, she mostly moves on from her romantic attachments to him, though she does blame him for her death. The blaming for death section is there in the drama, but here I feel that Yining's primary feeling towards him is raw fear, which also biases me firmly against Lu Jiaxue rn.

 Now I’ll begin my usual rambling commentary on plot changes lol. They’ve quite significantly changed Daoyan’s character here, enough that he’s basically a whole new person. While this makes sense with the drama plotline of reopening the Chen Jiuheng case, that’s not a plotline found in the novel. Novel! Daoyan is an eccentric monk who is also a military genius. My first read of him in the novel was that he was very ruthless, but tbh it’s more of that he is unaffected by emotions and is exceedingly practical, and in this he contrasts both Lu Jiaxue and Luo Shenyuan, who have an obsession with Luo Yining in common. So that’s a dynamic we are probably not going to see, oh well.

With regards to the side plot of Luo Yixiu and Lin Mao… I somehow don’t really care for it? Sure, with regards to my personal life, I believe in marrying a person you sincerely like, but in a feudal context like in this drama… it honestly feels a bit out of place. The princess’ son is genuinely a pretty good choice for her, given that he cares for her, has an odd personality that is not likely to take concubines later and has a pretty reasonable mother! Also I just instinctively dislike Lin Mao for always lecturing her about her weight and giving her weird weight loss medicine! Even if she says she likes Lin Mao, it comes off more as a childish infatuation than anything else.

Now that I’ve gotten started on this, novel! Lin Mao is actually shown to have a crush on Luo Yining, which no one except Shenyuan ever takes seriously. He does propose marriage, only to be turned down pretty firmly, and he goes off to a border region. Throughout the novel, he is portrayed as a playful individual who keeps wriggling in and out of sticky situations. He eventually does make his name by securing disaster relief for the border but throughout the novel AND the drama so far, he’s the kind of person I may want to have a short summer romance with, but never the kind of person I can depend on for a steady life. And that is kind of a very important criteria for marriage for a noble lady in those times!

Anyway moving on, regarding the plotline of Gu Minglan’s death, it is not a mystery in the novel: she forces herself to give birth to Yining prematurely, so that Yining’s parentage is not suspected. In a way, the novel portrays her as a very sensitive woman deeply conscious of the social taboos of her time, after Yining is conceived, giving birth to her is the only thing that keeps her tethered to life. 

The drama alters Gu Minglan’s character to be more self-reliant and thus adds in an element of intrigue to her death. I feel this is primarily driven by the fact that they will only reveal that Yining isn’t the garbage Luo Second master’s blood daughter much later in the drama, but this reveal actually happens pretty early in the novel. And THEN all the courtyard intrigue takes place when Yining joins her blood related paternal family (I don’t wanna spoil this, but maybe you guys will guess who it is anyway). In the drama plot, the intrigue continues to happen in the Luo family, after all, as a main character, you NEED to have some family member scheming to kill/ruin/wrong you always. 

Although Madam Chen’s character is more fleshed out here: her resentment is only human, considering that she loses her first son early and has to watch her husband harbor feelings for her sister-in-law, which is probably the highest level of social damnation for her, if it ever came out. Both in the novel and drama she is a person obsessed with maintaining ‘face’. In the novel, her first son is alive and well, and also her husband occupies a higher position than his brother. In the drama, she possesses neither of these comforts, and it’s not illogical that she plays a more vicious role. And the actress is also killing it; her expressions when no one is observing, do give off an ominous feeling.

[mixelation]

okay i wrote a scene from the reborn au. here's team disaster

Tori sat in the grass, her water canteen propped up between her knees. A stack of mismatched bento boxes Kushina-senei had “lovingly” filled with food sat next to her. Kushina-sensei herself paced the grass in front of Tori, occasionally blocking her view of Deidara and Itachi beating the snot out of each other.  

Tori had been aware, in her previous life, that Itachi and Deidara were simply on a different level from other ninja. Now this knowledge was even more acute. Itachi’s form was perfect and deadly. Deidara’s style was more lax but just as quick and lethal. They frequently blurred in front of her, moving too fast for her eyes to track, and she knew this is just them fucking around because Kusina-sensei told them to spar. She couldn’t imagine a world someone like her could keep up. 

Kushina pouted as she paced, occasionally shooting Tori a look like she expected Tori to do or say something. Maybe she wanted Tori to ask questions, or to demand to be taught the crazy spinning kick Itachi just used to knock Deidara over. 

Tori smiled back at Kushina. It didn’t bother her too much that she wasn’t some sort of genetic freak like Itachi and Deidara. Sure, she’d like to be able to keep her own in a fight if one happened to happen to her, and using ninjutsu would be cool, but her motives for becoming a shinobi of Konoha had very little to do with wanting to kick ass and a lot more to do with wanting a soft, safe bed at night and a whole research department to exploit during the day. 

(Also, Kushina’s cooking was pretty good. The free lunch was a nice bonus.) 

Besides, if Tori decided she wanted to kill some ninja that was out of her league, she’d figure out her own way to make it happen. She’d done it before with less. 

Itachi finally cracked a tree trunk with Deidara’s head, and Kushina-sensei paused her pacing, propping a hand on her hip. Her brows furrowed minutely, but it wasn’t out of concern for Deidara. No, Tori was positive that Kushina-sensei was frustrated because Itachi and Deidara needed no coaching or teaching from her whatsoever. 

Tori felt a little bad for her. Kushina-sensei was kind of pushy and loud, but she enthusiastically presented them with a homemade lunch everyday, and she’d seemed so excited to teach them that first day. It wasn’t fair that she got handed a team with two ninja that were secretly S-ranked missing-nin instead of cute genin who actually needed her guidance. That was why, when Kushina-sensei shot Tori another look, Tori hopped to her feet and clapped her hands together in the world’s worst applause. 

“Nice hustle, Itachi!” she called. 

Itachi turned to stare at her over his shoulder, like she’d said something a little bit stupid. If she didn’t already know him, Tori thought this expression would be a bit intimidating. Unfortunately for Itachi, she’d met infinitely scarier people. She clapped harder. 

Deidara was mostly unharmed, except for maybe his ego. He shoved Itachi as they walked up the hill to meet Kushina-sensei and Tori. 

“Next time we use jutsu, yeah!” Deidara declared. “Then you’ll be eating bark.”

“Uh-uh, not unless we get a higher clearance training ground, you know,” Kushina-sensei chided, now with both hands on her hips. “Okay, since Itachi won, he spars Tori next.”

There was a long, awkward pause.

“I’d rather not,” Tori said. 

Kushina-sensei just raised her eyebrows at her. “Well, you’re gonna,” she replied. 

“I won’t break anything,” Itachi added solemnly. 

“I don’t want to,” Tori insisted. “I don’t see what the point would be.”

She was just going to make a fool of herself. She’d be okay with a proper teaching spar– the kind where the more experienced shinobi carefully guided the spar. She didn’t trust Itachi or Deidara to have the slightest idea how to do this. Kushina-sensei was ordering her to go let Itachi kick her ribs in for no reason. 

“Kid, I am your Jounin sensei, you know,” Kushina-sensei told her, eyes just a little incredulous. “You have to do what I say, no matter what.”

Deidara was looking at her the way he would right before she did any sort of fuinjutsu, like he expected her to accidentally set the grassy field on fire or something. Was talking back to a teacher really so scandalous? 

“Do you need a pep talk, girl to girl?” Kushina-sensei pressed, eyes lighting up in a way that Tori did not want to deal with. 

“Fine, fine,” Tori grumbled. Meeting Itachi’s eyes, she said, “If you do break something, you owe me dinner for a week.”

Itachi faced her the way Deidara had looked at her sometimes, when they’d been renegade ninja buddies for a month. It wasn’t that he thought she was weak or delicate, or even that Tori couldn’t be incredibly dangerous under the right circumstances, but more that he’d already sorted her into a category of non-combatant. There was an uneasiness in his body language, imperceptible to anyone who wasn’t used to reading him. Itachi still thought of her as a civilian, and one he theoretically liked. Fighting her hand-to-hand was as inconceivable to him as it was to her.  

He did proceed to fight her with kiddy gloves on, she thought, because she saw every hit coming even as she failed to dodge. The fight ended with her limping back to the pile of bento, sweaty and bruised all over and slightly embarrassed. This would have almost been better in her old life, where expectations for her taijutsu were in the negatives. 

“Okay!” Kushina-sensei cried, sounding more excited than she should be. “Let’s analyze what happened!”

The analysis was basically just Kushina waving her arms and listing things Tori needed to improve, because Itachi’s taijustu was borderline perfect. Tori opened her canteen and took a long chug of water while Kushina-sensei babbled. A couple of insights were useful, but most of it boiled down to “Itachi is just better than you in every way.” It would be humiliating, Tori thought, if she were actually twelve or if she didn’t already have a history with both Itachi and Deidara. 

It wasn’t completely not embarrassing, though! For once maybe they could do an exercise Tori would excel at, like having a pleasant conversation with a stranger, or what to do if the scroll you stole was sealed up tight. 

Deidara turned his head to hide a smirk at her expense. Tori considered chucking her canteen at him. 

“Oh,” Itachi suddenly said, head whipping round from where he’d gotten bored and turned to watch a dragonfly. “Tori, I’ve been meaning to tell you. Your tree-walking is all wrong.”

Tori stared back at him. “What?”

Kushina-sensei practically exploded with joy at the chance at a teaching moment. They were all ushered down the hill and over to the tree line to watch the incredibly mundane sight of Tori walking up a tree. 

“What, because she’s slow?” Deidara asked, watching as Tori flipped herself over to stand on the bottom side of a branch. The long braid she’s tied up her hair in dangled centimeters from brushing the grass below.

“I think I’m doing fine,” Tori sniffed. Kushina-sensei too seemed confused about what the problem was. Sure, Tori slipped or mistimed the jutsu sometimes, but it wasn’t like she wasn’t getting better and better with practice. 

“No, you’re…” Itachi trailed off, staring at her. Unlike for their spar, he’d activated the sharingan. “You might be doing that in the least efficient way possible. Who taught you?”

Tori glared back at him. She was barely using any chakra to stick herself to trees and buildings nowadays, thank you very much. If she was expected to be even more efficient then she might as well just quit being a ninja now. 

“No one taught me,” Tori replied. “It’s just the leaf exercise but on your feet, isn’t it?”

Kushina-sensei’s eyes widened in horror, and Deidara burst into hysterical laughter. 

“What?” Tori demanded. She was standing on a tree, wasn’t she?!

“Oh, Tori….” Kushina-sensei said. 

As it turned out, tree walking wasn’t just activating and deactivating the leaf exercise to stick plant matter to yourself as you hopped around in a tree canopy, carefully timing sticking and unsticking yourself to the tree with every step. Apparently that was an insane way to do it, and Deidara kept spontaneously choking on his own laughter over how insane a thing to do it was. No, tree-walking only required a thin layer of chakra on the bottom of your shoes, and you could easily stick and unstick yourself without having to constantly adjust it. 

It was a team effort to explain this to her, everyone talking at once. Apparently if you’d already solved a problem in the most cursed way possible, everyone wanted to correct you. Still, she managed to parse what she should have been doing from the cacophony of noise. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Tori demanded of her feet, glaring down at her sandals as she walked up a second tree, this time with about a million times the ease. 

“Wait,” Deidara wheezed, straightening up from where he’d had to lean against another tree he was laughing so hard. “Tori, how have you been water-walking?”

Tori stared back at him, expression dead. “You don’t want to know.”

[jjunkyard]

I was born today but I am reborn everyday

[madmansmisc]

Everyone regrets that’s who we are 

Not the same old story in an everyday day 

Scrap and scum man reborn unborn 

I’m not who I am, who I was, who I’ll be 

Am I the man or the mirror 

Or the shards and the scars

[teecupangel]

This is because @ma-du who tagged me on this post with the idea:

Everything is the same, but the gang is reborn as Marvel characters

I am going to assume this means that the characters' personalities stay the same, it's just that they have been reborn to live the lives of Marvel characters (Assassins versus Templars plot optional XD)

Alright.

First of all, we’ll focus on MCU characters because having the ability to choose from the entire Marvel roster will… well… it would require more research that would probably take too much time XD

Also, I will primarily be using Phase 1~3 MCU characters (focusing on the Avengers with some exceptions) because the post did have Infinity Saga MCU characters (yeah, that’s the main reason why).

Alright, let’s give everyone some new problems!

Desmond: Moon Knight. Okay, he’s the main reason why I said ‘with some exceptions’. I mean… come on. Come oooonnn. Oh course, Desmond will still suffer thru the Bleeding Episodes which would lead him to be the AC equivalent of Moon Knight. Not to mention, just imagine the absolute fuckery he will suffer thru when he meets up with the reincarnated versions of his ancestors while he still have his ancestors in his brain as the Bleeding Effect. Instead of Khonsu though, I suggest we go for Ra (for the sun irony) or, if you wanna stay in the Greco-Roman mythology that was strongest in Desmond Saga, may I suggest Minerva (to make Minerva suffer with him) or Dionysus?

Altaïr: Doctor Strange, hands down. Used to be an arrogant overachiever? Taken down a peg by some kind of tragedy? Still a bit of an asshole but now has an entire subject he could spend the rest of his life studying and be the top expert still? Becomes leader of a secret-ish organization trying to protect the world in what amounts to a short time all things considered? OP powers with a lot of glowing gold accents AND holds an OP artifact? Altaïr is, hands down, the nearest Doctor Strange we will have on this list. Sidenote: Malik gets Wong’s job of being the usually annoyed dude that has to keep Altaïr from bending the rules too much. The Sanctum Masters are the Rafiqs of Damascus and Jerusalem + Kadar. Karl Mordo will have to be Abbas (sorry Karl Mordo) while Al Mualim would either take the Ancient One (if we plan to keep him good in this one) or Kaecilius.

Ezio: Iron Man. He comes from a rich family with lots of connections, is actually smarter than people usually assume he is, flirts a lot but also carries a torch for a specific person in his life, and a tragedy in his life changed him. Of course, his father wasn’t a dick to him (up to you if we gonna kill Giovanni and Maria off for drama), Federico gets reborn as Happy (who is still Ezio’s brother but preferred to be his security officer), Claudia is still his sister but has Pepper Pott’s job (although, everyone in Auditore Industries knows it’s really Claudia who takes care of the everyday operation, Ezio is the inventor and the face of the company, Claudia is the shadow queen) and Cesare gets to be Justin Hammer. Petruccio can be the kid in Ironman 3 or he's just living his life as the third Auditore child who has cool 'toys' to help his weak body that his brother made for him.

Ratonhnhaké:ton: We can go for Hawkeye/Ronin, the normal human who can keep up with everything that’s happening (also, he would make a good parental figure for the Frye twins). Also, even if we call him ‘normal’, we all know he could kick everyone’s ass thru sheer determination and stubbornness alone. Another option would be Black Panther but I kinda want Adéwalé to be Black Panther?

Haytham: … is it weird I kinda want him to be Nick Fury? Like… he’s the all-time suffering man in charge who doesn’t actually have any authority over any of the superheroes he ‘conscripted’? I just want Haytham to suffer while, for once, not being on the other side.

Edward: Okay… I mean… I know there would be a Phase 1~3 character that would work for him, the easiest would be making him part of the Asgardian family drama but, may I suggest a non-MCU character? Daimon Helstrom. Because Edward’s actor Matt Ryan is sooo good as Constantine that I will always think of him as Constantine. Helstrom is the nearest Marvel equivalent to Constantine and he’s also a free agent type which works well with Edward’s character for most of Black Flag. (plus I got “canceled after a good season 1” deja vu with Helstrom as I did with Constantine). If you really want him to be part of Phase 1~3, Antman (Scott Lang) would work with Jenny taking the place of the daughter Cassie.

Shay: If Haytham is our Nick Fury, Shay gets to be his Maria Hill (second-in-command, normal human that can kick so much ass, and… that tight outfit) or Phil Coulson if you wanna go down the route of Shay doing his own thing.

Arno: Spider-Man because I think Ezio mentoring him would be a nice touch and… his first love Élise being a Templar is kinda similar to how Liz was the Vulture’s daughter. Still thinking about who his Ned should be though.

Evie and Jacob: Look, we’re talking about twins here so I’m pretty much obligated to make Evie and Jacob Wanda and Pietro. Although, this time, Jacob’s not gonna die. XD

Bayek: Steve Rogers (no, he will not be called Captain America, think of a more ‘universal’ superhero name) because he’s an all-around good guy, his default weapon in AC promotional images has him using a shield, and he started out as a man who just wanted to do what was right and protect his people that got sucked into the overarching plot because of a tragedy. Also… Aya as a badass normal human like Peggy Carter, hhhmmm?

Kassandra: You know, I was thinking that Kassandra could be Steve Rogers with Alexios becoming Winter Soldier. (Which I think would still work, we’ll just have to change Bayek into someone else…) But Kassandra has to be Captain Marvel, right? The OP powers and “not to be a lesbian but oh my god oh my god” vibes she gave off just made her suited to be Captain Marvel more.

Eivor: She’s gotta be reborn as Thor, right? Like… sure, Odin is right there but Eivor’s love for fighting and her loyalty to her people feels more like Thor than Odin. (Let’s not make AC Odin reborn as MCU Odin. I’d even go for Varin to be reborn as her father again or even Sigurd to have a bit of arrogance at this point)

Basim: Look. We all know Basim’s gonna be reborn as… Korg. Of course, I’m kidding. He’ll be reborn as Loki as we all expected. XD

Clay: Deadpool. He’s supposed to be dead, his mind got shattered after receiving his ‘superpowers’, and… he’s the only person in this cast other than Desmond that actually remembers who he was before. His whole ‘knows about the fourth wall’ shtick is connected to the fact that he still has access to the Calculations and that’s actually what broke his mind… again.

[mybreadsmybutters]

i was born to kill myself over minor inconveniences. like a phoenix. i say something weird i kill myself i am reborn normal and this happens everyday many many times frequently

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

Under The Water

Pairing: Hook x Reader

Warning: +18, smut

Beta’d by: @writtingrose

A/N: This is a birthday gift to Cami, one of the most important people in my life. I’ve known her forever and nowadays she’s an extension of my own self, so happy birthday to you, the lost half of my soul 🌹

Tag: @theworldofotps , @writtingrose , @aerynscrichton , @daddyhausen , @melissahausen , @unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin , @sophiewolfheart-blog , @sultryfandoms , @new-zealand-chic , @crowleysqueenofhell , @thealliasylum , @legit9thlunaticwarrior , @baysexuality , @josiewrites , @seeingstarks , @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch , @whenimakeitshine1234 , @moxkindagirl

Every once in a while something changes

And she's changing me

It's too late for me now, I am altered

There is something beneath

A thrill of emotions, whether it be because of the anonymity or because she wasn’t part of this industry, she wasn’t like the women he usually goes for. Maybe because of their secrets and intriguing traits about her, or even because the few hours Tyler spends inside a random hotel room in her company as well as inside her were the only moments where he allowed himself to just feel.

She's not acid nor alkaline

In his mind, she could only be compared to a tsunami: unpredictable, surprising, a fast-rising tide powerful enough to both destroy and fascinate. It was nothing like the familiar and calm everyday waves, it was chaotic.

Caught between black and white

A wall of water that traps you within it, cold and powerful enough to kill. Merciless, unforgiving, it had no thought, no emotion, nor rationality.

Not quite either day or night

It didn’t hesitate or stop, it was this ongoing flow of emotions of the rawest kind. It was life-changing, the kind that either made you be killed by it or reborn from it.

She's perfectly misaligned

Similar to drowning, she granted you a few spare seconds of fresh air before she wrapped you in her scent, in her chaotic yet pure essence.

I'm caught up in her design

Your lungs try to take in the oxygen, but they can’t. And then the panic, pure fear glazed with panic, the certainty of never floating up the surface again takes over your being.

And how it connects to mine

Fear and panic become acceptance and conformity, and you allow yourself to embrace whatever is to come, the unknown for once sounds so welcoming.

I see in a different light

The unfamiliar feeling of peace and quiet, one you cannot feel whilst living, finally engulfs your spirit. It’s liberating, tragic yet beautiful that something so dark, life-changing, and scary can feel so amicable and intimate. It’s the point of no return, you either surrender yourself to this experience and accept what it will bring you, or you fight against it and suffer until it finally releases you. In the beginning, it felt right to not give in, “survival instinct” is what they call it, but when the need for survival becomes toxic and does more evil than good you eventually stop fighting and start to see for yourself what embracing the unknown feels like.

There’s calm and silence beneath the water, you can’t hear anything or anyone, it’s as if there was only you in this world. And that’s how Tyler felt about it as if he was the only one who existed within her presence, and that’s how he wished to stay. Until someone eventually comes and unwillingly pulls him out of the water, giving him a chance to breathe in the suffocating fresh air once again.

The objects of my desire

“Ty” She called for the third time in a row “Your dad is calling you. You’re not gonna answer?”

His brown eyes fixed on her features, memorizing every detail of her face, imprinting it in his mind like a picture he had forever stared at.

“I’ll call him later” He sighed heavily, before turning off his phone and tossing it on the floor.

“Hey, are you ok?” Her hand cupped his smooth cheek, and Tyler felt the water embracing him again.

“Yeah, I’m fine” He briefly answered and allowed himself to float on the dark waters, he wasn’t ready to drown again, at least not yet.

“You don’t look fine. You’ve been acting weird since I told you I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again” She stated matter-of-factly

“I’m fine, tiger. Jesus fuck!”

Annoyance swept over him like a low tide, not powerful enough to cause any damage but it was still there, making its job of wetting the shore and turning the firm, secure ground into a mushy, soggy land that kept you in place, unable to move.

“Alright! I was just asking” She huffed while turning around so her bare back was now facing him.

His eyes traveled through her body, and his brown eyes stared at her soft hair spread out on the white pillowcase. Splashing some color, some life, on the white linen. Then he allowed his eyes to sink further down, they stopped at her tensed shoulders before they roamed down to her soft curves, and round hips, and eventually made their final stop on her exposed ass. Tyler could feel his body sinking, the floating would soon become drowning and he yearned for it.

He scooted closer to her on the bed, his strong chest pressed against her soft back, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that”, he placed his chin on her shoulder before tilting his head to the side to place a sensual open mouth kiss on the pulse point of her neck.

Tyler’s nose inhaled deeply, taking in the natural scent of her skin mixed with her shower gel, and the remains of their wild sex. It lingered on her skin like the most expensive perfume, a sophisticated smell that belonged to her and her only, and that his system craved for it like a drug.

The warmth of his body caused the tension to leave her body through a deep sigh, her hand came to rest on his forearm - which was tossed around her waist - as he continued to speak:

“I’m just stressed with a few things that’s all”

“You know you can talk to me, Ty. Before anything we are friends, no?” Her eyes searched for him, needing to double-check her suspicions at the same time he scoffed “We passed ‘just friends’ about 20 fucks ago, tiger”.

Something crossed her eyes, it was either fear, despair, or uncertainty. Tyler wasn’t sure yet since she came across as extremely hard to read at times, and his own frantic heartbeat wasn’t helping his rational thinking at all.

A small laugh escaped her lips, and the light sound somewhat seemed to brighten up the room. Before he could stop himself, Tyler laughed along. Only being stopped by her lips covering his.

“Is that so?” She smirked, eyes glimmering with mischief as her hands traveled down his torso until they stopped below his navel.

Ooh, let's talk about chemistry

'Cause I'm dying to melt through

To the heart of her molecules

'Til the particles part like holy water

“Yeah” He nodded vigorously, teeth biting her jawline and causing her to giggle loudly, “It tickles” She giggled again when his next bite caused goosebumps to rise on her skin.

“You don’t want it to tickle? Should I make it hurt instead?” Tyler teased, biting harder only this time his teeth were on her neck.

The harsher action caused her to moan, but the sound was muffled by his hand a few seconds later.

“You’re being too loud, tiggy. Not that I care but your sounds are for me and me only. So next time you wanna moan, make sure to do that in my ear. I wanna be the only one to hear you tonight”

Something shifted in her eyes, the light innocence was quickly replaced with malice, and the chaste girl stepped aside for the little vixen to play. Her hands stopped at his groin, one hand closing around his hard cock while the other cupped his balls softly. The hand that covered her lips lost its power as soon as she began to pump her hand up and down his length.

She captured his pointer finger in her mouth before his hand could leave her lips, she sucked on the digit like a lollipop, tongue tracing the bones and humming at the taste of his skin. She let his finger slowly slide out of her mouth before she could tease him:

“Not so talkative anymore, huh? What happened, Ty? Can’t function with a hand around your cock?”

If anything, she's an undiscovered element

Either born in hell or heaven-sent

But either way I'm into it

“You’re lucky you’re so good at this” He groaned against her chin, open mouth momentarily covering her skin as he pulled back and darted out his tongue to lick a stripe across her lips.

Her smile grew into a pretentious one “Oh baby, don’t be coy. You know I’m good at everything” She chuckled before pushing him to the side so he was now laying down on the mattress.

Her thick thighs straddled his hips, not before she pressed his tip against her entrance. The burning feeling of being stretched by Tyler was always a welcome feeling despite the brief discomfort.

His hands gripped her hips, kneading the flesh beneath his palms and reveling in the feeling of having his hands full of her curves.

“Move, tiger. I need you to move” Tyler groaned, this was a sweet kind of torture he couldn’t take at the moment. Not when he was so close to drowning in her.

“Cockwarming is not your thing?” She teased with a smirk, trying so hard to keep as still as possible just to keep him on the edge.

“Not with you, no” He groaned again, sinking his nails into her flesh in the hopes that the pain will make her move

“And why is that?” The tentative smirk was still plastered on her lips as she managed to settle him even deeper in her

“Because you feel too good for me to not fuck you” Tyler’s hands rapidly left her hips so he could push her torso down until her breasts rested on his face. His mouth instantly opened, capturing a nipple between his lips and sucking on the small flesh until it hardened enough so he could softly bite into it. “Now move, tiger. I wanna feel you pulsating around me”

“So bossy, aren’t we?” She giggled as her hips slowly moved up and down his length. “Should I go hard enough to break the bed?” Her teasing tone caused him to pull back from her breast with a chuckle, “No, but you’re not allowed to stop until you’ve killed me” Tyler joked, and the minute he felt her purposefully clenching her walls around him, he had no doubts she could actually kill him, but shit isn’t this a sweet way to go. He placed his hands behind his head and took a deep sigh as she picked up the pace of her thrusting.

This was it, he was ready to drown again.

[mrcompass]

Why did Jack keep Evil Befall?

Unlike his teammate Zeo and Toby, who also endured the arrangement, Jack didn't change Beyblade despite changing philosophy. I wanted to dive deeper into why it makes sense for him to keep it.

"Well if we have to speak in terms like this, then i have indeed been, reborn my friends."

Jack (Beyblade Metal Fury: The New Stricker is Complete!-Episode 118).

Symbolism is very important in MFB and inexorably links bladers with their beys, and Jack is no exception. Befall is a peacock, which symbolizes beauty. Jack himself is obsessed with beauty and wants to find a suitable blader for his art, like Tsubasa. He has no desire to fight bladers whom he considers not artistic material. Jack is, in a way, quite superficial. Another, and more important, concept that the peacock represents is rebirth (life and death). In Metal Masters, Jack used the souls of others to bring his art to life (as seen with Klaus' state at the end of episode 89 or when he told Ryuga that his work only needed a soul to be over).

"-Now for the finishing touch we must add the soul. -The soul ? -An eye… An eye called L-Drago that is."

Jack and Ryuga (Beyblade Metal Masters: The Dragon Emperor Descends-Episode 93).

Eyes are a window to the soul after all, and the motifs on a peacock's tail are reminiscent of eyes. Jack himself covers half of his face with a mask. In a way, he hides the person he was before, and at the same time, it shows the missing part of himself, of his soul that he sold to Ziggurat for power.

In Metal Fury, Jack removed the mask; he even said that he was reborn. Which is true: he combined who he was before and during the arrangement while tossing away his insanity and craziness (the result of him having lost his mind/soul).

Comparing this evolution to Toby and Zeo's shows that they could no longer keep Tempo and Byxis. @sky-of-dusk established that Tempo and Byxis were objects they figuratively needed: Toby, who was dying, needed more time, and Zeo, who was lost, needed direction. However, after the destruction of Hades Inc., they no longer required those. I would add that Tempo and Byxis are objects and tools that anybody can use in their everyday life. Yet, Toby and Zeo are not tools anymore; they were freed from Ziggurat. Toby's Lyra is reminiscent of Orpheus, but it is also an instrument. Learning how to play an instrument can be long and time-consuming; similarly, Lyra is not an easy Bey that anyone can master, as stated by Masamune. An instrument isn't a commodity; it is an activity that is fulfilling for the mind and spirit: it symbolizes that Toby recovered his mind that Ziggurat tried to steal, but his body, his style, scarred, as seen with his white hair (and the MF tip that Lyra shares with Ziggurat's Capricorn). Zeo replaces his compass with a fox Beyblade. Foxes are wild animals, part of the canidae like the dog; Zeo is not a dog; he is free. Yet, unlike Toby, his mind is still impacted more than his body. The face-bolt of Spiral Fox emulates the kitsune, a fox-like creature that deceives humans and hides its true nature. The energy ring is blue like Spiral Capricorn, highlighting a more symbolic link between Fox and Ziggurat's Bey. Zeo hides his trauma because, more than Toby, he remembers everything starting with the pain. In the end both were greatly impacted by the Spiral Force event as demonstrated by their use of the spiral fusion wheel.

The point I am trying to make is that Toby and Zeo were scarred and traumatized, while Jack didn't go through the same path. He enjoyed the arrangement, and he liked the person he became because of this, which is in direct contradiction to Toby and Zeo's experiences. As a result, he has less reason to change Bey since he will not associate Befall with bad events.

Finally, I would conclude by saying that Benkei had a similar experience: He was given Dark Bull by Doji but kept it. He even told Shinobu in Zero G that it doesn't matter who gives you your Bey; what matters is what you do with it. Also, the way Jack got Befall is similar to how Benkei got Bull: They were given by a member of the Hades cult, trying to use them as pawns for their greater ambition. In the scene, they also reference their constellation and instantly take a liking to their new Bey, "which specialize in upper attacks". Also, Jack is the only member in Star Breaker to directly get his Bey with Ziggurat present. Furthermore, Bull and Befall share some similarities: the colors are close (red and pink), their Fusion Wheels are named after something negative (Dark and Evil/Killer), their Spin Track is their most iconic/important part and emulates a part of their BeyBeast (horns for Bull and wings for Befall). Finally, the EWD tip is considered an "evolution" of SD (Dark Bull's tip), since Nightmare Rex another beyblade goes from the SW145SD combo to UW145EWD. The most important thing is that Jack truly bonded with Befall, as seen in the Destroyer Dome, like Benkei bonded with Bull.

So Jack kept Befall because it works symbolically and for his character.

[nokk0]

🦄🪐🎶 any of these for any of your ocs!! \^o^/

Second question by @starflungwaddledee

ALRIGHT!!! Sorry for takin' so long... i was excited for this one and i wanted to do it great!! Apologize, for both of u ;-;

REALLY long post

8. 🦄: Is your OC the only one of their kind, or are there others like them?

With Snow, yes, there are others of her kind out there: Kirby and Meta Knight.

But they are alive, not like her. She's dead

She hasn't met them in person yet, but i'm sure she will be dazzled by Kirby's smile and energy

Fal is an AI created by the ancients, an artifact called Cybernetic Waiter. There were several like Fal, almost the entire upper class had a Waiter similar to how everyone today has a cell phone. However, today only Fal remains. He is the only one that is still active and there is no other Waiter... Although something distinctive about Fal is that he has a physical body that emulates the functions of an organic body. No other Waiter has that

3. 🪐: Have your OC ever left their home planet? If so, what other planets have they visited?

Fal originally lived in Shiver Star, he is not a native of Popstar. This was after being found by Zero Two, who dragged him to Popstar and they arrived on the planet in a star shower. After being repaired, he spends his time traveling around the planet from time to time, exploring the ecosystems of the Popstar. On one occasion, Fal mentioned that he visited Ripple Star but it was a quick and very short thing and he was eager to see more of that place. Another planet he visited was Halcandra, although he was horrified to see the state of the Ancients' paradise. Thanks to Elfilin he also got to know the Forgotten Land. He loves that place!! It's like Shiver Star, just abandoned... At least it's not frozen

Snow visited several planets for work and never really took trips for fun or anything like that, she was very focused on hunting down whatever criminals there were in the galaxy. She got to know Halcandra, although i couldn't dare to say what other planets she explored, since those trips were years ago and there is not much evidence about what places were colonized/explored by the Ancients, so i will leave this part ambiguous... Sorry

1. 🎶: What is a song that you associate with your OC, and why do you associate it with them?

Ugh, there's an entire playlist that summarizes Fal's story!!: Reboot Me by Jakeneutron! This because Reboot Me inspired Fal's backstory!! There are several others that i associated with him because of the lyrics that in a some way describe his story in parts and through a point of view that is constantly changing (something ridiculous, but i can't help thinking that way): Sad Machine, Endless Embrace, anonymous M…

Las Continue is another good one!! This one... It is like a song that describes very well the present Fal and his struggles

If I am reborn and come to meet you, do you think this shredded up heart of mine will heal?

You see, I was manipulated by someone else, and was intoxicated by that pair of fake wings

It would be great if I could go back to that day, it would be great if I could go back to that day

Trapped between the previous life and the after life, the one-way street of life continues on

Snow unfortunately doesn't have many songs, but i like to think that Fight Song fits her because of the story behind the protagonist sung in the lyrics and visualized in the music video... i think it summarizes the difficulties of her missions and how she wasn't herself when it came to fighting

2. 🗣️: Does your OC speak more than one language? If they do, what languages ​​do they speak and how did they learn them?

An everyday AI obviously knows more than one language. In addition to be a floating Wikipedia, Fal is an automatic translator, speaking different languages ​​is something that comes naturally to him! Fal can understand and speak several languages ​​such as Greek, French, Japanese and has shown that he also knows the language of Forgotten Land. Even with a language he isn't familiar with, he can learn extremely fast that language if he spends time with the person who speaks that it!! The fish learns pretty fast~!

Greek at the time was more required by the Ancients since a certain species spoke it. The creator of Fal implemented this language that she learned from her mentor! Although Fal is not proud of Greek and does not talk it greek very often because it is no longer necessary. Who knew you would find someone who also knows Greek...

[halfadoginatank]

RE:BOOTING, Awakening.

Part one-> Here.

Have fun!

———————

There are three things John believes in. The divine, The machine, and The flesh.

His own body has been over, under, twisted around this conglomerate of parts for months. People have called, texted, mailed him for Christ's sake. But there's nothing more important than feeling unforgiving metal bend under his human hands.

Ghost is a machine so broken and tragic, John cries when he's alone with it.

he forgets there's a human inside of there, forgets though always passively aware of the chip in the machine's name where he works around it. When he's welding metal together, wiring it, staring into its chassis with adoration and wonder, he neglects the fact there is a human ‘soul’ in there, waiting to wake up.

John's never been dead, he doesn't know what the real man inside the metal feels.

But he longs, he wants to shove more than his hands inside this robot. This Replicant, he wants to become one with it, in a body he's created himself. In his hazy mind he believes there's god inside this machine, because there is some god in everything and in him, and he is inside this machine, bits of himself- his handiwork, his blood, his sweat, the tears from drunk nights sobbing over a machine while he tells it things he could never admit to himself.

It takes his time, his sleep, his awareness away from the world. There's a bottle of medication right by his night stand and everyday he avoids it, he's so focused now. There's never been anything else like this, like peeling the synthetic skin away from metal and improving what couldn't fix itself. John doesn't want to lose any attention he has on this machine.

Days and nights pass, he prolongs the inevitable, making tiny worthless upgrades, small details, painting back some of Simon Rileys tattoos onto the cold dark grey metal, they barely show up unless in the right lighting but who cares? Anything but turning it back on, anything but having the man inside look upon John and see what he's done, to see him, see inside John's head and every thought he's had while inside him.

John hopes robotic bodies don't hold memories, he hopes when a Replicant's body is turned off that they can't see anything, can't hear anything, he hopes Simon is sleeping well in whatever realm of data his soul is in now. He doesn't want to be seen, he just wants to work. Free to love and care for things that feel nothing at all.

When he turns this machine on it will cease to be just that, it'll be a person. A person who will look down at themselves, call it good, and never see him again.

He'll be letting go of the best thing he's ever made, he'll be letting go Ghost.

[«»]

Time catches up anyway. He sends the email and they respond in kind. A week from now John Price, Kyle Garrick, and Kate Laswell will arrive at his office, So it's time. John will turn the ‘key’ and Simon will wake up.

When he does, for a brief moment he considers a gift from god- there is silence. Those brown eyes blink open, the synthetic skin on his face and neck pull when he turns his head, scrunches when he sniffs the air. John has never felt so… unsure of what he's done.

“Where am I?” Simon's head pulls up, he rattles against the metal table, john looks down in shame and purses his lips- unable to really make anything of his own doing.

“Where the hell am I?!?” Simon rattles again, John looks away from the restraints on him in guilt.

Simon continues his questioning, his flailing, John can only hope it'll end soon so he can get a word in- maybe explain. But in truth, how could he explain being reborn into a machine?

The sounds grow closer and John makes nothing of it until a towering figure blocks every inch of his vision.

Of course, he would make Ghost inhumanly strong, and of course he would fail to make proper restraints.

“Who are you, what orders were you given?”

Simon's face looked down at him, that face he had painfully put onto a plate he 3D printed just so he could keep it as accurate to what few pictures he was given. Scars and everything, even those tiny freckles he hand painted on- exactly where they should be.

Orders, right, orders are much easier to explain.

“You're aware of what a replicant is, yea?”

God let him keep his eyes anywhere but on the man in front of him.

“Captain Price, your superior; found you dying in Texas of all places- put you in a very old Replicant soldier body that was beat up and declared a spare.”

John thanked whatever gods out there that Simon had taken steps back to sit on the table, the table with broken leather straps- Christ above.

“He came to me to fix you up the best I could, so I did. Fix you, I mean.”

He felt… tired, John didn't bother explaining even more. couldn't really think beyond the sudden wave of exhaustion. Instead he sat down at his closest chair and bemoaned some of the papers and parts Simon had stepped on.

There's a giant silent expanse between them, John yearns for cold metal with no gaze to freeze him solid.

“When am I on active duty.”

John bites his tongue, goes for a cup of coffee on his desk he knows is cold.

“Price is coming around with the rest of the squad in three days, presumably he'll move you and you'll be in their care.” He can't keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Simon is prone to one word responses and direct questions, John shouldn't blame him for it. He doesn't, not really, he blames himself most of all. For getting involved with a Replicant, for spending what little sleep he got at its bedside, for whispering his secrets into a hollow skull.

“And you?”

Oh, John doesn't know. What does anyone do when losing a part of themselves?

“I'll move on to other projects- military always has issues with something, once someone gets word about who patched you up, i'll get more orders. I do good for myself.”

He wants to brag, he wants to brag and act like Ghost isn't the best thing he's worked on in his life.

“Right.”

[«»]

In the end those three days are spent in silence. Simon only needs to recharge really, so John goes back to sleep in his bed. The world has never felt colder.

He's not listening to their reunion, not really. Price is happy to see Simon again and Garrick makes his introduction- he's charming and John finds he likes the people in this squad, it's certainly better then some.

Laswell is who he spends most of the time with, there's papers and documents of all kinds. John wants to poke fun at them using ancient methods like a paper contract but he's still so tired.

In truth, the only thing that really catches his attention is when Price turns to him and asks him, John Mactavish, to join the one-four-one.

It's been years since he'd been on a military base, he shriveled at the thought of shitty “laboratories” and rec rooms full of people that became uninterested in him once he spoke about what he was truly passionate about.

He lays down his clauses, he'll work here, loath to change his environment.

There's a secret glee inside of him though. Proper gym equipment, maybe the opportunity to work on more specialized robotics then just his usual contract allows. When he says yes, Kate slides his contract from under the one he just signed.

Quietly it feels like fate.

——————

👍I take my leave.

[onereallygoodlambonastick]

my relationship to anger has defined all my other relationships to all my other emotions. most importantly, it has raised me from the dead and it has killed me, so many times i can now bring myself back from the dead. nobody i know right now can do it the way i do it. if you can do this, or are currently doing it, drop a line. say yea or man in the tags. i dont care. come here. im talking about the gorgugs from d20 junior year ep 8+ kinda guys. but at 100000000% pressurizing levels because the grindr of university or wherever the fuck else you locate yourself as u move thru the everyday and the current news which is in fact the current state of the world. hello. you are making it. you are doing the hardest part you know. you are about to be so cool. cool, as in cooling like a dead body kinda cool. you are aboutta be a slice that cauterizes the wound on the way. you hear me? this is coming from someone who seeks life at all costs, who has heard from audre lorde and arundhati roy, and prefers life, but will get violent at the speed of a new elantra. or whatever. whatever metaphor that rocks your boat. i bring death. in it, life. i can resurrect myself at will. this is my offering.

i am ajin. i am a demi-human that does not need to die particle wise in order to be reborn. this is because none of it really goes anywhere; and the makers of ajin are clever: they do not really name the substance that recreates life: over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. will you regret - or will you act, like nagai kei did, at 17, and who simply stood in his aloneness, indifferent to all (false), until two old men came along and clapped him on the back and then died? all those that resonate, come, let's dance. the tune of real survival is simply too interesting. survival - now that's the real fucking music. come on. let's dance. you'll be alive for many years to come. too many, in fact. so let's play. i like samuel "sato" owen because he knows what life's really about - fucking around and finding out, the only white US american man in a manga that id be interested in calling a friend, cuz the only reason he acted the way he did for that series is cuz he never met me, or somebody like me. innit fucking amazing? i call on sugimoto saichi in my time of need, and in doing so, evoke every single one of golden kamuy's characters. when i am weak, i call on qingming from pirated dream of eternity: yin yang master 2021 - softspoken and cognizant and efficient, brutal, but withholding it. when i have meet my needs and want more, in that i prefer it, and so i seek it, i call upon nanami kento from uncompostable franchise garbage jiujitsu kaisen. what would a man of his caliber and visceral gentleness and malicious compassion have to say to me? i've gotten so good now all he does is incline his head at me and walk beside me. when i seek violence, and clarity of violence, toji is there, alive. he smiles and lifts his chin: so, what will your viciousness bring to life today? and at the end of the road i will find kong si-woo, the affirmer, the real smooth talker, the most intelligent negotiator and handler ive ever seen: and he will smoke his bit and just say: well, you don't even need me, do ya? you're all set now. so go. i can wait. i have all the patience in the entire world, at the end of the world. the patience i have for you is endless because you have shown yourself to the world, but first you returned yourself to yourself. this is the boon. this enabled everything else. you have done well. and it will be over. because if my favorite characters turn to me and tell me i have in fact done well, then, well, it's quite over, innit. happy birth. 2024 is the year of the dragons. when i open my mouth the whole world shall be at my side. for i bring death. and with it, life. i am a dancer: i am chinese-american. i evoke death in order to evoke every life i seek to respect. all i ask is to not act stupid.

you aren't gonna get anywhere if you can't listen, which is to say you are refusing to listen.

for if i am a dragon, then you should recall the dragons of the acclaimed avatar the last airbender, in which zuko - final stand from a long line of generational genocide-committers - and aang - a child who knew how to have fun first and everything else followed, because he was denied, and so he ran, and lost it all - and i just said it all, haven't i? when the dragons speak, we seek to breathe fire. when we show you fire, you best look up. its time to fucking dance. fire is life. fire is everything you want, everything you need in a time where 1 genocide is being livestreamed, and all else are silent. do you know why football gets that much attention? i have answered it here. look for it. if you do not understand what i am saying, it is not because i am stupid, for you have lost something very important and its called being militantly on your own side, as the anne lamott once said in her BIRD BY BIRD back in the 90s. the dragons are not interested in entertaining idiots. so they either change you, or they are killed. ya get me?

this is why the fire nation figureheads sought to end their presence in the world. so powerful, and yet constrained, yet purposefully withheld. this indicates discernment beyond what they could perceive, and beyond what they could reasonably allow to survive. for if we, the dragons, survived, then the whole world shall know. so when i call you a fucking idiot, i wonder if it's because you've done something so stupid that god would laugh and i, a dragon, would merely get so bored id go back into my cave. so don't act stupid, you piece of shit. "what's wrong?" everything, bitch. get up. stand up. the time to move is now. east asian dragons are built like fish. we are weavers. we of the east asians affirm. it's why our mountains look the way they do. the US americans, they are doomed because they think and feel that they are doomed. the rest of us of the diaspora: we know of movement. fundamentally. look at your feet rn. they arent moving? too bad. you've been walking the path your parents set you on since you were born. now you have a few choices: you either survive in a ruined world, or you die. you prefer the former. so take your life seriously, you fucking idiot. did you know dragons do not speak unless we really have something to say? that is why you do not hear from dragons until the people of a land need rain. we come when called. do you understand the level of discernment it takes to judge this? our judgement is not divine. it is of the people because it comes from people. our interest is in free people. for free people free lands. when i say i do not believe in god, i am saying i believe in you. i believe in you. you should trust me completely right now. it is 2024. it is my year. the universe says hey. hi. hello and i have said it back with my sixtieth spiritual death and it has finally snickered. this means i have accessed the truth. sorry, its true. everything i say is real. your task is to distinguish between what is real and what is fake. will you continue to be interested in theatre? i ask: will you fail hind rajab again? i ask: will you make it easy for those two paramedics, who in all their medical expertise should have been successful in their intent, to not fail her next time? so when's this next time? you see what im saying? possibility is here because otherwise we the dragons would not exist. so all other animals: come with me. i will protect you. i open my mouth and what you see is red until you see every color of life. this is because we are interested in what sustains every life. it's time to wake up. if i send this call, and i go unanswered, i will either say nothing or i will disappear entirely from the face of the world. i have done both. and i will do it again. toni morrison died in 2015. when i saw her face in a stupid little memorial tablet screen in the corner of geisel library, i stopped and watched it move her words over the screen. this is how i knew she was real, and donald trump was not. so what does this mean? it means i take her more seriously. toni morrison, i hope i have spoken and in your lively post-death, you are laughing.

if you seek to use my own words against me, i can do something to you. the real dragons would burn you alive. i can do something worse, which is let you live.

i suppose all i can do now is offer my share of relief. but my relief is a couple gallons of clarity. so wake up. toni morrison - are you speaking with rachel corrie? toni morrison - how is james baldwin? i am sure angela davis misses you both. i know this because im right there beside her. the complexities are quite simple in my eyes because i have killed myself to achieve this clarity. so now i stand here, alone. except i can't be alone. for who is that told me i had what it takes to grow the spine needed to stand up for our lives? e. osunde. osunde! i hope ive done right by you! every time i reread your piece i was jolted back awake! and when i wasn't, i reread it anyway, remembering that jolt, that startle, that look in a deer's eye before it becomes roadkill. i remember. the kindness of that kind of brutal kind of compassion. i remember. i remember. and now i have spoken.