#I feel like I could throw another 10 quotes from both in here

[maeljade]

Hey Tumblr, I got a question for the folks that have beaten Dawntrail and Stormblood Dark Knight.

How do we feel about these two? Would the world that Myste wished to build BE Living Memory and Alexandria? A world where you never have to say goodbye and never feel the sadness of parting, because the memories of the departed are deleted.

Yet also a world where people can meet their loved ones again and say what they wanted and spend an eternity together, because Living Memory is designed to support such reunions.

The dead are forever beyond our reach, and we have no choice but to accept the inevitability that everyone we know and love will join them in time ... or do we? Distraught by his failure to see Gallien's final wish fulfilled before his passing, Myste muses on the possibility of a world where time and death hold no power over us. A world you could share. You need only ask. But we know better. - Dark Knight Questlog: "We can never go home"

[kraken17]

One quote from Enid Sinclair per every chapter of Kooky Spooky in which she has been present.

(Note: She is present in Ch.6 & 7 but in a total wolf out, so she has no dialogue).

"Yeah, yeah... relax. The knife-throwing contest is still on. I already made it clear to Wednesday that she could only use volunteers as living targets. Yoko has offered." (Chapter 1)

"I think she's mine and Wednesday's daughter, but not from around here." (Chapter 2)

"Sigh... as tempting as it is I'd ask you both not to maim her just because of her bad habit of spouting occasional idiocy." (Chapter 3)

"They've captured our Friday. Let's go find her and then you'll teach me what's the most painful way to rip off the head of the person responsible." (Chapter 4)

"Sorry, I just… I don't feel like wasting time with this ceremony right now..." (Chapter 5)

"OMG! Why do I always forget this now when I return to my human form!!??" (Chapter 8)

"Holy shit, I'm a hunk." (Chapter 10)

"Aaaw, I think it's very cute. I'm sure deep down your Bruno appreciated this kind of attention." (Chapter 11)

"Are you very fond of this nightgown?" (Chapter 12)

"And I smell people, and pollution, lots of pollution." (Chapter 13)

"Gosh, you're a year older than us now. This is disconcerting." (Chapter 14)

"Wednesday, don't talk about your parents as if they were rabbits." (Chapter 15)

"I'm sorry... I..." (Chapter 16)

"You threw me against a building and caused me to terrify a family! That's very rude!" (Chapter 17)

"At least you're not a racist nutcase who would use her personal Hyde to gather bits of human remains for resurrection rituals." (Chapter 18)

"Your sister told us a little about you when we met her. Well, she told us that you liked to be thrown with catapults..." (Chapter 19)

"I'm not going to fight you! We don't have the time!" (Chapter 20)

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" (Chapter 21)

"Uh, I should say something, but just for calling Tyler a dime-store Hyde I'll let you have a pass." (Chapter 22)

"Wednesday and I are keeping our names because our dimension was the one originally visited by the others... Pure convenience but it was all by mutual agreement between all parties." (Chapter 23)

"What happened to my local counterpart?" (Chapter 24)

"God, it's a little trippy to think of myself as dead." (Chapter 25)

"Principal Weems! Or maybe I should say director... uh... because of the... Yeah, I'd better shut up." (Chapter 26)

"Uh... yeah, it's something I usually do, Wednesday. You used to love to complain about it." (Chapter 27)

"For your own sake, you'd better..." (Chapter 28)

"They will have no hesitation in killing any of you." (Chapter 29)

"You're going...to pay...for..." (Chapter 30)

"Oh... erm... apology accepted my... err... my lord?" (Chapter 33)

"But wait a minute, if they're a confederation of packs how come there's a princess?" (Chapter 34)

"I'm sorry. There's nothing wrong with your last name. It's just that... well, in my reality a counterpart of you is one of my best friends." (Chapter 35)

"Ok, the doppelgänger thing I can get, but what's with the homunculus?" (Chapter 36)

"And now... now I get this story that I'm some kind of... multiversal warrior who reincarnates, like a cheap copy of Avatar: The Last Airbender!?" (Chapter 37)

"Ah, ah. I already know the electricity trick." (Chapter 38)

"We're going to breach The Bright One's defenses. And we won't use magic to do it. What we need is science. Mad science." (Chapter 39)

"What do you say about finding a way to inter-dimensionally travel to a magically sealed universe to rescue Wednesday and Friday and deal with an army of supernatural monsters?" (Chapter 40)

"Six months, my love. It has taken me six months to be able to come back to you." (Chapter 41)

"It's just that if you leave me stranded in another universe I have a bad habit of trying to find my way back." (Chapter 42)

"Oops, someone's a wee bit cranky." (Chapter 43)

"It's just that… Look at her! We're not even talking about being just a MILF anymore. I'm going to be totes a GILF, for real." (Chapter 44)

“My name… is… Enid Addams.” (Chapter 46)

"Fuck, Weds, getting stabbed by a saber shouldn't feel so good!" (Chapter 47)

"Who are we? Right now and right here, we are the Addams family." (Chapter 48)

"Well...I mean...the truth is...erm...Ireallylikeyourhairandyourloosehairdoesthingstome." (Chapter 49)

"Six months, Weds. I've been six months away from you. The word insatiable doesn't even come close to describing how I feel.” (Chapter 50)

“You know, if you keep calling them that they're going to end up being born with horns and wings.” (Epilogue)

[blastthechaos]

Makoto!

1:My first impression of him.

Nice hoodie.

2:When I think I truly started to like him?

I think just seeing him in action made me start liking him lol. He's just cool.

3:A song that reminds me of them.

Honestly, there's many lol, I guess I just list these two.

4:How many people do I ship him with?

Junko, Celeste, Sayaka, Kyoko, Byakuya, Mukuro...I could go on honestly.

Then if we count Crossovers there's Storyshift Chara, Hina Kagiyama and a few more...

5:My favorite ship with him.

Man, I wonder what could it be? Could it be-It's Naejunko, at this point it's fucking obvious.

6:My least favorite ship with him.

None really, If I see a ship I don't like that he has I shrug and move on.

7:A quote of him that you remember.

"I refuse to get bored! I refuse to throw it all away! I REFUSE TO DESPAIR!"

8:Your favorite outfit of him.

The one from THH, it's a no brainer really, it has drip up the wazoo.

9:Your least favorite outfit for him.

Anything that isn't his THH outfit, it's just too cool for me to prefer anything else...though I guess if I had to pick one, it be the one shown at the end of DR3 as Headmaster.

10:Describe him in one sentence.

Unluckily lucky guy filled with Hope and Determination for eternity.

11:What's the first thing you think about when thinking about the character.

People don't realize how cool he is.

12:Sexuality HC!

Pansexual.

13:Your favorite friendship he has.

The one with the males from Class 78, also the one he has with Hajime and Shuichi in the UTDP/DRS universe.

14:Best storyline he has.

The one from THH all the way up to DR3.

Also the one he has in DRS where he saves everyone from Monokuma even if he got his ass kicked.

15:Worst storyline he has.

None that I think are bad.

16:A childhood headcanon.

I had a long complicated story in my head about how he obtained his hoodie that's too long to explain here.

17:What do you think his first word was?

"No that's wrong!" When his parents were feeling down on themselves.

18:How do you think he was a child?

A nice kid, maybe a little more reserved and a loner, though that's because I think he was more of a loner Pre-Hope's Peak

19:The most random ship people have with him.

It's not my place to say it

20:A weird headcanon.

I like to think he likes the delinquent/dark aesthetic which is why he dressed the way he does.

He also doesn't like being compared to an angel cause he likes the aesthetic and look of a demon more, a friendly demon obviously.

21:When do you think he was at his happiest?

In Hope's Peak with Class 78, his friends and his girlfriend Junko before everything went to hell.

22:When do you think he was at his lowest?

After the end of the first class trial after he found out that Sayaka backstabbed him and that she's now dead, plus the fact Leon died too.

23:Future Headcanon.

He holds out for Junko and never seeks another til his final days.

I think he's the last of Class 78...and the last person related to Hope's Peak during the time he entered the school to die, his luck was so potent that it kept him alive til his 150s.

24:What do you think is a secret he never told anyone?

That he wet the bed til 5th grade, what else?

25:When do you think he acted his most OOC?

Not really have an specific moment...I guess that he didn't broke out of the Despair brainwashing by his own?

26:When do you think he was "himself" the most?

Facing Junko in the last class trial and constantly standing up to her til he defeated her.

27:If he could meet a character from another series. Who would be the most fun of him to meet?

Aside from my crossover ships...

I guess meeting STC Sonic because how both of them are so similar yet so different at the same time.

28:The most unnecessary things he ever did?

...I guess him trying to save the Remnants? He didn't have to do it and nobody would have blamed him if he didn't, but he choose to save them anyways...and that's why he is so great.

29:How do you think he would be as a parent?

I think he be a nice and doting parent who let's his kids have their own space.

30:The funniest scene he had?

I think whenever he sasses up his classmates is funny, especially cause I always imagine him doing Ina deadpan manner.

[datauthorress]

The Monster in Her Eyes [Chapter 10]

pairing: alucard / original female character / alexander anderson

summary: years after the death of integra hellsing, a young woman moves into the hellsing estate to start a new life after events happened in her home country. a new butler has been appointed to take care of the estate, which includes the monsters that have been dormant since integra’s death. but her will states that the new owner of the hellsing estate also owns everything belonging to hellsing, including the vampires that lay within.

warnings: car crash [mentioned], blood, injury, torture, loss of finger, character death.

When Shelby opened her eyes, she could feel that her hands were bound behind her back, that she was on the cold, cement floor of some cool room. It felt stiffening.

Like a tight space.

“Sir, are you alright?” she heard a familiar Scottish-accent laced voice ask.

Anderson.

“Besides the pounding in my head and my leg, I think I’m okay.” Shelby replied quietly, before she managed to open her eyes and blink rapidly, so she could take in her surroundings.

It looked like some kind of dungeon cell, with the only source of light being a torch on the outside right next to the cell. There was no window or another source of light in the cell. When Shelby glanced over to Anderson, she noticed the chains around his bulky form, his waist, torso and even the ones binding his arms behind his back. Looked like whoever did this took precautions.

“We’ve been abducted, I assume?” she asked.

“Seems to be sir.” he replied. “You’re bleeding.”

She was indeed. She could feel the side of her head throbbing, the sensation of liquid slowly dripping down from the side of her head. Her leg was throbbing as well.

Glass breaking, metal bending and crunching and the sound of tires screeching as they come to a halt. Voices loud and demanding, arms grabbing hold of her and throwing her around. The sound of shots and a something thin and sharp connecting with her neck, darkness falling over…

“This was planned,” Shelby said quietly.

“It seems to be,” Anderson said calmly. “Can you get into contact with your vampire?”

“No,” Shelby replied, her eyes turning up to a small metal bar just above the cell bars. She noticed one on each wall, all four of them having a green light on the front. “It seems the devices on the ceiling are preventing our connection from being stable. Even though we have discussed me having psychic abilities, it’s still debatable whether or not I can control them. It seems that at least our abductors know Alucard and I have a mental link, so they took precautions.”

“Do you have an idea of who it could be, sir?” Anderson questioned, arching a silver eyebrow.

“Yes,” she nodded. “Sir Grimm.”

“Aye, I remember him. Nasty man,”

“Quite. He wasn’t too happy with me being the head of Hellsing and he definitely wasn’t happy to find out that you’re alive as well,” Shelby answered, wincing softly as she moved her leg to try and shift herself into a better position. “I have a theory that he’s going to kill me,”

“Which he won’t get the chance to,” Anderson said with a scoff.

Before Shelby could reply, both of them heard the sound of voices and footsteps. Both of them watched as two security guards came into view, both of them holding large lanterns and then the frame of Sir Grimm.

“Should’ve fucking known you would do something like this,” Shelby said, anger within her voice despite being calm.

“You’re too smart for your own good, Miss O’viere.” Sir Grimm said.

“Where’s Walter?” she demanded.

“I left the butler where he was.” Grimm spoke, referencing the vehicle they had been in.

“Why are we here?” Anderson asked.

“Originally I just wanted Miss O’viere, but I figured this would be a great opportunity to get you on my side, priest.” Grimm replied, the slight curl of his lips on the left side.

“He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death.” Anderson quoted.

“Exodos 21:16, very nice.” Shelby complimented.

“You know of the Bible?” Grimm scoffed.

“I may be Agnostic, but I’ve read the Bible many times.” Shelby snapped back. “Anyway, what do you want with us? I assume you’re going to kill me eventually.”

“Oh, you are quite right on that, Miss O’viere.” Grimm said, before he signaled one of the security guards. The guard unlocked the cell, allowing Grimm inside with one of the lanterns. “But for now, I want you to suffer. Integra was never easy to intimidate, but you…. you put up a good front, but deep down, I know you’re pathetic and scared of everything.”

“Sorry to say you’re wrong,” Shelby said, glaring up at him. “But you are right about one of us being pathetic.”

Grimm’s eyebrow scrunched and he raised a hand, before bringing it down and striking Shelby across the face with his palm. Shelby’s head snapped to the side roughly and she was stunned for a moment before she hissed and turned her head back to Grimm, a dribble of blood coursing down her chin.

“Shut your mouth, whore.” Grimm snapped.

“Sir -,” Anderson began.

“I’m fine,” Shelby said, before she spat blood in Grimm’s face.

Grimm made a facial expression of disgust and backhanded her across the face, sending her to the floor. Shelby grimaced, already feeling both of her eyes puffing up from the hits.

“Unbind one of her hands and pin it down,”

Shelby grunted as the security guards grabbed her by her shirt before she was pinned onto her stomach. She tried to resist as her left hand was taken out of her bindings and pinned onto the floor by her wrist. Shelby glanced up as Grimm brought out a large knife from his pocket and knelt down beside her, a sick grin on his features.

“So, which finger shall I cut off?” he asked.

“How about none?” she growled.

“Oooh, afraid that’s not the right answer, Miss O’viere.” Grimm tsked.

“Keep your hands off of her,” Anderson demanded, pulling on the thick chains that were holding him back.

“What about your index?” Grimm asked, ignoring Anderson’s demands as he placed the knife across Shelby’s left index finger. “It’ll be hard for you to grasp things, not that you already have issues because you got every bone in your hand broken by that vampire.”

Shelby remained quiet, though she was breathing hard. Her head was being held down on the side of her face, so she could watch as one of her fingers would be cut off. “Not talking?” Grimm taunted. “That’s alright. I’ll have you screaming in seconds.”

After about five seconds, Grimm grabbed onto her middle finger and kept it pinned down. He placed the base of the sharp blade against her flesh, pressing down slightly and causing Shelby to wince. “You could beg for me to stop, Miss O’viere. I might consider it.”

Shelby glared at him but said nothing.

Grimm shrugged and pressed the blade down more, causing her hand to tense up and her fingers to bend from the pain that began to spread through her hand. Blood began to bead from the laceration and Grimm continued to press down.

“Come on! Beg for me to stop!” he demanded.

“Fuck you,” she spat.

“You little…” he snarled, raising the knife into the air before he brought it down onto her middle finger, completely severing it from her hand.

Shelby released a scream of utter agony, blood gushing from the newly made wound. It hurt. It hurt so bad, more than when her leg had been crippled from the car accident so many years ago.

“Shelby!” she heard Anderson call out; concern laced within his voice.

Shelby felt tears burning the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them spill. Grimm scoffed, obvious disappointment in his features. He grabbed the severed digit from the floor, glancing at it before wrapping it up in a napkin.

“My dog will enjoy this,” he muttered.

“Vile bastard,” Anderson swore, gaze darkening at the other man.

“Bind her,” Grimm ordered.

Shelby was picked up once more and she grunted as she sat up, blood still seeping from the stump on her hand as her hand was bound behind her back. Once that was finished, Grimm grabbed a fistful of her collar and slapped her hard across the face, causing blood to fly from her mouth.

“Do you get off on this, asshole?” Shelby coughed, glaring at him. “Picking on others to make yourself feel better. I bet your wife left you because you have a tiny d-,”

Before she could finish, Grimm fetched his gun from his hip and smacked her across the face with the butt of it, causing her lip to split and for her to fall to the floor once more. Her vision swam, her hearing low and disorienting as she heard Anderson’s demands to let her free.

A fistful of her short locks was grabbed again and Grimm made her sit up. She noticed that he was speaking, but his words were distant. And then….

She felt something.

A presence in her mind, attempting to connect with hers. She willed her mind to relax, blocking out Grimm completely. With a pulse, her mind was open and willing and blinked quickly, seeing red before she saw her vision magnify, moving forwards quickly. It was as if she was moving quickly, but not moving at all, the presence that she connected with taking control as it moved rapidly within the walls of the dungeon, up a series of stairs and into a foyer where two guards were guarding the door. The redness finally moved through the doors, down a long gravel driveway and to a road, surrounded by trees and fields.

“Master, I can see you.”

“Alucard?” she whispered.

“I can see you. I know where you are. I’m coming for you, Master.”

And then the connection broke and her vision returned to normal.

“Alucard…” she murmured.

“What did you just say?” Grimm demanded.

A grin began to spread across her battered features, and she began to chuckle, before it turned into full-blown laughing. Grimm didn’t seem amused in the slightest.

“What the hell is so funny?” he asked.

“Alucard knows where we are.” She sang, grinning despite the pain in her face. She relished seeing the color drain from Grimm’s face. “And once he finds us, he’ll have his orders to search and destroy. I would say your prayers if I were you, Grimm. Because you’ll get no mercy from him.”

Grimm snarled and pushed her away, before barking an order at the guards. They left, locking the door behind them, and quickly walked away.

Shelby sniffled, feeling blood dripping from her nose.

“Alucard is on his way, then?” Anderson asked, eyebrows furrowing slightly.

“He is,” she nodded. “Good thing too. I’m dying to see what he’ll do to Grimm.”

“I’d imagine it’ll be quite bloody,”

“Mm,” she said in agreement.

~ ~

It was about an hour later when a security guard came back, unlocking the door to the cell. He approached Shelby and crouched down to undo one of her hands. As soon as her hand was freed, Shelby slammed her fist into his cheek and knocked him back. When his hand came back forwards, she kicked him square in the face, watching as he fell back, knocked out.

With enough room, Shelby rummaged through his pockets and found the key to Anderson’s chains. She finished freeing herself, before she limped over to the priest and began unlocking the chains.

Both of them glanced up as gunshots rang out from a floor or two up. “I recognize those sounds,” Anderson said.

“Hm,” Shelby said and unlocked the last chain, letting them fall onto the ground with a clatter. As she took a step back, her leg buckled and she stumbled, to which Anderson used an arm to wrap around her waist to prevent her from falling.

“We need to get you medical attention, sir.” he said, helping her stand upright.

Before Shelby could speak, a loud gunshot rang out throughout the smaller room and blood sprayed onto her face. Her eyes closed on instinct and then she opened them again, glancing at the priest before her.

“Anderson?” she whispered.

His body toppled to the floor, a bloody hole in his forehead.

“I should have just killed you right from the start,” Grimm sneered, approaching her with a gun aimed right at her forehead. “You are nothing but a bug that needs to be squashed. A worthless human being.”

“I think it’s the other way around,” Shelby said, seeing something glint in the corner of her eye. She glanced at it, noticing it was one of Anderson’s bayonets, sticking out from his sleeve. So he had them the entire time.

“You fucking whore,” Grimm snarled.

Right before he pulled the trigger, Shelby ducked down quickly. The bullet imbedded itself into the wall where her head had been, and she grabbed up the bayonet before she lunged at Grimm. He reacted quickly, shooting at her once more and the bullet broke through the blade, snapping it in two and grazing her shoulder. She felt the pain but powered through it and shouted as she drove the broken bayonet into Grimm’s gut.

He immediately shouted out in pain and toppled to the floor, taking Shelby with him. The gun clattered away from him out of arm’s reach and Shelby yanked the bayonet out of his gut, causing blood to gush out of the wound.

Grimm watched as she raised the broken weapon, his eyes widening in realization. “No, wait-!”

Shelby drove the blade into Grimm’s chest, blood immediately pooling at the wound. He choked as the metal stabbed through muscle and tissue, into major arteries. She gritted her teeth, tears pooling in her eyes as she yanked the blade out, blood splattering onto her face and clothing. She screamed and drove it into his chest again, then again and again and again…

“Master!”

“Sir!”

Cold hands grabbed her by the shoulders, and she screamed once more, rearing her hand back to stab whoever had grabbed her. Immediately a large hand took hold of her wrist, stopping it from reaching said person. She felt a cold hand cup her cheek, another hand (albeit warmer) touch her shoulder. She blinked, shaking as she glanced up to the faces of both Alucard and Anderson, concern etched in their features.

Shelby breathed shallowly, loosening her grip on the handle of the weapon, and letting it fall from her grasp, barely hearing it clatter onto the cement floor. Her features scrunched as tears began to roll down her cheeks and she released a choked sob before the vampire before her pulled her close against his chest.

“It’s over, master.” Alucard spoke, his voice unusually soft.

Shelby shook as his arms wrapped around her protectively, shielding her from the gory scene behind her.

She had never killed anyone in her life. Never even had the thought.

Was it self-defense?

It had to be.

“Anderson, take her. I’ll deal with the remainder of the enemies here,”

Shelby didn’t resist as strong arms lifted her up and she immediately curled one arm around the priest’s neck, the other hooking around his shoulder, shoving her face into the crook between his shoulder and neck. She heard his breath hitch slightly, before he cleared his throat and began moving.

Shelby could hear the sound of distant gunshots going off as she and Anderson entered the upstairs area. It was the same as she had seen earlier. She heard the sounds of voices and could see blue and red sirens coming from outside. She turned her head slightly forwards as they approached the open doors and winced softly as the rays of the setting sun cascaded across her battered features.

“We’re outside, sir.” she heard Anderson say softly, his grip remaining firm by gentle.

“They’re coming out!” a voice called out.

The first person to come forward was Walter and she could see the few bandages on his face, from the cuts of the car accident earlier. “Shelby, oh my god…. bring her over here, Anderson.”

Anderson walked over to the ambulance, where the paramedics had a stretcher out for her. He went to put her down, but she refused to let go of him for a moment.

“You’re safe,” he said softly.

After some hesitation, Shelby relinquished her hold on him and allowed him to set her down on the stretcher. The paramedics guided her gently to lay back, as they began to check her vitals.

Walter saw the extent of her injuries. Multiple cuts and lacerations, the missing digit from her hand. His blood boiled with rage, but he kept himself calm.

“She’s in shock, we need to get her to the hospital now.” the paramedic said, beginning to place straps over her body to keep her in place.

“I’ll go,” Walter said, before he turned to Anderson. “Stay here until Alucard comes out and meet us at the hospital.”

“Understood,” the larger man nodded.

With that, Walter hopped into the ambulance.

~ ~

Multiple lacerations, bruises and cuts littered her body, mostly in her facial features. She was now missing the middle finger of her left hand, which had been cleaned and bandaged up. She had been allowed to shower quickly though before she had put on a gown and been situated into a room.

While the authorities took her statement, Walter had stayed by her side the entire time. When Anderson and Alucard arrived, the authorities had been intimidated by their presence, but ultimately had to stay to get a statement from Anderson. He was pulled aside so they could take his statement.

“Nothing is left, master.” Alucard spoke, red eyes glowing softly as he looked down at her.

“Good,” she said quietly.

Anderson walked back into the room with the authorities and the male cop cleared his throat. “Everything seems to check out, Miss Hellsing.” he said. “Father Anderson’s statement matches with yours.”

“And what will become of what happened to Grimm?” Walter asked.

“It’ll be shown as self-defense.” The cop replied. “You did what you had to do to protect yourself.”

“Good,” Walter said.

“We’ll take our leave now and get the report written up.” the cop said. “If we have any further questions, we’ll give you a call.”

“Thank you, gentlemen.” Walter said politely.

The cops nodded and left the room, giving them privacy. Shelby sniffed. She had never liked cops, but some weren’t too bad.

“I’m going to email the Round Table and let them know of this disaster,” Walter said. “This could have been prevented if Grimm had never been allowed onto the Round Table. I knew he was going to be a problem from the very moment we met him.”

“Aye, I agree.” Anderson agreed.

“Master,”

Shelby glanced up at Alucard, noticing the gleam in his blood-red eyes.

“Give me an order, master.” he grinned widely. “Tell me what to do, who to go after, who to destroy.”

Shelby swallowed thickly, before her gaze hardened. “You have one order, Alucard. Search and destroy. Until there’s nothing left of them, nothing left of Grimm’s estate, nor his bodyguards, security guards or people who knew about his plan to kill me.”

His grin widened, sharp fangs glinting in the light of the room. He bowed to her, eyes glowing brightly.

“As you wish, my master.”

And then he was gone, phasing through the wall.

Shelby leaned back against the pillows, resting her head against them. She knew Alucard would take care of them, no matter what.

“I need to rest,” she said softly.

“I’ll stay here,” Anderson volunteered.

“And I’ll position two guards outside your room, sir.” Walter said.

“Thank you,” she nodded, letting her eyes drift close for some much-needed sleep.

[frontproofmedia]

GERVONTA DAVIS VS. RYAN GARCIA LOS ANGELES PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES AND PHOTOS

LOS ANGELES – Undefeated boxing superstars Gervonta “Tank” Davis and “King” Ryan Garcia squared off for the second straight day on Thursday, this time in Los Angeles as they completed back-to-back, coast-to-coast press conferences to preview their highly anticipated 12-round showdown that headlines a SHOWTIME PPV production on Saturday, April 22 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Davis vs. Garcia is promoted by GTD Promotions, TGB Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions.

Tickets for the live event go on sale Friday, March 10 at 10 a.m. PT and will be available through www.axs.com.

Pre-sale tickets are available NOW until 10 p.m. PT today with the code: BOXING

After an animated face off at Wednesday’s event in New York, Davis and Garcia got up close and personal again on Thursday in Los Angeles, exchanging heated words and more, with Davis playfully throwing a left hook that whizzed inches from Garcia’s chin and Garcia shadowboxing in close proximity to Davis during the ceremonial stare down. Here is what the press conference participants had to say from The Beverly Hilton:

GERVONTA DAVIS

“Come April 22, I’m gonna walk you to the deep waters and I’m gonna drown you. They gonna have to pick you up. I promise you that.

“This guy keeps talking about how he’s gonna hit me with a hook, but he doesn’t have anything else but a hook. What else have you got? He’s not a complete fighter.

“When you’re a complete fighter, you can do everything. You can’t just depend on one punch. What happens when that punch doesn’t work? You have to rely on something else.

“I feel as though I’m already that top guy in the sport. This fight is just about me getting over the hump.

“This is gonna be an explosive fight. If you don’t watch boxing, this is the fight to watch for sure. If you can get there, make sure you’re there. If you can’t be there, buy the pay-per-view. Because this is gonna be a good one for me.

“He’s putting on a front for the people. That’s what I see. I see a guy who’s an act. That’s what it is.

“Didn’t Ryan get caught by Luke Campbell? Do I hit way harder than Luke Campbell? Yes or no?

“I’ve put a lot of guys to sleep and Ryan is next.”

RYAN GARCIA

“I’m here to win and I promise you that I have heart and determination like you’ve never seen before. ‘Tank’ likes to fight guys that don’t hit hard, but I hit hard. When I hit you with that left hook, you’re gonna be on the floor. Asleep. Good night.

“This is such a big event, but I know that I’m coming out on top. It’s one thing to get to the moment, but it’s another to conquer the moment. So I’m not just happy that we’re here, now I’m focused on winning.

“I’m just going to let him think what he thinks. If he thinks all I have is the left hook, then he’s going to run into other shots and be confused. If he had watched any of my fights he’d know what else I have.

“He’s going to try to walk me down, but when he feels shots like this, he’s not going to want to do that. I’m going to hit him to the body and take the aggression out of him. I have a lot of ways to stop him.

“I’m not here to lie, he’s ready to fight. He wants to bring it. He doesn’t look scared, but I’m ready to fight too. We both have fire in our eyes.

“Don’t be mad that my left hook is blessed. Maybe that’s all I need. Maybe that’s all it’s gonna take.

“Nobody else could put together this type of event. Whoever wins this is on top. Whoever wins is the face of boxing and I truly believe that.

“I’m gonna beat him and I’m gonna knock him out. See you on April 22.”

CALVIN FORD, Davis’ Trainer

“We have two of the best young undefeated guys going at it April 22. You have to be in front of the TV or there in person. They’re going to put on a show.

“Everyone knows what ‘Tank’ is gonna do, because he does it for the fans. You haven’t seen the best of Gervonta Davis yet. Is Ryan ready to bring it out of him?

“These two guys are showing you how boxing is supposed to be. The young ones are coming and this is the start right here.”

JOE GOOSSEN, Garcia’s Trainer

“These are two great guys and they’re going to have it out on April 22. These guys both have an unusual level of talent. I’ve trained a lot of guys over the decades, and Ryan Garcia is one of the most unique individuals I’ve trained, in many ways. He’s one of the most dynamic guys I’ve ever worked with in terms of speed, power, ring IQ, determination and courage.

“This is going to be a great fight. I think both camps realize that each of these guys are at the top of their game and they’re going to put on a great show for the fans. I can’t wait until it’s time to get into the ring and see who’s the best in the world.”

TOM BROWN, President of TGB Promotions

“I want to thank everyone who came together to make this fight happen, and we all know who really made this fight happen, and that’s ‘Tank’ and Ryan. We have a hell of a show and we can’t wait to see ‘Tank’ and Ryan do their thing in the ring on April 22.”

LEONARD ELLERBE, Boxing Promoter

“This is a monster event on April 22. This is must-see. If you can’t be in attendance, be sure to tune in on pay-per-view, because I guarantee you from round one on, it’s going to be nothing but fireworks. This one is ending in a knockout.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions

“This is where legacies start for both fighters. Both fighters are facing someone who’s undefeated and someone who’s at the peak of their career. This is a whole new level and a whole new experience coming out to that ring fighting somebody undefeated with your skill level and your will and your determination. This is what boxing is all about.

“I want to thank Ryan Garcia for wanting this fight for years. Boxing is alive, and the winner will be the face of the sport. So may the best man win.”

BERNARD HOPKINS, Golden Boy Promotions Partner

“This fight reminds me of the big fights we had in the 80’s and early 90’s. I come from a city called Philadelphia and this is what we do and who we like.”

“Around the world, the fans have been craving this fight. So tell all your friends, even the ones you don’t like, to watch this fight.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, President, SHOWTIME SPORTS

“These are the types of days and events that remind us all why we got into this sport and why we are fans of this sport.

“I guarantee you with all the experience and all the events these guys on this stage have been through, including myself, each one of us has goosebumps right now because of the energy and adrenaline of nights like this. This is something that only boxing can provide.

“This is a throwback fight. It’s a fight and a rivalry as big as any in this sport. This is exactly the kind of fight that reflects the best that this sport has to offer: two young fighters in their prime, who are the two most exciting young fighters in the sport.

“Outside of the ring, the stories are even better. As different as these two fighters are physically, their personalities and their styles, they are very alike in one way. What these two young men have overcome, the obstacles they have conquered is the stuff of Hollywood movies.

“Mike Tyson once said, ‘You never lose until you give up.’ Giving up is the one thing that neither of these two fighters have done. That’s why I know April 22 will be a classic fight, because these two superstar fighters are willing to take that challenge.”

(Featured Photo: Esther Lin/Showtime)

[softredrobin]

ren's redacted hands, redux: sam

Hey y'all! So I'm sure everyone remembers my very first foray into the redacted hands series (the entirety of which can be found here). I realized that after the first two sets, every set had a unique sort of texture to it, and I wanted to give Sam and David the same treatment.

without further ado, a redux by ren:

(you can find the original here!)

See the original for flower meanings, and below the cut for more extended ramblings.

For Sam's pattern, I wanted something with detail, but something delicate to really demonstrate the gentleness that is such a facet of Sam and Darlin's relationship: both of them have been hurt, and they're so unused to gentle touch. Lace is beautiful, takes time and effort to make, and is easy to tear.

Sam and Darlin's relationship means so much to me for reasons that are really too personal to get into in a public tumblr post. I often find myself going back and rewatching Sam's entire playlist on a semi-regular basis. There's so much to their story, to both of these characters, and obviously, the fandom agrees: Darlin and Sam are the third and fourth most popular character tags in the Redacted ASMR fandom tag on Ao3, and Sam/Darlin is the top relationship tag. Erik really said "take this" and then this fandom said "I Am Going To Be So Normal About This".

I did this art without knowing it would become a series, and so both are from Sam's BA. Because of that, there wasn't specific thought put into choosing quotes, rather this art was made for these quotes specifically. Maybe someday everyone will get a round two (properly) and I'll do different ones. For now, I'll treat you to some of my other favorite quotes from our Southern vamp. This list is already going to be... abysmally long I'm really calling myself out here so I'm only including lines said to Darlin directly which might have been turned into pieces.

Vampire Tends to Your Injuries:

"Hey— it's gonna be okay. I got this. I got you. […] It's okay. You're gonna be okay." (4:35)

Your Bond With a Vampire:

"You sound like you're hurting. And not the physical way this time."

"Whatever it is, I'll do what I can. Even if that's just to listen." (0:44)

"I don't wanna see any harm coming to you. Not if there's anything I can do about it." (31:48)

Getting Closer to Your Vampire Mate:

"You're good people, Darlin. I don't want anything to happen to you." (3:41)

"All we can do is make the best of the hand we've got now. We can't go back. All we can do is try to make what's ahead a little less shitty. And show ourselves a little compassion along the way."(18:18)

"Hey. Are you all right? No, I'm not talking about 'will be'. I'm talking right now. Are you all right?" (18:47)

"I got you. Of course I'll stay. You don't have to keep the armor up tonight. The fighting's done. You can just rest. I got you, Darlin." (19:37)

Cuddles and Confessions with Your Vampire Mate

"I'd say we both could use the break. One day to catch our breaths before all those outside problems have to be real again. I can pretend for a day, if you can." (6:15)

"You've got a gentle touch. […] Maybe a bit surprised, yeah. But I also know that the way we throw ourselves at the world doesn't have to reflect the way we tackle everything in life. People aren't simple. We all exist in shades. And gentle touch is a shade of you I'm glad to know. I imagine it's a part of you not everyone gets to see. And in that case, I consider it an honor." (8:33)

"It comes easy with you. A lot of things come easier when it comes to you. And that's a good feeling." (10:15)

"This is your pantry? You know there's supposed to be food in here, right? Do I dare even open that fridge… How are there so many condiments and no actual food?!" (12:16)

"It's been a long time since I cared for another person the way I've come to care for you. And it can be just that. Care. I’m not sitting here hoping or expecting it to be anything more. But I want you to know that. That I care for you very much. My life feels better with you in it. And I’m grateful for that." (16:18)

"We don’t have to know what this is gonna be just yet. That’s okay. For now, I’m just… glad to be near you. We can figure out the rest in time." (18:42)

Warming Up with Your Vampire Mate:

"Knowing they care about you doesn’t just magically make it all work overnight. And it doesn’t make you ungrateful or unworthy of that care for struggling with it sometimes. But the care they feel for you is honest. And it matters. Give it time, Darlin’." (11:26)

All Along:

"Darlin? It is so fucking good to see you. Hold you." (sorry about this one...) (21:55)

Going All The Way With Your Vampire Mate:

"You feel like home, Darlin. And that means more than you know to someone like me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever find home again. But I feel it with you." (22:39)

"I keep these walls high so those feelings can’t get the better of me, but you climbed over them. And you’re in here. I love you, Darlin. Deeply." (24:36)

BA (past YouTube preview, but nothing explicit):

"Are you alright? You're tensing up, I can feel it. Is this okay? I can slow down... Oh Darlin, no. Hold up. Look at me, look at me. Your body is beautiful, just as it is. Hey, hear me when I say that. Because I mean it."

"The way I feel with you, it's like nothing I've ever felt. And that is such a gift. There's no pretense with you, no fear. No walls. I can show you all of me, even the parts that aren't so pretty, and it still feels right. And easy. I feel known, when I'm with you. In a different world that might be scary, but with you, it's not. Because it's you."

"You meet me in the middle. You open yourself up not just to me but to your own feelings and you let me see them and that's an amazing fucking thing."

"Everything with you just feels... safe. And honest. And it's been a long time since it felt like that. I meant it when I said you feel like home. You feel like... sunlight, on an easy day. That warmth and that comfort. Gentle and all around. It's you. And I'm so grateful for that. I love you, Darlin."

Alright, if you got this far, thanks for sticking around... or for scrolling through all that mess. They're broken down by video because I literally ran into the character limit for a single block while making the list. I've been writing this post for literally nearly two hours, so I'm wrapping it up here.

[nightowlfandom]

CEO! Min Yoongi- My Favorite Secretary

Why hello there!

ANON ASKS

Hi! Want to make a nasty petition pls. I want CEO Yoongi but he is so mean and strict with y/n he discharges all his frustrations and stress on her until he gets to fuck with her. I want a hard smut plsss

With these :

3, 15, 21, 60, 66

OOOOH FUN!!! LET’S GET INTO IT I was not too proud of this one...but here you go! Yo this one was LOOONNGGG, like shit. 

3- I said FUCKING BEG!

15- Whose gonna stop us? I own this fucking place, baby.

21- That’s right, you fucking worship me don’t you? Look up at me like I’m your god.

60- I found that little journal you made about me. I think it’s so cute how you fantasize about me, darling.

66- I’m gonna corrupt your mind. I love to play with you like you’re a fucking violin.

CHECKOUT MY MASTERLIST HERE!!

leggo!!

... (Monday)

“You’ll have to redo these reports.” a stack of papers was thrown onto your desk. You stared up at your boss in disbelief. 

“And just what’s wrong with them?” you raised an eyebrow. 

“There are exactly 15 typos in these reports and since I don’t care enough to go through them with you, I want them redone.” 

Min Fucking Yoongi. CEO of Bangtan Enterprises. You of course were a humble secretary who wrote reports on every idol and client that walked through the damn door. 

“I spent hours on those!” you tried to defend. “I already deleted the stupid file to save space on my computer!”

“You have until the end of the week.” he walked away without another word. 

“Sora didn’t even turn in her reports because she stayed up playing fucking Doki Doki Handsome Husband Haven and you gave her an extension!” 

Yoongi didn’t respond as he turned the corner. 

“Are you fucking kidding me.” you seethed. 

... (Thursday Afternoon)

“Y/N!” you heard the horribly scary voice. 

“What now?” you whimpered. You turned around in your chair to see your boss fuming. “Yes, Mr. Min?”

“YOUR REPORTS ON MY CLIENT ARE LATE!”

“No they aren’t! They aren’t due for another three days!” you tried to defend. Everyone else was starting to stare. They all knew how they treated you and they all felt super bad that he chose you to bully. 

“I SENT AN EMAIL YESTERDAY SAYING I WANTED IT TODAY AT 10:00 IT’S NOW 2:00!”

“No you didn’t! I would have seen it-” you tried to speak.

“YOU HAVE TWENTY MINUTES TO HAVE IT DONE OR YOU CAN SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR JOB.” 

“Y/N, don’t cry...you’re doing that thing you do when you’re about to cry.” your friend came over to your side. “Don’t waste your tears on that asshole.”

You inhaled dramatically, starting to type furiously through your blurry vision. You felt the tear slip down your cheek and you went to furiously wipe it.

...(Lunchtime: Thursday Afternoon)

Sobbing in the bathroom was a thing right?

Your two friends, Dahyun and Sana stood outside the bathroom stall as you sobbed into your hands. They were convincing you to not quit.

“Y/N, You know this is the only job that will let you live comfortably in this city. Other than being a teacher...and who’d want that?” Sana shuddered. “He’s done this more than TWICE now.” (...I’M NOT SORRY)

“I HATE HIM! I FUCKING HATE HIM.” You cried. “WHY IS HE ALWAYS MEAN TO ME!” You furiously wiped your eyes.

“Y/N, Open the door.” Dahyun sighed. “Let us in.”

The stall door slowly open and your two friends were met by a totally distraught woman. Your hands were stained with your eyeliner that you hand managed to completely wipe off leaving your tired face. 

“Y/N, he’s working you to the bone. You don’t even smile anymore.” Sana kneeled in front of you, taking your dirty hands into hers. “Why do you let him bully you?”

“Because if I don’t, I won’t have a job.” you sniffed. 

“Is someone dying in here?” you heard Miss. Hyuna, another boss walk in. “Aw honey, did a boyfriend break up with you...do you want me to ‘accidentally’ get his car towed?”

Miss Hyuna was both Sana’s and Dahyun’s boss, you guys just liked to have lunch together.

“It’s Mr. Min.” Dahyun spoke for you. “He’s working Y/N to the bone. He only ever bullies her and no one else. I’ve seen it personally.”

“Is that so?” she raised an eyebrow, looking less than happy. “Is that true Miss. L/N. Is Mr. Min treating you unfairly?”

You couldn’t speak, so you just nodded. 

“All he does is yell at and belittle her every chance he gets.” Sana looked at Miss. Hyuna.

“Hm, I’ll go talk to him, right now. If he fires you, he’ll answer to me.” was all she said before she walked away. She ignored Sana trying to hold you back from stopping her.

Hyuna walked out of the bathroom with fire in her eyes. She walked by your desk only to see what looked like an open notebook with the words ‘The Min Yoongi Files’ written in permanent marker on the first page.

“This must be her case.” she shut the notebook, ignoring the childish looking anime stickers on the inside page. “I should take this for evidence, I hope she won’t mind.”

“Yoongi!” Hyuna stormed into his office, shutting the door behind her.

“Hey Hyuna, what’s up?” Yoongi looked up from his lunch. “What can I do for you?”

“What’s this I hear about you mistreating a worker? One of YOUR workers?”

“Pardon me?” he raised an eyebrow. “Mistreating?”

“Two of MY workers are busy consoling Y/N L/N in the ladies restroom on their lunch break of all times because according to all three of them, you’ve been unfairly treating her!!” she glared. She slammed the notebook down on his desk. “This should speak for itself.” she sighed. 

“I don’t mistreat Y/N L/N, She’s insolent! She needs discipline.”

“SHE’S YOUNG.” Was Hyuna’s comeback. “You can’t treat her like she’s a piece of garbage just because she makes one typo!” 

“Her typos cost us time.”

“So does your shameless reprimanding her for missing a semicolon.” she rebutted. “Think about it! Are men always this stupid.” she looked him up and down before walking out of his office.

Yoongi watched dumbfounded. He took at look at the notebook she left behind.

“Property of Y/N L/N.” he read aloud. He flipped it open to the first page to see a bunch of shiny and matte stickers all over the inside cover. “The Min Yoongi Files? Speak for itself, huh?” (read more below the break)

...

(The Next Morning) (Smut Warning)

You begrudgingly trudged into the office. Not only were you tired, but you were dreading. You had multiple deadlines.

“L/N, MY OFFICE.”

“Shit...” you seethed. You walked past your desk into Yoongi’s office. He was sitting at his desk, flipping through the pages of a very familiar looking book. “You wanted to see me sir?”

“Yes, I did.” he shut the book and slid it over to you. “Care to explain?”

“Holy fu- ” You had forgotten you left your diary on your desk. How did he get a hold of that?

“ I found that little journal you made about me. I think it’s so cute how you fantasize about me, darling. Hyuna gave it to me thinking it was a list of every terrible thing I’ve done to you. I didn’t know it would be a list of every terrible thing you wanted me to do to you.” his face spread into a smirk. 

“You read my property-”

“My name is on it, which means it’s company property by association.” he was still smirking. “Y/N, Y/N Y/N...I didn’t know you were such a needy little girl. On my desk, in the breakroom? The elevator of all places?? I didn’t even know you enjoyed when I raised my voice.“ he raised an eyebrow. “You do realize I could have you fired for writing about me in such a way.”

“Yes sir.” you whimpered. “I’ll have all my sh-..stuff off my desk by-”

“Y/N what on earth are you talking about?” he raised an eyebrow. “Surely you don’t think you are fired.”

“I’m sorry?” you raised an eyebrow, becoming very confused. 

“Even though I’m an asshole, a big jerk, and the bane of your existence, you still want me?” he raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you have more of a backbone than I thought. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to miss a chance to break that spirit of yours.” he rose to his feet and walked around his desk to face you. “Get over here.” he urged.

He grabbed you by the hand and yanked you to his chest. He crashed his hot mouth over yours, capturing you in a kiss. He held both sides of your face gingerly. In a shock, you held onto his blazer jacket to stop from falling over.

“Hmm.” he moaned. 

“Mr. Min!” you gasped. “We can’t- I’m your secretary!! And I don’t know if you’re aware of this but you hate me.”

“ Whose gonna stop us? I own this fucking place, baby. “ he laughed manically. “And who the hell said I hated you? Plus you want this. I know you do because you wouldn’t have written about me throwing you on my desk and eating that little pussy...fuck that was my favorite story to date.” he spoke in a babyish voice. “Shit I’ve always loved what that ass does to me.”

You felt yourself melt in every way. The thought that someone would storm in didn’t even cross your mind. He back you up against the table, sitting you on the desk. Yoongi tore off his blazer and hastily undid his necktie.

He broke away from you, allowing you to suck in air. You took a deep breath as you felt your lips. He practically tore his shirt open, buttons flying everywhere to reveal that body. To say you were taken aback was the understatement of the century.

“ That’s right, you fucking worship me don’t you?” he smirked as you stared him down “ Look up at me like I’m your god” he quoted the exact words from the entry you had written just 5 days ago. 

“Oh, you read the whole thing.” you squeaked. “I am so fucked.” you whimpered.

“I’ll be honest, I’ve been needing a good way to unleash my stress.” he shrugged. “This is perfect..” he motioned, tugging the hem of your shirt, playing with and unfastening each button. “I can take out my stress and you get to feel the real thing instead of writing shameless fan fiction.” he laughed. “Don’t make any mistakes,” he drank in your body. “I want this to be more than sex.”

Before you could say another word, Yoongi wrapped his arms around your waist again. He leaned down and softly kissed your lips. You just prayed he didn’t taste the bacon, egg, and, cream cheese bagel you ate this morning. You didn’t know what to do, so you shyly returned his affections.

“Come on, act like how you write about. Moan for me, grab my hair-” he mumbled through kisses. “Kiss me like you hate me.” he grunted. “Unless-...”

He abruptly yanked down your skirt along with your panties. “Maybe we should do this right. Spread em, secretary.”

He wasted no time in hooking your legs around his shoulders. 

“Mr. M-min.” you whimpered, feeling something wet trailed up your slit. 

“Shit...you taste so fucking good.” he moaned. “Damnit Y/N, you coulda told me you wanted me earlier.” he flicked his tongue against your clit. “Maybe if you had a good fuck, your reports would be more punctual.”

“That report wasn’t due and you know it.” you found it in you to reply. You tilted your head back, feeling his fingers be introduced into your tightness. “F-fuh”

 “Come on, you love this shit.” he laughed, lashing his tongue against you. “Beg for me, beg for my mouth, beg for me to make you cum.” he moaned into your heat. “I said FUCKING BEG! ” he thrust his fingers even deeper. “Come on, scream my name.”

“M. Min, I- we- you....”

“Not that...my first name...fucking say it I wanna hear it. I wanna hear if its as cute in my mind when I read how I made you squirt all over my fucking desk.” he kept moving his mouth and fingers against you.

“Y-yoongi.” you obeyed. This only encouraged him.

 “I’m gonna corrupt your mind. I love to play with you like you’re a fucking violin.” he giggled.

(3 days later... )

You were sitting at your desk when a stack of papers was thrown on your desk.

“There are 8 typos, fix them.” was all he said before he walked off. 

“Not again.” your work friend, seethed “what is it this time.“ She didn’t look up from her computer as you flipped through the pages.

My office, now secretary ;). Followed by a whole bunch of gibberish that lasted several pages.

“I’ll go talk to him” you rolled your eyes, taking the pile with you. You walked into his office. “Okay sir-” you began, walking through the door. You closed it behind you. “What seems to be the-”

Before you could talk any more, you felt his hand trail under your skirt. You felt his breathy laugh on the back of your neck. 

“I was hoping...we could go over your reports last week. I don’t think we got enough done, do you?”

(I was on a deadline....BUT I DID IT, my head is POUNDING)

[ilici]

pretty little lies.

Summary: George and Y/N do not get along, while on Sapnap’s stream the two start arguing and they finally decided to settle it with a single call. (Y/N is a faceless streamer)

Word Count: 1063

“Did you have to invite her?” George’s voice spoke up, as he heard the ding of someone else joining the discord call. Y/N instantly smirked, “Hello Georgie.” She said in an almost teasing manner, “Please can we have one day without you two fighting?” Sapnap asked, as he ran around the SMP looking for something to do. “She’s the one who always starts it.” George said in defense, which earned a scoff from Y/N. “I joined, and the first thing you said was, and I quote, “Did you have to invite her?” So kinda looks like you started it Georgie.” She simply said, and George clenched his jaw. “Shut up you idiot.” George muttered, and Sapnap groaned knowing his one wish would not come true.

“If you want me to shut up, then stop talking to me. It’s that simple.” Y/N said back, glaring at his Minecraft character. Sapnap felt like ripping his hair out, before he turned his attention to the donation ‘I can feel the sexual tension from here, and I live in Canada.’ Sapnap held back a snort, “Thank you GDough for the $10.” He thanked them before he unmuted. “You’re literally so stupid.” George spit back, and Y/N laughed at this, “Shut up, once you learn what the sun is, I’ll let you have your moment.” Y/N shot back, and Sapnap let out a chuckle at this. “At least I actually show myself.” He said quickly in defense, and Y/N rolled her E/C eyes. “Yeah, and every time I see a clip of you, I actually vomit in my mouth.” She quickly said back, crossing her arms. “You’re being bold and calling me ugly and for all we know you could have easily hit every branch on the ugly tree.” He said calmly, and Y/N gaped at his words. “I find myself to be pretty hot.” She said, now flipping her H/C hair over her shoulder. “Right..” He mumbled, and Sapnap groaned, “Just FaceTime one another, George you can see if she is ugly, and Y/N you can just throw up from how ugly he is.”

George and Y/N thought about it for a good second before both denied it. “Oh my god, fuck it.” Sapnap said, as he got up walking out of his room to go get Dream; who was working on a code for their next video. “Clay, Y/N and George won’t stop bickering like an old married couple.” Sapnap whines, and Dream turns his head towards him and laughs a bit. “Hang on.” He said and Sapnap nodded walking back to his room, hearing nothing but silence. Walking over to his chair, he put his headset back on, “Hello?” He asked, and there was no reply. Growing confused, he opened discord and noticed both of them had muted. Looking over to his chat for answers, someone donated. ‘George decided to FaceTime her because they started bickering when you left.’ He heard the monotone voice speak and Sapnap smirked.

On the other hand Y/N was now getting prepared for the FaceTime call. She wasn’t wearing any makeup as today was her only day off from College, so she decided to have a lazy day. Her H/C hair was messy, and her E/C eyes were almost innocent looking. Hearing her phone ring, she slowly pressed the answer button, and her breath hitched when she saw George. His hair had gotten longer, and was messy, while he had somewhat of stubble. His black hoodie was noticeable, and George waited for her to show her face. “Backing out are we?” He said slyly, and Y/N rolled her eyes before she propped her phone up letting herself come into view. George’s eyes widened, and he took in every feature of her. Her hair looked beautiful from what he could see. But he could not make out what color it was as he was colorblind and got colors mixed up. Her lips were plump and looked soft, his eyes lingered on her lips for a bit longer than he liked. Finally, he looked up and made eye contact with her. He felt like a brick just hit him, he could easily see how bright her E/C was. 

This caught him off guard, “Like what you see?” Y/N’s voice spoke up, breaking him from his trance. Glaring, he shrugged, “You look decent.” He said, and Y/N rolled her eyes, mumbling under her breath. “I will admit though, your lips look so kissable. I could get drunk off of your lips.” He admitted nonchalantly, which made Y/N blush madly. Looking away she chewed on her bottom lip, which made George audibly groan, “Your eyes look so innocent, I feel like I could ruin you in mere seconds.” He continued, liking the way she reacted. Y/N looked back, and made eye contact with him, “Tell me pretty little lies George.” She said in a hushed voice, making her a lot more attractive than she already was. Leaning his head back against his gaming chair, he ran his hands through his already messy hair. “You’re playing a dangerous game Y/N.” He said warningly, and he heard a hum in response. “Am I Georgie?” She asked innocently, before she quickly hung up leaving him flustered. Both quickly unmuted, and put their headsets back on. “So she decided to just give me the milkshake for free.” Dream said finishing his story he was telling. 

Sapnap was the first to notice that they were back, “So? Is she hot?” He asked, and this caught Dream’s attention. “She was decent.” George said, while Y/N hummed, “Pretty sure he was taking mental screenshots.” Y/N said, teasing George who only rolled his eyes in response, not denying the assumption. “Well maybe I will have to see what she looks like one day.” Sapnap said, and he finally ended his stream. “Tell the truth, is she hot?” Sapnap asked again, once Y/N left to go watch a movie. “You were gone for a while, like 40 minutes.” Dream said, and George groaned, “I am going to put this simply, if she were to ever meet me in person, she would definitely have a night to remember.” He said, and Sapnap gagged while Dream laughed. “So she was hot.” Sapnap said, and George shrugged, “I guess she was.” 

[bestiesenpai]

Lout - Naoya Zenin

Y’all ever seen that movie bad teacher with cameron diaz that would be me as a teacher lol also Naoya is a third year 18+ all that good jazz fun fact I’m actually allergic to minors so yeah even mentioning them breaks me out into hives, it’s disgusting they’re disgusting, would not recommend. 0/10 stars on google review and yelp also femme reader 3.3k words

Content warnings: noncon + dubcon, age gap(reader is obvi gonna be older than naoya lol), teacher x student shit, degradation, choking, noncon video taking, biting, spanking, not a mindbreak necessarily but there’s hints of that here

There was a problem child in your senior class and you weren’t even the main teacher. Stuck as a teaching aid until you could get full certification, it wasn’t even you that really had to bear the brunt of this student's bad behavior should the principal ask. Yet somehow, it was your duty to get him into line before he graduated in a few months.

Naoya Zenin couldn’t even pretend to care about his highschool reputation. All he focused on was being top of the class and making sure everyone knew who exactly was in charge. At an elite private school where his family had been generous donors for generations, Naoya’s behavior was almost expected.

Until he nearly put another student in the hospital after a fight. That was the final straw for disgruntled parents and students alike, causing a massive uproar and demanding action. And of course that call to action fell on your shoulders.

“Seriously? They stuck me with a fucking aide?” Throwing open the door to the office space assigned to you in the meeting, Naoya glared at you. It wasn’t that he particularly disliked you or anything, but he felt slighted that the school didn’t send a real teacher to talk to him.

“Have a seat, Naoya.” Standing up from the desk, you motioned to the lone armchair in the room. Walking in and slamming the door behind him, Naoya rolled his eyes as he flopped into the chair.

“Let’s make this quick, I’ve got a dive team meeting soon.” Looking out at the courtyard below, Naoya squinted against the harsh afternoon sun coming in through the windows. He wasn’t concerned with this meeting at all, wanting it to be over so he can go and impress some Olympic team scouts.

Clearing your throat awkwardly, you rustled the papers on your desk. There were pages of notes on what you were supposed to say, how you were supposed to say it and a few forms Naoya had to sign as well, stating that he’d be on his best behavior until graduation.

“Naoya, you know why you’re here.” You started, unable to meet his pointed gaze as it flicked over to you. “You’re behavior has gotten out of hand and-”

“So what?” Letting his head loll back, Naoya shrugged.

“And you need to be held accountable for your actions.” You pushed through the interruption, feeling your cheeks heat up in indignation.

“Yeah? My family’s had the dean in their pocket since this school was founded, I doubt there’s much I need to be accountable for.”

“You can’t throw money at everything, you know?”

“Why do you think I take judo?”

“Naoya, please.” Pinching the bridge of your nose, you mimicked him for a moment and leaned your head back. “We’re supposed to be having this meeting to reform your behavior. You did a really bad thing, you nearly killed that other student.”

“Reform? The board sent you to reform me? That’s a fucking laugh if I’ve ever heard one.” Letting out a boisterous laugh, Naoya slapped his knee. “How are you going to change me when you can’t even look me in the eye?”

“T-that’s not important.” Embarrassed, you forced yourself to make brief eye contact with him before shuffling your papers around again. “Look, can you just let me say what’s on these papers? Then you can sign them and be on your way.”

“I don’t think I will.” Crossing his arms, Naoya had the nerve to stretch his legs out and prop his feet up on the desk.

“Naoya-”

“I still think it’s hilarious that you’re here of all people. I mean, just look at you!” Gesturing vaguely to your form, Naoya laughed again. “Not even a real fucking teacher yet. Why don’t you go back to the little corner office you have and let the grown ups handle the big stuff?”

“I’m older than you!” This was bad. He was trying to rile you up and it was working. The control you already didn’t have on the situation was getting worse by the minute and both you and Naoya knew that the power balance between you was heavily skewed in his favor.

“Really? I couldn’t tell, you’ve got about as much gusto as an infant.” Giving you a once over, he sneered. “The only thing going for you is your looks and honestly, they could use a little work.”

“Hey!” Now your face was really on fire. Chuckling at your reaction, Naoya sat up a little straighter.

“Don’t get so upset, I know a pair of twins that would be more than willing to help you improve.”

“Can we just focus on the reason we’re here?” You wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow you whole. The chances of saving this meeting - and your dignity - were slim to none, but you still had to try.

“Right, right, this nonsense about ‘reforming me’.” Using heavy air quotes, Naoya dragged his feet off the desk and let them land on the ground with a loud thud. Taking another look out the windows, he started to undo the tie around his neck.

“Yes. Now, you’re going to sit there and just listen, okay? It’ll only take a few minutes, then you can go on about your day.” You were foolish to believe that you could possibly do anything to Naoya, let alone change his mind on something like this. All the high hopes you’d scrounged together before this meeting were utterly crushed when Naoya stood up.

“No, you listen.” In one fell swoop, Naoya pushed all the papers off the desk, waiting as they all fell to the ground and drinking in your shocked expression. “It’s almost insulting that you think you have any control over this situation, let alone me.”

“Sit back down, Naoya.” Your voice shook terribly as he rounded the desk. You weren’t able to push your chair away fast enough, and he was able to grab onto the back and spin you to face him.

“But teacher, I don’t want to.” He mocked, wasting no time in grabbing you by the throat and forcing you to stand. Clawing at his hand was no use, Naoya’s strength greatly outmatched yours and in just a few moments he was able to manhandle your arms behind your back and use his tie to bind your wrists together.

“Let me go, Naoya!” Thrashing against the desk you were now leaning on for support, a sense of dread filled you. Even if you managed to undo the tie, there was still the issue of actually getting out of the room and away from Naoya, and if his ease in handling you told you anything it was that that task would be impossible.

“Ya know, (Y/N)- can I call you (Y/N)?” He had a stupid grin on his face, pushing you to lean more on the desk as he stood in front of you. “You’ve talked a lot about reform and changing my behavior, but the only one I see here in need of an attitude adjustment is you.”

“Naoya!” Horror ripped through you as he yanked your top open, popping the buttons on your blouse and letting out a whistle at seeing your bra.

“(Y/N), I think you’re violating dress code right now.” Clicking his tongue, Naoya pulled your bra down as far as it would go. “I’ll have to give you a demerit.” Keeping one hand on your throat, Naoya pinched and twisted your nipple between his fingers.

You wouldn’t know it, but Naoya’s heart was beating wildly in his chest. The rush of power he usually got from presiding and dominating the other students was nothing compared to the power he felt now. This wasn’t even something he dreamed about doing, but you’d just given him the golden opportunity to really test his power at this school.

Lurching forward, Naoya sunk his teeth right below your jawline, somewhere he knew you’d have a hard time covering up the mark. The pained squeal you let out went straight to his head and right between his legs, making him bite you in another place and suck harshly on the skin.

Rutting his hips against your thigh, Naoya groaned as he trailed his mouth down your neck, leaving deep teeth marks that he knew would sting when you were alone at night later. Putting one of your nipples in his mouth, Naoya rolled it between his teeth and let drool drip out of his mouth and down your skin.

“Stop it, Naoya! Let me go!” There were strained tears in your eyes that refused to be blinked away. A flurry of slurred protests left your lips as his hand tightened on your neck, enough to have you gasping for air.

“Not until I teach you a little lesson.” He growled, leveling you with a single look. Keeping his grip firm until your eyes rolled back in your head, Naoya let go when he was sure you wouldn’t try to speak again.

Coughing and spluttering, there was little you could do with your fuzzy brain to stop Naoya from turning you around and bending you over the desk. Your face pressed into the hard surface and the wood dug into your face and hips as they were pushed forward.

Grabbing onto your bottoms, Naoya pulled them down until they were at your ankles, unceremoniously ripping off your panties and no doubt shoving them into his pocket. Your heated skin was exposed to the air of the room, making goosebumps pebble on your flesh.

“Ow!” The first slap to your ass was hard and unforgiving, making the tears in your eyes finally fall. “S-stop!” You tried to move your body away from the impending pain but it was no use, Naoya hit your other cheek almost as soon as you started to move.

“What’s wrong, teacher? Never had a bit of corporal punishment?” Laughing haughtily, Naoya grabbed your stinging skin in his hand.

“Ow, ow- N-naoya please, let me go!”

“Not a chance!” Slapping both cheeks in tandem, Naoya could feel the adrenaline going through him. There was no limit to what he could do in this moment, he could walk away and leave you like this, stranded for someone to find. Or, and he liked this option more, he could keep going, and save a few keepsakes for himself.

Fishing his phone out of his pocket, Naoya opened the camera with no hesitation. Taking a video of your heaving body, groping your ass and hips, spreading your cheeks apart to reveal your asshole, Naoya tried to keep the groan coming forward low.

“W-what’re you doing?” You could just barely see him out of the corner of your eye, and your blood ran cold upon realizing what he was doing.

“Say hi.” Shoving the camera in your face, Naoya grabbed your chin to keep you from turning away. “Smile for the camera, (Y/N), don’t cry!”

“No, no, no…” Your career is over. Your life is over. Everything you’d worked so hard for, your education, this job - it was going to be taken away if Naoya decided to share the video. You’d be blacklisted from ever working in a school again and you would definitely face legal trouble for being in this situation with a student.

Leaving you for a moment, Naoya propped his phone up on the windowsill, making sure the camera was capturing the both of you as he went back over. Giving a cheeky little wave to the camera, Naoya turned his attention back to you.

Pushing a hand between your legs, Naoya chuckled darkly at the slick that met the tips of his fingers. It was a miniscule amount, but enough that he could mock you over it. Dragging his fingers through your folds, he presented the fingers to you.

“Who knew Ms. (Y/N) was such a fucking slut?” Rubbing his fingers together, Naoya held his hand up to the camera. “Ms. (Y/N) likes it when I’m rough with her.”

“No...no I don’t.” Sniffling pathetically, you shook your head as best you could.

“Don’t lie, the proof is right here.” Wiping his fingers across your cheek, he made a show of pushing your legs further apart and putting his hand back on your cunt. Pinching your clit, Naoya bit his lip as you let out a high pitch whine.

He knew he’d meet too much resistance if he tried to shove his cock in straight away, so Naoya took it upon himself to prep you a bit. Rubbing your clit in tight circles, he leered over you and watched as you struggled to keep whimpers at bay.

“Don’t be shy, let the camera know how much you like this. We already know how much of a slut you are.”

“I don’t- I don’t like this.”

“Hm? Then why are you getting wet?”

“T-thats-” He had you beat there, the glide of his fingers was getting easier and a distinct wet sound was starting to take shape.

“No need to be shy, teacher. You can tell me you’re just a dumb fucking slut.” Pressing his lips against your ear, Naoya looked at the camera. “I know you see the camera, say it nice and loud for me.”

“No.” Shaking your head, a sharp cry ripped through you as Naoya hit your thigh. From the force of his slap you knew there’d be a hand printed welt on your leg.

“Say it.”

“I-I’m a- a dumb fucking slut!” You sobbed and the strength nearly left your legs entirely. If not for Naoya holding you up you would have tumbled to the floor in shame.

“Now was that so hard?” Standing up straight, Naoya was done stalling. Pushing a finger inside you, he deemed you ready enough to take him and undid the belt on his pants, letting them fall to his ankles.

Taking a second to himself, Naoya ground his clothed cock against your body. This opportunity was something to cherish and he was going to savor every moment of it. Taking a deep breath as pleasure made his spine ripple, Naoya pushed down his underwear and grabbed his cock.

“Teacher, I have a bit of a problem, won’t you fix it?” Naoya teased, rubbing his cock along your slit.

“Wait Naoya, you need protection.”

“Shut up. You’d be lucky to bear a child with Zenin blood, so count this as a gift from me to you.” Putting the tip in, Naoya let his head fall back and gaze down his nose at where your cunt was already sucking him in.

Ignoring your protests, Naoya pushed his cock in all the way, quickly bottoming out and nestling his hips snugly against yours. Planting his hands on the desk to steady himself, he had to take a few deep breaths before beginning to move again.

Putting a hand on the back of your neck to keep you from moving too much, Naoya pulled his hips back, looking at the way his cock glistened with your slick. Breathing hard through his nose, he pushed back in and started a steady rhythm.

“Shit, you’re so tight.” He grunted behind clenched teeth, the hold on your neck getting tighter as he focused on moving his body and not cumming too soon. The clap of his hips against your ass was music to his ears, a sound Naoya was sure not to forget any time soon.

The shame of being fucked by a student was heavy enough on your mind but the shame knowing you were starting to enjoy it was even worse. Keeping your eyes tightly closed, there was little you could do as Naoya pounded into you, the full length of his cock hitting places inside you that hadn’t ever been touched before by previous partners.

“Fuck!” The shout that came out of you was unrestrained, you couldn’t contain yourself as Naoya put his fingers back on your clit. Humiliation covered you like a thick blanket, almost choking you as much as Naoya was.

“I knew you’d come around, (Y/N). No one can resist a Zenin.” Smirking at your scrunched up face, Naoya wrapped his hand fully around your throat and pulled you up until your back was nearly flush with him.

The new angle had a loud moan coming from you and Naoya was close to cumming as well, he could feel his toes start to curl and tingle. His mind was starting to get foggy, and the hold he had was starting to slip from the sweat building up between you.

“Make sure not to waste what I give you, okay? It’s special.”

“You have to pull out, Naoya. You have to!” You couldn’t get pregnant by a student, especially one as high profile as him. Humming against your ear, Naoya shook his head.

“No, I don’t think I will. This is the last part of your attitude adjustment, I need to make sure you remember it.”

“N-naoya- pull out-” You stuttered as your orgasm washed over you, making your back arch and angling your ass perfectly for Naoya to cum as well. Making sure his cock was as deep as possible, Naoya let you fall back onto the desk as he rutted into you.

Biting you on the shoulder one last time, Naoya stayed inside you until his breathing went back to normal and his cock went soft. He had sweat clinging to his body and his uniform was wrinkled beyond belief when he stood up.

Fixing his clothes, Naoya undid the tie around your wrists and watched your arms limply fall to the side. There was no doubt you were sore, he’d given you enough marks to last a week. Smoothing a hand over your still stinging thigh, Naoya stepped away from you and laughed as you fell to the floor.

“Ya know, maybe this meeting was beneficial after all. Wouldn’t you say, teach?” Toeing at your spent body curled up on the floor, Naoya drank you in one last time before going to his phone and ending the video.

Gathering his things and answering a few texts, Naoya grinned as you hobbled to your feet. You avoided looking at him, opting instead to try salvage your own clothes and make sense of the world again. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky and if you held your breath you could hear the distant sound of students on a baseball field.

“Well, I’ll be going now.” Naoya threw open the door, startling you.

“Wait.” Reaching out to him, your eyes went straight to the phone in his hands. “That video-”

“Don’t worry, I won’t show it to anyone, I promise!” Crossing his fingers for dramatic effect, Naoya tucked it away into his back pocket. “Stay out of my way for the rest of the school year, and I’ll delete it when I graduate.”

You couldn’t trust his words and you both knew it. There was no way Naoya would let this be a one time thing, now that he’s gotten a taste for it. He would only continue to take what he wanted from you, making your life hell until he left the school - he wouldn’t let you leave before him.

“Fine.” But it was all you had to go on, so you nodded your head and accepted your fate.

“Fine.” Nodding curtly, Naoya stepped out into the hall with a wide smirk on his face. “See you in class later, Ms. (Y/N).”

[nonbinarykai]

Ok since two people asked

Why Lloyd is my least favorite ninja and how I rewrite him

Notes:// you know the rodeo by now, long post so it’s going to be under a read more, and I’m not gonna tag this with Lloyd because of the criticisms I have against his character, if you don’t want to hear Lloyd be critiqued then don’t reas the post

Why I don’t like Lloyd

Maybe it’s because I’m a Kai kinnie or maybe it’s because I have a bias agaisnt the younger sibling but Lloyd has never really been a favorite of mine

He was enjoyable in s1 but after that he kinda lost all personality for me and I stopped enjoying him

I think this is mostly for two reasons:

1. His screen time

2. His “character arcs”

I’ll go ahead and knock out his screentime here because it pretty much speaks for himself

Lloyd takes up so much screentime in the show that it’s actually jarring, he’s the character with the most seasons, having s1-2, s4, s8-11, and finally s14 ((the island special)). Which I think makes lloyds writing flaws all the more noticable

A big reason, albeit a bit of a petty one, for why I don’t like him is because he constant hyjacks other characters plots and makes them about him, this happened with Kai in both s4 and s11

Even if he’s not the main focus of a season, he always has a side plot focusing on him like in s3 and s12

The writers need to include Lloyd in other seasons is making it harder for the other main characters to actually have enough screentime to grow and develop on there own

And as a side effect of this, Lloyd gets to become the most important character in every season he is, taking roles from other characters who needed them

My best example is Cole being leader, he was set up and established as leader in the pilots and s1, and he did pretty good in it! Cole being a leader is a interesting concept that I would have loved to see been developed

But after Lloyd grew up they threw that plot point into the trash so they could have the mystical green ninja be leader even though throughout s1-7 he hardly actually talks to the main cast and him being leader doesn’t add any interesting dynamic like cole and kais rivalry despite Kai being a sort of right hand man to Coles leadership.

And in s1-s7 especially everything literally revolves around Lloyd to the point where his existence is more important than everyone else’s, and everyone’s motivations are to protect him.

Again I understand he is important, he’s the green ninja, but you have to let your other characters grow and develop, Lloyd is not the only main character in your show

Like for fuck sakes I don’t need 3 arcs about Lloyd and his dad, can I finally have another Kai season

Lloyds character arcs honestly kinda suck

Im going to be honest with you

Lloyds kinda an ass

The reason I like jay more then Lloyd even though jay has been way more mean spirited then Lloyd throughout the entire series is because you can atleast make the argument that jay doesn’t know when his jokes can hurt. And the show doesn’t portray jay as in the right, he gets what he deserves for some of the meanier things he says.

The same can’t be said about Lloyd

Lloyd says things to the other ninja that is honestly so mean spirited it’s jarring to hear it from him

Best example being when Lloyd told Kai to get over his shit when Kai was grieving in s4

But what makes it so frustrating is that the show always portrays Lloyd like he’s in the right which is why a lot of his character arcs feel flat or uninteresting

The only time this doesn’t apply is in s2 and in s3, in s2 the show paints Lloyd as being unfair to Misako when he RIGHTFULLY gets mad at her for abandoning him, I’ll get back to this later

The second time in s3 is when he’s traveling with Garmadon and having to be taught to balance his powers, which is actually one part of s3 I really liked, it was nice to see these two bond and have Garmadon teach Lloyd something that wu would other wise not teach him. And it’s a real shame the season cut it short AGAIN

The biggest example of the show making Lloyd seem in the right no matter what is in s4, Lloyds whole arc there was to learn how to view things from a different perspective and appreciate the things others have done for him. And this is would work if the show decided to do the same.

Again back to that scene with Lloyd and Kai in s4, the show treats Lloyd as if he’s in the right and it’s never addressed after this. Even though this is supposed to be the beginning of lloyds arc where he’s supposed to learn to view things from a different perspective

This scene would have worked if

1. The show didn’t paint him in the right for this, either by having Lloyd apologize or having the show acknowledged how it might have hurt Kai

2. If the plot Lloyd has remained a side plot instead of taking up the entire focus

Seriously, s4 could have been the ONE season where you can have a Lloyd side plot thats not forced and yet they fucked it up and made it the entire focus of the season thanks a lot.

To quote what I said in my Nya anayalsis awhile back

“I’m not upset that he has a flaw, just that it’s not recognized as one”

Lloyd would work way better as a character if the show just let him have consequences for his actions

Ever since he grew up and got the green ninja role he’s been treated like he can’t do no wrong which is clearly not true

But since we’re already on this topic

Hurting Lloyd doesn’t make him a good character

I feel like Tommy ((and sometimes the fandom)) really misunderstand what the use of suffering for in a story

There atleast 3 reasons writers make there characters suffer

1. To undergo a arc and realize where they have been wrong or to give a character a lot more depth to expand upon

2. If the story is a fallen hero one and the character suffers because of his Huberius

3. If the story is a tragedy

Ninjago is neither a fallen hero story or a tragedy and his pain doesn’t develop him as a character

A lot of writers don’t understand that suffering isn’t what makes a character good, it’s what pushes them to become good, you can’t just throw a character at the wall and expect them to instantly be a well written fleshed out character

A lot of the suffering Lloyd has to endure is mostly for no reason and it’s really mean spirited because it adds nothing to the plot, it’s just there to hurt him

Let’s bring up s11 as an example, Lloyd didn’t HAVE to fight the ice emperor from a writing standpoint, if anything it should have been kais battle because his lose of power and Zane going evil would have been a perfect reflection of s4 and tie it up after it ended kais character a bit open ended

But no let’s have Lloyd do it instead because haha isn’t trauma COOL and HIP

Now to be clear, I’m not saying that all of your stories have to end on a happy ending or anything like that, if your a writer then your allowed to do whatever you want with your personal writing

What I am saying is that ninjago is an actual SHOW made by PROFESSIONAL writers and they can’t understand the concept of a story structure

And the lack of actually addressing his trauma is really bringing down Lloyd as a character

Because it comes to a point where you understand why Lloyd is sometimes mean or distrustful of other people and it’s frustrating because you know that it’s flaws of him that are never going to be fixed because there writers want there trauma baby

How I would rewrite him

I’ve seen a lot of people suggest Lloyd become a villain in a future season and you know what, I sort of agree

But not in the way you think

I feel like it would be way more compelling if Lloyd was a villain but is still a ninja, instead of Lloyd switching sides, the show is switching perspectives

More or less I want Lloyd to be a reflection of the “true” villain, which is how wu ((and subsequently Lloyd)) put small Victories as more important then the ninjas life, passion, and desire, and how there black and white thinking of good and evil ends up to a lot of problems because there’s a lot of grey area there choosing to ignore

I want Lloyd to start of being loyal to wu’s philosophy and the protagonist, for random example let’s say Kai, sudden turn on these ideas in order to look outside the box to find if there truly is a better way to protect people without harming himself

I want Lloyd to be upset over what he thinks is a turn to the dark side when in reality, it would make his motivations make sense and not make his turn to “villainy” be out of character.

And over the course of the season he starts to realize how wus and subsequently his leadership has hurt the others and himself, and have him reflect on if all the pain they suffer through just to clean up wus mistakes is really worth it like wu says, or if there’s a better way like kai says

As for Lloyds actual character himself, I’d like for his flaws to be more noticeable

Have Lloyd be a gifted kid who gets praise when he doesn’t deserve it but still kinda acts like a brat because he’s still mentally like 10

Have him be a control freak who follows the rules way to strictly and is all serious when they have to do missions

Have his idealization of wu be realized and critiqued because honestly wu sucks ass

Would this make his character less like able? Maybe, but then he’d actually have depth and something to improve on

He can still have his s3 and s4 arcs, it’s just now they’re more important because he’s actually learning to be better

AND BEFORE ANYONE SAYS IM PURPOSEFULLY MAKING LLOYD WORSE SO THAT KAI LOOKS BETTER

ILL HAVE YOU KNOW AWHILE BACK I MADE A POST SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING ABOUT KAI AND HIS FLAWS SO THERE (/hj /lh)

[mardereads19]

A Comparrison between Az’s Chapter and Cassian’s Chapters in Acofas

Today I found myself inspired by @thereaderspeaks ‘s post and what I had to add about it, to write this long-ass post comparing Az’s chapter in Acosf to Cassian’s three chapters in Acofas.

@rhyssescups does an amazing job in this post (and @psychee92 in this one) of comparing Az’s chapter to Cassian’s POV in Wings and Embers. I’ll also attach @psychee92 ‘s comparison of both batboys’ attitudes after their respective solstices. But I’m going to concentrate on Az’s POV and Acofas rather than Wings and Embers.

There are a LOT of things in common, so when you add the posts linked above to this one, you’ll see how Azriel’s emotions and his interaction with Gwyn mirror those of Cassian. Everyday I find more peace of mind regarding Elriel.

Before I begin, I want to clarify that Emerie is not in Wings and Embers, but on Cassian’s perspective in Acofas. I had seen many people on Tumblr and on Twitter saying (by mistake) that she’s in W&E, so I wanted to point that out. It is Mor who is mentioned in W&E. How Cassian does not want to tell her about Nesta, etc. For more on that, check out the links I attached above.

There are many elements that Cassian and Azriel share in their chapters and I decided to divide them into categories. I’ll support them with quotes so that we have the receipts. With that said…

Let’s get started!

1. Distance

In both instances there was something that separated the couples and caused distance. 

In Cassian’s case it was post-war-Nesta and even Cassian himself (it was pride that kept him ignoring her all through the party until he couldn’t take it anymore and ran after her, simple as that): 

In Azriel’s case it was his understanding of what he feels for Elain and the fact that she has a mate. But also, let’s add Rhys’s order as a new element that will cause distance.

2. Emotions

Cassian did not allow himself to think about Nesta because of the feelings that stirred up in him.

Anger, passion, confusion.

And Azriel… 

Well, well, well... What do we have here? 

Anger, passion, confusion. 

He was ready to spar it out of his system, too, like Cassian.

3. Something the batboys associate with their mate Archeron sister

I noticed that in both cases, Cass and Az had given their girls something that they associated with them, be it material or other.

For example, Cassian’s was names for Nesta’s poses.

He saw Nesta stand in any particular way and if it was something she repeated he gave that pose a name. It is something he associates with her.

In Azriel’s case, we know he gives Elain a rose necklace. 

Roses signify Elain because of what she does: gardening; But also, it could simply represent them. Their way of spending time together (here’s a post of different refences of Elriel in the garden by @silver-flames​) and their relationship that has been slowly blooming in secret, like how that charm shines with colors when it’s in the light, but looks ordinary in the dark.

4. The batboys hurting the sisters

In both POVs the Illyrians hurt the Archerons. 

Cassian does it out of anger. Because Nesta kept rejecting him. Instead of holding his tongue, like any mature person should, he tells her something that destroys her (we know by her reaction).

See how her eyes go empty? 

Well, in his chapter, Azriel hurts Elain, too, though it pains him as much as it pains her because he did not do it intentionally. 

5. The sisters rejecting/returning the gifts

Nesta rejects Cassian’s gift, though I wouldn’t have taken it either after what he told her. This quote comes from before his insult, but my point is that she left without taking the gift.

Also, notice how Cassian hadn’t wanted to give Nesta her present in front of the others, something that Azriel does, too, though for different reasons. Cassian had feared rejection and had been waiting for her to approach him.

Azriel had not given Elain her present because Lucien, her mate, was there.

And of course, Elain returns her gift after Azriel left her standing in the hall with the words “this was a mistake.” I wouldn’t have stayed with that necklace either, not when it reminded me of that moment.

6. Regifting/Comparing

Something particular that happens in both characters’ PoV is the regifting of the objects the batboys used to relate to their girls. I do not think they are necessarily wrong, just that it happens.

Cassian uses the name of one of Nesta’s poses to describe Emerie.

He also compares her way of speaking and the look in her eyes to that of Nesta.

Azriel regifts the necklace that represents Elain to Gwyn (though he doesn’t give it to her personally, just hands it to Clotho for her to do it), and describes her with the same quote he used on the necklace (Elriel). 

I have my own theory on why the thought of her smile makes him smile. Soon I will explain.

7. Getting rid of the gifts (decisions made in haste)

Cassian being all impulsive and throwing the very expensive and extremely unique gift to the Sidra:

Gotta love our hotheaded overgrown bat. (My baby!! <3)

Then, we have Az making the dumb decision of regifting the present because somehow he couldn’t get rid of it (symbolism but not the post for it).

He was in a bad place when he made the decision, and even Clotho points out that his eyes are sad. 

The quote in purple is important to note. The theory about Clotho not giving Gwyn the necklace? That line is good for it. The fact that he told Clotho to give the necklace to anyone as long as he didn’t have it and the sadness she gleaned in his eyes is enough for her to know there is more to it than what he tells her.  

I also want to point out that we know for a fact that Cassian regretted getting rid of the present and that he knows he had been foolish that night. So, considering how parallel to each other these chapters are, I’m sure that Azriel will, too.

8. Distraction/Consolation (Aftermath)

I think it is important to highlight how Cassian got to the Townhouse late and was followed by a worried Mor, who most likely consoled him after his disastrous evening with Nesta...

...and compare it to how Azriel had needed to release unspent energy and was successfully distracted from his bad juju by the short lesson he gave to Gwyn:

He straight up says he’s thankful for the distraction. That was what the whole convo had been for him -in a good sense. 

It also aligns super well with @silverlinedeyes​ ‘s theory of Gwyn being a lightsinger in how they appear to people when they are lost. Gwyn was there when Azriel needed someone (even just to distract him), be it coincidence or not, and that cannot be ignored. 

If Gwyn does take on a role in Acotar 5, I think it will have a lot to do with being his friend and confidant (and trainee), someone who will help him figure out what to do about his situation, just like how she unknowingly helped him on solstice.

9. Empathy towards the Valkyries

Another parallel that I found in the chapter is how Cassian felt empathy for Emerie’s situation upon looking at her...

...and how Azriel’s interaction with Gwyn brought about the same reaction:

This is what I was talking about earlier. Notice how he sees her pain and grief and prefers when she’s happy to when she’s sad? Who wouldn’t want that? That is the same mentality I apply to his smile at the thought of her smiling. That he is glad that something would make her happy after what she has been through. Especially after remembering her past (within the last three pages). 

10. Emerie and Gwyn’s attitudes

This was super curious for me! Look at how both girls say goodbye to the batboys:

Emerie being a whole independent female, and Gwyn… 

All business. 

Literally got the same energy from them. 

Gwyn finished the convo and continued her practice like the badass warrior that she is. There was no demure glance or cloy blush anywhere. The interaction was not romantic, purely platonic. Just like Emerie’s with Cassian.

11. This interesting parallel:

These two moments that are almost identical:

Cassian tells Emerie to give the Illyrians the clothes he just bought and to tell them it was the High Lord’s gift. He does it because he knows the Illyrians would not accept them if they knew they came from Cassian.

Azriel:

Another one (DJ khaled voice). 

“Just tell her it was a gift from Rhys.” 

Why does he do that? Because it wasn’t romantic and if Gwyn had known she’d have brought it up in conversation. He just wanted to be rid of it, so he gave it to her, perhaps as a way of thanking her for the distraction yesterday, but nothing more. 

“If there’s another priestess here who might appreciate it, give it to them.” He didn’t care who’d have it as long as it wasn’t him. 

Conclusion: 

(Wings and Embers + Acofas) Cassian = Acosf bonus chapter Azriel

That’s the real formula bestie SJM used and the receipts are here. 

Azriel mirrors Cassian in emotions, actions and interactions. 

Remember how Nesta Antis began shipping Cass with Emerie after their interaction in Acofas simply because they hated Nesta? Their scene had zero romantic energy, but Nesta Antis still did it. 

Well, history repeats itself with Elain.

Regarding Gwyn: So far, I see no build-up to something more than a friendship. Like we explored, Az’s scene with her was similar to Cassian’s with Emerie. The differences lie in that Gwyn is more energetic than Emerie and that Az’s shadows reacted to her power (she has powers, read about it in the lighsinger theory). 

There is literally nothing more I can add. 

Peace out.

[regina-del-cielo]

I am, once again, Thinking about Nicolò di Genova and projecting all of my Italian feelings on him (I also blame @brightly-painted-canvas and her ‘Annoying Italian Dude’ Nicky series, go look it up, it’s a masterpiece).

I was trying to come up with Typical Italian Things that a 900-year-old Genovese man could still Relate to in modern times, especially something that we Italians, no matter the regional difference, can identify as ‘Ours’.

The answer, as always, comes from food. With the premise that there is No Such Thing as a Homogeneous Italian Cuisine, One (1) Red Thread I can think about that doesn’t require ingredients that are associated with Italy today but that Nicolò wouldn’t have known, is frying.

Until, like, yesterday, in Northern Italy you fried in butter (or ��strutto’, lard) and in Southern Italy you used olive oil - today most just go with sunflower seed oil - but the point is, we like frying. Any food group. No matter the region. 

Think about anything - Cheese? Fish? Meat? Vegetables? Pasta? Pastries? Pizza? Someone somewhere has fried it. And perfected the recipe. Some regions more than others (looking at you Napoli e dintorni), but still...

Now, Southern Italy is Much Stronger on the ‘if it’s remotely edible I will fry it’ game, so Ligurian Cuisine doesn’t have many fried specialties from what I’ve seen - Liguria has a great olive oil, but they mostly use it as a condiment (or to soak their focaccia, not that it’s not a Fantastic Idea). 11th century gastronomy (what Nicolò would have been familiar with) was probably a bit poorer than today’s.

Here’s where Malta comes in handy, though.

We know from That Scene that Malta holds a Special Place in Nicky and Joe’s heart. It’s a common middle ground between both their homelands AND a crossroads for anyone in the Mediterranean. It’s an indipendent country now, but damn if it hasn’t exchanged hands through history (unrelated note, on a scale from 1 to 10 just How Much did it Piss Them Off that the bloody British Empire had possession of Malta for two centuries?!). 

Malta is a pretty small island though, so if they ever stayed longer than a sexcation, they couldn’t exactly settle down for long before people grew suspicious. Also, Nicky must have been Uncomfortable sharing an island with the Knights Hospitaller.

But, Malta is literally a stone’s throw away from another, bigger, island...

Sicily. Another land who’s been volleyed back and forth among kingdoms and cultures for millennia. A land where nobody would bat an eye at a guy looking like Nicolò and one looking like Yusuf being friends and sharing space in general, because they both blend.

And, most importantly, a land where frying food is a RELIGION. To quote a Sicilian customer of my brother’s pub, “if you don’t fry your vegetables, what are you even doing with your life?”

My point being, Nicolò has most probably experienced the whole evolution of Sicilian cuisine, repeatedly, for centuries. He and Yusuf must have eaten SO MUCH FRIED FOOD I can’t even think about it. And it’s comforting for them, because it’s not only So Fucking Good, but it’s also as close to home as it’ll ever get for them, in a way.

Tl;dr: you can tell when Nicky is Stress Cooking because he hogs the kitchen and Fries. For HOURS - like, he starts working on their lunch at 5 AM. Everything that comes out of those stoves is fried. Everything. 

And you can tell that he’s having a Bad Day(TM) when he starts whipping out arancini like there’s no tomorrow.

[desthesleepdeprivedwriter]

Happy Birthday

It was 3 am, and Purpled wasn't able to sleep.

He was quietly sitting in his room, petting DogChamp while he was sleeping. Purpled eyes couldn't stop staring at the date showing in his communicator, a strange feeling slowly consuming him.

7th of July.

Purpled's birthday.

He sighed, deciding to do the same he did every year: get a small cupcake, place a match on it, and eat in the early morning. It wasn't a big deal, really.

He left his little tent, heading over towards the restaurant in Las Nevadas. It wasn't open for the public yet, but it was the only place they could have access to a proper kitchen. Purpled opened the Staff Only door, hearing the strange banging of pans and someone whispering swears. Probably another resident trying to have a night snack, Purpled couldn't blame them at all. He stepped in and stopped right away.

Well, he didn't expect to see Fundy in an apron, mixing something in a bowl and an immense mess around him.

"Uh… what are you doing here?" Fundy asked, immediately noticing Purpled's presence.

"What are you baking?" Purpled asked back, not wanting to answer.

"I asked first." Fundy replied, crossing his arms.

Purples sighed, no patience for that at the moment. "I just came here to eat something. Now, you go."

Fundy's ears twitched a little before pressing against his head. "I'm… baking a cake." He muttered, going back to mixing the ingredients.

Purpled, for a split of second, got happy with the info, but quickly dismissed it. No way it could be for him, just one person knew his birthday and Fundy certainly wasn't him.

Purpled noticed orange and green food coloring placed on the table, curiosity now flooding in. "So, did you just get a craving for cake in the middle of the night?" he played as a joke, going back to his search for a single cupcake.

"Nah, man… it's my birthday." Fundy replied, still talking in a low voice.

"No way!" Purpled said before he couldn't contain himself, getting himself into a mess as soon as Fundy stared at him, confusion all over his body language.

"What do you mean by 'no way'? It's not like being born on July 7th was a crime."

Purpled pondered his answers.

He could lie, say he didn't expect it, or that Fundy shouldn't bake the cake for his own birthday, or any shitty lie like that.

"It's my birthday too." It's what came out.

Fundy's eyes widened, then a smile appeared, to Purpled's surprise.

"Dude, that's neat!" Fundy said, now moving towards the cabinets in search for something. "Your favorite color is purple, right?" He stopped for a while, and then went back for the search. "Oh Void, that was a stupid question."

Purpled was still in place, watching as the fox picked a purple food coloring and went back to the cake making, adding more ingredients. "I just need to make more batter so we can have more cake, but it will be fine."

"Wait, wait… what are you doing?" Purpled approached Fundy, watching as he divided the dough into three different recipients. "Our birthday cake." He replied, pouring each food coloring into a different bowl and starting to mix.

"So… the colors represent us?" Purpled asked, just so he could be on the same page.

"Yep."

"Orange is you, purple is me."

"Yep."

"So, who is the green one?"

Fundy went silent for a while, and then opened a sad smile.

"Back before the revolution, when it was just us in a van… we didn't have so much money for food." Purpled didn't get the connection, so he kept waiting. "So, there couldn't be two cakes at my and Tubbo's birthday."

Fundy put each batter into a different cooking pan, putting one into the oven.

"So, Wilbur would bake a single cake, two layers, one orange, the other green." Fundy smiled a little, nostalgic. "It became a tradition, even after L'Manberg came to be."

He decided to use the other ovens in the kitchen, placing the other cooking pans.

"Each year, we had our birthday together, no matter what. Even if we were angry at each other, or we had to hide from the big bad dictator. One time, I had to enter his presidential office to force him to take his head out of the papers."

Purpled just listened in silence, quite in awe. Fundy was really someone that had lived through a lot, and somehow, still held on to little comforting traditions. It must be nice, having something like that.

"But… since L'Manberg has been gone…" Fundy sighed. "I kinda haven't celebrated my birthday. I decided to try this year." He laughed quietly. "And hey! This time I have you! It's not so pathetic."

Purpled chuckled, nodding along. "Well, it's the first time I celebrate my birthday with another person. It's not pathetic."

Fundy beamed, still in a good mood, and took the cakes out of the ovens. He waited for a little while, staring at Purpled, who just stared back. "Don't you think you are going to just watch. Come here and help me."

Purpled shrugged, taking a place right beside Fundy. They stacked one cake over the other, and started to decorate.

Minutes later, they had a somewhat pretty cake.

"It works." Fundy says, after thinking a little.

"It's the first time I decorate a cake, so it's beautiful."

"Eehh… At least it will taste good. It has chocolate." Fundy pointed out.

"Aren't foxes allergic to chocolate?"

"Irrelevant ."

They finished the icing and contemplated their creation before Fundy grabbed the plate, leaving the kitchen and hoping that Purpled would follow him, which he quickly did, even if he didn’t know where.

“If I ask where are you going, will you asnwer me?”

“I mean, it’s not only our birthday, is it?” Fundy contemplated as they passed the toll booth, making Purpled think a little. Yeah, it wasn’t only their birthday.

“Hey, so… Can I call someone else?” Purpled asked, communicator in hand already.

Fundy didn’t even finish saying yes and Purpled was already typing someone’s name into his contact info, waiting for just a few seconds until the other person answered his call.

“Punz? I need you to come over. Now.”

Meanwhile, Fundy was standing in front of a wall of lava. The heat was almost uncomfortable and was definitely unwelcoming. But Fundy had to come back home before Yogurt woke up, so he had a schedule to fill.

“Yo, Tubster!”

No replies.

“Cut the scene, I know you are there!”

Still no replies.

“I can literally see your shiny armor on top of the outpost, you idiot!”

Seconds of no answer, and then the lava started to go down. And so there he was, Tubbo Underscore, with the entire glory of someone who hasn’t slept in the last 2 days. Fundy knew that look pretty well.

“Why do you have a cake?”

Not a hello or good night. But Fundy was used to that.

“Do you know what day it is today?”

“Uuuuh…… Juuuuuunee..?”

Fundy waited to see if Tubbo was joking, all that was left it was silence.

“Tubbo…. That’s a month.”

“But it's the right month.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Are you sure of that, boss man?”

Fundy just stared, kinda worried for Tubbo, cake still in hands. “Today is July 7th.”

“Hm…”

They just stood there, Fundy being able to see the cogs turning in Tubbo’s head. Finally, it clicked. “Oh fuck! Today is July 7th!”

“Yes it is!”

“It’s our birthday!”

“Yeah!!!”

“Holy shit… I haven’t celebrated it since…”

Tubbo shut, eyes unfocused. Since L’Manberg was done. Since last time, at a tiny office with the height of presidential work on his shoulders.

“I know, I haven’t either.”

They faced each other again, and it was different now. It was a look that only them could have, suffering all of that. The cramped days at the van, L’Manberg, Schlatt, New L’Manberg. They could say something about it, some apologies, some “I missed it”, but they weren’t like that.

“I have a couple of cookies and regen potions at the back. Want me to get a couple of them for us two?” Tubbo smiled a little, trying to get back to their old routine.

“It's us three. There’s another birthday boy outside.”

“Wait, who?”

Purpled conveniently walked towards Fundy’s side, giving Tubbo a little wave. “Make it four, actually.” He showed the communicator. “I called Punz, also a ‘birthday boy’” He made quote marks in the air.

“Why do so many of us have the same birthday?” Fundy asked to no one in particular. Tubbo just shrugged, but Purpled had something to say about it.

“I mean, it’s not my actual birthday. I have no idea of when my birthday would be in this world.” He casually said, antennas slightly glowing in the night. “So, I just decided to snatch Punz’”

“Dude, I wish it was this easy to change birthdays.” Tubbo said, thinking. I’d change to something like…”

“4/20.”

“Fundy, you’re a genius”

“I know.”

Purpled smiled a little listening to them talking. It was comfortable, somehow, being part of something like that, even for one night. “I should have gone for 10/10” He added to the talk, taking out some blocks and starting to build a little desk for them to place the cake, outside of both Las Nevadas and the Cookie Outpost. Tubbo laughed, thinking about other funny birthdays while automatically helping. Fundy placed the cake on top of the desk, just staring.

“Wait. We have orange, purple and green. What’s Punz’ color?”

Purpled thought about it, but Tubbo already had a solution “The icing is white. He is white. Solved.”

“I’m what?”

Punz appeared out of nowhere, probably from an enderpearl. “You’re white, like the icing.” Tubbo explained.

“Also, you’re a birthday boy.” Fundy helped.

“There’s four of us” Purpled finalized.

Punz just stared at all four, letting out a sigh and taking off his armour. "Really, Purpled? I thought you were in trouble.”

“I’m never in trouble, you should be smarter than this.”

“You just… decided to throw a party?”

Purpled shaked his head, pointing towards Fundy. “It was his idea.”

Punz looked at the other two, they were arguing over the number of candles. Fundy wanted to put only four, Tubbo wanted to put as many as it could fit. For a moment, Punz could see two different people there, fighting over stupid shit as a third one just stared, amused. It was so familiar, but so different. It hurt.

“But hey, you don’t have to stay if you doesn’t wa-”

“Get me a chair, it’s free food.”

Purpled smiled, a real one for once, and gave him a chair.

The four of them sat on the table, Fundy being the one to stood up after finally settling with a normal amount of candles on the cake.

“Ok, now we sing.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“We ain’t singing, bossman”

“It’s sad if it's for ourselves.”

“It’s not??”

Purpled saw this banter would drag until sunrise, so he picked a bottle, catching everyone's attention.

“Lets keep it simple, boys. Happy Birthday to us.”

Punz gave him a small smile back, grabbing a potion for himself. “We made it through another year, what a win.”

Tubbo laughed to himself, joining the toast. “Still one life left, gotta keep like that until next year.”

Fundy was the last one, a grateful smile on his face. “Glad we have each other this time.”

“If the cake is good, I will come to next year’s party.”

“So it was nice meeting you, Punz.” Tubbo joked, making the rest of the table laugh a little.

And there they stayed until the sunrise slowly appeared in the distance, bathing them in a golden, lazy light.

“Damn, this was fun.”

“Not the best cake, but I’ll come back.”

“Fuck off.”

Tubbo was asleep on the table, finally able to relax. Fundy poked him, with no reaction.

“I can carry him inside, don’t worry.” Punz guaranteed, getting up.

“Thanks man, I have to go before my kid wakes up.” Fundy smiled, getting the empty cake plate.

“You have a kid?”

“Yeah, his name is Yogurt and that gremlin needs to be kept on a leash.” Purpled interrupted, earning a weak slap from Fundy. “Shut up, my kid is not a gremlin, he has just a lot of energy.”

Punz laughed, picking up Tubbo like a sack of potatoes, still with no response. “Thanks for the party, guys.”

Fundy smiled back, waving. “Happy birthday, Punz.”

“Happy birthday, boys.”

And they walked in opposite paths.

----------------------------------------

Taglist!

@a-wild-rosette @fishjuice @blipblipimafish @thenerdistrying @beepboopgalaxies (bc i know u like my writing for some reason) @geminisync (bc i want ur clout) @oakskull (bc if i press u enough u will read it <3)

[nevermindirah]

part 3, "Kid": How every character in The Old Guard (2020) dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood relates to the main character, Nile Freeman

Stop writing people calling Nile "kid" 2k4ever

Andy calls Nile a baby one time, minutes after first dreaming of her. Andy then calls Nile "kid" three times, all to her face, all in the first few hours of their acquaintance. Booker calls Nile "kid" once, on the porch outside the bar. That's it. The context for these lines is super interesting, and calling Nile "kid" in fic doesn’t make any sense without the original context.

When Andy, Joe, Nicky, and Booker wake up from first dreaming of Nile, Joe and Nicky immediately start sharing facts they noticed, and Joe starts sketching. Booker is in his feelings but he contributes a few things to the saying-facts-out-loud rally.

Andy is 100% in her feelings. She starts the conversation with "No, not another one." Then once the boys have gathered a bunch of facts and Booker says "I felt her die" Andy comes in with this:

Andy: [stares at nothing straight ahead, voice is remote, detached.] She’s a Marine. [Joe and Nicky look up together.] Combat. Or near combat duty. Afghanistan. [Shakes her head slowly, wearily.] It’s been over two hundred years. [Whispers, anguished, buries head in hands.] Why now?

Got it. Joe and Nicky are the competent soldiers, Booker is the semi-competent drunk, Andy is the boss. Andy is the fucking depressed boss. It's in this context that Andy, having analyzed the information her direct reports just gave her, made the determination that Nile is a Marine in Afghanistan, and let her team have a brief back-and-forth about whether to change their plan to go retrieve the new one before announcing the decision that is ultimately hers to make, refers to Nile as a baby.

Andy: Get to France. Use the Charlie safe house. I’ll meet you there. [Joe examines his sketch, blows pencil-dust off it. She stares at Booker.] Find Copley. [Joe tears out the page and hands her the sketch. Andy stares at it.] Jesus. She’s just a baby.

Andy's metric fuckton of I AM BEYOND DONE just leaps off the page/screen. Keep that existential exhaustion in mind as we see her early interactions with Nile.

Nile: [stands, panting, regards Andy suspiciously.] Who are you? Andy: I lead a group of immortals. An army, I guess. Soldiers. Fighters like you. [softer tone.] Look... [Andy steps toward her; Nile steps back.] You’ve got questions, kid. I get it. [tiny smile, small nod.] You want answers? Get back in the car.

Andy: [lightly] And I was the one who cut your throat. Right? [stares at Nile, who stares back, then looks away; she has no answer for that.] Listen, kid. You already believe in... [points upward, follows it with her eyes.] You should just keep following that illogic. [Pulls her jacket over her shoulders as a blanket, turns on her right side, back to Nile, lies on the pile of duffel-bags like a reclining chair.] You’re already on board with the supernatural. [Speaks with eyes already closed; it makes no difference to her.] If I were you, I’d get some sleep.

[Nile stands slowly, glaring at Andy, sets her body as she prepares to continue the fight.] Andy: You really want to do this, kid? [Andy’s eyes are bright, her expression relaxed but anticipating; she looks like she thinks this will be fun.]

Andy is looking at this retrieval mission as something that must be done, but quickly and with as little disruption as possible to her team's ongoing mission to find Copley and protect themselves from exposure. And then here comes Nile Freeman, competent as hell, taking no shit, questioning everything, stabbing her and escaping a moving vehicle and just fucking fighting her at every turn.

"Jfc kid will you just get in the goddamn car" feels pretty reasonable in that context, yeah? At least from Andy's perspective. From Nile's, you're fucking right you're gonna ask some goddamn questions before getting on a drug-smuggling plane with someone who just shot you in the head.

It's worth noting that Andy doesn't precisely say "jfc kid will you just get in the goddamn car" — she says "I need you to get back in the car please." She says "can you please not do that again" when Nile fucking stabs her. She's exhausted and frustrated and just trying to get through this and back to her main mission, and from what we see of her so far she's generally gruff as a person, but she's not an asshole, and she’s really showing Nile some respect here, all things considered. I mean, imagine being this polite when someone stabs you. This is a tired adult trying to get another tired adult on board with a sensible plan.

Andy: Argh! [Andy grabs Nile’s knife hand.] Fuck! [throws it violently aside, forcing Nile back a step. With the knife still in her, Andy sighs deeply and looks at Nile. Nile recovers her balance and stares that Andy is hardly reacting to having a knife in her.] Can you please [grabs the knife with left hand, yanks it out] not do that again? [throws the knife on the ground.]

Once they fight on the plane, Andy never calls her kid again. Andy is already starting to regain some of the energy her long life has worn away from her after just 10 minutes on screen with Nile. Andy went into this retrieval determined to be someone Nile can rely on, and that still stands, but by the time they’re in France she’s realizing she’ll come to be able to rely on Nile too. She introduces her to the boys as Nile and that's that.

The only other time we hear the word "kid" in the entire movie is near the end, outside the bar with Booker.

Nile: Yeah. [takes a breath.] Talked to Copley. Said he could fix it. Make it look like I was killed in action. [nods gently to herself] My family will mourn, but, uh... [tiny shrug, head-shake.] ...they’ll be able to move on. It’s just like what we did with my dad. [sighs. Turns to look out over the water. Voice wavers.] I just really want to hear my mom’s voice one more time. Booker: [looks down, pauses, turns to lean next to Nile.] You’re a good kid, Nile. [looks at her, speaks earnestly.] You’re gonna be great for the team.

Sébastien le Livre, whose greatest tragedy is that his children disbelieved and rejected his love for them, would be very moved by Nile's concern and love for her mother. "You're a good kid, Nile," in the sense that she's honoring her parent in a way he, a bereaved parent, appreciates.

There's also the fun shippy reading that he's preemptively friend-zoning her because there's about to be several lifetimes between him and spending any more time with this woman he was having an obvious "oh no she's hot" reaction to over dinner in Goussainville, but I, a feral BoN shipper, like the first reading even better.

But the point is, calling Nile "kid" is an element of the movie that says a lot about the characters using that word. When it gets repeated in fanfiction, it says something about the author.

If you're reading this and reflecting "oh shit I wrote the team calling Nile kid without thinking about it at all beneath the surface" I have a really cool suggestion for you: just edit it. Or at least consider not doing it again. We all make mistakes. We all run with things that we pick up in canon or see in other people's fic that seem funny and harmless, and once we think about those things more deeply we might find that actually it's kinda fucked up, or not what canon was trying to say, or fine on the surface but not fine if it becomes The One True Fanon. Having characters who are either white, men, or both call the adult protagonist who's a young Black woman "kid" all the time carries a weight to it. Please let's let that weight fall off Nile's fully-grown shoulders.

Next up, orders, suggestions, assistance, and other flavors of mentoring Nile and/or telling her what to do. Credit and appreciation to StarWatcher for transcribing the movie here on AO3, all my line quotes are pulled from there.

[starglow-xx]

having your period

tanizaki junichiro x f!reader

fandom: bungou stray dogs 

content: fluff

warning?: im not sure if this is a trigger, but mentions of wanting to “rip out your uterus” - if this is too sensitive, comment or message me and i’ll remove it from the head canons, and uh suggestive content?? sorta?? no sure but marking it as a warning anyways

type of work: head canons

synopsis: being a female is especially hard at a certain time of the month, but he will always take care of you

author’s note: he’s so underrated and there’s a lack of content for him so if i have to single handedly write everything for him i will

and im on my period and my stomach hurts so here you can have this

also, in these hcs, naomi lives on her own in the dorms :)

okay so he has a sister so you think he’d know what he’s doing right?

well sort of

like he does know what to do, it’s just that he’ll probably panic bit first

come on

the girl he loves is in pain and he doesn’t know why

he’d see you all bundled in blankets in pain and panic and then he’d just be like oh

it’d click and then he’d relax a little

but then in his head, he’d be like “oh no now you’re crying where are tHE TISSUES—”

with all the shit he’s gone through working for the agency i feel like fukuzawa would let him take a day off or two cause he’s just that kind of guy yk

and seeing as junichiro is one of yosano’s more uh frequent patients, he probably would

tanizaki does the same sweet things every single time, but depending on how you’re feeling, the order changes

with his day off he’d just be your personal servant basically

he’d cook for you, he’d clean up your shared apartment, he’ll do the laundry, etc. just so that you wouldn’t have to get up

if your emotions are all over the place he’d listen no matter how mad, sad, or ridiculous you’re being at the moment

you’re sad and crying over smth? he’ll find the tissues and leave soft kisses all over your face bc “please don’t be sad, im here for you”

god he’s so cute

if you’re mad and need someone to listen to your rants? he’s right there with an pillow nearby just in case you need to hit something

you just had a crazy idea and want to do it? he’ll be like “okay sure, but not right now, you’re pain” while internally hoping you don’t remember the next day

if your pain level at the moment is “please just rip out my uterus” (i quote my best friend),  then he’d just stay and cuddle in bed with you holding you close to him

every time you’d whimper, he’d hold you tighter whispering comforting words while rubbing soft circles underneath your shirt on your lower abdomen

he just makes the pain so much more bearable

who needs a heating pad when you have your angel of a boyfriend with you?

but if you’d still like the heating pad, he’d still get it for you :)

eventually, you’d drift off to sleep mumbling or whispering to him that you love him

it never fails to make a goofy grin and light blush appear on his face

once he’s sure you’re asleep, he’ll ever so gently get out of bed then arranges all the pillows and blankets the best and comfiest way possible all while making sure you don’t wake up

he’d kiss your forehead then goes out to buy you your favorite flowers and chocolate as well as your favorite takeout for whatever time of day it is, whether it be time for breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner

also gets more pain meds if you need them; he’ll either buy them or go get some from naomi

after eating time, it’s bath time !!

he’ll run a warm bath for you and adds bubbles and bath salts; the nice scented kind

he’ll even dig through the closet and find that one scented candle you really  like

he’d carry you to the bathroom and help you undress and wash your hair

if you ask, he’ll get into the bath with you and you’ll each take turns washing each other’s hair

when you’re done, he’ll give you one of his shirts and sweaters to wear, dry your hair and even style it (he has experience with his sister)

he honestly just likes running his finger through your hair no matter how short or long

he’ll make pigtails, ponytails, braids, but he especially loves it when you’re wearing his hair clips

that’s both his and your go to

if it isn’t the end of the day by then, it definitely is now

so that means more cuddles !! <3

he’ll big spoon you, or you’ll be facing each other, but it doesn’t really matter because you guys switch between them

during cuddle time, the two of you would just quietly talk, or whisper loving words to one another

the occasional tickle fight would happen too

it just makes him so happy hearing you squeal and burst out in a fit of laughter

literal music to his ears

i feel like he’d be one of those guys who would say that thing that’s along the lines of “i could stop your period for nine months if you’d like” as a joke to see you get worked up bc he thinks it cute when you get flustered

i mean he is a teenage boy (he’s 18!)

what do you expect 🤷‍♀️

he’d say it when things start to get settled and quiet, so you won’t expect it

“hey (y/n)?”

“yes?”

“i could stop your period for nine months if you’d like” 

“?!”

he thinks it’s adorable when you start to stammer and cover your face with your hands

but ohoho if the tables turn, well his face is just as red as yours if not more

it can go either two ways

one, you say yes without all the flusteredness, but he doesn’t know if you’re being serious or not making him panic a bit (read: a lot)

“hey (y/n)?”

“yes?”

“i could stop your period for nine months if you’d like” 

“...okay, just don’t be too rough alright?”

“wait huh?!”

“isn’t that what you wanted?”

“i-i didn’t really mean—”

“so, you don’t wanna have a baby with me?” :(

“NO! I-I MEAN! I-I mean I do, but—”

yeah a lot of panicking but he’s still cute 😖💗

or

it would go with you still getting flustered, but you would also still say yes, making him also flustered

“hey (y/n)?”

“yes?”

“i could stop your period for nine months if you’d like”

“?! I-I y-you huh?!”

“you’re adorable”

“junichiro stop it” >:(

“sorry, i can’t help myself” >:)

“but...*mumbles*”

“what was that (y/n)? i didn’t catch that”

“err uhh, i mean, if that’s what you want, im okay with it... i’d be lying if i haven’t thought about it, but i think it’d be better to get married first don’t you think?”

“...”

“junichiro...??”

im sorry your boyfriend has short circuited

make him work again by kissing him on his nose and holding his face in your hands

actually, that might break him more, but you never know

this scenario makes him the most flustered bc a: you were acting so cute it makes his heart happy and b: ohmygod you want start a family with him and get married and—

yeah that’s how that would go

depending on how you act, you can pick how it would go if you do end up choosing to throw his words back in his face or not

overall, he’d just be the sweetest boyfriend

10000+/10 would recommend

as always, reblogs and shares are appreciated! i hope you all stay safe! and just in case nobody told you they loved you today, i love you! you are enough! <3

writing belongs to me! please do not plagiarize! the reblog button is there for a reason

[saby-chan]

Fire Lord Ozai: A blood thirsty monster or the less fortunate “Zuko” of his generation?

Hello again and thank you as always for clicking and allotting some of your time to read my humble post! Since I’ve happened to notice quite an increase in posts lately regarding the controversial character and nature of the former Fire Lord, the now imprisoned fallen prince Ozai, and I’ve personally promised in my previous post that I will share my own analysis on him if people asked me to do so (which actually happened), I am here to deliver my own take on this very intriguing man’s character, while also building a potential past for him based on stuff gathered from the show’s cannon.

I would like to start this essay with what I find to be my favorite quote ever: ”Monster’s aren’t born, they are created.” ~ Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto) What I like about this quote soo much and find very inspirational is the truth it holds within its short, yet powerful message. We are often fast to judge a “book by the cover”, to reduce others to what we assume of them by their appearance or latest actions that we’ve seen them do, but never actually take a moment and wonder where they come from, if this person we soo harshly look down upon really has been this way since their very beginning?

I’ve come across many comments on social media related to ATLA, especially on YouTube videos on which people would throw with harsh comments such as “Aang being a coward for choosing to spare the villain just because they saw a dumb baby pic of them” or “Ozai is the essence of evil and even as a baby he’d been a monster”. I can’t help but wonder who hurt these people to make them be so cruel? Like, how messed up must you actually be to say that a baby, a friggin baby, is the embodiment of all evils? Or that a child was a coward for choosing to see his opponent’s last bits of humanity and opted to spare them?

Aang was soo morally conflicted about the idea of killing Ozai not only because it contradicted the morals of his people, but because he himself understood that this man hadn’t always been the cruel beast he came to met in their first and final showdown. It’s important to note here the fact that upon finding that picture, Aang was actually convinced it had to be Zuko as a baby since it looked so innocent and cute and was actually surprised to learn it was Zuko’s father. And that’s the thing, Ozai was born like us all as an innocent and sweet baby. Babies aren’t in any way evil or twisted, they don’t even have the notion of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ defined in their small, still developing minds. In fact, the very choice of the creators to add this picture in the show is meant to tell us this very thing: this man wasn’t always like this. But if he wasn’t always like this, then what happened to make him become this way?

Well, in order to find out the reason, we must go back in time to the very beginning: Ozai’s childhood and upbringing. For this next part I am going to solely focus on the show cannon, as the comics aren’t the products of BryKe and have a lot of inconsistencies to the source’s cannon (you can go and read my other post on why they fail when it comes to Zuko’s character and his family).

 From what we know and can easily deduce by ourselves just from their appearances, Ozai and his brother Iroh have a huge age gap between them (somewhere between 10 and 15 years). This has to be our first red flag: isn’t it soo odd that this family opted to have their children at such a long distance between pregnancies? It almost feels as if Ozai hadn’t actually been part of his father’s actual family planning... In other words, he was a ‘mistake’ child (I actually hate having to use this terminology, but it will become relevant to when we expand on Azulon’s relationship with his sons). Sure, some may argue that Azulon actually decided to have two sons in case something were to happen to his first born, but wouldn’t it have been more logical to have his second born at 2-3 years max distance from his first? Why choose to have your second child when you are much older and thus risk having a baby with issues, if your sole purpose of this child is to serve as an insurance that you don’t ‘run out’ of heirs? It just doesn’t make much sense, so let’s go for the moment with the possibility that Ozai was an unplanned pregnancy.

This perspective actually gives way to another very interesting aspect: remember the infamous “Born lucky...Lucky to be born” quote? What if I tell you that there is a possibility that this quote wasn’t Ozai’s personal wicked invention, but actually something he himself heard from his very own father? It had been puzzling me for a long time why he choose to say “You were lucky to be born” to Zuko, which implies that Zuko wasn’t supposed to exist. I mean, it’s soo odd that Ozai went with something implying that Zuko was an unplanned pregnancy, since Zuko was the first born. So my theory is that maybe Ozai wanted to convey a different message to Zuko when he said that quote, but due to his anger he ended up replicating the same line he received from Azulon at some point in his childhood. We never got the exact flashback when the line was delivered from Ozai to Zuko, so we don’t have the exact context that lead to it (remember, we are excluding Yang’s take on the matter from the comics).

I mean, this feels like something that wicked old Azulon would have said to his least favorite child. Okay, so let’s go with the scenario that Ozai was an unwanted child, to which we could also add the possibility that Ilah’s health deteriorated after the first birth, which makes plausible the family’s initial decision of stopping at 1 kid.

Moving on, we know from the old ATLA character wiki’s that Ozai’s character design was made with Zuko in mind, being meant to be a grown up version of Zuzu, without the scar. An interesting choice indeed and even Iroh’s letter to Zuko on Ozai from one of the ATLA books describes Ozzy in a similar way to teenage Zuko in book 1: stubborn, feisty, determined and with a volcanic personality (easy to anger and competitive), so it means that these were intentional choices to imply that Zuko and his father are more similar than we were led to believe at first glance. Maybe Ozai was the “Zuko” of his generation. Also, in one of the interviews on the royal family, BryKe stated that Ozai worked very hard to get where he is in book 3, referring to his firebending specifically (we all know how Ozzy got the throne, so clearly, he didn’t “work hard” for that), so maybe he wasn’t always the strongest man alive, with the most exceptional firebending skills out there, like Azula who showed ease in her learning, but rather someone closer to Zuko’s weaker performance as a child, building his way to success through endless hard work until he became the prodigy we know today.

Continuing with our theoretical scenario, after his birth, the second child show’s lesser skills compared to his brother Iroh (by that I don’t mean that he wasn’t gifted at all, but that maybe Ozai wasn’t as fast and great of a learner like his big bro), so Azulon opts to just ignore him and continue focusing solely on his golden child. In my headcannon I actually think that Ilah survived the birth and so she was left in charge of the younger child’s education and upbringing. At this point Iroh is already 10 or older, so he is forced to focus on his development, which prevents him from spending time with his lil brother, but just for the sake of being positive, let’s assume that Ozai still had both his mother and his big brother to keep him sheltered from Azulon’s darkness for a small portion of his childhood.

I choose to believe that Ozai had his mother’s love for a small bit of his childhood due to his willingness in the show to allow Ursa (who mind you, as the granddaughter of Roku was considered a treacherous individual) to spend a ton of time with both Zuko and Azula and share her philosophy with the children, as seeing his wife playing with their children probably reminded him of his own bitter-sweet memories he had with Ilah. They also probably spent a lot of their time near the turtle-duck pond since that pond’s existence prolly dates long before Ozai and Ursa married and had their own children.

Unfortunately, Ilah dies and little Ozai remains all alone, to be influenced negatively by his father (and even by his grandpa Sozin, we don’t really know for certain when the old man died, so he prolly was there for a short time when Ozzy was still a child). Azulon most likely blames Ozai for his wife’s death as the second birth might’ve really had a huge toll on Ilah’s already fragile body, bringing her closer to death, so he still neglects and ignores the child, if not straight out bullies and abuses him for not being on par with Iroh. This prolly leads to Ozai becoming jealous of his brother since Iroh has their father’s love, pushing them further apart. I headcannon that this jealousy between the siblings led to Ozai complaining to his dad when he finally had too much of their father’s discrimination (at a similar age to when Zuko prolly did and got the infamous line, if not younger) only to get the “Iroh was born lucky, you were lucky to be born!” line with the sole purpose of hurting him since now the child knows that he was never wanted.

When Azulon scolds very furiously adult Ozai in Zuko’s memories for daring to ask to be named crown prince, he literally says something like “What, you dare ask me to betray MY own son?!” (this is like red flag number two), line that pretty much testifies how Azulon chose to pretty much treat Ozai as if he wasn’t his son too, showcasing how much he despised his second born and favored the first child over him. Since we are on the topic of their last conversation, the punishment Azulon gave to his son alone proves this man’s level of sadism, which leads me to be believe that Ozai’s childhood was full of this type of punishments for bad behaviors that could be easily corrected trough a long serious lecture or a lesser punishment focused more on teaching him an actual lesson. 

The old wikis also mention on the page about the hall with portraits of the previous Fire Lords that it was the place where Ozai chose to spend most of his time in his youth, seeking advice from his ancestors. I mean, seriously now, if he had a good and supportive father and a present brother in his life, would Ozai had chosen to seek guidance from the dead instead of his living family? That piece of information that was easily overlooked by many proves how lonely this man was in his youth.

So for the most part of his life, Ozai grew up under the toxic influence and abuse of his tyrant father who refused to acknowledge him. Yet he managed to grow up still full of determination to one day prove his worth to Azulon and gain his acceptance (just like we saw with Zuko in book 1, who was desperate to regain his honor and be accepted by his father). But unfortunately, no matter how strong he became or how good of a firebender he was, Azulon was unmoved and unphased by his second son’s performance.

From what we could gather from the little info we received in the show, it seems that Ozai was never sent to the battle field to aid his older brother, being kept as a stay home prince, with the only occasion he actually left home being to search for the Avatar (I don’t think Iroh was sent to do his part on searching the Avatar since he strongly believed that there wasn’t going to ever be one, so it’s safe to assume Azulon assigned Ozai with this mission just to get rid of him for a few years) and the only purpose he ever served to his father was to become part of the old man’s genetics experiment in order to create strong unparalleled firebending offspring (which I am pretty sure were meant to be ‘biological war machines’ used by Azulon in the war, as he didn’t really seem to give a shit about Ozai’s children compared to Lu Ten). So just imagine the level of disappointment and dishonor Ozai must’ve felt as a man and young aspiring soldier to find out that he was going to be used like a ‘non-bending daughter’ in a strategical marriage and never get to serve his country in what he’d been taught was the greatest and most important war for their Nation.

All in all, this marriage didn’t really end up that badly because it seems he and Ursa were actually very compatible. The old wiki for Ursa states that she was a noble woman and the perfect match for Ozai, which leads me to believe that show Ursa was intended to be a very strong willed and determined woman who earned his respect. The show never stated that Ozai never wanted his first born or that he was disappointed with Zuko from birth like the comics say, so it’s safe to assume that Ursa and Ozai actually ended up falling in love at some point since they had not one, but two kids with relatively a short time in between pregnancies. 

There are actually many signs in the show that actually prove that these two loved each other and Ozai didn’t abuse his wife: from the fact that they went every year to see Ursa’s favorite play despite Ozai hating the poor performance of the Ember Island Players (I mean, what man would do such a sacrifice as to endure the same torture every single year just to make his wife happy if he never loved her?), Ursa’s undeniable and sincere love for their children (in the show it was never stated that Ursa saw Zuko and Azula as someone else’s children, so if she were indeed an abused woman who was forced to have these children, she wouldn’t have ever loved them to such an extent, especially Zuko who resembled his father the most physically), the fact that Ursa had equal rights in their marriage and raising of their children (her even scolding and grounding Ozai’s favorite child without hesitation), to the most significant scene to the Urzai ship in Zuko’s flashbacks: Ozai sitting troubled all alone in Ursa’s favorite spot by the pond, in a sad and brooding atmosphere, after he lost her, instead of celebrating what had to be the happiest day of his life since he was finally crowned Fire Lord (it’s clear who had more importance in his heart: Ursa meant more to him than the throne, so losing her outshined his achievement). In fact, Ursa must’ve been the only thing that still kept him outside of the darkness that threatened to swallow his heart and once he lost her, Ozai had nothing else to keep him on the right path.

And even as a father, it seems that Ozai wasn’t always cold and distant to his children, as his true self depicted in Zuko’s memories on Ember Island shows him caring for both of his children, even holding Zuko close to him with a protective arm on the boy’s shoulder. Except the Agni Kai, there don’t seem to be any instances in which he was physically violent towards his son before the banishment (Iroh literally let Zuko in to join that faithful war meeting willingly. Would’ve he done that if he knew his brother to be very violent towards his children in case they disobeyed? If yes, then it would make Iroh actually very questionable on a moral standpoint) and even on an emotional level, I don’t really think that he was actually abusive to him (at least while Ursa was there) because from Zuko’s conversation with Zhao, he’s adamant that his father will take him back and even states "You don't know how my father feels about me. You don't know anything!", meaning that the father he used to know showed him a level of respect and genuine affection (if Ozai were to bully Zuko since the boy’s very early childhood, do you think this kid would grow up to be so sure that his father wants him around and would he defend this bully when someone badmouths them in front of him?).

Even with Azula, despite people demonizing her from early childhood and saying that she was manipulated since birth by Ozai to become a war machine, I do believe that she shows genuine love and affection towards her father. I do choose to believe that back in the good times when the family was happy, Ozai spent quality time with his daughter, filling in the gap left by Ursa’s neglect. I theorize that the reason why kid Azula badmouthed her grandpa and uncle was because she was being very protective of her father: since she used to like spying and eavesdropping, it’s safe to assume that she prolly witnessed many instances in which the old man bullied or insulted Ozai, favoring Iroh over him. It’s a bit harder to see it that way since her snarky comments involve dark topics, but since they live in a society governed by power and war, I see them as something similar to if Azula would’ve said “Uncle sucks and he will surely be fired from his job!” or “Grandpa is old and weak, he should leave the family business to dad!”. Even the fact that the only thing capable of shattering her to pieces was her father leaving her proves how much she cared for him. Ty Lee and Mai’s betrayal was a big blow on Azula’s control and sanity, but she didn’t breakdown until Ozai discarded her after his coronation as Phoenix King. There’s nothing more painful in this world than to be left behind by the person you loved the most and was there by your side your whole life, whom you wanted to follow to world’s end and back. That was the moment Azula finally realized that the father she used to know and love was actually gone and had been in fact, long gone for years at this point.

But if Ozai cared for his family what made him change? Easy, it all comes back to the fact that his father never acknowledged him. The throne doesn’t seem to be his ultimate goal in life since Ozai discarded of the Fire Lord title very easily, tossing it to Azula without any remorse or hesitation. It was more about the meaning behind getting the crown: replacing Iroh in the line of succession was the ultimate proof of his father’s acceptance, that he wasn’t only a “mistake” and “failure” in his father’s eyes, but since Azulon ended up saying and doing what he did, backfired Ozai and made him understand that no matter how hard he tried, the old man will never see him for what he is. So yeah, for a proud man like Ozai this was a hard defeat to swallow, which in turn sparked his strong desire of winning the war and becoming the king of the world: if Azulon wouldn’t accept him even in death, then Ozai will prove to the whole world that he was above his father and his “perfect” brother by accomplishing what they never could and even better and no one was going to stop him, not even his own family.

This is what differentiates Ozai from Zuko: while both had similar upbringings, Ozai never broke away from his obsession of gaining his father’s admiration, allowing himself to fall prey to the darkness left by Azulon in his heart and abandon his true self, only to become the copy of his abuser, while Zuko stood up to his dad and chose his own destiny. If Aang were to come back around 20 or 30 years earlier, then he might’ve actually been able to save Ozai just like he saved Zuko, but unfortunately it wasn’t this way.

Do I think that Ozai could still be saved and redeemed even after the events of book 3? Definitely! Since he’s actually a broken man and still has a tiny bit of humanity left within, I think he still has a chance to change his heart. The only thing is that it’d be a long lasting process: first off he needs to spend a long time in solitude and reflect on his life’s choices and his past, understand where he went wrong and that what happened to him in his childhood is called abuse, which he ended up replicating on his own children. After he understands his wrongdoings and becomes willing to rediscover his true self, he needs to understand the truth about the war, that everything he’d known was fake propaganda and that there was nothing glorious in what he, his father and Sozin did under the excuse of “sharing their Nation’s greatness with the rest of the world!”. But most importantly of all, the only remedy that could possibly save him is love. It sound cliche, but by responding to hatred with more hate like Zuko did in the comics would never change the world “for the better” or bring it “to reality”. The only way to save both Azula and Ozai would be trough showing them the power of love, hope and empathy, how they don’t have to struggle alone and push everyone away. And especially by redeeming Azula, she would be a very important piece in Ozai’s redemption: since he had a closer parent-child relationship with Azula and cared for her the most when he did care, realizing how much he made her suffer through his actions, that would probably break Ozai enough to make him admit that he was wrong all along.

So yeah, this is my analysis on Ozai’s character using the cannon information from the show and old wikis and why I think he is just the product of a very bad environment and an abusive parent who never showed him love (if there’s a reason for why Ozai might be uncapable of showing a healthy parental love to his children is because you can’t show what you’ve never learnt yourself), being the Zuko of his generation who never got to experience the positive influence of an “Uncle Iroh” to guide him on the right path. 

You can agree with me or not on this one, but this is what I choose to believe. Maybe I am way too good by choosing to see any potential good in anyone, but I feel it’s a better way than to counter hate with more hate like Yang did in his monstrous portrayal of Ozai in The Search.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments and if you agree with anything I’ve said, feel free to leave a like and to reblog this post.

See you next time and stay safe! Bye-Bye!

Saby out.